Page 67 of Hunters and Prey

Her brows jumped practically into her hairline. “He brought out the leaving Atlantis trump card?”

“Yes. At last. Stood up to his father, said if the greater well-being of Atlantis was no longer the council’s concern, then he’d put in his resignation and immigrate to Pacifica.”

Elpis squealed and bounced in her seat. “I’m so angry that I missed it!”

“Leonidas called Arcadius a spineless jelly, and then the council chamber dissolved into the usual hysterics until Aegaeon brought order to it all again.”

“Did I miss anything else?”

“That’s it in a clam shell.” Manu’s smile faded, expression sobering as he gazed at her again. “Your only job is to provide the same instruction we give to our Myrmidons. I want you to work the hardest with their commanding officer. Teach him well, so he can take these lessons to the rest of their people. As I understand, there are three other squads the rest of us will divide our attention between. Even me. If this works.”

“All right. I’ll do it happily if it means I’m sticking it to some noble lord with a harpoon up his ass. When should I expect my assistance?”

“Within a day.”

Despite Elpis declaring they’d entered Atlantian waters and thatan abundance of Myrmidon patrols guaranteed the danger was over, Matteo struggled to let down his guard.

But he slept, and it was the best sleep of his life, a sleep she promised he’d need once training began. Because for some reason, his asshole general had determined the ideal way to fight this new threat to the United States was for his best men to work alongside the merpeople in some sort of mentorship program. A mentorship. That meant for twelve hours a day their asses would belong to a group of incredibly fit Atlantians wielding spears and tridents.

And this was day one, as they waited to board the Atlantian vessel to meet their new trainers. It floated on the surface beside the Salamander, an unusually shaped craft that resembled an enormous manta ray. He imagined it cut through the water like a knife, made of dark matte metal that seemed to absorb and refract the light rather than reflect it.

It was, in a word, breathtaking.

“Welcome aboard the Black Anemone,” Elpis said as a hatch raised. She gestured with one hand, an arc of water curved from the ocean toward the opening in the vessel, and then she walked down onto the fucking water like a biblical figure.

The rest of them stared.

“You sure it’s safe, Matt?” Newsome asked, voice low. “Is thatsafe?”

“The general gave express instructions for us to trust them as much as we’d trust our own human comrades. So yeah, it’s safe.” He hoped so anyway.

If it wasn’t safe, it’d make for an international—or would it be interspecies?—incident between the Atlantians and all humankind, not something either wanted when they both benefitted from working together. He and Elpis had already planned between the two of them for a handful of her men to remain aboard the Salamander to mind the researchers.

Since a leader had to lead by example, he trusted the gut instinct telling him Elpis wouldn’t make a fool of him and stepped down.

The water didn’t fail him. It was solid, though he felt the current flowing beneath his feet, almost like a magical hum. The rest of the men followed and once they all filed inside an immaculate corridor, the hatch closed. Hundreds of small blue-white lights trimmed each side of the curving passage and bathed them in a comforting glow, while voices carried to them from somewhere within the ship.

“The Black Anemone is one of our larger patrol vessels. We call them ocean gliders,” she explained while gesturing for them to follow. They trailed behind her like baby ducks without touching anything.

“Each of you will be paired with a Myrmidon. During the next six weeks, you will train together and learn what it means to battle the Gloom. This is a responsibility that has been in mer hands for centuries, but now your people have the honor of sharing our burden. Before we begin, I’ll permit you to ask any questions,” Elpis said.

A couple guys exchanged glances, and gazes drifted to Matteo. He cleared his throat. “What does this training entail?”

Her smile was brief. Sweet and genuine despite its brevity. “You will all learn to pilot coral gliders. Our smallest units seat only one or two passengers, and they are essential for hunting the Gloom. Any other questions?”

“Can I call dibs on training with you, Commander Elpis?” Banks asked.

Her laughter was equally sweet, the sound of it wrapping around Matteo’s heart like a warm hug, and he found he wanted to hear it many, many times more. That previous evening in front of a movie hadn’t been enough. “No. I have been assigned your commanding officer.”

The first day of training kicked Matteo’s ass and put him in his rack for hours to sleep off the abuse. If Elpis pitied him for being human, slower, and weaker than a superpowered Atlantian, she didn’t show it. She didn’t pull her punches and held nothing back, goading him when he hesitated to strike a woman.

It was only a split-second, but it cost him. One moment, he was debating whether to show restraint; in the next, he was on the ground and winded, staring up at the ceiling and wondering what truck had hit him. His chest hadn’t hurt so bad since an orc clobbered him in Central Park.

Then she’d had the nerve to ask if she broke him.

Fuck me,he thought, eyeing the time. He had three hours until they were due to meet with their trainers again. His men had all been put up in a dormitory shared by their Atlantian hosts, while Matteo had a stateroom of his own. He’d almost refused it, wanting to remain alongside his squad, until Elpis explained there wasn’t a man ranked above sergeant in the enlisted berths.

So he took the private room and crashed like the dead.

---