Switch Mode
Home Arise (Syrenka #3) Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Arise (Book Three of The Syrenka Series)



 

 

Twenty One

Eviana

Where was Kain? I looked over the crowd a hundred times trying to find my strength. I needed him to be here. I needed to know there was a plan to stop this nonsense. And I was running out of time.

After my visit with the nereid, Lucian and Graham brought me back to the house where I’d slept through the night and late into the next day. My dreams were vivid and colorful that evening, and I wasn’t sure what was real or make believe when I woke up in the morning.

Lucian didn’t waste any time. He forced me to practice on the protectors first to see if I could compel the mermen. It was almost as easy as the selkies. I barely had to force the command, and could instead whisper it in my head to have them succumb. In one visit with the nereid, my life had changed dramatically. I became my father.

Graham worked with me and the water control. On several instances he laughed when my tendrils attempted to squeeze his throat. He thought I was playing around, while I was really fine tuning my aim. I had no desire to be married to Graham. And if the wedding did happen, I wouldn’t stay married very long.

By four in the afternoon on the second day, Lucian demanded I stop practicing and get ready for the ceremony. I refused to call it my wedding. He’d ushered me into a private villa at the resort complex, where three human women were waiting to serve my every request. It was obvious that Lucian had brainwashed them into thinking this was a joyous occasion, and when they finally left, I watched him perform another round of compulsion.

It was too much pressure for me to keep pretending this was a perfect day, so I had asked the ladies to leave before putting on my dress Still, Lucian had done it again. The gown was perfect for someone who wanted to get married, and just what a doting father would buy his daughter for her special day. A simple spaghetti strap top with a fitted bodice flowed into layers upon layers of chiffon. Tiny crystals were sewn into the dress all over, so that when the light hit it just the right way, I sparkled like the stars. The women had curled my hair into ringlets and let it fall naturally all around. It hung past my waist now, which meant it could almost cover the single black orchid I was being forced to carry.

You will go through with it all, Eviana, or I will kill your merman piece by piece,” Lucian threatened me just after swooning over how beautiful I looked. He was beyond crazy.

Since Graham wasn’t allowed to see me, and Lucian needed to “greet the vassals”, I would walk down the aisle by myself. Thinking this may be an opportunity to act, I agreed. But when I reached the main lobby area for which I needed to pass through to the courtyard, I saw that Lucian made sure a security detail watched my every move. I probably would have been able to control one or two, but I didn’t think I could hold all of them at once. Plus I had to assume Kain and the others would have a plan.

So when I started that dreaded march to my social demise, I frantically wanted to see his face. One look to assure me that we were going to get away from here. For a moment I thought I saw him, but the crowd quickly pushed together to get a closer view of the ceremony and I accepted that my mind was playing tricks on me.

A string quartet played a classical piece I recognized but didn’t know the name of. The music should have calmed me, but it had the complete opposite effect. My palms leaked with sweat all over the stupid flower I had to carry. If my heart beat any faster, I believed that it would go into cardiac arrest. Maybe that could be my way out.

I saw Lucian standing next to Graham at the end of the aisle and in the center of the gazebo, glaring at me. I was taking too long. I couldn’t help it if my feet wouldn’t move, could I? Lucian made a small sign with his hand that was only for my eyes. The fake knife across the throat, disguised by a touch to his hair, let me know that he was insinuating death again.

I was really tired of being threatened.

A few moments later I reached the gazebo steps. To my right sat Lucian’s drones. His supporters that would stop at nothing to betray their kind. And to my left was everyone else. I saw Adele Lyonetta and we shared a moment. Her face looked tired and worn, but her eyes were anything but. There was a plan, I knew it.

Lucian cleared his throat, forcing me to look up at him and my husband to be. Had the situation been in a parallel world without kidnappings, betrayal, and my biological father, I may have been happy to marry Graham. His handsome face captivated me for the briefest of moments until I remembered that it was just the blood talking. Still, he looked amazing in his black suit which hugged his frame in all the right places.

He smiled at me like he knew where my thoughts had drifted. Deciding that I was tired of playing along, I glared back. Lucian immediately walked forward and yanked me up to the makeshift altar. He squeezed my arm hard, for sure leaving a mark.

Behave,” he whispered in my ear without even moving his lips. In fact, he smiled the entire time.

You could at least pretend to love me,” Graham said in a mocking tone. “I love you.”

You have no idea what love is,” I spat back. Lucian quickly began his speech to cover the noise of our argument.

Ladies and gentlemen. Leaders of our kind. It gives me great honor to present my daughter, Eviana Anne Duhmal to be wed to Graham Marcus Forrester on this night, in the presence of all.” Lucian lifted my hand and firmly placed it into Graham’s. He smiled and I fought back tears.

The union of these two commanding individuals will secure the future of our kind.” I tried to pull my hand away from Graham, but he held fast and sent a cunning wink in my direction. I dug my nails into his skin.

If anyone here should wish to deny these two their birthrights and destined union, now would be the time to speak.”

I frantically looked around the crowd, particularly those on my side of the gathering, but no one said a word. Where was Kain? Or Troy? Someone. Someone had to stop this.

Very well, and excellent choice…” Lucian’s voice cracked. “Excellent…” he tried to finish, but began coughing instead. Clearing his throat, he started again. “As I was saying, agreeing to this union is a wise…”

This time, he grabbed at his chest and began sucking in shallow, raspy breaths. The crowd started to whisper and move about, wondering what was happening. Lucian’s protectors ran to the gazebo and caught him under the arms.

Master Sutherland, what’s wrong?”

Lucian continued to gasp, but his eyes were scanning the crowd. When they reached their target, I saw his face contort into rage. “Her!”

We all looked in the direction his hand was pointing and I nearly cried with joy. Adele had removed herself from the masses and was now standing in the front, staring at Lucian. It took a moment for me to realize that she was controlling something within him.

You are not the only one with power, Lucian. Now!”

Her command brought a flurry of action. Almost at once, the left side of the audience attacked the right. Our supporters finally enacted their revenge on Lucian’s cronies.

Fists flew, compulsion wars began, and I stood there. Frozen. It probably wasn’t for very long, but time seemed to stand still. As if in slow motion, I watched our side fight with an amazing show of strength and force that Lucian’s new friends didn’t stand a chance. However, the weaker ones in the horde were easily taken down by mental commands. I only caught a glimpse, but I looked on in horror as Marisol dropped to her knees in front of Elizabetta, one of Lucian’s new Council members. She was forcing them to obey left and right until an entire cluster of merfolk surrounded her. As one, they moved through the crowd, her protective circle blocking an intruder then turning them into a puppet like the others.

Daniel screamed. I’m not sure how I knew it was Daniel, but I did. His voiced sliced through the night, even though I couldn’t spot him. Tears streamed down my cheeks and I yelled out in frustration. I looked for Kain, yet couldn’t find him. My heart hammered in my chest until I finally saw two other familiar faces.

Troy and Palmer fought with the new Council’s assigned protectors, leaving a wide gap between them and Elizabetta who continued to squash those around her like bugs. They were doing a great job at defending themselves and working together as a team to accomplish their goals. In the few seconds I managed to see, they had subdued five protectors.

Lucian dropped to the ground and hacked until I thought an organ would fall out. Adele moved closer, never breaking her concentration. She was actually winning.

That was until an older merman in a dark green cloak appeared by her side. Lucian smiled and stopped coughing long enough to turn his head and look up at Graham. They exchanged a look so evil that I knew what came next would not bode well for Adele.

No!” I shouted, but it was too late. Graham had already seized control of the old man, who was now beating his own head and face. I saw the glistening tears in Adele’s eyes, but she tried not to look away from Lucian. He coughed again, this time spitting up blood.

The old man fell to the ground, hard enough to break bones. His head slammed against the concrete patio, then he went still. Adele yelled out and dropped to help him, severing her hold on Lucian.

Get her out of here,” he growled at Graham.

No! Help!” I yelled, hoping someone would hear me. With all of the commotion and fighting and compulsion going on, I knew it would be useless.

Eviana!” It seemed like a trick; not a real voice. “Eviana!”

Kain had found me.

Kain!” I yelled back, not sure where he was coming from. Graham dragged me by my hair backward over the far side of the gazebo and down to the beach. “Kain!”

We stumbled past battles between mermaids, mermen, protectors, and leaders. Our supporters appeared to be corralling the others toward the water’s edge. Why would they do that? They might be able to hold their own on land, but it would be tough to compete with an element controlling leader in the water.

I fell to the ground and screamed when Graham pulled on my hair. “Shut up!” he snapped. “Get up, now!”

Kain!” I didn’t hear him anymore. The multitude of fights drowned out any chance of me finding his beautiful voice. I started to cry.

And then I felt the warm, inviting water wash over my legs. I don’t know why I hadn’t realize this sooner, but being in the water might just give me the edge I needed to get away from Graham.

Mistress Dumahl!”

Someone called for me but it wasn’t Kain this time. Turning my face toward the sea, I felt my heart swell. A giant sprite head bobbed along the surface, showing me the mouthful of dangerous incisors. I couldn’t remember the last time I had been so happy to see Abhainn. He survived and if he was here, that meant the ratchets were too.

As Graham dragged me backward into the water, I watched in silence while Lucian’s followers were forced into the ocean. They changed into mermaid form quickly, but many of them never surfaced again. I knew the water sprites were having a feast tonight.

Several streams of water exploded around us, as the losing team began to fight for their last breath. Tendrils controlled by the merfolk snaked across the surface, latching on to ratchet necks and squeezing them until they burst. That only sent the sprites into a frenzy and soon, merfolk body parts flew through the air.

I swallowed the bile in my throat and decided that I was tired of Graham controlling my every move. Reaching up behind me, I focused on him harder than I’d ever concentrated on anything before. Release me! I commanded in my head. For a brief moment, his grip loosened. I pulled my hair free and stood in the knee deep water to face him. In the quickest way possible, I drew the water up from the surface and attempted to wrap it around his throat, just as I’d been practicing the last two days.

For a second, he froze in terror. But when I saw the smirk snake its way through his features, fear slammed me in the gut. I wasn’t strong enough yet.

He jumped at me and managed to push us both into the surf. The water pounded against our bodies, nearly drowning me in the process. The only thing I could do was change.

The dress would have normally been an obstacle, but tonight my legs shifted freely without the need to shred my clothing. In seconds, I felt the final tingle and lifted my tail hard into Graham who was still pinning me down.

The impact knocked him over my head, so I dove into the water and began to swim. Somewhere in my peripheral, I could sense others following. But at this moment, I needed to put some distance between Graham and me.

After several minutes, or maybe it was seconds, of swimming, I stopped to see where he was. Some instinct was encouraging me to do so. My wedding gown weighed me down, yet the adrenaline kept me afloat. I looked around the surface, trying to take in the situation. Just past the surf, and moving fast in my direction, I noticed the wall of water.

The tactic was undeniably Graham’s, but it was Kain I saw first. There, on the beach, was my Kain. He held out both hands like he was commanding somebody to stop, but his focus was entirely on the wall moving toward me.

I only had a moment to wonder why he was sending the water in my direction, when I saw him. Graham exploded from the surface five feet in front of me, in full merman form, and slammed against my chest. I could barely grasp a breath before we plummeted into the dark waters.

Graham’s hands tightened around my arms as we hurdled down and away from the scene on the beach. My shoulder slammed into a piece of coral, slicing it open and forcing the burning salt water inside. I tried to scream, but then realized I didn’t have much air in my lungs. If we didn’t surface soon, I worried for my survival.

Feeling the cool, yet painful sting of my blood leaving my body, I attempted to knock my head into Graham’s chest. But with the way he was holding me, almost like a surf board, I couldn’t reach an area on him that would do any type of harm.

The sudden, piecing howl sent a wave of relief through me. There was simply no mistaking the war cry of a selkie.

In a whirl of motion, Graham was knocked away and something nudged me in the side. The seal head banged against me several times before I had enough sense to swim up to the surface. I knew without looking that Brendan was here.

I wouldn’t be able to describe the range of emotions my heart experienced at that moment. After all we’d been through, after his instinctual nature prevailed, Brendan was still trying to save me.

When I didn’t move fast enough, he nudged me in the direction he wanted to go. First, I needed to get to the surface, so instead of going to the side as he requested, I headed straight up to catch a breath of salty air. The mumbled sounds beneath the sea suddenly exploded into an orchestra of battle noises. Yelling, fighting, the cracking of burning buildings all caught my attention at the shoreline. Where did the fire come from?

It was the briefest of thoughts, but for some reason I was fixated on it. Perhaps that was because it reminded me of the night Graham and I escaped Lucian’s attack at Jeremiah’s. Part of his house had burned along with the sleeping quarters of so many human servants. It had been my first encounter with ratchets and it had changed my opinion of the world I lived in.

Brendan suddenly bit down hard on my arm and pulled me further away from the shore. His teeth hurt, yet I was temporarily lost in the past and incapable of moving forward. Within a few minutes, my back hit shallow ground. It woke me up out of my haze and I looked around wondering why I was on land this far out in the ocean.

Brendan released his hold on my arm, but continued to nudge my side. Rolling over so that I could see in front of me, I pulled myself up onto the narrow sandbar. Why did he push me here? This was land, not sea. As if reading my thoughts, Brendan barked at me. It was a sound unique to him and I knew what it meant. Change.

I closed my eyes and willed my legs back to me. It took way too long, and I began to panic. A warm, furry body sidled up to me, instantly putting my mind at ease. Brendan had always been able to comfort me with one touch, and now I felt like I needed him more than ever.

He nestled against me and growled. It wasn’t a mean growl, it was more like a purr. Relax Eviana, it meant. And so I relaxed.

The prickly sand grains pressing through my toes was the first feeling I noticed when my legs returned. Although shaky, I used them to sit back on my knees. Brendan looked at me for a moment, then placed his seal head in my lap. I couldn’t help but stroke his fur while all of our years together danced through my mind. The first time we met, our first kiss, the night in the mountain lodge…all of the wonderful memories we’d shared.

He had been a part of my life for so long, and now he was back in it. Saving me. Protecting me. A new hole opened in my heart and I began to sob uncontrollably. Resting my head against his, I held Brendan in my arms, with no intention of letting him leave. He whimpered and tried to pull away, but I wouldn’t let him. I couldn’t let him go so easily.

Well, isn’t that a sight.” Graham said as he emerged from the water and walked along the sand bar. His pants were missing, but the white wedding shirt remained. He shook the water off his head, and smirked. “Too bad this will be your last moment together.”

I didn’t have time to register the threat before a wave swallowed us both.

Arise (Syrenka #3)

Arise (Syrenka #3)

Score 8.1
Status: Ongoing Type: Author: Amber Garr Released: 2012 Native Language:
Romance
Eviana faces betrayal and must navigate political intrigue to protect her people.