The Kiss That Saved Me (The Tidal Kiss Trilogy Book 2) (40 page)

“May I beg an explanation of this rudeness?” He barks, sinking through the water, unmoving, as though he’s a God. His golden scales are shimmering, the jewels encrusted into the scales sparkling with blinding intensity.

“The Psiren army is coming!” I exclaim and his eyebrows rise slightly, not missing a beat.

“Ahhh,” he doesn’t look worried, merely stern.

“Aren’t you concerned?” I ask him, slightly confused as to why he’s not panicking.

“Not at all. We have all we need here to beat them back. Let’s just stay calm and prepare. I still hold the power to protect this city. Worry not, Orion. All will be well,” he places a hand on my shoulder.
 

“What should we do?” I ask him, desperately needing his guidance.

“You’re asking me? You’re crowned ruler,” he smirks and I feel irritated. This isn’t the time for grudges.

“Yes, but you’ve guided the crown for longer than anyone,” I remind him. He smiles, his pale skin radiant against the bloody mess of his mane of hair.

“Very well. If you wish me to guide you I will,” he nods and I smile.

“Thank you,” I exhale slightly, feeling relief wash over me.

“Starlet is with you?” He queries.
 

I nod as she moves around the doorway.

“Very well. Starlet, I’m going to lock you in my office. You shouldn’t be out in the city.” Starlet looks at me with alarm on her features. I place a hand on her shoulder, bending my head.

“Don’t worry, I’ll come back for you as soon as I can. We need to trust Saturnus. It’ll be alright now, you’ll see,” I comfort her but she still looks unimpressed. “I can’t risk anything happening to you. I won’t lose any more family to these creatures.” She pulls a face but heads over to the red velvet sofa, picking up one of Saturnus’ books and flipping through it, looking bored. Something catches her eye in the corner and I watch her gaze fall to a mirror in the corner of the study. She frowns slightly, her eyebrows knitting together.

“Is that my mirror, Saturnus?” She asks him and he nods.

“Yes… I recall you asking me to move it out of your room for you. A safety measure, remember?” Saturnus looks at her and her eyes search his face. He pulls a leather satchel from a nearby table, throwing it across his body so it hangs at a diagonal.

“Yes, but why is it here?” She asks him and he shrugs.

“Why, because I can’t find anywhere to store it of course,” he laughs slightly. She nods slowly, like she’s unsure of something, but sits back into the hold of the chair, returning to the book she was previously reading.

“Come, Orion. We have work to do,” Saturnus commands. He moves from the room and I follow him out. Looking back over my shoulder at Starlet.

“I’ll be back before you know it,” I wink at her and she raises her eyebrows, her expression deadly serious.

“See you later then,” she replies. I nod and close the door behind me. Saturnus removes a cord from around his neck with the key to his study. Placing it in the lock, he gives it a quick twist before returning it safely around his neck.

“Better safe than sorry eh?” He smiles and I nod. Unamused.
 

“Let’s go,” I urge him on.

We sink through the tower and immediately, with Starlet’s safety ensured thanks to the quick thinking of Saturnus, my thoughts move onto battle strategy.

“So, I need to position the Knight’s around the city, I was thinking a strong hold at the place where the Psiren’s entered last time, what do you think?”

“I think you don’t want to risk it, set them in a ring around the city,” Saturnus sounds so sure. He must know something I don’t. I knew I was going to screw this Crowned Ruler thing up.

“But then the line will only be one man thick. The border around the city is large,” I remind him, but he shakes his head.

“I’m telling you, Orion, you’re better spreading them out and having better coverage. There’s no way they can take out the entire glimmer. If they do manage to get through, say they’ve found a spell, or an object that can damage my magic, then it’ll be concentrated in one spot. What we don’t know is which spot. We need to cover every possible side.”

“Very well. If that’s what you think is best,” I relinquish, still unsure, but knowing my judgement has done nothing but falter since I’ve been crowned. I can’t risk screwing this up.

“It is. I wouldn’t be telling you this if I thought otherwise now, would I?” He asks me the question as we move out into the street, the bottles embedded in the paths are glistening. I assume it rhetorical and keep my silence.

Cole and Ghazi approach from the centre square in front of the Alcazar and I turn to face them immediately.

“You’re to spread the Knights of Atargatis, shoulder to shoulder in a ring around the city,” I order them. Cole looks at me, confused.

“But sir, we don’t have enough Knights to put shoulder to shoulder without the ring only being a single layer thick,” he questions me.
 

“I am well aware, Cole. Isn’t it slightly above your position to be questioning my decisions?” I ask him, feeling the venom leave me unexpectedly. I have never spoken down to him before.
 

I immediately feel bad. His expression hardens and Ghazi looks shocked.

“Sir, yes sir.” His eyes are glazed over, I can tell I’ve hurt him, but I don’t have time to make amends now.

“Do it,” I command, stern, and they both turn from me without a words parting.

“Good. Nice to see you finally taking your role seriously,” Saturnus nods, placing a cold hand on my shoulder and squeezing hard.

“What now?” I ask him and he smiles, like my asking him for advice is how things should be. Like it’s right.

“Now, we rise above the city and watch. You want the best vantage point possible,” he reminds me and I nod. Something inside of my falters suddenly, I narrow my eyes and turn to him.
 

“Don’t I need a weapon?” I ask him, feeling fear clutch at my heart.

“You are enough of a weapon already Orion. You have your ability over air, a gift from our Goddess. That’s better than any spear.” I smile a little, his confidence in my abilities making me feel sure of myself.

“I’d still feel better with a spear or sword. I’ll head to the armoury.”

“You’re out of time!” Saturnus says, looking out to the horizon and pointing. His eyes wide.

The sun is high overhead still, and now I can see the Psiren army for what it is: huge. They’ve grown.

Saturnus and I rise high above the city, watching the Knights assemble around its borders, diligent to my command and unthinking in their loyalty.

“Quite a sight to see, isn’t it?” Saturnus asks me, his bloody tangle of red hair wavering around his head. His gold scales and jewel encrusted flesh glistens under the midday sun.

“Of course,” I mutter, uninterested in platitudes.
 

The streets below are packed, the people of my city having noticed the encroaching dark cloud, like smoke, I can only hope it’s easier to capture and destroy. The mermaids below are stirring, I watch them from this great height like insects, scurrying and forming tiny clusters, no doubt gossiping and spreading fear amongst themselves.
 

“You need not worry, Orion. All will be well,” Saturnus comforts me and I turn to him.

“Thank you. I’m not doing a great job at this leader thing. I know that. You would have been the better choice,” I admit this, trying to show my true feelings about the position, hoping he will understand that this isn’t a responsibility I ever wanted and that I in no way feel superior to him or anyone else.
 

“Oh I know,” he smiles, his mouth spreading into a joyous chasm. My heart begins to drop slightly at the look in his eyes.
 

I ignore it, turning away from him as a slight sickness churns in my stomach. Is it just nerves? Probably. I dismiss it and turn, facing my fear and watching the black mass of Psirens fall upon us.
 

They reach the outskirts of the city limits and the effect is staggering. They dwarf our army entirely, especially now that the army is spread, shoulder-to-shoulder in a single band around the city limits. They look like a piece of string, flimsy and weak compared to the fist of an army they face. I swallow hard, blood pounding around my body.
 

“So what now?” I rotate in the water. The armies are facing one another, floating and waiting, innocuous.
 

“Now… I think it’s time that I impart a lesson that your father learned the hard way. He would have wanted me to impart it and seeing as I might not get another chance, it should be now,” he looks deeply into my eyes, his voice lulling me into a familiar security.
 

“What is it?” I whisper, slightly awe stricken at the lushness of his green eyes.

“Come closer…” he gestures for me to move toward him, the heat of his breath touching my face as I slip through the water. He moves in too, sliding his mouth in beside my ear.

“Trust…no one,” he whispers the words and I feel myself frown, confused. Something is thrust into my flesh and with a sharp convulsion I scream out. I look down; he’s stabbed me in the gut with a dagger.
 

I watch as he shifts, magic falling from him like a curtain, unveiling the performance of a lifetime. His body is deathly white, his eyes black, with yellow feline pupils. His hair changes from bloody red to black as night and his tail morphs from one of a Goddess’ love to that with characteristics of a white dragon king crown betta. The body of his tail is white, pale and leeched of all colour but its edges fray and morph outward in crisscrossing blades of onyx flesh.
 

This is all I manage to take in before a sick smile spreads across his lips and he pushes me away from his true form, wrenching the dagger from my insides as I gasp in surprise. I fall backwards through the water steadily and in slow motion as I reach out to grab at Saturnus. My body is in shock, damaged and unable to respond as I crash downward. The glimmer surrounding the city falls as Saturnus commands it, ripping our only chance of survival away as though it were no more than tissue paper.
 

The last thing I remember before the unconsciousness takes me are falling, flaming stars and a swarm descending on everything I love.

SOLUSTUS

The glimmer falls and there it is: the promised land, all gleam and shine in the sunlight which burns my eyes. The Occulta Mirum, the Kingdom I had longed to possess as my own for so long, to watch the mer kneel before me as I slit their throats. I smile to myself seeing my brother, a speck at the height of the city, a figure falling from him, leaving a trail of scarlet behind it in intermittent plumes.

“Fire!” I bellow. My arrow masters pull back their bows, constructed from whale ribs, and ignite their arrows. It was an ingenious creation, sparked by the discovery of a flare, still burning in spite of being at the bottom of the ocean. Magnesium, that was the key: a chemical that burns so hot that it makes its own stream of oxygen from the surrounding water, keeping it lit. Saturnus had been impressed and I watch as the arrows, flaming, fall upon the city.
 

A satisfying panic rings out as the people below scatter.
 

I move forward, pointing with my long fingers, signalling for the army to descend. They move, a black mass of intense power, each beast armed with some kind of weapon, many with little more than boards of rotting wood with fish hooks stuck through, but each as lethal as the next. I am glad in this moment that I have trained them personally and I watch as they move, meeting to clash with the flimsy band of warriors that the mer call an army. My next command isn’t necessary, but I feel I need to exert my dominance and keep some semblance of control over the mass of soulless killers I have harboured. It is simple.

“Decimate.”

I swim like a dart, lithe and with quick momentum, through the water with such accuracy and pointed speed that one might not discern me unless they really try. I am a blur, high on the bloodshed occurring beneath me. Scarlette at my hip and the scythe strapped flat against the length of my spine.