Turbulent Waves, page 22
“And that’s who you sold me on? What a fool you must think I am. How did you get out?”
“We took a shuttle. Then had to swim the rest of the way. Someone must’ve figured out the shuttle was missing, and they can be controlled from the palace. We got out just in time before it was destroyed remotely.”
“What are the coordinates to the city?” She doubted Bella had that in her head, but it was worth asking.
“I have them at our place in New Orleans. We went there thinking it was the last place anyone would think to look for us. If we were caught, we would’ve told Queen Galen we were scared of being blamed for the attempt on Kai’s life.” Bella closed her eyes and appeared to be finding a comfortable spot on the cot.
“We’re traveling there now, and you’re going to guide us. Try anything, and I’ll make you regret your entire life.”
One of their medics came in and closed all of Bella’s lacerations and gave her something for the pain. Daria stood outside as they moved up the river, and she got her first glimpse of human civilization. The dwellings were close to the water, but they seemed constructed to avoid the water. It was a strange notion. Their vehicles also appeared clunky and slow, confirming what Pontos said about their backwardness. These humans seemed used to hard labor, and that would serve her well once her battles were done. They could build the world she wanted, and they’d come to worship her after they’d come to fear her.
The sun had completely set by the time they reached the city, and her navigator found a place to tie up while they searched for a vehicle to take to Bella’s dwelling. As they neared the city, things started to change.
As a man drove them along wide streets, one thing she noticed was how loud the city was. It was late, but there were people in the streets playing music, drinking, dancing, and laughing. Perhaps they had arrived on some special celebration day, but she’d ask about that later.
Some of her people followed behind, and Bella assured her she had enough to pay the drivers. They had to climb stairs to reach Bella’s place, and it was tiny compared to the palace back on Atlantis. Bella kept it neat, so she sat and snapped her fingers. Bella gave her the folder where she had all the information.
It took Daria until the sun rose before she finished reading, and she had a plan. “Go back to the ship and tell the warriors to wait. Attack and kill anyone who comes near them, but do not let them leave the ship. I’ll send Frem when I’m ready for you,” she told the man before he ran out the door.
“What are you thinking?” Frem asked.
“When you slay a dragon, you rip out its heart and show it to your enemies. Once they see it, they’ll drop to their knees and cower in fear.” She tied Bella’s hands behind her back and placed her in a small windowless room that was full of clothes. She went without struggle and seemed to slide into the pile of clothes gratefully. Daria closed the door on her. “I plan to rip Kai Merlin’s heart out and show it to her mother and her people.”
“Galen will surrender?” Frem pointed to the information Bella provided before following her to the bedroom and removing her clothes.
“I don’t really care what Galen does. What I want is for the sisterhood she has in the depths to see it. If their mighty protector Kai can be taken down this easily, then the rest have no chance.” All she had to do was bide her time and wait for Kai to show herself. She doubted she’d be armed in this city, and she’d exploit that with an ambush. Winning when the odds were so heavily not in her favor would make her legendary, and that would fill all those empty places in her soul.
* * *
“I’d take you out for a last night of fun before you become an old married woman, but you’re already an old married woman,” Marsha said as they sat in Vivien’s backyard. Marsha drank wine, while she stuck to juice. It had been a quiet couple of weeks, and Vivien was starting to let some of her anxiousness go when their lives seemed almost ordinary. Over the weeks, they’d had conversations with Galen and Hadley, as well as Laud, to put plans in place for when the attack came their way. But the plans were only theoretical, since they couldn’t be sure where the attack would come from. Kai felt that as warriors they’d come for her head-on, and so the plans were laid accordingly.
“Don’t knock it until you try it, poopsie. Kai is many things, but boring is not one of them.” She smiled at the thought of their sex life lately. If anything, it’d become more intense, and they had tried pretty much every surface in the house.
“All right already, I get it. Don’t rub it in.”
“I’m sure you have nothing to complain about in that department. To tell you the truth, I’m shocked you’re not running away from Frankie to get a break.” She laughed and tapped her glass against Marsha’s.
“What do you mean?” Marsha seemed to idly play with the shell around her neck as if not realizing she was doing it.
“He’s been alone for a long time because of some noble self-sacrifice, and now he finally has the girl he’s dreamed about since he was old enough to realize he was crazy about you. I’d think he’d be all over you.” All those times they’d spent time together, the three of them, she remembered getting glimpses of where Frankie’s thoughts were when he looked at Marsha. It was love before Frankie fully realized his feelings.
“I’m only kidding you, and you know me. I haven’t exactly been a nun all these years, and I’ve been so tired of that for so long because I thought love wasn’t real.” Marsha shook her head and sighed. “I look at my parents and wonder, why the hell even try. They’re still married, but they don’t like each other at all and have their own lives. It was my choice to be single because I asked myself why be married if all I was going to do was what I was already doing.”
“I know, I didn’t date as much as you did, but I still wondered if I’d find someone. We could’ve always married each other and not had sex,” she said, laughing.
“Dream on. I’ve never been interested in women, but after getting an eyeful of Kai, I would’ve made an exception.” Marsha smiled at her sweetly, making her laugh.
“She’s hot, so yay, me.”
“As for Frankie, I am a little tired these days but pleasantly so. He’s like a rabbit, but he must’ve read some books because I’m seeing stars on a regular basis. Don’t tell him I said that. He’s hot, but he’s kind of shy.”
“Your secret is safe with me.” They sipped their drinks while waiting for their partners, who were at the Palmer offices going over some new projects her father was interested in pursuing, and he wanted both Frankie’s and Kai’s input. “Do we have anything left to do for this weekend? If I miss anything on my mother’s to-do list, she’ll put a hit out on me.”
“Everything is done, so we can relax and drink wine. Well, I can drink wine, and you can relax. When do Kai’s parents get here?”
“Tomorrow, along with the rest of her family. They’re really nice, and I’m sure all the wedding guests will wonder about the large number of women on Kai’s side, but that can’t be helped.” They hadn’t known each other long, but she’d come to love Kai’s parents as well as grandparents. Hopefully the upcoming second wedding would proceed without any humans voicing something that would mortify her—not that she didn’t think Galen and the others could handle it, but she wanted them to feel welcome.
She heard the back door open and smiled when she felt Kai kiss the top of her head. “Are we taking over the oil industry?” she asked when Kai sat at the end of her chaise.
“Frankie is, and your father is thinking of cutting back. He said he’s taking your mother to Tahiti to work on her tan.” Kai wiggled her eyebrows and laughed.
“Did he have a fever?” she asked, reaching for Kai’s hand.
“No, and it shocked the hell out of me,” Frankie said, kissing Marsha when she stood up. He sat and Marsha sat on his lap.
“Tell him if he thinks you’re going to spend as much time at the office as he does, to think again. Your job is to keep me satisfied, and I’d hate to drop by the office just so I can strip you naked. The secretaries will never get over it,” Marsha said, getting Frankie to blush. “See, I told you he was kind of shy.”
“Please tell me you’re not telling my sister about our sex lives.” Frankie sounded mortified.
“More like I was bragging about our sex lives, baby, so relax. And I wasn’t kidding about what I said. Think about what your secretary would think when I’m screaming your name while riding you like a bronco.”
“She’s, like, eighty, so I’m sure it’d give her something to think about,” Kai said.
“Do you two have to go back?” she asked, pulling Kai toward her.
“Nope, so we’re taking you two to lunch and then I have to come back and go through some stuff with the guards. I was reminded that I haven’t worked out in days.”
“I wouldn’t say that,” she whispered into Kai’s ear.
They ate close by and came home to find Edil and Isla waiting in the backyard to train with Kai. The way they went after each other with the tridents made her think they’d have to run to the emergency room after they were done, but she enjoyed the way Kai moved. Kai was strong, but when she worked out like this, her muscles were really visible. She laughed when she saw Marsha’s expression as one of the other guards taught Frankie the beginning steps of using the traditional weapon.
“Gives you a whole new meaning of hot, doesn’t it?” she asked, and Marsha nodded.
“Excuse me, Highness,” one of the women in the team said with a slight bow. “There’s a message for you.”
“Thanks, Cori.” She took the folded note and read the message from Etta Sinclair.
The Tulane professor had been a good friend for years and had never given a clue that she was actually from Atlantis. Etta had helped her with the maps she’d found that had led to some of her finds. Etta was the realm’s gatekeeper when it came to piecemealing information to humans, in order to keep Atlantis secret. Vivien could’ve dived for years and would’ve found only what Etta wanted her to find. It was easy to understand why Etta did as she did, but it tweaked her just a little.
“Anything important?” Marsha asked.
She read the short note and smiled. Etta had found another clue in Kai’s search for the shipwreck she’d been after for years. Kai had actually brought her along on one of her dives when they’d first met, and while they didn’t find anything that would’ve helped her with the find, she did experience the joys of skinny-dipping.
“Etta found something Kai’s been looking for. Want to come with me to pick it up while our warriors finish playing?” She stood and stretched, feeling lethargic. The morning sickness had eased, but the need for a nap a zillion times a day was taking its place.
“Sure, I’ve heard you talk about this professor, so I’d like to meet her. Do you think there are any other of Kai’s people in town we had no idea about?” Marsha waved to Frankie and followed her inside. Viv had told Cori to let Kai know where they’d gone if they finished ahead of schedule. “Given how you’ve described the capital, why would any of them want to live in this mess and have regular jobs?”
“I guess I’ll eventually figure out all their secrets, but I’m glad to find Etta is part of the realm.” She grabbed her keys. “We’ve been focused on other things.”
“Is it weird to have people call you Highness?”
“It’s totally surreal, but Kai assures me I’ll get used to it.” They went out, and she got in the truck Kai had gotten her as an apology for the last one she’d owned, which had been blown up. “When I’m with Kai, we’re like any other couple, but in the back of my mind I’m aware of what and who Kai is, and that there are conflicts we may have to face. I’m glad she’s going to be the next queen, and I’m glad she’s introduced me to people like Etta.”
“You’ve known Etta for years.” Marsha threw her purse in the back seat. “We’ve got a crowd behind us.”
“I’ve never been a royal family watcher, but I have sympathy for them now that we’ve always got guards with us. And I have known Etta for years, but it turns out I didn’t really know Etta.” It didn’t take long to reach the campus since her house was so close. Etta’s office was toward the back, and she walked with her arm threaded through Marsha’s, trying to ignore the plainclothes guards forming a perimeter around them. This had been their experience during every outing, and she doubted she’d ever be able to sneak out again.
They entered the building and walked past a few students as they took the steps to the second floor. Etta was a popular professor and usually had a line of them coming and going from her office like a paper tornado. When she knocked and entered, Etta stood and bowed, smiling as if glad to see her.
“Highness, to what do I owe this special visit?” Etta came closer and hugged her before she had a chance to introduce Marsha.
“Please, Etta, we’ve known each other too long. It’s still Vivien to you.” She pointed to the one chair in the place, and Marsha sat to one side of it so they could share. “And I’m here to pick up the information you have for Kai.”
Etta’s eyebrows came together in a perfect expression of confusion. “I’m sorry. What information?” The protocol was for Etta to stay on her feet until Vivien sat down, so she joined Marsha in the wingback chair. “I just recently returned from attending your joining and visiting my parents in Atlantis, so I haven’t put anything together for the princess.”
“I received a message less than an hour ago from you about the Valhalla Sun. We haven’t done any more investigation of the last spot you sent Kai, but I’m hoping once we have a little time we could do that as part of our honeymoon.” A sense of foreboding caused a shiver of worry to flutter through her.
“Please believe me, I wish I did have something else, but I think there’s been some kind of mistake. I’d say it’s someone’s idea of a joke, but it’s not funny.” Etta lost her smile and tapped nervously on the desk. “It was signed by me?”
“I’m not sure—” The words died in her throat when she heard the noise from outside. It sounded like a riot, and one look out the window confirmed there was trouble—a crowd of students ran toward the courtyard outside Etta’s office.
Her fear rose when the lights went out, and Etta put out a call for help on the phone that connected her to Edil and her forces. Hopefully the call was to Kai or someone else who’d be able to handle this better than campus police. The vision she’d had on her wedding night came back in nauseating clarity, and she gripped Marsha’s hand as they stood in the dark. If this was it, Kai was nowhere close enough for her to be able to grab her hand. She could taste the bile at the back of her throat at the truth of never seeing Kai again. Never being able to say good-bye would be cruel to both of them, but especially to Kai.
“What’s going on?” Marsha asked, standing next to her at the window.
Vivien watched as a woman leading a group—their distinctive dress made it clear they were together—made her way inside the building, and Vivien was desperate to come up with a place to hide. “Honey,” she said loudly into the phone, not yet trusting her shell to communicate from this distance. She had a few minutes, tops. “Someone overpowered our guard and is coming up to Etta’s office now.” The shell was almost uncomfortably hot against her skin, and her vision dimmed.
“Viv, do you have time to head away from Etta?” Kai was panting and sounded cornered.
“I don’t think—” She stopped when the door splintered inward. A tall blonde with dark eyes stared at her with a feral grin. “Kai, find me.”
It was the last thing she said before the phone was wrenched from her hand and thrown against the wall. Whoever this was held a trident, but unlike Kai’s, this one was golden and had a visible current running across the tines. It was like the one Pontos had, and that current had shot the kind of pulse that had almost killed Kai.
“Princess Vivien Palmer,” the woman said. It wasn’t a question, and she spoke with the authority of being right. “Take her. Take all of them.”
She was in the iron grip of two men as soon as the order was given, and they dragged her away from Marsha. A small woman, her face a roadmap of bruises and small cuts, stood outside the door, and Vivien wondered if that was going to be her fate. The woman stared at her with an almost sympathetic apologetic expression, and Vivien wanted to know who she was. Had the bruising come from someone trying to extract the information that led them here?
“What do you want?” They were outside, and she could see the campus police running toward them. She tried to call out to them to stop, but a pulse from the trident cut a beach ball–sized hole right through the center of the two lead cops’ chests. The gruesome sight made the others pull up and take cover.
“Stop it,” she yelled. “They can’t hurt you.”
“Your days of giving commands are over, Princess.” She, Marsha, and Etta were shoved into the back of a van, and it started moving almost immediately. From what she could see, the battered woman was in the driver’s seat, and the one in charge was in the middle seat looking back at them.
“Who are you?” She studied the woman’s face, amazed how much she resembled Pontos. If she was related, the implications weren’t good.
“Queen Daria Oberon. You’re the woman my idiot brother chased for so long. I thought he was pathetic until now. You look like someone he’d lose his head over.”
