Sea Storm: Children of the Waves (2 page)

“Oh, God!” Cori cried.

He kissed her left hand before placing
his ring upon it. Where it would stay for all time. “Now, how’s a week sound?”

She bolted upright. “What!”

He stood up with her and kissed her
again. When he drew back he said, “Yeah, a week’s about as long as we can be
gone from the depths.”

“Oh, lordy. You have no idea what you
ask.”

He grinned. “By the way, that is a week
total. I’d like us married in two days.”

“What!” She shook her head. “Again, you
have no idea…”

“Yes, I think I do. And I have a brother
who can help. He’s got the resources. Ezekiel lives on a small private island
in the Caymans. He owns and runs the cruise ship line you were on from there
and maintains his home permanently on land. He will have access to everything
we’ll need.” Xavior sat down and pulled Cori back on his lap as he reached for
the phone again, and called his brother. “When I’m done, then you can call your
folks.”

She groaned.

Chapter Two

The fluttering sensation coursing through
his soul had Ezekiel swinging his chair around and standing up. He took two
steps and stood in front of the bay windows, covering the entire back wall of
his office. His view from his Cayman Island office home looked out over the
blue green waters of the Caribbean. He watched several dolphins leap out of the
water and he heard their song above the roar of the waves in his head. While he
couldn’t exactly talk to the pod or they to him, this message all the Children
would understand.

They brought him tidings. His brother
Xavior had found his bride.

“Lucky bastard,” he mumbled. Then, he
chuckled. At least one of them had mated. Zek ran his blunt fingers through
dark shoulder-length hair. While he loved his brother, he disagreed with him.
He didn’t believe just because Xav now sat as a king on Poseidon’s throne, the
unrest in their world would stop. Xav didn’t really understand, or factor in,
even the Children needed to evolve and they couldn’t do it while isolated
beneath the seas.

The world on land had changed and they
must, too. They were the children of gods, but not gods themselves. Oh, they
held certain powers but the days of the almighty were over. A new age drove
them out. Zek believed the immortals came to understand this long ago and it
explained why their father and the others left. Abandoning their descendants to
fend for themselves. And while a king might put a stop to some of the warring
factions of their race, Xav still couldn’t completely halt the exodus of their
people to the land. Nor, would he try to stop them. However, others saw that as
a betrayal of the ancient ways. Their enemy the white witch for one. Even
though there might be quiet for a while, Zek had no doubt she and her followers
would continue to fight against the tides of time.

The good news, though, without having to
journey through hostile territories it would make it easier for the Children to
travel back and forth from the depths to land. Although, Zek missed the
celebration of Xav’s mating, he would have to venture to the depths soon to
congratulate his brother. Xav, the eldest in this line of Poseidon’s sons had
waited the longest to claim his bride.

Zek essentially left the depths and made
the land his home, but he hadn’t abandoned his people. He would face his
brother and let him know he wished him nothing but good things. If any shit
started while he visited down under, then he’d stand at his brother’s side. Zek
frowned, he would have to make plans to be away for a few days but he needed to
return soon to continue his own search.

He heard his office door open and spun
around, a smile already on his face. “Hey, man,” Zek greeted.

The male framed in the doorway could be
his twin but opposite in coloring. Six four, broad shouldered and all lean
muscle, built for cutting through the depths with great speed. While he and his
brother Xav had dark hair, Cyrus’s pale hair glistened almost like silver in
the sun. Otherwise, he looked the spitting image of Poseidon’s sons. They were
after all, his line.

As far as Zek knew, Cyrus was also the
youngest of their father’s sons, but birthed by a human mother. They still
weren’t sure how their father could have impregnated another woman, but given
Cyrus’ age, it happened after the death of Zek’s mother. His father didn’t
exactly follow his mate directly into the depths, for a while he walked the
land.

His half-brother returned his smile.
“Hey, man.” Like him, Cyrus loved being near the water more than anything else.
As with all the Children of the Waves, it called to him, too. Cyrus’s grin grew
wider and he narrowed blue-green eyes like his own at his half-brother, just
before he threw himself into the chair in front of his desk.

Good thing Zek liked solid well-built
chairs capable of holding a large frame without protest.

“There are about twenty dolphins near the
dock, even I know something is going on,” Cyrus noted by way of further
greeting.

“Looks like Xavior’s found his bride.”

“Good for him.” Cyrus chuckled. “Better
him than me getting shackled.”

Cyrus had met their older brother, of
course, and they’d spent time together, whenever he ventured onto land. He’d
even visited the King’s City a few times. So, he knew of Xav’s search for a
bride. Strangely, unlike the Children, Cyrus appeared to be in no hurry to find
his. With no interest in even going on a hunt for his mate.

“You know I can’t wait to see you when
you find your bride. I think it just might be epic,” Zek smirked.

Cyrus snorted. “Hardly. There are too
many women in this world and we live very, very long lives. I’ll leave the
settling down to you and Xav. Hey, we didn’t get an invitation?”

“You might not have a choice, bro.”

Cyrus raised a brow at his sibling. “I
could be different from you guys that way. When we first met five years ago, I
might’ve been unaware of my heritage but it still doesn’t mean I’m exactly the
same as you. I’ve always been different from everyone else.” He laughed. “When I
stopped aging around twenty-five, kinda confirmed it.”

“You’re what now?”

He shrugged. “A little past hundred.”

“It’s too bad your mom died before she
could answer your questions.”

“No shit!”

Zek tilled his head to the side and
stared at his half-brother. “But you know the fact you age, tells me you might
have already met your bride.”

“Or, I could be more human than one of
The Children.”

“There are no rules with the human
offspring of demi-gods.” His youngest brother could stay underwater longer than
any human he knew, and he could move objects with a thought. He wondered if
Cyrus could orgasm, a conversation they’d never had.

Zek grinned. Most of the males of their
kind were horny as hell once they hit puberty. They had no trouble actively
‘searching’ for their brides, just to be sure, but only sex with your bride or
mate could bring you to orgasm. While Zek had never been one to troll for his
mate, partly because he’d already met her and knew it, Cyrus loved women.
Except his intent had nothing to do with the search for a mate. Or maybe it
did, and his youngest brother hadn’t realized it.

“True. Now what about the ceremony we
weren’t invited to?”

“Well, technically no invitations are
required,” Zek told his half-brother. “Xav is already mated but perhaps, he’ll
have a ceremony for the Children, so the tribes can gather and celebrate. We’re
going to have to make a trip to the depths in a couple of days.”

“Coolio. How about that investigator?
Thought you said you heard from them.”

Zek leaned forward, ignoring the question
for the moment and rested his elbows on the desk. “Seriously, you’ve been an
adult male for the last hundred years, it’s probably time for you to find your
mate, too.”

Cyrus leaned back and raised his hands up
in surrender. “Nah ah, not me, man. I’m not committing to one woman. I know
you’ve explained it and all about the need to find our mates. But, like I said,
I’m not sure I’m like you in that respect. For one thing, I can’t stay down
below as long as you all. That first time, I needed one of the medallions to
make it to King’s City. Besides, I aged until about twenty-five, never paused
in my growth. So, if I did find my bride, I didn’t know it at the time. Also,
it would’ve been about a hundred years ago. She’d be dead by now.”

“Not necessarily. Not if she were one of
the Children.”

Cyrus frowned. “I know I spent a lot of
time at sea. But up until I met you, I didn’t know such a thing as the
Children of the Waves
existed. Mermaids
and shit, all bedtime stories. And it’s not like I’ve lived underwater. I just
knew I could spend hours in the water and had no trouble doing so.”

“Still, you got past puberty without a
hitch. And you enjoy being near the water. It explains the job you have and
your ability to handle the ocean depths. All part of Poseidon’s blood. So no
wonder, you’ve been a sailor for most of your life.”

“Well, I enjoy being the chief maritime
engineer for your company, Oceanus Enterprises. It’s nice having a bro who owns
a fleet of ocean liners.” Cyrus grinned.

“That’s true.” Zek found Cyrus quite by
accident or perhaps, Fate intervened when he needed to hire someone to oversee
the engines. “But it’s great to have you here, man,” Zek continued.

They both loved spending time in the life
rejuvenating waters of the sea. The main reason the corporate offices were on
an island and the French doors from his office and the home they shared were
mere steps from it.

Finally, he decided to raise the subject
and the question he’d been dying to ask. “Among our people, the
males—well—ah we can’t…” Zek coughed. “That is to say, we can only
orgasm with our brides.”

“What?” Cyrus sat up straight in the seat
he’d been lounging in.

“Oh, we have sex.” Zek chuckled. “But
only one woman can bring us to orgasm. Our bride.”

Cyrus laughed. He laughed so hard his
eyes teared up.

Zek growled. “It’s not fucking funny.”

“Sorry, man.” He snorted. “Sorry. It’s
okay. Ah well, I ah, don’t have that problem. Wait. So you mean you’ve never…”

Zek growled again.

This time Cyrus held his hands up and
just shook his head. “Okay, okay, ah then, we have to get you good and well
laid, my man.”

“Are you saying…?” He held up his hands.
“Never mind. Like I said, there are no rules for the children of gods,
especially when one parent is human. Perhaps, your mate is human and merely
hasn’t been born, yet.”

“Well, unlike Xav, I’ve got no throne to
lose, so if she wants to come along in another hundred years or so, then maybe
we can talk about it. For now, tell me about this detective. You said he had a
lead.”

Zek glared at him, he didn’t want to wait
a hundred years, much less another one. Without thought, his hand rose to rub
the medallion he wore around his neck, an unconscious and common gesture for
him. The thing hadn’t been removed from the spot on his chest since being placed
there twelve years ago. He’d known for a while, his mate dwelled on land. He’d
moved to the world of the landwalkers ten years ago, because of it.

The sea witch, the seer among his people,
who guided his brother to find his bride, had also confirmed for him, his own
bride walked the land. She’d foreseen on one of these islands, their paths
would cross again.

Unlike Xavior, Zek had known when he’d
found his bride the first time, but he couldn’t follow her. And unlike Xav, he
actually knew his bride’s name. Didn’t seem to help though, cause damned if
he’d been able to find her since. From the time of the explosion, she and her
family disappeared.

He’d worn the necklace since the day
she’d placed it there herself. Tracing the letters with his finger, worn from
so many other tracings. But the name remained ingrained into his soul.
Hali.
Even her name meant sea. All of
this he possessed, but he didn’t have her. She’d come of age now and his
restlessness for her only got worse. Still, if Xav could find his bride, he had
hope. Hali existed out there somewhere.

So, Cyrus got it partially right, he did
need to get laid but only one woman would do. But he’d go through the fires of
Hades before he admitted such a thing to his younger brother. Either of his
brothers. He turned his thoughts back to answering Cyrus. “He’s actually a she,
and yes. I got an email from her; she’s got some new information.”

“Wait.” Cyrus frowned. “Shaw’s a woman?”

“Yep. Shawnah Linch. She’s chasing a lead
Hali’s family might have been a part of the witness protection program. Which
makes sense as to why I’ve never been able to find them. And the way you can
get information today, makes it easier for anyone with the right kind of access
to get information from the Internet.”

“Well, that’s great, bro. How close is
she?”

“She’s pretty sure she knows who Hali’s
family was. It’s just a matter of trying to track where the government hid
them. Which I know won’t be easy. If they were put into the witness protection
program, it was for their safety. So, we have to be very careful. I don’t want
them put in any danger, if they still even are. Anyway, Shaw’s following up on
the information she found. She’s going to call as soon as she knows more.”