Darlings of Paranormal Romance (Anthology) (11 page)

“
It’s your turn, my
amora.”

She twisted him off her, forcing him
on his back. Seductively crawling her way above him she settled the
entrance of her sheath above his shaft. Then slowly she slid down,
teasingly, until she took in all of him.

He grabbed her hips and held her
there, feeling her warmth encompass him.

He wanted to explode and knew he
couldn’t hold on for much longer. And as he assisted in guiding her
movements, the wet heat of her walls gripped at him and he could no
longer think of envoys and looming war, only her.

He gave one final thrust causing her
muscles to start to convulse around him. And as they did so he felt
his own control begin to crumble.

Crehon wrapped his muscular arms
around her tightly, pulling her into him. Feeling her tremble with
another powerful orgasm sent him over the edge and he shot his seed
deep within her.

They were both glistening with sweat
and the minutes felt like a lifetime as the radiance of their
pleasure subsided.

Still sitting with Magna straddling
him and his arms still holding her close, he rested his ear against
her chest, listening to her heartbeat until his breathing
calmed.

Magna held him firmly against her. She
didn’t want him to leave her.

Even with this impending black cloud
hanging over them, she felt content in this moment and knew she had
to get something important off her mind.

“
Amora?”

“
Yes.”

“
There’s one more thing I
need to tell you.”

“
You can tell me anything,”
he said as he planted kisses in between her breasts.

“
I’m with child—
”

Chapter Four

Twirling with the excitement of her
newly acquired powers, Naia spiraled through the water enjoying the
freedom it offered. The cool intensity of the water against her
skin had never felt so invigorating. She couldn’t fathom ever
wanting this feeling to end.

Now mated to Atargatis, she knew this
was the life she was always meant to lead and she planned to take
advantage of all her new life’s little pleasures alongside him. The
existence of time no longer hindered her.

After they woke up, Naia and Atargatis
said their goodbyes and agreed to meet later in the day. Atargatis
regretfully left to attend his daily meeting with Hekili, his
captain of the guard.

He impressed upon Naia that she should
go straight home. That was her intention but as she headed in the
direction of her home the sea life beckoned to her. So she decided
today was going to be all about putting her shimmering pink tailfin
to work and exploring the beauty that surrounded her.

Not too far from their cavern there
was a reef sitting atop of one of the many deep and dark trenches
that ran along the ocean bottom. She had passed over the reef
numerous times and decided that one day she’d have to investigate
it.

Atargatis warned her to never swim
near the trenches. He said there were many caves throughout them
housing the larger, more dangerous predators of the sea.

She knew there was always the
possibility of coming across the occasional shark or giant squid
but they usually stayed away from the kingdom. Every now and then a
stray wayfaring shark would find its way near the castle’s realm
and the lower ranking members of the guard were charged with
removing it without harm if possible.

As long as she didn’t enter the
trench, she didn’t see the harm in scouting out the
reef.

Swimming like never before, she was at
the reef’s edge within what seemed mere moments.

Hovering
just above the trench, Naia watched as a large school of yellowfin
goatfish changed their coloration and merged with an even larger
school of blue-striped snappers. She giggled.
There’s always safety in numbers, even the fish knew that
rule
.

Below her the reef was bustling with
life. Swimming within the protection of the reef were foureye
butterflyfish, emperor angelfish, and yellow pygmy gobies. To her
right she watched a hungry titan triggerfish being followed by a
small moorish idol that was feeding on the trigger’s
leftovers.

Upon a closer examination, she saw a
small school of blue-green chromis damsels hovering beside a nearby
pillar coral. Then right in front of her she observed a clown
triggerfish squeeze itself into a crevice within the reef, locking
itself in place with its spines.

The fish weren’t scared of her
presence. She was one of them.

Perching herself on one of the flatter
areas of the reef, she watched in utter contentment as the fish
went about their business.

After a while she decided to lay
across the rock and gaze up at the surface where the beams of
sunlight broke through. The waves along the top caused the beams to
flicker below from bright to dim and back again. The deep water
above the reef prevented the sunlight from reaching the ocean
floor.

Still somewhat tired from her mating
with Atargatis, she decided to stay there and rest. Lulled by
watching the waves above her, she felt her lids getting heavier
until she finally shut them and fell asleep.

When she woke up, she realized she
must have slept longer than she intended because the sun wasn’t
right above her like it had been.

Naia sat up and stretched her arms
high above her head. She felt completely euphoric.

Then it hit her.

Looking in all the directions of her
immediate vicinity, she slowly lowered her arms, resting her palms
against the reef. She noted the silence surrounding her. There was
no movement anywhere.

Where are all the fish?
What drove them away?

Out of the corner of her eye she saw
what she thought was a large moving shadow. It disappeared in the
trench.

She
rubbed her eyes.
Am I seeing
things?

Suddenly a chill ran down along her
spine and into her tailfin. Her face went flush and she felt an
overwhelming feeling of dread pass through her. She darted off the
top of the reef and hid, putting it between her and the trench.
Panic was rapidly taking over her body. She was frozen in place and
could now see where all the small fish had gone. They were hiding
within the reef’s confines.

What do
they know I don’t?
She tried to convince
herself it was nothing to worry about.
It’s probably just a shark.
She’d
just wait it out then go home.

From the direction of the trench she
felt a shift in the water and began to tremble. Something sounded
like it was heading in her direction.

Mustering up all of her inner
strength, she slowly crept upward and took a peek over the reef to
see what was coming.

She gasped. Her eyes went wide and her
jaw fell open.

This
was
no
shark.

This
was a sea
dragon.

Her eyes were locked on it. She’d
never seen anything this colossal before. Twice as long as a whale
shark and covered with enormous bluish-gray scales, he could kill
her with just one sweep of his massive claw-tipped flippers or the
spade at the end of his tail. He had a single wicked horn centered
between his menacing eyes.

She finally gathered her wits and
quickly dropped back down behind the reef, hoping it hadn’t seen
her. Then she remembered the stories she’d heard about the dragons.
They could smell their prey from immeasurable distances.

It passed over where she was hiding
and she turned her head to follow its path. Relief washed over her
when it didn’t see her and disappeared off in the scoping
distance.

She waited a couple more minutes until
she was sure she was in the clear to come out from hiding and head
home. And as she pushed off the reef, there he was.

The cold black slits in his piercing
yellow eyes narrowed. He snorted and the rush of warm water blew
her hair straight behind her.

Terror shot through her, she snapped
her fin, pushing her body backwards against the water. Bubbles
engulfed her, blinding her to the monster.

She snapped her tailfin again, faster,
propelling herself backwards. Desperately, she flipped to race
forward.

There was nowhere nearby for her to
hide. He was gaining distance on her. She had no choice but to swim
to the trench. In the back of her mind she could hear Atargatis’s
warning.

Feverishly, she swam until she reached
its edge. She looked over her shoulder. He was closer than she
thought. She closed her eyes tightly, slipped over the edge, and
blindly plunged down into the dark abyss.

She wildly searched for a hiding
place, surprised to find that she had near perfect vision in the
darkness. She assumed if she was able to see in the darkness so
could he.

“
Hide! I’m on my
way.”

Naia jolted as she heard Atargatis’s
voice in her head again.

“
Naia, it’s me. You’re not
imagining this.”

Gods
, she was relieved to hear his
voice, even if it
was
in her mind. She dove deeper as she felt the vibrations of the
dragon’s roar.

“
Oh please! Atty,
help!”

“
Wedge yourself inside a
crevice. Wait for me. Don’t leave until I come for you.”

With a flick of her tailfin, she
picked up speed and swerved around the tall rock pillars that
littered the trench. She heard the dragon bellow as it crushed into
one of the pillars behind her.

Ahead she spotted a narrow crack that
ran down the side of the canyon wall. Even though it was thin, it
looked wide enough for her to fit into.

She glanced behind her once again. He
was nearly on top of her. She was exhausted but a rush of
adrenaline kicked in. She sped up.

Almost there.

She entered her safe haven at full
speed, slamming into the rocks. They scraped against her shoulders,
arms and along the sides of her tailfin. The water around her
swirled red with blood.

The sea monster smashed against the
opening, rattling her against the rocks.

He reared back and circled around,
bashing into the opening once more. Boulders rained down the trench
walls.

Naia was paralyzed with fear. The
metallic scent of her blood lingered in the red, cloudy
water.

Just as the creature was about to
hurtle itself into the rocks again she saw a disturbance in the
water. A blurred wave came from the left side of the dragon,
forcing him off his path of destruction and into some nearby rock
pillars. It stilled, as if dazed. Then it shuddered, regained its
strength, and charged where the bizarre wave had come
from.

Out of sheer curiosity, Naia slowly
edged her way to the opening to see what was happening
outside.

She couldn’t believe her
eyes.

Atargatis had arrived.

She watched in awe as the dragon
streaked through the water heading straight towards him. As the
creature did so, she saw Atargatis’s eyes close. He crossed his
arms over his chest, as if gathering his strength. Then his arms
flew out and his chest emitted an enormous sonar wave.

The blurry wave burst outward through
the water at an immense rate of speed. It struck the dragon with a
force unlike anything Naia had ever seen, driving him into the
trench wall, crushing him.

As if time slowed down, she watched as
the lifeless body of the dragon slid down the wall until it reached
its final resting place on the jagged bottom.

Still wedged inside the safety of the
crevice, she stayed there frozen, staring at the destroyed
animal.

“
Naia? It’s okay for you to
come out now.”

Slowly turning her head, she looked at
Atargatis. He could see the clear crystals falling from the corners
of her eyes. She was crying.

“
Naia?” he reached for her,
his brow furrowed with concern.

Releasing herself from the crevice,
she rushed straight into his arms.

Chapter Five

Wrapping his arms tightly around Naia,
Atargatis stroked her hair, calming her. Even though the last of
the crystals had fallen from her brown eyes, he could still feel
her heart pounding against his chest.

Suspended in the center of the eerie
trench, they continued to cling to one another. Neither one wanting
to let the other go.

The water surrounding them was quickly
turning crimson.

Atargatis unwrapped his arms from
around Naia’s waist, lightly gripped her shoulders, and gently
pulled away from her. His gaze skimmed over her until he spotted
where the blood was coming from.

“
We need to stop the
bleeding before we get anymore unwanted visitors.”