The Kiss That Saved Me (The Tidal Kiss Trilogy Book 2) (66 page)

“It will be okay though, right?” I ask him.

“I don’t know… I could lie to you and say yes. But that’s not real,” he sighs.

“No more fantasies,” I whisper.

“No. Our lives are filled with enough fantasy for anybody,” Orion laughs and I nod my head against his lapels. “I know one thing though,” he continues as I listen to his breathing. “You’re strong enough to handle whatever comes next.” He bends down and kisses me, his lips gracing mine. My heart rests beneath the stars as I kiss him. It had been at war for too long. For now, it would be my sanctuary, just like Orion.
 

“You really believe in me?” I say to him as he breaks the kiss. We stand beneath the aurora’s heady magic, its glow illuminating our faces.
 

Orion looks down at me, his eyes sparkling, reflecting back at me all the magic of the Northern Lights.

“Always.”
 

 
SOLUSTUS

The Necrimad sits back on its haunches, the colossal size of it boggling even my mind. It breathes in, its scales flaring and parting, revealing a white-hot orange glow from beneath. Its eyes burn with the same intensity and every time it moves, the very earth beneath its talons rumbles, shifting. I watch as the Psiren army struggle, idiots that they are, to contain it. To place the chains forged by the metal master around the beast’s neck, around it’s legs. It moves once more, swatting them away with its skull, which is covered in spiny protrusions. It impales one or two of them, and I watch as they flail, laughing at their misfortune. I’m watching from far away, mainly because the beast can exhale gallons of boiling water into the surrounding ocean in mere seconds. It is magnificent. I see more of Alyssa’s children coming back from the place where it rests, their skin boiling, falling from bone like it were no more than pork from a spit-roasted pig. I look around, realising I haven’t seen Alyssa lately. Where the hell is she? Do I really care?

“Solustus. Brother. Isn’t it magnificent?” I hear the slithering tones of Saturnus creep toward me. His face is maniacally happy. In this moment I can see the family resemblance between him and Caedes certainly.

“Yes. It is. And yet…. It is still in flesh.” I’m impatient now, for the first time that I can remember. It has always been so very illusive, the premise of power, and yet to see it in flesh, in a form that causes the very men made from its power to tremble, it makes me hungry for the power I know is mine. It makes me wanton. It makes me desire.

“Yes. Now all we need to do is wait. Wait for the return of those with light magic running in their veins. Destroy it… and we shall be victorious.”

“And you’re certain? Absolutely certain, that there are only a few mer who survived?”

“Of course I’m certain! I’m not incompetent! They’ll come back here and we’ll pick them off one by one. We will succeed!” My brother is ranting, raving even. “Then that bitch… she’ll know what she was missing when she chose Atlas… and Poseidon….”

“What was that?!” I demand, cutting him off, suddenly feeling uneasy. Saturnus has never spoken of Poseidon in such an angry tone before. I feel my suspicions grow. Wondering if he has motives I don’t know about.

“Oh… he’ll have to return the power to its rightful place. Of course.”

“Yes. Right you are, brother,” I say, looking down my nose at him.

“Have you seen Alyssa around here?” Saturnus asks me, as though he’d read my previous thought. I laugh at his intrigue.

“Oh Saturnus you think you’re so sly… don’t tell me you’re softening to something as ridiculous as your soulmate now?” I laugh, knowing full well that my brother, after his death, could never stand the love of anything beneath the rank of Goddess.

“Would you desist in being so goddamn vile? The thought you’d even suggest I would look at such a revolting creature… just ugh. You know full well that’s why I stuck her with that stupid merman Gideon, Solustus. Though of course you can’t deny her devotion did become incredibly useful in the end, him breaking her heart and unlocking her true potential as Psiren, it was genius if I do say so myself. I couldn’t have orchestrated it any better if I’d tried. That’s the only reason I asked. I thought a little more recruiting to the cause couldn’t hurt. Besides, Alyssa is too stupid to work out that I was her soulmate, hidden in plain sight. However,
somebody
didn’t find me soon enough to stop my soul being split in half by that...bitch. So I’d watch your tongue. It’s your fault.” He goes on and on like this for a few minutes and I zone out, thinking back to the night his soul had been split. It had been only a few days before I had tainted his blood with Poseidon’s fury, a shame, but not entirely useless as he’s suggesting. Alyssa was stupid and naïve when she had turned, being a prostitute in her mortal life, she wasn’t exactly clear on what the difference between love and sex was. Besides, by the time Saturnus had met her, his heart was blackened and love was impossible, but confusing her and manipulating her for his own agenda had been easy. I remember speaking the truth of the matter aloud to Vex, a generous piece of wisdom that I hope he’ll remember and cherish…
 

Psirens don’t love. It’s not who we are.

“I haven’t seen her.” I say lazily, bored of the conversation. Saturnus halts and cocks his head, dismissing the thought of Alyssa altogether before continuing on with business as usual.

“Oh… another thing before I go, Solustus. Regus caught Vexus having a vision. He’s torturing him as we speak.”
 

“What!? That should have been the first thing out of your mouth!” I bark. Coming up close to Saturnus, my grey eyes burn into his yellow pupils. I push my rapier into his stomach ever so lightly. Letting him know I’m not playing around.

“Apologies, but I thought I’d take the issue in hand. I’m sure you’d agree it needed to be handled swiftly.”

“I should have been informed!”

“It’s done now, Solustus. Calm yourself,” Saturnus cocks an eyebrow and I want to slash his abdominals open and watch his guts fall out.

“I’ll calm myself when you stop taking goddamn liberties! This is my army, my destiny! You’re just… my sidekick,” I spit. Saturnus looks at me and blinks. A mask of cool composure rolls in across his features.

“Very well, brother, I apologise. You are, of course, in charge,” his expression remains still.

“Yes. That’s right… Now go and get that beast handled. The Psirens are failing miserably.”

“Of course…” Saturnus smiles.

“Of course… what?” I demand, feeling myself inflate at my defeat of his attempt to take my power away from me.

“Of course… sir,” Saturnus cocks an eyebrow once more, surprised. Then turning away, he swims over the top of the ruined city into the distance to do my bidding.
 

Something stirs within my psyche as I watch him go. A memory, something that would have troubled me once. For now, I am too impatient to care. I want my power. I want the death of the mer. I want what is rightfully mine. The wrath of Poseidon behind me; and mine for all eternity.

CALLIE

The water of the whirlpool thunders around in cyclical motion, like a race car speeding around a track. It’s unstoppable, the momentum too great for me to even think I’ll be able to survive going in, let alone coming out the other side somewhere totally random. The pod is at my back and I can hear their anxiety.
 

I turn to my father, his large aquamarine eyes full of concern for me.

“Goodbye,” I whisper, trying not to cry in front of the other mer. I don’t want to leave him though. It feels like I only just found him.

“Don’t cry. I’ll see you again before you know it.”

“I know. It just feels like I only just got here,” I explain my frustration at having to move on. He nods.

“I know, but be strong now. I have to prepare the army for war. We’ll see each other again, I promise.” He lets me go, letting his lips fall on me gently, kissing my scalp. I’m covered in armour provided by the Adaro, so it’s uncomfortable, but I’m not about to leave without a hug. I back away and Orion moves forward taking my place. He holds out a hand. Gideon looks down at it, before taking it and shaking a few times vigorously. “You take care of my daughter! If not there’ll be hell to pay,” he tries to seem stern, to put on a frown, but there’s no mistaking the fondness in his eyes for the young ruler.

“Of course, sir, I wouldn’t have it any other way Orion turns away from him.

“Come on everyone,” Cole calls back to the mermaids. They’re in armour too, but they’ve covered it in glittering diamonds and strings of pearls. I have no idea where they got them, but they look ridiculous.
 

Orion and I approach the whirlpool. I grab his hand, turning and looking at him, drinking in his face before we take the plunge. He’s plated and sporting bracers as usual. The trident I took from the Cryptopolis is pressing flat against his spine. Our bracers clang together as I knot my fingers through his, feeling my pulse heighten.
 

I turn back. The Adaro are watching us intensely and I know there’s no backing down now. We need to show them we’re not afraid of anything. Even if it is huge and spinning and terrifying.

“Okay. On three…” I say to Orion. He breathes in, moving us still closer to the whirlpool.

“One…” he kisses my hand.

“Two,” I smile back at him.

“Three!” We’re ripped apart as we meet with the force of the spinning water, finally getting close enough to be swept up in its devastating wake.
 

It’s not the most uncomfortable I’ve ever been, I mean, I have died twice, but it isn’t far off. I feel my joints pulling from their sockets and my skull rattling around, the water pounding it. I can’t see anything, can’t hear anything except the rush of the cold icy water. I try to pull it into my lungs, to breathe, but even that hurts. I try to look for Orion, but all I can see is a melding of colours and faces, one running into another. I would scream but the rush of the water, the pushing and pulling of the spinning currents, takes my breath and all noise with it, chucking us into what feels like a vacuum outside of time and space.