Heads or Tails
Authors: S. K. Munt
Heads Or Tails Book #3 in The Fairytail Saga S.K Munt
Heads Or Tails
Book #3 in The Fairytail Saga
S.K Munt
Cover art by Natalie Rose Spasic, Officemanager4U
Published by S.K Munt at Smashwords
©
Copyright 2013 S.K Munt
Dedicated to my little muse, Quinn. You and this series were conceived together, revealed together and now are taking your first steps into the world together.
Happy 1st birthday darling.
(Please do not read this until you are at least 25.)
Dear readers, this is a link to The Fairytail Saga Facebook Page. Follow it to access a detailed family tree, to help you keep track of the various heads and tails of my crazy little merfolk.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/edit/a.386855161426346.1073741827.280475535397643
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1.
Lincoln tossed Adele a bag of change and grinned as she caught it one-handed without looking up.
‘Nice reflexes,’ he observed.
‘I just get cooler every day.’ Adele dropped the bag on the bar next to the till with a heavy clang. ‘Did you get me extra fifty cent pieces like I asked?’
‘Sure did, m’am.’ Lincoln saluted her. ‘Can I go now?’
Adele turned to eye him carefully. ‘You’re in a cheerful mood.’ She reached into the bag and withdrew a roll of coins, cracking the cardboard casing on the bar. ‘Any special reason?’
Lincoln felt like the corner of his lips would get stuck in his ears. ‘Ivyanne invited me over. For the
night
.’
A knowing look came over Adele’s face. She had her pale hair pulled back for a change, pulling focus to the shadows under her high cheekbones. Every day of mermaid life was enhancing what he’d once believed impossible to improve upon, as though the ocean breeze was blowing fresh vibrancy through what had already been radiant.
‘So she’s finished moving out of Bracken?’
‘
Yes
.’ Lincoln said darkly. He’d been trying to forget about the part where Ivyanne had put a two hour drive between them under the guise of safety. ‘As if that Island hadn’t been far enough from here to begin with!’
‘Well, drive carefully. If you’re going to be commuting between here and the Whitsunday's from now on, I don’t want you doing it while tired
or
in a hurry.’
‘Thanks
mum
.’ Lincoln meant it as a joke, but the dark look which flitted across her features stopped his smile dead. ‘I mean, sure. Thank you.’
Adele nodded curtly but said nothing.
Lincoln felt his conscience twitch. He’d become so used to his new world that he often forgot his
old
one-the one where he and Adele had technically
just
broken up. He was certain that she was over him, but referring to her as a nagging mother was probably pushing it. After all-he
had
dumped her for another woman.
‘It’s a shame I can’t just swim there and shave some time off the trip,’ Lincoln finally said for lack of anything else.
‘Yeah well, until we know where that
freak
is…’ Adele shuddered slightly, making her dread for Ardhi Kayu-Api apparent.
‘Yeah… I know.’ Lincoln said softly. He shared her fear, but Adele was probably more paranoid than any of them, and with good reason. Tristan had paid for Walter and Brenda Knightley to go on a six week trek across Africa-the continent populated with the
least
mers, knowing they couldn’t be safer from Ardhi anywhere than in the desert. But because Adele had opted to stay put and take her old job back,
she
was still a sitting duck-and her betrayal of Ardhi had been instrumental in outing his insanity to the kingdom. If he had an axe to grind, the consensus was that he’d sharpen the blade on Adele at the first opportunity.
Lincoln was probably third, after Tristan. But he’d take being first on Ardhi’s hit-list if it meant getting his ring back on Ivyanne’s finger. He shook the thought off, not wanting to let the funky cloud that had been hovering above him for two weeks settle upon his shoulders now that he had reason to be of good cheer.
‘Are you going to be okay here if I go?’ Lincoln asked, looking around warily.
Adele nodded. ‘I’ve got Bane and Grace and Marcus and Dalton around twenty four seven Link, not to mention all of the mers patrolling the coast-I’ll be
fine
overnight.’ She lifted and dropped a shoulder. ‘Besides, I’m going to have to get used to it. You
will
be gone-a
lot
. And catching Ardhi could take
years
.’
‘Lord I hope not,’ Lincoln muttered. Ivyanne’s decision to leave Seaview and go back to her hometown in the Whitsunday's had broken his heart, because it seemed like every week, she was moving further and further away from him. But it was a reality he was forced to accept. He was no longer in love with a wandering princess on a quest to find herself, but a
queen
who was being chased by an unstable man who knew far too much about her.
The Kayu-Api’s permanent residence in Airlie Beach was close to Ivyanne’s former home, so Ivyanne had put it on the market two weeks before and purchased another Ardhi wouldn’t associate her with on the insistence of her new bodyguard, Garridan Loveridge.
Garridan had shown up the day after the engagement party disaster for his nephew Tristan’s funeral, and had been gobsmacked by everything that had transpired over the weekend. The older mer had a background in security, and had charged himself with the job of protecting the last remaining Court girl. Which was good because most of them had been at a complete loss on how to handle the situation until then.
At first Garridan had tried to make it work on Bracken seeing that it was an island and should have been easy to fortify for that reason alone. But eventually he’d announced that it couldn’t be protected. Seventy five percent of Bracken was covered with exactly that,
bracken
, leaving too many places for Ardhi to hide in, especially given how well he knew the area. Besides, the house seemed charged with a permanent state of mourning, and was far too small and ill-equipped to house everyone who needed protection.
So Garridan had found a place, the
perfect
place apparently, for Ivyanne to relocate to and had then boarded up the other two houses until whenever Ardhi ceased to be a threat. That had been keeping them busy for days. The list of people who knew where Ivyanne would be living would be a very select one until Ardhi was apprehended. But it was apparently close to her old home, only more remote, and most importantly-fitted out with the best security known to man
or
mer.
Lincoln hadn’t seen the house yet, and had barely seen Ivyanne. The only reason he
wasn’t
going out of his mind with worry was because Tristan had been equally absent. He’d been in Sydney, bringing his name and his business back from the dead and giving Ivyanne the space that Lincoln needed.
Lincoln still couldn’t believe how the humans had swallowed the story of Tristan being marooned for three weeks in February following the crash, but they had and Tristan’s face had been all over the papers since as a result. He was being touted as a miraculous survivor, who had swum to some little known island and had lived off the fruit of the land until flagging down a fishing boat-which was of course, chartered by one Bane Londeree. Ninety nine percent of the story was fabricated, but Ivyanne had petted Tristan like his number one fan every time a new article had surfaced. To Tristan’s credit-he rolled his eyes every time, embarrassed by the fuss being made over him.
‘Are you thinking about what a pain in the ass this all is?’ Adele suddenly asked. ‘Because
I
am.’
Lincoln suddenly realized that he’d zoned out on his conversation with Adele. ‘I’m having a hard time adjusting, yeah,’ Lincoln said, ‘but she’s worth it.’
‘Mmm…’ Adele broke another roll of coins and they made a clattering sound as they landed in the plastic tray.
‘Are you okay?’ Lincoln asked, watching her carefully.
Adele made a face. ‘Don’t look at me when I say this, okay?’ She’d broken another roll. ‘But it’s still sort of weird, when you get all mushy over her like that.’
Lincoln scratched his neck-his hair kept growing so quickly it almost always seemed to be tickling him somewhere. ‘Sorry,’ he mumbled. ‘I didn’t even think-’
‘It’s okay,’ she glanced at him quickly and smiled, but it was a tight smile. ‘I just hear it from Tristan too. It’s like I’m
destined
to fall for guys who fall for her.’
Lincoln winced as she let the elephant into the room. ‘But you’re not, like, still into me or anything…?’
Adele exhaled and lolled her head on her neck to stare at him.
‘
No
,’ her inflection was firm. ‘It’s more of a possessive thing, I think. Like there’s a tiny part of me that stands here with you behind the bar, and forgets how much everything has changed. When you go on about the incredible Ivyanne-and don’t get me wrong; I
am
warming up to her, it sort of stings because this place is kind of chock full of
our
memories too, you know? For
me
anyway...’
Lincoln barely heard the second half of what she’d said, for he was caught on the first. Despite having shared a bed with Adele for at least six months of his life, every part of his resort revolved around
one
association alone to him now-Ivyanne. But he could hardly say
that
. He’d hurt Adele enough already.
Still, the first part of her belly-aching had resonated with him, distracting him. Lincoln leaned against the bar. ‘You said:
“Fall for guys,”
he said quickly. ‘Are you saying that you actually
fell
for Tristan?’
Adele looked back to the register, screwing up her mouth to hide an embarrassed smile. ‘Truthfully? Spending over a week with him alone messed with me head a little. Especially my softer, mushier parts. I guess he’s one of those guys who it’s just impossible
not
to fall in love with...you know?’
‘And I was afraid of hurting
your
feelings...’ Lincoln frowned in displeasure. ‘Can I ask what this guy has that I
don’t
?’
Adele shrugged. ‘I never said you
didn’t
have it. I just don’t think you
use
it quite like he does.’
Lincoln knitted his brow. ‘This better not be a
penis
thing..!’
Adele threw back her head and hooted. ‘A penis thing?’ She repeated, shaking her head. Then she lifted her glacier-blue eyes to his. ‘No Link, it’s not. But now that you mention it...no, you do fall a little short. Of him, I mean. Not in general.’
Lincoln felt like he’d just been pantsed in a cold room full of millions. ‘And the abuse just keeps coming!’
‘It’s not abuse, it’s a fact.’ Adele closed the til. ‘And just because his is larger, doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s better. To tell you the truth, I damn near had a heart attack when I first saw it. There’s big and then there’s
terrifying
.’ She leaned closer to him, eyes aglow with the feminine thrill of torturing an ex. ‘Haven’t
you
seen it?’
Lincoln made a face. ‘I haven’t seen any of the guys that way-and I
don’t
want to.’ Though now of course, he was dying of curiosity. He’d heard the whispers about Tristan, but had been too afraid to look. Now, he wanted a scale chart and some detailed reports.
But once again, Adele had segued in an intriguing direction. He leaned on the bar. ‘When you say that
bigger isn’t better
...what do you mean?’
Adele’s eyes were sparkling with merriment. ‘It’s a girl thing. But if Ivyanne was a virgin well...that might have been a, uh,
bracing
experience for her.’
Lincoln felt instantly nauseous at the thought. But he sensed an opportunity, so he reached for it. ‘So
was
I better than him? For you, I mean?’
Adele dropped her chin and started wiping down liquor bottles. ‘When I said he uses it better than you do, I was referring to his
charm
. And confidence. All I know for sure is that my original judgement of him was way off. He’s definitely not an asshole-and after a while, that cocky little front of his is downright sexy.’ She looked up and winked at him. ‘You could be like that too, you know. You probably would be if Ivyanne hadn’t done the number on you she did back in your sexual prime.’ She shrugged. ‘But for the time being...he’s better at selling himself. And boy, does he have a worthy product.’
The wistful look on Adele’s face made his abdomen clench so violently that he had to blow out a long, slow breath to relax them.
‘Okay I get it,’ he admitted, holding his hands up in a pose of surrender. ‘As much as I am in love with Ivyanne, I got a little bit jealous just then to see you all moony over someone else.’
Adele smiled. ‘Sorry. Allow some inflation for hormones okay? Pretty sure I’d find Chef
Lee
sexy right now.’
Lincoln crossed his elbows on the bar. ‘So do
I
seem sexy right now? Or should I change my shirt before I see Ivyanne?’
She scowled at him. ‘
Razor
thin ice, Grey.’
Lincoln chuckled. ‘Sorry.’ He cocked his head. ‘You’re
that
hard up?’
‘Well...yeah. The last time I had sex was, well, with
you
the night after the beach party. When was that? Just over two
months
ago?
Damn
.’
