Sea Bride- Children of the Waves (2 page)

Aaron, his friend and right
guard, his personal protector, turned away from him to look out toward the
ocean. Their home lay miles beneath its dark depths.

The call of the waves calmed
them both, lending them strength to stay out of the water for a longer period
of time. They both knew he must find the woman meant to be his bride otherwise.
he wouldn’t sit on the King’s Chair. Poseidon knew he’d searched. His people
needed him.

“Well, I hope you find her
soon, my friend,” Aaron stated.

“I have no choice.” Xav shook
his head. “There are too many factions with too many petty tyrants, and no
sense of leadership. We fight too much amongst ourselves. Our world has been in
chaos for ages, waiting for me to find a bride. If I don’t find her soon, there
will be no kingdom left to lead. We can’t wait for another heir to be named.
That could take hundreds of years. We need a leader now to stop the civil
unrest gaining ground in our world.”

“Especially with the white
witch now awake and stirring up even more trouble.” Aaron glanced away and
added, “Too bad, she’s not as agreeable as her sister, the sea witch.”

He shrugged. “One helps her
people while the other…she swears vengeance for the death of her lover before
my father exiled her, putting her under a spell to sleep forever in her realm.
She should have remained that way. Asleep for an eternity.”

Aaron snorted. “True, but since
Poseidon disappeared, the spell weakened and no longer holds her. She’s awake,
stirring up trouble, while she’s grown stronger and bolder, leaving the nether
depths of the ocean. It would take the powers of a king to control her again.”

His friend said what he needed
to hear but already knew. Xavior could put this off no longer. He needed to
find his bride, so he’d have the authority to protect his people. His
responsibilities placed him on the boat, because he’d always known he would not
find his bride in the sea. Only as king, could he unite the tribes and stop the
fighting for control of the territories. At least they didn’t die easily, but
it took its toll…living for constant combat.

The result—too many of
them left the sea and chose to live among the landborn, or went so far into the
wave depths, like Poseidon, never to be heard from again. It had to stop. His
people needed to unite. Only one bride existed for every king, only one, the
throne would accept. The sea witch swore a woman on this boat was his bride.

They must find her. Those who
were mated all said the same thing—he would be immediately drawn to her,
and she to him. Like that hadn’t happened to him before. He loved women and
they loved him, it also provided confirmation he’d already found his bride, but
he could be
in
love with only one. He
wasn’t sure how her being a landwalker might complicate that.

“Okay. Where should we start
looking?” Aaron asked, breaking him away from his thoughts.

“There is a mixer tonight for
all the singles.” Xavior held up a flyer from the cruise’s welcome packet. He’d
ventured on land infrequently this last year, but he maintained contact and
business relationships with his people who resided above the waves. One of his
younger brothers had forsaken the sea and now lived on land. Like him, he’d
also begun to age and, believing his mate was of the land, he left the sea in
search of her.

Aaron sighed. “At least having
connections on the surface has made this easier.”

Xavior’s brother had arranged
passage for him and Aaron on the ship, which he owned. His brother still
honored him as heir, and the importance of his quest.

“Yes. Thank Poseidon. If I can
just find her, it would put an end to the warring, and many who abandoned the
waves would return. At least traffic between the world above and below would be
more robust, good for all. Right now, it’s mostly one way, all headed toward
land. Our world is on the brink of extinction, Aaron.”

He and Aaron stood on the
balcony off their cabin, the presidential suite, and spoke quietly, not that
anyone was near enough to overhear their conversation. But still, they were
cautious and spoke in their native tongue, a language no one on board would
understand. “I agree and support you always. Ah—what is a ‘mixer’?” Aaron
asked.

“A party.”

“Ah-ha.” He nodded. “I like the
land dwellers’ parties. They are a lot of fun. There will be many beautiful
women there.”

“Try to remember, that is not
why we are here.”

“I know.” Aaron sighed. “But it
is also time for me to find my bride, too. No harm in looking.”

Xavior smiled at his friend, as
they closed the door to the extended balcony, then left the cabin. “No harm
indeed.” Aaron had also begun to age, which meant he too, already met his
intended bride. But just like him, his friend had no idea who she might be, so
he tested almost every woman who appealed to him. Aaron, also loved women and
they loved him back. So far, some more than others, yet none could make him
orgasm.

The walls in the crowded bar
and lounge pushed in on them, making it seem as if their confinement in the
room had been for days, instead of a couple of hours. Xavior felt certain
she
wasn’t here. Surely, he would have
felt something, some sense of recognition.

“How about the redhead in the
little bit of skirt at the edge of the dance floor? She’s been eyeing you like
a piece of broiled lobster smothered in butter sauce.”

Xavior already spotted her the
moment she entered the room, but other than a healthy appreciation for her
beauty, he felt nothing he hadn’t encountered countless other times. “I don’t
think so.”

“Are you sure? ’Cause she’s
heading this way. I think you should take her for a test drive, purely to be
sure of course.”

The redhead slid up to him
while he sat at the bar. She shifted her body, so her bare leg rubbed against
his pants covered thigh. “Would you like to dance?” she asked. Her voice
sounded low and sultry, guaranteed to make a man’s blood run in one direction.

He grinned. Any other time, he
would have taken her up on her offer, but not this time. This time, he was on a
bride hunt, and nothing sparked between them. At least for him. “Sorry,
sweetness. I’m taken, but my friend here…” He glanced over at Aaron, who didn’t
have to be told twice.

Aaron stood up and took the
woman’s hand.

She only turned to look back
once, before following his friend onto the dance floor.

Xavior left the party and went
for a walk around the boat, hoping to clear his head and maybe get a sense of
this bride he needed to find. He’d ventured on land often in the last twenty
years and met many human women he hadn’t slept with, so he had no idea which
one of these his bride could be. If the tales were true, he would just
know
her, because he would be so drawn
to her, the pull would be irresistible. After walking around for an hour, he
returned to their cabin, but feeling too restless to sleep, he made his way out
to their private balcony.

The evening sky remained clear,
the glittering points of light soothing, and the sea appeared calm, but he
smelled a storm coming. It would arrive soon from the east. Until it did, he
would take advantage of the calm. Sitting back in one of the lounge chairs, he
put his feet up on the railing, closed his eyes, and turned his face toward the
half moon. A familiar clicking noise made him open them again. The shadows of
dark fins in the water caught his attention. He stood up and placed his hands
on the railing, watching the dolphins play as they swam alongside the boat.

They spoke to him, wanting to
know how his quest went.

Did everyone know he was on a
bride hunt? Of course they did.
Not so
good
, he told them.

We’re
rooting for you, Prince Xavior, young lord of the sea. She is right under your
nose. Beware, though. There is a storm coming not of nature’s making. Good
luck!
As one group, all six dolphins leapt into the air in a
salute to him, then swam away to most likely spread the news that after over
two hundred years their prince remained unsuccessful in finding his mate.

He would be the first heir to
lose the throne.
Pathetic
.
What did they mean she was right under his
nose? Was the sea witch right?
Is his bride truly onboard? He still didn’t
fully believe, but perhaps, he just needed to have patience and he’d find her.
But their words about the storm made him frown. Someone playing with the
elements was never a good thing, and only one would dare. For the moment, he
could do nothing about the white witch and her plots to keep him off the throne
and continue the wars among the tribes. He had enough to concentrate on…He’d
deal with her later.

Chapter
Two

“Look! A school of dolphins.”

“Yes, yes, I saw them, can you
please stop yelling? Better yet, get me off this tub.”

“Come on Cori, the night air
will do you good. You’ve been cooped up in that cabin since we came on board.
Get a grip already. This is going on the fourth day now. And you stopped
throwing up yesterday.”

Cori breathed the salty air
into her lungs and exhaled. Being on deck did feel good. “You’re right. I’m
sorry. I’m being a pain in the ass. Those pills and the patch do seem to help.
At least, I don’t feel like tossing up my guts to the ocean, since that’s all
that’s left in my stomach.”

“Progress already.” Des, ever
the optimist.

Cori watched the dolphins. One
seemed to stand on its tail in the water and look toward them. No, it wasn’t
looking at them exactly, but above them.

Even over the noise, the boat
made moving through the waves, she heard the chirping sounds carried across the
wind toward her. Then, wonder of wonders, she heard the sound returned from
overhead, and all six dolphins in the water simultaneously leapt into the air
and swam away.

“Did you see that?” Des asked.

She didn’t answer her friend.
Cori no longer focused on the water, but stared behind her. To be exact, her
attention veered to the man, standing on the balcony of one of the cabins,
facing the sea. She couldn’t take her eyes off him.

Like a sentinel, he stood
framed against the backdrop of night…tall, broad-shouldered and dark-haired.

From this distance, she
couldn’t make out his features, but she knew he would be handsome.
Unfortunately, he seemed too far away, and then he moved—he actually took
a few steps away from the balcony.

Then suddenly, he paused and
returned to the rail. He peered down.

Even from two stories above
her, the intensity of his gaze made her lower muscles clench.

Des tugged on her elbow. “Come
on, let’s get back to the cabin. It’s getting late, and the wind’s picking up.
I think it might rain.”

She barely heard her friend,
but docilely followed her lead. Her stare, however, remained over her shoulder,
locked on the man at the balcony until they were out of sight.

“What is wrong with you?” Des
asked.

“I—I don’t know. Did you
see him?”

Her friend paused in the
hallway, waiting for an elevator to take them back to their room. “See who?”

“The guy dressed in white,
standing out on the balcony.”

“Nope, sorry missed it. Must
have been one of the stewards.”

She shook her head. “No. I
don’t think so.” The elevator took forever. She didn’t know what to say anyway.
If she told Des, she’d just seen the most beautiful man standing in the
moonlight, her well-meaning friend would drag her back out there and wave to
him. Thankfully, the elevator bell sounded. She kept her mouth shut as the door
opened.

They stepped aside for anyone
wanting to get off.

Her gaze drifted to the carpet,
and when the door opened, the first thing she saw were shoes. White leather
loafers. She followed the legs covered with white slacks, up past tight taut
thighs to a flowing white shirt, sitting against a wide chest. Then on up to
the Naru collar and a dimpled chin to a pink bow of a mouth. “Oh, Lord.”

His mouth curved into a grin.