Oceanborne (10 page)

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Authors: Katherine Irons

Tags: #Romance, #Paranormal, #Fantasy

BOOK: Oceanborne
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Poseidon, still standing, glared around the round marble table. “Orion? What say you? You are a little less bloodthirsty than your twin, if hairs are split. Would you declare war now or wait while women and old men argue?”
Orion glanced at his brother and then back to Lord Mikhail before answering. “It will take a few days to call up the troops. So long as our people are on notice that the hounds are loosed, I see no great harm in waiting to see what Melqart plans next.”
“So be it,” his father proclaimed. “We'll wait a little longer. But there will be no Council vote on this matter. I'm still high king over Atlantis, and I hold the power to declare war.”
 
“You're postponing the inevitable,” Alexandros said, an hour later as they walked toward the stables. “It's that woman, isn't it? You're soft on humans because of her.”
Orion whirled on his brother. “She's part of that research expedition, Alex. Elena is diving on Melqart's ship. What do you think will happen to her when he finds out? How good do you think her chances of staying alive will be?”
“None.” Alexandros made a slashing motion with his hand. “What do you intend to do? Go to her? Explain the situation? ‘Excuse me, Elena, but you're intruding on the territory of a four-thousand-year-old Phoenician god of war—you're attempting to steal his property'?”
“No. Not exactly.”
“How about, ‘I'm party to all this information because I'm not human? I'm an Atlantean. What? You don't believe me? Would you care to come back to my room and see my scales?' ”
“You're not funny, Alex.”
“Then what will you tell her?”
“Nothing … or a lie. I don't know yet. I do know that I'm not going to watch her dive and be destroyed by that
thing
.”
“You can't go anywhere. We're on full standby. You have a duty to be here with your men. Anything less, and—”
“Report me if you want. But she saved my life. I owe her.”
Alex took hold of his arm. “I can cover for you for a day or two, brother, but after that, it's on your head. If we fight, you have to assume your command.”
“I can't let her die when I could prevent it.”
“Go to her, then. Have her and be done with it. Maybe then you'll remember where your loyalties lie.”
CHAPTER 10
E
lena and Greg paused to take in the peaceful sight of the fishing boats bobbing at anchor in the harbor. All of Rethymo seemed enchanted tonight. Moonlight glittered on the water, and the stars seemed close enough to touch. It had been a near perfect afternoon and evening. They'd borrowed Stefanos's motorbike and gone to a semi-secluded sand beach used mostly by locals, rather than the tourists. There, they'd shared a bottle of wine, cheese, olives, and a loaf of bread that she purchased at the local bakery and swam and splashed in the warm, clear water like children.
This evening, they'd strolled through the streets of Rethymo, stopping for shish kebabs and more wine at a taverna so small that the interior held only four tables and the staff were all family. It wasn't until they'd left the taverna and walked down by the water that Elena felt the slightest hint of tension.
“Aren't you going to invite me up to your room?” Greg asked.
“Let's not,” she said. “I'm tired. You have to catch a hop early in the morning and I'll have a long day on the dive. Can't we just—”
He caught her arm and pulled her close. When Greg was about to kiss her, she wanted to respond, but at the last second she turned her head so that his lips brushed her cheek. “What's wrong, baby?”
She pushed free. “I told you. I'm tired.” She rubbed her back. “I don't know, maybe I'm coming down with something. I just don't feel like it tonight.”
“Something or
someone
?” She started to walk away, but he stepped in front of her, blocking her path. “Where were you last night, Elena? Who was he?”
“Who was who? Don't be a jerk, Greg.”
“I'm the jerk? Do you know how difficult it was to rearrange my schedule to come here and find you still off … wherever? I'd planned …” He uttered a sound of exasperation. “I don't have time to play games. And since when are you too tired for sex?”
“What is this? High school? You buy me dinner and I have to pay for it by falling into bed with you?”
“Give me a break, Elena. Don't play the innocent virgin with me. It's not the first time, or the tenth that we've been intimate. We're an item, a good one. And if you're cheating on me—”
“Cheating on you?” Her temper flared. “You don't own me. I'm not your wife. We don't have any ties on each other.”
“So you admit that you were with someone else?”
“Hell, no.” Her breath was coming in tight, quick gulps. The truth was, she might have been with some guy last night. She had no idea who she'd been with, or if she'd been alone. She couldn't remember. But one thing was certain. This evening was over as far as Greg was concerned. “You'd better go,” she said, “before we both say things we'll regret.”
“Just like that? Without an explanation?”
“I'm sorry if I've ruined your sure thing. But unless you get lucky in town, you're sleeping alone tonight.”
“Why? If there's not someone else, then why? Why the sudden cold shoulder? It's a little late in the game—”
“Maybe it was always too late for us.” She turned and walked away down the cobblestone street, her cheeks burning. She didn't know why she had suddenly decided that she didn't want to be with Greg tonight. It should have been simple. And fun. He was an experienced lover who rarely failed to satisfy her. All she knew was that, suddenly, it felt wrong.
“Wait!” He ran after her. “Don't go,” he said. “I have something for you. I bought it for you last night.” He dug in his jacket and produced a black velvet jewelry box.
The enormity of what might be inside that box frightened her. She shook her head. “No. If that's what I think it is, I can't accept. I'm not ready to make that kind of commitment.”
“Then call this a gift.” He shoved the box into her hands.
“I don't want it. Not now. I need time.”
“Keep it. Wear it, or throw it into the sea. I don't give a damn. Hock it if you like, and buy a boat or diving equipment or whatever you need for your expeditions.”
“I can't accept a ring from you.” She tried to give it back to him, but he stepped away and threw up his hands.
“You'll have to, because I'm not taking it back. Think about what it means—what your life can be with me. I'll call you in a day or two.”
“You do that,” she muttered, half under her breath. “And just maybe I'll answer.”
“I love you, Elena. But I meant what I said. The ring is yours. Do whatever you want with it. Just remember that I care about you, more than anybody else ever could.”
A couple passing by, arm in arm, paused to stare, and the woman began to clap. “He loves you,” she called in French. “How can you resist him?”
Oblivious to their audience, Greg turned and walked swiftly away, leaving her standing there staring after him and holding the velvet box. “This doesn't mean I've agreed to anything!” she said. “I'm not making a commitment that I'm not ready for.”
Greg didn't look back, and she passed the box from hand to hand. Part of her wanted to throw it into the harbor, but part of her couldn't resist looking. “Oh, hell,” she muttered and opened the box with trembling hands. The ring was a classic style, a single diamond set in platinum—a single precious stone that glittered in the moonlight and must have gone to three carats. “It doesn't mean a thing,” she sobbed. “Nothing.” But it did, and she knew it did, and she couldn't stop crying.
 
“I've had one son shame me by breaking the law,” Poseidon thundered. “I'll not be defied a second time.”
Orion stared stubbornly into his father's eyes. He'd hoped to slip quietly out of the palace and go to Elena before anyone realized that he was gone, but two of the king's guard had waylaid him on the grand staircase and told him that Poseidon demanded his presence in his private chambers.
“I suppose Caddoc has been carrying tales again,” Alex said.
“So it's true,” their father said. “You have seduced a human female.”
Had he, Orion wondered, or had she seduced him? All he knew was that he couldn't get Elena out of his mind. The thought that she could suffer the same fate as Sjshsglee was intolerable. He had to get to her and keep her from Melqart's ship. Any delay might mean her death.
“It will not happen again,” Poseidon said. “You put us all in danger by your recklessness.”
“Listen to your father,” Queen Korinna said gently. “The law was written for good reason. Humans are not like Atlanteans. They are much less evolved.”
Orion turned his gaze on her. “How can you say that, Mother? Haven't you come to love Rhiannon like a daughter? And what of little Danu? Does your granddaughter's smile not light up your life?”
She nodded. “That's unfair. You can't compare your brother's wife and daughter with some woman with whom you've shared pleasures of the body. Danu and Rhiannon are the exception, and they are no longer human. They are Atlantean, and you shame them and yourself by bringing up the past.”
He didn't agree, but he wouldn't argue that point now. Poseidon had the power to have him arrested, to lock him up, and keep him from going to Elena. With great effort, he swallowed his anger and bowed his head to his father. “You are right to remind me of my duty, sire.” He shrugged. “She was very beautiful for a human.”
“They are most alluring,” the king agreed. “I myself have been …” He glanced at the queen. “You take after me, I'm afraid,” he said, chuckling. “Our actions are often ruled by something other than reason when it comes to the joys of pleasure.” His blue eyes took on a glint of gray and his voice hardened. “But I will have none of it, do you understand ?”
“I understand, sire.”
Poseidon glanced at Alexandros. “If your brother disobeys me on this, I will hold you equally responsible. Is that clear?”
Orion stiffened. His hands tightened into fists at his sides. “That's unfair. Alexandros isn't—”
“Silence!” His father rose from his chair. “I will decide what is fair and what isn't. I know you two. Since you were children, when one of you got into mischief, the other was as much to blame.”
“We're not children anymore!” Orion flung back.
“Then don't act like a child! Stay away from humans. Take a wife! Take two, or seek your satisfaction among the women of our kind. This discussion is ended. You will do as you're told, or you will both suffer the consequences.”
 
As Elena lowered herself from the side of the
Antolia
and descended toward the wreck, she felt none of the exhilaration she usually did during a dive. Although the surface had been relatively calm, the water seemed unusually murky. She'd seen no schools of fish, no sea life at all, and that was strange. Even the birds that always followed the ship were absent today.
She was anxious to see if the storm had damaged the hull of the ship. Finding a Phoenician vessel in such a state of preservation was rare, and because the ship had sunk rather than gone down on its side or keel up, there was more of a chance of finding the contents of the hold. Usually, when a ship went down, the cargo was strewn over a large area. In the centuries that had passed since the sinking, there would naturally be loss, but something of significance might still be there waiting.
So far, all she had to show for the university's outlay were shards of pottery and one gold coin. She'd received a letter earlier in the week warning that her donations were down and the department had to cut costs. If she couldn't produce something of value soon, the expedition would be shut down early. What wasn't said, but was understood, was that ultimately, she was responsible. If—after all the money spent and the difficulty of getting permission to conduct a search in Greek waters—the site proved a disappointment, her career would suffer. She'd probably never get the opportunity to lead a dig again.
Stefanos, her dive partner, waved. He was no more than a few feet away, yet she could hardly see him. The deeper they went, the more difficult it was to see, and when Elena reached the bottom, she was standing on sand. She could find no sign of the wreck.
The tide swirled around her, and for an instant, she lost track of direction. In deep water, divers often suffered from a sense of euphoria and lost track of reality. This wasn't what she felt. Every instinct told her that something was wrong—that they shouldn't be here.
Where was the ship? The coordinates had been right. It should have been here, but this seabed seemed scoured as clean as a modern roadway. Where were the coral growths? The rocky outcrop that had jutted up within yards of the wreck? She twisted to locate Stefanos and made out the figure of a diver, but her eyes must be playing tricks on her. This man wasn't wearing dive gear. He was bigger than Stefanos, and … She bit down hard on her mouthpiece. For a split second, she thought that his dive suit was blue, rather than black, no … blue-green and covered in tiny iridescent scales.
Frightened, she swam as hard as she could—not toward the strange figure but away from it. The water had become so dark that it was impossible to see more than a few inches. And abruptly, she collided with something in black. It seized hold of her shoulders, and she panicked and tried to pull free. Stefanos held her tightly, and brought his face close to hers.
When she recognized him, she stopped struggling. Stefanos. Her dive partner. Relief washed over her, and she signaled for them to go up. She could see that he was alarmed as well. Together, they swam toward the surface.
The sunlight had never felt so good on her face. Stefanos pulled off his mask. “What happened down there? Did you see a shark?”
She nodded. What had she seen? Her heart was beating wildly. What was wrong with her? “Yes,” she lied, when she'd removed the apparatus and could speak. “A big one. It came at me.”
“We must be in the wrong place.” He swam toward the
Antolia,
and she followed, still wanting to get out of the water as quickly as she could, overjoyed that the expedition's boat was still here on the surface waiting for them. After what had just happened below, she wouldn't have been shocked to come up and find herself off some tropical island in the South Pacific.
Hilary and the first mate, Petros, stood by the rail and watched as Stefanos climbed the ladder. Elena went up behind him. The tanks on her back felt as if they weighed a ton.
“That was quick,” Hilary said. “You haven't been down long enough to—”
Elena leaned against the gunnel for support. Her knees felt as if they were made of rubber. She thought she might be sick. She'd been diving since she was a child, and she'd never lost her nerve before … never started imagining monsters.
“This isn't the spot,” Stefanos said, looking around.

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