Turbulent Waves, page 15
“Does Themis know where Riverstone is?” Kai asked. She’d been trying to remember if she’d had any contact with Riverstone aside from a short greeting when she went to visit her mother. The woman hadn’t been very memorable, but she definitely had some grandiose plans.
“Neither Pontos nor Tanice ever met with Bella or her stepmother, Yelter, while they were here. They did communicate from the time he arrived through the comm boxes you found throughout the Gulf, but it was more important for Bella to keep her place with the queen. Leaving the city to meet with him would’ve possibly been detected.” Laud handed over a full report. “Bella was to blame for leaking the queen’s schedule.”
“Our objective is to find Riverstone and her traitorous mother. Yelter got off easy.” She smiled at Vivien and sent her a mental message. They were sitting across from each other, but Vivien gazed at her and smiled so she’d heard her. From the sound of it, Riverstone is the head of the snake. Find her and we find the body.
“That is a priority, but not our only one,” her mom Hadley said. The way she exhaled made Kai’s heart speed up, and she wanted to run. Not from fear exactly but from a need to keep Vivien and her family safe. “Pontos’s plan failed, and his ships are still sitting on the dark side of the moon. He brought three.”
“Three cruisers?” she asked in shock. “There’s no way we eliminated or captured all his men if that’s true. Three ships means thousands of people. We need to find that bitch Riverstone and apply whatever pain it takes to make her want to tell us everything.”
“Kai,” her mother Galen said, her tone sharp. “You know better than to think any situation, no matter how dire, will make us resort to torture. That is not who we are.” Her mom’s admonishment was clear. “Pontos was more of a worrier and an egomaniac than he was a tactical genius. His force was small, and the three cruisers were more for backup than a massive invading force. His girlfriend had the information to back that up.”
“So he was a chickenshit on top of being an annoying son of a bitch.” She was still angry at herself for not figuring out what the asshole’s agenda was.
“Honey, how in the world would you have figured that out?” Vivien pushed her plate away and rose to stand behind her. “Everyone in the world simply thought he was an asshole, including me.”
“Is the new development the knowledge of his ships?” She threaded her fingers with Vivien’s when Frankie traded seats with her.
“We’re not so much interested in the ships here, but the ones still available on Atlantis. Pontos found the route, which means others can follow,” Laud said. “When he arrived in our solar system, he took small shuttles to the surface. Those had enough cloaking to fly under our radar.”
“Even if we’d noticed them, our technicians would’ve reported it as meteor activity,” her mother Hadley said. “That was the one smart move he made.”
“If Tanice is telling the truth, there’s only one ship left on their planet. When Pontos didn’t report in, he’d been classified as missing. Finding him might be enough of an incentive for his father to send that ship out. If they’re better prepared and don’t come alone, we could potentially be facing a force of seventy thousand.” Laud not only always sounded calm, but she also never sugarcoated anything.
“That’s not what worries me,” her mother Galen said, her eyes on Vivien. “Bella knew enough about you, Vivien, to report to Pontos. That worries me on two fronts.”
“Two?” Vivien asked. Kai tried to be comforting without trying to shield Vivien from what she needed to know. “What does she know about me that would be damaging?”
“She understood your growing relationship with Princess Kai. Bella was careful about how often and what she passed on, and didn’t contact Pontos with that development, at least not at first.” For once Laud sounded almost as disgusted as her mother did. “That’s the only reason he didn’t attack you sooner.”
“If her goal was to take over or at least be elevated in status under Pontos’s rule, not saying anything doesn’t make sense,” she said.
“Once she knew your relationship with Princess Kai was serious and understood how it could be leveraged, she passed word of it on. Which is why Francesca Yelter, Bella’s stepmother and one of Queen Galen’s biggest critics, was killed trying to assassinate Princess Kai. According to Tanice, a message was sent to Pontos, identifying you, but it came from Yelter and not Bella.” Laud was as compassionate as Kai had ever heard her, and she was angry at herself that she hadn’t prepared Viv better for all this.
“That doesn’t make sense, if Bella was their contact within the realm.” Kai had to smile despite the situation when Vivien moved closer to her.
“That’s what Tanice thought as well. Her theory was that Bella was in contact with them through the comm boxes, but her real master wasn’t Pontos. It was someone still on planet Atlantis.” Her mother Hadley stood and poured two cups of coffee, handing her mother Galen one.
“Bella was taking orders from Sol?” she asked.
“I doubt it. If Sol was her true master, there’s no way he wouldn’t have told Tanice and Pontos who you were. You remember how concerned Sol was after it was all over,” her mother Galen said. “Asking about Pontos was tantamount to admitting he has a small, useless penis. I’m sure that’s true, but no man will ever admit it.”
“What are you worried about?” Vivien laughed at the description but still appeared worried herself.
“What Laud and the rest of us are worried about,” her mother Galen said, taking Vivien’s free hand, “is simple. There were very few people who knew about you and Kai aside from Hadley and me. There was Oba, Laud, and Kai’s detail. The news of your pregnancy is only known by Laud and Oba.”
“You think someone close to you betrayed you?” Vivien seemed horrified. “Besides this Bella woman?”
“There’s no way it was Laud or any of my people,” Hadley said. “It can’t be Oba either, so where does that leave us? It’s not so much a betrayal to pass on the information that you’re pregnant, but that they passed along any information about you. To know such intimate details of your life as well as ours means someone close to us is working against us.”
“Oba will be here when she’s done with her duties.” Her mom Galen stood and headed for the covered veranda. “And before your thoughts run away from you, Oba would lay down her life before she betrayed us. Any of us.”
“It has to be someone close to her then,” she said. One glance at Vivien proved her wife might not agree with that assessment.
“Let’s wait for her, and she’ll answer your questions.” Her mother Hadley’s statement closed discussion for now. “Let’s enjoy the quiet until that happens. Right now, that’s all we know, and there’s no sense in driving ourselves to distraction while we wait.”
Vivien and Frankie stayed with Kai as the others left. The retreat was meant for relaxation, but the offices on the other side of the house close to her moms’ bedroom were fully equipped to run the realm no matter how long they stayed. She pointed Frankie in the direction of the restroom when he asked before she faced Vivien.
Before she had a chance to speak, Vivien said, “I know what you’re going to say, but it’s going to take time for me to trust her. I know what it is to love you. There’s no telling how I’d handle losing you.” Vivien rested her head on her shoulder and sighed. “She had you when you left, and she lost you to me. That couldn’t have been a cakewalk, no matter what she says.”
“Oba’s one of our youngest head priestesses, but my mother has complete faith in her. What I shared with her wasn’t something she wanted long-term, and I didn’t know any better. My fate was to marry and have children, but I never thought I’d find what my mothers share. Their relationship is special, so being with Oba was easy and convenient.” She spoke as Vivien pressed the side of her face to her chest.
“Still, honey, a woman might say one thing and mean something else. Oba might’ve been nonchalant about it, but I get the impression it wasn’t easy to let you go.”
“Finding you made me see what love is supposed to be, and I’m planning on a life with only you.” She held Vivien, knowing that only time would heal the doubt she bore because of her upbringing. “Oba is someone I love as a friend, but a betrayal of this magnitude wouldn’t be forgiven, especially by me. The penalty for this kind of treason is death. Oba knows that as well as she knows her prayers to the goddess.”
“I’m sorry—you’re right. Let’s blame my stupidity on hormones.”
“I do that, and you’ll pulverize me.” They laughed and didn’t separate when Frankie came back in. “You’re the center of my world, my love. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to keep you with me and safe. No one will ever be more important to me than you.”
“She’s a keeper, sis,” Frankie said and stared outside. “My bet is on one of Oba’s priestesses. I have no idea where that thought came from, but I know it’s true. This upgrade to my shell has done interesting things to my head.” He wiggled his hand and laughed. “Last night I could tell you two were really happy, until you weren’t.”
“Oh my God. Tell me you can’t sense when we’re having sex.” Vivien pulled Kai down to sit next to her. “If you can, go ahead and lie. I’ll be totally okay with that.”
“No,” Frankie said shaking his head. “Eww, no. It’s more like I can feel extreme emotion, which wasn’t uncommon for us before all this.” Frankie pointed between himself and Vivien. “But now I can feel Kai too. At first the happy made sense—it was your honeymoon night after all—but then it made no sense. I sensed fear and anger…and darkness.” He closed his eyes and laughed. “Maybe the pressure from being at the bottom of the ocean is getting to me, and I’m going mad.”
She kissed the top of Vivien’s head when she pressed against her. Frankie having ominous visions about them wasn’t a good thing. “Like we said, we had a vision, and that made no sense. But it sounds a lot like what you felt.”
“Then why is it happening? A dual vision isn’t common no matter what world you’re from, let alone a triple vision.” Frankie shrugged as if that should be apparent. “Maybe we need to pay attention to what you saw. It might be a clue about what could happen. I’d rather be prepared if that’s the case.”
“I’m not ignoring it.” She held Vivien against her and wasn’t ready to let go of the fear even if she didn’t want to admit it even to herself. “All I know is if there was a betrayal, it wasn’t Oba.”
“Thank you for your faith in me, Your Majesty.” Oba came in and knelt before her and Vivien. “I’ve dedicated my life to the goddess and to my queen. It was an oath I took seriously, and I love you too much to break it.”
“I believe you,” Vivien said before Kai could say anything.
“Who, then?” Kai asked, not moving.
Vivien glanced at her before turning her attention to Oba. From her expression Kai realized Vivien could tell that Kai didn’t quite believe Oba, despite what she’d said, not yet. There was a simmering rage in her, and she couldn’t understand it, much less control it. All she could guess was it stemmed from being in the dark, and it made her feel vulnerable.
“Honey?” Vivien put her hand over her heart and kissed her cheek. “Breathe, okay?”
“It’s just a question, Oba, so answer it.” Her tone made Oba flinch.
“When you left for your quest, I spent time in the temple. I knew what was waiting for you even if you thought it was a joke. The goddess had shown me the prophecy so many times it was a part of my soul, and the only thing I didn’t know was who Vivien was.”
“Any old human would’ve done, huh?” Vivien asked and laughed.
“There was and is only one match for Kai, never believe otherwise,” Oba said to Vivien before turning back to her. “I loved you even if you think I didn’t, and I spent the time in prayer healing myself of your loss.” Oba’s eyes filled with tears. “My weakness opened my mind and my heart. Someone used that to get to you, and that I allowed it to happen fills me with shame. You know I’d never do anything to hurt you or those you love of my own free will.”
Laud entered, leading a woman in cuffs with a hood over her head. “Kneel or I swear I’ll make it so you can’t stand.” The woman dropped to the floor, and her head moved from side to side as if she was trying to hear something.
“I asked for your forgiveness even though I don’t deserve it.” Oba spoke softly and placed her hands on Kai’s knee. “I will love and serve you like I have your mother, but I’ll also go if you ask it of me.”
“Oba?” the woman on her knees said. She sounded scared and anxious. “Why am I here?”
Kai motioned to Laud, and she took the woman away. She had no need to see her just yet, especially when she was still so angry. She leaned forward, letting Vivien go, and placed her hand on Oba’s cheek. It was an intimate move, and it made Oba’s tears fall faster. She sensed Vivien wanted to stop her from doing anything else, but all that was left between her and Oba was a friendly affection and nothing more.
“There’s nothing to forgive.” She wiped Oba’s face with her fingers and kissed her cheek. “Nothing.”
“That woman read your mind, didn’t she?” Vivien asked. Whatever was happening had brought Frankie closer, and he sat on the other side of his sister.
“I was meditating. That’s how I communicate with the goddess. In a moment when my defenses were down, Susan tapped into my thoughts. By that time, you’d found Vivien, and the prophecy had begun to unfold. I’m the one who first realized you were expecting when I went back to vote on our stock, giving your family your business back.” Oba looked at Vivien and Frankie, and Kai could feel Vivien’s struggle not to have any anger toward her old friend. “Susan gathered information as a way to gain power by siding with Bella. I’m sure she traded what she was able to get from me for the promise of being the wielder of the water orb and the head priestess, once their plan was complete.”
“Then you did nothing wrong,” Vivien said, kissing Oba’s other cheek. “Can you do to her what she did to you?”
Kai’s shell warmed at Vivien’s suggestion, making her think of something else, and she saw Frankie touch his too. “Let’s forget about Susan for now. Oba, do you remember the ways of the ancients?” It was something she’d learned as a child when she’d begun her lessons about the goddess. The first priestesses would often join forces as a way to sharpen their conduit to hear the goddess’s voice.
“Sit in a circle and have your knees touch,” Oba said, moving out of the way so Kai, Vivien, and Frankie could sit close together. “Now hold hands.”
Kai could already see the thin gold thread that connected her shell to Vivien’s and wondered if Oba and Frankie could as well. Their connection had changed from that day in the temple, and it had changed again when they’d had the same vision, albeit from different perspectives. Now she thought it’d transform again given how easily Vivien was able to make the connection, and it would only get stronger with time.
“Close your eyes and concentrate on our physical bond,” Oba said, holding her hand out to Frankie and nodding at him to take Vivien’s hand. “You might not have grown up with the goddess as your guiding force, but open your heart and mind to her now.”
Oba’s voice was getting faint, but Kai could still feel everything around her. Vivien did as she was told, and Kai saw the thread thickening between them, and then it extended to Frankie. They formed a circle of light, so she took a breath and let go. It was like falling, only through time and not from a high place. In a moment they flew through space to a place she didn’t recognize, yet it felt like coming home.
Chapter Thirteen
Kai studied the area but wasn’t worried because both Frankie and Vivien held on to her as they too looked around. Oba, in charge of holding the vision in place, wasn’t with them. The worry of being able to find their way home crossed her mind, but she needed answers before they started searching for a way back. Wherever they were, it was beautiful, with its open spaces backed by mountains and jungle. It had a wild, primitive feel to it as if it was untouched and pure, but there were people here.
“There.” She pointed behind them. The structures were massive, and the sound of construction beyond that reached her ears.
It was strange to see spaceships sitting on the ground in a formation she instinctively knew was for defense. They were out of place, but not really. Without them where would she and her sisters be now? They had to be witnessing the first people. Queen Nessa’s people.
“No, there,” Vivien said, heading for the replica of the temple she knew. This one was made of wood, as was the statue of the goddess, but it was beautiful.
They walked side by side, and their surroundings seemed so real, yet she could still feel Vivien’s and Frankie’s hands tethering her to their world. The chanting was unfamiliar when they entered, since it was in the old language. It was beautiful, and she smiled when Vivien placed her hand on her stomach.
“The baby seems to know this place,” Vivien said, whispering.
The chanting stopped when a young woman bowed before the altar and said a soft prayer she couldn’t quite make out. “Come forward,” the woman said.
She glanced at Vivien because the woman seemed to be talking to them. They walked forward, and the woman bowed.
“Welcome, Highnesses. I’ve prayed for a long time to see your faces.”
