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  We walked through the double door entrance and into a steaming room. It was almost like an arboretum with the artificial warmth and numerous plants creating a jungle-like atmosphere. I heard a soft drumming in the background that I attributed to one of Jeremiah’s exotic albums. Just like last time, at least two dozen humans lined the walls and stood in silence. I was surprised that I hadn’t seen more of them around the house. In fact, I hadn’t really encountered anyone other than Graham and his protectors.

  “Where do they all stay?” I asked distractedly.

  “Who?” Jeremiah turned around to face me and saw where my gaze had fallen. “Oh, their quarters are next door in the guest house. The sprites stay in the pool. Or the fountain,” he said with a wink, letting me know he was referring to Abhainn.

  I cleared my throat. “All of the humans live here?”

  “Yes. Their quarters are quite large, don’t you fret.” He smiled at me in such a condescending way it made me wish I could slap the grin off his face. “Now,” he clapped his hands together, “let’s begin.”

  We moved to the center of the deck surrounding the pool then he raised his arms, gesturing to all of the humans standing around at attention. “Show me what you can do.”

  “What should I command?” Even saying those words made my stomach cringe in disgust. I did not want to be able to take over the minds of other people. It just wasn’t right.

  Jeremiah’s face sparkled with evil. “You could make them go for a swim,” he suggested, knowing how much that would anger me. I couldn’t help my response.

  “You are the most despicable person I know. You aren’t even a person. You’re a…a…” I couldn’t think of the right insult.

  “A king? A god amongst men? A bastard? A genius?” He turned in a circle flaring out his robe and extending his arms. “This is who we are, Eviana. This is what it means to be one of us.”

  I watched as three females walked to his side and stripped the robe from his back. He hadn’t said a word and he’d been talking to me while giving a silent command. As much as I hated to admit it, Jeremiah Williams was probably the best one for me to learn from. I would tolerate his lessons and fine tune my skills, but I vowed that I’d never be as careless with others’ minds like he was.

  “Now, do something,” he commanded.

  I closed my eyes and envisioned the tiny light balls again. It was so easy that I realized belatedly Jeremiah wasn’t trying to keep his hold over them. I’m sure those types of lessons would come later. One by one, the humans dropped to their knees and when I thought I had them all, I opened my eyes. Jeremiah wasn’t impressed.

  “You forgot one.” He jerked his head to the corner and I turned to see a man hiding in the shadows. His dark skin and shaved head did little to reveal his true identity, but I recognized who he was instantly.

  “Malcolm?”

  “Hello again, Miss Eviana.” He stood and walked over to me, extending his hand. I reached out toward him only to watch as he gently lifted my fingers up to his lips and placed a kiss on the top of my hand. “I’m surprised to see you here again.”

  I sighed and nodded over my shoulder to Jeremiah. “It wasn’t my choice.”

  “Yes, I can see that,” Malcolm smiled. There was something so innately familiar about him. His smell. His demeanor. The way he moved. Malcolm was a selkie just like Brendan and my heart begin to ache. I’d literally grown up with Brendan and often felt more comfortable around his kind than mine. I missed playing in the ocean with him or arguing over the name of a fish. We’d shared so much that I really didn’t feel whole without him anymore. Malcolm’s presence was only going to exacerbate that pain.

  “I won’t control him,” I whispered to anyone who would listen.

  “You will,” Jeremiah replied. I snapped my head around and took the two steps needed to invade his personal space.

  “I will not control a selkie. I can’t.”

  “Lucian has an army of selkies and without their control, you will fail. My job is to make sure that you can stand against him. So that means learning how to use your gift to its fullest potential.”

  He was right, but that didn’t mean I had to like it.

  As soon as I accepted that fact, the easier the day got. Well, relatively speaking. Jeremiah taught me how he could almost see the aura of a free mind glowing around the subjects. A human mind was white, or blank as he liked to call it. A selkie’s mind glowed red. They were a bit harder to command, but always ultimately succumbed.

  Malcolm assured me that he did not mind playing practice doll. He was appalled at what Lucian was doing with his kind and if his help would stop him, then he was willing to do it. I had to admire his outlook. It was mature and insightful, two qualities I needed to vastly improve upon.

  My brain felt dead by the afternoon, so Jeremiah allowed me to quit early. I was so tired that all I really wanted to do was crawl into bed, but when Malcolm followed me into the kitchen, I knew there was something he needed to say.

  “I heard about your selkie,” he said by way of introduction to the conversation. Not exactly what I was expecting.

  “About what?”

  “That you saved him but your power scared him and he left you.” Well, that was blunt. He must have read the reaction on my face. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be insensitive.” His large hand ran over his bald head and he sighed. “I think I just wanted to let you know that you guys can get past this.”

  “How do you know?” Malcolm had never met Brendan and he certainly didn’t have any insight to our relationship.

  “Because you’re not like the others. You may have this gift, or curse,” he said with a wry smirk, “but you’re not evil.”

  “Gee, thanks.”

  He smiled wider and I noticed two identical dimples in his cheeks. “I’m not real good with words.” Pausing for a moment, he collected himself. “I think what I’m trying to say is that he would be lucky to have you.”

  “That’s probably the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.” I swear I saw his dark skin blush.

  “You mean well and you’re obviously in love with him. If he’s smart, he’ll realize that.”

  This time I couldn’t hide my smile. “He said he’s coming back to me.”

  “Really? That’s great.”

  “Yeah,” I sighed. It was great. I just wondered why I was feeling so attracted to Graham when I should only be thinking about Brendan. But what if he changed his mind again? What if he couldn’t resist the call? I suddenly had a thought. “You haven’t felt the call yet?”

  All selkies were required to breed with humans in order to continue their line. Apparently the urge to mate just kicks in one day and then nothing else in the world matters. Brendan said he wasn’t going to do that to me, but how did he really know if he could resist.

  Malcolm stared at a spot on the wall beyond my shoulder. “No, not yet.”

  “But you will, right? They all do.” He nodded solemnly, and I continued. “Is it possible to resist?”

  “I’ve never known anyone who could.” Seeing that realization pass over my face he continued. “But I also haven’t known very many selkies who’d promised their love so strongly to someone else before feeling the call. Perhaps it will be different for you.”

  I sighed again. “Perhaps.” Not only was I tired, but now I felt completely dejected after having this conversation. I’m sure that wasn’t Malcolm’s intent, but the thought of losing Brendan again when I didn’t even really have him back for sure, just crushed me.

  Excusing myself from the kitchen and our intense discussion, I walked upstairs to my room and curled up on the bed. I needed something else to think about. Grabbing my phone, I checked in with my sister, Palmer, and then finally with Kain. Everything was running smoothly without my presence and that made me feel even worse.

  No one needed me.

  Although once I stopped feeling sorry for myself, I realized that they all did need me. That was why I was
here. Lucian was going to continue killing us until someone took care of him. And the only way to him was through his army of zombies. I wasn’t narcissistic enough to think I was going to have to do this on my own, but I knew I would play an important role in some form or fashion.

  Feeling a little bit better, I spent the rest of the day in the ocean swimming around leisurely to let my mind and body relax. Two of Jeremiah’s protectors accompanied me, but they stayed far enough away that I had at least some semblance of privacy. And if I’d really thought things through, I would have realized this was probably going to be the last time I would have some peace for quite for a while. Once my training was over, I would have to jump back into my leadership role and take us into a war.

  Perhaps coming to Jeremiah’s was less like a chore and more like the calm before the storm.

  The next two days could simply be described as pure torture. Not only did Jeremiah push me until my brain couldn’t control a flea, but Graham hadn’t return when he was supposed to. I didn’t ask why. Not because I wasn’t curious, but because I could tell that Jeremiah was waiting for me to ask. He’d sensed some of the tension between the two of us and I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of butting into my love life.

  Although, I will give credit where credit is due. Jeremiah Williams was a master at controlling his powers. The way he could pull on minds and tweak his commands to only a few while controlling the many was beyond impressive. His simple tricks and visualization techniques enabled me to not only take control from Jeremiah, but also hold that compulsion while he fought against me. When I earned my first smile from him, I knew I was making an impression. I was proud. Not that I wanted Jeremiah to take credit for all of it, but he’d definitely helped.

  My phone was ringing when I entered my room just before sunset on the third night of my stay. With the way I was progressing, Jeremiah thought that I’d be able to leave by the end of the week. I felt a small sense of comradely with the man who’d utterly repulsed me just seventy-two hours ago. He was an arrogant and obsessive individual, but he taught me how to be a better leader and there would always be a part of me grateful for that. Even if it was buried very deep inside.

  Almost missing the final ring, I breathed into the phone. “Hello?”

  “Eviana? Oh good, I’m glad I caught you.” It was Kain and he sounded a little panicked. “Are you still at Jeremiah’s?”

  “Yes, where else would I be?”

  “Good, that’s good.” Something sounded off.

  “Kain, what happened?” My stomach twisted in fear at the thought of another one of us being killed or shot or hurt. I didn’t think I could handle it.

  “There’s been another attack.”

  “What? Where?”

  “A cruise ship off the coast. Actually it wasn’t too far away from your area. I think it was heading to Bermuda. Apparently a rogue wave capsized the ship and nearly everyone on board drowned.” That was horrible, but how was this linked to Lucian? I asked Kain as much. “He called the Council after it happened, claiming responsibility and warning this was only the beginning. He’s been making demands and one of them includes speaking with you.”

  “Why me?” Surely I wasn’t that important.

  “He’s not being clear. He just keeps demanding a face to face sit down with you and the Council.”

  I swallowed hard. “Well are they going to give him that?”

  “They don’t want to negotiate.” As much as that worried me, I tended to agree with their sentiments. No one should give Lucian what he wanted. It would only make him feel that much more powerful.

  “So what do we do?”

  “You need to come home and then we’ll work with Andre and Adele and try to figure something out. Actually, is Graham still there with you?”

  “He’s supposed to be,” I grumbled, but Kain didn’t notice my sarcasm.

  “Good. Well, maybe you can also talk to him and get a better idea about how the Council usually handles situations like this.”

  I had a feeling they haven’t had to deal with someone like Lucian in their lifetime. But I agreed to try. We said goodbye with a promise I would check in with him in the morning and hopefully be on a flight by early afternoon.

  Dinner had been scheduled a little later in the evening and when I walked into the dining room, my heart fluttered at the sight of Graham sitting down next to Jeremiah and sipping on his wine. He caught my eye and winked, forcing me to look away so no one would see me blush. I sat in my usual seat and begin picking at the cheese. I’d been working so hard the past few days that my appetite turned ferocious.

  Jeremiah was busy discussing the recent attack with Graham, his arms flailing around dramatically like he was actually upset by this.

  “That is not the way to get things done,” he was saying. “A cruise line? How idiotic. What could he possibly gain by attacking a ship full of humans?”

  Graham cleared his throat. “It wasn’t just humans.” Both Jeremiah and I stopped moving.

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “There was a clan gathering on board. I think a family reunion or something.” My heart plummeted.

  “Do you know which clan?” A sinking feeling grew in the pit of my stomach. Lucian and his cronies had murdered an entire mermaid family.

  “It was the Shannons,” Graham replied solemnly and I sucked in a breath.

  The Shannons. Lily Shannon. I hadn’t known her long, but we met at Cotillion and she’d attended Kain’s inauguration. She was a fun girl who lived life to its fullest. And now she’d become another one of Lucian’s victims. I couldn’t stop the tears from falling.

  Jeremiah was stunned by this information as well. “He has gone too far.” Shaking his head, he took a long drink of wine and seemed to be lost in deep thought.

  “Why couldn’t they get away?” I asked, wondering what would’ve had to happen in order for an entire clan of mermaids to drown. We didn’t breathe underwater, so drowning was always possible, but they should’ve been able to save themselves.

  “We don’t have all the details yet,” Graham began. “I’d guess they got trapped somehow. Either in their rooms or underwater.”

  “What could possibly be capable of trapping them?” Graham and Jeremiah exchanged a look but before they spoke, I’d answered my own question. “The water sprites.”

  Graham nodded. “That is one possibility.”

  “What else could there be?”

  Jeremiah answered this time. “Someone with the ability to control water.” I instantly looked at Graham. He was probably the most powerful water user I knew. His disappearance the last few days was perfectly timed with the attack, but he would never do something like this. It was too malicious and uncharacteristic of the guy I thought I knew.

  “He must have somebody on his payroll now,” Graham continued. “I’ll check with Adele and see who the possible suspects are.”

  “You guys keep a record of things like that?”

  “Of course.”

  “Oh.” I guess that made sense. I mean the Council was our governing body. Why wouldn’t they keep records of those who had an insane amount of power ready to be wielded?

  Our dinner was served but I’d completely lost my appetite. Not wanting to be rude, I picked at my food until Graham and Jeremiah finished. I wanted to excuse myself right away, however there was one more topic to discuss.

  “I need to go home tomorrow. Kain, Andre, and I need to work with the Council to decide whether or not to speak with Lucian.”

  “They won’t negotiate with him,” Graham said stiffly.

  “Well, we just might have to change the rules. I am tired of people senselessly dying because of Lucian’s delusional ideas.” As I said those words, I realized how much I believed them.

  Jeremiah smiled. “And there she is.” I made a face at him. “There is the leader we’ve been waiting to see.”

  “Being brave and defiant does not necessarily make for a good
leader,” Graham scoffed.

  “Well, you should know that better than anyone,” I shot back at him.

  Jeremiah laughed. “Looks like she has you there.”

  Graham and I fought in a staring match and I wasn’t going to back down. He may be a Council member, but that didn’t mean their minds couldn’t be changed. I needed to convince them to arrange this meeting with Lucian.

  Graham finally looked away and I sat back in my chair with satisfaction. He poured himself another drink and stayed silent the rest of the time. Jeremiah and I talked about making arrangements for my flight home and once that was settled, he excused himself with a trail of human females following him out the door.

  I didn’t really want to be in the same room as Graham for some reason. It was as if our brief friendly relationship had been replaced with a clan leader versus Council member one and I would be lying if I said it wasn’t disappointing.

  “Are you going back to Seattle?” I finally asked, hating the awkward silence.

  He sighed and brushed his hands over his face and head. “I don’t know. I guess I should check in with Adele and see where she wants me to go.” Something inside of me crumbled a bit at the thought this may be the last time I see Graham. I can’t really explain why, other than the physical attraction, but it was as if I’d be losing another friend.

  “Have you been training?” he asked.

  “With Jeremiah. I haven’t really had any time for the combat training.” Plus, I wanted to add, it wasn’t any fun if you weren’t doing it with me.

  “Do you really want to talk to Lucian?” His quick change in topic threw me a little.

  “If it will save lives, don’t you think I should?”

  He seemed to ponder that for a few moments. “I honestly don’t know. I fear he’s already made up his mind and by making demands he’s just stalling until the ultimate attack.”

  “What do you think he’ll do?” Although Lucian’s been threatening us all, he never once actually spelled out what he planned.