The Marked Ones (14 page)

‘Shit.’ Pintang whispered, handing Tristan her can of lemonade. ‘You’re right. I’ll go help her.’ Before Tristan could stop her, Pintang had made a beeline for the princess.

‘Since when is a girl too drunk for your liking?’ A hard voice sneered.

Tristan whipped around, heart skipping a beat when he found himself eye-to-eye with a woman he’d never thought he’d see again. ‘Adele
Knightley?’

She frowned. ‘So you remember my name? Because you
definitely forgot my number.’

Tristan groaned silently. He’d bumped into exes before, but usually, they were polite. In fact, most of them hinted towards a round two. That clearly wasn’t the case with this one. He braced himself for a wave of bitter. ‘It’s good to see you too Adele.’ He said, smiling tightly, trying to block out the memory of when he’d last seen her-as she’d snuck out of his hotel room. ‘Never expected to find you this far from Sydney though.’

‘I summer here. In fact, I work here, Tristan. With my boyfriend.’

Tristan had a high intellect, and it took exactly two seconds for him to calculate her words with her attitude. Adele. Bartender. Lincoln’s girlfriend. ‘Oh...shit.’ The curse escaped his lips thoughtlessly.

‘That’s my sentiment exactly.’ Adele snapped.

‘You’re with
Link?’

She nodded.

‘Does he know…?’ Tristan felt weak at the thought. A feeling that intensified when Adele nodded again.

‘Yes, he does. I had to tell him, in case
you said something first.’

Tristan began to scan the party, heartbeat quickening. ‘Will he tell Ivyanne?’

‘Ivyanne?’ Adele’s voice dripped with venom. ‘Why would he go discussing such a thing with an employee?’

Tristan froze, wetting his lips, wishing he could take his words back. But the look he darted in Adele’s direction confirmed that she’d read between the lines. Her face went white.

‘You think my boyfriend is into your girlfriend?!’ She demanded.

‘I don’t know.’ Were he human, Tristan knew he would be sweating. He caught sight of Ivyanne and relaxed to see that she wasn’t watching them. She was trying to convince Pintang to dance to a boom box someone had turned on, while waving two other workers over. ‘She’s not my girlfriend though, not yet. I’m just
trying to date her-so I don’t really want Link rubbing my past in her face.’

‘And by
date you mean-get her into bed and then never call again?’

Tristan felt like he’d been lashed to a descending anchor. ‘Adele-you’re the one who told
me it was a one-night thing.’

She scowled at him. ‘Well for the record, never believe a girl when they say that, okay? I’m not the sleep around sort Tristan. I only went to bed with you because-’ She pressed her lips together. ‘Never mind. Just...can you
go?’

Tristan was surprised. Adele had actually liked him? Had she been hoping to rock his world so much that he’d chase her afterwards instead of taking her at her word? Tristan was overcome with guilt,
and pity. He only remembered her name because her parents had bought a few shares in his company. She’d meant nothing to him, and he’d believed that she had felt the same. So how many other girls hearts had he stomped on without knowing it?

‘Hold on-’ he frowned. ‘Were you
with him when you slept with me?’

‘No.’ But Adele’s gaze dropped. ‘I’d broken up with him, that morning.’

Tristan groaned. ‘Well your timing sucks, but I won’t be punished for it. I’m not going, Adele. I’m serious about Ivyanne.’ Tristan inched away. ‘I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings, I truly am, but if you and Link are happy, then what’s the harm in me being here?’

At that moment, Lincoln looked over, and his jaw tightened. Adele followed his gaze, and groaned. ‘Look, I’m asking you to leave out of loyalty to him.’ She whispered, glancing nervously at Lincoln, who was making his way over. ‘If you don’t want him blabbing about us to your precious Ivyanne, then
that’s a conversation you need to have with him. I’m not doing you any favors.’

Tristan crossed his arms and glared at her. She was getting on his nerves. ‘And
I’m not leaving. But for courtesy’s sake, please tell him that I have zero interest in his girlfriend, so he can stop shaking in his boots.’

Adele scowled, clearly offended by the
zero reference, and shook her finger at him. ‘You’ve kept your head hidden since Thursday apparently, so if you stay, I advise you to continue doing so, because if your presence here agitates him- I’ll tell Ivyanne myself what a snake her beau is. And I won’t leave any details out of it.’ She smirked. ‘Right down to the champagne.’

Tristan stepped closer to her, smiling solicitously. He could play hardball. ‘Oh that’s right….how could I forget? You damn near screamed the hotel down when I licked up
that little spill. Does Link know how much his woman likes that trick? Because I can write a few things down for him…?’

Adele inhaled sharply, cheeks flushing, and then turned on her foot, fleeing. Tristan watched her dramatic withdrawal, shocked by her conduct. Adele had been so sweet and dignified when he’d first met her-he’d never anticipated a scene like
this!

Adele turned and intercepted Lincoln. They exchanged quick, quiet words. Lincoln looked up several times, his expression so full of jealousy and loathing that Tristan tensed for a fight. But after about twenty tense seconds, Adele managed to steer him away, stopping only to scowl at Tristan one final time before flouncing off.

‘Here’s our princess.’ Pintang exclaimed, arriving at Tristan’s side, holding up a glassy-eyed looking Ivyanne by the waist.

‘I heard a splash.’ Ivyanne drawled, squinting out to the sea. ‘Did you hear a splash, guys? It was probably Ardhi you know. And he’s gonna be pissed if he saw me with a drink. Should I call him? I really should, hey?’

Ivyanne’s expression was so earnest, that Tristan chuckled, despite himself. ‘Why don’t we go sit you down to sober up a bit?’ He asked, steering her back towards the log, with Pintang’s assistance. He hoped no one was paying Ivyanne much mind. It would definitely make people suspicious to see her tipsy drunk after half a beer and a single margarita! ‘If you still want to, you can call Ardhi in the morning.’

‘I really should.’ Ivyanne said, allowing herself to be lowered. She rocked for a moment, but Tristan supported her back with his hand. She leaned into him. ‘God...you smell
good. Maybe I should just wake up in your bed after all.’ She turned her face up to his. ‘It would simplify things.’

Tristan’s groin throbbed at the words, erasing his woes, and Pintang sucked in a breath between her teeth.

‘Your majesty!’ Pintang hissed, sending Tristan a shocked, cautioning glare. ‘If my brother heard that-’

‘He probably
did.’ Ivyanne giggled, and flapped her arm over her shoulder. ‘He’s such a stalker. I’m tellin yah-he’s out there, right now, watching us and plotting Tristan’s death.’

‘I won’t be laying a hand on the princess until she agrees to marry me Pintang, so wipe that look off your face.’ Tristan softened the words with a smile. ‘Besides, a good swim will sober her up.’

Pintang didn’t look convinced.

But Ivyanne snorted. ‘I wouldn’t wait for a marriage agreement from me, Tristan Loveridge.’

‘Why?’ Tristan asked.

Ivyanne’s eyes dropped. ‘Because every man who I’ve ever agreed to marry dies!’ And with that exclamation, Ivyanne promptly buried her head in her knees and burst into tears, twisting a knife in Tristan’s heart. For loss of anything better to do, Tristan wrapped his arms around her and let her sob into his shirt. When he glanced behind him, he found himself staring directly at Lincoln Grey, who was watching them all with a look of surprise and confusion on his handsome face.

14.

Ardhi swum faster and faster, until his heart was pounding, and his limbs beginning to ache. But he didn’t slow down, not until the submerged rocks around Needle Island began to loom in the shadowy water before him.

Ardhi steered around the first boulder, pushing off it violently, needing an outlet for his aggression. He didn’t know who he was madder at-himself for giving Ivyanne the benefit of the doubt, Pintang, for telling him that leaving Ivyanne to her own devices was the best idea, which clearly she’d been wrong about-or Ivyanne, who he’d just observed in the arms of not one man-but two-including a god damned human! And with a drink in her hand, to boot! Had she lost her mind?

There were so many jagged rocks in the inky black water that Ardhi was forced to slow right down. And without the sound of the ocean tearing apart by his ears, or the ability to flick his tail in agitation, his anger welled up inside him, making his eyes sting with tears.

The entire situation had been a disaster from the very beginning! Ardhi had known Ivyanne for five years before Roan had died. They’d become good friends, and because she was promised to someone, the thought of a romantic entanglement had never occurred to him. Yes, he’d had a few hot and heavy dreams about her, but he’d chalked those up to hormones. In fact, his mother and father had always urged him to consider Grace Londeree as a possible future spouse. But she’d been a kid at the time, so Ardhi hadn’t given it any thought at all. Ardhi was a fisherman and an explorer-not a thinker or a planner.

Until the tsunami. Roan had perished, and though the kingdom had been heartbroken, they’d instantly launched into deliberation over who the next candidate for Ivyanne’s hand should be. Ardhi had seen himself placing Ivyanne’s crown on her head during a wedding ceremony, and the image had turned on millions of switches inside him he hadn’t realized were there until then. He’d gone to his parents, to get advice on how best to handle his sudden desires-only to have them inform him that Nigara Loveridge had come forward, and that the queen had already decided on him, and that Ivyanne had agreed.

The Kayu-Api’s weren’t fond of the Loveridge's, for the way Tristan had rejected an offer of marriage from heir oldest daughter Lumi back in the eighties, but when they learned that Nigara had a human girlfriend and child he was prepared to walk away from to marry Ivyanne, Ardhi’s family had been too moved to say a bad word against Nigara. Even Ardhi. Feeling like a child in comparison to a man, he’d kept his feelings to himself.

But the feelings hadn’t gone away. The queen had given Ivyanne until her twenty-eighth birthday to remain independent, hoping that would give Nigara time to disentangle himself from his human family and do one final service in the war on terror-something he’d never be able to do again, as future ruler of the mer people, while Ivyanne came to terms with the new arrangement.

And so Ardhi had remained Ivyanne’s constant companion. And every day, he fell more in love with her. The dreams had intensified. She haunted his every thought, and yet somehow, she hadn’t noticed.

Then the news came that Nigara had died, and knowing that Ivyanne would once again have to choose a husband, and terrified that he’d be the victim of silence once more-Ardhi had found her that very afternoon and dropped to his knee, begging her hand. In hindsight, that had been a big mistake. Ivyanne had been in shock until then, but his declaration made her fly into a rage. She’d screamed at him for lying to her by concealing his feelings, and had ordered him out of her bedroom-and out of her life until he: ‘Got his senses back.’

Ardhi had been devastated. His parents had been shocked-and the entire kingdom had been scandalized. Unbelievably, no one saw his actions as those of a man in love-but an opportunist who didn’t have the sensitivity to hold his tongue.

But Ardhi hadn’t seen a reason to be sensitive about the situation-he’d never expected Ivyanne to mourn the death of a fiancé she’d barely known. But according to her mother, who actually had taken the time to hear Ardhi’s explanation-it wasn’t just the loss of Nigara that had broken Ivyanne’s spirit, but the belief that she was
cursed. Vana had explained that Ivyanne’s grief was compounded by guilt-Roan had died en route to her, and Nigara had taken on an extra service to give the princess time. So she felt responsible for the lives of both men, and guilty that she couldn’t mourn either the way they deserved-with a broken heart-as she’d loved neither.

So, naturally-the belief that Ardhi might lose his life too had terrified Ivyanne, and she’d handled it badly. And because she hadn’t had an inking about his feelings towards her, his proposal had come as a massive shock. Vana had explained that Ivyanne had reconciled herself to a loveless marriage, one forged from duty, not desire, and she’d been comfortable with that. The concept now, that her future spouse might actually love her, and require love from her in return, had spooked the overwrought princess, who valued Ardhi too much as a friend to gamble with his heart. That notion had cheered Ardhi somewhat-had given him hope that Ivyanne was only keeping him at arm’s length because she cared too much for him. Not too
little.

Once Vana had explained all of that-she’d informed Ardhi that her days of choosing husbands for her only daughter were through. That Ivyanne was to make the decision herself, with no pressure from anyone, and that if Ivyanne could love him, she’d be free to do so.

But the problem was-Ivyanne had never made a choice for herself in her life, and she had no idea of how to go about it. So she’d buried her head in the sand and refused to discuss the subject until she was ready. Which included freezing Ardhi out.

That had been almost seven months ago. Ardhi had been patient. He’d given her space, but he hadn’t disappeared from her life either. And when she’d told him that she was going to the mainland because she needed a break from the pressure, he’d kept his protests to a minimum.

But where had his tolerance gotten him? How could Ivyanne abandon him, claiming that she wasn’t ready to even consider her future, only to allow Tristan bloody Loveridge to wrap himself around her, mere days later? When he’d seen them silhouetted against the bonfire, two heads of curly blonde hair, Ardhi had felt his heart shatter into a million fragments.

And what was the deal with the human? Ardhi hadn’t been close enough to hear them conversing, but he’d seen Ivyanne’s face alight with animation-seen her knock back a full drink in one gulp the moment the tall man had loped away. She’d then turned to the ocean, and rested her hand against her heart with a ridiculously moved smile on her face. A smile Ardhi had never seen before. A smile
no human should be capable of gleaning from their princess.

His initial instinct had been to emerge from the water, grab both men and shove them into the fire, so they could burn like he was. But he’d retained enough sense to get the hell away before he outed their species, and now here he was. Lost in the familiar. Aching from an old wound that had been torn anew, and completely clueless as what to do, to make the burning stop.

⁓

The first thing Lincoln had done when he’d awoken on Tuesday morning was strap on his joggers-and head down the rainforest lined road, towards Seaview township. He had a lot of thinking to do-about Adele and Tristan, about the fact that Pintang had seemingly become best friends with Ivyanne overnight, and about the fact that he was rapidly falling out of love with his girlfriend-and in love with someone else.

But he had a lot of showing off to do as well. And he’d known just where to start.

‘Good morning,’ he greeted the ogre behind the register. His grin was so wide, he could practically feel the corners of his mouth touch his ears. ‘How are you?’

She did a double-take, and Lincoln had expected no less. She was a small person, with a small mind, and easily impressed. The fact that he’d ever allowed her and her resentment of his rejections manifest into such a crippling blow to his self esteem astonished him. He should have known better, and put her in her place two months before.

‘Did you have surgery or something?’ She asked, her hazel eyes accusatory.

He let that tactless remark roll of his back-his lean, tanned back. ‘Actually no- amazing what two weeks of exercise and a fabulous spa technician can do, isn’t it?’ he winked at her. ‘You should try it sometime-her name is Aubrielle. Mention me, and she’ll give you a discount.’

The barista instantly went about the business of steaming his milk, pushing a sweaty, copper colored lock of hair over her ear. ‘Yeah right-with a newborn baby and a business in these times? Like
I’ll ever have the chance to book into a spa for a day.’

Lincoln studied her while she worked, feeling a stirring of empathy. Her nails were bitten down to the quick and the space between her index and middle finger stained heavily from nicotine. She’d gone to some trouble to twist her hair up into a bun, but the steam from the expresso machine had worked it out and apparently, evaporated most of her make-up at the same time. In the background, a child wailed, and when Lincoln peeked around the corner, spotted her tiny infant on it’s back in a playpen in the small kitchen beyond. It’s face was red and scrunched with newborn-indignation. That’s when it occurred to him that he’d never seen a husband around. Was she doing everything by her
self?

Lincoln swallowed as he got an insight into what her life was like: Hard, boring and sleep-deprived. Forced to wait on the lifeguard turned business man who had spurned her advances repeatedly in her youth. He felt a rush of sympathy-this had never been about him, not really.

‘You know what?’ he said, dropping the smug act and softening his tone. ‘You really should make time for it, just once. We all need to put ourselves first occasionally, don’t we?’

She said nothing, only shrugged. Lincoln stepped aside to allow the other customer behind him place his order, sliding a five dollar note across the steel counter top to exchange for his coffee. He waited there for three minutes, glancing around the well-decorated coffee house as though seeing it for the first time. It really was a warm, lovely little place. He liked the way she mixed chocolate colors against stark shades of cream and white, and the art on the walls had obviously been done by a local artist, because they were local scenes-only skewed by impressionism.

‘Did you decorate this yourself?’ he asked as she bustled about.

She nodded. ‘Yeah. I always wanted to be an interior designer....’ She made a face. ‘But dad left me this place when he died, and a Barista course was a lot faster than going through uni!’

‘You did the paintings too?’Lincoln guessed.

Lydia glanced at the largest portrait in the wall-the one of the Cape as seen from the look out, and shrugged. ‘Yeah. I’ve been meaning to replace them though. You can see how I rushed it.’

‘No don’t-’ Lincoln said quickly. ‘They’re amazing! The whole place looks great.’ He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. ‘Come up and see me some time. We have a function room that needs a bit of sprucing up-I’d appreciate you taking a look at it. Maybe we could work something out.’

She finally looked at him, agog. ‘
Seriously?’

He smiled. ‘Sure. Might as well hire locally, hey?’

‘I’ll definitely consider it!’ She placed the lid on his coffee and pushed it back across the counter to him. ‘My name is Lydia, by the way. You never actually asked.’

Lincoln was blind-sided by the guilt. Of course, she was right. He hadn’t. He’d had eyes only for Ivanna back then-every other girl had become white noise in comparison. That mustn’t have felt good for her.

‘Nice to finally meet you Lydia,’ he said with an impish smile, taking a sip of his coffee. ‘I’m Lincoln. Excellent brew, by the way. And I hope you swing by soon.’

‘Bye Link,’ she called after him, a brighter note in her tone. ‘I will!’

When Lincoln left the building, he felt ten times better than the last time when Ivyanne had shot the other woman down for his benefit-because this joy came from giving instead of taking. He could definitely get used to that.

⁓

‘Tristan Loveridge, shirtless and alone? Is something amiss in the world?’

Tristan looked up from the board he was waxing, pleased to see Pintang smiling down at him. She was wearing her uniform-a crisp white polo shit like Ivyanne’s own, but with black slacks. Her hair was braided back from her face, and delicate gold hoops dangled from her ears. She looked fresh and pretty.

‘Passing time,’ he said, rolling the wax in a circular motion over the board. The truth was that he was less likely to bump into, or irritate Lincoln and Adele if he stuck to the beach and avoided the bar. Not even his room felt safe. He kept expecting to hear a knock on the door, and find himself knee-deep in drama. Lincoln was clearly crazy about Ivyanne and probably chomping at the bit for a reason to get her away from Tristan-and Tristan didn’t want to give Lincoln reason to do so, until he was sure Ivyanne had fallen hard enough for him to forgive his past.

‘So, have you seen Ivyanne yet? Think she’ll be hungover?’

‘I don’t know.’ Tristan smiled at the memory of Pintang forcing Ivyanne into the ocean the previous evening, to sober her up. They’d waited until the party was over, and it was a good thing too, because Ivyanne had transitioned almost instantly and taken off. ‘What time did you guys get in?’

‘About three.’ Pintang rolled her eyes. ‘Never let her drink again, okay? She was dead-set on making it to Hawaii to say ‘hi’ to Bane, you know-to be
fair.’