Page 9 of Taken By the Alien Triton King

“Yes.” He brushed a strand of hair from my face. “You will rule beside me. But more than that, you are mine to protect, to cherish.” My heart pounded. It was too much, too fast. And yet… it didn’t feel wrong. He exhaled, his expression turning more serious. “But there is more. I need to speak to you about the Shadefin.”

I stiffened. “What about them?” Remembering the hundreds of eyes from a writhing mass of black instantly dampened my mood. I had seen the image more than once in my dreams throughout the night. I’d learned enough by now to know they were a major problem the Ondrithar faced.

He sat up slightly, pulling me against his chest. “They are multiplying faster than ever before. The nest we destroyed—it was only one of many. My people once put them into hibernation using a poison derived from a fuel known as Atara.” He met my gaze. “That’s what I showed you before, what I asked you to look for. If we had even a small amount of it, we could drive them back once again and ensure the safety of the next generations.”

I sucked in a breath. “Atara fuel?” My mind raced. So that’s what it was called. It did not ring a bell, and I was beginning to believethat I had misremembered seeing it before. I had no way of knowing if the USSLegacycarried it unless I managed to make contact. “If we do,” I said carefully, “you want to use it?”

He nodded. “Without it, my people will not survive. The Shadefin devour everything in their path. We have no way to stop them.” I swallowed hard. The weight of what he was saying settled over me. This wasn’t just about me or him—it was about survival. And not just the survival of the Ondrithar, either. If the Shadefin were not driven back, they would multiply and multiply and become a threat to everyone else on the planet—including us humans, if we did manage to secure land for a new colony.

I nodded. “Then we find out.” It was the only way, and I was certain that helping Kaerius would make him willing to help my people. I was beginning to know him—learning what he hid behind those sharp eyes—and what I saw was good, honorable. A man who cared about the safety of his people. A man who’d respect the same desire in me.

A slow smile spread across his lips, approval glowing in his eyes. “That,” he murmured, brushing a kiss against my temple, “is why you are my mate.”

Flushed with warmth and still floating a little on cloud nine, he helped me get out of bed. Neither of us wanted to leave the safety of his chambers, but the situation with the Shadefin couldn’t wait.

We washed up, dressed, and ate from the dish of fish and vegetables that had been brought—all pickled and seasoned to delight the taste buds. Then Kaerius tucked me under his armand led me to the exit pool. “You stay at my side,” he warned, for probably the tenth time already. “We swim to the surface to use your communicator, and then we come straight back down.”

“What about land for the people still aboard the USSLegacy?” I asked. Before we left, I had brought up the subject, and he hadn’t opposed my request for them to have a settlement in Ondrithar territory. But he hadn’t agreed on any specifics yet, either. “What about the other diplomats?” I added. “Do you know what happened to them?”

He drew me into the water, and the dress I wore swirled around my legs. I’d pulled it back on after he’d run it through a cleansing cycle in the bathroom area. Very handy, that. “I only know that your friend Imogen is with Krak’zol in the Sanos Abyss. The others, I do not know.” This was not the first time he’d mentioned that particular ruler, and I wondered if the dark male I’d seen take Imogen knew what he’d bargained for when he took her. If anyone knew how to take care of herself, it was her.

Once we were in the tunnel, Kaerius tucked me against his body, his face breaking out in an uncharacteristic smile as he began propelling us through the water. He’d carried me this way last night, too, but I had been too rattled to pay attention. Now, I had all the time in the world to marvel at the tunnels through the ship, the bioluminescent trails that blazed the way, and the colorful Ondrithar that graced the hallways.

This was when I started to see that, though they had technology and used it, some things were much more old-fashioned. We passed a doorway where a group of people sat around, weaving baskets by hand from strings of red kelp. And once outside, I realized that the harvesting of the extensive underwater gardenswas also handwork, unassisted by modern tools. The spaceship that had brought their ancestors here functioned to some degree, shining with blue light in strips along its pockmarked hull, but it was very much stranded. That was not a ship that could ever fly again.

After that final observation, I no longer had time to stare at the sights. Clear of the ship-turned-palace, Kaerius held me tighter against his body, and with an almost boyish grin, he sped up. Really sped up. We shot upward, racing through the water in tight twists and curls that I knew were designed to show off his skills—to exhilarate and excite. It worked. It was a wild water rush—playful, wild—a bit like a mating dance, the way our bodies were pressed tightly together. I loved every second of it, but all too soon, playtime was over, and he aimed us for the surface.

Chapter 12

Kaerius

The journey to the surface was slow and deliberate, unlike the wild ride I’d taken a moment before I started our ascent. I had to time this carefully so her more fragile body could properly adjust to the changing water pressures. The water shimmered around us as I kept Samantha close, my hand firm on the small of her back. She moved well in the water now, better than before, but she was still human—fragile in a way I refused to forget. Bruinen and Aenon flanked us, ever watchful.

She needed to make contact with her ship to reach the humans above and see if they held the Atara fuel we so desperately required. The Shadefin multiplied too fast, spreading like sickness in the currents. If we did not find a way to stop them, my people would drown in the darkness of their infestation. And after us, the rest of Sanos would quickly be swallowed too.

As we neared the surface, a ripple in the water signaled another’s approach: Firia. Her pale green hair was loose from its usual bindings, flowing like tangled kelp around her face. Her chest rose and fell too quickly, her gills flaring in distress. Shehad come in haste, and she did not follow her normal strict adherence to protocol when she addressed me. “Kaerius.” She spoke my name on a ragged breath, eyes darting to Samantha, then back to me. “You must return at once.”

I narrowed my eyes. “What is it?” To see the female Ondrithar so disheveled was not right; Firia was always neat as a pin. She and I did not often see eye to eye—she was a strict bureaucrat and rule-follower—but I did respect her. Unlike the pair of scum I’d ordered captured yesterday for what they had attempted to do to my mate.

Firia hesitated, her fingers curling into fists at her sides. “Advisor Vekesh is stirring dissent. He claims Morven is not dead.” Silence rang between us. Aenon let out a sharp exhale, his tail flicking in agitation. Bruinen shifted beside me, his muscles coiling. Her words had rained down on us like a blow, stirring old wounds, old worries, and questions that I’d uttered only in the dead of night.

“Impossible,” I growled. “I saw the beast take him.” It had been two cycles since the incident. I had scoured every inch of the cliff and the trenches where it happened, searching for any sign of my brother—the male who should be king in my stead if he were still alive. I had never wanted the throne, but Ihadbeen his only companion during that fatal Shadefin attack. I escaped with my life, and Morven vanished without a trace. I knew what they whispered—that I had led him to his death, that I had murdered my own brother.

Against my chest, Samantha stroked her fingers along my scales, reminding me that she was with me—that she had accepted our mating. It settled the roiling discontent beneath my skin, but itstill ached when the Ondrithar councilwoman spoke again. “He claims there is no body,” Firia pressed, her voice urgent. “And without a body—”

“He seeks to challenge my right to rule,” I finished her thought, my mind sharpening with fury. So that was the next play. I had known that there would be resistance from all sides the moment my claim on Samantha became evident. But this… this felt like a low blow.

Aenon bared his teeth—loyal to a fault, even if he was stubborn and a little short-sighted at times. “Vekesh has always been a coward. If Morven lived, he would have returned. He would not have abandoned his throne.” And that was the truth; I knew it in my heart. Morven was a good, responsible male—he would never abandon the Ondrithar when we were facing the beginning stirrings of the Shadefin threat. He had to be dead, and even though there was no body, I had insisted on a full state funeral to honor him.

Firia shook her head. “It does not matter what is true, only what people believe.” Those rumors—they had persisted, even after I’d proven myself to be a good leader, a good king. I thought I’d weeded out the rotten seeds among Morven’s council, but it seemed that I was mistaken. Vekesh was power-hungry, and he was seeing an opportunity to make his move.

I clenched my jaw, forcing my rage down. “We do this first,” I said, nodding toward Samantha. “Then we return.” Samantha looked between us, clearly understanding that whatever Firia had said was of great importance, but she did not interrupt. Behind her eyes, I knew, her shrewd brain was spinning rapidlyas she pieced together what was going on. I’d explain it all to her when I had her alone, but for now, we needed to hurry.

We broke the surface, the sky stretching vast and endless above—a pale, endless blue that looked flat and boring to my eyes, so adjusted to always seeing the water. Samantha’s fingers immediately went to the device at her wrist, wasting no time. She pressed at its interface, brows furrowing, lights blinking urgently. A moment passed. Then another. Her breath came sharp, frustrated. “It’s not responding.” She raised her eyes to my face; they were big and worried, their brown soft as velvet.

Bruinen turned his gaze to me. “We should go.” I cupped my mate’s face, stroking her chin in reassurance, then dared to press a kiss to the crown of her silky hair. She tasted of salt, like the ocean I so loved. Despite the impatient words of my head guard, she tried again, her jaw tightening, but it was useless. The device remained stubbornly silent—it was either broken or something was blocking its signal. I’d have to find one of the rare ship engineers and beg a moment of their time to look at the device. It was imperative that we fix it so we could talk to her ship.

“We go,” I said, tightening my arms around her slender waist in preparation for the dive. She didn’t resist when I pulled her back into the depths. Anxious energy pounded through my veins as we began the swim back. Firia looked even more frazzled than before, as if she’d been pulling on her long hair with impatience. The thought struck me that it could be her leading me into a trap, but I doubted that. Firia tended to get a little single-minded and obnoxious, but she was a straight arrow.

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