Page 6 of Taken By the Alien Triton King

I took a slow breath, steeling myself as I pressed my palms against the smooth, unfamiliar material of the console. It was no use—I had been at this for too long, and I still couldn’t make sense of the alien interface Kaerius had left me with. The symbols flickered in patterns that made my head ache, and though I could tell the system was waiting for some kind of input, I had no idea what it was asking for.

A sigh escaped me. If I couldn’t access the USSLegacy’slogs, I would have no way of confirming whether we carried the strange fuel Kaerius wanted. And if I couldn’t find that, I would have no leverage. My communicator wasn’t working—I had already tried—but it stubbornly refused to get a signal. I suspected the large amount of water and metal surrounding me had something to do with it.

My eyes flickered toward the door. Had he locked me in? It seemed likely, but there was only one way to find out. Rising from the console, I crossed the room, hesitating for a brief second before pressing my palm against the door’s surface. Iwasn’t sure what I’d do if I discovered I was locked in, but it would be further evidence that Kaerius did not trust me. To my surprise, it slid open immediately, revealing the four fancily clad Ondrithar I’d seen earlier. The woman was in the lead—the one whom Kaerius had previously slammed the door on. I suspected these were some kind of officials; they sure looked pompous enough for it, and they did not look pleased.

My stomach clenched with nerves as I met their serious gazes one by one. I felt like a bug under the microscope—worse than what I imagined my plant samples would hypothetically feel like when I peered at them. Not that plants had feelings—I knew that, even if I did have a tendency to talk to them. The tallest of them, a man with deep blue streaks in his pale blond hair, narrowed his eyes at me. “You should not be here.”

I took a step back, and inside me, I felt that fight-or-flight response engage. So far, my body had picked the third option—freeze—each time. The Ondrithar king had that kind of effect on me. This guy, though, pushed my buttons the wrong way, scraping my nerves until I felt like I was rattling inside my skin. “Kaerius left me here to work on something. If you have a problem with that, take it up with him.” I sounded cool and firm, and I was extremely proud of myself for how I lifted my chin and gave him my best glare. Until I learned otherwise, I was going to assume Kaerius wanted my company and wanted my help, which made me a guest, not a prisoner. The unlocked door confirmed that line of thinking.

Another advisor scoffed—an older one, his hair long and gray. “You believe you hold his favor, human? You are nothing more than a complication.” His stare was even less tactful—forget a bug under a microscope, this guy was glaring at me with utterdisdain. Suddenly, I wasn’t so sure I wanted Kaerius to mean it when he called me “mine” or “mate.” His people didn’t seem on board with that kind of thing. Come to think of it, I wasn’t sure if mine would be either—though I was certain my bosses on the USSLegacywould gladly let me sleep with whoever or whatever if it meant securing land.

My stomach turned at the thought, and the unwelcome glaring and posturing stung more than it should have. I lifted my chin, refusing to let them see any weakness. “If I’m a complication, then maybe you should let me get back to my work and stop wasting my time.” I wasn’t even sure what I was supposed to be doing if I couldn’t get the console behind me to work, but they didn’t need to know that. Imogen or one of the other girls would surely know, but they were not here. I was going to ask Kaerius about them the next time I saw him because I hated not knowing what had happened to any of the others.

It seemed these stuck-ups weren’t a fan of my talking back; their expressions darkened. Before any of them could speak, a noise drew all our eyes to the back of the throne room, where the entrance pool sat, surrounded by glowing blue and yellow light. Two males were rising from the water, their bodies shifting from their waterforms of green or blue scales to tan, muscular, two-legged bodies. They had tridents strapped to their backs, their skirt-thingies were black, and a green band sat snugly around each bicep. They looked like soldiers—oddly bare, as you’d expect soldiers to wear armor, but I supposed their scales would function as armor when they shifted.

I glanced from the pair and their dark, undecipherable expressions to the stuffy advisors. The woman looked surprised, and then she turned to frown at the gray-haired male,whispering in low tones to him, low enough that I could not understand a word she said. I hadn’t liked any of them, but I was liking these surprise visitors—and the unrest from the woman—even less. I had a sinking feeling they were here for me, and it wasn’t a social visit. Had Kaerius sent them? I only had to look at their mean expressions to come up with an implacable no. Kaerius was not one to let others do his dirty work. If he wanted something of me, he’d take it himself.

The lead guard fixed me with a firm stare. “Come with us.” I stepped back, shaking my head, and my hand went to the small of my back, fingers brushing over the sharp seashell I’d tucked into the folds of my dress. It was not the same as a knife—a little clumsy to hold—but it was the best weapon I had. If that guy tried to grab me, I was going to use it. I did not like his tone, and I really didn’t like the way he and his buddy were looking at me.

“Why?” I demanded. My worry increased when I realized that the older guy had moved the woman aside, and though she was casting worried glances at the guards, she was letting the man mollify her. Well, I wasn’t mollified. This felt like it could become a life-or-death situation in a hurry.

“The king has summoned you,” the advisor to my left said, cutting in. “You would do well to obey.” He was lying—I knew it with absolute certainty—though I couldn’t explain how I knew. My eyes flicked from his face and the streaks in his pale hair to the panel at the side of the door. Could I close it and lock it? I wasn’t sure how it worked; it was as foreign as the console with its stupid floating fuel particle had been earlier.

My instincts screamed at me that something wasn’t right, but what choice did I have? If this was truly Kaerius’s summons,resisting would be pointless. And if it wasn’t, I had no way to fight them off. That little shell-knife thing wasn’t going to do much more than piss them off. Suppressing the shudder creeping up my spine, I nodded once and followed them.

Letting these two muscle-bound guards close in on my sides, flanking me like a prisoner, was hard. Harder still was following the remaining two councilmen to the pool exit. They wanted me to go into the water with them, and every instinct in my body told me that was a death sentence. Not only was this much water still a little daunting and foreign to me, but I had mastered no more than the basics of swimming. I would be out of my element while they were in theirs.

I stopped short at the edge of the water, my dress swishing against my legs with the abrupt motion, my toes already touching the cool water. “Where is Kaerius?” I wanted to know where they were taking me. The two fancily dressed advisors ignored me, stepping into the water ahead and sliding smoothly beneath the surface and into the tunnel. The guards also didn’t answer. Instead, the one closest to me reached out and grabbed my wrist. Panic surged through me. “Let go of me! Where are you taking me?”

The grip on my arm tightened as they pulled me toward the pool, the dark water gleaming like oil under the chamber’s lights. I fought them, digging in my heels, but they were too strong. My feet slipped on the damp floor as they dragged me toward the inky depths.

Cold fear crashed over me. This wasn’t right. This wasn’t some diplomatic summons—they were trying to get rid of me. The water swallowed my feet first, then my thighs. My heart poundedagainst my ribs. I struggled harder, thrashing against their grip, but it was useless. They were going to drown me. That’s what it felt like when the water closed over my head, and they began to drag me with them through the tunnel. That’s what would have happened if not for whatever serum Kaerius had injected me with.

Unlike the earlier swim, which had seemed marvelous and bright, full of discovery and adventure, this one was dark and fast. I could not free myself from their hold on my arms, and with their tails, they rapidly propelled us through tunnel after tunnel. My lungs ached as they dragged fluid into them and somehow turned it into something I could breathe. My eyes burned as I struggled to keep them open and make sense of what we passed. And then, we were suddenly outside.

I could not put into words what it felt like to lift my head and gaze up at the endless water stretching above me. The beauty that lay in the shafts of light that petered down from the surface. Everywhere I looked, I saw Ondrithar people hurrying to and fro, their magnificent tails resplendent in every color of the rainbow, their bodies lithe and graceful as they appeared to dance through the water. Nobody paid attention to me or to the guards that held my arms. They were right there, above me, in the distance, but they might as well have been dancers on a screen for all the notice they gave me.

I forgot to struggle when the guards hauled me after the pair of advisors swimming ahead of us. The older male had stayed behind, possibly to distract or convince the woman they were doing the right thing. These two were swimming with their heads stuck close together, murmuring words as they moved. Ifthe guards already knew where they were taking me, they did not let on, simply dragging me in the wake of their bosses.

My eyes were on the corals—bright and beautiful—and the seaweeds and other plant life that grew everywhere I looked. It was lovely, it sparked my curiosity, but it did not outweigh my survival sense. They were dragging me to my death—I knew it—and not even the beautiful plant life down here could distract me from that certainty.

Then we were moving through what seemed like rows of hedges, only they were made of thick, red kelp. Now, I could no longer see the other Ondrithar gracefully darting through the sunlit water, and I felt utterly alone. If Kaerius knew I was in trouble, he’d come for me—I was certain of that—but how would he know? He wouldn’t… not unless he’d gone looking for me and hadn’t found me in the room where he’d left me. Unlikely. He was a king; he was probably super busy. Forget help—I had to figure out how to escape. But at the moment, those two guards were holding me in iron grips, as surely as if they had shackled me.

The red kelp made way for another stretch of reef; this verdant green and red display of life was perched right on the edge of the sea shelf. Beyond, dark water loomed, and they brought me right to the edge. I had a feeling they were about to throw me down there. I could feel currents pull on me, heavy and strong. If not for the pair of guys holding me in place, I was pretty sure that current would have swept me away. My stomach certainly felt like it had swept out on the tide and plunged straight into that nightmarish abyss.

I thought they might say something; the pair of advisors looked like the type that loved to hear the sound of their own voices. It wasn’t the water that stopped them from talking—I knew they could talk underwater because I’d heard it. I’d had an entire conversation underwater—weird but enlightening—with Kaerius earlier today. Nobody said a word, however, as they hauled me to the edge; I was out of chances.

Craning my head left and right, I felt my stomach flip again when I saw something dark oozing over the edge nearby. That looked like tar, and the nearest coral was disappearing. Nobody was nearby who could help me—no sign of Kaerius. Twisting suddenly in the grip of the left guard, I angled my head right and bit hard on his scale-covered arm. I doubted it hurt him; it certainly sent a shock of pain through my jaw, but it did startle him. He released my arm and hissed, but that was all the opening I needed. My hand darted to my back, yanking out the silly shell with the razor-sharp edge. I could not hesitate now, no matter how distasteful it was. I slashed at the other guard, digging my toes into the sand as I did so.

Chaos erupted. He let me go, blood curling red and vibrant through the water. Bubbles streamed from my mouth as I shouted, but the water muted it—or maybe it was just that the current grabbed me and sent me spinning. The abyss opened up beneath me as I was swept out—darkness below, sunlight above. Coldness filled me, surrounded me, as the current pushed me down. In the dark, the water was icy. This was it. I’d waited too long to attempt an escape, and now I was dead.

Just as the realization took hold, a familiar voice rang out—sharp and furious. “Stop!” I recognized that voice, knew it by heart even though I’d only known him for a short time. I couldnot see him, spinning and tumbling down into the darkness as I was. I imagined he looked mighty furious as he confronted the guards and his advisers, but this current… it was too late for me.

Even with such fatalistic thoughts swimming through my head, I fought against that fate, my limbs flailing as I struggled against the current, my body rapidly sapped of strength due to the cold. And then I saw a flash of something blue and silver—it plunged through the water above me, cutting it like a knife. It was him, webbed hands moving in powerful strokes, his tail propelling him in ways my human body never could. He was on me in seconds, mere moments after I’d spotted him.

It was not an embrace; there was nothing gentle about the way his body collided with mine. Iron bands around my waist, his scales rough against my skin as he spun us around and headed back up—slower this time, because he was fighting the current I had lost to. My breathing, strange as it was underwater, foreign as it felt when it was water I inhaled, stuck in my throat now as if he’d slammed the air straight out of me. It was the force of that rapid ascent, and it made my head spin. For a moment, up was down, down was up, and I was certain there were hundreds of eyes staring up at me from the dark depths below.

Kaerius hauled us over the edge of the cliff, barreling through the pair of guards who had brought me there. His silver-blue eyes blazed with fury, his gills flaring as his gaze locked onto the ones who had dragged me here. “What do you think you’re doing?” he roared. My hands shot up to cover my ears instinctively. Even in these unnatural, underwater surroundings, it was loud—terrifying.

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