Page 126 of Poseidon's Island Flower

Talk about a red flag to a normal relationship. It was like I was one of those crazy teenagers that thought they knew what love was.

I laid my head on Poseidon’s chest and patted his stomach. He preferred to go without a shirt, and that was fine with me. He was in his god form now, one that I cherished even more than his usual human form, but I wouldn’t mind if I got the other during some sexy times.

As I softly rubbed his stomach in a circular motion, he gently twirled his finger around my hair.

“Are you going to be okay leaving your home here?” Poseidon asked.

I glanced back at the shack where I’d spent so many years of my life. My parents, my brother, there were many moments in that house I never wanted to forget. But that is all it was. It was a house. A home is where your loved ones were, and Poseidon was going to be my new home.

And of course, Koma and his new mate.

“Yes, I’ve got a small bag packed with pictures,” I said as he cradled my head against his chest. “We will come up to the surface more, won’t we?”

“Of course,” he chuckled. “I got to get more of that outstanding food from Poseidon’s Island Flower.” He snorted.

I lightly slapped his chest, the warm breeze enveloping us and giving us a gentle sway in the hammock.

Yeah, Zeus shouldn’t have had Hermes kidnap me, but he was a sweetheart under all that beefy, cocky skin.

As excited as I was to enter the ocean, to be more a part of Poseidon’s kingdom, I was closing a chapter on my life. I could no longer walk about with humans and do the mundane things that I took for granted. I felt like I was going to sit in a palace and be waited on hand and foot, and that didn’t sound like fun.

“You’re a loud thinker,” Poseidon said. “You really think you are going to be bored?”

I snorted. “Well, not bored. For the first hundred years, I bet I’ll be exploring.”

“It’s more than that, Lani. Once you enter the water, your powers are going to explode. You will have to learn to wield the plant life. The sea life of this entire earth is going to change because of you. Not only that, you also have another power that I am starting to see.”

His index finger slowly moved from my temple to my jawline as I tilted my head backward. “You are a nurturing soul. It takes someone patient, kind, confident, and steadfast to take care of plants. There will be many projects you will have your hands in, I can guarantee that.”

“You think so?” I whispered.

“I know so.” He laid his head back into his arm, staring up at the palms. “Because the ocean is calling you, Lani. This hammock made of fresh sea kelp is the first indicator.”

We shared an uncontrollable laugh as we listened to the calming sound of the waves beneath us.

Epilogue

Poseidon

Gonewerethedaysof the palace's stark emptiness; it had been replaced with the warmth of blooming flowers and wrapped vines of foliage in a wide range of colors. All around the palace, beautiful vines, kelp, and blooming flowers could be seen, all able to withstand the harsh salt content of their environment. Every table and corner was adorned with large bouquets of various shades of pink and purple sea roses, vibrant orange salt tulips and soft coral-like chrysanthemum.

Lemon shaped balls of color sprouted and covered our room, turning the atmosphere into something I never thought I would see. You almost forgot you were in an underwater palace, but instead were in a flower garden under the sea.

My mate’s experiments were just as meticulous as mine. Meticulous and thought provoking. Not only could she get her plants to grow beneath the waves in an array of vibrant colors, but they could withstand the cold temperatures of the arctic. That was where our palace was set in order to test their hardiness so the winter sirens could cultivate their own crops.

Six months had passed since we left the surface, and Lani had not asked to visit and spend her days in the sun. She could still make frequent phone calls to Koma, who was still planning on finishing out his college degree and football scholarship, and Candice. She couldn’t visit her friend who’d started a new life.

I understood the concern Lani had for Candice. However, Lani could make calls and send text messages to her friend, but she refrained from video calling because of her appearance and where she now lived. We couldn’t give anything away, not yet. Not until Zeus found her, which he was nowhere close to doing.

Hermes was sworn to secrecy, and the place she worked was heavily guarded with demons, angels and gods that were willing to conceal her from the High God. More punishment for him, but there were always worse ways I could have punished him. Luckily, we weren’t living in the past any longer. I was rather lenient compared to what Hera had put him through.

And until my mate met Candice again, we decided to wait on our Soul Bonding ceremony, which was just a big excuse for gods to mingle and get drunk, anyway.

I was mesmerized as I observed my mate’s hands gracefully weaving in and out of the tendrils of a bright red anemone. She quirked her lips to the side, her finger running through part of the plant that was inflicted with sickness. A new alga she created for plankton to ingest more easily seemed to harm a certain strain of the anemone.

Her mind searched for a solution, but until then, she worked to cure the creature that was more animal than actual plant. Its arms reached for her as she pulled away from it. She gave it one more gentle stroke at its base before pulling away.

Lani’s hair was braided behind her, her fin a bright, beautiful golden yellow. It reminded me of a beta fish, but with the long tendrils that connected at her waist, it also reminded me of a jellyfish.

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