Chapter 2 – Keto
KETO
My brother wasn’t in his palace beneath the sea, but I can sense that he’s near. And unfortunately for me, I know exactly where. I rise above the waves to his island, a place covered with the treasures of hundreds of wrecked ships. His pathetic obsessions.
As I reach the edge of the water, I close my eyes and let my magic shimmer over me. A second later, my tail’s replaced by legs.
I walk awkwardly on my long legs and climb the mountains of gems and gold, all of which he forced me to acquire for him.
I’ve destroyed countless ships over thousands of years.
I hear the sailors' screams, sometimes during the day, like a sound carried by the wind or the waves, but mostly I hear their screams in my dreams at night.
All of them were innocent humans who did nothing to deserve my wrath. They probably had wives and children waiting for them at home, loved ones who will never get closure, never even see their bodies.
The humans will tell themselves that the ocean is a cruel and unpredictable mistress. If only they knew it was me controlling the waves and storms. I send my creatures to the ships to tear them to pieces, while my brother’s minions collect the sparkly stolen items like greedy children.
I kick at the mountain of wealth, sending coins scattering. What a useless mountain of nothing.
“Angry, sweet Keto?”
I stiffen. Aphros comes from behind me, and I stiffen, waiting for his touch.
It comes lightly upon my back, and then he’s in front of me. A big man with long blond hair, green eyes, and a soul filled with darkness and poison, he's also my brother’s second in command. I hate him down to my very core.
“My brother called for me.”
He frowns. “He didn’t mention it to me.”
That’s interesting… he tells the asshole everything.
“I should go.” I want to tear away from his touch, to punch him so hard his teeth fall out.
He laughs and pulls me against him. “Don’t hurry away, my sweet Keto, stay and lay in the coins with me. Let me help you see the gods.”
I grit my teeth. I despise his touch. We’ve had sex before, but it was unpleasant and not something I want to repeat. I can't directly tell this man no, but I can avoid him.
“Do you really want to be responsible for making my brother wait?”
His smile fades away, and anger fills his eyes. “Sometimes I think you don’t like our time together.”
I want to slit your throat and watch the blood pour free. “You know the King of the Sea’s needs come first.”
I hope I don’t sound sarcastic as I say my brother’s self-proclaimed title.
Because we all know the truth: I’m far more powerful than either of these pathetic gods.
Amphitrite may be the Queen of the Ocean, but I’m the Mother of All Sea Monsters.
If she didn’t avoid me so carefully, she and I alone would rule these seas.
And, of course, the whole me being a slave thing keeps me from ruling anything.
Aphros leans down and inhales near my throat. “Alright, but be quick with your brother. My cock hardens for you.”
Ugh. I pull away from him and continue my path to my brother, not looking back. Every moment with Aphros is awful. I only hope I can escape quickly enough to avoid him later.
When I reach the top of the pile, I continue walking, even as the coins shift and slide beneath my feet. The afternoon sun beats down on me, but I can’t enjoy the sensation of warmth on my skin. I’m about to see my brother and learn what new, awful task he has in store for me.
A short time later, I hear the giggle of nymphs.
Sex and gold, that’s all he cares about. I’ve never understood the addiction to either. Gold means nothing. And sex? That had been little more than a painful, uncomfortable experience. I could go the rest of my life without gold or sex.
If only that was an option…
Gold, lacy material has been strung over and around a circle of trees. In the center of them, my brother lies tangled in more of the silky material, with a dozen naked, giggling nymphs.
“Phorcys!” I call, trying to keep the hatred from my voice.
He glances up. I can see that women are moving beneath the material, so I jerk my gaze up to his face.
My gut tightens. I hate how similar we look. He has the same high cheekbones, arched brows, the same dark eyes, full lips, and bright auburn hair as I do. I hate that we have anything at all in common, but especially our looks.
“Sister.” His greeting is arrogant. “You look well.”
I’m naked. As a mermaid, the fact that I don’t wear clothes makes sense, but when I stand before my brother as a human, I feel exposed and vulnerable.
“Why did you call for me?”
He pushes his lips out in a pout. “Why is it that you never seem happy to see me?”
“What’s with the crap?” I snap, in no mood to play this game after the day I've had. His eyes narrow, and he shoves the nymphs beneath the covers and stands up. “I wanted to make today civil, but I guess my angry sister could never allow that, could she? Come with me.”
I follow slowly behind him as he takes us across more gold and then to the far end of the island to a small beach covered in golden sand. With each step we take, I grow more uneasy.
My brother is a simple man, and usually his commands reflect that.
Create a storm. Destroy a boat. Bring waves of impossible heights to destroy human beaches.
The fact that he says nothing makes me worry even more.
“Have you ever journeyed into the Atlantic Ocean?” he asks, crossing his arms behind his back.
“You know I haven’t. No mermaid would dare enter the Sea Dragons’ territory.” Why is he asking me this?
“And what do you know of the Sea Dragons?”
My pulse races. “They are Shifters, beings as old as the mermaids. They have vowed to rip apart any mermaid who sets tail in their waters.”
He turns to me, his lips curled in amusement. “You’re right, my sister.”
“Why are you asking me about them?”
“Come with me.” His legs shimmer as he enters the water, and within seconds, his tail appears.
I follow after him, my own tail forming as I dive into the water.
He leads me down, around a coral reef brimming with life and a stunning array of plants covered in more gold. When we reach a place where light barely penetrates the darkness, he stops before a wall of waving green seaweed. I sense a cave just beyond the plants.
He pushes through the plants and I follow behind him, squinting and trying to make out anything ahead of me. I’m shocked when he grabs my forearm and yanks me into the cave. My back hits the bars of a cage, forcing the air from my lungs.
It takes me a second to react, which means I’m too slow to keep the door on the cage from slamming closed. Leaping forward, I slam against the cage door, but it doesn’t move. Panic rushes at me in waves. I don’t do well in cages. The humans kept me in cages when they ran all their tests.
“What—let me out!” I shout into the water, my words as clear as if I we’re standing on land.
He smiles, an awful smile. “I’m afraid not, because then my little plan won’t work.”
“Plan?” I ask, swimming around the small space, slamming myself against the bars, pulling at them as my panic grows.
“Yes, see, there is a prophecy that only a mermaid princess can sate the lusts of the Sea Dragons and return the oceans to the merpeople. So, I intend to test that prophecy with my very own princess sister.”
I look back at him. “No, please. Please. Don’t do this.”
He cocks his head. “You’re begging me? Really?
” Slowly, he swims around my cage. “In all the years since I placed that collar around your neck, you never once asked me to remove it. Not once. No matter what I did to you. Could it be these Sea Dragons have frightened you enough to finally ask me for a favor?”
I don’t care that he thinks my panic is because of the Sea Dragons. I have to get out of the cage. Now! “Yes, a favor. Please!”
He leans in close to me. “The thing is… I just don’t care enough to help you.”
Turning, he starts back out of the cave.
“Phorcys! I’ll kill you for this!”
Without looking back at me, he laughs. “We’ll see who ends up dead.”
His favorite sea beast, a blood-thirsty creature with the body of a mermaid and the face of sharp-toothed lion, grabs one of the bars of my cage.
Three more of the creatures enter the cave and grab the other ends.
Picking my cage up, they ignore my screams and curses, dragging my cage through the currents and toward the open ocean.
Fear seizes my heart. I throw myself against the bars of my cage once more. All logic disappears, and I become nothing more than an animal, doing anything and everything I can to escape.
I can’t think of the sea dragons. I can’t think of anything except the need to escape this prison. As the bars close in around me, I start to scream.
And I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to stop.