Heads or Tails (22 page)

‘She won’t be trying that again any time soon, not once Garridan’s done with her,’ he said to his rival. ‘So don’t worry-this is her bad, not yours.’

Lincoln looked up at him and grinned. And for one harmonious moment- they were back on the same side as two mermen ought to be.

*

Garridan slammed the bedroom door shut behind him and Ivyanne leapt back in surprise. The older man’s face was mottled with anger. Of course he almost always looked serious, but this was a much more extreme reaction than Ivyanne had anticipated.

‘Garridan…’ Ivyanne wet her lips. ‘I know what you’re going to say-’

‘Which is meaningless unless you understand
why
I am going to say it.’ Garridan leaned against the door, crossing his arms. ‘What you just did was thoughtless and dangerous, Ivyanne. I’m disgusted by your behavior.’

‘
Disgusted
?’ Ivyanne felt a flash of annoyance. ‘I appreciate the measures you’re taking to protect my life, but-’

‘But it’s not just
your
life!’ Garridan thundered. He pushed off the wall. ‘It is the life of anyone who has ever been born from you, or your mother, or her mother, or Anna! You are the only surviving descendant of the Court line you silly little girl! You no longer have the luxury of doing what you want,
when
you want to! I’m embarrassed for you that I need to remind you of that! This is precisely the reason why the women
before
you waited until they were
hundreds
of years old to rule this kingdom! You are far too wet behind the ears to compute what is required of you by your people!’

Ivyanne shrank back, wondering if  it was international: ‘Tell Ivyanne how much she sucks, Day.’

Oh well.
She reasoned silently, finding her grip on a bedrail and clinging to it for support.
They’re right aren’t they? Maybe once everyone sees what a waste of space I am, they’ll stop going at each other’s throats on my behalf!

But it was one thing for a Court woman to know she was failing-quite another to be told off by a man with delusions of power. ‘Be that as it may, Garridan,  I didn’t ask for this-’

‘
None
of us did! But here we are! All we’re asking is that you don’t get yourself or another one of us
killed
in the process because you felt the need to slip out the window like a rebellious human teen!’

Ivyanne glared at him. ‘Well if I’m too much of a handful for you, then
go
. I asked you to do this for me, and I can release you of any obligations if you wish!’

Garridan crossed the room to her, unfolding a piece of paper. ‘You didn’t
ask
me to do this, Ivyanne. I was
ordered
to.’ He thrust the piece of paper at her. ‘Here-read this.’

Ivyanne took it. ‘What is it?’

‘An e-mail. From your mother.’

Ivyanne looked down at the page, her mouth falling open as she read the small print.

Dear Garridan,

I am writing to beseech you to come and assist me with a security issue. Ardhi Kayu-Api returned this week, and although he is vowing to make amends for the things he has done to hurt my daughter, I find myself doubting his sincerity.

Ivyanne has a habit of drawing people to her, and I believe Ardhi’s heart is too invested within her to see past his infatuation, or be trusted. Stabbing Tristan was an unspeakable thing, something most mers are not capable of, and I fear of what else is lurking in his darkened psyche, and what measures he will take to win her hand. Perhaps Lincoln is already in danger, perhaps even Ivyanne.

I know you will be hesitant to come and live among us again, and there is probably nothing I can say to offer you comfort or ease your duress. And although I do not wish to play such a stern hand, we need your skills and your watchful eye, so I am afraid that I must order you here, as promptly as possible, to watch over my daughter, at least until she has born an heir. Even Ash is in agreement with me, despite his own reservations, which I’m sure you’d understand-

Ivyanne looked up from the paper. ‘Until I bear an
heir
?’

Garridan nodded grimly. ‘And obviously, there is no way Vana can retract that now. I have my orders, and I
will
meet my obligations, even if it means locking you in this room until this mess is resolved.’

Ivyanne furrowed her brow, holding the paper under the lamplight, straining to read the last paragraph. When Garridan had shown up the day after her engagement party, she’d assumed it had been only to pay respects to his nephew. And when he’d taken over the situation, she’d allowed it, knowing that protecting people was his forte and being too heartsick herself over losing her parents to plan anything beyond drawing consecutive breaths.

And the whole time, he’d been commandeered by her mother! Ivyanne sighed, feeling foolish and guilty for Garridan having uprooted his life for her.

‘I’m sorry if you feel duty-bound to be here, but my mother is gone, and
I
am queen now-’

A knife suddenly sliced into the paper and drove it into the wall behind her. Ivyanne jumped, whirling on Garridan incredulously. His hand was still hovering in the air, his expression grim.

‘Are you trying to kill me?!’ Ivyanne demanded.

‘I am too good a shot, to miss, your majesty.’ Garridan lowered his hand and walked towards her, tanking the curved blade out of the wall. ‘Which is precisely why she wanted me here. If you wish yourself to be rid of me and my rules, I am more than happy to escalate our measures for dealing with Ardhi. But in the meantime, I suggest that you get on with the breeding element. When you bear a child, which even Ardhi would not be able to harm, I imagine, I will be released from my contract.’

‘Well it’s not that simple…’

‘
Make
it that simple.’ Garridan said calmly, sheathing the throwing knife in his belt and retrieving the piece of paper.

‘Can I read the rest of it first?’ Ivyanne asked.

But Garridan shook his head. ‘No. It is mine, and I am keeping it.’

Ivyanne raised an eyebrow. ‘Garridan it’s just a piece of paper. Surely when you get home, you can print another-’

‘It’s
mine
,’ Garridan repeated firmly, folding it carefully and placing it back in his pocket.

Ivyanne stared at him, at a loss for his unusual behavior. ‘She said that you would be hesitant to come. She
said
she’d need to
order
you here…. why?’

Garridan shrugged. ‘That is irrelevant.’

Ivyanne’s frown deepened. ‘I don’t think so. Why would my
dad
need to be convinced to have you here?
He
was the overprotective one! Is it because you’re a Loveridge?’

Garridan stared at her feet, conflicting emotions on his face. After a tense minute-he sighed and said softly: ‘Not because I was
a
Loveridge, Ivyanne, but because I was
The
Loveridge.’ He shifted his gaze to the window. ‘
The
thorn in his side which he bore quietly it seems, until the prospect of my family marrying into his arose.’

Ivyanne blinked. ‘Thorn in his side? My mother wanted you around but my father
didn’t
…?’ Her heart skipped a beat as her brain filtered the cryptic message quickly. Division in mer marriages was rare, and if a man was a source for that, then it could only mean...

Garridan’s eyes finally met hers, but he said nothing. Ivyanne’s heart sank. She knew that look-she had seen it on Link, Ardhi and Tristan’s faces respectively. Heartbreak.

‘Oh god…. no. Don’t tell me-you and my
mum
!?’ Anger flared inside her. ‘Did you have an
affair
?’

‘No! Ivyanne no-’ Garridan stepped forward, eyes wide. ‘Vana and I...what we had...it predated their marriage, okay?’

His earnest tone gave her pause, and allowed her to hear him before hysteria could deafen her. She searched his gaze for signs that he was lying but found none. Still, she had to turn away, tugging on her hair, adding it all up and weighing the new information against her mother’s odd obsession with the Loveridge family-the scales balanced. Everything suddenly made perfect sense.

‘What did you two have?’ She asked quietly, knowing it must have been something significant and clearly, too painful for her father to be spoken of.

‘Obviously not enough, Miss Court.’

Ivyanne cringed, hearing the pain in his voice. She had so many questions but was terrified of the answers. ‘That’s why she favored Tristan, isn’t it? Why she pushed me to marry a century younger than she had to? Because she was trying to right a wrong she’d done by your bloodline and handing over
my
hand as penance?’

‘No. She favored Tristan for the same reason everyone else does,’ Garridan said quickly, some of the animation returning to his voice. ‘Your father judged my nephews by my involvement with your mother-to carry that sentiment into your future is unfair, regardless of which path you choose to take.’ He hesitated before adding: ‘She was a smart woman and a tremendous ruler, but if you allow me to keep you alive long enough, I have faith that your rule will surpass hers, and that the husband you choose will be the best man for the job. Even if it’s not my nephew.’

‘How could you know that?’ She asked, tears coming to her eyes. His kind words had caught her off-guard, contrasting with his tirade of mere minutes before.

‘Because I see how you influence people.’ His hand was on her shoulder. ‘You make people strive to be their best selves. It doesn’t matter how deserving either man is for the job right
now
-because they will become who we need them to be, in their desire to please and support you. Follow your heart, and a king will emerge in your wake.’

‘And the loser?’ She asked, a tear rolling down her cheek. ‘What will become of
them
?’

‘Whatever fate intends them to be. And that is fate’s burden to bear, not your own. It never has been. Nor was it your mother’s choice, or your dad’s-you gave them your will Ivyanne, for it’s not something that can be taken. Now, you have to claim it back.’

Ivyanne felt the tremble of his hand on her shoulder. She looked down at it and frowned. ‘You’re shaking.’ She raised her eyes to his. ‘Did I scare you that much?’

‘Yes,’ he said softly. ‘But the shaking is part withdrawals, Ivyanne. Since I retired a few years ago, I’ve been spending fourteen hours plus in the water a day. So this is quite the adjustment for me too.’ His face softened. ‘I know that none of us are getting enough time in the water-I’m sorry and I’ll try and think of a solution…’ His hand fell away. ‘Later. But for now, I need to get down to the surveillance room and relieve Camus. Can I trust that you will not go out the window again, or must I bunk in
here
for the night?’

‘I’ll stay,’ Ivyanne said softly, sitting down on her bed to prove her point, wiping at her tears. ‘I’ll behave. For mum, as well as you.’

‘Thank you.’ Garridan opened her bedroom door. ‘Goodnight Ivyanne.’

‘Goodnight.’

Ivyanne sat on the bed for several minutes after he left, staring out at the black ocean through the curtains and wondering if fate had just dropped another blockade between her and happiness-or offered her a hand towards it.

*

Ardhi and Sherri waited until dark before making the harrowing journey from the concealment of the mangroves on Monday night and across the car park to the freedom of the water. 

Ardhi felt uncomfortable being in town at night, yet again, especially in a Marina, where he knew of one or two mers who stayed there in houseboats. But they’d needed more humans, and he and Sherri had been scouring the town all day for good candidates to no avail.

They moved from row to row of cars, sometimes crouching, their breathing panting in the still night air, sometimes racing three lanes at a time. They were careful not to touch or rest against any cars as they went-the last thing they needed was to set off an alarm.

Suddenly Sherri sucked in her breath. ‘Oh my god….’

Ardhi saw instantly that Sherri was staring over his shoulder. ‘What?’ he asked.

‘That’s
Lincoln’s
car!’

Ardhi spun around still in a crouch, not sure exactly what it was he was looking for. ‘
What
?’ he asked again, his heart racing. ‘Which one?’

‘That shiny black one there with the sun roof!’

Ardhi spotted the one she was talking about. ‘How do you know that’s Lincoln’s? I’ve seen two or three just like it.’

‘Not
just
like it,’ Sherri said. ‘See that bulky thing on the hood? See how it’s painted red inside? He had that scoop custom made. He told me himself-he
loves
that car.’