Promises (Book One of The Syrenka Series) (8 page)

She sat back in her chair and
shrugged. “Whatever. It’s your marriage.”

“
We aren’t married yet,” I
grumbled and began quizzing Daniel so that Carissa would drop the
subject. It took a lot of self control not to look over towards
Kain every time I heard Lily’s squeaky giggle.

An hour later, we had completed our
exam and were dismissed to prepare for the ball. All five of us
were staying in the boat houses, so we walked back together and
made plans to meet on the front patio just before dinner. Brendan
and I exchange a few quick texts. I missed him and let him know
that. He was busy with work, but promised that he had a surprise
for me when I got home.

I was so exhausted that I asked if I
could take a shower first. Well that and also because I knew that
if Kain got in there before me, there wouldn’t be any hot water
left. He obliged, and I let the smell of the soaps and lotions
carry me away to my happy place so that I could get through this
evening.

Six

I was sitting in front of the only
mirror in the room trying to do something special with my hair. It
was so long and thick that pulling it up off my neck and out of my
face was a definite in this weather. I looked at my silver gown
hanging on the closet door and smiled. It was fun to play dress-up
every once and a while.

My hair was almost done when there was
a knock at the door. Kain was still in the shower and I was just
wearing my pajamas. We weren’t necessarily expecting anyone, so I
was curious. When I opened the door, an old man was standing there.
He had been tall at one point, but now he was leaning over on his
cane so much that he’d lost at least six inches. The graying hair
and pale skin hung around his face. Dark circles created shadows on
skin that reminded me of someone who had not slept in weeks. When I
finally realized who this was, my heart sank with
sadness.

“
Mr. Matthew?”

“
Hello Eviana. May I come
in?” I backed away from the door so that he could walk inside.
Kain’s father had aged a decade since I last saw him. He hobbled
slowly and stiffly like every step was agony. I could hear him
breathing in short ragged breaths so I went to his side and ushered
him to the edge of the bed.

“
Thank you, dear,” he
wheezed. He pulled out a cloth handkerchief from his suit jacket
and patted his forehead. “I don’t know how people survive in this
heat. My body is constantly dripping.”

“
Can I get you some water
Mr. Matthew?” He looked like he was about to pass out and I didn’t
know what else I could do.

“
Please dear, call me
Harlan. You are a part of our family now and I hate the
formalities. Yes, a glass of water would be very nice, thank
you.”

I went into the little kitchenette
area and turned on the faucet. From where I was standing, I could
see steam seeping out from underneath the bathroom door like a
morning fog, but I heard that the shower had been turned off.
Hopefully Kain would come out soon. His father did not look well,
and I wasn’t sure if this was his normal appearance or if he was
having a really hard time.

Handing the water to Harlan I asked,
“Did you just get here?”

He drank almost the entire glass
before responding. “Yes, I was supposed to arrive earlier today so
that I could act as your sponsor, but I was held up in L.A.” I
gestured to see if he wanted more water, but he shook his head.
Upon doing that, he suddenly seemed very interested in our room. He
looked around in a circular pattern and when he got back to me, he
wrinkled his forehead in concern. “One bed?”

Oh great. Where was Kain? I could feel
the blush in my cheeks and the nerves in my stomach. This was not
something I wanted to discuss with Kain’s father even though our
situation has been completely innocent.

“
Yeah.” I had to clear my
throat to get more words out. “But it’s not what you think. We have
an arrangement. I mean, we’re not sleeping together. Well, we are,
but it’s not like that. We sleep in clothes.” Oh just kill me
now.

Harlan laughed and patted the bed
beside him. “You are too much, Eviana. Please have a seat so I can
talk to you.” He looked around again. “Where is my son?”

I sat on the edge of the bed next to
him, relieved about the change of subject. “In the bathroom taking
forever to get ready.” He’d been in there at least thirty minutes
by now, and even though I was sure that he could hear us talking,
he hadn’t come out yet.

“
Ah yes. He does take a lot
of pride in his appearance,” Harlan smiled.

“
Sure, but come on. It’s a
bit girlish.”

This time he laughed and wrapped an
arm around my shoulders. He gave me a brief hug before pulling
away. “I agree. Perhaps you will be able to work on his time
management skills once you are married.”

My muscles tensed at that last word. I
was doing my best to play the perfect fiancée but I hadn’t really
thought about the actual marriage part so much. That’s probably
because I had no intentions of going through with this wedding.
Looking at Harlan Matthew, I could see that he was genuinely
pleased with this arrangement. Our families had always been close
and now they would officially be joined. My stomach twisted with
guilt when I thought about how much I was going to disappoint
everyone.

When I didn’t say anything, Harlan
gave me an odd look but promptly changed the subject. “Do you know
what’s going to happen tonight?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “Kain
explained what he could. You prepared him much better than my
parents did for me.”

Tonight was the “coming-out” ball. We
would all be officially introduced by family and arranged marriage
if applicable. Apparently, a lot of the politically important
merfolk would be there to evaluate and socialize with the up and
coming clan leaders. From what Kain had said, it’s usually a chance
for them to begin gathering those who will support their causes and
issues. It was just a big schmooze fest mixed with a debutante ball
for the single syrenkas. I was looking forward to the food and
dancing, but I certainly didn’t plan on networking
tonight.

“
Well, I will introduce you
and Kain and then I will join the other sponsors.” Each individual
or couple had a family sponsor who took responsibility for the
actions, behavior, and training of their syrenkas. Since Kain and I
were to be married, the Matthew family sponsored both of us
together. “It’s not so bad the first year. Most of the guests will
be meandering with the second year syrenkas, trying to gain
political support. You two just enjoy yourselves.” He smiled at me
and my heart broke. He was really and truly so happy for
us.

Before I could reply, the bathroom
door opened and Kain emerged from the steam. “Dad, what are you
doing here?”

“
Nice to see you too, son.”
Harlan tried to stand and Kain and I instantly jumped to his
aid.

“
You know what I mean,”
Kain continued. “I didn’t think you were going to make it.” He was
standing now, so I placed the cane in his hand. “I’m glad you’re
here.”

Harlan gave Kain’s shoulder a squeeze
and nodded in my direction. “She told me about your primping
sessions…and the bed.” I must have looked horrified because Kain
and his dad just laughed together. Harlan’s was a bit strangled,
but he was still enjoying himself. “You’ve got a good one here,
Kain. Take care of her.”

I was marveling at how much they
looked alike when I realized what he’d just said. Kain stared at me
with so much emotion that I couldn’t hold his gaze. “I will,
Dad.”

In order to avoid having them see the
tears in my eyes, I dropped my head and opened the door. Kain loved
me so much and I was going to run away with Brendan when we got
home. It would break his heart.

Harlan Matthew shuffled out the door
and promised to catch up with us when he could. Kain sat on the bed
after he left and just stared at the floor. “Are you okay?” I
asked.

He took a deep breath and then blew
out all of his air. “Yeah. He just looks bad.” He ran his hands
through his hair, effectively messing up the carefully styled look
he was going for. I walked over to him and begin to put the hairs
back in place.

“
He’ll be alright. He’s
lived with this for a long time and he knows how to handle
himself.” I finished fixing his hair but before I could pull away,
Kain wrapped his arms around my lower back and pulled me into his
body. His head was against my stomach and I thought that I felt him
sobbing. Instinctively, I rubbed his back and tried to soothe him
even though I didn’t know what I could possibly say that would ever
make this situation any more bearable. His dad was dying and from
the looks of Harlan, it was going to be sooner rather than
later.

After a couple of minutes, Kain
abruptly pulled away and wiped at his eyes. He stood and walked
towards the bathroom. “We have to go soon,” he said and then added,
“You should put some clothes on.” He smile was teasing so I stuck
out my tongue and told him to hide in the bathroom while I
changed.

The dinner was fabulous. Lobster,
fresh fish, shrimp and conch made up the main dishes with rice,
beans, baby potatoes and a steamed vegetable medley rounding out
the sides. Dessert was key lime pie, and although I’d never tried
it before, it quickly became one of my favorites. They had served
all of us wine with dinner. I didn’t usually drink much of
anything, but it was good and I had to stop myself at one glass.
After all, it wouldn’t be a good idea to stumble all over the place
when they were announcing us.

The syrenkas were seated at one side
of the room, almost like we had our very own kid table. But as soon
as dinner was over and Pegotty announced that it was time for our
introductions, the room cleared and we became the center of
attention. She ushered us to an adjoining room to await our turn.
Each first and second year syrenka would be announced and we had a
formal greeting to say once we arrived. There was a long open
staircase that joined the first two floors and we would have to
walk down it into the middle of the room and speak out loud. I was
terrified.

“
You look really beautiful
tonight,” Kain whispered into my ear. I had been frantically
bobbing my foot and looking around the waiting area making myself
crazy with nerves.

“
Thank you.” I smiled up at
him and his blue eyes. “You aren’t so bad yourself.” He grabbed my
hand that was wrapped around his arm and held it there for the rest
of the wait. I could barely hear Pegotty’s voice until someone
propped open the door. She gave a five minute introduction of which
I listened to about three seconds of it. Carissa and Lily were in
front of us and Daniel was a few spots behind. I swallowed hard
when Pegotty announced the first name:

“
Liliana Marie Shannon.
Unpromised by the Shannon clan.” Lily gave a small wave to all of
us and then stepped through the door to make her
entrance.

“
They actually say
promised
or
unpromised
?” I asked
Kain.

“
Yep,” was his only reply.
I thought that it sounded rather rude to be introduced as
unpromised
. It made it
seem kind of sad.

Pegotty’s voice boomed again. “Carissa
Ishi Nakamo. Umpromised by the Nakamo clan.”

We were up next. I squeezed Kain’s
hand again and sighed. Why was I so nervous? We were waiting to
hear Pegotty again, but a quiet, deep male voice made the
announcement instead. It was Harlan Matthew.

“
Eviana Anne Dumahl
promised to Kain Harlan Matthew by both the Dumahl and Matthew
clans.” We walked around the door and began our descent. Harlan was
standing at the bottom of the staircase with one hand on his cane
and the other on the banister holding him up. He still looked ill,
but his smile helped to lighten his face. The room was full of
adult merfolk dressed in formal attire. The ceiling fans and air
conditioning couldn’t keep up with the number of bodies and many of
the guests were using their pamphlet about the syrenkas to fan
themselves.

Once we got to the bottom of the
stairs, Kain kissed his father on the cheek and then placed his arm
on my back. We walked to the center of the room and he said, “It is
an honor to be here. We are bound by duty and family to protect the
clans, support the people, and further our existence.” He nodded
his head and I gave a small curtsy. This was some formal tradition
that has been continued throughout the centuries. A syrenka swears
duty to the merfolk and basically promises to procreate and
protect. It seemed quite a bit outdated to me, but at least they
didn’t make us take a blood oath anymore.

I vaguely remember hearing Daniel
Phillip Zane being introduced, but before we knew it, the
formalities were over and the dancing could begin. It was overtly
proper at first; with waltzes and foxtrots. Most of the younger
syrenkas stayed off the dance floor at this time, but unfortunately
I managed to grab someone’s notice.

“
May I have this dance Miss
Dumahl?” a man about my father’s age asked. He had golden blonde
hair pulled back into a low ponytail that fell down his back. His
light blue eyes were almost grey and completely lacking any shine.
I looked up to Kain and he just gave me a slight shrug. He wasn’t
going to stop me…or save me.