Her jaw dropped, disbelief flooding her system. “A prince? You humans! What…”
“I think the rest of the explanations will have to wait,” Drew cut in. “Look!”
Carlye turned and let out a squeak. Two more yellow heads could be seen over the waves, heading in their direction. “Oh, no!”
“What’s the water’s depth?” Niall asked, his gaze shifting to the still tangling sea snake and sea monster.
Carlye could just make out the green snake’s coils wrapped around the body of the yellow monster. It started rolling, as the webbed claws Niall spoke of thrashed, trying to slice open the snake.
“A little less than a thousand feet. I need at least twice that.”
Drew’s answer had Carlye’s focus slipping from her phone’s screen, where she still recorded the creatures, to the men’s conversation. “What are you talking about? Two thousand feet for what?”
“To shift.”
“Do it. Just make sure the keevils are following us and not going after Branson.”
“Keevils?” Now she was really confused. Her head spun with new information that was too wild to believe.
“That’s what my people call the sea monsters,” Niall told her. “Don’t worry. We will keep you safe.”
“I hate to remind you, Prince, but it’s you they want,” Drew pointed out.
To Carlye’s surprise, Niall grinned and slapped Drew on the shoulder. “But I know that won’t happen. You and Branson are the best, my friend.”
Drew gave Niall a rueful smile and stopped the boat. “Just keep the engine off, please. I don’t need any additional dangers.”
“You got it,” Niall said, still grinning.
“What is going on? Why are we stopping?” Carlye asked, following the men back to the deck.
Niall wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close. “You wanted proof, sweetness,” Niall said, kissing her temple. “Turn the video off. I can’t let you tape this.”
Too surprised that Drew was stripping down just like Branson had done, she didn’t fight when Niall gently took the phone from her fingers.
He dropped it into a cup holder and turned to Drew. “You be careful.”
Drew grinned. “Love you, too, Niall,” he quipped before hopping over the edge of the yacht and diving into the water.
This time Niall allowed her to run to the edge, but she didn’t see Drew resurface. “Where is he?”
“Just wait, baby,” Niall said softly. “And try not to scream,” he murmured. “You’ll insult him.”
“What do you mean?” Light shimmered beneath the dark water below them and the waves started to churn, making the boat rock wildly. She clutched the railing tightly, her gaze fixed on the waters below. A moment later, she saw movement beneath the surface, almost as if several creatures swam just out of sight. Several long tentacles lifted from the water.
She started to back slowly from the railing, but Niall grabbed her wrist.
“Wait. Drew won’t hurt you,” he assured.
Carlye looked down again and saw a massive brown body rise from the waves. In the center, a beaked maw opened, revealing a circle of large, curved teeth. “Wow!” she gasped, her gaze snapping up to take in the waving tentacles overhead. She counted eight, and each brown limb was rowed with suckers. In each sucker, a curved hook, similar to the creature’s teeth, jutted out. The tentacles reached almost forty feet in the air. “What is it?”
“He’s a kraken.”
“No such thing,” she muttered automatically.
“Really?” Niall said, pulling his gaze from his friend. “Each
Briny Nix
has the ability to turn into one creature, except royalty. The guards are often comprised of creatures no longer seen on this earth, since if they were seen they’d be hunted to extinction. They exist. There’s your proof.”
“Why don’t royalty turn into an animal?”
Niall’s jaw tightened. “We turn into something else.”
His hard tone had Carlye turning from the sight of the kraken. “What else?”
Scoffing, Niall forced a smile. “For centuries, there was massive infighting between royalty. We can grow claws, fangs, and, if in mer-form, turn our tail and elbow fins into razor sharp blades.”
Chapter Six
He held his breath, worrying how Carlye would take that information. The screech of the kraken interrupted them, and Niall snapped his gaze toward the ocean, surprised to find the keevils much closer. Long tentacles reached out for the first creature. Drew gripped it with his suckers, the sharp knife-like teeth biting deep into the beast’s thick hide. Wrenching one tentacle free, blood from a gaping wound in the keevil’s back sprayed across the sea.
Niall grabbed Carlye and pulled her out of the way of the spray. Another three tentacles reached out for the second keevil, but before they could connect, the beast dove sideways, slashing the closest with a hind claw. Drew bellowed and reached for it again, but it sank beneath the waves.
“Where is it?” Carlye called out, barely heard over the bellowing and bugling of the fighting creatures.
“I’m not sure,” Niall replied, unwilling to lie to his mate. He watched Carlye reach under a seat and pull out the first aid kit. “Are you injured?” he asked, suddenly worried. He couldn’t remember her falling or getting hit.
She shook her head and pulled out a waterproof bag. “You brought me out here to convince me to help you stop the oil drilling in the area. Well, you’ve convinced me. These creatures would sink our ships without any trouble.” She tossed her cell phone into the bag and sealed it. “The possibility of losing lives is too high,” she said, tucking the phone into her bra.
From the corner of his eye, Niall spotted a keevil lunging toward them, ignoring the tentacles digging into its flesh. Niall shoved Carlye out of the way, dove to the side and swung his hand toward the keevil’s neck. Instantly, his fingernails lengthened into two-inch claws, slashing the beast across the tender flesh.
The beast pulled back, howling in rage. Niall grinned ferally at the withdrawing beast before turning to find Carlye. She stared at his still shifted hand.
“Oh my god. You weren’t kidding,” she hissed as she started to shake.
Quickly changing his hand back, he got to his knees and crawled toward her. Regret exploded through him when he saw her crab-walk backward until she ran into a bench. He reached for her, palm up. “I would never hurt you, sweetie.”
Slowly, she reached out and took his hand. Relief filled him when she flipped it over several times, examining it. She lifted confused brown eyes to his and whispered, “How is this possible?”
Niall shrugged. “We’re magical creatures, baby. It is what it is.” He knew it wasn’t much of an answer, but he didn’t really have any way to explain it to her without going into a long history lesson about ancient gods. He threaded his fingers through hers. Niall pulled Carlye into his arms, tucked her head under his chin, and carried her into the cabin of the yacht, affording them a measure of security. He loved the feeling of holding his
Adelfi Psychi
in his arms and kept her on his lap when he sat on a bench. She spoke so softly, he almost missed her words over the ruckus caused by the still fighting creatures.
“I’m just a job to you. You don’t have to hold me. Now that you know I’ll help you stop the drilling in this area, you have what you need.”
“That’s not true, baby,” he murmured, kissing her head. “That’s not the only thing I need.”
The yacht suddenly rocked wildly, nearly throwing Niall and the woman he held to the floor. He kept one hand wrapped tightly around Carlye’s waist while she clung to him and used the other to brace himself against a wall. A look across the cabin had his eyes widening. “Oh, shit,” he yelled. He dove toward the floor, covering Carlye with his body just as the unmistakable sound of breaking glass reached him. Water poured in from the broken viewing portal in the side of the yacht. One of Drew’s tentacles dragged the now limp keevil away from the yacht, pulling its limb from where it had broken the glass, but the damage was done.
“Come on,” he yelled over the sound of rushing water. He shook off the glass and dragged Carlye to her feet. They sloshed through the several inches of water already filling the large room.
Climbing the stairs, Carlye paused at the top. “We’re sinking,” she called, panic filling her voice.
“It’ll be okay,” he assured her.
“But I can’t swim!”
Niall wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, sealing his mouth over hers for a brief, passion-filled kiss. “I won’t let you drown, Carlye,” he promised.
“Prince!” Drew yelled from above.
“Damn. He just can’t stop calling me that,” Niall muttered, leading Carlye back to the observation deck. He glanced around the tilting deck and spotted Drew climbing over the railing. A glance out to sea showed him Branson still in sea snake form dispatching the final keevil. “We’re here,” he called, heading toward Drew.
“I’m sorry about that, Niall,” Drew said, rushing toward them. “I completely forgot that glass window was there.”
“It’s fine,” Niall assured. “We’re not that far out. Gather anything essential and then meet us back in the sea. We can swim for shore.”
“What about…” He motioned toward the still wide-eyed Carlye, although now she stared in fascination at the sarong wrapped around Drew’s hips.
Niall cleared his throat, drawing her attention to his eyes. He lifted a brow in amusement as she flushed. “When we shift from mer-form or animal form to human, we automatically make the wrap. Technically, it’s made of the same skin that creates our fins,” he explained.
“Oh,” she murmured.
“After I drop into the water, I need to you jump in after me.” When she opened her mouth and started shaking her head, Niall placed his hands on either side of her head and pulled her in for a kiss. “I will catch you. You will be safe.”
“You’re going to haul me all the way to shore?” she whispered.
Niall shook his head and smiled. “No. I’m going to have you ride Branson most of the way. It’ll be easy for his sea snake to carry you.” At her indrawn breath and panic-filled eyes, Niall glanced over his shoulder and spotted his friend gliding through the water toward them. He turned back to his mate and slid a soothing hand up and down her spine. “He’s perfectly cognizant in his animal form. He won’t harm you,” he promised.
Finally, she nodded slowly. “Okay,” she whispered.
Grateful for the trust she showed, he leaned down and gave her one more kiss. Niall stepped back, stripped down, crawled over the ledge, and dropped into the water. As soon as he hit the water, he released his human form. He felt his muscles stretch and contract, his skin melted and then tightened as his legs snapped together and formed his tail. Gills opened behind his ears, allowing him to breathe underwater.
He broke the surface and held his position. Looking up, he shoved his blond hair out of his eyes and then motioned for Carlye to drop. “Come on, baby. I got you,” he called.
Drew appeared next to her and helped her over the railing. Seconds later, she splashed in front of him, sinking under the water. He followed her down, caught her waist and brought her back to the surface. “Easy, baby,” he crooned, pulling her close.
“Niall,” she whispered, her fingers reaching out to lightly brush his gills. She looked down his body, just making out the shining scales of his tail. “That’s amazing!” she whispered.
He grinned, pleased that she didn’t shy away from his mer-form. “I’m glad you like it,” he murmured. “I’ll let you explore to your heart’s content later, baby,” he promised. “Right now, we need to get you to shore. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
Niall eased her onto Branson’s scaled back, encouraging Carlye to straddle his sinewy spine and hang on. She squeaked softly when Branson started to weave through the ocean’s waves, swaying slightly before catching her balance and finding a way to ride Branson’s movements. Niall took a bag from Drew, and they spread out to swim on either side of her and the swiftly moving sea snake.
Thirty minutes had them closing in on the shore. Branson kept his head low, barely skimming the salty spray. Once within a hundred feet of the rocky beach, he paused and turned his massive head to look at Niall.
“Good idea,” he said, catching his guard’s hesitation. “Come here, baby.” He eased Carlye off Branson’s back and held her close as he started moving again. The waves bubbled briefly and Carlye gasped as the coils wrapped around themselves and sank beneath the waves. Seconds later, Branson’s dark features appeared above the surface of the water, and they again began swimming.
A moment later, Carlye’s feet could reach the sandy bottom of the ocean. Niall set her down and quickly shifted back to human form to walk next to her. She paused, knee deep in water, and turned to him.
“You should go back to your people, Niall,” Carlye murmured softly.
Shock filled him. He shared a glance with his friends, and they moved away, giving them a modicum of privacy. “What are you talking about? I…”
“Look,” Carlye said, cutting him off. “I went in to this with the knowledge that you’re an investor from out of town. I realize that my premise wasn’t completely accurate, but the outcome is still the same. You go back to your people, and I stay here. I told you I’d stop the drilling, and I will.” She reached into her shirt and pulled out her still-wrapped phone. “I have the footage of Branson fighting the keevil. I’ll post it on YouTube, which will flock this area with mythological creature hunters, stalling plans for oil drilling. That will give me time to find a permanent solution.”
Niall shook his head. “I can’t have millions of humans flooding the area with sonars. That’s not any safer for my people,” he whispered, cupping her cheek. “Finding a way to stop the oil drilling is my job, not yours. I just need to know you’re not going to try to stop me, baby.”
Carlye closed her eyes and let out a breath. When she opened them, he saw a closed expression he’d never before seen on her face.
She took a step back. “I’ll put the source of the video two hundred miles north of here. That’s far enough away from you for safety, but still inside the zone we looked at for drilling. Just tell your people to stay clear of there for a bit. The quality on a phone is so bad, it won’t show any details, so your people will be safe.” She glanced over at Drew and Branson. “Thank you for everything,” she said and started walking toward the beach.
When she paused and turned back, Niall felt hope buoy through him, until he heard her words.
“I had fun, Niall, and you’re an amazing person to go through all this for the safety of your people. You have such a big heart. I’ll make sure they’re safe and check in with Drew once a final resolution has been reached.”
He felt like a piece of his heart was torn from his chest as he watched his
Adelfi Psychi
walk away.