Fathoms of Forgiveness (Sacred Breath, Book 2) (37 page)

He used the opportunity to rain kisses across her exposed neck. “I give you my word as an Englishman that you will not.”

“That’s worth something,” she said with a laugh. She hit him in the shoulder. “Vachlan, can you please stop wasting our five minutes and get to work?”

“You change your mind rather quickly, don’t you?” he asked, as he circled her waist with his hands and began to tug her underwater.

“Shut up and show me what you learned in the twentieth century.”

The story continues…

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Available now, Book 3 in the Sacred Breath Series…

By Nadia Scrieva

An underwater kingdom. A missing queen. A modern man plunged into an ancient war...

Trevain Murphy's new wife has been forcibly taken. He must do all he can to search for her without falling apart. Burdened with all of Queen Aazuria’s responsibilities, the Alaskan is unable to cope with the political unrest of his new nation, and turns to his wife's younger sister for help. Princess Elandria is expected to assume important administrative duties, but she is overwhelmed with depression and completely useless to her endangered people.

Headstrong General Visola Ramaris becomes focused on seeking advanced military protection. Going against the ancient mermaid tradition to remain hidden from land-dwelling societies, Visola decides to reveal herself to the American public and make an eloquent appeal for assistance. But nothing comes for free. The price for survival is outrageous and unexpected; if Trevain agrees, the small marine kingdom will play a crucial role in changing the infrastructure and economy of the world forever. But will the proud citizens of Adlivun sacrifice their freedom and dignity for security?

Meanwhile, on a dark and desolate continent, a displaced queen has been captured and imprisoned by enemy forces. Her only concern is concealing the child she is carrying from her deranged captor. Thousands of miles from any sign of humanity, Aazuria must battle the coldest temperatures on earth in order to find her way back to her husband—but even if she lives, will she be in time to save her beloved Adlivun from itself?

Please enjoy the following preview of
Boundless Sea…

Small spaces—there were few things on land or sea that made Trevain more uncomfortable than small spaces. Unnatural neon blue light reflected annoyingly off the concave white plastic surface above him. Each second sluggishly crawled by, mimicking excruciating weeks of torment. He was nearing his breaking point. He had been suffering through months of these insulting, wasteful experiments, and he had received little in return. He needed results.

The narrow bed was so inappropriate for his stature that he needed to scrunch up his shoulders to fit on it—still, his arms grazed the sides of the cylinder through which he was being inched. Trevain wondered to himself if this was the way that a bullet felt as it was forced to journey through a claustrophobic barrel. The bullet surely had no choice in the matter, and neither did Trevain.

Was this what he had been reduced to?

That was it; his composure buckled under the weight of that final proverbial straw. The notion of a bullet exiting a nozzle pushed him over the edge, and he expelled the air from his lungs in an angry gust which he felt like he had been holding in for a lifetime. He began to claw and worm his way out of the cylinder. Once he was freed from his magnetic medical bondage and repositioned vertically, he began to feel his control of the situation returning. He headed for the door, ignoring the loud beeping noise which had begun. He ran directly into a distressed physician.

“Sir, we haven’t finished the procedure…”

“Forget the bloody procedure!” Trevain shouted. “My wife is missing, and I need to focus on getting her back.”

A taller, bald man with authority in his stride came up behind the doctor, and looked at Trevain understandingly. “Captain Murphy, I can assure you that everything in our power is being done to find her. Please, just lie down and let us take a few more scans. It takes less than an hour; it’ll be over in no time.”

“I’m not going to waste another moment here,” Trevain said with a frown “My wife is missing. Do any of you understand that? We can do MRIs from now until the second coming. It’s not going to change my anatomy.”

The physician lifted his hands in a pleading gesture. “We need information for our journals—we need to publish these findings. It has never been documented…”

“Documented?” Trevain asked as he advanced on the doctor menacingly. “Documented?

“Captain Murphy, there’s so much we don’t understand. There’s a chemical in your blood that acts like a natural antifreeze, and the cell structure of your fat cells is so much more efficient…”

“Yes. I’m a human being who can breathe underwater. Accept it! I have a second pair of amphibious lungs—you did the autopsies on the bodies we delivered. You get the picture.”

“Autopsies are one thing, but we require living tissue…”

“Enough! There are thousands like me worldwide. I am sick and tired of being poked and prodded like some kind of alien organism.” Trevain snarled as he advanced on the doctor. “I’m an American citizen, not a circus freak. I pay my taxes—in fact I’ve paid more in taxes than any of you will ever
earn
in your entire lives!”

The bald man cleared his throat. “Captain Murphy, it is not our intention to infringe upon your rights or comfort. You have been doing all of science—and your country—a great favor by volunteering yourself for these tests. I fully recognize that you are troubled by the circumstances in your personal life, and you believe that these exams are counterproductive…”

“Counterproductive?” Trevain asked, knitting his brows in disbelief. “Marshal Landou, I believe that these experiments are a complete and utter fucking
waste of time
. I need to find Aazuria.”

When Trevain turned to leave, storming savagely out of the compound, he did not see that a soldier in the shadows had a gun pointed at his back. Marshal Landou lifted his hand and shook his head to instruct the soldier to refrain from firing. They allowed Trevain to leave.

The soldier looked at the general with confusion. “Why didn’t you let me tranquilize him, Marshal? You said that…”

“It’s okay. He’ll be back,” Marshal Landou said. “The mermaid ‘king’ needs something from us, and he’ll have to cooperate.”

“Excuse me, Marshal,” the doctor interjected. “Perhaps we should stop bothering Trevain Murphy and examine some of the less important but much purer specimens. He is only a half-breed after all.”

“He won’t allow it. He’s trying to protect them,” Marshal Landou explained. The bald man smirked. “It’s futile, of course, but his tenacity is endearing.”

“Your intentions are beyond unethical. By their projected numbers,
Homo sapiens marinus
are an endangered species—or at least vulnerable,” the doctor argued. “For the sake of science, we have a responsibility to preserve…”

“Lions and tigers are also endangered. My good doctor, that’s why we keep them in zoos.”

“For god’s sake, man! These are people! Human beings who speak English and, as the captain pointed out, even pay taxes.”

“Relax. It was only a joke—a metaphor, at most.” Marshal Landou reached up to stroke his smooth chin before speaking again. “The truth is that I would be less apprehensive about these foreigners if they were from outer space. The sea—the sea is bizarre and unkind, and I can’t fathom what kind of beasts would breed in a godforsaken place like that.”

Elandria felt the gentle swirl of water tossing fabric around her legs. She enjoyed the caressing sensation peacefully until its persistence stirred her awake. She opened one eye curiously to see who was disturbing her. Smiling sadly at her gentle attacker, she reached out and placed a hand on her friend’s partly submerged head.

“Both of my sisters are gone now,” she murmured. “I only have you.”

Elandria had fallen asleep with one leg in the water and one on land, as if she could not decide in which realm she wanted to remain. She sighed, and turned her eyes upward to observe the dimly lit cave ceiling. She stretched her limbs out, causing the whole right half of her body to be moistened. Lately, she just wanted to sleep. Feeling a gentle caress across her palm, and the texture of soft yet leathery skin under her fingers, she smiled.

“Were you keeping watch over me as I slept?” she asked, allowing her fingers to stroke the warm, wizened surface. There was no response. She turned to look at her friend, and innocent dark eyes stared back at her, blinking once. “Oh, Cassie. You poor sweetheart.”

Cassandra, the manatee, responded with an understanding purr.

Of course she understood! Steller’s sea cow was extinct in the wild. Cassandra and her family members were part of the only remaining herd of these immense but gentle giants. They had been kept in Adlivun in a special reserve. Elandria had not known that they would be hunted to extinction, but knowing their innocence and tameness, she had petitioned her father to keep the massive creatures as pets. For all of his selfish, tyrannical tendencies, King Kyrosed had often entertained the whims of his daughters. He had designated this private sanctuary just for her. While common manatees were part of the staple diet of the residents of Adlivun, they recognized that this particular species was unique, and they treated them with reverence.

The dimensions of the creatures were remarkable—at thirty feet in length, and weighing roughly ten tons, Cassandra was probably one of the largest living cuddly companions any girl had ever curled up next to with a good book. Yet this particular sea cow was so docile that she did not even twitch as Elandria leaned against her, for a twitch from Cassandra created small waves in the little underground lagoon which would have surely moistened Elandria’s pages. No, the creature was demure and meek, much like Elandria herself. She was withdrawn from the rest of her herd, and she liked to sit with the princess in silence as the rest of her family socialized and sang to each other. Cassandra seemed to prefer Elandria’s company, and she rolled over and over in delight with a huge smile on her face whenever the silent girl sang to her.

Some of Adlivun’s residents were superstitious and fearful of the beasts, but it was silly; they were herbivores who only feasted on kelp, and they were very fond of humans. Elandria greatly preferred them to people. Especially now. She crawled into the water, and lay her head against the manatee’s neck with a sigh.

“Can I just stay here with you forever, Cassie?” she whispered. The manatee hummed happily; a melodious sound which resonated through her body, and against Elandria’s cheek. The vibrations rippled through Elandria’s chest, soothing her heart.

Elandria’s eyes had been closed for several minutes when a loud voice interrupted her, causing her to jump in fear.

“Princess Elandria?” came the sharp, professional address.

Elandria turned to her attacker with wide eyes, and saw that it was a tall redheaded woman; one of the Ramaris twins. At a glance, she knew it was Sionna, the physician. Cassandra was startled by the intrusion and began to swim away from the shore, back into the darker part of the lagoon. For a creature comparable in size to a dinosaur, Cassandra was painfully timid. It was part of the reason she and Elandria connected so well.

“It’s a mess up there, Elan. I need to be in the infirmary, but I came to speak with you because things are getting intense above the surface. There are tabloid rumors everywhere, and the council is considering accepting the offer of an official press conference,” Sionna said. She held up some newspapers. “Would you like to see the latest articles?”

Elandria’s lips clamped tightly shut. She turned her head away from the redhead and looked down at her long white braid, which she nervously began to squeeze.

Sionna cleared her throat, obviously impatient with Elandria’s reticence. “Would you like me to read the papers to you?” Receiving no answer, she took the liberty of making the decision. “Here’s a nice headline:
Alaskan Fisherman Survives Wreck—Discovers he Can Breathe Underwater
. That’s basically true, so it’s not so bad. 
Mermaids Exist! Responsible for Mass Murders of Fishermen
. That’s technically true too, although they don’t specify which particular clan is responsible.
Newly discovered! A Predator Worse than Sharks or Crocodiles;
Keep Your Children Away From the Water!
Do you see why things need to be sorted out?”

When Elandria still did not respond, Sionna approached her, placing a hand on the girl’s shoulder. Elandria visibly flinched and Sionna prodded her again. “Look, Elan—I understand that you feel comfortable talking to the sea cows, but you don’t want to talk to people. That’s fine with me, but we really need you to step up and fill Queen Aazuria’s shoes.”

Elandria lowered her head, staring down at the fabric of her white dress. Malachite green was the color of Adlivun, but in times of mourning, they could choose to wear white. She had been wearing white since her sister had been taken.