Читать книгу Tane - Sheonna Hill - Страница 12

Chapter 6

Leia

Natal dragged me to dinner that night. She said it was time to quit hiding out. I know she was right, plus I really needed to find out as much as I could about what the next step was in preparing for the war to come. Yet, I was still hesitant about seeing Tane again. It seems like every time I see him I am making a fool of myself one way or another.

I walk in the door and see everyone already seated around the table with father at the head and Rita on his left. Delphine is seated next to her with the head sentry guard next to him, on his right is Proteus, and next to him is Tane. I blush when I see him looking up at me. I was a complete mumbling fool when I saw him earlier. There are two seats open next to Tane, so Natal grabs my arm and walks me around the table to the open seating. She practically shoves me into the seat next to Tane. I see him about to stand before I am shoved the rest of the way in the seat. She takes the other open seat next to me at the end. Now she is on the other side of my father where I normally sit.

I look over at Tane. He gives me a small smile and nod as he goes back to eating. A servant comes over and starts to fill my plate along with Natal’s. She is already flirting with the sentry guard and he is looking starry-eyed at her. Not really paying attention to their conversation, I start to slowly eat, though I’m not hungry. I also listen to my father and Delphine go back and forth on possible enemies that would want a war. Proteus offers ideas as well. Then my father asks what they should consider the next step. Tane puts down his fork, “I did a perimeter sweep around the realm today, and there are a lot of weak spots that we need to fill in.”

“Weak spots? What do you mean?” my father asks him.

“For starters, I had half of the guard go further out from the edges of your realm, so if they see something, they can alert us in advance of a pending attack. We also need more sentries to swim between the weak spots until we are able to recruit more allies or have the myr-families in the realm alert to the possible threat that we are expecting.”

“I prefer my myr families to be left out of this.”

“I understand why you would want to; however, you are also putting their lives in danger if they don’t know what to expect.”

“I can tell when someone enters my realm; there is no need to have them on alert.”

“It is great that you can tell when someone enters. Can you tell who it is?”

“No, but if there is a threat toward me, I can tell. They have a different energy I can pick up on if they bring bad intentions toward someone in the realm. That is why we are not bothering myr-families here.”

“Father, I agree with Tane. They have all heard rumors. It will help to have extra eyes on the lookout, plus it will calm their fears to know we are doing everything we can to keep them safe.”

“Leia, there is no reason for you to worry or fear for the myr here. We have this handled between us, so there is no reason to drag others into this situation and cause a panic.”

His stubborn ass will never see that extra help and eyes on the upcoming war would be helpful. The almighty Poseidon can take care of everything. “Don’t worry your pretty little head, Leia,” I mock to myself. Yeah, sadly it doesn’t matter if they are a young myr or my supposedly old father; men are all the same and think they can handle everything on their own. I want to throw my plate at his head and see if he can see it coming as well.

All of a sudden I feel a warm hand on my knee and it squeezes me reassuringly. I look to Tane and he gives me a strong nod as if he is agreeing with me. I give him a shy smile, feeling my cheeks turn red. He removes his hand and I can still feel the heat where he had squeezed, making my whole body tingle.

My father, Proteus, and Delphine continue talking. I just keep quiet and listen the best I can while they murmur in low tones.

Soon, dinner is over, and everyone is getting up to leave. Of course, father is leaning toward Rita, speaking softly in her ear. She smiles and acts coquettish; she has a smirk on her face. She turns to the rest of the group as she is still listening to my father whisper in her ear and I lock gazes with her, raising my left eyebrow to let her know I will not stand for her to hurt my father again. My facial expression must have said even more, because she loses her smirk and I see her swallow hard. She nods ever so slightly to me as if she understands.

I turn to leave and feel a hand grasp my own. Tane leans to my ear and whispers, “May I escort you back to your rooms?” I smile and nod to him. I wrap my hand around his large bicep, feeling him flex at my touch, and let him lead us out of the dining room. I see Natal notice us leaving together and she gives me a small smile that says “told you so.” Instead of coming with me to my chambers as our normal evening ends, she grasps Delphine’s arm and walks in a different direction.

We walk in silence back toward my rooms. We aren’t far from them when he finally speaks for the first time.

“I am happy you agree with me.”

I look at him, my mind wandering through different thoughts about his large muscles and how they could wrap around me. From the touch that still lingers from him squeezing above my knee at dinner, plus realizing how much taller he is than me, it took me a minute to realize what he was talking about. I school my features and respond.

“Thank you. My father is a stubborn, hardheaded fool who thinks he can take care of everything on his own.”

He smiles at me then, a large, beautiful smile that reaches his eyes and shows off the dimples he has in his cheeks. Wow, I thought the man was gorgeous before, but when he smiles like that there is no other who can compete with him.

“Do you often disagree with your father?” he asks me.

I chuckle at that, “No, only when he is being a stubborn ass and doesn’t listen to reason. Then I just do it myself.”

He smiles down at me as we approach my rooms. Do I really want him to leave? I would like to know why he actually talks to me and is not falling over himself to be in Natal’s presence. What could I say to get him to stay and just talk? I don’t want to seem too forward, since we’ve just met. I don’t want him to think I ask everyone back to my room. That thought makes me silently chuckle. Like there are men that fall over themselves to be with me instead of Natal. It has been at least three quarters of a century since I even had a man in my bed, and that was because Natal was gone. I was the only other goddess that was single and available at the time. Not that I think I want to jump in bed with Tane, which I don’t… to be honest I do, just not this soon. We stop at my door, and I look at his chest, since that is what’s in front of me. He is very tall and carries a strong presence compared to me. I am afraid to look up into his eyes, wondering what I can say…

“Would you like to go swim? It’s still early, and I can show you what I was thinking about the weaknesses around the realm.” His comment stops my rambling thoughts and he gives me the perfect reason to talk and get to spend a little more time in his presence.

I look up into those deep blue eyes, “Love to, we can go through my water chamber.”

I open my door and we walk into my main room. It’s a small sitting room with my bed off to the left on a raised platform. I turn right to go into the water chamber. It’s always lit in a soft glow from some of the glowing fish that stay next to the dome. I walk over to the steps that lead down into the pool.

I pull my skirting up to my thighs as I step down on the first underwater step and sit. Within a passing thought, my legs turn to my fin. In a blink my dress disappears, and all that is left is my silver top, which some mortals would call a halter top but it sticks to my upper body so it’s easy to swim in, and I am not exposing myself to anyone.

He steps next to me and pulls up his loose white pants, showing off strong calves, as his feet touch water. He pulls his tunic off his chest and sets it aside next to the pool, then his pants disappear, and a fin is in their place. Humans would never be able to track the moment we shift; it is faster than a blink of the eye. Without thought, I reach over and touch his scales. The black and red color draws me to it, wanting to touch and see if it is as warm as it looks. I see him shiver as I make contact. I stop and pull my hand away, blushing because I know firsthand that our scales are as sensitive as a person’s skin is.

“I apologize. I didn’t mean to be so forward.” I know my whole upper body is blushing.

“No apologies needed. Out of curiosity, why did you?”

You can hear the huskiness in his tone.

I like that he is so straightforward. “I have never seen scales your color. They look like they are on fire. The dark black and shades of blue with the brightness of the red is mesmerizing to look at. I just wondered if they are warm as they appear.”

He chuckles at my comment. He grabs my hand, brings the back of it to his soft lips, and kisses it. His warm breath with the touch of his lips sends butterflies to my stomach. Then he brings my hand back down to the scales on his fin. He is warm, not hot like the fire his scales would make you think they were. I look into his eyes as I stroke the scales. His pupils dilate and his breathing is harsher. I can’t believe I have this effect on someone as beautiful as this man next to me. Or that I am being this forward to a person I am just getting to know.

Before this goes anywhere more interesting and makes me look like I spread my thighs to everyone, I stop and give a small smile. “Come on, let’s see what you have to show me so I can let those I visit know where to be on the lookout for strangers.”

He smiles. He still has the look of hunger in his eyes. He grabs my hand, gives it a small squeeze, and we dive down into the water together.

Tane

It’s a good thing that she stopped when she did. I don’t think I would have been able to keep my hands to myself much longer. I wanted to grab her and give her the kiss that those beautiful lips were begging for. I swear her touch seared all the way down to my immortal soul. Her blushing was a beautiful sight to see. She has an innocence about her along with the strength I have already witnessed. I’ve never met a goddess that had me this fascinated before. As we swim together around the realm, I point out different areas that could be an issue, like some old buildings that are in shambles that could be easy to hide behind and not be seen by patrol. Where did some of this architecture come from? Some look like statues and some are old arches that are strategically placed throughout the realm, I ask her.

Those were brought in by different myr-families throughout the centuries. They were from Atlantis, and since some of the architecture was so beautiful, they brought it to the realm so we can appreciate it. Of course, my father set it up in different places so it would still resemble what Atlantis looked like before his siblings sank it. Guess mortals learned that if you pissed off the twelve gods back then there were repercussions. They all died and the story about the “Myth of Atlantis” is still told by mortals!

I agree mortals want to find the lost city of Atlantis to this day.

Hard to find a city that all the other myr-families took apart once it reached the ocean floor. They will only find an ocean floor and never know they are above where Atlantis was.

At times so many mortals today think they can rule the world and be worshipped, maybe the twelve should teach them another lesson to be remembered.

Sadly, mortals think of us as myths just like Atlantis, and the war of Troy that happened. We are not real to them anymore. Maybe if we were, things would become simpler, yet mortal man would try and wage another war with us trying to prove they are more powerful and hurt other mortals in the process. We cannot be the reason to start a world war that causes helpless mortals to die for other men’s ambition.

Leia, you know they are already doing that to each other now, women, children, elderly, all dying for no reason.

I know it is hard to sit back and not do anything. Father talks to his siblings and they all believe Hades is the one stirring up all the animosity going on with the mortals. They don’t know what to do.

Sadly, we can only hope that throughout history with all the violence and wars that have happened since the beginning of time, at some point mortals would want a world of peace and not of fighting or following those who want to. That they can one day make a stand against their oppressor and learn that fear is something they can fight. We can only hope that they will see that and end the violence that threatens the world before they destroy the rest of the world so that no one can live on it.

I know. It’s just sad to see the world of mortals the way it has turned out in the last few centuries.

Let’s get our minds away from the depressing thoughts and swim around the realm once to make sure all looks normal before calling it a night.

I would love that; it is hard to keep up with you though. Even in just your myr-form you are a fast.

Well then, how about I turn to my dragon form and you can hold on.

She smiles at me, blushing from my request. Then she nods to me to continue, so I move back some from her, since my other form is much larger, and I change forms. I turn my head to look at her. She is slowly eyeing me from the top of my head to my tail. She swims over to me, slowly reaching out her hand, I guess afraid to touch me. I swivel my head quickly and pretend to nip at her hand. She jerks back quickly at my reaction. Her eyes are huge and I can see her heart beat quickly in her chest. I laugh, seeing her calm and smirk at me. She swims close and swats my back fin in retaliation. Hold on, beautiful. Grab onto my small back fin, I will do the rest.

I take off and I can feel her grip my fin harder to hold on. I start to swim around the edges of the kingdom, propelling us through the water. I start to swim in loops, flipping us up and down as we go around. I can hear her laughter at the flips. I can feel her lay her head on my back. It is a very soothing effect she has over me; she is able to give a calming sensation that can travel through my whole form. I stop flipping and just feel her lay atop my back, holding tight to the small fin. It is a wondrous feeling that she can trust me already; a sense of pride goes through me at the thought. We go through the realm and I can see the beautiful old arches that were part of Atlantis, coral that has grown into the sides of different buildings, and statues of different gods lying about as if guarding the realm. A large statue of Poseidon that has to be at least twenty feet high is in the middle of an underwater garden holding a trident that looks more like a pitchfork. There is different colored coral that looks like flowers surrounding the statue, and all different colors of fish making this their home. I can see a small group of dolphins playing through the archways. It seems as if they are chasing each other around the statue. This realm that has been created in the deep depths of the ocean by myr-families is beyond beautiful. I can see why these families have stayed here. Not only to serve and be protected by Poseidon but for the beauty they created and safe place for the myr-children. It has a peaceful look, along with the history of different cultures and things created by mortals.

We returned to where we started I don’t think she even realizes it. She is still nuzzled down on me and not moving, so I switch back to my smaller myr-form and have her in my arms. She is now lying on my chest. It takes only a minute to realize I have my arms loosely around her small frame, holding on to her, and she opens her eyes and looks at me. I can see the contentment in her eyes along with happiness. Then all of a sudden, it’s like she fully awakens and can see that I am in my other myr-form holding her. I am so sorry, I…I didn’t realize. She starts to move back. I capture her hand in mine.

No, don’t apologize! It is almost freeing, isn’t it, to just hang on for the ride and enjoy the water around you? To not worry about what can happen, just experience the complete joy of it.

She looks down at our joined hands. I have never swum that fast before. It was freeing and fun when you did those flips. I also felt cared for and safe for the first time in a long time.

Her words tear at my heart. I want to reach out and wrap her up in my arms. I know it is too soon. Last time I did anything similar to that was when I was a myr-babe and Delphine came to visit. He took me on the back of one of his dolphins to swim around. It seems like it has been a really long time since she was cared for. So instead of pulling her into my arms like I want to, I just pull her by our joined hands and head back to her water chamber. Come, it’s late, best we get inside.

We did not know that there was an enemy so close, watching the interaction from behind an old fallen pillar, waiting to strike when no one expects it. They are all fools to think we can’t get to them. Soon we will show them, and tear Poseidon down. First his heart, then his throne.

Leia

We swim under my water chamber into the pool and pull ourselves to the edge, sitting next to each other. I let the water drip from my tail, then conjure my gown and transform my fin to legs all within a single thought.

I look over and Tane has done the same, wearing white flowing pants with a tie at the waist. He stands and holds out a hand to help me rise. He conjures a tunic shirt to cover his beautiful tanned chest and his rippled abdomen. He walks toward my main chambers, still holding onto my hand as he reaches my door to exit. His other hand comes up and strokes my cheek. “Thank you for the wonderful evening and enjoyable swim. I hope, while I am here, we can get to know each other even more.”

Craziest thing is that was what I was hoping for. He fascinates me; he has enthralled me, has a playful side, and also didn’t look down on my suggestions. “I would love to spend more time with you,” I tell him honestly.

He smiles at that, “I will be looking forward to it.” He leans toward me, and I hope for the kiss that I have wanted since I first saw him, wanting to know the taste of his lips. He quickly kisses my lips, not hovering like I wish he would, just a quick peck. “Good night, beautiful, I will see you tomorrow.”

Then he turned and was gone out the door before I could respond.