Tridia (The Poseidia Series Book 3) Read online

  “Oh no, Anna, you didn’t. The High Council is here.” Lily quickly dropped her robe and slipped a white dress over her head, her companion completely forgotten.

  “She’s dying. I had to rescue her. We must have some way to help her,” I pleaded, crying. “I couldn’t watch her die. Not with the technology we have here. Not… knowing there’s even the slightest chance we can save her.” Lily’s unknown companion, awake now, sat up in bed, oblivious to her bared breasts. Her energy synced with mine. She agreed with me, and mentally pleaded with Lily to help.

  They communicated privately, excluding me from their mental connection. “There will be serious repercussions,” Lily finally said, relaxing the mental shield she’d erected. Looking at me, she added, “Let’s go see her. Shield. Fiercely. They will pick up on the slightest change in Connective energy, and use any excuse to have you thrown out.”

  Lily power walked, exuding a sense of calm control, to the Healing Center. She wore her usual compliant smile, and nodded at everyone who passed us on our way. With all my mental ability and focus, I imagined my mirrored bubble made of steel. Aware of the dire consequences if I didn’t succeed, I turned my thoughts to mundane ones, and echoed Lily’s calm outer demeanor.

  Hot dogs. Baseball. Hot dogs. Baseball. Hot dogs.

  Back in Allison’s room, Lucas, without his usual entourage, busily ran a complete scan of her body.

  Alert, and smiling sweetly, Allison said, “I like this mermaid, but he says Boo-Bear can’t become one too.”

  Overwhelmed by her innocence, and grateful for my friends’ help, I broke down in tears. Lily raced to Allison’s side, taking the scanner from Lucas. She typed in something. Her brow furrowed as she read whatever appeared on the screen.

  Lily covertly communicated with Lucas, then pulled me aside, out of Allison’s hearing range. She whispered, “She only has a 70 percent chance of success. You had 90 percent. She could die from the infusion.” Lily allowed fear to break her calm façade.

  Without missing a beat, I replied, “She has a 100 percent chance of dying if we don’t.”

  Lily returned her attention to the scanner. “Diagnostics indicate her human life will end in seven days and five hours. But…”

  “But what?”

  “The High Council,” Lily whispered, looking to Lucas, a silent exchange happening between them.

  He nodded, his face tense.

  Decision apparently made, Lily announced, “We have to move her to Lumeria. The High Council doesn’t visit that city often, and all my research tools are there. But we must move her now. I’ll accompany her.”

  “Should I go too?” I asked.

  “It would be too suspicious. Return to land, to your mission. Proceed as if nothing has happened. I promise to take care of her. No one else is to know.” Lucas strapped an excited, but exhausted, Allison to the bed for safety. With Boo-Bear tucked under the wide strap over her chest, they draped a sheet over her head, and covertly maneuvered the wheeled bed into the hallway. Lily disappeared, with the bed, into the portal within seconds.

  I hope I did the right thing.

  Please, please, save her.

  Lucas turned to me and instructed, “Return to your mission on land. This never happened.”

  Dazed at how fast they moved, Lucas left me standing in the Healing Center.

  My feet heavy with dread, I strode to the portal.

  Chapter 18

  Back in the Mer house, I ran to my bathroom, my heart in my throat. Having no food in my stomach, I dry heaved until my sides ached. Shaking, I brushed my teeth, combed my hair, and changed into a robe, waiting for the wrath of Eric.

  As predicted, within minutes, he pounded on my door.

  Get your story straight.

  Plastering a big smile across my face, I swung the door open. “Eric, nice to see you.”

  “Cut the crap, Anna.” Eric strode into my room, fuming. “You didn’t report in, and you stole my car,” he venomously accused.

  “Borrowed. I needed to… go to the bathroom. Female problems.”

  Eric squinted, looking me over. He inhaled deeply, exaggerating his consideration. “Liar.”

  “I don’t have to explain anything to you.” I tightened my robe, pushing past him to the bathroom.

  Eric grabbed my arm, spinning me to face him. “You failed the mission.” He didn’t yell, merely stated a fact.

  “No, I postponed this ridiculous assignment.” I jerked my limb out of his grasp.

  He jabbed his finger to my chest, poking the digit hard enough to annoy me, but not hard enough to bruise. “Unacceptable. The High Council will hang me for not controlling you.”

  “I’m not scared of them,” I retorted, knocking his digit away. My hands shook as I changed direction and walked to the terrace French doors.

  “You should be.”

  Gathering my courage, I swung open the doors and took two steps out onto the veranda, breathing in the crisp ocean’s scent. Steady. “I refuse to kill Mark. I’m no murderer.” I turned to face him, reconciled to meet my fate. “Have me thrown off missions. I don’t care anymore.”

  Eric stopped in his tracks, and bit his lower lip, wrinkling his nose. “Who said anything about killing him?”

  “You did.” I dropped my hands to my side. “The poison in the lip balm. I’m supposed to kill him. Remember?”

  Containing himself, he crossed his arms and looked past me, out over the ocean. “I never said the lip balm was poison. Nor did I ever indicate the mission is to kill him. That’s a conclusion you jumped to.”

  Frustrated, I brought my hand to my forehead. “But… but… Roman implied all Mer jobs were intended to kill bad humans.” I now doubted my assumptions. Recalling all our conversations in my mind, I couldn’t pinpoint when Eric had said the mission’s goal was to kill Mark.

  “On occasion, yes. But not this assignment.” Eric wouldn’t look at me. His mind revealed he knew he’d played immature mind games, which back-fired, and now he could be in hot water.

  Furious and confused, I went to the bathroom and retrieved the tub of lip balm tucked inside my dress bodice. I brought the container back to Eric and stuck it in his face. “Then what is this?” I demanded.

  “This,” he said, opening the lid and sliding his finger over the contents, “is a very powerful aphrodisiac.”

  “What?” Stunned, my brain took several heartbeats to comprehend the information. “But you said to kiss Mark using the balm.”

  “Exactly.” Eric shook his head and walked to the balcony’s edge, leaning on the rail. “The balm is a strong aphrodisiac to us, and even more so to humans.”

  “The mission wasn’t to kill him?”

  Eric glanced at me and shook his head. “The mission was for you to kiss him and let things happen. That’s all I knew, at the time.”

  “I’m supposed to… screw him?” I’d been majorly manipulated. “Whose idea was that? Does Atlas know about this?”

  Eric laughed. The sort of laugh you give someone who has only now understood an inside joke. “The High Council kept this mission top secret, from everyone. Including me. They gave me orders, to give you orders. No questions.”

  “But you had to know what this stuff contained, right?”

  He shook his head. “Not right away. But… I asked Lucas, when you started asking questions. He identified the contents with a quick sniff test. We’re trained to never question an order.” His fury quelled with each admission. Telepathically, I understood he remained as clueless as I did. Further, my questions had aggravated his resentment toward the High Council.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” I softened my voice, understanding he had the potential to be an ally, not my enemy.

  “I believe I am.”

  “Why would they want me to… screw a human? I’m lost, I don’t understand.”

  Eric shrugged. “Who knows what agenda they’re running. It’s not our place to question them.”

  “Apparently so
meone should,” I countered. “I’m beyond furious.”

  Taking a seat on the bed’s edge, considering everything Eric had revealed, I asked, “Did you see Queen Atlas?”

  Eric closed the terrace doors behind him. The wind had picked up, bringing the distinct ozone smell of rain. “How could I miss her?”

  “Does she have something to do with this?” Thunder boomed loudly, shaking the house. Chilly, I pulled my robe closer, looking around the room for a blanket.

  “I have no idea.”

  From a trunk at the bed’s foot, I extracted a fuzzy brown blanket and wrapped it around my shoulders as lightning streaked across the sky. The lights flickered. “You really don’t. I thought, this whole time, you were being an ass; trying to control me by keeping me in the dark. You’re as much a puppet as I am.” Pounding rain echoed on the roof. “She has to be stopped.”

  “I agree.” Eric took the lip balm container from my hand as he sat down next to me on the bed’s edge. His voice softened, mirroring mine. Compassionate. “Where did you really go?”

  I buried my face in my hands. “I did something bad. Like the-High-Council-will-toss-me-out-on-my-ass bad. But I swear it was the right thing to do.”

  “What did you do?” Eric asked, his voice void of accusation, the jar of aphrodisiac balanced in his palm.

  “Can’t you simply pick the information out of my head, rather than having me verbally confess my mistakes?”

  The bad-boy arrogance was completely absent from his presence, and in its place, a sweeter, gentler energy. As if he’d finally gotten tired of fighting me and now sought to understand.

  “I could, if you weren’t shielding. Your energy is surrounded by something equivalent to a thick wall. I can’t see through, at all. How do you do that? You shouldn’t be able to, not at your novice level. You’ve been in the Connective months—not centuries.” Respect seeped through his thoughts.

  “Are we actually having a real conversation?” I asked, surprised by this complete change. Who is this guy? Was the prior attitude an act for the sake of the mission?

  Eric looked at me and chuckled. “What’s a real conversation in the Connective? No one is real here. They’re all controlled puppets, as you say.”

  I considered telling him the truth. Lily advised me to tell no one, but Eric is my partner. King Atlas told me to work out our differences. Maybe Eric can help me. Maybe I can trust him.

  “I… uh… I kidnapped Mark’s sick daughter, and took her to Atlia, hoping they could save her life, by working a miracle on her the way they did me.”

  “You did… what?” Eric chuckled again. “Did you get orders for that?”

  “No.”

  “Does the High Council know?”

  “Nope.”

  “Who helped you in Atlia? King Atlas?”

  “Lily and Lucas.”

  “They did? What did they… say?”

  “They moved her to another city, and said they would try, but she only has a seventy percent chance of survival. Better than her one hundred percent chance of dying as a human.”

  “And you made this decision by conferring with whom?” He wasn’t accusing. Genuine curiosity came through his thoughts.

  “Um… no one. The decision was spontaneous, and completely mine. I determined helping her was the right thing to do.”

  “But you broke all the rules. You risked the safety of all Mers for a human child. Without consulting anyone.” He radiated bewilderment, and a touch of fear.

  “I made the best decision I could at the time. And I stand by it, no matter the consequences.”

  “They could order you killed. At the very least, banished forever.” He turned, fully facing me on the bed. “I’ve never met another Mer like you.” His eyes searched mine.

  A surge of desire ran through my body. “Well, I am formerly human.”

  “The High Council hates you,” he revealed. A statement, not speculation.

  “I don’t care. They can hate me all they want.”

  “From my perspective, their hate is based primarily on fear.”

  “Why? I’m not scary.”

  “To them, you are. You’re more powerful than anyone they’ve dealt with. They don’t know how to control you. You have too much humanity to completely conform to Mer ways. To them, that’s terrifying.”

  Nervously, I laughed. “I can’t blindly follow their ridiculous demands. I’m not wired that way. Not anymore. I don’t trust them. Maybe because I lived too long under David’s control, and look where that got me. I’ve had a taste of freedom, and I don’t want to go back under anyone’s control, no matter how altruistic their intentions. I’ll do anything to avoid that fate. Will you help me?”

  Vulnerable, and more honest than I’d been in a long time, I allowed myself to trust him, despite our rough start. Trusting didn’t come easy for me. Not after the mental and emotional damage David had done. To me, this remained a huge risk. But at the rate I made enemies in the Connective, I ought to make a few friends. And Eric was my mission partner—if I couldn’t trust him, whom could I trust?

  Opening the jar, Eric sniffed the contents. Perhaps trying to detect the aromas Lucas had. He ran his finger along the waxy surface, collecting a small amount on his fingertip. Closely inspecting the balm, he turned his finger to me, as if asking my thoughts on its true chemistry.

  Unsure, I lifted my shoulders in response, honestly not knowing whether it was the aphrodisiac Lucas claimed, or a poison intended to kill the target. Delicately, he smeared the gloss along his lower lip. My heart quickened. With his tongue, Eric tasted the salve, smacking his lips.

  “What are you doing?” My body responded, instinctually knowing the effects the balm might have. I blushed, scolding myself for considering sexual thoughts about him. Admittedly, I’d been attracted to Eric, in a purely physical way, since I watched him openly making love to various Mer female in the hot pools.

  Electroreceptors along my pelvic region buzzed, reminding me of unsatisfied hungers. I flushed and looked away, hoping to distract my mind. Calm down, stupid Mer hormones.

  “Seems a shame to waste,” he teased, rubbing his lips together. “It does taste quite… delicious.”

  Heated and breathless, trying desperately not to gyrate my hips, I glanced at the closed door. “Do you have some of your human women here tonight?”

  “No.” He handed the container back to me, his hand lingering on mine.

  Swallowing hard, I closed my fingers around the tub. Heh, I don’t need this stuff. I have enough Mer hormones in overdrive already.

  Eric inched closer to me. I looked into his eyes, allowing him to see my vulnerable, primal need. My deep ache, not only for sexual satisfaction, but closeness. For touch.

  He leaned forward, inches from my face, giving me plenty of time to stop him. I didn’t. Their intended target no longer in question, his lips moved closer to mine. Slowly. The anticipation itself all the foreplay I would need, as every cell in my body screamed in response. His lips barely brushed mine.

  The blanket fell away. The chill no longer an issue. My body surged with heat. My arms and legs shook.

  Breathy, his palm tenderly caressed my cheek before he pulled my face in close and pressed his lips against mine.

  Oh god.

  Beyond all conscious thought, my body sang with joy. The seconds pounded.

  Eric gave me time to reject him. From right here, he could stop if I protested.

  The kiss grew deeper. We pulled together like magnets. He slid his warm hand under my robe, caressing my shoulder. My electroreceptors screamed in response, their previous dull buzz a distant memory.

  He pushed the robe off my shoulder, and I let it fall back, the tied front splitting open.

  With both hands, he cradled my head. We teetered on the brink of no return. Caution and modesty discarded, I slunk my robe to the floor and kicked the garment to the side. I faced him bare-breasted, and climbed onto his lap, straddling him. Mind blissfully e
mpty, I thought of nothing but him and my need.

  Grinding myself over the front of his pants, the firmness I found there exhilarated and emboldened me.

  I pushed his loosely buttoned shirt off, savoring the amazing texture of his skin. He expertly dropped his pants to the floor in a quick changing of positions, before pulling me back onto his lap. His hands, running the length of my curled body, covered every inch of my electroreceptors. His fingers dug into my hips, sliding my soaked core up and down his rigid length.

  Hormones trumped logical thought.

  Insecurities forgotten, I didn’t hold back. Devouring every ounce he gave, I ravaged him. Months of self-neglect to reconcile, I demanded what my body and soul needed. And Eric loved with the expertise of an epic champion, keeping perfect time with the drumming rain on a stone roof.

  By the time morning light filtered through the window, I ached from muscles that hadn’t been used in forever.

  And I wanted more.

  Rolling Eric over in his sleep, I aroused him with soft caresses. His body perfection, and generously endowed, I now understood why the human and Mer women both loved him. He remained insatiable.

  Chapter 19

  Finally drifting off to sleep, by the time I woke several hours later, Eric was long gone, the place where he’d slept cold. A huge smile bloomed on my face. My body hummed with satisfaction, and happiness carried me over any embarrassment.

  Joyful, I sprung out of bed and bounced to the terrace doors. Flinging them open, I took a deep breath of fresh air. Stormy clouds lingered, the sky dark, and a gusty wind ruffled my hair. For a few minutes, I enjoyed the way the breeze licked my naked body, unashamed.

  Ready to face the day, I showered, dressed, and headed back to Atlia.

  Better late than never, I met with Lucas. My traitorous body being a tattletale, he documented my compliance with the High Council’s demand and released me, requesting a follow up visit tomorrow.

  Not pregnant.

  Yet.

  And not my intention to be at all.