Page 73 of Poseidon's Island Flower

“No, she doesn’t,” I argued back, my back stiffening. “She has one blue, one green. Why would you say they were brown?”

Lucifer let out a dramatic sigh. “When my mother gave you a glimpse of your mate, I saw she had brown eyes. You were too busy being shocked that your mate was alive and waiting for you. You ran off to the ocean to prepare for your journey. I saw; she had brown eyes.”

Loki snorted in the doorway. “Really, gonna argue over eye color?” Lucifer’s brother—Loki, the God of Mischief—certainly lived up to his name.

Silas mentioned Loki had been staying in the palace while I was gone to get away from his parents. They had been berating him for acting too foolishly, and now he found the underwater palace to be a haven.

“Welcome back,Cy.”Loki raised his chin in recognition and stood by his brother. He fiddled with an oceanic creature in his hand. “Congratulations on finding your mate.”

I couldn't help but let out a soft laugh, feeling a bit uncomfortable as I gave a small wave in his direction as he stood next to his brother.

“What the hell is that?” Lucifer backed away. Of course, Uriel, being the ever curious one, leaned over and gasped.

“It’s a starfish!” She giggled. “But it looks like a bunch of pee-pees stuck together. Did you make this, Loki?”

Oh squid.

“Ha, no. But it’s the best thing I’ve ever seen. I wish I had thought of it. It was sitting in one of the cages in Poseidon’s lab. Got anything to say,Cy?” Loki’s side eye caused blood to rush to my face.

I shook my head quickly.

“I did some research; the humans call it a cocktopus or a porn star. I must say, I never thought a god of your caliber would make such a perverted looking thing. Does it get hard when you stroke it? What about jizzing?”

Loki grabbed Uriel’s hand and had her pet one of the arms. Lucifer growled, his black wings bursting forth from his shirt. He grabbed his brother’s neck, and I lunged forward to catch the starfish that tumbled to the ground.

They scuffled while Uriel and I kneeled on the floor and checked the creature for injuries. As I rose from the floor, Uriel tilted her head. “Does its penis arms get hard?” she asked, truly curious. I pulled the starfish away from her before her mate saw her reaching.

“It’s called a Choriaster Granulatus, and it does not…do that.” I set the starfish on the counter.

I cleared my throat, and the timer for the brownies went off. “Oh look, it’s ready,” I blurted.

Uriel was instantly distracted. She put on my lobster claw oven mitts to retrieve the brownies. She breathed in deeply, setting them on the counter. “See, I didn’t burn these.” She pointed.

“Must be the atmosphere,” Lucifer mumbled, straightening his now ruined shirt.

“Well, I had a superb partner!” Uriel grabbed my hand, and the warmth of her touch soothed my embarrassment. As soon as the light faded from my hand, I heard a throat clearing from the doorway.

Lani stood, her long, tanned legs looked darker with my white tunic. Her hair was messy as it floated around her shoulders. She looked so gorgeous, and my smile widened when I saw her.

But Lani’s arms were crossed, her eyes narrowed, and her lips pursed. My smile faded, and I didn’t understand why her posture was so rigid. She had never stood this way. It was a departure from her normal cheerful attitude.

Loki nudged me; his hair was a mess, and he had a swelling black eye. “She’s jealous,” he whispered. “Doesn’t she look like Lucifer when he gets all pissy about Uriel hugging you?”

My mouth opened as wide as a whale shark, flabbergasted that my mate would be jealous. She was the queen of my ocean. Why would she be jealous?

“Better get on that,” Loki tsked. “Because if a cat fight breaks out, Lucifer won’t give you a chance to save your mate.”

I jumped from my position and ran toward Lani. I kneeled to the ground, pulling her arms away from her rigid stance, and kissed her hand. “My Flower, you are awake. I’m so happy you are here. Are you alright? Does anything ail you?”

I held Lani close to me, feeling her body relax, then I rose and kissed her forehead tenderly.

“Things are fuzzy,” she said, leaning into my embrace. “But after waking up in a giant clam bed with tiny light up fish staring at me and having a few moments of freaking out, I think I’m okay.”

I cupped her face, and she gave a hesitant smile.

“Are you?” I asked. She nodded. “You are so strong, Lani, I cannot imagine what has been going through your head. All that you have ever known–”

“Yeah, it’s been kind of a lie,” she added. “If I had known gods were real and I could pray to them, I might have done that a long time ago and wished you’d come sooner.” She laughed. “But I must know, who is she?” She raised an eyebrow as she pointed.

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