Surrender of the Brutal King (The Poseidon Trials Book 2) Read online

  SURRENDER OF THE BRUTAL KING

  THE POSEIDON TRIALS

  ELIZA RAINE

  ROSE WILSON

  Copyright © 2022 by Eliza Raine

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Editors: Hart to Heart Edits

  You’re not broken.

  You just haven’t found what brings you to life yet…

  CONTENTS

  1. Almi

  2. Almi

  3. Almi

  4. Almi

  5. Poseidon

  6. Almi

  7. Almi

  8. Almi

  9. Almi

  10. Almi

  11. Almi

  12. Almi

  13. Almi

  14. Almi

  15. Almi

  16. Almi

  17. Almi

  18. Poseidon

  19. Almi

  20. Almi

  21. Almi

  22. Almi

  23. Almi

  24. Almi

  25. Almi

  26. Almi

  27. Poseidon

  28. Almi

  29. Almi

  30. Almi

  31. Almi

  32. Almi

  33. Almi

  34. Almi

  35. Almi

  Thanks for Reading!

  1

  ALMI

  Freezing water engulfed me before it even occurred to me to swallow some water-root. If I was being honest, nothing had fully occurred to me before leaping on the pegasus’ back and diving in after Poseidon’s sinking form.

  Blue beat his wings on either side of me, and we powered through the water faster than I ever could have managed on my own. But Poseidon’s stone body was sinking faster.

  I gripped Blue’s mane, panic and fear flooding my system, and no idea at all what I would even do if I could reach him before I ran out of air.

  Blue must have sensed my thoughts because he surged forward suddenly, spurring us farther into the darkening depths. Poseidon’s armor glinted in the now dusky light, and a bolt of hope made my muscles tighten as I realized we were now moving faster than he was. Barely ten seconds later, the pegasus had caught him up, his golden wings cutting through the ocean currents as he swooped beneath the sinking god. I shifted on Blue’s back and clung on as Poseidon’s heavy form landed hard across the winged horse’s shoulders. He began to slide, and I wrapped one arm tight around him as I tried to grip Blue harder with my thighs.

  The pegasus kicked his way up, his load now significantly heavier and his pace reflecting it. I tried not to notice the burn in my lungs, or the ice cold feel of Poseidon’s chest under my unsteady grip.

  What the hell had happened? Had the healer’s magic worn off? Had killing that insane creature weakened him enough the stone took over?

  And what the hell would I do with him when we got to the surface?

  If we got to the surface.

  Blue’s wings beat even harder as he struggled, and the exertion required for me to keep the statue of Poseidon on the pegasus’s back and hang on myself was exhausting. I would run out of air soon, I knew.

  A voice rang through my mind, tense and urgent. Just get him to the finish line. We can’t interfere until the Trial is over, but we can help as soon as you’re back.

  Persephone?

  Had she and the other gods seen what had happened? Could they see us now?

  Willing the pegasus to move faster, I craned my neck to look up. Light shone above the surface of the water, and blessed air was so close now. My lips parted, and I clamped them closed again.

  Come on, come on, come on, please. Please, let me hold my breath a little longer.

  It wasn’t just my life dependent on my ability to survive. It was Lily’s and Poseidon’s, too.

  A tiny stream of bubbles corkscrewed through the water toward me, growing larger as it got closer, and I tensed. Poseidon slipped in my grasp, and I was forced to let go of Blue’s mane to grab him, lifting him tighter between my body and the pegasus’ neck. The motion was too much, and my lungs burned like they were filled with acid. My mouth opened, my nostrils filling with water as instinct forced me to try to suck in air.

  The ribbon of bubbles rushed me, zooming around my head and pouring into my mouth. Air, cool and crisp, filled my throat and lungs, and I gasped. Relief slammed through me as the bubbles kept whizzing, lifting my hair from my stinging eyes and making my vision clearer as they delivered blessed air into my body.

  I had no idea where the air was coming from, but I sent a prayer of thanks to whoever had heard my plea as I gulped it down.

  The bubbles rushed around my head, so fast that they blurred together, making a layer of clear air all around my face, as though I was wearing a helmet of air. I adjusted my grip on Blue, rubbing his shoulder encouragingly, and I heard a faint whinny through the water. I tried speaking, my thoughts singular, exhaustion and desperation forcing adrenaline through my body.

  “You’re doing fucking amazing, Blue. You’re saving his life.” My voice came out clearly. I blinked incredulously as the pegasus whinnied louder, and I was sure he moved a little faster.

  Seconds later, my head broke through the surface. The bubbles vanished, and I twisted in my awkward position to see the Crosswind right next to us.

  Finish the race, I told myself urgently.

  I had to finish the race.

  Blue kept beating his wings, and it pained me to see how tired he was. “Can you get us to the ship?” He gave a small, exhausted whinny, then he lifted us from the sea.

  I suppressed a shriek as Poseidon’s stone body began to slip again, but Blue moved fast, and within another few seconds we were hovering next to the box that moved up and down to the bridge. Scrambling, I tipped the Poseidon statue into the crate and climbed in after him. Free of his heavy burden, Blue shook his wings, his legs kicking in the air.

  “Thank you,” I breathed. “See you on deck.”

  I willed the box to rise, unable to pull the door shut with Poseidon lying there, limbs unmovable. I looked at the expression etched into his beautiful face as I slumped against the wood, panting.

  Sadness. His expression was one of almost unbearable sadness.

  Why in the name of all the gods had I gone in after him?

  What the frigging hell had I been thinking?

  I hadn’t, I realized. Rational thought had abandoned me utterly, instinct as deep as my soul sending me into the sea.

  Had he made me do it, before he had turned to stone? Had he compelled me to save him with magic? I was the only one who could have helped him; only the competitors could be involved in the Trial.

  The box clacked as it reached the deck, and I dragged myself to my feet as fast as I could, pulling Poseidon’s insanely heavy stone body with me as I moved onto the deck. His stone boots left scratches on the planks.

  “I’m sorry, ship,” I told her as I let go of him and jogged to the wheel. “Take me to the finish line, please.”

  Blue touched down on the deck as Kryvo squeaked, and the ship lurched forward.

  “Almi! Almi, I thought you were dead! You can’t be dead, you’re my only friend!”

  “I’m not dead,” I assured him, pushing my wet hair back from my face and gratefully breathing in the ocean air in long breaths.

  “Is Poseidon?”

  I glanced over my shoulder at his solid granite body
. “No. Not yet.”

  2

  ALMI

  The second the Crosswind sailed over the gleaming finish line, there was a flash of white light, and Hades and Persephone appeared on the deck beside me. Persephone moved to Poseidon’s side in an instant, vines shooting from her palms and wrapping around Poseidon’s limbs before she even reached him.

  “What happened to him?” Hades asked, turning to me. An overwhelming urge to bow to the god of the dead took me, and his silver eyes swirled as his gaze bore into mine.

  Atlas’ voice boomed through the sky before I could answer, glee in his voice.

  “It seems we may have suffered a casualty in the Poseidon Trials already!”

  Hades’ face twisted into a snarl and tendrils of smoke leaked from his body, obscuring his black clothing.

  “Hades, I can’t wake him, but he’s alive in there.”

  We both turned at Persephone’s voice.

  Somehow, I had already known he was still alive, but that didn’t stop the relief I felt at having my instincts confirmed.

  Hades turned back to me. “What happened?” he repeated.

  “I don’t know. I mean, I know he has been fighting an affliction that turns people to stone.” There was no point hiding that from them anymore. “But I don’t know why it happened now. Were you watching?”

  Hades nodded slowly, looking between me and the stone god. “Yes. The whole thing is being broadcast in the flame dishes.” Flame dishes were like TVs in Olympus. Most households had large iron bowls to keep burning embers in, so they could gather round and watch whatever the gods wanted to show the world.

  “Why was he fighting that monster?”

  “Atlas,” Hades growled. “The creature was waiting for Poseidon. It let Kalypso and Ceto straight over the finish line without even surfacing. As soon as Poseidon got there, it rose up, dragging him and his ship under. Polybotes crossed just before you reached the finish-line and had no attention from the beast whatsoever. It was only after my brother.”

  “We need to find someone who can help him,” Persephone said, standing up from where she was crouched over Poseidon.

  “He said a healer had been helping him keep it at bay, but they couldn’t cure it.”

  “What healer?”

  I frowned as I answered. “He didn’t say, but Galatea is the only other person who knew about this.”

  “Then we’ll ask her. Are you ready to go?” Hades looked at me, and I was so unaccustomed to being asked if I was ready for something, that I just blinked at him.

  Persephone spoke softly. “I can understand you might be in shock, Almi. But we must go now.”

  I shook my head. “Wait!” I turned back to the ship’s wheel. Kryvo flashed red just long enough that I could see where he was hiding. “Thank you, ship,” I said loudly, trying to mask the fact I was lifting the little starfish into my palm. “Okay. I’m ready.”

  We flashed into the courtyard of the palace, where Galatea and a dozen palace staff and guards were standing before an enormous flame dish, an image of the finish line and the four surviving ships hovering in the orange flames.

  “Sire.” She rushed forward, her face a mask of horror.

  “Galatea, who was the healer who helped him before?”

  She turned to me, and instead of anger or suspicion, I was shocked to see her expression was one of pure gratitude. “You saved him. He would be lying on the ocean floor right now, if it weren’t for you.”

  “I, erm…” I ran one hand through my tangled hair awkwardly. “Blue helped, too,” I said.

  She reached out, clasping my other hand. “Thank you.”

  Hades sighed. “The healer,” he commanded. “Now.”

  Galatea turned to him, her face flushing and her head bowing low. “Of course, mighty one.”

  Shit, should I have been calling him that? I glanced at Persephone, and she gave me a tiny smile of reassurance.

  “It was a dragon, on the realm of Pisces. She does not take visitors lightly.”

  A dragon? I gaped at Galatea.

  Hades nodded. “Erimítis?”

  “Yes,” confirmed Galatea. “She will only entertain one as strong as you or your brothers.”

  “Fine. I will take Poseidon to her myself.” Hades turned to Persephone, kissing her with an intensity I didn’t know was possible in such a brief embrace. “I will see you as soon as I can, my love.”

  “Be safe,” she said, touching his cheek. There was a flash, and the two brothers were gone.

  Persephone looked at me as I blinked around dazedly.

  “You look like you could do with a sit down,” she said. “And maybe a stiff drink.”

  When I looked at her, the feeling of warmth she generated in me was so unfamiliar that I was tempted to distrust it. But she was a healer, and she appeared to harbor no animosity toward me. Maybe she was just… being nice.

  I felt a flash of desire to call up Lily’s image, to be alone with her so I could go through everything that had just happened. But then I would have to face up to a whole load of questions. Like why the hell I had risked my life and hers to save Poseidon’s.

  “A drink sounds good.” Putting those questions off a while longer suited me just fine. “If there are donuts, that would be even better.”

  “If you need donuts, I can find donuts,” said Galatea, still looking at me like I was some sort of hero.

  “Seriously? You can get me donuts?”

  “I will get you whatever you want. You saved the king.”

  Her words rolled around in my head as I followed her and Persephone into the palace, discreetly lifting Kryvo to my collarbone when the women’s backs were turned.

  You saved the king.

  Why? Why had I saved him?

  I couldn’t avoid the damned question.

  And deep down, I knew I couldn’t avoid the answer, either.

  I could have told myself that it was because Poseidon had spent the entire time I’d been caught up in this obscene mess saving my life. I owed him.

  I could have told myself it was because I believed him to be the right person to rule Aquarius, and that ancient angry Titans were the bad guys and I was obligated to keep the true king on the throne.

  I could have told myself that it was because I was the only one who could have helped him at that point, and I wasn’t wired to let a person die when I could stop it from happening.

  The truth, though?

  I couldn’t not have gone in after him. It wasn’t something I had carefully thought through and come to a sensible decision on. Leaping into the ocean after him had been as instinctive as walking, or even breathing.

  I may have barely known the man, but I was connected to him somehow. His fiery temper and miserable attitude were the antithesis of the light and bright Lily, and he represented everything I didn’t want in my life — control, rules, and sullen silence.

  Yet, when I looked into those stormy eyes, I could feel the passion he was suppressing. I didn’t know what the passion was for; perhaps that endless sense of freedom I had felt from him more than once, or the bond he had with the creatures of his realm? But whatever it was, I knew there was more to the fierce and controlled god of the sea than what he was presenting to the world.

  And if I hadn’t been certain?

  Then that smile… Fuck, that smile.

  I wished I’d never seen it. So brief, and yet I needed to see it again.

  And I hadn’t needed anything other than my sister, my whole life.

  3

  ALMI

  The emotions and thoughts fighting for attention inside me were bordering on overwhelming. I rubbed my hand across my face.

  “Shit, sorry!” I’d been so distracted I’d walked straight into Persephone.

  “You okay?” She steadied me as Galatea pulled open the large double doors on our left.

  “Sure. A bit… overwhelmed,” I said.

  “I know the feeling.”

  Persephone usher
ed me into the room after Galatea, and a weird calm came over me as I entered the space.

  Not a foggy calm, like the demon jackass angler fish had caused, but a serene, relaxing vibe that made me want to curl up with a good book and doze peacefully.

  “We call this the drawing-room,” said Galatea. “I’m sure Poseidon won’t mind us using it while you recover.”

  I associated the idea of a drawing-room with English period dramas, and in some ways, I could kind of make the connection. It looked like the room was half of one tower, a semi-circle in shape. There were walls between the columns ringing the edge of the room, but huge drapes lined them, almost like tapestries. The fabric was exactly like the stuff Poseidon’s robe was made from, and though the material didn’t move, the colors of the ocean swirled and played across the surface.

  The floor wasn’t covered in marble tiles like everywhere else I’d seen in the palace, but a rich, soft, black carpet instead. Huge squishy couches were dotted around the room in various shades of navy, and rosewood side tables covered in books and trinkets stood beside the chairs. Tall potted plants at random intervals along the walls gave it a slightly exotic air, and I was sure I could hear the gentle lapping of waves.

  “It’s lovely,” Persephone said, running her fingers through the leaves of a ten-foot-tall bamboo plant as she walked along the edge of the room.

  “It is,” I nodded. “Very relaxed.”