Three Rings (The Fairytail Saga) (13 page)

⁓

Ivyanne felt like a dry rag on Friday morning after having soaked her pillow with aimless tears, and despite how badly she needed to swim, she made the trip to the mainland via boat- needing the speed to compensate for the fact that she’d overslept  by three hours and then been interrogated by her mother.

The queen knew everything. Every sordid detail. Ivyanne had confessed all when she’d returned the night before-never in her life had she needed her mother as much as she had then. And to her relief, Vana seemed as concerned for her, as she was for Tristan. She even seemed concerned for Link.

Once Ivyanne had docked her mother’s boat at the marina, next to Tristan’s, she hurried up the beach, checking her phone for the time, shielding its screen from the midday glare, praying to see something from Tristan that hadn’t been there five minutes before. But there was nothing, and she sensed that there wasn’t going to be.

When she walked into the Barefoot Bar, Ivyanne was less than impressed to see Lincoln and Sherri engrossed in yet another intense looking conversation by the jukebox immediately to her left.

‘I really
am
sorry….’ Sherri was saying. ‘That Bobbitt guy bought me a few shots right before knock off, so I just wasn’t myself.’

‘That’s okay.’ Lincoln said. ‘Really. I’m in no position to...just, let’s forget about it, okay?’

‘Okay.’ Sherri said, visibly relaxing.

‘Forget what?’ Ivyanne asked, making her presence known.

Lincoln looked up, and his face tensed again. ‘Hey.’ He said listlessly, looking out of sorts. ‘Oh Sherri was just-’

‘Apologizing for making a mistake on the till last night.’ Sherri said quickly, and then glanced at her watch. ‘Hmm. You’re five minutes late, Ivyanne.’

Ivyanne looked around the deserted bar. Apparently, it wasn’t a big day for breakfast. ‘Well it looks like you’re surviving. And I’m sorry, but I had a late night.’

‘That’s weird,’ Sherri said, ‘Considering that you went home
earlier
than everyone else.’

‘Well, I have some stuff going on in my life right now, and it’s taking time and energy from me.’ Ivyanne stepped behind the bar and slipped her bag under the shelf near the register. ‘But Lincoln will vouch that I’m never late, I’m sure, and I’m here
now,
and he just forgave you for mucking up the till while drunk so....’ Ivyanne hoisted a brow at Lincoln. ‘Crisis averted, yeah?’

Lincoln looked from her, then down to Sherri, then back to her.

‘Well?’ Ivyanne prompted.

‘She’s always punctual,’ Lincoln said grudgingly.

Why do you seem disappointed that you can’t yell at me?
Ivyanne thought, confused. He’d
begged
her to stay the night before, and seemed desperate to make up. Had the chance to reflect upon their situation angered him again? Or was he just stressing out in general?

‘Though I’m curious as to what new dramas could have popped up between leaving here and arriving home....’ Link went on, giving her an assessing look.

‘Nothing that I want to talk about right now,’ Ivyanne said, forcing her voice to stay even. She glanced at Sherri pointedly, annoyed that the girl was still lingering. Sherri knew they were on the verge of dating, so what reason did she have to get between them, unless she’d already decided to snag Lincoln for herself? It wasn’t a wild notion-Lincoln’s mer pheromones would be like the scent of burning cannabis to a druggie for the human girl, unless she had a man stashed somewhere nearby. And even then, that wouldn’t douse the attraction, just the reactions to it.

Lincoln took her by the arm and pulled her closer to him, lowering his head to her ear. ‘You’re being awfully cryptic Ivyanne.’ He said, his tone serious, his eyes appealing for something unspoken. ‘Something on your mind?’

If only he knew! Ivyanne sighed. She was probably giving off weird vibes, and as always, Lincoln would be analyzing her every word and expression to the point of exhaustion. He was sorry he’d overreacted so and tried to make her jealous-she could see it- and he wanted to say it, but his damn pride was waiting for her to apologize first to validate his original reason for being angry.
But she already had, and there was a statute of limitations on how much groveling she was willing to do-it set a precedent for their entire future and what she was willing to tolerate. So even though she was inclined to smooth his ruffled feathers for him this one time, doing so might ensure that she’d be putting up with his vindictive tantrums for three hundred years to come. And a descendant of Anna L’Court jumped hoops for no man.

Besides, what could she reveal anyway? When Lincoln found out that Tristan had cut her off-he was going to be over the moon, and a part of her anticipated being able to make at least
one
of the men she cared for deliriously happy. Once that was done, she knew that the bad moments, like this one, would lose their significance.

But they hadn’t yet. She wasn’t ready to accept Tristan’s withdrawal so suddenly. She didn’t know if it was because she longed to be with Tristan more than she’d admitted to herself until then, or if she just couldn’t stand things ending on such a sour note without knowing the state of her womb first. But she needed a day or so to examine her feelings wholly, and give Tristan the chance to change his mind, before she got Lincoln’s hopes up.

‘I don’t feel like talking about it right now Lincoln. I need a day or so to get my head around a few things, okay?’

Lincoln’s eyebrows pulled together in consternation, but then his face became impassive. ‘Fair enough.’ He said, releasing her and turning away. ‘And on that note, I’m off for lunch.’ He glanced at Sherri. ‘Good luck.’

Sherri smiled sweetly. ‘I’m sure I can handle her.’

Ivyanne felt like she’d been slapped, but she refused to entertain either of them with a dramatic reaction. She simply shrugged and said : ‘Famous last words’ then moved to put her stuff away, thinking that it might be the last time she ever clocked in at The Seaview Resort.

⁓

‘Are you where you need to be?’ Ardhi barked into the phone around lunch on Friday.

‘Lord, I’m so tired that I don’t even know any more.’ Adele muttered. ‘But according to the GPS on this boat, I am.’

‘Good.’ Ardhi couldn’t believe that he was so dependent on Adele the scatterbrain to have his escape vehicle ready, but he had little choice. The most capable ally he had was in Queensland, putting the hard moves on Lincoln, and he couldn’t pull off his plan alone. ‘Did you have any problems hiring out the boat?’

‘Nope. And the guy even helped give me directions. Apparently, people fish off this reef all the time.’

Ardhi frowned. ‘Is anyone around you
now
?’

‘No.’

‘Good. If you see anyone, move-but keep the coast in sight.’

‘As opposed to
what
? Take off by myself on the big blue? Not likely.’

‘Don’t be smart.’ Ardhi folded his legs, enjoying the heat of sun-warmed sand under his bare skin. ‘Well we haven’t got long, so I may as well get this started….’

‘Ardhi-wait.’ Adele’s usual sass was replaced with the trembling tone of a little girl. ‘Are you sure we need to do this? There are other women you know-’

‘This isn’t about Ivyanne.’ Ardhi snapped. ‘This is about karma. The universe won’t punish Tristan for how he operates-but that doesn’t mean that
I
can’t.’

‘I know...but this is so epic. I mean...wouldn’t a one on one attack make more sense? Less innocent people-’

‘I’ll make sure it’s low before it-’ Ardhi’s voice died out as the reality of what he was about to do sank in. God, maybe he
was
crazy. ‘Look, I can’t fight Tristan hand to hand. He’s used and abused his gifts, and now I’ll do the same. He needs to be isolated and off guard-you know all of this.’ He frowned, angry at her for making him question himself. ‘And if you want to do the right thing by your family, you’ll step in line, got it?’

‘Got it.’ Adele said quickly. ‘Please just...take it easy.’

‘I will.’ Ardhi glanced at his waterproof watch. ‘Two hours from now, where we agreed, got it? Any longer than that and mermaids will be swarming the area. I have to find him before they do.’

‘I know. Well...good luck. I guess.’

‘Thanks.’ Ardhi said curtly. ‘See you soon.’

Ardhi put down the phone and glanced around him casually to double check that he was still alone on the private beach in front of his bungalow. For as far as he could see, the area was deserted-water included. That was perfect. Exactly what he needed.

He’d picked Molokai as his base in Hawaii, not only because it was perfectly positioned under the flight path, but because his own kind were less concentrated there, usually opting for the Big Island, or Oahu, where Bane’s family was. There were enough mers around to help with rescue efforts, if they were required, but not so close that they’d beat Ardhi to first pickings of the passengers. Well, one passenger, in particular.

Ardhi smiled and moved forward, sitting once more where the water licked at the shore, digging his feet down into the thick, heavy and sodden sand, so that they were submerged nearly to his knees. He then dug his hands into the wet sand beside him, anchoring himself, letting the water break around him, and feed into him. A ripple of pleasure went through him, and he latched onto it in his mind, inhaling deeply, like he was inhaling the world. He thought of rain, and of thunder, and of lightning that would illuminate the sky, so blue, so powerful, that the people on the plane would gape out their windows in awe.

Ardhi felt a shiver ripple over his skin, felt a breeze pick up and whisper into his ears, like a cloud passing over the sun, blocking its rays. Then, knowing he was on the right track, he thought of Ivyanne, remembered the boat, where he had found her discarded clothes, and something inside him bucked painfully at the thoughts, causing him to grind his teeth together in fury. The temperature dropped then, and when he imagined Tristan’s face, it dropped again, plummeting as the wind whipped louder. The next wave to lap over his bare legs hit with more force, like the sea was beginning to awaken, and Ardhi gripped at the sand, feeling like he could lift that part of the ground
up with his hands and it would wrench itself free from the rest of the earth, coming apart under his power.

Ardhi opened his eyes, and saw that the sky had darkened considerably, and that little slivers of white foam were beginning to churn about on the previously flat sea. He grinned, then shut his eyes, curling up every muscle in his body then dragging the sky down to him with his mind.

The boom of thunder which accompanied this thought did not make him smile. He didn’t allow it. He set his jaw and tugged again, not needing to open his eyes to see the bolt of lightning hit the horizon-the flash of light beyond his closed eyelids told him that he had indeed, practiced enough.

A calm, perfect day flight had turned into an absolute nightmare and Tristan was rapidly losing his nerves. When the sky outside the plane window went from orange to black, Tristan dug his hands into the armrests of his chair harder, squeezing his eyes shut. His heart was beating so wildly and rising to his throat that he feared he would choke on it, and his bowels constricted uncomfortably at every sudden drop. Lights flickered on and off, and some people were whimpering, while others were sick. One young woman, two seats ahead of him, was praying-
loudly
.

How could he have been standing in the humid Fijian terminal eight hours beforehand, anticipating a relatively short flight to Los Angeles on a sunny day? Where had this storm come from? And how much longer would they have to ride it out for? It had already persisted for over an hour, and seemed to grow more violent with every passing moment.

The Captain had made several announcements, detailing that the storm had become a wall-to wall issue, and that they didn’t have the fuel to go around it anymore. The plane had started a slow descent twenty minutes prior, and Tristan gathered, from the whispered conversations the flight attendants were having, was if the sky didn’t clear up, they were going to attempt to land in Honolulu. He had a feeling they’d already circled the outer islands a few times, but if the pilot could see anything through the blanket of cloud covering the area, Tristan didn’t know
what
.

The plane bucked violently, and a few people cried out. Tristan swallowed and looked out the window again, mesmerised by the blackness beyond his little port hole, genuinely confused over the origin of the storm.The radar had been clear-he’d paid special attention. It was almost like a hole had torn in the atmosphere, and Tristan was being sucked into hell.

The sky suddenly lit up blue, and Tristan could hear a distinct rattling noise against the exterior of the 767.
Lightning,
he thought, knowing it couldn’t actually harm the plane, not really, but not being comforted by that knowledge.
Hail. Shit.

‘Ladies and gentlemen..’ The captain’s voice sounded tight, anxious. ‘Visibility is too poor for us to maneuver a landing on the airstrip in Honolulu. I ask you to stay in your seats, and remain calm, as I attempt to land the craft on the water. I repeat:
Please remain calm,
and follow the safety instructions for water landing. The attendants will help you however they can. The inflatable slide will be activated as soon as the aircraft comes to a standstill. Please take the time to re-read your safety card now for instructions on how to follow this procedure and inflating your life vest.’