Page 58 of Hunters and Prey

“You reluctantly accepted his proposal then fled the kingdom three days later for a boring job that never sees any action. If that isn’t leaving a man, I don’t know what is.”

The raised brow didn’t move, frozen into an arch. “You’re never so evasive when I ask you questions. Elpis, you’ve barely kept in touch over the past year, you’re not answering my questions about Manu, and—” Understanding filled Calanthe’s blue eyes, and Elpis knew she was busted. Few other mers, with exception to her closest relatives, knew El better than Calanthe. “Don’t tell me you—”

“It just happened one night.”

“Is that it? You kept me in suspense all that time because you slept with Manu? El, honey, I’m not bothered.”

“Truly?”

Calanthe shook her head. “I have no reason to be. He stopped being mine the moment I packed my bags for Pacifica. Please. Give me more credit than that. Jealousy over a man who isn’t mine would be such a…a human thing.” She shuddered, exaggerating the shake throughout her body. “I always hoped he’d find comfort in someone else after we parted ways. I don’t care if it’s you or anyone else, as long as he’s happy. He deserves that. It isn’t like we ended it on bad terms. Manu is a great mer, and any woman would be fortunate to have him.”

“Any woman willing to deal with his baggage, you mean?”

The merwoman laughed. “Yes. There is that. Anyway. I only wondered if he’d finally moved on. Last I spoke with Cosmas, he said Manu was…well, Manu. Grumpy as usual and displeased with having the princess’s combat lessons tossed into his lap.

“Erm…”Though she couldn’t be sure, Elpis suspected Manu had moved on, though his choice was problematic—gossip she’d picked up in the locker room was that another royal guard had sighted the future queen vanishing into their commander’s home for hours. Hours.

Loyalty to her friend meant Elpis tracked the rumor to its source, reprimanded the responsible parties, and guaranteed another word wouldn’t travel beyond the palace grounds. Atlantis took mixing of the castes seriously, and a warrior mixing with royalty was a crime punishable by incarceration.

“Well?” Calanthe asked, dragging her back to the present.

Elpis smiled. “He isn’t the one for me, but he’s moving on.”

Justhopefully not moving his way into the Royal Jail.

Arhythmic beeping dragged Elpis out of a deep sleep. She groaned and fumbled for the communicator on the bedside table, tangling herself in the silky sheets. She flipped up the clam shell and blearily peered at the blurry face in the reflective surface. “Elpis here.”

“Apologies for interrupting your rest,” Manu said gruffly, looking handsome and broody as usual. “But your assistance is needed.”

“I’m already on assignment.”

“Forget that. Captain Rastus can handle it.”

She cocked a brow. “Aegaeon himself sent me as part of Lady Zeta’s entourage to provide medical support.”

“These orders came from Aegaeon. I’m only passing them along,” he explained. “We have an issue with the humans that needs to be nipped in the tail, and you’re closest to it. Besides. It’s a matter of your specialty.”

Now he had her attention. Atlantis did their best to ignore the humans until their surface-dwelling counterparts screwed up. She leaned forward. “Don’t leave me in suspense.”

“Our colleagues among the surface dwellers brought to our attention that the Gloom is mutating. It affects humans now, or so we suspect.”

A foul taste filled her mouth. Since centuries before her birth, their kingdom had been at war with an insidious force, a sickness pervading the darkest corners of the Atlantic Ocean known as the Gloom. The dark goddess Calypso herself had fashioned it from her fury and her jealous desires, using it to corrupt the hearts of mers and ocean life, turning them into fearsome abominations.

She’d never heard of it affecting a human before.

Elpis licked her lips, though it didn’t help. “That can’t be right. Not once in hundreds of years has anyone ever mentioned it. If the Gloom could affect humans, we’d know already.”

“Yeah, well, this is our wakeup call. They’re sending a small naval vessel to meet one of our experts, and you’re that expert.”

“Grand.”

“It’s simple.Meet the humans,confirm it’s really the Gloom, and report in to us. Though, I have to say, from the photograph they sent, I’m positive that’s what we’re looking at.”

“Great.”

“Knew you’d see things our way. Coordinates and mission objectives will be forthcoming.”

The device beeped again and glowed a subtle blue as data loaded on the system. “They’re here.”

“Excellent. Try to make a good example of our kind among the humans. Some of them have never met a mer.”

“A good example?” Elpis huffed. “Since when have you ever cared—?”

“Manu out.” The connection blipped and went dark, leaving her in a quiet room.

Fish sticks. She wasn’t sure which assignment irritated her more.

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