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

  Persephone glanced at me. “Unlike your husband.”

  I snorted, and she smiled as she picked a couch big enough for three and sat down. She was wearing jeans and a green wraparound top, her long white hair tied back in a complicated braid. Her bottom half said human world, and her top half said Olympus. She patted the cushion beside her, and I made my decision.

  I was going to trust her.

  “So, donuts, and what do you want to drink?” Galatea asked as I moved to the couch.

  “I’ll have red wine, please,” said Persephone. “Dionysus knows his shit,” she added to me.

  “Then I’ll join you.”

  I didn't really drink red wine, ever. I was more of a beer-if-I-could-afford-it kind of girl. But who was I to turn down wine made by a god?

  “Be right back.” Galatea strode from the room.

  “You must be worried,” Persephone said. I shifted on the couch so I could see her face.

  “Okay. Here’s the thing. No. But yes. And I shouldn’t be.”

  Her pretty brows drew together. “I don’t follow you.”

  I blew out a sigh. “That makes two of us.”

  Galatea came back into the room and sat down in an armchair facing our couch. “This dragon,” she said. “She will help the king. She did before, and she will again, I am sure.” Tense concern was etched into Galatea’s face.

  “Poseidon will be fine,” I said.

  “How do you know?”

  “Because… I do.”

  “Your marriage bond,” said Persephone, knowingly. “I always know if Hades is in trouble.”

  “Erm, about that. You see, I am technically Poseidon’s wife, but it was a very quick wedding, and then he hid me in the human world where nobody could find me for-” I glanced at Galatea apologetically. “Eight years.”

  Persephone’s lips parted in surprise. “What made you return?”

  Galatea moved forward in her seat, and I realized she would be keen to know the true answer to this question too.

  “My sister,” I said. It was the truth, and I had no intention of giving either woman details of how I got back, or my plan to find Atlantis.

  “You said she was sick?”

  “Yes. Eight years ago, she fell unconscious. Since I returned, I discovered that she has an ailment that is turning her to stone.”

  Persephone frowned. “Is she connected to Poseidon and his ailment?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know.” I looked at Galatea, unsure how much to say about the blight that was spreading through Aquarius. “Atlas referred to me as the last of the Nereids, but he’s wrong. Lily lives.”

  “What has that got to do with the stone?”

  I sighed again. There was a knock on the door, and a nymph entered with a tray laden with three glasses of ruby-red wine and a huge plate of donuts.

  When we each had a drink and I’d practically inhaled a salted caramel delight, I continued.

  “The Oracle at Delphi told Poseidon that something called the heart of the ocean is the only way to cure the blight. And… The only way to possess the heart of the ocean is to possess the heart of a Nereid.”

  Persephone looked at me a long moment, then took a deep drink of her wine.

  I decided to do the same. “Fuck, that’s tasty,” I muttered.

  “So Poseidon married you for this heart of the ocean?”

  “Yeah. Then he hid me, so nobody could steal me from him.”

  “What a prick,” she murmured.

  “Yes!” I exclaimed, as Galatea tutted loudly. “But anyway, it didn’t work. He doesn’t have his heart of the ocean.” I took one more massive breath and turned square on to Galatea. “I may as well tell you this. Poseidon knows already, and… Well it’s probably just easier that you know.”

  She looked at me warily. “What?”

  “I’m broken.” I swallowed, then took another big gulp of delicious wine. “I have no power. The nautilus shell tattoo of a Nereid should be filled with color, like my sister’s. My hair should be bright blue and my skin shiny like pearls.”

  I took another swig of wine, and realized I had never said those words out loud before.

  “I should be able to control water, to long to be in it, to have an affinity with the ocean. I don’t. I can’t do anything with it. I can’t even hold my breath longer than a human.”

  It was as though I was letting out over two decades of a dirty secret, and I couldn’t stop.

  “My sister went to the academy, and she was amazing. Her water magic rivaled a god’s. That’s who Poseidon was supposed to marry to get his heart of the ocean.” I let out a long breath. “He married the wrong sister.”

  Galatea blinked at me, then drained her own glass. “You have no magic,” she repeated.

  “Uh-uh.”

  “And you survived the first Trial?”

  That wasn’t what I had expected her to say. I nodded. “Yeah. With help. Poseidon spoke to me when that fish lured me in, and he saved me from the storm.”

  “Almi, the fact that you even showed up with no magic is insane!”

  “It’s not like I had much choice,” I mumbled.

  “I admire your bravery. Both in the Trials and in telling us this now.”

  “You… You do?” I had never been admired before.

  “Yes. But we do now have a massive problem.”

  “Yes, we do,” said Persephone. “If the only way to wake your sister up is with the heart of the ocean, and the only way to get it is for Poseidon to marry her…”

  “Can you marry an unconscious person?”

  “No. I’m pretty sure that’s not a thing.”

  “Shit.”

  Galatea stood and topped up our wine glasses from a tall bottle that looked no emptier than when she had started.

  “Can we awaken your powers somehow?” Persephone asked hopefully.

  “I can’t tell you how much I would love that. But I wouldn’t know where to start. Lily could never get them to show.”

  “What is the heart of the ocean anyway? Didn’t the little old lady throw it into the sea at the end?”

  The explosion of warmth I felt for the woman sitting beside me caused me to grip her arm. “You should have seen the look on Poseidon’s face when I said the same thing to him,” I said.

  Persephone snorted as she laughed, then gave a small squeal as she nearly spilled her wine. I couldn’t help laughing with her.

  “What is funny?” asked Galatea.

  Through giggles, we tried to explain the movie Titanic to Galatea. “That sounds like a very sad way to spend three hours,” she said.

  I nodded. “Yeah. Totally worth it though.”

  Persephone nodded. “Die-hard romantics don’t get it much better.”

  “I do not have time for romance,” Galatea said, a little sadly.

  There was a flash of white light that made all of us jump in surprise, then Hades was standing beside the couch.

  “Poseidon is resting. He will be fully recovered in a few hours,” he said.

  “By fully recovered, do you mean-”

  Hades shook his head, ending my question before I finished it. “She is not able to cure the blight. As she did before, she can keep it from taking his whole body, but only as long as he does not exert so much power again.”

  “How is he supposed to win the Trials without exerting power?” asked Galatea, a new expression of concern covering her stern face.

  “A very good question. And one I have no answer for.”

  “When is the next Trial?” asked Persephone.

  Hades scowled. “If he knows Poseidon is injured, then Atlas will start it soon, so he has less time to recover.”

  Nerves fluttered through my gut, and I reached for another donut in an effort to settle my stomach. The thought of facing another Trial…

  “Almi.”

  I turned to Hades as he said my name.

  “He asked to see you.”

  4

  ALMI


  Poseidon was lying in a bed much like the one in my guest room. In fact, the whole room looked very similar to the one I was staying in. But I didn’t take much time to check out the decor. My focus was entirely on the god of the ocean.

  I found myself moving fast to his bedside, gaze locked on his face. His eyes fluttered open as I reached him, and he moved, sitting up. The sheets fell away from his completely bare chest, and I paused, suddenly awkward.

  “Hi,” I said, raising a hand, then feeling really stupid.

  “You saved me.” His serious face burned with rigid control.

  “Yeah, I guess. Couldn’t have done it without Blue.”

  “Why?”

  I couldn’t help a small laugh at the irony of his question. “Now you know how I feel,” I said.

  His fierce blue eyes softened. “I mean it. I thought nothing was more important than your sister. If you had died trying to save me, then your sister would not be saved either.”

  A ripple of fear moved through my whole body at the truth of his words.

  “You saved me a bunch of times,” I said quietly. “I was just returning the favor.”

  Energy seemed to thrum around the room, and I couldn’t help drinking in the rich, tanned tone of his skin, savoring the lack of granite stone. Last time I’d seen him… “I knew you weren’t dead,” I blurted out. “I don’t know how, but I knew you were alive inside the stone.”

  “I was not conscious,” he replied, his lips barely moving.

  “How do you know I saved you then?”

  “Hades told me. Almi, you are connected to this blight somehow.”

  “I don’t know about that, but I know…” I bit my lip, trying to work out how to say what I was thinking. “I know I am connected to you somehow, and you to me. Why else would you have agreed to the Trials to save my life in the first place? And why risk your success in the first Trial to save me from the storm? It’s for the same reason I went in after you, isn’t it?”

  He took a slow breath, chest expanding. I kept my eyes on his. “We have a bond, yes.”

  “What kind of bond?”

  He frowned at me. “I know it was almost a decade ago, but I assume you haven’t forgotten us being married in front of Hera?”

  I gave him my best scowl back. “Yeah, women forget their wedding days often,” I replied sarcastically, fisting my hand on my hip. “You’re saying the marriage is what’s causing us to want to save each other?” I emphasized the word save and hoped it wasn’t obvious that, on my part, it could easily have been substituted with a number of other words. Especially when he was shirtless.

  “Yes.” Emotion flickered in his eyes, too fast for me to decipher.

  I was tired, I realized, emotionally and physically, and I decided to change the subject, unwilling and unable to process the notion of marriage bonds. “Can I have some more of those vials before the next Trial, please?”

  “Yes. I can’t conjure them now. I need to wait for my strength to return.”

  “Thanks.” I bit my lip again.

  “Thank you,” he said, his voice deep and sincere.

  I raised my eyebrows. “You’re, erm, welcome.”

  “Why do you have a starfish on your shoulder?”

  I froze. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He gave me a look, and I sighed resignedly. “He’s my friend.” I looked down at my chest. “Kryvo, you’ve been busted.” The starfish remained silent, and camouflaged, but I could feel his warmth on my skin. “I think he’s too shy to say hello,” I told Poseidon.

  “Hades said you were seen talking to someone the whole Trial. Was it the starfish?”

  I flushed. It hadn’t occurred to me that I was being broadcast. “Yeah."

  “Does he talk back?” Poseidon was speaking to me like I was some sort of crazy person, which led me to believe that he didn’t know the starfish was part of his own palace. Did that mean he didn’t know the starfish could spy on him through the other statues?

  Thinking fast, I decided on a partially true answer. “Yes. But he doesn’t say much. He’s sort of an emotional support starfish.”

  Poseidon frowned at me. “You are odd. Very, very odd.”

  “Gotta be odd to be number one,” I grinned at him, reciting a favorite mantra.

  He shook his head, but I was certain the corner of his mouth quirked up a tiny bit. “I think there is little chance of either of us being number one right now. I am unable to use my full power due to this accursed blight and the loss of my trident. We must come up with a new plan to win these Trials.”

  “I’m not here to win,” I said, shaking my head.

  He stared at me a long moment before speaking, and I concentrated on not looking at his nipples. “Then perhaps we can try something different for the next Trial.”

  “What did you have in mind?”

  “If you stay where I can see you, I will not have to worry about rescuing you all the time.”

  I opened my mouth to defend my sorry ass but closed it again. There was no point. I was so far out of my depth it was laughable. “You’re suggesting we work together?”

  He nodded. “Under the proviso that you are not in this to steal my trident and realm.” A hard glint shone in his eyes, the crashing waves simmering dangerously.

  I snorted. “Fuck no. I just want to wake my sister up.”

  “Then we tackle the next Trial together. Hopefully I will lose less ground, not having to keep an eye on you.”

  I folded my arms over my chest, unable to take being patronized any more. “Maybe I’ll be the one saving you next time.”

  As if. But I had done it once—I’d milk that for everything it was worth.

  One of his brows rose, and he folded his own arms, making his pecs tense. “Stay out of trouble, don’t slow me down, and we might stand a chance of you surviving, and me winning,” he growled.

  5

  POSEIDON

  I watched Almi leave, my jaw working as she cast a small glance back over her shoulder at me.

  “Fuck,” I swore, once she had closed the door behind her.

  She was getting too close to the truth. Too close to the real reason I’d had to leave her alone in the human realm for all that time.

  But I couldn’t beat the blight without her.

  I needed her close to me.

  6

  ALMI

  It was both a relief, and a burden, to be alone in my room at last. I climbed up onto the bed to open the window as soon as I’d set Kryvo on his little cushion.

  Slumping onto the pillows, I let out a long breath.

  I’d survived.

  And now, I had to talk to Lily.

  I couldn’t escape the fact that something had changed. It wasn’t just me and her anymore. Poseidon was linked to me, and I him.

  “Lily?” I closed my eyes and sank as far as I could into the pillows behind me.

  Almi. Kindness laced the single word as her image appeared in my mind.

  “I’m sorry. I risked your life today.”

  You’ve been risking your life for me forever. Today you did something for you. I’m pleased.

  “Really? In what way was that doing something for me?”

  She laughed, the sound tinkling. It made me feel warmer, safer. You know, you are odd. You faced some of the most terrifying things in this realm today, and you were incredible. You were brave, resourceful, smart… You survived a Trial meant for gods.

  “I guess.”

  And here you are, only thinking about one thing.

  “Poseidon,” I said on a sigh.

  He is your husband, she said, a playful smile on her lips.

  “This doesn’t worry you? This weird freaking need we both have to look out for each other?”

  Her image in my mind frowned. You think I’m worried that one of the three most powerful Olympians in the world feels compelled to keep saving my little sister’s life?

  “Huh. Well, when you put it that way, it doesn’
t sound so bad. Except I did it, too. Plus, he’s not that powerful right now. He’s sick. Like you.”

  Her expression softened. You need to ask him about Atlantis. Together, I think you can both do a lot more.

  I nodded. I knew she was right. “Do you think his dragon would see you?

  No. Dragons are crazy rare, and crazy dangerous. Hades made it clear you had to be Olympian royalty to see her. And besides, she has no cure.

  I nodded again, already knowing that was true. Opening my eyes, I pulled out the little sketchbook. “I’m going to draw the last few days,” I told her. “Just in case.”

  Just in case what?

  “I need to see it again.”

  Good idea, she said, the playful smile back. Make sure you include that kiss.

  “Lily!”

  She shrugged. It might be important.

  It was important. I already knew that. My whole freaking body knew that.

  We were both quiet as I made bad pencil sketches in the little book of everything that had happened since I’d arrived back in Aquarius.

  When I was done, I stretched, tiredness from the day coursing over me.

  “I wonder what the next Trial will be?” I mused aloud as I undressed for bed.

  Kryvo’s squeaky voice answered. “Hopefully something you can do alongside Poseidon.”

  “Do you like him?” I asked the starfish, sitting down at the dresser and loosening my tight braid.

  “He scares me. But I think he can offer a good alternative to hiding.”

  I smiled at him. “Good summary. I feel similarly.”

  I looked at the mirror to check how much of my braid was undone, and my breath caught as my eyes snagged on color.

  Not the purple streaks in my hair, but color on my skin.

  My tattoo was clear on my chest above my bandeau vest, and the very center of the spiral of the shell was blue, the color leaking into turquoise before fading away like a watercolor painting.

  “Lily! Lily, my shell!”

  The center has color. My sister’s voice was tight with what I hoped was excitement.