Tobias: Fated Mates of Thorne Bay, Book 6, page 1
Title: Tobias, Book Six, Fated Mates of Thorne Bay
Copyright @ 2023 by M.D. Stewart
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Cover design by: FuriousFotog
Edited by: Belle Ames Designs
Formatted by: Belle Ames Designs
Contents
Dedication
1. Chapter One
2. Chapter Two
3. Chapter Three
4. Chapter Four
5. Chapter Five
6. Chapter Six
7. Chapter Seven
8. Chapter Eight
9. Chapter Nine
10. Chapter Ten
11. Chapter Eleven
12. Chapter Twelve
13. Chapter Thirteen
14. Chapter Fourteen
15. Chapter Fifteen
16. Chapter Sixteen
17. Chapter Seventen
18. Chapter Eighteen
19. Chapter Nineteen
20. Chapter Twenty
My Legend of the Mermaid and Siren Explained
Acknowledgements
About the Author
More by M.D. Stewart
Fated Mates of Thorne Bay
Dedication
I'm no longer the middle child. I still can't get used to being the oldest. Fly high, Joey. I know you're fixing up old cars in Heaven.
Chapter One
Riley
Twenty-three years ago
“But Your Majesty, she’s surely safer with you here, at the palace. If I’m caught with the princess, I could be tracked and captured for absconding with your daughter.” The nanny wrung her hands, sure she had misunderstood her Queen’s mindspeak. “Please, ma’am, no one would dare attack—”
The Queen’s bright purple tail flicked in irritation. “They already dare, Bertha! My guards can hold off the Atlanteans for only so long.” Angry bubbles rose from her mouth as she turned quickly, then gently picked up her baby. She seemed to calm, snuggling her precious infant close.
Celeste stroked her daughter’s soft scales and traced the long lavender-colored fin along Anahita’s spine. “We have two tide rises, at most, before our defensive lines are destroyed and Akir’s forces overrun our beloved home. You must take the Princess and flee the Coral Palace. As long as she survives, the Ri-alee royal line shall live.”
“But, ma’am, where will I go? I’ve lived, I–I have always lived at the Coral Palace. I don’t know what’s beyond our reef.”
Queen Celeste swam toward the older mermaid and placed the infant in her arms. “I know it’s frightening, but you have cared for generations of Ri-alee daughters, including me. I take comfort in knowing that you will guard your Princess with your life. Just swim hard and fast, rest little, and get as far from here as you can. Do you understand me? Take Anahita and go.”
She hugged the child close. The feel of Anahita’s tiny hand grasping Bertha’s hair as she sucked her fist helped convince her. She loved the babe, and she would make sure this child survived. “I promise, my mate and I will protect her as if she were our own.”
“I know you will. You and Keel have been loyal to our family. Without your patience and guidance, Colossus would have struggled as my mate and new king of the Coralians. That is why I trust you, and no one else. You will need to live on the land to keep her from those marauding murderers. Since the turning of their queen, the Atlanteans have mindlessly sought revenge on the entire population of the undersea.
“Anahita must never know her true heritage until she can defend herself. I have done what I could.” Queen Celeste bit her bottom lip then crossed her arms over chest. “I took her to Eudora for a blood spell.”
Bertha stared at her Queen, icy fear surging through her veins. “Oh, ma’am! Nothing good can come from that. I’d trust the Atlanteans before I’d trust that seawitch.”
“Eudora serves this pod well and is the only spellcaster who could produce strong enough magic to protect Anahita.”
“Oh, Your Majesty, what have you done? What have you sacrificed to that cold-blooded female?” Bertha studied the babe in her arms. The princess appeared as she did yesterday, but a sinking feeling hit the pit of her stomach.
“I did what must be done to keep my daughter, and the future queen of our people, safe! I told you so you would understand how important it is to protect her. She must live to one day reclaim my throne.”
“The enchantment is a two-fold spell. First, the strongest ward will protect her from imminent, lethal danger. But the charm will only work, only save her, one time in her life. After that, she will be as vulnerable as she was before. That is why you must make sure when you flee with her, that you shield her completely so she feels safe, until she is old enough to defend herself.”
The Queen floated over and lightly touched Anahita’s head. “Secondly, once she leaves our cherished waters and takes a breath without her gills, she will not be able to shift into her mermaid form. Her body will appear totally human until she secures a true mate bond. That way, she will have a mate to defend her. That is why you and Keel must live on the land until she is called to come home to claim her rightful place as ruler.”
“But how will she find her fated one on land? It was an evil twist by that witch to keep the princess from returning to the undersea.” Bertha knew Eudora had an ulterior motive.
Before she could answer, the Queen opened her mouth, bubbles rising, and her face stricken in grief.
“Celeste! My love!” The king swam into the room, a thick trail of blood in his wake. “They are here! Those bastards have broken the lines. I fear we underestimated their brutality, determination, and the insanity of their troops.”
The Queen swam forward, holding the gash on her mate’s side. “Oh, my love. Your life force is weak. I feel you slipping from me. Our bond is dying!”
“My wound is deep, and I will not live much longer. I wanted to see your face one last time.” Blood pumped from his wound, filling the area, the red fog making it difficult to see.
“No, no, I cannot lose my child and you too.” Celeste stroked her mate’s face with her fingertips, her lips following in their wake. “You are my life, Colossus, my true one, bonded to my soul.”
“As you are mine, Celeste. After my death, avenge me and take as many Atlantean scum as you can.” The king’s voice was weak, the color fading from his tail, as it shifted into bits of sand falling grain by grain to float away in the salty water.
“I vow to you, my love, that I will feast on multitudes of Atlanteans,” Celeste sobbed. “I shall rip through their ranks and rid our home of their stench.”
Colossus smiled one last time at his love before his eyes clouded over and his body went lax. He quickly disappeared into a pile of sand that slid through Celeste’s fingers. The Queen closed her fists, holding on to the last remnants of her mate. Tipping back her head, the unholy scream of her Echo poured from her mouth, the soundwaves ripping through the coral. Cracks formed along the top of the room from the Queen’s cry.
Fear slammed into Bertha. “Gods of the Sea help us.” Swimming backward slowly, the nanny watched as her beautiful Queen began to transform.
“Quickly, Bertha! You must leave before I completely turn. I will be out of my mind in bitterness and grief, I fear I will not recognize you.” Her lilting mindspeak now deepened into a growl as her face and head stretched to accommodate rows of sharp teeth. Bumpy brow ridges grew, surrounding her once beautiful eyes, now turning red and black. “May Goddess Salacia guide you. Go!”
Bertha held the princess to her bosom, transfixed, unable to look away as Celeste’s beautiful translucent scales began to thicken to a dark green hide. Her long red hair twisted into multiple green spikes, the tips black with poison. Long, sharp claws formed, mutating her hands and graceful fingers. The loss of her mate morphed the once regal Undine Queen into the most feared creature above or below the sea. The Siren.
Bertha grabbed the infant sling and turned before the Queen’s transformation was complete. She swam as hard and fast as she could, praying to the sea goddess Salacia she hadn’t waited too long to escape. The sound of maniacal laughter echoed through her head.
Keel took the lead, keeping his spike at the ready. Bertha had kept up with her mate for what seemed like forever until her tail grew heavy with fatigue. She didn’t know how far they had come, but the water was colder here than home. “Mate, I am too tired to continue. We must rest and Anahita must eat soon.”
< br /> “We must all take on food. My strength is fading as well.” He looked around for a safe spot to hide his mate and the child. The floor was more craggy than the smooth floors of the Coral Palace. “I will leave you both behind his rock crop while I hunt. Burrow into the opening. Do not come out, I will bring fish to you both.” He kissed her forehead before turning to leave.
She reached out and grabbed Keel’s arm, pulling him close to nuzzle the gills on his neck. “Of course. I will stay hidden to protect Anahita while waiting for your return. Be safe, and in Goddess Salacia’s care.”
Keel smiled, a look of pure adoration on his face. “Be safe in Goddess Salacia’s care, my love.”
Bertha slid between a large crack in the rocks that jutted from the sea floor. Unlatching the sling that held the princess to her chest, she kissed the baby’s forehead. Her still-forming scales were as soft as velvet, her tail still growing but too small to carry her for long treks.
She let the little girl swim in circles so she could stretch her fluke. Anahita was such a good baby, never fighting Bertha’s hold trying to escape the sling. Even now, she would look to her nanny as she moved about the small space.
They’d come a long way, miles and miles from the Coral Palace, but Bertha still felt vulnerable. As she watched Anahita swim, grief for her queen filled her. Celeste wouldn’t be able to watch her daughter grow into the Undine she was meant to be, have offspring of her own, perhaps start a new pod with her future mate.
A chill moved down her spine, and it had nothing to do with the cooler water. She’d seen her queen devolve right before her eyes.
Anger soon followed. The king had been murdered by those cursed Atlanteans, forcing the beautiful queen to lose her soul and become a Siren. The feared creatures lived on the outskirts of polite Undine society, luring members of the opposite sex with their gorgeous singing.
The song’s magic created a glamor to hide their real features until they trapped their prey. Once a Siren made the song, it would call all Sirens in the area, and they would feast on the victim like a school of piranha. Even the bones would be consumed, leaving nothing behind.
Turning into a Siren was an Undine’s worst fear. Many chose to avoid a permanent mate bond to ensure they never morphed into the sea monster. As a result, the number of Undine elementals was dwindling, creating panic within some communities.
The Atlanteans took advantage of that crisis, using hysteria to cause a civil war. They wanted to force mate bonds to strengthen numbers. So far, they’d joined forces with other pods or killed the rulers of dissenting pods and forced their subjects into matings. It was barbaric.
Bertha had also heard those insane fools thought they could control any resulting Sirens they created because of their killing the mated males. For some foolish reason, they thought they could add Sirens to their arsenal of weapons. She knew that was impossible. The sea monsters had no loyalty, no sense of right or wrong. Only a strong need for revenge for losing their true mates.
A sound drew her attention. Reaching out, she pulled the squirming baby into her arms. The smell of blood filled her nose before the red tinted water floated into the grotto. “Bertha,” Keel swam slowly to the entrance. A large shaft protruded from his blue tail, near his hip. “I have been speared by a human fisherman. Go! Get Anahita to land before you turn.”
Fear, anger, and grief burst inside her soul. She had little time before the worst happened. She wanted to hold her mate, kiss him farewell, but didn’t have time. “Hurry, Bertha, I am fighting death to give you time to save the princess.”
Unable to spare time soothing her mate, Bertha rushed past Keel and raced upward. Having left the sling in the hiding place between the rocks, she was forced to use one arm to hold the irreplaceable child to her chest and use the other to swim. It slowed her ascent dramatically.
Kicking her tail with all her strength, she moved toward the light at the surface. She prayed to Salacia that land was close. She could feel the horrible anguish of her soul starting to shred. Her head broke through the water. Pain lanced through her sensitive eyes as the sun shone on her face. Opening her mouth, she took her first breath of air into her virgin lungs. The burn almost forced her to submerge.
Just ahead, Bertha spotted land. A male and female walked along the shore, a little boy running ahead of them. “Hector! Don’t go out so far. You’ll be pulled into the ocean.” The female jerked her hand from her mate and ran forward to grab the small human male.
She was admonishing him for being curious. Would these humans suppress Anahita’s inquisitive nature? Force her to bend to their will as they appeared to do with their son? Quickly looking around the shore, Bertha’s hopes were dashed that no other human was present that she could turn her Princess over to.
The human woman reached down and slapped the young male’s leg, leaving a small red mark. Would they strike her Princess as well? She had raised royal Undine for generations, and never once thought of striking the children.
Terrible pain speared through her body. Her mate was almost gone. Her transformation into a Siren would happen soon. There was no choice but to turn the babe over to the humans and hope Anahita lived a good life on the land.
Wasting no more time, she swam forward until she felt sand beneath her tail. Using one hand to pull herself forward while holding Princess Anahita to her chest, she could feel the loss of her mate and her soul. She had only one hope, that going on land and shifting to her human form would slow down her transformation into a Siren.
Tears fell from her eyes, rolling down her face. In the ocean, tears were washed away. It felt strange to notice their warm, wet trails along her cheeks. She’d never spoken aloud in the human language. Her throat ached as she tried to speak.
The human couple didn’t notice her since they had passed where she beached. All Undine used the same speech patterns in their mindspeak. She struggled to remember the terminology used by humans. Praying to Salacia for the correct language. “Please.” Using untried vocal cords, she managed to speak but Bertha’s voice was lost in the sound of the tide.
Anahita squirmed beneath her, trapped between Bertha and the land. Rolling to her side, she forced her tail and scales to recede, leaving her in her human form. The Siren was clawing inside her to come forward. Her time was coming to an end. The sea monster was going to win.
Standing on weak legs, Bertha took a step and fell to her knees in the sand. She could feel her skin beginning to stretch on her face. It took all her willpower to hold back the change. Standing again, she forced herself to take one step, then two.
The child was struggling against her hold as her tail began to shrink and split into land legs. Anahita’s velveteen scales were fading into smooth pale skin, her eyes getting smaller to mimic those of a normal human. She screwed up her beautiful, human-like face and let out a wail.
The couple turned at the sound, their eyes growing wide. Bertha could imagine the image she made of a naked human female struggling to walk, holding an infant. Her skin itched as the Siren tried to force the metamorphosis. She needed to get the humans to accept the child quickly.
“Please. Help me.” Bertha’s voice sounded strange to her own ears. Not knowing how she would sound in the human world, it was hard to tell if it was changing from her lilting Undine voice. “I have little time. I need you to take her. Please.”
The female human held her child behind her, protecting him from perceived danger. It gave Bertha hope the woman would treat Anahita with love.
Bertha rushed forward, her momentum had her nearly collapsing into the adult female. As she fell, she shoved Anahita toward the human, who was forced to take the child else the baby would fall to the ground. “Take her, she is Ri-alee. I am gone soon, and she will be alone. She is not like me and should be protected at all costs.”
The woman looked down at the princess. “Protected from who? Did you steal this baby? Why are you and this girl naked? Are you on drugs?” Fearful blue eyes met Bertha’s own, and apprehension that she had made a mistake in choosing this couple rode her hard.
The Siren who was coming forward with ferocity, limiting her time to explain the situation. Bertha had done all she could do and had to make peace with her choice.
