Page 56 of Sea of Evil and Desire (The Deep Saga #1)

54

Morgana

I t had been three days since our escape from the castle, and my mind was plagued with thoughts of Finn. Had his father awoken? Was he okay? Had the Mer started preparing for war?

I had been up to the surface for air and rejoined Edward in the games room on one of the regal—yet slimy—velvet couches. I was sipping my rum and surveying the rowdy Drowned at the roulette wheel.

There was going to be a war—a war between the Mer and the Drowned, my father’s people—unless I could stop it. But how? I had powers; I knew that now, but I didn’t know how to control them. All I knew was I needed to find the rest of the prophecy, and Finn had said we would find it together.

“H-herm.” The cough startled me, and I spun around, reaching for my dagger.

It was only Edward’s friend Daniel. He was hovering nervously.

“Care to join us, old sport?” Edward nodded at the space on the couch beside him.

“No thanks, Ed. I have promised Mrs. Vanderbilt a game of poker.” Daniel grinned, toying with the buttons on his military uniform. “I was just returning from the Taberna after picking up preservation potion for my medals,” he said, flicking one of the gleaming bronze stars on his chest, “when a gray dolphin approached me.”

A gray dolphin—the prince’s dolphin. Finn.

“It had a piece of paper in its mouth. It’s for you.” He handed me the scroll, my name scrawled on its front.

Finn was alive, and he wanted to talk to me.

I unraveled the paper with shaky hands.

Come outside. That was all the note said.

I threw my chair aside, ignoring Edward’s grumbling, and raced from the games room, taking the rotten steps to the bar two at a time. Bursting through the swing doors, I scanned the darkness. I couldn’t see Finn, only the shimmering plumes of Therme Skótos.

A glimmer of white caught my eye—Pháos. The beautiful creature clicked gently, angling its head as it surveyed me. Stepping from the ship’s light, I made my way toward it.

The dolphin swam in a wide arc around me, its movements deliberate, almost playful, before pausing just a few feet away. Then, with a sudden motion, it flipped and circled back, nudging something with its snout.

I had been so mesmerized by Pháos that I hadn’t noticed the orbs. Tiny light spheres like bubbles gently drifted with the current, yet remained anchored to their path. They created a glittering walkway leading into the pillars of Therme Skótos. Pháos swam through them, careful not to disturb their delicate arrangement. Then he turned back to me, bobbing as if to say, Follow.

I stepped tentatively onto the pathway as Pháos repeated the gesture, swimming ahead just far enough to guide me and then pausing to make sure I was coming. The glowing orbs illuminated the trail, their light rippling across the sand and surrounding water.

With a final flick of his magnificent tail, the dolphin disappeared, leaving me alone with the trail of tiny lights. I was used to swimming above the forest, but the illuminated sandy track led me between the pillars. The landscape was otherworldly, a maze of towering heat vents belching plumes of liquid warmth into the surrounding water. The vents were gnarled, streaked orange, red, and black. Bubbles spiraled upward from the cracks, and schools of luminescent fish darted between them.

I swam deeper into the forest until the path opened into a clearing framed by twisted pillars, its ground blanketed in soft, silvery sand. Finn was standing at its center. His emerald tail shimmered faintly in the dim light. I took in his bare, inked chest and his dark hair, floating gently in the water, framing his angular features.

“I believe I owe you a proper date.” He grinned. “You know, one where I’m not trying to hypnotize you to extract information.”

“You seem to be forgetting that you’re engaged . . .” I muttered.

The tiny lights gathered around him were flickering like fireflies.

“Once we break the curse, there will no longer be any need to merge the kingdoms. Glacies and I will be free.” A smile curved his lips, and he reached out, beckoning me forward.

It felt like the entire ocean was holding its breath, waiting for me to step toward him. I let him take my hand, noticing the burn marks lining his arm. These were not the same burns from the war room; they were thicker and deeper. Red and angry, they stretched across his shoulders, curled down his arms, and faintly traced his tail.

“Your father . . .” I choked, reaching out to brush the nearest blister. Finn flinched but didn’t pull away; his gaze remained on mine, purple rings haunting his eyes.

“He punished me well.” Finn’s voice darkened. “But it was nothing I couldn’t handle.” He replaced the shadows with that arrogant smirk.

“Your scars . . . “ I lifted my eyes to his.

He nodded but waved a hand as if he didn’t want to dwell on the topic.

I traced his arm, following the skin between the fresh burns. In the center of his chest, there was a small heart-shaped tattoo. I had never noticed it before, and the skin around it looked tender, like it had just been cut.

“Is this new?” I asked, running my fingers over the lines of the heart. His body shuddered beneath my touch, igniting a flicker of something inside me.

“Yes.” He brushed off my question, his voice becoming grave. “My father believes you’re the key to the prophecy, but I have convinced him to find the whole thing before he does anything rash. We have a lead in the Kingdom of Thálassa. Will you come with me there?”

“What about Taranis?” I asked.

“Pisceon and Glacies will travel to each of the Mer and Siren houses, calling them to attend a summit where we will determine the best way to deal with Taranis’s threat. If we can find the prophecy before he attacks, we may be able to prevent this war.”

I swallowed.

“If the rest of the prophecy exists, it could be the answer to obtaining the peace you desire, which is best for my people.” Finn ran a hand through his dark hair, again drawing my attention to the shadows beneath his eyes.

“If I come with you to Thálassa, will I end up in another dungeon?”

Finn chuckled. “You will be safe under the Mer emissaries’ order of protection. We can visit Thálassa and then go to the summit together.”

I remained silent, processing everything he was saying.

When I didn’t respond, he continued, “I understand it may be hard for you to trust me, which is why I need to tell you the truth. My father believes I’m here courting you under his orders, luring you into our grasp to use your powers in uncovering the prophecy.”

“And are you?”

“No, I’m not.” He ran a thumb over my chin.

“Show me.” I narrowed my eyes.

He sighed, placing my hands on his chest. A ripple washed over us, and the clearing was engulfed in darkness. This time, I knew what to look for: the light. This time, it wasn’t a single flame. Every little orb he’d placed around us continued to glow, and although I could no longer see Finn, his heart thrummed against my palm. I took a deep breath and let his emotions wash over me in the darkness. The pain and loneliness were still there, but in each of the little lights, something flickered: hope . . . and . . . love.

My throat bobbed as the clearing swam back into focus. Finn was before me again, his shields in place, my hands still pressed against his tattooed chest.

“I need to ward the castle and prepare my people should Taranis attack, but if you want to come, meet me under the archway of Archōn Agorá at the next full moon.”

I thought about the rune-covered ruins stretching into the blue waters and remembered I’d passed under an archway.

Finn’s gaze was steady as he surveyed me. His shimmering tail moved faintly, keeping him balanced, and his dark hair floated in delicate strands around his face. His expression was a mixture of vulnerability and something deeper.

“I’ll come,” I whispered, turning from him, but he lunged forward, pulling me back.

“I am done caring what my father thinks. I am done with duty . . .” He ran a hand through his dark hair again, the turbulence of his mind visible in all his features. “You are my moon among parting clouds, guiding me through the storm, a light that breaks through my darkest waters, the song of the sea always calling me back . . . You, you are my horizon, offering me a hope I never knew existed. I need to know there’s hope for us. Even if it’s just a single drop, barely enough to taste. Without that drop, I can’t survive.”

I kissed him—a quick, gentle kiss that said goodbye for now. I laughed softly as I pulled away, saying, “There is hope.”

One of his hands slid into my hair while the other pulled me back into him. I could feel the scales of his tail against me as I opened my mouth to let his tongue sweep in. We were suspended in time, the glow of the lights casting a dreamlike shimmer over the silvery sand.

I moaned as the kiss deepened. Unable to help myself, I slung my legs around his tail. He grasped my ass and let me arch into him. I moved up and down with the kiss, allowing his scales to stroke the right spot.

Keeping one hand on my ass, his other found my hair again, angling my head to deepen the kiss. My hands roved his muscled chest, passing gently over the burn marks.

The ache between my legs began to build as I felt his muscular body tensing. There was a pressure, stroking me there—water was undulating between my thighs, its intensity building with the kiss. Was Finn using his magic to pleasure me with our surroundings?

I pulled back from his lips; a wicked grin played on his mouth.

“Did you like that?” His voice was low.

The water between my thighs applied a stroking pressure again. Up and down and then around and deeper, teasing me.

Finn’s mouth twitched up at the corners as he did it again, and my eyes fluttered. I wanted to let them roll back and give myself to the feeling.

Once you’ve been with me as a Mer, you’ll never scream a mortal man’s name again.

I let out a little gasp as the water caressed me. At the same time, Finn pulled me into another heated kiss. I could feel his packed abs pressed against me, the scales of his tail, and the water stroking, stroking between my thighs . . .

Oh, holy gods.

Stop, we had to stop! I pulled myself from him. We couldn’t do this—not yet, anyway. A war was coming, and we had to end it. Taranis had killed my grandmother, and I couldn’t let him kill any more innocent Mer or drown more innocent humans in his quest to rule the ocean. I couldn’t lose myself in whatever this was. Not right now. First, we would find the prophecy and save the clans, then Finn could break his engagement, and I would let him do whatever godforsaken Mer things he wanted to do to me.

Reluctantly, I released my legs, my feet padding against the soft sand. I turned from Finn, but he put his hand atop mine, which was still on his chest.

“Do you ever wonder if this thing between us is the curse prompting us to reenact Siana and Kyano’s story?” My throat was dry as I asked the question that had been troubling me.

“No,” he said simply.

As I pulled my hand from him, our eyes met. I let my gaze linger on him before turning away. I felt the absence of his body, his taste, and whatever he had been using the water pressure to do to me.

“I’ll see you soon.” His words caressed my body as if he’d sent them traveling after me on the current.

As I made my way back down the sandy track still hung with glittering lights, for the first time, the ocean depths didn’t feel so vast or lonely.