Tempest Unleashed (43 page)

We started to climb again, slowly and carefully. When he finally blew the air out in tiny bubbles, I breathed for him again. And again. And again.

It took a long time, but eventually we reached the surface. The second his head broke through the water, Mark took a series of long, ragged breaths. Then he cupped my face in his hands and kissed me like it was the end of the world. Like this was the last kiss he was ever going to have. I wrapped my arms around him and kissed him back.

When Mark finally lifted his head to grin at me, he said, “I love you, Tempest. I really, really love you.” And then he kissed me again.

This time when we broke apart, I said, “We’ve got to figure out which way Australia is.”

He grinned and pointed behind me.

“How do you know?” I asked, turning.

“How do you not know? How much time have you spent in this ocean now?”

“More than you.”

“Exactly my point.” He kissed me a third time, and it was so full of joy and happiness and excitement at being alive that I couldn’t help the tears that sprang to my eyes. “I’ve got to tell you, Tempest, you sure know how to show a guy a kick-ass time.”

Kick-ass was right. “I nearly got you killed.”

“You saved my life—and everybody else’s. I can’t believe how amazing you are.”

“Yeah, real amazing. It takes an awesome girl to get her guy kidnapped and nearly murdered.”

“Yeah, well, it takes a more awesome girl to save that guy. And the kidnapping was so not your fault. It was the evil sea-bitch all the way. I can promise that I definitely won’t be fooled by her damsel in distress routine a second time.”

“Is that how she got you? Pretending to need help?”

“Yeah. Said she’d hit her head when her board got away from her. I tried to get her back to shore—”

“Of course you did.” Because that was just the kind of guy Mark was. Decent, caring, always willing to risk his neck for someone who needed it. Especially me. How many times, now, had he nearly died because of me?

The thought made my stomach cramp, so I shoved it aside. “We need to get you to land.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not sure what I’m going to do when I get there.”

“I actually have an idea about that,” I told him. “But it depends on where in Australia we end up.”

“I’m betting on Sydney.”

I smiled. “I can only hope we’ll get that lucky.”

Mark laughed, started to swim toward where he believed land would be, but I stopped him. “Seriously? Like you haven’t been through enough today?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, you’re not exactly adapted for this. Settle back and let me do most of the work.”

“Oh yeah?” The gleam in his eye was speculative—and more than a little interested. “And how is that supposed to go, exactly?”

“Like this.” I shifted quickly, tucking my bikini bottoms into the pocket of Mark’s wet suit, then wrapped my arms around him like Kona always did me. The thought gave me pause, but I pushed it aside. I had to take care of Mark before I could get to Kona. Until then, Mahina would have to make sure he was all right.

And then we were off, traveling toward land at over a hundred miles an hour.

Mark laughed, whooped. “
This
is a kick-ass ride,” he called to me.

His response made me smile, and despite everything, I relaxed and enjoyed the sun beating down on our backs as we raced through the water to safety.

We hit Sydney Harbour about an hour and a half later. I laughed when I saw the Opera House. “You were right,” I told Mark.

“I usually am. But, Tempest, what are we going to do here? I don’t even have a passport.”

“I know. One of my dad’s friends from his surfing days docks in Sydney most of the time during the winter. Dad and the boys are planning on visiting him next month, but if we’re lucky, he’ll be here already.”

It took a while for us to find Sergio’s boat, simply because there were thousands docked around the harbor. But my family had visited Sergio here two or three times in the last few years, so I had a pretty good idea of where to start looking. Eventually we found it—a small, pretty yacht named
Surf’s Up
.

It was early morning in Sydney, so I was hoping I’d find Sergio around. Last time we visited, he’d slept on the boat, but a lot could change in a year. I was proof of that.

Still, when I called to him from the dock, his shaggy black hair appeared within a couple of minutes. “Who’s there?” he asked, his Italian accent sounding completely out of place down here.

“It’s Tempest, Sergio. Bobby’s daughter.”

“Tempest?” His whole head came out this time and he eyed me in surprise. “You’re looking good! But what are you doing here?”

“It’s kind of a long story. Can we come aboard and tell you?”

“Of course, of course.” He ushered us in with a wave of his hand. “Just let me put some pants on and get the coffee started. I’ll be up in a minute.”

It was more like seven minutes (I knew because I was fidgeting the whole time, trying to figure out how long it would be before I could get back down to Kona), but when Sergio finally made it topside, he had a tray of coffee and croissants with him. Mark and I tried not to fall on them like starving wildebeests, but we failed miserably.

Sergio eyed us with amused indulgence. “Been swimming?” he asked, taking in our wet clothes. Mark had shed his wet suit a while back and was now in just a pair of board shorts.

“Something like that. Look, I know this is awful, but I can’t really explain how we got here. Can you just trust me when I tell you we weren’t doing anything illegal and help us out?”

He laughed. “You sound more and more like your mother every day.” But he was quick to offer his help. “Can Mark’s parents send a passport to him? If so, he can stay here until it arrives and then we’ll get him on a plane home.”

“In a few days. He can’t fly yet. He’s been … diving.”

“He can stay as long as he needs to,” Sergio replied.

It was exactly what I hoped to hear. “Thank you, Sergio. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t been here.”

He just smiled his easy surfer’s grin. “Hey, no worries. I’m looking forward to surfing with the two of you this afternoon—seeing if you can still hold your own Down Under.”

I laughed, then made my excuses. Much as I wanted to stay with Mark, I needed to get back to Kona as well. To make sure he was okay, and that Mahina had gotten him to a healer. I also had to check on Hailana and the state of her clan.
My
clan now.

Mark walked me as far down the harbor as we could go, then wrapped his arms around me and held me tight. I breathed him in, the salty, sweet scent of him melting me inside a little, like it always did.

“I’m sorry,” I told him. “I’m so sorry.”

“For what?” At my very unamused look, he said, “Oh, right. That whole kidnapped by the evil sea-bitch, nearly blown apart by some crazed merman, running out of oxygen under the water thing. You’re sorry for that?”

I laughed, as I knew he wanted me to. “Yeah, pretty much.”

“No problem. It was a hell of a date.”

“Is that what you’re calling it? A date?”

“I don’t know. What should I call it? A one-night stand?”

“It’s not like that.”

“Tell it to me straight.” He stepped back. “Am I ever going to see you again?”

“Yes! Of course. But Tiamat and Sabyn ruined almost everything. I have to go help fix it.”

“Of course you do.” He looked out over the harbor. “What about Kona?”

I didn’t know what to say, didn’t know how to fix this whole ridiculous love triangle thing we were embroiled in. “I don’t know. I have to talk to him. He’s got a lot going on right now.”

Mark’s jaw worked back and forth. “Does he?”

“His parents just died. He’s got to become king—”

“He’s a king? Seriously?” Mark turned his back on me and walked a few steps away. As he did, I thought I heard him mutter, “No wonder I’ve never stood a chance.”

“It’s not like that, Mark.” I chased after him, got in his face.

“Then how is it, Tempest? How the hell is it? I love you. You say you love me. And yet every time I turn around, you’re running back to him.”

“I have to make sure he’s okay. And I’m not running to
him
. I’m running back to my clan. It’s devastated, the merQueen is injured. I have to do what I can to help.”

“And then what?”

“What do you mean?”

“After you’ve done all your mermaid stuff, and you’ve checked on Kona and he’s told you he loves you. What. Happens. Then.”

“I don’t know,” I told him. “Okay? I don’t know.”

“Well, then, you better figure it out. I can deal with all the mermaid stuff, even deal with crazed sea creatures that are the things nightmares are made of. But I will
not
be your sometime boyfriend, hanging around waiting for you to come back to land after you’ve had your fun with Kona.”

And then he turned and walked away, the too-small flip-flops Sergio had loaned him slapping angrily against the dock.

I didn’t try to stop him. But then, how could I, when everything he’d said was true?

Chapter 36

By the time I found Kona and Mahina, they were halfway home. Mahina had gotten Kona to a healer, and he’d done enough good that Kona was swimming on his own. There was still a scar on his side, red and bumpy and angry looking, but all of the important things were healed.

Is Mark okay?
Mahina asked when I caught up to them.

He’s fine.
I didn’t look at her or Kona as I spoke. I couldn’t, not while Mark’s ultimatum was echoing in my head.

Good
. Kona smiled at me, but it was strained. Tired.

It’s going to be okay.
I brushed a hand over his shoulder.

I don’t think I can do this, Tempest. I’m not ready to be king
. This time he was the one who couldn’t look at me.

I know. But you’re going to do a great job. Everyone knows that you’ll be amazing.

I miss them. I know my mom was a pain, but the idea that she’s never going to nag me again, never try to get me to settle down and be more respectable, is awful. And my dad—I still had so many questions for him about what it means to rule wisely.

I thought of my mother then, about how the memories she had shown me saved my life—and kept me from making some of the mistakes she had. The idea that Kona would never have that chance devastated me.

It’s going to be okay
, I repeated.

He just shook his head.
And what about you? Hailana’s in bad shape and you’re the only one she’s—

Don’t. Please, don’t go there. I can barely keep it together as things stand now. If you say the
Q
word I’ll lose it.

Hiding isn’t going to change anything.

Yeah, well, it’s worked for me so far.

That’s debatable.
Mahina couldn’t resist adding her two cents.

We swam quietly for a while, all of us completely exhausted from what we’d been through. We stopped to eat when we were hungry, to sleep when we couldn’t swim anymore. But in general, we just kept moving, determined to get home as soon as we possibly could. At the same time, I know we were all anxious about what we would find.

As we swam, I couldn’t help wondering where Tiamat was, what she and Sabyn were planning. But I figured we would know soon enough—it wasn’t like she ever really played her cards close to her chest. Except for that blood thing. I really hadn’t seen that coming.

I glanced down at my arm, at the long, deep scab there. I probably should have gotten stitches, but it was too late now. I tried to tell myself a scar there was no big deal, but for me it kind of was. The last thing I wanted to do was think of Tiamat every time I saw my arm. Then again, it wasn’t like I was ever going to forget what she’d done, or how close she’d actually come to killing me. Mark was right. It was the stuff nightmares were made of, and I had a feeling I was going to be seeing Tiamat in mine more often than usual.

Do you think they’ll be back soon?
I asked suddenly.