Page 53 of Female Fantasy
Across the table from me, Ryke smiles. He has shifted back into his human form and is wearing a navy-blue fitted suit that hugs every toned, expertly carved inch of his torso. In the glow of the orbs, his eyes shine bright like molten gold, and his dark hair falls into his eyes. He glances up at the moon,then back down at me, shaking his head in wonder as if I am responsible for its presence.
I lean forward and groan. Every inch of my body is sore from our training sessions. My abdomen is taut, my legs liquid. I can feel my pulse in all four quadrants of my body. Even my eyelids hurt each time I blink. But it is working. Every day, I feel myself grow stronger and more capable. Earlier this morning, I came close to disarming Ryke with a sword. My hand-to-hand combat needs more work, but as soon as I perfect my punch and stop leaning so far into my left knee, I should be able to use more force. Ryke has taught me how to escape from the most difficult sailor’s knots, to pick the lock of any treasure trove. Each night, I go to bed exhausted but with a sense of excitement for what is to come the next day.
If my husband were to see me now, he would hardly recognize me.
And the idea sends a shiver down my spine.
“Fifteen hundred years ago, Amphitrite was a hero to our kind—part mer warrior, part goddess of the sea. She fought for our people in the primary wars, when the mer had to reclaim the oceans after they were captured by creatures who claimed it to be their territory. In the lore, she distracted the godlings with a dance before slaughtering them all. She was our salvation, but she died shortly after her final battle, succumbing to her wounds. But it is rumored that her lineage lives on in a human bloodline. She was a shifter, you see. While recuperating on land, she took a human lover, a sailor. The two fell in love, and she went to live with him, but when the time cameto call the mer to war, she had no choice but to leave him. She did not even have a chance to bid him farewell.”
“How awful,” I say, my mind drifting back to the creek cottage. To the story I had been told as a child about the sailor and his lover. “He must have been heartbroken.”
Ryke nods. “As was she, but she knew her duty. The Conch of Hippios belonged to her. It is blessed with the holy water of the gods. She was the first and last to blow it. When she passed away, it fell into the possession of the ruling sovereign of the mer. But her descendants are its rightful owners. I am beginning to suspect that her blood might flow through your veins.”
My pulse begins to race. “Does that mean I can shift?” I ask, perhaps too eagerly.
“So many questions,” Ryke laughs. “No, my minnow. If my suspicions are correct, your blood would be far too diluted to hold any true mer properties. Any connection to Amphitrite would be distant. But still, if you are her kin, you are more valuable to the cause than I could ever be. Worth protecting with armies and weapons. More precious than your weight in gold.”
My stomach drops.
Valuable to the cause.
Is that all I am to Ryke?
Precious not because of who I am, but what I am?
I swallow my disappointment.
“And why is that, my prince?”
Ryke grins wickedly, and I trace the muscle working in histhroat with my eyes, wishing I could do the same with my tongue.
“Because only you can wield the objects in her treasure trove.”
I raise a brow. “There are more magical objects besides the conch?”
“There are four, to be exact,” he says. “Unfortunately, I could grab only one when I fled Atlantia. The others are hidden in the palace, guarded heavily by the sirens. Which is why tomorrow night, I plan to go undercover to retrieve them. The mer are having a ball in honor of the annual Eve of Sinking Stars, an important holiday to our people. They will be distracted, providing me with a perfect opportunity to steal the treasure trove.”
I surprise myself by standing suddenly, slamming my hands onto the table.
“You cannot go!” I practically shout. “It is far too dangerous. You are going to get yourself killed.”
“Now, now, minnow,” Ryke says with a smirk. “I am flattered that you worry so much for me. But Dylan, Guinn, Kai, and Mira will all be in attendance. They will ensure my safe return.”
My heart races as I imagine Ryke, my Ryke, in the belly of the beast.
Not that I have the right to call him that.
“Take me with you,” I say.
“Absolutely not.”
“I have been training for this. I am strong enough to maintain an air bubble on my own now. I will no longer be swayedby the current. Mira can dress me so that I fit in with the mer. No one will even be able to tell that I am human.”
“Were you not listening when I told you how valuable I believe you to be?” Ryke snaps. “It is too dangerous, Merriah. I cannot lose you.”
“And I cannot lose you!”
We stare at each other, out of breath.
