Bonus Scene #4
Not a lot. I thought it would be a while before either of us had to think about it.
From what I remember from school, you need plenty of sunlight.
Expecting mers swim to the surface to sunbathe.
It’s good for youngling development. You need a varied diet, seafood and seaweed, and some of the destira fruit from the Molastay Trench.
Hurricane is stationed there at the moment.
We can ask him to send some so we are not going through official channels.
That fruit is monitored because it’s rare and only available for breeding pods.
I grimace at the thought of my best friend finding out about my situation. He’s never going to let me hear the end of it. Fine, but let’s make sure first. Maybe it is just a parasite. I look woefully at my curved stomach and say a little prayer to the Aquilian god Tito that is not the case.
I’ll be right back, and maybe my friend can tell me what else we need to know, Nixie says with a nod and a flick of her tail, swimming through the privacy barrier of my room and disappearing.
I settle back and impatiently wait for my sister, rubbing an absent hand over my belly.
Normally, I wouldn’t sit around like a damsel in distress, but I have never felt so weak, so I’m happy to let my sister do all the work this time.
Hopefully she can find some information to help me.
I haven’t had a lot to do with any pregnant mer before.
Mother banned any of my father’s concubines from being around us when he started impregnating them and producing half-siblings for Nixie and me.
Although he allows them to be in the palace, my mother is not happy about it and likes to make their lives difficult.
Avoiding them is easier than trying to establish any kind of relationship between us and our siblings.
The only one I know well is my half-brother Raen, and he is a very unpleasant male.
He is jealous and bitter because I am heir as the first born male.
Whether I will retain that status or not is anyone’s guess, but if I had to bet on it, I’d say not.
I close my eyes while I wait for my sister, replaying my final moments with Lila over and over in my head, from how stunning she looked while our tails were locked to her utter horror when she realized how far we swam from her nest. Regret pulses in my mind as I wish and hope that things had gone differently.
You’re pregnant. You’re going to have a youngling.
My sister’s voice holds no small amount of awe as we look at the pink coolmy shell.
I’m speechless and blink my eyes a couple of times, trying to make sense of it all.
Nikos, are you okay? My sister’s hand touches my arm, finally gaining my attention.
Yes and no. I’m shocked and thrilled and scared, I tell her honestly.
Her eyes soften in understanding. Yes, I’m sure this is scary, but Sora promised she would help us. She said that a few drops of slime from a sea slug should ease your breeding blight, which is the sickness you’ve been feeling. She says it only lasts for the first couple weeks of pregnancy.
We have to keep this a secret from Father as long as possible, I tell her, cupping my small mound, thrilled to know that Lila and I made a youngling despite everything else that happened.
Before she can respond, there’s a scoffing sound, and we spin around to find my father floating in the doorway of my room. The barrier gives us privacy, and it should prevent anyone unauthorized from entering private rooms, but this is my father’s castle, so he is authorized everywhere.
So which one of you useless crustaceans is with youngling? He’s scowling, his arms crossed over his obese chest. His tail has to beat extra fast to keep him from sinking to the floor.
My father overindulges in everything, food included, and as such, he is a poor example of our race.
Swimming next to him is a young female, her breasts on display.
It is an unspoken rule in the palace that all females must keep their breast scales in place while in attendance because of my father’s wandering eye—my mother will not have it any other way.
Sora. Nixie sounds devastated. I guess her friend wasn’t as good as she thought she was.
Thankfully my people still have loyalty to their king. My father smiles indulgently at the female, cupping her breast and rolling her nipple with his thumb and forefinger in a vulgar display. She will be rewarded.
Thank you, my king. I live to serve you, Sora coos, brushing her tail against his and arching her back to give him full access to her breasts.
Oh, I bet you do, I mutter, angry at her betrayal.
Raen, you may use this one as a breeder, my father announces as my brother swims out from behind his large bulk. Raen, the slimy eel, has a wicked grin of delight, but Sora blanches.
But you promised me I would be your queen if I reported everything to you, she argues, shaking her head and trying to move away from him. Raen is quick to grab her arm and tug her against his body. His black and silver tail wraps around her to hold her in place when she struggles.
My father scoffs. I cannot make you my queen without killing the other one, and that is just not possible.
I hold this crown through her. It is her birth right.
He scowls at us. And theirs by blood. If she were to die, he would be king.
He waves a hand in my direction before his eyes drift back to the pink coolmy shell.
But this changes everything. Whichever one of you is pregnant will enable me to hold my rule.
I will take your child, the bloodline will continue, and then I can get rid of your mother.
Sora sobs her defiance, but Raen drags her out of the room, and it fills with my father’s guards.
You wouldn’t! Nixie protests, but I’m not sure why she is so shocked.
If you want your mother and whichever of you isn’t pregnant to live, then you will tell me who it is. I promise I will leave the other two alone. My father’s eyes glint with malice, and I know he isn’t bluffing.
With a flick of my tail, I swim forward. I am pregnant, I announce, and my father shakes his head with disappointment.
Of course you are. And who is the other parent? he asks, but I seal my lips tightly. I refuse to tell him what he wants to know. I will not put Lila or her family in danger.
Seize the prince and princess and take them to the cells. Use whatever means you need to on the princess to get him to talk, but do not harm my legacy in his belly, my father orders, and two guards swim forward, their tridents aimed threateningly at my sister.
Fine, fine! I shout, holding up my hands.
I will tell you if you let her go free. Let her swim out of this room now, and I will tell you, I bargain just like he knew I would.
It has always been Nixie and me, and despite how much I don’t want to put Lila in danger, I refuse to see my sister suffer at his hands either.
Go, my father commands her.
Nixie opens her mouth to argue, but I shake my head.
Go, Nixie. Please. I implore her with my eyes.
I will need someone outside the cells to look out for me, because I have no doubt that is where I am headed.
It will be okay, I try to assure her. She doesn’t believe me, but she does listen.
Nixie pushes her hands out, sending a water attack at the guards to move them out of her way.
They are no match for her royal power, and they tumble backwards against the walls of my room.
Two more go to take their place, but my father holds up his hand to stop them.
Go now, or I won’t be so benevolent. She swims away after I give her one last nod of reassurance. Hopefully she will go to Mother and plead my case. She is the only one who may have some chance at changing my father’s mind.
“Who is the youngling’s other parent?” he asks softly.
I sigh but hold my head high. Lila Adams, from the Galaxy Circus, I reply proudly, and my father’s eyebrows jump with interest.
The newly discovered mimic?
I nod, and his lips turn up in what can only be described as an evil grin.
Oh, son, maybe you aren’t such a disappointment after all.
Instead of the cells, you are confined to your room.
Send an Aquilian attack bird, and bring this Lila Adams to us.
She will pay for defiling the heir of the Aquilian throne.
My father turns his bulky body and swims slowly out of my room as I am surrounded by his guards.
I could put up a fight and probably win if I wasn’t so worried about my precious cargo.
For now, I will play nice, but if my father does anything to hurt my beloved, whether she feels that way about me or not, he will pay.
This will give Nixie time to come up with a plan to keep me and my youngling safe.