Page 1 of Taken By the Alien Siren King

CHAPTER ONE

LAIROS

Waves lapped at the shoreline in a hypnotic rhythm that did nothing to soothe my growing irritation. I hid it with a final sip from my goblet and lounged back on cushions beneath the open side of the Khadian tent. Clouds drifted peacefully across the sky, at odds with the bustling activity from the little kingdoms of canvas dotting the beach.

Kaerius caught my eye and inclined his head in silent acknowledgment. Further down, Bourne proved he wasn’t above personally sticking his tentacles into things. Others bickered and postured or disappeared entirely into their tents with their entourages.

Seven rulers of Sanos. Seven potential saviors for the dying human race. Seven sharks circling the same wounded prey.

The drums of protest echoed from beyond the secured perimeter of our summit. “No humans! Keep Sanos safe!” The chants had grown with the tide.

Let them howl. Their complaints wouldn’t change a damn thing. The Legacy’s arrival had turned our world upside down. Better to deal with this madness than risk the humans trying tosettle anywhere they pleased. At least this way we had a chance at containing them.

“Thirsty, my king?”

I slowly dragged my attention up the lithe figure of a pretty servant with blue-green scales trailing down her spine. Her voice carried the musical lilt of the southern shoals. A largely safe and pampered region, with more pleasure-seekers than fighters.

“Always.” I let my fingers brush against hers as I took the fresh goblet. Her breath hitched at the touch, her pulse thumping beneath the fragile surface of her throat.

She smiled, eyes drifting down then back up with calculated shyness. “Will you need anything else?”

I traced the rim of my goblet with one finger and winked. She lingered, her scaled hip cocked in invitation. Pleasure-seeker, indeed. “I’m sure I’ll think of something.”

An order for all others to vacate the tent, perhaps. Or pulling her into my lap for some handsy business and uncomfortable negotiations for those on the other side of the table?

“Enjoying yourself, brother?”

The voice chilled me like deep water. I didn’t turn immediately, savoring my last moment of peace.

“Nedaris.” I finally looked up at my younger brother and eternal pain in my ass. “What a surprise.”

He wasn’t alone. Behind him filed six warriors in the distinctive obsidian armor of the Knights of the Depths. Their faces bore the ritual scars and markings of fanatics. Not my skin, not my scars, not my concern. But the fuckers had a habit of terrorizing drycaves in the name of rooting out evil or traitors.

That they kept finding poor souls who simply didn’t swim out of the way fast enough, however, was my concern.

I rose with deliberate slowness, letting my goblet dangle carelessly from my fingers. “I don’t recall sending for you. Infact, I distinctly remember leaving you with very specific duties back home.”

Nedaris stood with that perfect posture that always made me want to slouch more. He’d shaved the back and sides of his head, and pulled the rest of his hair into the topknot worn by the rest of the Knights. He offered a shallow bow that managed to convey both respect and contempt.

“The Knights expressed concerns about the arrangements being made here.” His voice carried that familiar note of superiority that I justloved. “As your heir, I felt it prudent to witness these negotiations firsthand.”

“Prudent,” I echoed, letting my gaze drift over the Knights. One placed a hand on the hilt of his charged blade in a subtle gesture that had my own guards tensing. “And did prudence require bringing half a squadron of zealots to a diplomatic summit?”

The servant wisely melted away as I closed the distance between us. I kept my voice low, intimate, a king speaking to his brother, not a ruler addressing a subject.

“What in all the depths are you playing at?” I hissed. “Bringing the Knights here without my consent?”

“They represent the concerns of our people,” Nedaris countered, standing his ground. “Concerns you seem determined to ignore while you drink and flirt your way through the most significant threat our kingdom has ever faced.”

“Threat?” I kept eye contact and sipped my drink—fermented kelp with a punch I’d love to deliver to his throat. “It’s not like we haven’t seen this show before. Shipwrecks. Explorers. Doesn’t matter the shape or origin; they’re all just wet meat with delusions of grandeur.”

“They’ll take and take until there’s nothing left,” he insisted. “Their history proves as much.”

“Desperation,” I grinned through gritted teeth, “is the most useful trait of all.”

From the corner of my eye, I caught movement—my advisors approaching. Old men with old ideas. They clustered around Nedaris like remoras on a shark.

“With respect, Your Majesty,” began Derwan, the eldest. “Prince Nedaris speaks for many. The Knights have support among our people. The council feels?—”

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