“Doesn't feel like it.” I groan.“Are you ready?”“Are you kidding?”He sits next to me. “You did fantastic! Even though you’ve never played any of those games, you beat them all.”I rub my eyes. “Am I facing a sea dragon next?”“You can’t know what you’re facing before you go in.”“I know what the last trial is.”“True,” he admits. “But that’s because you were digging around ahead of time. However, you don’t know all the details.”And neither does he. I have a plan of my own, and he won’t see it coming. “I’ll get to rest again after the next trial?”“Of course. You’ll have a full half hour, just like this time.”“Isn’t that nice?” Since I’ll be getting ready for my surprise, I won’t be able to sleep. But that’s a price I’m willing to pay to keep my dad alive. He may trust his servants to bring him back, but I don’t. I’ve hardly had any time to spend with him since he showed up.He gestures toward my trident. “Let’s head back out.”“Or we could go back to land.”“You don’t want to fin
My dressing room is bustling with activity. Two doctors are looking me over and both my parents are fussing over me. Mom’s worried about my injuries and my dad is giving me tips about the next trial—but I can barely focus on a word he says. I really only want Isaac and Erica at this point, but family and servants only. I’m tempted to tell them Isaac has my name tattooed on his chest as a promise to me, but I keep my mouth shut.If the third trial goes as planned, it’ll be over in no time—and both my dad and I will swim away from it. Well, he might be unconscious, but he’ll be alive, and that’s what counts.One of the doctors turns to me. “Your wounds are sewed up.”“She’ll be okay to keep on with the trials?” Dad asks. “I should’ve just used the Mila power. I don’t know what I was thinking. Suppose I was distracted.”“She’ll be fine—just needs to have the sutures looked at in a couple of days.”I press on the stitches, and find the wound barely hurts. Kind of tingles.The doctor nods.
Dad doesn’t budge, doesn’t crash down. In fact, he leans on his weapon and straightens his back. “That’s lovely, and I couldn’t be more pleased with your song choice.”More thunks sound in the background.I struggle to keep singing. He’s trying to distract me, but I’m not going to let it work.Feminine shrieks and cries sound as the mermen continue crashing down, losing consciousness—like my dad should be doing. But he isn’t.Why not?My mind races as I start the song over. A thought strikes me—whenever I sang, those with me never passed out.Dad must be too close to me for this to work. I inch away from him, belting out the lyrics as loudly as possible. He doesn’t move, and I finally stop when half the arena separates us.He rushes toward me, his trident aimed right for me. I hold up mine and block it, forced to stop my song. I grunt and push against him. “Why aren’t you passing out?”“I noticed the missing wine from our room, and when your mother knew nothing about it, I put two and
The warmth turns into an excruciating heat. Feels like my skin is burning off my body. Wouldn’t have thought that was possible, but if I could open my eyes, I’m sure that’s what I’d see. I try to cry out, but everything hurts too much. So. Much. Pain.I think I’m on the ground. Can’t really tell. I know I’m not upright.Need the pain to stop.It won’t.I gasp. Struggle to breathe. To open my eyes. Gain control of myself.After what feels like an eternity, the agony eases. Doesn’t go away fully, but it isn’t as bad as it was before.At long last, I finally open my eyes. The sight before drives terror straight to my core.Mom is sobbing and clings to Dad, who’s limp and lifeless.I knew this would happen! Why did he have to fight against my siren powers? I race over. “Mom!”She looks up at me, her eyes red. “He was wrong about them reviving him! They can’t fix his wounds.” She leans against his chest.“Do something!” I shake one of his servants. “Save him!”He hangs his head. “We’ve tri
Erica and Isaac are sitting inside. I stare in disbelief. Am I imagining the sight?She squeals, and they both leap up and embrace me.“I knew you could do it!” Isaac gushes.“You had me so scared!” Erica.I just cling to them, unable to find words.The driver closes the door and starts the engine. Isaac pulls out a bottle of champagne. “This definitely calls for a celebration! You’re the most amazing mermaid alive.”“That she is.” Erica grabs the bottle and pops the top. “To Mila!”Isaac pours the drink and hands out the flutes. “To Mila!”We all drink, not that I really need more after the useless wine. I sip mine, though it doesn’t really affect how I feel. Don’t want to put anyone to sleep if I end up singing with the band—even though all I really want is to sleep as long as possible. I have a feeling I’m going to get a lot of attention once we get back to the academy. However, I’m not sure what the attention will be. Will I get made fun of for fully gaining the legendary queen’s
IsaacI typeThe End on my latest novel and lean back in my chair. This one might be my best one yet and I smile, knowing my agent and publishers will be happy. I’ll need to send it to the editors soon and then it will be time to start my next book.My mood dims a little at that thought. Don’t get me wrong, I love writing. I love using my imagination to create new worlds and characters and stories. I love coming up with new adventures to take my characters on but lately, all I’ve been able to think about is how little adventures I’ve been on myself.When I was younger, I used to pretend to be a pirate or an explorer and run around my backyard, looking for treasure. I lost count of the number of books I read about pirates and sailors or how many pirates maps I drew.I’ve always had a thing about pirates, more than any other type of explorer. Maybe it’s because I grew up in Santa Fe, New Mexico and always dreamed of seeing the ocean. Either way, I’ve devoured every book I could find on p
I reach down and offer him my hand. He stares up at me, his brown eyes filled with wonder as he looks at me. My heart clenches as I take him in. No one has ever looked at me like that. Like I’m incredible and I try to block it out as I pull him up onto deck.“Mermaid,” he says as soon as we’re safely on the dock.“What?” I ask, wondering if he’s drunk or hit his head or something.“Are you a mermaid?” He asks, his voice coming out a little raspy and he coughs slightly.“Uh, no. Are you drunk?” I ask, inching over to my phone and keys.“No, I’m not much of a drinker.” He says, shaking out his hair.Drops of water hit me in the face and I glare at him.“Sorry,” he says with a sheepish smile.“Look here,” I say, clicking on the little flashlight attached to my keyring.I check his eyes, making sure that he’s alright before I turn it off and stand.“Are you alright?”“Yeah, thanks to you.”“Okay, well have a good night,” I say, turning and grabbing another box before I head on deck of my
He nods and I let out a breath as I back away into the bedroom. All of the furniture on deck is bolted down so as long as he just sits there, he should be alright. I strip off my wet clothes and hang them up in the bathroom before I take the quickest shower ever and rush to dry off and pull on my pajamas.Isaac is still sitting in the chair where I left him when I come out. He’s looking around the space below deck but there isn’t much to see. Just a little kitchen, an even smaller sitting area, a storage closet with all of my diving supplies, and my bedroom. The furniture is all dated but it still works and usually I’m the only one down here so it doesn’t matter to me.I’m a little worried about what will happen when I get this clumsy guy in the ocean. Maybe it will be better. There won’t be anything for him to bump into or fall off of.“Did you want to grab your bag?” I ask as I shift in front of the bedroom door. “You should probably wash off before bed.”“Yeah, it’s just upstairs.
She'd wanted to see his face for more than that brief glimpse. Did he fear what she would see? Beauty and the Beast was one of her favorite fairy tales, because an empath could see it all. The monster beneath the flesh, no matter how beautiful the mask. The beauty of the soul, no matter the disfigurement. But she hadn't wanted to assess the balance within him. She'd needed to look into his eyes for a reason she couldn't define, but it had been all-consuming. If she'd seen the darkness in him outweighing the light, would she have clung to him anyway, because he needed her? It was a desperation that went deeper into the soul than even she'd ever delved. Down to the dark, frightening places where children screamed but no mother came, pain and fear were the air one breathed, and the earth had no magic beneath the soles of the feet."Isaac?"A warm light had spread over her skin. She raised her gaze to her father's dark eyes. Apparently when she hadn't responded right away, he'd intensifie
. How on earth did she know what brimstone smelled like?Maybe she remembered it from that time she'd ended up in the outer catacombs of Hell, looking for the caverns where her parents had first met. She'd been twelve, and fascinated by the story of how Anna had hidden Jonah there when he was hurt and being pursued by Dark Ones. Of course, Lex hadn't been thrilled to run smack into Lucifer while on her romantic quest. She'd been told in no uncertain terms she would not be swimming down into his realm again, not if she knew what was good for her. She was twenty-one now, but the memory still made her shudder.God, she loved her parents, but they had such scary friends. The Lord of the Underworld was her father's best friend, while Mila was the seawitch Mina, a creature whose name no merperson would speak aboveBut whether or not Isaac was smelling brimstone, this had to be a dream. Mainly because that part of the mind that kept things from being too frightening in dreams said so, even
His hand slid up, his thumb finding her nipple and making her moan softly. Closing his eyes, he forced himself to focus. Goddess, it was as if he hadn't sated his lust in eons. What was it about her? Rationally, he knew it could be something the witch had done. But his heart knew differently, for an angel's heart knew truth."I'm off balance, because despite all that, I'm enthralled by the way your hair lies on your shoulders, how anger flashes in your eyes like heat lightning. The flush of your cheeks, the way your nipples have hardened against that thin shirt just from my barest touch." He folded his hand around her throat and cheek, tucked her head under his chin, and let sensuality give way to comfort.When Mila let out a resigned sigh, coiled her arms around his upper body, he felt that curious relief again. "I'm angry, because in the midst of all these things, I want you. So I strike out at your desire for me, so new and clean. It's beautiful, Anna, a miraculous gift to any male
Except for that one picture. The one that said she hoped for something better.As he came back up her body and sheathed himself again, pushing them both over the edge they needed, he knew he was going to embark on this journey with her. Not because he believed the seawitch, or that the darkness in his heart needed healing, but because suddenly the most important thing was that his little mermaid knew that someone believed in her.And hellfire, he still couldn't bring himself to go back, reach out to Lucifer or the Lady. Or any of them. What would a week matter? Time was relative, when one was an angel.SHE woke alone. The thunder was shaking the house, coming close together, flashes of lightning illuminating the cottage so she could see him standing on the deck, the sliding glass door open to the driving rain. His hair was plastered to his head, his face tilted to the sky, the wings a heavy weight on his back.She didn't dress, but moved down the stairs, stood in the open door, steppe
"What the hell did you let her do to me?""She was trying to save your life. The Dark Ones--""She is a Dark Spawn. Damn it, I never should have trusted her. Or you, a child stupid enough to think a Dark One can be your friend. I--""She may be dead because of you, my lord." Mila thrust hard against him, but of course he didn't budge. "Because of me. Because I brought her into this. She led the Dark Ones away from us.""Perhaps that's what she wants you to think." He had no patience for her feelings right now. With disgust, he released her and managed to make it to his feet this time, though he had to fight the desire to lie back down. Because his voice was hoarse, he cleared it twice before he got the words out. "What did she do to me?""You're human." She flinched at his expression. "It's only temporary. At dusk, your true form will return. Until . . ." She bit it off and looked away. "It will return at dusk."His eyes narrowed. Gods, his head felt like someone was pounding a mallet
"What have you been doing?" Erica demanded."What do you mean?""The Dark Ones were loose and swarming about the ocean floor, seeking one of the winged ones. And it's all over you, his aura. You are fair glowing with it." Erica was already rummaging through her stores, reaching into crevices in the rock used for storage for her healing tonics and potions."He said I would be safe as long as I wasn't with him.""Idiot.""Erica," Mila gasped. "He's an angel.""And an idiot. Here, drink this quickly. It will purge you and you'll be rid of that glow. Go on or I'll pour it down your throat."Anna hesitated. "What do you mean, purge? Not . . . forget?"Erica stopped, stared at her. "No," she said at last. "It's a cleansing, not a . . .""Cleansing. How . . . Does that mean . . ." He'd said he could voluntarily withhold his seed, but what if . . .Erica peered at her. Now her gaze traveled more slowly over Mila, apparently seeing far more than auras."Mila, you lay with him.""It was necessa
How do you know about that?"She shrugged. "I've spent time in the human world. I've studied their history.""So have I." The shadows were back in his eyes again, the dangerous set to his mouth that made him seem so formidable. But he regarded her curiously. "Won't someone be missing you? Your family? Your great-grandsire?""I don't stay in one place for long. They're used to my absences.""So no one looks after you.""I look after myself," she said with a trace of irritation. "I got you here.""Despite my command to leave me.""It wasn't a command," she protested.Isaac snorted. "It most certainly was, and you ignored it."She rose, went to the water. For a moment he thought she was going to dive, metamorphose into her other self and leave him there. Rising, he came up behind her, not yet touching her but standing just at her back. Feeling her hair brush his chest, his abdomen, he gazed down over the top of her head at the swell of her breasts, the pink tips so recently suckled. One
Her features were so fine, small. He put his finger up beside the line of her nose, just to judge, and it seemed the tip of his finger would almost cap it. Her lips were a tiny bow, and despite himself, he imagined what it would be like to stretch them . . .While he knew human mythology suggested angels were above such things, that myth was not based on the warrior class of seraphim. The nourishing energy they required made carnality a vital part of their strength, one of the easiest and fastest ways to replenish their powers. Many of the humanoid races freely offered themselves, and he was all too aware that many felt they had no right to refuse an angel. While he tried not to take advantage of that, fortunately, not many had the desire to resist.But as the years had passed, there was a lack of intimacy to such couplings that bothered him in a way he didn't care to examine too closely. He'd begun to prefer recharging by going into seclusion, drawing from the elements, a slower, med
He would die without her. Let me die . . .No, by Neptune's Trident. She would not. And she wasn't dying here, either. This wasn't how she was going to go, damn it.When her tail encountered a flat surface, and moving water pushed against her face, telling her the tunnel had become horizontal again and was widening, she sobbed in relief. She was able to switch arms and swim forward, using the additional propulsion offered by a wider sweep of her tail. And then, the darkness began to have shapes. Rock formations in the walls, the curve of the tunnel on all sides. Light. There was light coming from somewhere. Seafans with waving tendrils and myriad corals began to blanket the walls again, scraping at her knuckles. Bless the Lady, the water was getting warmer. Much warmer. As the tunnel directed her up, she pushed against the wall with her free arm as well as pumped with her tail, suddenly desperate to know that what she was seeing, sensing, was true and not some odd type of mirage in t