Jesus
, he thought bitterly.
We almost made it.
Queen Magaera’s commanding voice cut through the melee. “Cease!” Her forehead ridged in anger. “There’s no use resisting further.”
“Stay still,” one of the Mer commanded, pushing him toward the rear of the chamber.
Two more Mer soldiers seized Tessa, shoving her roughly. “Don’t touch me,” she shouted back, twisting out of their grip.
Gasping for breath and holding his injured throat, Jake climbed to his feet. “It’s about time you got here,” he snapped. “They damn near killed me.”
Queen Magaera ignored his outburst. Her attention lay elsewhere.
Walking with purpose behind her steps, she surveyed the labradorite columns scattered throughout the chamber. “The dim-witted girl,” she sniffed, touching one of the burnt-out stones “Just as I suspected, she pulled too much energy too fast and reset the resonance of the gate.”
Jake flexed his wrist, testing for damage. “Is that a problem?” He pointed toward the twisted remnants of the choker Tessa had worn. “That’s all that’s left.”
Magaera’s eyes narrowed in displeasure. “She has destroyed the jewels of Atargatis. They are irreplaceable, granted to the Mer by the goddess herself.”
Jake frowned. “How important were they?”
“Very important. They were the tools that granted the reigning monarch absolute sovereignty over land and sea.” Magaera’s mouth thinned. “It pains me they are destroyed.”
“Some pieces still remain,” Jake hurried to assure her. “The scepter is . . .”
“Something I intend to recover,” Magaera snapped. “Just as soon as I regain control of the sea-gate.”
Jake eyed the shattered orb. “Can it be done without those pieces?”
“Of course. The threshold is a magnetic force, one we can manipulate by amplifying our own telepathic energies,” Magaera answered precisely in a tone that sounded layered with displeasure. “Presently it is under the command to accept the psychic imprint of the last person to open it. She must go through first before others may safely follow.”
Jake mentally processed the information. “So that means Tessa has become the key.”
“Right now we may leave Ishaldi, but we can’t go back without her in the lead,” Magaera confirmed.
Jake frowned with frustration. “I’d hoped we could get rid of her,” he mumbled. “Both of them, actually.”
One corner of Magaera’s mouth turned up. “It will be inconvenient. But once I confiscate her soul-stone, she will simply answer as my slave.” A wry chuckle escaped her.
Catching bits and pieces of their conversation, Tessa shook her head. “I’m not doing jack for you, bitch.”
Doma Chiara hit her soundly across the legs with the shaft of her spear. “You will do exactly as my queen commands, or I will gut you myself.”
Tessa stubbornly shook her head. “Rot in hell.”
“Be careful, Tess,” Kenneth whispered.
Tessa looked at him through teary eyes. “I won’t give up my soul-stone.” A small muscle in her jaw jumped. “And I’m not going to let them use me to control the sea-gate.”
Kenneth’s heart stalled in his chest. “What are you talking about?”
Her gaze went distant, brooding. “Just wait,” she murmured. “I’ll redeem myself yet.” A chilling smile of satisfaction played on her lips.
Kenneth didn’t like the sound of those words. “Don’t, Tess,” he warned under his breath. “Whatever you think you’ve got in mind, don’t do it.”
Magaera’s stare landed on Tessa. “Bring her to me.” She cocked her head. An evil little smile danced on her thin lips. “The sooner we get started, the sooner I can control the sea-gate.”
Chiara shoved her spear in Tessa’s back. “Move.” Tessa reluctantly walked forward, swearing bitterly to herself. Kenneth watched her fearfully, worried about what stunt she might pull.
Queen Magaera touched the pendant around her neck. Unlike the lighter crystal stone most Mer wore, hers was heavier, more prominent. And as black as her soul.
Kenneth watched closely as the queen stepped up to Tessa. He tried hard to quell his agitation
.
“I hope you will make this easy,” Magaera instructed. “Will you match psychic vibrations with me willingly, or are you going to make me take your soul-stone by force?”
Kenneth saw a look of fear sweep over Tessa’s face. Then he saw horror. “No. You can’t have it.”
Magaera smiled. “I’m afraid you don’t have much of a choice.”
Tessa’s fingers clutched at the crystal hanging around her neck. “I’m not giving it to you.”
Kenneth watched Tessa and remembered something she had once told him. For a Mer to lose her soul-stone was worse than death.
Queen Magaera laughed. “If you won’t willingly give it to me, I’ll take it by force. It’s the only way I can ensure complete control of the sea-gate.”
Cursing the chains holding him immobile, Kenneth could only watch. And wait.
As Queen Magaera reached for Tessa’s soul- stone, he felt another presence in his mind, strange yet somehow familiar. It took him a moment to realize it must be Tessa. Though they’d never been psychically linked before, he wondered if their joining in the cell had caused a new connection between them.
He looked at her. Eyes narrowing, her mouth tightened.
I can’t go through this alone
, she seemed to be saying. We need to take her
down.
As Magaera took hold of her soul-stone, Tessa’s body shook violently.
All of a sudden, he felt Tessa inside of him, and before he knew it, the energy was being ripped out of him.
Her voice cut through the scorching heat and pain, calm, focused, and oddly comforting.
I’ve got to take from you one more time
.
Kenneth’s legs quivered beneath his weight. He didn’t have much, but what he did have was hers.
Take it all
, he silently urged.
She did, draining him until he could barely stand. Then, suddenly, their tenuous connection abruptly snapped.
Vision gone dead black, Kenneth hit his knees. He had nothing left to hold him upright. The pressure in his head and chest had passed the point from painful to downright unbearable.
But the energy emanating from Tessa grew brighter. Stronger. Ripping herself away from the queen’s hold, Tessa stumbled back. Her soul-stone blazed around her neck. A pulsing illumination seemed to flow through her veins, lighting her up from inside with an otherworldly incandescence.
Throwing her arms straight out in front of her body, she hurled a bolt of pure unfettered energy straight into the floor. For a second the limestone seemed to turn to liquid. Then dozens of huge cracks formed beneath their feet.
Jake jumped back, trying to dodge the danger. “Stop it! You’re going to kill us all!”
Tessa grinned like a goddess gone atomic. “That’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
Shading his face from her radiant gleam, Jake swept his eyes along the cracks in the limestone. Long and deep, they threatened to shatter the entire chamber if they opened any wider. “You don’t have to do this. We can figure this out,” he tried to say.
“I’ve already made up my mind, Jake. Remember my face when you’re in hell.”
“She cannot do this!” Magaera screamed savagely. “Take her down,” she ordered her soldiers. “But do not kill her. We need her alive.”
The armed guards rushed into the fray, weapons at the ready.
Outnumbered and unarmed, Tessa pulled out her final card. Drawing deep on her last reserve, she hurled a sudden blast of energy straight into the ceiling.
The chamber rocked, the ceiling over their heads shattering violently as thousands of gallons of seawater rushed into the previously airtight cavity.
Kenneth felt the roof crashing down around him. He instinctively caught his breath as he attempted to scramble out of the water’s relentless path. But there was no way to escape the giant waves rapidly spreading around him.
Icy water closed over his head, instantly plunging him into the heart of an inky, all- consuming abyss. Suddenly he couldn’t breathe. The idea he was going to die, really die, this time, skittered through his frenzied mind.
Hands bound, he had no chance to swim. He was sinking, going down fast. Losing oxygen, his lungs burned as if someone had opened his mouth and poured acid straight down his throat. He clamped his mouth shut, but that didn’t stop the brackish seawater from seeping in and taking over.
So this is what it really felt like to drown . . . to die when you wanted to live.
But he would never find out for sure.
Just when he thought his body would give up its life to the sea, something warm and pliant pressed against him. Familiar arms encircled his neck.
And a woman’s lips touched his . . .
Epilogue
Twenty-four hours later
S
tanding aboard the
DreamFever
, Tessa stared across the bright blue surface of the Mediterranean. The sea stretched on for miles, tranquil. Undisturbed. A light gust of wind whipped her hair around her face. The ship rocked gently, swaying beneath her feet. The salty odor of the water permeated through her senses, soaking down to the bone.
It felt strange to be back in the real world. Everything had changed.
The crystal around her neck vibrated softly. Its resonance was weak, but steady. Queen Magaera’s attack had weakened her, but not conquered her. She recalled surging with pain, feeling her life’s very force drain away.
Anger spiked through her, sharp enough to take her breath away.
I know you’re down there
, she thought darkly.
But where?
The sound of footsteps on the deck behind her alerted her to the presence of another.
“You okay?” a familiar voice asked.
Giving herself a mental shake, Tessa lifted her head. Showered and dressed for the day, Kenneth Randall rubbed a hand over his freshly shaven face. Right now the man looked like he’d been through the ringer. A series of cuts and bruises mottled his face. He looked pale and tired, with dark circles rimming his eyes. It would take a while before he looked normal again.
A spike of pain tore through her. He’d taken the abuse. For her. “Yeah,” she said, memorizing every wound. She’d never forget what he’d done for her. Never. “You?”
Pulling a breath, he leaned against the railing. A twinge of pain visibly moved across his face. “I’ll live,” he answered with a wry grimace. His shadowed gaze turned to the silent depths of the still water. “Do you think anyone else made it?”
Closing her eyes for a moment, Tessa sighed. Though she hated to admit it out loud, a feeling of failure nagged her. She wasn’t sure why. She’d done her damnedest to destroy the sea-gate. But that didn’t mean she’d succeeded. Though those who had followed her into the human world could not go home, the sea-gate was still keyed to allow other Mer to pass through unscathed. The sea-gate wouldn’t close again unless she went back.
And she would never go back to Ishaldi.
Never.
“Yeah,” she admitted. “I think they’re there.”
Surprised, Kenneth inclined his head. “Why?”
Tessa slowly shook her head. “Call it a Mer’s intuition.”
“You think Jake—?” he started to ask.
She gave him a sharp glance. The idea of laying eyes on him made her skin crawl. “Let’s not talk about that bastard,” she answered tightly. “As far as the crew is concerned, he was killed in the quake.” Nobody on the face of the earth had to know she’d caused the disturbance.
Kenneth nodded. “I guess for now it’s best he stays dead. But we are going to have to tell the authorities everything, you know. Jake . . . the sea-gate, the Mer . . .”
Her jaw tightened. “I have no idea who we can tell without looking crazy.” Her grip tightened on the railing, knuckles going white from the force. “Or worse—endangering myself and my sisters.”
“Well, it’s only a problem if they survived,” Kenneth added quietly. “That whole place came down so fast, it’s a wonder any of us got out alive.”
Brooding, Tessa returned to her study of the unfathomable depths. The idea of picking through the rubble disturbed her, though she doubted there would be any bodies. Queen Magaera and her ilk were, after all, Mers, too.
“Oh, make no mistake about it. They’re down there. Soon they’ll come up. When they do, I have a bad feeling all hell will break loose.”
Kenneth’s strong arms circled around her, a solid shield of protection. He pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. “When they do, we’ll be ready.” He spoke as if he believed they could go through it all over again. And win.
Tessa’s heart surged. Tipping back her head, she gazed into his dark eyes.
By the heavens, I’m a lucky woman.
Kenneth gave her everything she’d ever dreamed of having in a mate. Sympathy, support, and the freedom to be herself. She didn’t have to hide anything. He accepted everything about her with no hesitations.
She loved this man, this wonderful brave soul, with all her heart. And, incredibly, he loved her. She had a second chance for a real future with a man she loved.
She definitely wasn’t going to blow it this time.
Winding her arms around his neck, she pulled him closer. “There is one thing we haven’t discussed,” she murmured against the protective wall of his chest.
Kenneth treated her to his most endearing gaze, his dark eyes filled with honesty, sincerity, and love. “What’s that?”
A combination of warmth and need raced through her. It was always that way with Kenneth. It always had been, from the first day they met. “I’ve been thinking we should make things a little more, you know, permanent.”
He raised an eyebrow. “What are you saying?”
Tessa smiled. “I’m saying I want you to be my breed-mate. I’m saying I want to marry you.” She took a quick, steadying breath. “I love you and I can’t think of a better man to father my children.”