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K ai finally looked away from Hollyn and the newly introduced douchebag Thian.

Kai didn’t trust the guy at all, especially not with Hollyn’s safety.

But he had to let her go. She needed to find a way to control her magic.

It was the only way she was likely going to defeat Grigori, her warlock father.

That meant she would need the expertise of another magic wielder.

Kai just hoped he could trust his new-found family. They all seemed a little shifty.

Even now, as they swam toward an attack, Kai’s biological father, Poseidon, kept looking back as if he needed to make sure Kai followed.

Even stranger, as they crested an underwater mountain formation, Kai saw his biological mother, Uma, standing next to the crumbling remains of an underwater cavelike structure.

As they drew closer, he could see the distress on her face.

She called out to them as they approached, “Whoever did this is no longer here, but they destroyed the entire warehouse.”

Kai stopped swimming and entered the small bubble of air surrounding the warehouse that had once simply looked like an underwater cave.

He looked around before he asked, “This was a warehouse? What did it hold?”

His mother smiled at him, a sad, sweet smile that reminded him how little he knew of the underwater world to which he was born.

He still couldn’t believe that this was where he was from.

He’d grown up on the land with two, loving adoptive parents, Michael and Tessa Iona, but now, he was trying to connect with a world in which he didn’t feel like he belonged.

“I forget that everything is new to you down here.” She swept her hand toward the jumble of rocks that blocked any way inside the structure. “We kept food supplies here, but from the looks of things, whoever attacked took all the contents and destroyed the warehouse.”

“Why would they do that?”

Poseidon cleared his throat and said, “There are many in this ocean who want to cause anarchy. We can’t spend time trying to dissect their motives.”

Kai looked at his biological parents and shook his head back and forth between them. Something was off, but he couldn’t quite figure out what it was. They definitely weren’t telling him everything.

“Does this kind of thing happen often?”

Uma was quick to reassure him, “Don’t get the wrong idea. We aren’t fighting a rebellion or anything like that. There are just some roaming raiders that we have to reign in sometimes.”

“Why are they out there? Why don’t they live in a city somewhere? Why don’t they live in Hanupali or Atlantis with other underwater people?”

A look passed between them before Poseidon shrugged and explained, “Who can begin to understand the minds of someone who would do this?” He swept his hand toward the ruined structure.

Kai understood their thinking, but he couldn’t help but wonder what was really going on. Why would people be so desperate that they’d risk something like stealing Hanupali’s food stores? It just didn’t make sense.

“What will you do about it?”

With a shrug, Uma said, “We’ll send out a troupe of guards to search and see if there’s any sign of the raiders. We’ll also be hyper vigilant for a while, just in case they decide to return.”

Kai nodded his head, but something wouldn’t stop bothering him. “Why didn’t you already have guards posted here? That seems like a no-brainer for something so important.”

Both Poseidon and Uma seemed at a loss for words. They stared at him, seemingly without an answer.

Finally, Poseidon said, “That is definitely something we need to look into. Great suggestion, Kai.”

Uma laid a reassuring hand on Kai’s arm. “We’ll get some people here to clean everything up. I think you should go relax and get something to eat. There’s no reason for you to worry about this any longer. It’s a matter for your sister to take care of. After all, she is now the queen.”

Kai nodded even though he had more questions.

Maybe he would discuss his concerns with Oleen, his sister, and the rightful ruler of Hanupali since he abdicated the throne.

She had a brain for seeing solutions to the problems around them, which is the reason he knew she needed to be the leader of her people, not him.

It was an easy decision in the end. He knew where he belonged and it was fighting by Hollyn’s side.

Poseidon put an arm around Kai’s shoulders and said, “Why don’t you come with me to Atlantis?

I think it would be good for us to get to know each other, and you would be amazed at the extensiveness of the largest underwater civilization.

I think you might be fascinated by the technology we use to keep it hidden from the surface world. ”

“Sounds good. I just want to speak with Oleen first. Do you think we could head to Atlantis tomorrow morning?”

With a booming laugh, Poseidon squeezed Kai in close and said, “Of course! That gives me another night with the most beautiful woman in all the worlds.” He gave a pointed look at Uma who blushed and giggled with the flattering words.

“Can you send word to Hollyn that she should meet us at Atlantis when she’s ready?”

Poseidon nodded. “That’s an excellent suggestion. I’m sure Thian will be happy to bring her to Atlantis once she’s learned all she can.”

Thian! Kai still didn’t like that Hollyn was with a man he didn’t entirely trust, but with roaming raiders in the ocean attacking randomly, Kai wouldn’t want Hollyn to be alone.

He just couldn’t wait until Thian was no longer needed and hoped the asshole knew what was good for him—keeping his hands off of Hollyn.