Page 86 of Hunters and Prey

Chapter 12

Within fifteen minutes of reaching Atlantic City, enough doubt surfaced for Elpis to question her recent life choices. Until, of course, she remembered three key points Cosmas had practically engraved into her mind: a dozen qualified officers remained behind to divide her responsibilities among them during her absence, Atlantis had no shortage of trained medics, and she’d yet to schedule a single day away from command since her promotion. Even Manu occasionally took a week away from the city to go deep sea hunting with friends in the underwater wilderness.

Eldeserved the time away. Atlantis would not collapse without her. She was one cog in the smoothly oiled machine that was their military, and the others would make do without her.

That became her mantra while Mrs. Holly, a chipper human liaison from the paranormal embassy, described the landmarks along the hour-long drive to Philadelphia. The magical kingdoms had a hundred such people planted throughout the United States, and even more in other nations across the world. They served a noble purpose by assisting magical beings with blending into society when they visited the human world.

Elpis stole another glance at her sociable driver.Thus far,Mrs. Holly had been a kind but nosy companion, her friendly face surrounded by shoulder-length, graying dreadlocks.

“Are you nice and warm, sweetie?” Her hand hovered by the minivan’s air vents.

“Very,” Elpis replied, glancing down at her woolen leggings and the oversized maroon University of Pennsylvania sweatshirt swallowing her upper body. It smelled like a man; hints of tobacco—a long ago outlawed product in Atlantis—cologne, and laundry soap chemicals clung to the garment. Not that she needed them. Mers shared many physical traits with humans, but their magical origins gave them a high tolerance for frigid water and the ability to adapt to incredible high pressure under the sea. It pleased her to discover those qualities took the edge off the cold air.

But what mattered most was that she was warm and could have fallen asleep in the passenger seat if underlying excitement didn’t buzz through her bones.

Aside from her role as part of Lady Zeta’s protective detail and the occasional visit to a beach to enjoy the sand, El never journeyed to the surface. She certainly never considered staying above water for more than a few days, and that long car ride gave her ample time to fret over what the hell she was doing. The jitters took full control, gnawing through her stomach and flooding her belly with anxiety while she wondered what it would be like to walk on dry land for days without feeling the salt water on her skin.

It’s only for a week. If I hate it, I’ll never have to do it again.

If she hated it, she’d also likely never see Matt again.

“This is so exciting. It’s such a pleasure to do this for you, Miss Elpis. You’re the first of your kind I’ve ever met—well, no, I did meet a very handsome nobleman last year, but I wasn’t assigned to his case. I just happened to be there filling out some paperwork. Shame. I could have ogled him allday. Such an attractive man. The bluest eyes I’ve ever seen, with green starbursts—”

“Have you done this often for others?”

“No, not at all.First and last time I received a call from the embassy, it was to help an elf. From what I was told, most mers happen to pass through San Diego or Galveston when they come on dry land. No one ever wants to come to Atlantic City.”

“Oh.”

“Considering you’re from Atlantis, I’d have thought that would be the most popular choice. So, what brings you here?”

Elpis tucked a loose curl behind her ear and gazed out the window. “I’m meeting an acquaintance. He offered to show me the surface realm.”

Mrs. Holly’s eyes lit with interest. “Ah. A male friend,” she said, making a small “mmhmm” sound afterward that told Elpis the older woman knew exactly why a mer would leave the ocean behind when a man was involved. “As great a reason as any. You’re going to love Philadelphia. It’s not the most glamorous time of the year to be in the city, with all of the snow we’re due this weekend, but it has a certain grace of its own.”

“This is the first time I’ve ever seen snow. It’s…not unbearable.”

“Good. That’s real good, honey. I don’t suppose your people catch the common cold, but there’s still no reason to tempt fate.”

Elpis smiled.

The remainder of the drive passed in casual conversation about landmarks and places Elpis should ask to see while touring Philly with “her gentleman friend” throughout the week. She liked Mrs. Holly’s accent, the rich and warm rhythm of it reminding her of an imported romantic comedy she’d watched years ago in Atlantis about about a young woman returning to her roots in the north. Or was it the south? Wherever Alabama belonged.

At the end of their journey, they reached a historic hotel not far from the city center, a place El’s Atlantian travel agent had to pay top dollar to book for her on short notice. “And here’s your hotel where you’ll be staying. It’s a nice enough place, I suppose, but if you ever need to get away from the city, I have plenty of space and don’t mind putting you up.”

Though it tempted her, Elpis shook her head. “Thank you for the kind offer, but a friend suggested there was no better way to get the complete experience than to explore the heart of the city for a time. Full immersion.”

“Ah.” Mrs. Holly nodded and passed a gold-encased phone across the van’s center console. “I understand. Well, if you need anything, give me a ring. This is the mobile assigned to you for the duration of your stay on the surface. My number is already programmed into it, as is the contact information to the embassy, and the number of your human sponsor.”

Elpis slipped the delicate device into her sharkskin bag. “Thank you for your kindness and the drive.”

And then she turned to meet the approaching doorman, praying she wasn’t making one of the biggest mistakes of her life by leaving the ocean behind for a liaison with a mortal man.

In the hour following her arrival to Thompson House Hotel, Elpis unpacked one of her bags and reassembled her spear.She couldn’t bear the idea of being completely unarmed while among humans and had placed its pieces in the bottom of a stylish, oversized handbag her mother had gifted her a year ago.She hated purses as much as she loathed Atlantian couture, tastes more similar to her ecclesiastic father than noble mother when it came to fashion. Leggings, a shell cuirass, and the occasional corset made up her primary wardrobe. And even the latter adorned her only in rare circumstances when she wanted to head out for a night on the town with her boys.

Elpis frowned, wondering if all those hours spent alongside men who could never be with her had been a waste of time.

No. They hadn’t. Because her pals were more than the dicks in their pants, and had given her many worthwhile, beautiful, and incomparable friendships. The small ache Manu had left behind after their uneventful one-night stand had finally healed into a tough little scar. She didn’t think about him at night anymore or wonder what she’d done wrong—because she deserved better and because she hadn’tdone anything wrong. Manu’s problems were his own issues, and nothing to do with her.

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