CHAPTER SEVEN
NEREIDS ARE OCEAN-DWELLING elementals. Their numin is drawn from their Mother Ocean, and their very lives depend on her waters. Some live on land, it’s true, but none live far from the sea.
From Ozora’s personal journal.
FIVE YEARS AGO...
“Kiry was right,” I said to no one. I’d been awake for a few minutes but stayed curled up under the soft cotton sheets, eyes closed, taking in the sounds of the morning. It was my first time back in Hastrior for over a year, and the previous night had been fantastic.
I opened my eyes to bright sunlight and blue sky beyond the light cotton curtains, a promising start. “I’m going to make a lot of money.”
I’d traveled with the caravan leader before and trusted him, Kiry was an old friend.
He’d recommended Hastrior, even gave me names of people who would help me get favorable spots in the bazaar.
“Prince Bart is un-mourned, and they’re calling Fraser Connell the Privateer Prince now,” he’d said as we rolled through the Solar Gate, Hastrior’s eastern access to the rest of the world.
Although the border of Hastrior’s principality lay where the peninsula joined the rest of the continent, a tall fortress-like wall enclosed the city proper.
From the streets below came the sounds of the city waking up. Vendors were just opening their businesses, and birds called from the tall palm trees that lined the boulevard. The hotel was older, ‘vintage’ their signage said, but clean and comfortable. Kiry dropped me off there the previous day.
“I’ll pick you up when I’m back through, beginning of fall likely.” His smile was warmer than the late afternoon sun, and just as lazy and satisfied.
We found each other’s company enjoyable, in more ways than just the obvious. The life of a Journey mage was travel, and most wandered far to make their livelihood. In training, mages were encouraged to make friends with the caravan folk, who generally welcomed them warmly.
Kiry’s rugged, bearded face rose in my thoughts and warmed my heart. I figured I’d be ready to move on by then. Hastrior was profitable the last time I’d been there, and I expected the same again.
I took a few moments before getting up and inhaled. Deep, slow breaths, to ground and center myself, and ensure that my heart and mind were calm.
Today’s gonna be a great day. Most of the time, my inner pep talks worked, and that day was no different.
Warm, bright sunlight filled the little room, adding sparkle to a fresh new day.
I sat up in bed and leaned out the open window to gaze over Hastrior.
There was a café across the street that served the best breakfasts.
My stomach rumbled, motivating me to rise and prepare for the day.
Soon enough I was out the hotel doors and heading down the steps to eat and start my day.
Shoppers spilled from the walkways into the streets of the packed bazaar. I grinned at the sheer volume of customers that streamed through the aisles and knew this would be a profitable trip.
In the dayseller’s section, where non-residents like me rented spaces, I secured a sweet spot under a lovely shady tree, thanks to Kiry’s friend.
My stock of pre-loaded spells, talismans, amulets, potions, and powders that I’d made while traveling was full.
I’d sell out in no time with that many customers.
Now, I had the rest of the afternoon to wander around and take in the city.
This is going to be a great day. The scent of roasted meats led me deeper into the market when, without warning, a man staggered into me, thrusting me off balance. I lost my footing, sure I was going to fall.
A pair of powerful hands scooped me up before I hit the flagstones, and pressed me against a broad chest. I’d instinctively brought my hands up to break my fall, and they splayed across pecs harder than stone. Through his thin cotton shirt, they felt like warm granite.
“Lovely to meet you, too.” His deep baritone rumbled under my fingertips, and my hands flattened like they’d melted into him.
I looked up and met a pair of pale blue eyes, the sort of vivid color only seen in tropical waters.
Lips tanned by wind and sea tilted into a sly smirk that went straight through me, making my heart skip and flutter.
‘Oh my’ turned to ‘what the fuck’ when his hands slid down to cup my ass and hitch me closer, fingers digging in as his thickly muscled arms flexed and pressed me deeper.
“Get your hands off me, you ass!” I barked. My numin swiftly answered my summons, and I shifted my hands from his chest to his wrists to release a pair of lightning bolts into his arms, which had the desired effect.
The man released me and jumped back, shaking his arms to dispel the effects of the bolts. One of my magical skill sets is artificing, especially jewelry that serves a double purpose. The pair of rings on my fingers disintegrated, their use fulfilled.
“Great Gahan!” he cursed. “What did you do that for?”
My smirk when he stumbled and almost tripped over the stacked boxes of a nearby vendor was surely as satisfied as his had been.
“Decent people offer to help when someone falls, not take the opportunity for a free feel,” I said, weaving my numin into a teleportal spell with a few quick gestures and a brief incantation.
Seconds later, I stepped sideways through my magically crafted doorway to where I was already headed, the next street over in front of my hotel.
I flipped him a universal signal, telling him he was ‘number one’ seconds before I cut off my numin and slammed the portal closed in his shocked face.
So, imagine my surprise when I saw the same ass at my favorite table in my favorite breakfast café three days later.
His back was to me, but that long curly mop of teal, turquoise, and deep ocean blues had been the second-most noticeable thing about the man that groped me.
That he had elder blood was obvious. Only elder bloods had such vivid hair colors and that intense, gem-like quality to their eyes.
If I had to guess, he was some sort of water elemental.
The morning breeze off the bay tousled his loose, messy curls and made them dance. There weren’t many reasons for him to be there, and none of them interested me.
“You don’t have to apologize in person for groping me. Staying away would’ve been enough.” My approach was anything but subtle. The cart that held all my wares and supplies had squeaky wheels.
He stood and turned, giving me a wide, sure grin that I was quite certain had already melted many women before me.
I had to look up and up some more. I’m scarcely over five feet, and he towered more than a foot above me.
Normally, I found tall and handsome nigh irresistible, but in his case, it irritated me to tilt my head to meet his amused gaze.
We were off to a great start.
“How could I when you are so exactly what I need?” he asked. His deep voice throbbed right through me while his heated eyes trailed over the lacings on my tunic, and silky skirts clinging to my thighs.
His boldness was flattering but, should I encourage stalker tendencies?
I folded my arms and gave him my best direct stare.
The one that invited him to keep messing around and find out what else a pissed-off mage would do to dissuade him from following her.
I hid the flutter in my belly that responded to his hungry gaze, despite my every attempt to quash it behind chilly anger.
“Is that so?” I asked. “What sort of need do you think I can satisfy?”
Two could play at that game.
“A mage,” was his simple answer, as his innuendo melted away. “I need a mage, and for some reason, there seem to be none in Hastrior. Or at least, none of your obvious skill and talent.”
Flattery got a male almost anywhere, and well, who could blame me for falling for the swoon-worthy captain? If only I’d had some way of knowing what heartache he’d cause.