Chapter 32 - Dove
thirty-two
Dove
Ken is unsure of Gideon and Rivern’s sudden appearance, so he slinks off into the water, watching us from the sidelines while I explain who he is to my protectors.
Rivern isn’t ready to share what happened to them with the mers. Since we are on a time crunch, I leave it. For whatever reason, Gideon is unwilling to turn back into his human form, and Rivern has his eyes all over me, unwilling to let me out of his sight.
I can’t let either of them out of my sight, either, so when Moyrie comes bounding up to us, desperate for me to turn around and see where Ken has brought us, I am in shock.
It is almost a replica of the pearl shells back in the Silver Sands next to the green snake pit. This large cave is ten times the size, though, with most of the shells closed, like we have caught them in slumber.
However, knowing the mers have similar-looking pearls and shells in their lair doesn’t mean they stole them from above. That is still hearsay.
“Why haven’t the mers come for you?” I question Rivern, who’s standing next to me by the sandy shoreline. Light-filled beams travel from pockets of floating pools above us in this underground mer maze.
“The beast man here was a pretty big deterrent in keeping their distance. They weren’t impressed.
They said they would be waiting for us in the throne room once we cooled down.
There’s no way out of this place unless you can swim.
We had to find you, so they probably knew we weren’t going anywhere. ”
“Right.” I gaze up at golden skin, remembering how good it feels to have it brush up against me. Reaching out a hand, I feel a rumble from the beast holding me in his arms, but I have to touch my fae.
I can’t not. He’s my lifeline in so many ways.
Paws lock around my waist harder, pulling me into Gideon’s deep warmth, never enough to cause pain. Reaching up on my tip toes, I make contact with Rivern’s smooth cheek.
Air escapes both of our lungs, his woodsy, sunshine smell barrelling through the undercurrent of wolfy sandalwood at my back. Together, they make the perfect concoction. I feel both safe and held simultaneously, both physically and metaphorically.
Rivern holds my hand, an electric sizzle passing through us.
His lips meet the soft skin at my wrist, my once broken bones now healed.
I feel the anguish flow through the bond, knowing he caused me harm.
I want Rivern to know he wasn’t to blame, so I send him my need back, unparalleled and desperate.
His eyes lock onto mine, pushing past the invisible wolf barrier, sliding his fingers along my cheeks. “Don’t do that, love, or the mers will be getting a whole different type of meeting.”
I blush, his front pushing into mine, forcing me further back into Gideon, who is set on growling softly down at the fae in front of us.
“Mate?” he questions.
“I’m okay, Gideon. He’s mine, too,” I say aloud, patting his strong thigh.
“Mine, too?” I almost want to laugh at the insinuation. From a pack perspective, what is mine is also Gideon’s.
“What’s so funny, love?” Rivern nibbles at my earlobe, teasing me, his smooth, lined hands cupping my face in reverence.
“Gideon keeps calling me mate. Do you know why?”
“Mmmm, might have something to do with me punching him or the mers bewitching him. He seems to have lost his mind.” Rivern shrugs his shoulders like it’s no big deal.
“You punched him? Bewitched?” A perfectly straight nose runs across my smaller one. “Stop distracting me, Rivern.”
He chuckles. “Now that I have you back, I want to hide you in these caves and never let harm come to you again. The only sounds I want to hear are your twinkling laughter or your moans of ecstasy.”
“And what about Fury, Haven, Terra and Saff? Plus, Moyrie is here.”
At the mention of Moyrie, both our gazes shift to the side.
We find her trying to swim for the shells.
She keeps stopping herself when it gets too deep, trying to encourage Ken to help her.
It would be pretty funny if I weren’t in a wolf and fae prince sandwich, both pieces of my bread determined to keep me weak at the knees at every turn.
“Fury is none of my concern. He put us in this mess. We can leave him on the island. I’ll help you save Haven. We can enlist the Silver Sands and Terra. We can bring the people together without him.”
I feel it, written between the words. Fury cannot be trusted. Gideon has proven himself. All Fury has done is put me in harm’s way. There’s a pit yawning up slowly with Fury’s name on it in Rivern’s soul. He doesn’t want him off that island because he thinks he will hurt me.
Goddess, he could be right. He most likely is.
What Rivern hasn’t seen is all the times Fury has protected me. As more and more memories make themselves known to me, I see that now. Fury helped me when I was just a child, when I had no one else to turn to. He gave me comfort and strength. He saved me from being bur—
I can’t think about that.
Shaking my head, I grip his face in my hands.
“I know you know this already, but I’m still going to tell you anyway.
No one is getting left behind. I understand it’s hurting you, not knowing what our future looks like with him in it, but we will always be together.
That’s one thing I can promise you. I can’t promise anything else.
He’s a bastard most of the time.” I huff out a large sigh.
“Without him, I would’ve died long before we met. ”
Rivern grunts. I pull his head down towards mine, placing a soft kiss on his pouting lips. The bond is thrumming like crazy, making me want to crawl into his lap and ride his naked, hard body. I can’t yet. We have bigger fish to fry—in the form of tall, blue mers.
With my body heat now at a normal temperature, yet still starving and thirsty, we have no choice—we need to greet the mers in the throne room. Our goal was always to talk to them. Better late than never.
We leave Ken in the pearl room. I hope we’ll see each other again. He is free of his chains, so maybe he’ll leave this place for good.
Rivern drags me down winding tunnels and stairs to get to a large, ostentatious room.
Gideon diligently follows behind us, Moyrie behind the wolf, dwarfed by his size.
The room we enter looks like it is encased in a giant bubble.
Eight tall columns stretch up to the top of the bubble.
Before us lies a throne carved out of rock in the shape of tentacles reaching up from the ground. The grandeur of the room is impressive.
What’s not impressive is the group of mers that flanks the throne, all tall and blue with large, wide-set eyes and multihued hair, just waiting to lock us back up.
The pink-haired queen sits on her throne, waiting for us.
Before we can step further into the bubble throne room, a mer approaches us, the fins on her ankles fluttering erratically.
“Queen Calypso will see you now.” Her delicate, airy voice directs a hand towards the dais.
The mer attendant leads the way, her naked hips sashaying, her arse wiggling like she’s trying to put on a show. The movements make me want to growl or cover Gideon and Rivern’s eyes.
A smooth hand finds mine. All my fears float away. “The only creature I’m ever looking at is you, my love.”
My smile finds his. It probably doesn’t help that I’m the only person not naked in this place with my meagre scraps for clothing.
The mer escorting us stops, bowing before her queen. Reluctantly, I follow along. Even though she fully intended for us to be fed to the kraken, I play the part of subservient—an act I perfected when I lived in the temple.
I notice my protectors and Moyrie don’t try to bow, all standing tall and stoic, surrounding me.
After bowing, our attendant glides out of the way, flanking the throne. For a third time, I’m faced with my captor.
Her lips tip up on either side of her face, showcasing glistening, pointy teeth. There’s something utterly alluring but frightening about this female. She knows it, too.
“Queen Calypso, I know we disturbed your peace. However, I am hoping you’ll be able to hear us out. I want to come to an amicable arrangement that will benefit both parties.”
At my words, she sits a little straighter. “Go on.” She moves her blue hand in a sweeping motion.
“We have come to ask for your assistance in helping the God, Orion. He is trapped, and requires bloodlines from each God-created creature to set him free. I’m not sure if you are aware of the bordering kingdoms. With me, I have the prince of Terra, Oona’s created, the princess of the Silver Sands, Osear’s created, and we are just missing one of Oriel’s created—you.
” Her head cocks to the side, taking my information in, eyes lingering on Rivern. My hackles rise.
“All we require is for you to join us on our journey back to Orion’s prison, which borders the Kingdom of Haven.
You can even swim there. Once we have everyone there, we need you to help us sing a song that unlocks the magic keeping Fu—Orion imprisoned.
After he is free, he is willing to grant you any wish you desire. ”
Hearing it fully, she seems more interested in our plan, her hand resting on her chin, contemplating. I don’t hold my breath. I can see her cunningness coming.
Standing, she moves down intricately carved tentacle steps.
“As I said before, there’s nothing we desire.
We have everything we need within our grotto.
So it seems, tiny, beige creature, that you want something from us.
” With her hands on her hips, her eyes roaming over my party, she adds, “I’m in the mood to bargain because you have exactly what I want right here. ”
I’m confused. She waves her sapphire-blue-tipped claws over my head, pointing at Rivern and Gideon. A monster perks its head up inside me—one made of ash and coals, lighting to form a tiny flicker of flame.
They are MINE.
Stepping away from my beast, I grow closer to Calypso. “I need you to explain.”
She chuckles. “Look around you. Do you see any males among our kind?” I do as she says.
My heart drops well below sea level. “Argh, you see, we do not produce males. We only produce females. For a long time, we relied on bewitching the minds of males from the glittering people above until they captured that dragon.” The mers screech.
“The glittering people stopped going on scouting missions towards our lands, and we’ve had no one to breed with for centuries. ”
Stretching out her hands, she looks at the twenty or so other mers around her.
“We are dwindling in numbers. The pearls are only supposed to be used once or twice in a mer’s life to prolong our existence, yet we are using them several times a lifetime.
” I look down to see her fins flutter erratically by her ankles.
“We are at an impasse, little creature. We have the opportunity to breed your males tomorrow. If you agree, I will go with you to save your God.”
My body is shaking.
There’s no way. She wants to breed with them. That’s off the table.
My mind is spinning.
Rivern comes to grip my shoulder, whispering in my ear. I cannot think. None of them know what she’s saying, only me.
I need to be strong.
You can’t break yet, Dove.
“I need to talk with my champions. They cannot understand what we are saying.” She waves her hand, dismissing me and heading back to sit on her throne, a crown of multihued shells on her head, showcasing her station above everyone else.
“You have until daybreak. Then we will start going into heat. Decide quickly.”