Authors: Shannan Albright
“Yes, this is a
new chapter for both
Atlanteans
and
Mers
. The princess, my sister, is the jewel of our culture.
As her family I tend toward protectiveness,” he explained tersely.
So, the high and
mighty
Ja’mel
didn’t like the situation any better
than he did.
Adreaus
nodded his head
in understanding. “Rest assured she will be treasured by us as well.”
Maneuvering people had been Zeke’s father’s strongest talent in his long
prosperous reign.
Ja’mel’s
gaze tried to
bore a hole through Zeke, hostility and distrust glittering in the dark depths.
“And
Ze’Kerhia
, do you share your father king’s
sentiments?”
Zeke gritted his teeth against an overpowering
urge to run, and his throat tightened, everything in him wanting to defy his
father, turn his back on his responsibilities. A sudden picture filled his mind
of Tegan and Kyra, so in love, so happy. The image soothed him, calming him
enough to go through with this farce of a marriage. He pulled in a ragged
breath, willing his pounding heart to slow, and stared back at
Ja’mel
. “I do. The princess will be treated with the
respect and consideration due to her station as my pledged wife.” Zeke nodded,
nearly grinning at the look of frustration that flashed across
Ja’mel’s
face.
Before another
word could be spoken, a murmur went through the room like an untamed wildfire
spreading from the outermost circles, rippling inward toward his position on
the dais. People parted as a woman in shimmering violet silk moved through the
crowd. Even with his limited view, he could see she held her head high, back
straight as she glided nearer. His breath caught as she stopped at her
brother’s side. An ornate mask of hammered gold and adorned with fire opals hid
her features. Zeke could only see a pair of large storm grey eyes gazing back
at him with …
interest
?
The material
clung to her lean curves like a second skin. Pearls glowed in the low lights,
dripping at her throat, wrists, and feet. He stared, captivated without even
seeing her face, and he thought he saw a small trembling in her fingers as she
reached out to touch her brother’s arm. For some reason the sight of her
seeking comfort from another man irritated the hell out of him, even if the
male in question was her brother.
“May I present
my beloved sister,
Laris
Raail
,
high princess of
Lamuria
. You may now reveal yourself
to your future husband.”
Ja’mel
words were stilted,
formal, as if reciting a ritual.
Their ways were
so odd, Zeke mused, knowing some of the fiercest warriors of the
Mers
were women, yet their traditions were a complete contrast
to their warring ways.
The woman’s long
slender fingers lifted the mask, and all thoughts fled Zeke’s brain. Smooth
skin the color of caramel stretched over a delicate boned face. Large almond
eyes tilted up at the corners, long thick lashes brushed her arched brows. Her
nose was small—pert came to his mind—and his eyes traveled hungrily over her,
noticing how her long curly hair, shimmering blue-black, was swept away from
her oval face, caught in a pearl clip on each side letting the mass fall down her
back to her waist. His gaze stopped on her pink lips, so soft and kissable that
he unconsciously leaned toward her. Orchids and sunlight with the heady scent
of woman surrounded him, making him wonder how she would taste, and suddenly he
wished they were alone right then so he could do as his body urged.
His father moved
in front of him, blocking his view, and he bit back a snarl.
Whoa
. What the hell was wrong with him?
“You are welcomed to Atlantis, daughter. With open hearts and arms we rejoice
in your joining with my only son. You will be cherished from this day forward.”
Adreaus
embraced his soon to be daughter to a roar of
applause from the crowd.
Somehow, Zeke
found himself hustled off the dais and swept through the cheering crowd by the
palace guard. He searched through the sea of faces, looking for the only one
that mattered.
Laris
.
He found her
name as exotic as her heady scent. A surge of desire rushed through his body,
making him hard and aching. He was glad for the ridiculous robe he wore since
it effectively hid his arousal. At least the damn thing was good for something.
Unable to find
her, he let the guards usher him through the receiving room and up the marble
steps curling up toward the palace’s private atrium, past the rows of statues
depicting the gods and goddesses in various poses circling the gardens, lush
with blooming flowers, beeches, and alder trees. The center held benches ringed
around a massive fountain of Poseidon frolicking with a water nymph. Servants
stood at attention by tables set up and laden with platters of fish, lamb,
beef, and pheasant along with leafy salads, currants and every fruit
imaginable.
Zeke barely
noticed, his gaze searching for the only thing of interest to him. He found her
with her brother and his warriors near the fountain. His feet moved on
their own
accord, feeling pulled toward her. The sensation
was … unsettling at best. He refused to study it further as he stopped in front
of the woman who would be his wife in just a few hours.
Ja’mel
tensed as Zeke neared, and
Laris
put a soothing hand
on his arm as she stepped forward to meet him.
Her head tilted
up to look at him, as he was a good six inches taller than she, a slight frown
marring the perfection of her smooth brow. “May I ask you a personal question?”
A shiver of
pleasure raced up his spine at the sultry cadence of her speech.
Soft and husky with a touch of an accent reminding him of the
islands dotting the Caribbean Sea.
“You can ask me anything you wish.”
“Why do you hide
your eyes?”
Blunt
and to the point.
He liked that. “My eyes are very sensitive to light, all light. The shades help
with that.” He surprised himself at how easily he gave her the partial truth.
He wouldn’t start his life with her with a lie between them if he could help
it.
“Ah.” Her frown
eased, a small smile lifting her upper lip, a lip he wanted nothing more than
to nip with his teeth. “And I find myself wondering what color they may be.”
He couldn’t help
but smile back at her, pleased to see amusement light her face, her gaze softening.
“My eyes are a bit strange for even here in Atlantis. Another reason to keep
them hidden so as not to draw undue attention, and contacts are difficult for
me to see with.”
“Hum, you are a
very intriguing man,
Ze’Kerhia
. I find I like that
very much.”
“Zeke, just call
me Zeke.”
“And you may
call me
Lari
. It’s less formal, and I find
formalities to be stifling, don’t you agree?”
“
Laris
, are you hungry? There is little time before you must
leave to get ready,” her brother interrupted.
Zeke nearly snarled
at the interruption. Shit, he needed to get a grip. Going all possessive
caveman
would not help tensions between them.
Twice in less than an hour?
He really needed to calm the
fuck down.
“I will see you
soon, and we can resume where we left off,” Zeke promised.
“And I will get
to see what mystery lurks under those glasses of yours,” she teased.
There were other
mysteries he would take great pleasure uncovering. And he would, soon. Who knew
he would find the
Mer
princess so alluring, not to
mention interesting? Perhaps this wouldn’t be as bad as he feared. As he
watched her move to the table with her brother and his warriors, he relished
the thrum of expectation filling his veins.
Lari
may just be an
unexpected gift, and for the first time in his long life he wondered if he had
found the one who would end his lonely existence.
Chapter Three
Amari
Lantel
tapped one long blood red fingernail against the
marble balustrade. The sound of revelers drifted on the fragrant air, and anger
simmered just below her skin. Watching the
Mers
mingling with the
Atlanteans
disgusted her almost as
much as those inept humans did.
But it was
Marcus Valerian and his men standing around Zeke and his pompous ass for a
father that made her seethe. By all rights, they should be dead, yet here they
were not only surviving, but flourishing! Her eyes narrowed on the females
standing beside Marcus and Tegan
Murin
.
Tambra
Ellis, Pure Blood
Lycan
and vampire, held a protective hand against a belly growing large with child.
And Kyra
Navarone
.
Amari’s lips
thinned with distaste. The mixed breed abomination half
Atlantean
and half falcon shifter should never have been allowed to live.
They were a
constant reminder of how her army of
ferals
failed
her, unable to eliminate them, and they only brought her ire up another notch.
She took a deep breath soothing her irritation with the knowledge that soon she
would be in a position to see Atlantis destroyed and the meddlesome Enforcers
fall. She allowed a slow smile to form on her lips, pleased with the image of
this city in rubble. All her careful plotting would come to fruition, and her
second step in complete world domination was within reach. And she would rule
with her beloved half-sister, freeing her from the dark underworld of the
Unseelie
.
Nothing would
stop her from her goal. Her army of
ferals
effectively cut down the number of Enforcers left in the world. Her strike
against the Tribunal a little over a year ago had crippled the Enforcers
severely. With no leadership, the Tribunal’s elite warriors were lost. With no
laws to enforce they were leaderless and soon would be nothing but a footnote
in the history books.
She would take great pleasure grinding them
under her heels.
Nothing like complete, absolute power to
give a girl the warm
fuzzies
.
“Plotting
something unpleasant,
thia
?
If so I must warn you I will not be pleased to clean up your mess.”
The deep,
decidedly male tone pulled Amari from her thoughts, and she turned toward
Ja’mel
, his sharp gaze penetrating as he studied her. Her
nephew saw too much these days, something she would be forced to remedy sooner
rather than later. The idea brought a pleasant pressure to her chest. She
looked forward to the day.
Amari shot him a
dazzling smile. “I am not plotting anything,
anipsiós
.” She lied smoothly.
“Just concerned over our beloved
Laris
.
Seems she will be awaiting her new husband for a while longer to join her in
their room. I have taken great care to tutor her in how to keep her male
content.” She kept her body relaxed as she meet his glare head on, baiting him,
knowing full well how he felt about the union between his little sister and the
son of the
Atlantean
king.
Ja’mel
glared but
refused to react to her taunts as he handed her a chilled glass of honey mead.
“You seem too happy. Tell me what you are up to,
thia
. I know your scheming ways
well enough to be wary.”
She raised the
glass to her lips, studying
Ja’mel
over the rim of
her glass. A dark brow rose, waiting for an answer. Oh, no this would
never
do. She’d
spent too long to have anyone, even blood, get in her way and he would never
see the brilliance of her plans. She needed to divert his attention or kill
him. She would prefer diversion of course; she reminded herself, no killing of
family members yet.
But
soon.
“Now,
anipsiós
, I admit
this feels wrong. Our two races have been at war for so long it is hard to
embrace so much change. To think of our little
Laris
married to the king’s son, forced to live amongst our enemy, is very hard to
take.”
Ja’mel
barked out a
harsh laugh. “Our ‘little’
Laris
can handle herself.
As for the
Atlanteans
and our long-standing war, it
is time to settle aggressions. We can do much to improve both of our people’s
lives if we are not at each other’s throats. I should be the one to marry for
political reasons, not
Lari
.”
“As you say, it
will just take getting used to.” She agreed with just a touch of subservience.
Just enough to irritate without stepping out of line.
“Our
Laris
has always been more the diplomat than the warrior.
Perhaps she will turn out to be the better choice.”