Heads or Tails (12 page)

Lincoln chuckled, then his forehead wrinkled once more. ‘You say that
I
can do that?’

‘A little. It’s a sliding scale, from The Courts, to the Marked, then to the turned, then to my cousins. And it’s more effective on the opposite sex.’ She paused, thinking about the way she had drawn Tristan up to her that morning, and cringed. ‘I think...I think I have more of that gift than anyone, possibly even Anna, but I’ve used it less, so I can control myself better. Tristan also has a lot-but he’s used it every day since he was born. To him, it’s a reflex. It’s why he’s, uh, conquered as he has. And it’s exactly why I don’t trust my feelings for him. Or his for me. Energy breeds energy-we could be like two magicians fooling each other with magic tricks convinced that the other’s is real when really...it’s smoke and mirrors.’

Lincoln’s face brightened. ‘So by that logic...if you fight yourself around me, and OD around him…’

‘Then maybe there’s nothing more between Tristan and I, then fake magic, and genuine friendship.’ Ivyanne finished. ‘Which I’ve confused for actual love. It’s why we fought-I’d just seen Saraya make a guy fall from a cliff and into her arms and it freaked me out to have a reminder of just what a manipulative race we are.’ She squeezed Lincoln’s hand. ‘That’s why I’ve always come back to you, Link. You’re too human to be trying to deceive me, intentionally or not. I know that what I feel for you is real.’

‘So if you can control people’s feelings towards you, then why haven’t you just scared Ardhi off? Done the opposite?’

Ivyanne saw her house come into view as they rounded a bend and tensed, already hearing Garridan’s screaming. He was going to be pretty mad at her for taking off, and rightfully so. But the coffee had done wonders for her mood, as had clearing the air with Lincoln.

‘The catch 22 with this gift is that as much as I can draw people to me-I cannot repel them. It’s an annoying power, but it’s what this kingdom needs. I don’t know if Saraya’s broached the subject with you, but the ultimate goal is for a Marked mer to produce a child who can turn with a Court-preferably more than one, and renew my bloodline’s gift in someone who can turn more. That child could start a new bloodline for mine to marry into then, and release the Marked at last.’

‘Which is why a marriage with Roan was ideal.’ Lincoln concluded.

‘Yes. And you, when we thought
you
could…’ she frowned. ‘And Ardhi. So do you see what a service my mother did me, by not forcing me to marry him? It was a bad move for the kingdom, and yet everyone stood by us.’

‘Because you’re wonderful, and your people would rather see you happy, then sacrifice you to someone a bit dodgy.’ Lincoln rolled the car to a stop a few meters short of her gate under the shadow of some Douglas firs.

Ivyanne laughed. ‘To a degree, yes-but if I’d run off with you as a human, they’d have been after us with triton’s and torches, you can bet your ass on
that
.’

Lincoln let the engine idle, but moved his hands from the steering wheel. ‘So where does that leave me then, compared to Tristan?’

Ivyanne shrugged. ‘Neither of you can turn-but he has Marked blood, and you have Ardhi’s, so there’s every chance that both of your offspring might be able to.’ She smiled. ‘So...dead even, once more.’

Lincoln  rubbed at his eyes with his hands. ‘Can’t you just give me a hint? Just a clue to who the front-runner is here?’

‘Yes.’ Ivyanne said softly. She reached over, took his hand and kissed it. ‘Same as it’s always been since the night I showed you the whelk…’ She rested her hand back on his lap. ‘
Bane.
He’ll be my husband in name, and you and Tristan are going to be on the speed-dial for the booty calls.’

Lincoln scowled at her. ‘You’re not funny, you know.’

‘See? Another flaw!’ Ivyanne opened her car door and stepped out into the sunshine, blowing him a kiss. ‘We’ll be down in a few days after this guard thing is done, to talk security and swimming enclosures, okay?’

He smirked at her, gunning his engine. ‘Do I have a choice?’

Ivyanne shut the door. ‘Absolutely none.’

7.

Ardhi had his epiphany while watching Sherri straddle the fair-skinned Swedish man she’d picked up at the resort bar on Tuesday night, her eager little hands tugging his shirt over his head, her hips rocking against him encouragingly as her mouth inhaled his drunken murmurs. It was fascinating.

Ardhi had seen sex before-on the computer, in movies. He’d even spied quite a few mer couples going at it late at nights in the shallows, but he’d just never been so
close
before and he wasn’t prepared for how the sight would obliterate his nervous system. He could hear Sherri’s every sigh, watch every movement of her hand... and when she lifted her hips so the backpacker could pull her short black studded skirt down, he was mesmerized by what was revealed. And his body responded.
He
wanted to do that with someone. One
specific
someone.

Why just devastate the royal family?
He thought, imagining Ivyanne accepting himself into her the way Sherri had accepted her human, and trembling at the promise of peace the act would bring.
When I could force a union with it and my own?

Ardhi had given up on ever winning Ivyanne’s love-in fact he had a whole plan worked out to bring the kingdom to it’s knees and force them to see that the ruling bloodline wasn’t as necessary to their existence as believed. And he
still
wanted that.

But he wanted so much more! He
needed
so much more- and if Ivyanne wasn’t going to volunteer her body for the optimal breeding their race
apparently
strived for at the expense of love-he could just
take
it. What closure that would be! And if a child was made as a result...Ardhi smiled. It could happen. All he needed was one full moon alone with her at his mercy.

Ardhi knew through the hazy lust cloud descending upon him that it was an extreme course of action-the most barbaric thing he had ever contemplated, trumping even murder-but it didn’t
have
to be. There were ways around it without the violence, without the word ‘no’ even being uttered. Mystical ones. He could make her want him-he could make her
beg.

Ardhi knew for a fact that his potential ally would see the symmetry to the plan. Not only would Ardhi return with the crown-but the vindication that had eluded them both thus far.

There were whimpers and groans coming from behind him, punctuated by the occasional twang of bedsprings. Ardhi sighed, knowing he’d have to do his bit shortly. He wasn’t looking forward to it-turning Link had been no where near as fun as doing the girls-but he needed
men
. At first he’d only wanted one to shut Sherri up, but now he was seeing the upside to creating a little army of his own. Anna Court had never used her ability to turn the right way-if she’d dedicated herself to it, there may have never been a need for a Marked family to begin with!

And if he had his way, there never would be again. The hierarchy would collapse and only the strongest would prevail, like himself. Like every other government worth a damn.

Ardhi flipped through the tourist’s wallet. He already knew that his name was Lorens, and that he was backpacking across Australia for a year with no definitive plan. He was pretty, resembling Tristan somewhat, without that...
whatever
it was that made Tristan so damn attractive to the opposite sex. Blonde, tanned, fit, young, with blue eyes so dark they were almost grey.

‘Nineteen years old,’ Ardhi whispered, reading Lorens Swedish license. ‘5”9 from Djupadal... well Lorens, I hope you’re not a family man, because you’re not going home for quite some time…’

‘Ardhi…’

Ardhi put down the wallet and got up, seeing that Lorens was glistening with sweat and panting, his eyes still closed, with Sherri’s long black hair splayed against his chest. Her expression was one of rapture.

‘That was quick,’ Ardhi joked.

‘I’ll make him go the distance later,’ Sherri pushed herself up. ‘Do you wanna…? While he’s…?’

Ardhi nodded and picked one of the small throw cushions off the edge of the bed, his dread increasing as he stood over the spent man. ‘Get his hands, would you? Hey Lorens?’

The backpacker’s eyes opened, then narrowed when he saw Ardhi there. ‘Hey man... what you doing? I’m no gay.’

Ardhi chuckled. ‘Thank god.’ With that, he shoved the sage green cushion down on Lorens face with all of his strength.

*

On Thursday morning Ivyanne surveyed the line of six stone-faced soldiers in front of her with dismay, disbelief and amazement.

‘Okay!’ she cried, marching up to Garridan. ‘Who’s big idea was
this
?’

Garridan held up his hands. ‘We all made suggestions, and we all nominated candidates. I just happened to pull out these six names out of the bucket, your highness. If I doubted any of their abilities, however, I
would
have overruled our agreement.’

Someone cleared their throat. Ivyanne turned to see the first boy, a dark blonde boy who was built like a linebacker, holding his hand up. His pale blue eyes followed her, his lips curving in a smile which activated his one, deep dimple.

‘Excuse me, your majesty?’

‘Cut the title crap Lachy,’ she said, moving over to him and ruffling her cousins cropped, sandy-blonde hair affectionately, putting her ire on hold long enough to greet her favorite cousin. He’d been one of the ones to holiday with her at The Seaview when they was young. But then he had moved north to Townsville the year he’d tuned eighteen, so she’d seen him less since.

Lachlan grinned, his pale blue eyes shimmering like pale, watered blue silk in the daylight. He rubbed his squared jaw. ‘Is there a problem, cus?’ he asked. ‘I was under the impression that you pre-approved us.’

‘
Most
of you,’ Ivyanne said, shooting Lincoln a dirty look, before facing Lachlan again. ‘Yourself included. However, it seems that there was a bit of a mutiny between that conversation, and when the names went into the bowl.’ Ivyanne was about to march up to Lincoln and stomp his foot, but as she passed, the Japanese girl dropped to the stone floor and touched her forehead to the back of her hands.

‘Your grace.’ The girl’s accent was thick and musically lilted. Her black hair spilled around her like curtains.

Ivyanne hesitated, then bent down and tapped her on the shoulder. ‘Please stand-we don’t do that here.’

She looked up, her expression troubled. ‘But you are my queen…’

‘Yes, but not your emperor. We keep things around here casual, and considering you’ve come here to guard my life-it’s
you
I ought to be bowing to.’

The Japanese girl got to her feet, her eyes wide and so dark that Ivyanne could see her own reflection within them.

‘No, no that will not-’ The girl looked at Garridan helplessly.

‘This is her first time ever meeting a member of the royal family,’ Garridan explained, stepping forward. ‘Things were more pompous back when Sahori’s mother met Ivy and Anna. I’m sure she’s been given strict instructions on how to behave.’

Oh great! So this is Sahori not Sahako!
Ivyanne appraised the female guard’s beauty while building up a healthy resentment towards her. She was really something. Though her dark eyes portrayed the desperate need to please, there was a glint behind that intended look-like a black sea churning with exotic secrets. She somehow managed to maintain eye contact with Ivyanne and yet her pupils dilated and shifted constantly as though scanning the room for danger. Her long hair was so silken and groomed that as it fell back into place, each individual strand lined up uniformly beside the next into a sharp pane across her bared ribcage. She had a weak chin and mouth, but her lips downturned into a beguiling natural pout.

Her body was almost feline. Sahori wore only the tiniest black lycra shorts and a matching black crop top, displaying acres of olive legs and the narrowest mid-section Ivyanne had ever seen. Yet despite this petite build, she was also blessed with a bust that couldn’t have been more than a size or two under Ivyanne’s own.

Insecurity washed over Ivyanne. She didn’t want this girl anywhere
near
Tristan. And yet….the idea of having such a gourmet temptation dangled in front of Tristan’s sexually frustrated mouth was appealing on a purely investigative level. Would he falter?

‘You look like a strong girl,’ Ivyanne said softly, catching a glimpse of Sahori’s own tattoo on the inside of her ankle. It had ten lines and two dots. ‘Are you going to be all right in the company of these men, though?’

‘Yes,’ Sahori said in her clear voice. ‘The men do not intimidate me, my queen.’

‘Please...call me Ivyanne.’ Ivyanne stepped up to the man on her other side. ‘Hey Camus!’

The older man nodded, his posture more lax than the others. He was Dalton’s father, so Ivyanne also knew him from her childhood vacations in Seaview. Like Garridan’s own dark golden hair, Camus’s nutmeg brown mop had been touched by grey and was shaggy and unkempt.

‘Pleasure to be here, Ivyanne.’

She smiled. ‘Has your wife come too?’

‘Yes,’ Garridan answered for him. ‘Although she’s staying at Abel Point, on our boat.’

‘That won’t do!’ Ivyanne said. ‘I’ll clear a room for you both here.’

‘Thank you, your...
Ivyanne
,’ Camus smiled, his deep green eyes shining gratefully.

‘No, thank
you
.’ Ivyanne moved on, finally reaching Lincoln. To her delight, he looked more uncomfortable than he’d ever looked before. She wanted to play on it, but beating around the bush would only disguise her anger. And she
was
angry.

‘What are you doing here?’ she demanded.

Lincoln’s eyes slid to hers. His stiff, military like posture was comic to the point where she wanted to stifle a giggle. ‘Protecting you, of course.’

Ivyanne frowned. ‘Did you forget that
you
also require protection?’

He smiled. ‘Then I can’t think of a safer place to be, then in the company of
these
fine folks.’

Ivyanne put her hands on her hips. ‘And the resort? Your mistress?’

Lincoln’s smile widened. ‘I’d have to be
married
to have a mistress….’ he winked at her. ‘But Bane’s being
most
helpful.’

She rolled her eyes. Bane! Of course. She brought a finger to his chest. ‘If you try going all Kevin Costner on me I swear to god I will-’

‘Kevin Costner left at the end of that movie,’ he said softly. ‘I won’t be going anywhere.’ Then he grinned. ‘Besides, he copped a bullet to the
arm
. Hardly fatal.’

Ivyanne exhaled heavily, shook her head at him, and moved on down the line, telling herself that she’d make Garridan assign Lincoln to the least compromising position possible. Like...pool-duty. 

‘Price,’ she said in greeting to the next contender, stunned at how unlike to his fair brother Sven he looked. Price was all angles, his muscular frame hard-edged and deeply tanned, his nose slightly crooked, his eyes shaped like a fox, his smile, which was more like a grimace, lopsided. He looked as lethal as he was rumored to be, like a snake coiled to spring, and yet there was so much drama in his beauty that Ivyanne was slightly awed by his presence. He wore his dark hair long and down, and this shadowed him further. ‘I’ve heard that you’re the one to be wary of.’

Price raised a thick eyebrow. ‘You heard right, your majesty,’ he said softly. Then, his grey eyes flashed, reminding her of Ardhi. In fact, his intensity reminded her of Ardhi in many ways. Clearly, Price wasn’t the sort who liked to kick up his heels. ‘I will not let Ardhi within reach of you.’

Something about the way he said it, made Ivyanne believe him. ‘Well, I’ll sleep better knowing that, though I must admit, I probably slept better when there weren’t six extra people in the house that
I
felt responsible for.’ She pivoted to face Garridan. ‘They can leave whenever they want,’ she said. ‘There is no binding contract, okay? And I want them to be able to do what they like with their free time and weekends.’

‘I assumed you would,’ Garridan said.

‘Good.’ Ivyanne approached the final guard, hands on her hips. ‘Well, surprise, surprise! Should have known that
you
would have thrown
your
name into the hat.’ She crossed her arms. ‘Question is,
how
many times?’

Tristan’s perfect lips twitched. ‘Three, your majesty.’ He bowed dramatically. ‘I heard there was a noble, breathtaking beautiful young queen out there, who required my protective services, and I knew the moment I saw a picture of you, that I would lay down my life for a maiden so fair-’

Ivyanne smacked him on the head. ‘Knock it off!’ she snapped, although she couldn’t fight the smile threatening to shatter her frown, and when she looked behind her down the line, three more faces were clearly struggling to do the same. Lincoln and Sahori of course, were stone-faced.