Chapter Nineteen

Caspian wasn’t sure his cooking skills were good enough for a dinner party, but he was fairly confident that he wouldn’t actually poison his guests.

Jake arrived early, brandishing a bottle of wine. “I thought you might need some help. Kyle and Finn will be here soon.”

He waggled his eyebrows, making it clear to Caspian just precisely what the hold-up was.

“What about Marin?” Caspian asked. “Did Finn pass on my message?”

Jake nodded. “I’m sorry. He spoke to him, but he refused to come tonight.”

“I suppose I can’t blame him.”

“He just needs time.”

Caspian had every intention of giving him that, no matter how much it tore him apart to do so.

Jake tactfully changed the subject by gesturing to the kitchen. “Something smells good.”

“Thanks. Let’s hope it tastes all right too. This is the first time I’ve tried making something that isn’t a meal that just needs heating up.”

“I’m sure it’ll be great. So, how are you finding life as a human?”

Caspian gave him a rueful smile. “This is the first morning I haven’t managed to cut myself shaving, so I guess I’m improving.”

Jake laughed. “If it makes you feel any better, I still occasionally nick myself. Finn and Kyle have it lucky. They don’t need to bother, thanks to their mer genetics.”

Caspian laughed. “You’re right there. The only mer who have a need to shave are those who have a full human in their family tree, where the human genes are dominant. Finn has had a narrow escape. With a human father, he could have been much hairier than he is.”

“Is there anything I can help with?” Jake asked.

“No, thanks. I have it covered. Just sit down and relax.”

Caspian left Jake in the living room and returned to the kitchen. As soon as he was alone, he swore under his breath and punched the nearest cupboard. Would it have killed Marin to come here for dinner? He immediately regretted his burst of temper as pain shot through his knuckles. Damn it. He missed his powers nearly as much as he missed Marin.

He concentrated on finishing preparing dinner and was nearly done when Kyle and Finn arrived, their timing perfect.

“How are you finding life as a human?” asked Finn once they were all seated at the table.

“Tiring,” Caspian replied with a rueful smile. “I never realized until now how much you all sleep.”

Finn chuckled. “Just wait until you have Marin moved in here. He’ll exhaust you even more.”

Kyle hissed and Finn jumped. Caspian suspected Kyle had just kicked him under the table.

“It’s okay,” Caspian said. “You can talk about him. I’m not going to fall apart or anything.”

“He’s just being stubborn,” Finn said. “He knows very well that Calder wouldn’t want him to be alone. They even invited Kyle to have sex with them his first mating season in the sunken city. So he certainly wasn’t opposed to the idea of Marin having sex with someone else.”

“It isn’t about the sex,” Caspian replied. He didn’t bother telling them that he and Marin had actually had sex during the last mating season. “It’s about Urion, and Marin avenging Calder’s murder.”

“At least he isn’t going to be made immortal,” Kyle commented.

“No, he’s just going to carry on terrorizing the inhabitants of the ocean as a sea dragon,” Finn said. “We’ve had reports from clans who have come to us from the Atlantic waters that the sea dragons are moving south.”

“You think they might be heading to the new colony?” Caspian asked.

“We hope not, but we’ll soon find out if they are. Sea dragons are fast, and while they don’t seem to be in any hurry, it won’t take them long to reach us.”

“Would they be able to get into the caverns?” Jake asked. He turned to Caspian to add, “Even though Medina assures me I can survive at depth under the water, I’ve been reluctant to test the theory. I like my feet to remain firmly on the land.”

Kyle chuckled. “We’d take care of you.”

Jake rolled his eyes. “You’re never going to talk me into it.”

Finn toyed with his food, a frown on his face.

“Did I add too much seasoning to the lasagna?” Caspian asked.

“Hmm, no, this is good. I was just thinking about the sea dragons.”

“What about them?” Jake asked.

“It’s just a shame that they have the power of invisibility,” Finn said. “If they couldn’t do that, the humans exploring the oceans might spot them.”

“They’d just kill the humans,” Kyle pointed out.

“Not if they caught them on camera rather than in person,” Finn argued. “None of the priests will have any idea about human technology like cameras and things.”

Caspian nodded. “He’s right about that. Maybe it’s something worth considering.”

“You have an idea?” Jake asked.

“Maybe.”

Finn leaned forward. “Tell us more. Perhaps we can help.”

Caspian pushed aside his plate, too excited to continue to eat. “Sea dragons can’t remain invisible while they’re breathing sea-fire. Both tasks require too much concentration to be done at the same time. So, if we can get them to breathe sea-fire—not the most difficult of tasks—they can be filmed.”

“Then what?” Jake asked. “We send the film to the press? Any reputable journalist will just think it’s fake.”

“Maybe an ocean exploration company?” Finn suggested. “I bet Mariana would have them changed back into human form in a flash if she thought they might be captured by scientists for studying and dissection.”

“They’d just kill anyone who tried to capture them,” Caspian reminded them. “Human explorers of the ocean would be even more disadvantaged against the sea dragons than the mer are. No, capturing them is not an option.”

“Then what are you thinking?” Jake asked.

Caspian shook his head, hesitant to speak his thoughts aloud.

“What is it?” Kyle pressed.

Caspian gestured to the trident hung on the wall. “Mer weapons are next to useless against the sea dragons, but humans have far more destructive methods these days.”

“You’re thinking of exposing the sea dragons to the humans so that they can shoot them?” Jake asked. “It would take a missile or something, if they’re as big as you say.”

“It’s not like we have access to anything like that anyway,” Caspian replied. “We need a way to force them to become human again. That way they can’t cause any more mischief.”

“We’ll figure something out,” Kyle said.

Caspian gave him a smile. That they were prepared to help him with the problem meant more to him than they would ever know. Perhaps, together, they would find a solution.

 

* * * *

 

Marin stared at the house and seriously considered running straight back to the sea. He was only here at all because Finn had been pestering him relentlessly to at least hear Caspian out.

The former god appeared to be building some form of fence around a small garden. He didn’t seem to have seen or heard Marin approach.

Marin coughed and Caspian finally looked up.

“Hello, Caspian,” he said.

“Marin,” Caspian replied, tossing aside his hammer and hurrying to meet him. “I’m so glad to see you. How are you enjoying life in the new colony? Do you have everything you need?”

“I’m fine,” Marin interrupted the barrage of questions. “Finn said you wanted to speak with me.”

“Thank you for coming. Would you like something to eat or a drink?”

“No.” Marin shook his head. “I said I’d hear you out, so say your piece.”

Caspian appeared unsure where to start, so Marin decided to help him out.

“Why did you vote against Urion being made immortal?”

“Because he causes enough trouble as a sea dragon. The last thing the world needs is for him to be around any longer than necessary.”

“Did your vote make the difference?”

“No. Even had I voted for the petition, it would not have been passed.”

“And yet you still decided to go against my wishes, knowing it was my only chance to see Calder’s murderer brought to justice.”

Caspian rounded on him with a glare. “You know as well as I do that you’d never have been able to kill him.”

“That’s not true.”

“You couldn’t kill Rafe.”

“That’s different.”

“Is it? Because I don’t see how. Both are murderers and you froze. You couldn’t take his life, no matter what he had done. I know you say you want to see Urion pay for his crime, but it won’t be at your hand, and if you were honest with yourself for just one minute, you’d know that.”

“How dare you!”

“I dare because it’s the truth,” Caspian yelled.

Marin cringed and took a step back. Caspian stepped forward as well.

“Do you think I don’t know about losing someone and wanting revenge on the one who took him from me? I spent years stopping myself from going down those stairs into the catacombs and strangling Rafe with my bare hands.”

“That wouldn’t have killed him,” Marin pointed out. “It’s hardly the same thing.”

“You think I gave him the cup to drink from straight away?” Caspian asked. “Didn’t you notice he’d aged years from the last time you saw him?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Well, he had. I only gave him immortality when I knew I could not kill him myself. Only when I let go of my hatred and thirst for vengeance did I give him the cup to drink from.”

“At least you had the chance to face Rafe. Everyone is doing their damned hardest to keep me away from Urion.”

“Because he’ll kill you and any mer on sight.”

“I don’t care.”

“Well, I do!” Caspian roared. “I will not watch the man I love be murdered again. If it’s in my power to stop it, I will. I won’t watch you throw your life away.”

“You don’t get to have any say in how I live my life. You gave up that right when you let Rafe kill me.”

Marin clapped a hand over his mouth the moment he realized what he had said.

Caspian didn’t seem to know how to respond.

“I’m sorry,” Marin said. “I didn’t mean that.”

“Yes, you did,” Caspian said, his voice barely more than a whisper. “And you’re right. I promised to protect you forever, yet I failed almost at once.”

“I know it wasn’t your fault.”

Caspian gave a short, bitter laugh. “Of course it was. If I’d sent the priests to live in Atlantis like you asked, you’d have been safe in my temple.”

“Rubbish,” Marin argued. “Even if you’d sent them away, they would still have been able to travel there through the crystal portals whenever they wanted.”

“I should have known that Rafe had such a black heart,” Caspian continued. “If I’d routinely read their minds, I’d have known his intentions.”

“You did read their minds when you brought them before you,” Marin reminded him. “Anyone can shield their thoughts with a bit of practice, especially those who have spent a considerable amount of time with either the gods or the mer.”

Caspian kicked aside a plank of wood. “There is nothing you can say to me that will ever convince me that Phoebus’ murder wasn’t my fault. You have every right to despise me for my failure. You can never hate me as much as I hate myself for what happened to you.”

Marin didn’t know what to say when Caspian gathered up his things and headed into the house. He wanted to erase the guilt he had seen in the former god’s eyes, but there was nothing he could say that would do that, especially after his thoughtless outburst.

The scent of perfume on the breeze made him turn around, where he found Medina watching him.

“How long have you been there?” he asked.

“The sound of your screeching shattered my crystal earrings,” Medina replied. “I thought I should come and see what the problem is.”

Marin shrugged. “Just a disagreement between me and Caspian.”

“So I saw. Can I ask you something?”

“If you like.”

“What exactly is it that you want Caspian to do for you?”

“I…” What do I want? Truthfully, he wasn’t too sure. He wanted Urion to pay for his crime, but what was he expecting Caspian to do about that?

“That’s what I thought,” Medina said. “You have no idea what you want from him, yet you still shout and rage because he’s not able to give it to you. It was hard enough when he was a god, but as a human, he’s even more limited in what he can do.”

“That’s not my fault.”

“No, it isn’t,” Medina said. “Well, not if you disregard the whole reason why he’s now mortal.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Medina gave him a sly glance from the corner of her eye. “Haven’t you asked Caspian why he was stripped of his powers?”

“No. I thought if he wanted me to know why, he’d tell me.”

“You think so? Maybe if he didn’t want you to feel guilty about it, he would.”

Marin had no idea what Medina was talking about, and he had a feeling he didn’t want to know either. It therefore came as something of a surprise to hear the next words from his treacherous mouth. “Why did he lose his powers?”

Medina smiled briefly. “Why, Marin, I’m so glad you asked. He was stripped of his powers as punishment for making Rafe immortal without the permission of the rest of the pantheon—something he did so that you would have the opportunity of facing him when you were reborn.”

Marin stumbled over to a large rock and sat down heavily. “But he only did that so I could have my revenge on him.”

“Yes. Not that you did, of course.”

“He’s lost his powers and his immortality because of me.”

Medina sighed. “No, because of his own actions. I’m not telling you this to make you feel guilty but to show you how much Caspian has already done for you. There is nothing he won’t give you, if it’s in his power to do so. It’s just…”

“I’m asking too much from him, aren’t I?” Marin said.

Medina pinched her finger and thumb together. “Just a little. Caspian would do anything for you that’s within his power, but you are asking too much and blaming him when he cannot deliver the impossible.”

“I should go apologize to him.”

Medina shook her head. “Not if you don’t mean it or if you’re going to lose your temper with him again. He’s having a difficult time at the moment, and the last thing he needs is for you to make it even more so.”

The goddess vanished as quickly as she had appeared.

Marin didn’t care what she’d said. He owed Caspian an apology and there was no use in putting it off.

He hurried to the house and knocked on the door. When no answer came, he tried the handle and let himself in.

“Caspian?”

He heard the sound of someone moving a chair in the kitchen and headed in that direction.

Caspian looked up from where he sat at the table. He didn’t say a word.

“I’m sorry,” Marin offered.

Caspian simply stared at him.

“Medina just paid me a visit,” Marin said. “She told me the reason you’ve been stripped of your powers.”

“Did she?” Caspian didn’t appear bothered about the goddess’ interference.

“She said it was because you’d made Rafe immortal.”

“That’s right.”

“And you did that so that I would have the chance to face him and make him pay for what he had done.”

Caspian rubbed at the spot between his eyes.

“Are you all right?” Marin asked.

“Headache,” Caspian replied. “One of the more annoying human afflictions.”

“I believe there are medicines you can take for them.”

Caspian shook his head. “It’s fine. Just something I’m not yet used to.”

Marin didn’t bother asking whether what Medina had said was true. He knew already that it was. Instead, he sat down beside Caspian and glanced at the computer screen to see what he had been doing. “What is this?”

“Nothing.” Caspian made a move as though to shut down the computer but Marin stopped him.

“These pictures are from under the ocean.”

“Yes.”

Marin read the text. “You put cameras in the Atlantic ocean?”

“Not personally, no,” Caspian replied, sounding quite testy. “I’m not able to survive at such depths now.”

“Sorry,” Marin said again. “But who has put them there?”

“Various human science exploration teams. There are a lot of them out there exploring the oceans these days. I’ve been searching the Internet for as many as I can find.”

“To what purpose?”

“In the hope of seeing Mariana’s sea dragons captured on camera. We—that is me and the various immortals allied against Mariana—thought that if they are at risk of being exposed to humans, Mariana might turn them back to human.”

“The pictures don’t seem to show much.”

“Unfortunately, the distance human cameras can see in the depths of the ocean is limited. If we do manage to catch any on film, it’ll be a total fluke. We thought that with the additional exploration teams around the location of Atlantis, it might be worth a shot to check their cameras. What we really need is a computer expert to get access to the camera feeds that aren’t in the public domain.”

“Have any of the priests been filmed at all, even a distant glimpse that doesn’t really show what they are?”

“No, they’re remaining stubbornly invisible at the moment. One of the problems is that they are only becoming visible again when they’re attacking with sea-fire, and the only ones they’re attacking are the mer.”

“I see.”

“Do you?”

“Of course. You don’t want to expose the mer at the same time, right?”

“Yes.”

“You said one of the problems. What others are there?”

Caspian sighed. “I guess you’ll find out sooner or later anyway. They’re moving south, and we suspect they’re heading for the Pacific. Since they’re heading away from Atlantis, they’re going into waters which aren’t exactly teeming with humans and their cameras.”

“You think they might go to the new colony?”

“Yes. Mariana wants to drive the mer from the ocean, and she is using her sea dragons to do so.”

“Why does she hate us so much?”

“Because she cannot control you. She can bend every other creature of the sea to her will but the mer are immune to her powers.”

Marin thought that was a stupid reason to hate an entire race of beings, and from Caspian’s tone, the former god agreed with him.

“We will find a way to stop them before they get here,” Caspian said.

“You promise?” Marin asked.

Caspian hesitated. “I try not to make promises I might not be able to keep.”

A crack of thunder overhead made them both jump.

“You should probably head back to the colony,” Caspian said. “You don’t want to be caught out in the storm.”

Marin didn’t move from his spot. “Can I stay a while longer?”

Caspian shrugged. “If you like. Don’t expect anything exciting on the cameras though. The most interesting thing to happen on them all week is an octopus taking up residence right in front of one, and it has moved on now.”

“I didn’t mean I wanted to sit here watching obsessively for Urion.”

Caspian gave him a look of skepticism.

“I didn’t,” Marin insisted. “I thought maybe we could spend some time together. I mean, we did enjoy that…before.”

“Marin, I’m too tired to teach you anything with a trident today. I’m not inexhaustible now. I’m still learning the boundaries of my strength and I’ve already spent the morning working in the garden and building the fence to keep Jake’s dog out when they come around.”

“I didn’t mean training,” Marin said. “That wasn’t all we did together, was it?”

“Pretty much,” Caspian replied.

“Not when I was Phoebus though.”

“No, not when you were him,” Caspian agreed. “We spent most of our time in bed back then, which is just as draining, even if I was foolishly optimistic enough to believe that was what you meant.”

Marin’s heart rate sped up and his blood went south. Unfortunately, since he, like most of the mer, rarely bothered with clothes, there was no hiding his body’s reaction from Caspian.

“It’s not the solstice,” Caspian commented.

“I know.” Marin shifted on his seat a little and willed his erection to go away.

Caspian pointed toward the staircase. “I find a cold shower helps. The bathroom is upstairs if you want to use it.”

Marin shook his head.

Caspian didn’t make any effort to touch him and Marin was surprised to find he was disappointed at that.

“Are you sure you’re too tired for sex?” he asked before he could second-guess the wisdom of making such a suggestion.

Caspian stared at him, his mouth hanging open. “Marin, if you want to fuck me when the solstice arrives, you know where to find me.”

“Maybe I don’t want to wait for the mating season.”

Caspian rose from the table and began to pace the kitchen. “You don’t know how tempting your offer is, but we both know it would be a mistake.”

Marin crossed his arms over his chest. “I don’t know anything of the sort.”

Caspian stopped walking and stood at the other side of the table. He placed his hands on the surface and leaned over. “Marin, I love you. No, let me finish. I love you, but unless you feel the same way about me, it would be a mistake for us to have sex.”

“But last solstice…”

“That’s different,” Caspian said. “You’re mer and needed to break your fever. I’ll help you with that, if you want me to, but that’s just sex.”

“And what would it be if we went to bed right now?” Marin asked.

“For me, it’d be more,” Caspian said. “Sex right now would only complicate things between us. You’ve frequently accused me of treating you like you’re still Phoebus and I think maybe you’re right. I love—loved—him, and I’ve transferred those feelings onto you, without any regard for who you are now. I need to forget that you were once him.”

Marin walked around the table. “You know that’s never going to happen.”

“If we’re to have a future together, it has to.” Caspian side-stepped Marin as he approached. “Other than on the solstice, I won’t have sex with you unless you tell me you come to my bed out of love.”

Marin drew in a sharp breath. Could he ever love Caspian as he clearly wanted him to?

“I know you don’t love me,” Caspian continued, “so don’t try to convince me you do. Your heart still belongs to Calder and I can’t fight a dead man for you.”

“I care for you,” Marin said. It was the best he could offer.

“I know you do. But it’s not enough for me to take you to bed. We both need to be sure of our feelings for each other before we take that step. You need to know that I love you for yourself and not because you once shared my bed as Phoebus.”

“And you?”

Caspian cupped Marin’s face and leaned in as if he were going to kiss him. “I need to know the same.”

Marin nodded and placed his hand over Caspian’s. “You also need to know I’ve let Calder go, don’t you?”

“I know he will always be in your heart,” Caspian replied, “just as Phoebus will always be in mine. We each need to learn to live with the ghosts of our former lovers.”

Another crash of thunder shook the house and broke the tension between them.

“Come on,” Caspian said with a wave toward the living room. “Let’s sit down and talk. You can tell me what you’re doing in the colony and I can amuse you with stories of my incompetence as a mortal.”

Marin liked the sound of that. He followed Caspian after sparing one final rueful glance at his cock. He supposed he should be grateful for Caspian’s hesitation in taking their relationship any further, but it didn’t solve his current predicament. Maybe he should take up Caspian’s offer of a cold shower after all.