Bliss (19 page)

Chapter
Sixteen

Once again, things weren’t going Darius’ way. Muroka was still after him, only now he was armed with enhanced Tartahounds. By now Saad and Rajheb were probably after them also. And to top it off, his mate didn’t want him. He could tell by the sad, weary tone in Kassandra’s voice once she learned he’d changed her into a Siren that she wasn’t pleased about it.

What could he tell her?
I had two choices; let you die or live.
The thought of all her beauty and her inner spark fading into eternity had been too much for him.
I did what my Titan nature demanded, I claimed you.
The only thing was, as his eyes tried hard to stay attuned to the surrounding waters and not stare at her new sexy form, he wanted to claim her with more than the ancient words. He wanted what he now knew she couldn’t give him. He wanted her love.

He wanted the ancient mating ritual to claim her sexy body. He wanted to fuse their two souls together for eternity. The emotion coiled deep an
d ugly within him. The realization of what he wanted had swamped him the minute he gave her the kiss of life. Now, he had no one to blame but himself. Once again he had messed things up for her because he had given in to his Titan essence.

Don’t be so hard on yourself, brother. Give your mate time. She will adjust. You forget that it took Jamie time, too. Show her our world and
for once in your life, woo her,
said his twin’s voice, still sounding weak to his own ears.

By the
gods, even his sick brother was giving him advice. Him, the so-called Prince of Sex, who’d been with more women and Sirens than he could recall, was getting a lecture from his twin who’d been celibate for over a decade before he met Jamie.

You forget, brother, that I am not so weak that I c
an’t best you at your own game,
said Seth’s voice.

Dar
ius knew his brother was trying to reassure him that all would be well. Sadly, he didn’t think that would be the case for him and Kassandra.

Kassandra’s
hands kept reaching out to touch the fish as they darted between them. It was almost comical.

“What’s the matter?”
Kassandra demanded sharply.

“Seth. He thinks I should...” Darius paused
.
Maybe he’s right.
Maybe I should try wooing her for a change. When? First, I’ve got to finish this quest, and then I’ll deal with Kassandra
. Family had to come first. That was priority number one.

“You’re able to talk to your brother. Can you talk with anyone else?”

“Yes, I can talk with my immediate family but it’s always been easier with Seth because we’re twins. We’re connected on a different level. He thinks that I should finish this mission so we can all get on with our lives.” The lie slid slickly off his lips. He knew his tone was clipped, but if she wanted distance from him, he’d give her that.

Together they darted over a large coral reef te
eming with a cluster of male sea horses.

“Oh my
god, they are so beautiful. I didn’t know they stayed together in a group,” said Kassandra, stopping to admire the perky fish.

Sea horses?
The woman—no, Siren—his brain screamed, was awed by sea horses. He all but laughed at that. “That’s nothing. Wait until I show you the continental reefs, they have clusters of fish that humans have never discovered and then there’s the ....” He paused, realizing that she had stopped moving.

“Thank you,” she said.

The simplicity of the words crushed him.

Realizing they still weren’t safe until they reached the first outer barrier of his kingdom he pulled her along, “For what?”

“For trying.”

Her
voice was strained. Pulling her closer to him, he replied, “Look, Kassandra, I didn’t have a choice. Would you have wanted me to let you drown? Is that what you wanted? To die? I did what had to be done. We’re almost there.”

“That doesn’t make it right
, Darius, and you know it. I never asked for this, and you’ve gone ahead and bound us together when I swear you don’t even like me.” She stopped abruptly again with a downward swish of her tail.

Not like her
? By all that was created from the dust of times. She’s mad. How could she think that? I’ve had to fight against my nature not to claim her as a mere human, and now,
he groaned...
I’m doomed.

Pulling her to him
, he had to stifle another groan as the weight of her breasts came into intimate contact with his chest. More than anything he wanted to taste her, feel her, and make her lush, Siren body scream in climax. He could give her pleasures the likes of which she’d never imagined. A vivid image of him claiming her caused his heart to speed up and his erection to jump to life.
Blast it!
He wished he could assert control over that piece of his enlarged anatomy.

“Darius, I thought you said it wasn’t safe here,” she said, pushing her arms in between them to break his hold.

“It isn’t, sweetlips, and I’ve got news for you... you aren’t safe from me, either.” He all but growled the words, once again yanking on her arm to speed them away.

Saad was tired of having to deal with his half-brother, Rajheb. They had never seen eye-to-eye before, and things certainly hadn’t improved over the centuries.

“Why don’t you send the sharks after them?”
Rajheb asked for the fifth time.

Saad stalked away from the cave’s platform. Eyeing the three sharks that were kept in the large holding tank
, he had to fight the urge not to throw his brother into the waters to give him a taste of his own medicine.

“You are not listening, Rajheb. Father wants us to get the ancient book, not Darius. If we let these things out,” he pointed down to the sharks with an exa
sperated sigh, “then no one is safe. Once Master Odeon finds a cure for the enhancement, which I’m sure he will with a bit more persuasion, then we will have the upper hand.”

“What are you talking about?
I want Darius’ head on a platter, and I want that female and no one is going to stop me. You can tell Father to go to Hell,” said Rajheb, shedding his clothes as he got ready to rapture.

“You are not going. Do you understand me?”

“Try to stop me Saad...if you can?” taunted Rajheb, diving headfirst into the open underwater compartment that was an outlet to the Atlantic.

Saad simply sighed. He yearned to stop Rajheb but
knew it would be futile.

“You should have stopped him,” said a soft, melancholy voice
that caused shivers to travel down his spine.

Spinning around
, he tried to pinpoint the voice.

“Why don’t you use your powers Saad?”

“Who’s there? What do you want?” He tried once again to find the source of the voice, which echoed off the walls of the cave.

Then the person behind the voice materialized
, and he felt the full force of her power.

The word was a mere whisper but he couldn’t help it
. “Mother?”

“Is that how you know me?”

Saad bowed low in reverence to the entity he’d been told over the centuries was his mother.

“Father said someday you would find me
.” His voice sounded strained to his own ears.

“Yes, he would know that.” There was an audible sadness in her voice when she spoke of her mate, his father.

“Your father thinks to outwit me in this game, but I am sad to say it is not a game of chance. I will not deny you are of my essence.”

A smile lit up her face, causing
goose bumps to form all over Saad’s sensitive skin. “They call me the Sister of the Future. I was named by the Creator. I am Sesta.”

Saad tried hard to blink
, but in her presence it was all but impossible. Looking into her eyes was like looking into a pool of shimmering clear water that mirrored the surroundings. Lithe and tall, she stood in regal grace. Her hair was as dark as ebony. Her body was unearthly pale. Beautiful and frightening all at once, the force of her power vibrated like a static aura all around her.

“I need you to help me, Saad. Will you do that?” Again, the voice echoed off the walls of the cave to resonate deep within his being. He had to fight the urge
not to reach out and touch her.

As if she read his thoughts
, she stretched out a hand and her fingers caressed his cheek. His skin prickled in acute awareness of her ancestry, her power and her awe of him. Him, her one and only true son. The knowledge hit him hard.

“You are of my essence
, but I am sorry to say the Creator has taken my memory of you away from me. The time has not come for me to know...no do not think that, the Creator does know what is best for us. When the time is right, which is ironic for an entity such as myself to say, all will be revealed. But, Saad, I need you to help Darius, not fight against him. Rajheb seeks to destroy him, as do many others, including your father, but if they succeed, then all will be lost for all of you. Trust your instincts when it comes to Darius. You can help him.”

Saad was about to ask how and why he should do what she
’d asked when he’d never known even the memory of her loving embrace, but she vanished as quickly as she had materialized. A feeling of loss and loneliness overwhelmed him. He had many questions he yearned to ask his mother, but once again she was gone.

Turning around
, he looked at what he’d created over the last decade. For once, he saw it through another’s eyes.
This is not something to be proud of.
He eyed the menacing-looking sharks, swimming in their crazed circle in the holding tank. He had enhanced them without thought to their own natural killing instinct.

Moving to a locked door at the back of the cave he opened it
and spoke in the tongue of the ancients.

“Master Odeon, I need your help if we are going to save Darius,” he said, helping the old
Titan to his unsteady, wobbly feet.

An hour later they were making progress.

Just when he finally thought all was going well, a buzz in his head was the only warning before he was blinded by the yellow haze of power.

“She was here. I felt her,” said a sing-song voice.

In his head he heard Master Odeon clearly tell him not to move or say anything. The warning should have been enough for him, but it wasn’t.

“Who is here?” he asked, his voice sounding loud to his own ears.

“Ahh, we materialized in real time. I told you before not to do that, Bella,” said the voice, coming from his immediate left.

Saad tried to turn his head but he couldn’t. His body felt like lead. “What have you done?” he asked, thankful he could speak.

“I told you not to move or say anything,
freshling
,” grumbled Master Odeon, clearly feeling the same sensations as Saad was.

“You could have told me why,” snapped Saad, frustrated beyond measure.

“Is that Odeon...ooh he’s changed so much, still handsome in his Titan way, but he’s aged.”

“Well, you would too, Ava if you were still a
Siren,” mumbled Master Odeon.

The haze dissipated as quickly as it
had come. Standing to Saad’s immediate left was a creature very much like his mother. Power and beauty resonated around her. He felt the pull of her deep within his cells.

“Saad, me
et Ava, the Sister of the Past, and Bella, the Sister of Today. They are your mother’s loving siblings,” sarcasm laced Master Odeon’s words.

“Saad....the son,” said the creature named Ava
. Her face was unearthly pale. Long, blonde hair cascaded to her shoulders.

“We could use him,” replied Bella, reaching out to touch him.

“I wouldn’t be doing that, girls,” said Master Odeon. There was an odd twinkle in his eyes that Saad didn’t like.

“Did that
Titan...that pleb...that
creature,
warn us to stay away from Saad?” said Bella haughtily

“We will take him. We can use him as bait.”

Bait?
What did they want with him? Saad eyed the two women now hovering above the floor while they discussed him like he wasn’t there.

S
imultaneously they reached to touch his arms, which were still frozen. Panic welled tight within his chest. He had a sinking feeling he wasn’t going to like where they took him.

However the minute they touched him, they backed away. Fear had jumped to life in their eyes before they could mask it and they both had reacted like their fingers had been burned.

“He is....”

“Do not say it. I can’t believe this. Why does this always happen to us?” whined Ava, her celestial face contorting in anger.

“Did you know, Bella?

“No,
but let’s review the past and find out how this could have happened.”