The Marked Ones (6 page)

So while Ivyanne had remained chaste and guarded her entire life, Tristan had been making the most of his freedom on the mainland. All mermen were guilty of the same thing, but Tristan had drawn gossip because his looks and charisma drew women like bees to a flower. Most mermaids knew of one human friend who’d been taken in, and turned inside out, by Tristan Loveridge. And all mermaids were desperate to experience the thrall firsthand.

It wasn’t a character flaw in Vana’s opinion, only a minor hurdle. If Ivyanne could come to terms with the fact that she was not Tristan's first (unlike Ardhi, who at twenty-five had not yet explored the world) Vana didn’t see how it could affect anything in the long run. Especially if he was as good a lover as his reputation promised!

It was hard for the Court women to have children. Vana and her mother, Ivy, had only managed one child each, and Ivyanne hadn’t come along until well after Vana’s four hundredth birthday. Vana wanted Ivyanne to do better, and faster-and something about Tristan screamed virility. Their family tree was so sparse, yet blessed with genetic perfection. But if Ivyanne didn’t have children, their line would end with her.

Ironically, two of Ivyanne’s potential husbands only existed because their parents had each broken the rules, and bred with other ‘Marked’ partners.

Joakim Fire and Eka Wood had been the worst offenders. They had intertwined two families for a selfish reason-love. Their union had produced Ardhi, Lumi and Pintang, and because of the merged families, Joakim and Eka had created a new surname for themselves…‘Kayu-Api’ which meant Wood-fire in Indonesian. Yes the children were all amazing mer-specimens, but the union had not been sanctioned. Adding Ivyanne’s own name, Court to that would be a foolish idea. How would Vana make an example out of the rule breaking Kayu-Api clan if she allowed her daughter to make Ardhi a prince as well?

Isabelle Loveridge and Mano Londeree were guilty of uniting two ‘Marked’ families as well-but Vana’s own mother Ivy had masterminded that union when she had been queen. Tristan’s sister Isabelle, a third generation full-blood, had been unable to mother children with human men
or half breeds, so they’d arranged for her to marry another ‘Marked’ son, with tremendous results.

‘At the end of the day,’ Vana continued, ‘I’m sorry to say that neither boy is exceptional enough to be a front-runner. Her first fiancé Roan had the ability to shape-shift into a Dolphin and turn, and your brother Nigara was a formidable man...both would have been magnificent future kings, and their genetics would have blended with Ivyanne’s perfectly.’

Tristan frowned. ‘But you must have realized that I myself am lacking in any exceptional abilities.’

Vana smiled. ‘You are strong where Ivyanne is weak, that is enough for me. Confidence, initiative, charisma...you have those qualities in spades. I must add, although I’m sure you’re very aware already, that your looks are quite exceptional as well.’

Tristan rolled his eyes, but didn’t deny it, so she went on:

‘You are young, close enough to her age that she’ll feel comfortable but not so close that you haven’t lived. Everybody adores you,’ she paused and smiled secretly, knowing her husband would roll his eyes if she’d said that in his presence, ‘and you balance your life out here well with a life on the land. Plus, on a personal note, I can’t help but feel like with Nigara gone....your family is deserving of a change in fortune.’

Tristan reclined in his chair, assessing her words to himself, gazing out at the inky black ocean before them-a pensive look on his face, no doubt as he recalled the death of his brother, only six months before, in Iraq. ‘I do not wish to inherit a bride from my brother,’ he said quietly, too lost in his thoughts to meet her gaze. ‘If they had been in love, I would never have dishonored him by volunteering my arm in his absence.’

‘I know that,’ Vana said seriously. ‘But the reality is, that they were little more than strangers and he had given his heart to someone else previously, someone he planned to turn before I asked him to marry my Ivyanne. You are closer to her age-
you should have been the first choice to start with.’

‘Perhaps I would have been,’ Tristan agreed. ‘I blame myself for that oversight. The fact that I went missing for a few years there would have made contacting me impossible, I understand that.’

Vana nodded. She had tried to locate Tristan after Roans’ death in the tsunami, but he had been going through a rebellious stage. Only when he returned in 2009, long after the decision had been made, did she discover that he had been studying engineering at a reputable university in Cyprus-a study he now grown a tremendously successful and environmentally profitable business from.

‘We all have to find ourselves at times,’ she said now. ‘That was your time, as now is Ivyanne's own. I applaud your strength of conviction, and I know that Ivyanne will as well.’

Tristan shrugged. ‘Be that as it may.....If Ivyanne marries me, I want it to be because she desires to-not because we are playing musical chairs with her future and deciding where the music stops for her.’

‘I’m not suggesting that,’ Vana said quickly. ‘However, Ivyanne is a selfless girl, and she may feel the need to choose Ardhi out of loyalty. That’s a distinct advantage he has. So consider my advice right now to be a way of simply leveling the playing field. If you think you can
truly love her, I need you to demonstrate that before Ardhi gets her by default.’ She leaned forward, feeling the urgency creep into her voice. ‘I need you there Tristan. Ivyanne’s life has been sheltered and boring. I need you to show her how amazing it could be if she was at your side.’

Tristan got to his feet. ‘Well, you’ve made me feel better about my chances, and what her pre-conceptions of this match will be. If I’m to re-con at the Seaview for awhile, I’d better get my affairs in order back in Los Angeles. Time is of the essence though, so I think I’ll fly again.’

Vana was impressed. Air travel was detested among their kind. ‘Well,’ Vana smiled regally at him, holding out her hand. ‘I appreciate you taking time out to undertake such a trivial matter.’

He kissed her hand graciously. ‘The prize in this matter is a lot grander, and more important, than my business venture. Thank you for the guidance.’

‘You’re welcome.’  Vana followed Tristan off the porch and to the water’s edge, averting her eyes as he unwrapped the sarong and re-fastened it in a smaller fashion so that it covered only his private areas. He gave her a little bow, then began to wade out, barely disturbing the water around him. After five more steps, he did a shallow dive, disappearing from sight for a few seconds, then emerging with a slap of his tail before vanishing again.

Vana sighed happily, then turned back to her summer home, admiring it as she always did. They had discovered and purchased it eleven years before, when they’d been forced to stop summering at The Seaview on the mainland but had been too fond of the area to actually abandon it. It was a traditional Queenslander, with a wraparound balcony on the larger lower level with a second tier on top of it, containing the three bedrooms and a bathroom. It was painted dark green and cream, and sat nestled amongst the rainforest trees on the side of the hill. In the light of day, it was barely visible. Vana had spent a great deal of money, billions in fact, to secure that property, on account of it being a national park. As far as the government knew, she was the caretaker, and was forbidden from building anywhere else on the island. Likewise, the public were strictly prohibited from using ‘her’ side, or the little private beach which practically reached the front garden at high tide.

The Court family owned several more permanent residences, but none of them were quite as secluded from the world as Bracken Island was. Ivyanne had always loved Bracken, and Vana had already decided to pass it on to her daughter as a wedding gift. She felt immense pleasure when she envisioned that moment.

Everyone had been pushing Ivyanne so hard, but she was yet to push back-not because of weakness, but a shining inner strength. Vana wanted to stop everything and hold her daughter and tell her that everything would be okay, but Vana simply didn’t know if that was true. She hadn’t started trying for children until she was almost two hundred, and the two hundred and seventy five years of disappointment that had followed had been dark times for the then princess. She wanted a different fate for Ivyanne, to have children young, like a human, then watch them grow for centuries. And not just one little girl like the women in their family had always had, but three, maybe more. Golden haired angels that Vana could hold before her time was up, that Ivyanne could enjoy before becoming queen..

Vana didn’t doubt that her daughter would make her decision wisely and with grace-she had never taken her responsibilities lightly. The only question was, would she choose for  love, loyalty or practicality? Vana took a moment to appreciate her daughters’ despair. How sad it was that neither husband offered all three.

6.

The first four days were definitely the hardest for Ivyanne, but by the Wednesday afternoon, she was beginning to feel more in control of herself. Knowing, since the swim on Sunday night, that she could be trusted to get into the ocean without taking off, she had allowed herself more frequent swims to stave off the withdrawals. The beach was a busy place, so solitary transformations weren’t often possible. However, surfing was a good cover.  She often took one of the rental boards between her shifts and trekked around to Oyster point, like she had that day. The point break on the other side of Oyster Point wasn’t a great one-the locals preferred the bluff on the alternate side of the cove-but that meant she usually had it to herself. On the occasions when she discovered tourists there, Ivyanne comforted herself by actually surfing. Gliding on the water was almost as satisfying as gliding through it.

Except today of course, when the surf was crap and a father was teaching his young daughter to surf nearby, forcing Ivyanne to stay in human form. Ivyanne was bored silly and paranoid. She constantly looked north to the cape in the far off distance, imagining Ardhi there with binoculars, watching her. And then she felt bad for thinking that. She really needed to cut the poor guy a break.

Despite her frequent swims, Ivyanne still found it difficult to sleep at night, and she caught herself fantasizing about other ways to vent her frustrations.

There were only so many things that could counteract mermaid withdrawals. Food, which on the mainland, was loaded with toxins and best ingested in moderation, singing, which Ivyanne couldn’t do anywhere near anyone, lest she should brainwash them with her siren song, and sex, which she’d been prohibited from until marriage.

Sex was the most effective cure apparently. It fed to the Succubi aspect of their genetic make-up. Ivyanne had grown up in little villages where the entertainment had usually been dancing, swimming and canoodling under a starry sky. She’d never been allowed to partake of course but it hadn’t bothered her then. But now when she spotted Sven and Pintang making out in the pool, her insides cramped with envy. They were just friends, but had added benefits for the duration of his stay. Tame benefits of course-sex was out of the question for Pintang as well, being that she was a Marked child.

Unless I marry Ardhi if course
..’ Ivyanne mused. Pintang would become ineligible for the crown then and win her freedom. Or lose her chance at the crown in the future, depending on how she looked at it. That thought made Ivyanne squirm. The last thing she needed was to feel obligated to marry Ardhi for one more reason!

Either way, Ivyanne couldn’t just hook-up. Human or mer, if it got out of hand, and resulted in pregnancy, she’d be single-handedly responsible for undoing one thousand years of careful cultivation.

Plus, her folks would kill her.

Still, Ivyanne hadn’t always been so responsible, and her parents hadn’t
always been able to keep an eye on her. She’d come dangerously close to screwing up the family tree as a teenager, while in Lincoln’s equally hormonal arms. She recalled those memories as she bobbed on the water and blushed with a thrilling shame.

Lincoln. Once such a simple, happy boy-now a complex and confusing adult who looked and acted ten years older at times-but became tongue-tied and flustered in her company. He was jogging every day, twice a day, and favored Ivyanne’s usual haunts, so she often had to hide to avoid having to actually interact with him on a personal level. But she felt his gaze on her often, and it still had an effect on her.

Seeing him with Adele was harder. Twice now, Ivyanne had been home when he walked Adele to their door, and it had been a grueling experience. When he was a disembodied voice, it was harder for Ivyanne to remind herself that he wasn’t the same old Link. His sexy, Aussie accent-which differed slightly from the others due to his Tasmanian upbringing, still made her warm all over.

The kissing thing cut her too. Ivyanne felt like she was in a desert with another woman drinking from her canteen during the moments where she spied the couple in a lip-lock, she would try to drift off to sleep afterwards, feeling all hot and twitchy as she remembered what kissing Lincoln had been like. Those were the nights she cheated with a midnight swim, simply to take the edge off.

Oh, and the nights when Adele didn’t come back to the room at all….! Ivyanne’s heart broke and healed just to break again when she imagined what they were doing in his own bungalow.

Yes it had definitely been a trying few days. She felt like she was with a group of people trying to quit smoking-except they all had the patch and the gum and she was going it alone with willpower.

The water began to swell beneath her, so Ivyanne began to turn her board around. However, as she spun, she caught the sight of something she hadn’t encountered yet this trip-a dorsal fin cutting a path through the water ten feet away-towards her. 

Uh-oh!
Ivyanne flinched. In human form, she was a lot more vulnerable to the predator than she was accustomed to, and she couldn’t just turn when she was in a bikini or with witnesses so close by. Ivyanne’s heart thudded as she assessed it’s size and shape quickly, then plummeted. It was a tiger shark- aggressive and not deterred by shallow water. Even if it bypassed her, it would most certainly notice the vibrations of the father and daughter near the shore and make a beeline in their direction.

Luckily, her natural instincts and years of experience took over before the panic could. She had no time to waste in warning the father and daughter-if she acted fast enough, they never had to know.

Ivyanne gripped the board and capsized herself right in its’ path, taking a deep breath before plunging under. Her eyes didn’t have time to adjust, but she could still make out the sharks’ shadow as it plowed through the water towards her.

  Ivyanne’s lungs were full, making her buoyant, and she had to struggle to pull the board flat with her hands and not float back up. She tightened the crease behind her knees on either side of the board as she dangled, upside down, preparing herself. When it was only meters away, she opened her mouth and screamed, so loudly, in such a pitch that was unknown on land, that the very vibrations of the sound tore through the water and sent a shudder through the massive creature. It veered, jerking it’s body away from the threat and began careening in the opposite direction at double speed.

Ivyanne stayed there for a further minute, until it’s shadow became a blur, then vanished in the distance. She giggled in a burst of bubbles, then began to right herself, relieved and proud, her body tingling from both the adrenaline of the close encounter, and the release of so much energy. That was only her sixth close encounter with an aggressive shark, and her first alone, for they populated the area more densely there then in L.A or France or Norfolk. Usually, they kept their distance as if sensing that mermaids were neither prey nor predator but friend, as almost every other sea creature did. But accidents had happened over time.

When Ivyanne surfaced, she clamored back onto the board and glanced over at the family. They were staring at her-of course they were-they hadn’t quite heard the sound, but the shock of energy within the water would have alerted them to something. Humans were more sensitive then even they realized, but pinpointing various instincts and sub-conscious thoughts was where they got confused.

She waved casually, then turned her board back to the point and began stroking back to the Oyster point, staying a few feet out to avoid the sharper rocks submerged near the edges. Ivyanne was confident in the knowledge that any other shark within a five kilometer radiance would be fleeing away from the shallows, where her scream had resonated the loudest, and they wouldn’t be back for days.

Close call
. Ivyanne thought, smiling wearily. She was tired, but relaxed and more harmonious with herself then she had been in days. Once again, she’d came across another problematic scenario but emerged unscathed on the other side. It was good to know that she was getting a handle on things. The screaming had helped too-she’d have to be sure to do that more often.

But as for her
real problem-the choice she had to make-she was no closer to resolving it now then she had been the week before. Deep down, she’d been counting on missing one so much that the choice would be made for her. But the truth was, she wasn’t in love with any of them, and being away from them wasn’t going to fix that.

It looked like Ivyanne’s fate was decided anyway-she’d end up with the most logical choice. Her heart just didn’t care enough to cast a vote. She’d given it away thirteen years before, and the more time she spent near Lincoln, the more she saw that he’d always had it, and always would. She may as well give the rest of her to someone else and embrace an arranged marriage.

⁓

Lincoln loved the resort late at night. The ocean breezes rustled the palm fronds and the only sound to be heard was the hum of air conditioners steadfastly working away. The torches and lights were off for the evening, and a faint blue glow from the pool shimmered across the gardens. It always reminded him of being on holiday as a youngster, and those memorable evenings when he’d stayed up late enough to have the pool to himself. He used to spin in circles, with his head thrust out of the water, watching the sky whip into a blurred spiral before plunging underneath, opening his eyes to see the water swirling around him like he was in a vortex.

Lincoln approached one of the white plastic pool lounges and tossed his towel on top. The tide was too high to jog along comfortably, and as Adele had gone off to River City, twenty minutes south to see some movie with Ilsa from reception, Lincoln had decided to substitute his late run with a late swim. He pulled his shirt overhead and tossed it onto the towel. He glanced down at himself, and stopped, shocked to see the indentations just beneath his ribs, which hadn’t been there four days before. Muscle tone! He had actual muscle tone! He flushed with pride. It was just barely a two-pack...but that was progress!  He was kicking off his thongs when she spoke:

‘Please warn me if you’re going to cannonball.’

‘Ah!’ Lincoln jerked with shock. He followed the voice to the edge of the pool, heart skipping a beat when he saw Ivyanne sitting there, dangling her legs in the water. ‘You scared me!’

She laughed. ‘Sorry. I’ll try not to be so quiet next time.’

Lincoln was still frozen between removing shoes. ‘Oh crap, now you’re going to think I’m following you or something!’ The words burst out of him before he’d weighed them.

Ivyanne widened her green eyes. ‘I am?’ she pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. ‘
Are you?’

‘Yes! I mean,
no....’ Lincoln snorted. ‘Okay no I’m not. But you’re always there when I’m jogging, and now the one time I come to swim laps-here you are.’

‘Maybe you should be concerned that I’m following
you,’ she leaned back on her hands and grinned wickedly up at him. ‘After all, you’re not exactly stealthy, sir.’

His mouth went dry, both from her tone of voice and the look in her eye. He was completely stumped for anything clever or witty to say in response.

She must have seen that she was over stimulating him, because a shadow passed behind her eyes and she sat up straighter. ‘I don’t think either of us is the stalking type,’ she said quickly. ‘Great minds think alike, you know? I wasn’t actually down here for a swim-I’m not a big fan of chlorine-but I think it’s peaceful here. And so pretty.’

‘It is,’ Lincoln was relieved that he didn’t have to quip back at her, but also a little let down that she’d stopped flirting as soon as she’d started. God, what was
wrong with him? She was young enough to be...well, not his daughter, but his daughter’s baby-sitter at least. ‘So...you don’t like pools?’

She shook her head. ‘Sensitive skin. Salt water is my thing.’

‘Oh,’ he said, ‘I guess that explains it....’

‘Explains what?’

‘Well, it seems like every time you’re not working, you’re down at the beach.’

She smiled. ‘I could say the same for you.’

He laughed. ‘I guess. I never get in the water though.’

‘You don’t?’ she asked, her lip quirking up. ‘Huh. Hadn’t noticed. Afraid of sharks?’

He shook his head. ‘Not really. I almost drowned when I was younger, and it freaked me out. Then I became a lifeguard for a while, hoping to overcome it. I was getting much better too-and then-’

Ivyanne bit her lip. ‘Your mum? A boat accident, right?’

He looked at her, surprised. ‘How did you know?’

‘That waitress Remi mentioned it.’ She winced. ‘I’m so sorry.’

‘Thanks,’ he said softly. ‘But yeah, it didn’t help my fear of the ocean. I haven’t gone back in since.’

‘That’s understandable.’ Ivyanne swung her legs in the water. ‘So....laps huh? You on some sort of a fitness kick?’

Lincoln was thankful for the subject change. He decided he looked like a massive idiot standing there with one shoe on and one off. He kicked off the left one, sat on the edge of the pool, and eased himself in. The water was perfect-silken and warm on the surface, cooler around his knees. ‘Sort of. More like a whim. Don’t know how long it will last...’

‘For the wedding?’

He looked at her sharply. ‘Where did you hear that?’

She blushed and looked away again. ‘Adele said something...’