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We floated there for nearly half an hour, enjoying the peace of the ocean and the joy that comes from being in the arms of your mate.
All the while, I tried to keep at bay the thoughts of what was coming. This was going to be a week straight from Tartarus.
Two days later, I was sitting at a table in a large boardroom surrounded by the arguing leaders of every major government on Earth. All three parts of me were in complete agreement that we should kill them all to quiet the excessive noise.
If this was the way leaders of the modern world acted when discussing serious issues, then I would be doing the world a favor by silencing them all… permanently.
My head and heart ached. My head from the loud thoughts barraging me from every angle, and my heart from worry over Lokene. I hadn’t heard from him since he’d been summoned without warning. The Ancients had never kept him in their world this long, and the fact they were willing to do so even while knowing the effect our separation would have on me showed they were growing desperate.
Which is why this meeting today had to go well. I was out of time and options. It was imperative that I had my assurances that Atlantis and her people were safe before I left. But at the rate we were going, it would be months or even years before a resolution was reached.
I glanced out the glass wall to where Fynn, Eason, Storm, and Kye sat watching the proceedings. Faint lines showed around their shadowed eyes and grimly set mouths. They hadn’t been allowed in the room with me, and security had tried to usher them downstairs before the meeting started, but I’d refused to have them out of my sight.
This was their world, boardrooms full of politicians and arguing, and they were comfortable in it.
I was not.
Having their presence near me was the only thing anchoring me and keeping the noise in my mind to a somewhat bearable level. Kye was thinking encouraging thoughts to me nonstop, which was sweet but not exactly helpful.
This was why I never wanted to be the queen of Atlantis. My mother had been the one who’d been skilled at handling battles of negotiations over dinner with foreign dignitaries. I was the one skilled at winning battles with a sword.
The men and women at this table had never seen a war, and I doubted they possessed any skills with a sword. Just imagining them wielding a sword had me smirking.
I listened as one leader laid out his proposal for claiming Atlantis as a territory of his country. In his mind, since Atlantis had previously been attached to the country’s coastline, it still belonged to them.
Another leader disagreed, claiming since Atlantis lay somewhere between their two countries, it should be shared. I’d refused to give away Atlantis’ precise location, but when I’d laid out my proposal, I had marked the area of the sea I wished to claim. I hated even giving that much information, but it had been necessary.
A third leader slammed his fist against the table. “Atlantis lies at the bottom of the ocean. International law makes it clear that the ocean belongs to no one, therefore Atlantis and its resources should be shared, and access should be given equally to all countries.”
A fat, balding man nodded his agreement. “Yes, although that begs the question about who is responsible for caring for the mers and where they would pay taxes.”
One of the women lifted her nose in the air. “How are they supposed to pay taxes if their civilization is so backward that they don’t even use money? Which country is going to take on the costs of educating them to prepare them for proper interactions with today’s society? Not to mention the costs of their medical care.”
A shifty-eyed man who’d been quiet up until that point spoke up. “We are happy to take on the costs of providing those things, and in exchange, we would be given sole rights to the resources they obtain from the ocean floor and all Orpati.”
Utter pandemonium descended on the room.
I couldn’t take it anymore. I’d tried to emulate my mother, but it hadn’t worked. Now it was time to do things my way.
Standing, I raised my hand, calling the water from all the pitchers on the table to me. The water swirled around me, and slowly, the room quieted as they noticed the display of power.
“I believe there has been a misunderstanding.” My voice carried across the room as though I were speaking to my troops, but there was a subtle husky note from the siren that had certainly not been present with my troops.
“Atlantis is not requesting reorganization as a country. We are demanding it. We do not need your charity, nor do we need your money. We provide our own health care and education. In fact, we might just tax you for learning from us. At minimum, my people expect to be treated with the same respect as every other citizen of the earth.”
The bald man cut me off, “With all due respect, your people aren’t fully human. Our scientists will still need to run tests to determine the cognitive abilities of the merpeople. After those reports are completed, we can discuss the rights they are entitled to. For all we know, they are like dolphins.”
I was rendered speechless by the man’s cold dismissal of my people. Several leaders nodded in agreement. Why was I fighting so hard to save the human race from the Lure, when they were so full of their own self-importance?
It was time I reminded them who they were dealing with. Glancing around the room, I wasn’t one hundred percent positive I could pull off what I wanted, though. If Lokene were here…
I didn’t have a chance to finish the thought before the world pitched to the side and darkness enveloped us. Just as quickly, the world righted itself, and the meeting room’s long table now sat in the middle of the oversized dining hall in my Atlantean castle. Stunned into silence, the world leaders looked around in disbelief before fixing their wide-eyed gazes on me.
Warm arms circled my waist, and I tried to ignore the lurch of my heart. I didn’t need to look to know the owner of those arms wasn’t one of my already claimed mates, and regardless of what my siren believed, I wasn’t planning on accepting any more mates. Especially if they were forced on me by the Elder Ancients.
“Queen Zosime felt it was necessary to show you Atlantis.” Bion’s voice echoed through the hall, carrying with it a jovial confidence that had the men grinning amiably and the women swooning. This man could probably get away with murder.
“Who would you like me to murder?” he purred against my ear. “For you, I’d gladly do it.”
