Tempest Unleashed (5 page)

The shark must have felt something else, however, because that one lengthy touch had him swimming in the opposite direction as fast as he could. Part of me wondered if he was just trying to build up speed—if he was going to come at me with the full-power attack from the side that great whites were known for. I really didn’t want to be shaken to death in the grip of some shark’s rows upon rows of teeth.

Just the thought of it had me speeding up again, processing more and more energy as I moved faster and faster through this strange new power interlace with the ocean. I reached the edges of Kona’s territory a few minutes later, a fact that shocked me as I would have sworn I was nearly an hour away. Maybe I was even worse at this underwater-navigation thing than I’d thought I was.

Either way, I’d never been so relieved to see any place in my entire life.

Guards met me at the border. They took one look at my injuries and called for help. Within minutes, I was carried through a long, dark passage that led back to the surface to a small land clinic not far from Ari’s dwelling. They’d taken me to Kona’s brother’s territory because the clinic was much closer than anything in Kona’s waters.

Nothing like being the girlfriend of the selkie crown prince to have everyone jumping to keep you alive.

It’s not like I was in any position to argue, though. The influx of energy I’d gotten from the ocean had faded as I swam those last miles, until I was now so exhausted and woozy that I could barely keep my eyes open as the healer examined me. I think the only thing keeping me awake was the shivers racking my body. I was freezing.

Whatever the healer found must have alarmed him, because the next thing I knew I was getting a blood transfusion—directly from his arm to mine. Which, I admit, would have totally grossed out my human side if I was coherent enough to fully understand what was going on. As it was, I was hanging on to consciousness by a thread and didn’t have the energy to argue about something that was pretty common practice down here.

In the ocean, there is strength in blood, and in bloodlines. The purer your blood, the stronger it is—and the more talents you have. That’s why I have such power—because my mother, Cecily, had even more and passed much of it on to me. Most healers have a lot of talent and the strongest blood around—it’s where their healing talent comes from. By sharing his blood with me, my healer was giving me an infusion of pure, unadulterated strength. Kind of what I imagined a speed cocktail would be like, only a lot healthier.

As soon as the blood hit my veins, I started to feel better. Less dizzy, more focused, though my tail still burned like hell itself. Of course, that could be because he was prodding at it and muttering a bunch of things I would have been better off not hearing. Things like
near amputation of caudal fin, breach of
membranes, lucky to be alive
… Needless to say, his bedside manner left a lot to be desired.

Once the transfusion was over, the healer pulled out a couple of very big, very long needles, and that’s when I nearly lost it. There are only two things in the world I’m truly afraid of without just cause—needles and sharks (although after having almost being eaten by one, I was going to start considering my fear of sharks justified).

“What are you planning to do with those?” I demanded, and this time I was shaking for a whole different reason than blood loss.

“One’s a painkiller. It will stop you from feeling me clean out your wound and stitch you up. The other is an antibiotic shot, to stop infection.”

“Can’t I just take pills?” I babbled. “I swear, if it keeps you from jabbing me with that thing, I will
never
miss a dose.
Ever.
”

He gave me a droll look. “You’re going to be in the ocean. It’s kind of hard to keep pills dry down there.”

“Oh, right.”
Crap, crap, crap. I so don’t want to do this.

“Come on, Tempest. Any maid who can take on Tiamat can surely handle a little shot.” Relief rushed through me as I heard Kona’s voice.

I turned to face him and was shocked at how haggard he looked. He was trying to put on a smile for my sake, I could tell, but his eyes wore the pinched look he got only when he was really upset. Plus, when he reached out to grab my hand, he was trembling worse than I was.

“You got here fast.”

“Yeah. That tends to happen when I hear my girlfriend got herself injured.” He dropped a kiss on my forehead before settling in beside me, his arm wrapped around my waist. “I can’t believe you have such a hard time staying out of trouble, Tempest.”

That got my back up a little. “I wasn’t exactly looking for it, Kona.”

“I know, baby. I know.” He skimmed his lips over my hair. “How is she doing, Zarek?” he asked the healer.

Again, that little niggle of annoyance. “I’m sitting right here, you know.”

“Yes, well, you’ve been so busy complaining about those shots, I wasn’t sure you were aware that you’d been
cut
.”

“I’m the one who had to swim hundreds of miles that way—I think I know better than you what’s wrong with me,” I snapped at him. As I did, I was a little amazed. Were Kona and I
fighting
? We never fought. Not like this, obnoxious little volleys fired at each other through clenched teeth.

I turned around and looked at Kona, really looked at him, and realized that behind the worry was an anger I’d never seen from him before. Kona was furious, and if the gleam in his dark eyes was anything to go by, he was furious with me.

My mind immediately went back to those minutes with Mark. Did Kona know? I wasn’t sure how he could. But then again, I was reminded often that Kona’s reach was farther than I ever suspected.

God, that’s why I didn’t do this kind of thing. I didn’t date one guy and kiss another—or at least I never had before I met Kona eight months ago. Of course, then everything had been the other way around: I’d been dating Mark and sneaking out with Kona. Something I had felt equally guilty about.

So, what was wrong with me? When had I become completely incapable of being faithful? My inability to properly commit wasn’t in the mermaid genes—I knew this because I’d seen hundreds of loyal, happily bound couples while I’d lived down here, couples who had been together for decades and even centuries.

So if it wasn’t a mermaid thing, then what was it?

What was I turning into?

Wasn’t it bad enough that I’d grown gills and a tail and now swam around the ocean all day? Was I also on my way to becoming a siren, those maids who couldn’t be faithful to any male? Who spent their nights seducing men and then lured them to their deaths?

Just the idea made me shudder.

Which was stupid, because any idiot could tell I didn’t have what it took to be a siren. I mean, I’d never met a siren, but I’d overheard Kona’s brothers talking about them numerous times. They always said the same thing—they’re dark and dangerous and have irresistible voices. Which ruled me out. While I can hold my own in a fight, no one’s ever described me as dangerous before. And my voice … let’s just say it’s far from irresistible.

Then what was wrong with me? I loved Kona. I really did. So why did I suddenly feel so drawn to Mark again? Why, in those moments with him, had I wanted him more than I’d wanted anything, ever?

It just didn’t make sense. And it was dangerous—to me, to my people. Look what had already occurred, and I had let my guard slip for only a second. What would happen if I actually let myself pine after him?

No, I couldn’t do it. I had to stop this, had to stay away from Mark forever. He was part of my old life, a life I couldn’t go back to. Not when the clan needed me so desperately.

“Ouch!” A sharp pain in my tail yanked me forcibly out of my head and back to the present, where the healer had just stuck one of the very long, very thick needles mere centimeters from the stab wound.

“It’s almost done,” he said soothingly. “A couple more seconds and you won’t feel anything.”

He was right, thank God. The lidocaine, or whatever it was he was injecting into me, took effect, and suddenly I felt a whole lot better—at least about him and the shots. As for the Kona/Mark situation, it was going to take a lot more than a shot of anesthetic to make that pain go away.

On the bright side, one look at Zarek holding the needle and special thread they used to keep the saltwater from dissolving the stitches and I was instantly distracted from my other problems.

“You know,” I told Kona as I turned my face into his chest, unable to look, “I think it really sucks that selkies have magic healing powers while mermaids get stuck with regular medicine.”

He stroked a finger over the back of my hand. “I’m sorry, Tempest. If I could, I’d give you my ability to heal. I hate seeing you like this.”

“I know.” I snuggled deeper into his arms, relishing the feel of his hard chest and warm skin. Before he’d arrived, I’d been freezing. But with his arms wrapped around me, the chill didn’t seem so bad. “I’m glad you’re here,” I whispered, running my lips over the only parts of him I could reach—his right shoulder and bicep.

He shuddered a little as he buried his face in my hair. “I was so worried,” he told me. “When I got the message and realized how far away you were, I nearly lost my mind. A wound like that could have easily killed you.”

“I was more concerned about the sharks, to tell you the truth,” I said, trying to make him smile. “I know you say they won’t hurt me, but I ran into one on the way here who looked like he thought I’d make a good lunch.”

“With all the blood you were losing, I’m not surprised.” Kona shook his head. “What were you doing all the way out there, anyway? I thought you were home, training?”

And here was the tricky part, the question I had been dreading. How was I supposed to explain to him that on one of my rare days off, I chose to go to the place I still considered my real home instead of hanging out with him? It barely made sense to me.

I couldn’t stand the idea of lying, though, so finally, I just told him. “I was on my way back from La Jolla.”

He stiffened, his arms growing rigid and unyielding around me. He didn’t pull away, which I might have taken as an encouraging sign except for the fact that he kept glancing at my tail, as if gauging how much longer he was stuck sitting with me, so that he didn’t jostle me and mess up Zarek’s stitches when he got up.

“Please don’t be mad,” I told him. “I just wanted to check on my family. I wanted to see Moku, to make sure he was okay.”

Kona’s jaw was rigid. “And is he?”

“I don’t know. I miscalculated the time, so it was late when I got there. Everyone was asleep.”

I was suddenly aware of how deathly quiet the room had gotten. At my confession, the guards had made themselves scarce, while the medical personnel were all trying to look as busy as possible. Which was nowhere near busy enough, considering they were hanging on my every word. But then, that was no surprise. These were selkies, and Kona would someday be their king. Everything about him was news.

It was that realization that made me decide to omit any mention of Mark. The last thing Kona needed was for the entire kingdom to know his girlfriend wasn’t completely over her ex.

“It was a total bust.”

“Why didn’t you tell me you were going?”

I shot him an incredulous look. Wasn’t that obvious? “I thought you’d try to stop me.”

He looked away, his jaw working furiously. “Tempest, when have I ever tried to stop you from doing anything?”

I didn’t have an answer. Kona had always been incredibly supportive—and tolerant—of me. No matter how whacked out I got.

“I don’t care that you went home. Frankly, I expected you to want to check on your family a lot sooner than this.”

Shock jolted through me and my whole body twitched, which earned me a hiss from Zarek. “Sorry,” I told him.

“It’s your tail. If you don’t mind scarring, neither do I.”

His threat had the desired effect as I froze, resolving not to move my body another inch until he was done. Turning my head back to Kona, I murmured, “I thought I wasn’t supposed to see them.”

“I knew you were going to say something like that,” he told me, his frustration palpable. “But why? You’re not in prison, Tempest. Hailana and I want you to be happy. Whatever you need to do to make this transition work is okay with us. If you want to go home and see your brothers, why would we stop you?”

It sounded so reasonable when he said it like that. But it didn’t feel reasonable, this need I had for the land. For my family. For Mark. It felt illicit, dangerous, like I was skating too close to a line I wasn’t supposed to cross.

But why did I feel it was wrong to wonder about my family? If the vibes I was getting weren’t coming from Kona, where were they coming from? Sure, Hailana was making my life difficult in a lot of different ways, but even she had never hinted that my half-human status was a problem.

A picture of Cecily flashed through my mind. My beautiful, powerful, doomed mother, who had chosen the water over her family many years ago. And who had never looked back.

I’d spent years angry at her, resenting her, convinced she was one small step up from a monster. Now that I’d seen her die—because of a mistake
I’d
made—I felt guilty about those feelings and the fact that there was a part of me that was still bitter.

Was that what was motivating me? Despite all the mixed-up feelings between us, despite all my anger and resentment, was I drawing my ideas about land versus sea from my mother?

Was I seeing things in black and white because that was how
she’d
seen them?

I hated to admit it, but it made a twisted kind of sense. My mother had left us when I was ten years old, when my brothers were much younger than that. My father had thrown away seven years waiting for her to come back; only she never had. Even with all my anger, all my assertions that there was no excuse for what she’d done, had I tried to absolve her of guilt? To make things easier on her, and on me, had I chosen to believe that it was an all-or-nothing situation, when it truly didn’t have to be?