Turbulent Waves, page 3
“She’s waited a long time for you.” Cornelia covered her hand with hers. “You’re the first person who’s pulled Vivien out of her own head. If you’re asking what I think you are, promise me you’re serious. Vivien’s a special woman who doesn’t deserve to be taken for granted.”
“I’ve never been more serious about anything in my life. And yes, I’d like your blessing to ask Vivien to marry me.” Back home there would’ve been gifts and a court audience between her parents and the parents of the woman she’d marry. It didn’t matter that this wasn’t Atlantis—it was important to her that Vivien’s parents understood her commitment. “If there’s a perfect match for everyone, Vivien Palmer is mine, and I’ll spend the rest of my life loving her.”
“We say yes, and you’d better,” Winston said. “I lost my mind with Steve, and I’m not making that mistake again. You ask her, and you better come through. I have enough boats at my disposal to cut you up and drop you in the middle of the Gulf where you’ll end up as fish food.”
“You have my word, sir, and she has my heart.” Getting Vivien’s parents to understand how she felt about their daughter was important to her, and it was nice that it hadn’t taken much to convince them. Making Vivien a part of her world was going to take time, but having her sit on the throne with her was paramount to her happiness. There might be those who would object, but with their child on the way, they had to work together to pave the way for Vivien to take her place as her consort.
Above all else, she was going to keep her promise to ensure Vivien’s safety. The love they’d found would make whatever they faced bearable, and she couldn’t wait for the life they’d share. She’d never been giddy in her life, and the new sensation fueled her dreams for what was to come.
* * *
The warriors formed a circle and readied their weapons. Daria Oberon could sense their nervousness as well as their anticipation. She needed the distraction of the ring to take her mind off her father’s rantings about her brother, Pontos. The fool had insisted on doing things his way, and now he’d lost touch with the realm.
She opened her eyes and advanced on her guards one at a time. There was no doubt in her mind she was the best of her father’s forces, and she was tired of asking for permission to find Pontos and bring him back to embarrass him for his failures. She wanted to finish what Pontos started and also claim the woman who’d been promised to her. She cut and parried, kicked and blocked, and one by one, knocked each guard to the floor. Her breathing was heavy by the time they were done, and she was just as glad none of them got back up.
“Highness,” Javal Ladner, the head of her guards said. “His Majesty would like to see you.”
She wiped her face and put her sword away. Her father was getting on in age and now regretted he’d waited so long to have children. In his opinion they weren’t ready to take the throne and keep it. If anything had happened to Pontos, she was next in line for the throne, and she was ready to prove she was worthy.
Her plans for her people would make her father’s reign seem like paradise, but there was too much insurrection, and those who dared challenge the throne would be crushed. A tighter grip was required to bring the people in line. Her father’s weakness had blinded him to the stupidity of her brother, and like all Oberon kings he’d placed much more value on his son than on his daughter. In this generation she was the better choice for heir, but her sex had disqualified her. She would change that.
“Still nothing?” she asked when she joined her father in his private rooms. The smaller dining room was a glass dome that overlooked the dying kelp fields. Like everywhere on Atlantis, the gloom seemed overwhelming and was closing in on what was left of their people.
“The way you speak to me isn’t acceptable,” her father said. The spread of food before him was excessive, but he was never one to deny himself. It never occurred to him that everyone else had to ration to the point of starvation. Not that she cared much about the peons, but there was no reason to provoke an insurrection against the throne by being blatant about it.
“The truth isn’t disrespectful, Father—it’s simply the truth.” She waved at the server, and he prepared a plate. “The truth is that Pontos is either dead or captured. He would’ve reported in by now, but as it stands, the last transmission from him was when he was about to carry out some plan. Either scenario isn’t good for us, and those bitches will continue to taunt you, especially if they either killed him or have him locked up somewhere.”
“What’s your plan? To go and fail as well?” Her father spilled the grease from the fish on his chest, and it disgusted her. The weight of the crown was starting to make him sloppy in more ways than one.
“Why not? You sent Pontos with only Tanice to keep him in line, and now it’s laughable that you’re surprised he failed.” She pushed the plate aside, rising bile keeping her from eating, and stared at him. “I should say it would be laughable if it wasn’t so sad.”
“Get out of my sight.” Sol squeezed a piece of bread in his fist and snarled at her. “When you remember who you’re talking to, come back.”
“Gladly. But remember what I said.” She stood and leaned toward him, her fingertips white on the desk. “The more days that go by without word, the closer you come to mutiny. This planet is dying, and you put our future in Pontos’s hands. His failure will be your downfall. Remember good King Poseidon. Will your head look just as good hanging from the gate?”
* * *
“You’re what?” Winston asked, louder than Vivien expected. After lunch she’d shared their baby news, and her father appeared stricken.
“You two have been after both Frankie and me for grandchildren, so don’t be upset.” Vivien gripped Kai’s hand under the table. Her emotions were all over the place, and his outburst increased her breathing rate as her anxiety climbed. She was happy about their baby and expected everyone to share that joy, especially her family. The insecurity of being an inadequate partner for Kai was already on her mind, so adding objections from her family wasn’t helping.
Once she knew the truth of who Kai was, really was, she doubted falling in love with a human woman was what Kai’s parents, as well as their people, would find acceptable. The baby she was carrying was part of both of them, but as Kai’s heir, would the people Kai ruled reject someone considered a half-breed? She hadn’t voiced all those fears to Kai yet, but they were never far from her thoughts. What surprised her was that Kai hadn’t picked up on that.
“Please tell me it doesn’t belong to that bastard.” Her father couldn’t say Steve’s name anymore, but she knew that’s who he meant. “Did you know about this?” he asked Kai.
“Yes, sir, and this baby is as much mine as Viv’s.” Kai put an arm around her, and she rested her head on Kai’s shoulder.
“I can’t say I understand, but I trust you,” her father said, his voice softer but still upset. “Do you not realize the order of this, Merlin? You marry a girl first, then you get her pregnant.”
“I do, but I’m too excited about this news to care what order we go in.” Kai placed her other hand on Vivien’s middle and smiled. “And I’m planning on marrying her as soon as possible.”
“Congratulations, you two, and I’ll be happy to plan a wedding with you, sweetheart,” her mother said.
“We want something simple,” Vivien said. The chance of that was like getting bland boiled crawfish in a New Orleans restaurant, but she thought it was worth mentioning.
“Nonsense,” her father said. “I figured I’d be too old to remember who you were when I walked down the aisle. I’m doing that even if I have to handcuff us together.”
“We’d be honored,” Kai said.
They spent the rest of the afternoon in the shade of the porch, laughing at the embarrassing stories her parents told about her and her brother when they were kids. When her parents went in for a nap, she followed Kai down to the water. It was strange to hear her parents’ stories she’d heard all her life, but now the memories included Franklin walking. When Frankie had returned from wherever Kai’s people had taken him, Kai had made him a new shell to wear at the base of his throat, next to the original one. The marking would block the memory of his chair from anyone outside their established circle of knowledge.
“You okay?” Kai asked as they entered the water.
She held on to Kai, draping herself along her back. As far as looks, they were polar opposites—Kai was tall with dark hair and eyes as green as a tropical sea. “I’m happy, and I’m in love.” The ripple in the calm water made her stiffen, expecting Kai’s pets. When a woman popped up instead, she startled her.
“Your Highness.” The woman touched her fist to her chest, and she lowered her head. “Miss Palmer.”
“Isla, you’re being overly formal today.” Kai sounded like she was teasing, but all Vivien could do was watch the gills behind the woman’s ears close. It was both amazing and unbelievable. What would it be like to explore the depths with no impediments? “I don’t know if it’s allowed, but here we’re just Kai and Vivien.”
“Thank you, ma’am, but Edil’s still here”—Edil Oliver was assigned to Kai’s security team, along with Isla Sander and a few more—“and I’d rather not get toilet-scrubbing duty. Everyone’s still on high alert until all the traitors are found, and Edil has stressed following protocol until it’s deemed safe.” Isla smiled and bowed her head again. “I wanted to let you know the queen consort called and would like you to get back to her at your convenience.”
“Thank you, and if it’s not an emergency, I’ll use the comm unit tonight when everyone goes to bed.”
“Will do, Highness, and enjoy your swim.”
“Do you think I can get some of these?” Vivien asked, touching the spot on Kai’s neck where her gills were located.
“If you like.” Kai maneuvered her to the front and kissed her. “Hopefully our princess will be born with a pair, and the doctors can help you out. I don’t want you to be left behind when we go swimming.”
The kiss Kai started made her sex tingle, and she missed their afternoons alone. She murmured when Kai pushed her fingers inside her suit. There were plenty of royal guards around, but Kai assured her their privacy would be respected, so touching in the water was something she’d come to love.
“Let me see everyone’s hands.” The shout from the shore made them both laugh, and she expected nothing less from her best friend, Marsha Kessler.
“You think she could’ve waited another ten minutes.” She gave Kai a quick kiss and lowered her legs from around her waist.
“I should’ve waited, huh?” Marsha laughed when they reached shore. “You’ve had enough sex in the last month to hold out a little while, and besides I’ve missed you, so I’m not sorry.”
“It’s a good thing we love you,” she said, putting her arms around Marsha. “And is there such a thing as too much sex?”
“Listen to you.” Marsha hugged Kai next and kissed her cheek a bunch of times. “And you, I should’ve pounced on you the second I saw you.”
“I saw you try to trip Vivien once, but she’s a wily one.” Kai walked them up to the house where Frankie was preparing to grill steaks. “You two catch up, and I’ll help Franklin.”
Marsha gripped Vivien’s arm and stared at Frankie as if something wasn’t right. The new shell he wore would block Marsha’s thoughts, that Vivien was sure of, but the hesitation meant there was something off. Frankie stopped what he was doing and smiled at Marsha like a guy in need of a prom date.
“I’m sorry.” Marsha wiped her eyes and tried to laugh off her tears. “I’m not sure what’s wrong with me, but it’s good to see you, Frankie.” She let Kai go, put her arms around Frankie, and didn’t release him for a long moment. “Do you need any help?”
Vivien nodded in her brother’s direction in an effort to get him to return the affection. “We’ll be inside,” she said, dragging Kai with her.
“How about a sail later?” Kai offered as she was practically dragged from the room.
“Sounds good,” Marsha said, her attention fully on Frankie. From her expression it was like she’d never seen him before and found him fascinating.
“He knows how to talk to girls, right?” Kai whispered in her ear when they headed in.
“Not as smoothly as you, but he has his moments.” The kitchen was empty, so she stopped to kiss Kai as if they were alone in the house. “If he can get her naked as quickly as you did when it came to me, she should be pregnant by the end of the weekend.”
Chapter Three
Any news?” Hadley asked Laud. Laud was still at their northern facility, but Hadley was anxious for updates. This was one thing Galen didn’t mind humoring her about.
“Tanice is still not talking, at least about what I want to know, so it’s time to chum the water and threaten her with what she wants, but not how she wants it. Death is something none of us can avoid, and Tanice has said she’ll die rather than talk, but how death comes and how painful we can make it won’t be Tanice’s first choice. I know your thoughts about tough tactics when it comes to prisoners, but it might shake something loose.” Laud, as always, appeared confident. “She’ll definitely tell us everything to make it stop.”
“We need to know what else they have planned, and we need to find Bella Riverstone and her mother because of the position she had with Galen. Bella has way too much information on the inner workings of the Palace and my wife’s schedule to not be brought in and questioned.” Hadley had trained as a warrior all her life and had planned on a long career in their military, and then she’d married Galen. After they’d fallen in love there was no question she’d use all her skill not only to protect her, but to fight to the death to help Galen keep her throne.
Some people in the realm wanted someone outwardly stronger on the throne because Galen’s first instinct wasn’t war. Their queen believed everyone had a place, and the world thrived on peace. It wouldn’t take much of a fight to force everyone on the planet to accept her as their queen, of that she had no doubt. Her answer to those who craved that, though, was: To what end? Enslaving a planet simply because you could was no great accomplishment.
The counterargument from those who wanted change was that by being in charge they could heal the planet of what the humans had done to it. But in reality they felt superior to humans, and they wanted to heal the planet by subjugating humans under their heel. Disrespecting the environment wasn’t a sin the humans alone were guilty of. The planet Atlantis was in much worse shape than Earth was, and Galen had made reaching out to and educating human children a priority. It was starting to make a difference, but it’d never silence that fraction of their people who wanted total domination.
“There aren’t many places for them to hide. Bella and Wilma both have very little experience with the world outside our realm,” Laud said.
That was true, since Bella was the kind of person who’d be happy going from school to the job she’d be happy with forever. It was entirely possible she and her mother were still nearby. “If they’re still in the realm, someone is hiding them. You find that out, and there’ll be no forgiveness.” Galen was tired of having the same conversation repeatedly and was as ready as Hadley for concrete answers.
“Highness, those who oppose you are small in number, but they’re loud. That’s a good description of Francesca Yelter. She read about the great Poseidon and the Oberons who ruled after them and wanted that same iron fist ruling our people today. Why anyone would want that I can’t tell you.” Laud shook her head and sighed in what seemed to be disgust. “The only lesson Francesca’s people should heed is that she’s dead. Treasonous actions deserve no less.”
“Maybe it’s time to give Tanice what she desires most,” Galen said, making both Hadley’s and Laud’s eyes widen. “Like you said, Francesca is a dead subject.”
“I think what Tanice wants would be her freedom, love. Or perhaps our heads on a plate.” Hadley smiled and then laughed when Galen rolled her eyes at her.
“One of your team told me about Helena Greenwood’s work. If Tanice thinks she’s talking to someone she trusts, someone who isn’t you, she might talk.” Galen took Hadley’s hand and smiled. “It’s like gentle persuasion instead of beating her with a piece of coral or something. This situation needs a bit of finesse so we can get somewhere.”
“Coral?” Hadley said, laughing. “You do have a vivid imagination.”
They all knew of Greenwood’s work with a program that created a mental image so accurate it fooled a person into thinking it was their reality. Implemented properly, Tanice would think she was at home talking to whoever she cared about.
“Do you have anything on Pontos we can use?” Galen remembered Kai had mentioned Pontos and Tanice had been more than friends.
“Have Helena look on Palmer’s website. There should be something,” Hadley said.
“We’d better hurry before they purge him from their history,” Galen said. “If we can get his voice as well his mannerisms it’ll work that much better.”
“I’ll take care of it myself,” Laud said. “I’ll be in touch.”
The screen went black and Hadley nodded as she turned to Galen. “Are you done for the day?”
Galen smiled and tilted her head. “I have a few things left to do, but I thought I’d come and drag you out of your head.” She tapped Hadley’s temple and clucked her tongue. “I know when given time alone, your brain runs on a loop worrying about Kai and me.”
“It’s been a long month, and we haven’t talked to Kai much.” Hadley smiled as Galen tapped her nose next. “You miss her too, so don’t give me any lectures, and you worry just as much.”
