Daughter? Was he serious? I looked at his blue eyes and straight blond hair and almost lost control of my legs. My golden hair had always been different than the rest of my family. Marisol inherited the dark shiny mane and deep brown eyes like my parents, but not me. No, I did look different. And if Lucian was my father…no, I had to stop thinking that.
“No, it can’t be,” I murmured. My legs gave out and the only thing holding me up off the ground were Lucian’s hands clamped around my wrists. In one swift move, he scooped me up into his arms and set me down on top of a boulder in the center of the meadow. The moment I felt solid ground beneath, I pulled out of his grasp.
“Get away from me!” I tried to yell, but my voice sounded shaky and I felt the tears building in my throat.
“She seems rather shocked,” Lucian turned toward Graham. “What did you do her?”
“What did he do?” I screamed. “He’s just like you! You both deserve to die!”
Lucian chuckled. “Seems as if that apple really doesn’t fall too far from the tree after all. I will admit I was a little concerned at first. But now I can see it in you.”
“See what?” I asked.
“Me.”
I shook my head so hard that the headache came back. “I’m nothing like you.”
Lucian arched an eyebrow. “We’ll see.”
“No! I will never be like you!”
He turned away from me sauntered over to Graham. “Now what am I going to do with you?”
Graham sucked in a breath and I stopped moving. Lucian’s tone oozed danger and even the birds ceased singing.
“Sir?” Graham stuttered.
“I do believe you were trying to warn our dear Eviana, were you not?” Graham’s eyes flitted over to me and then back to Lucian. I watched him swallow. Lucian tilted his head to look at me and sighed. “Yes, she is beautiful.” He faced Graham again. “And to think I had such grand plans for the two of you. Now it seems as if your loyalty is in question.”
Graham shook his head and cleared his throat. “No, my loyalty is the same. I was simply coming clean with Eviana. She needed to know who I really am.”
“And why is that?”
Graham’s eyes found mine again and my stomach twisted. “Because she deserves to know the truth.”
Lucian huffed. “And how did that work out for you?” When he saw Graham’s face he chuckled. “Yes. That’s what I thought.”
“Why are you even here?” I asked, unable to stop myself from speaking up. I was either over the initial shock or I just tired of playing his games.
“To find you,” he replied matter-of-factly.
“Found me,” I said sarcastically and he grinned. It sent another round of chills through my body. “Did you even have any intention of negotiating tonight?”
He shrugged his shoulders and moved closer to me. “Perhaps. But only if they gave me what I wanted.”
“Which was?”
“You.”
I really looked at him this time. He was totally serious in his declaration. Did he really think the Council would give me up in return for a peace offering? I may still have to prove myself to my clan, but I at least thought I had the Council at my back. Although, one of my biggest supporters turned out to be working for the wrong side. Maybe he wouldn’t have been able to convince them after all.
“Why? What could my presence possibly mean for you?”
“You are my daughter,” he said as though stating the obvious.
“No, I’m not. My father was a wonderful man that you murdered for your own selfish reasons.” Tears blurred my vision but I didn’t wipe them away. Maybe I could elicit some sort of feeling from this wicked creature.
“Your father was a piece of arm candy, nothing more.” He waved his hand around when I tried to protest. “Now your mother…she was a real leader and I can see her strength in you.”
“But you killed her.” I meant to say that loudly but I barely choked out the words.
Lucian sighed. “Yes. It was a tragedy. If only she would have shared you with me.”
“She knew?”
“Of course she knew. We’d once been promised to each other. Although I doubt she ever told your father. She always did coddle him.”
I almost lost everything in my stomach. In just a few short moments, my entire world disintegrated. Lucian Sutherland, the merman leading a war amongst his own kind, was my biological father. His demented blood coursed through my veins. I looked at him in his black leather pants and bright red button up shirt and wondered if half of me was like that. Was I really evil deep down inside? Would I end up destroying all the goodness around me?
I sat there in silence for what seemed like hours, but in reality was probably closer to a few seconds. A thousand thoughts ran through my mind and I felt dizzy and nauseous when I began to piece it all together.
“Why did you attack my house?” The negotiating meeting with Lucian had already been set, so he knew I was coming to Montana.
“Master Matthew had to be stopped. His powers have grown considerably in the last few weeks. I couldn’t have him messing up my plans.” Lucian smiled and my temperature dropped. “I haven’t used a sword in a while.” He looked at me. “I hear those can really hurt.”
It took everything I had not to attack him. “Kain’s going to be okay. You failed.”
Lucian chuckled in response. “No, I don’t think that I did.”
“What are you going to do at the meeting tonight?” I asked.
Lucian had been sizing up Graham, but he turned back to look at me when I spoke. “Oh, Graham saved me all of that trouble by bringing you here. There will be no meeting tonight.”
I glared at the man I’d assumed was my friend. “You brought me here for him?”
“No, Eviana, I swear.”
I jumped off the boulder and marched up to Graham. His eyes pleaded with me and if I hadn’t been so angry, I might have tried to believe him. He’d purposely separated me from my protectors and now Lucian had what he’d always wanted. I pulled back my hand and slammed my fist into his face like Palmer had taught me.
Lucian laughed as Graham fell to the ground. I didn’t waste any time and jumped on top of the deceitful merman, slamming my forearm into his throat. At this moment, I only saw red. I was so angry at Graham, at Lucian, at Brendan; all of them had betrayed me in some way and unfortunately for Graham, he was going to take the beating right now.
I felt him fighting against me, but it was as if I had an out of body experience and no one could stop my rage. All of this energy came pouring into my body like I had the strength of three men. Almost every person in my life had let me down in some way. Graham used his charm and power to trick me into a friendship. Lucian killed my parents, my uncle, and my friends. My mother lied to me my whole life about who my father was, even when she faced death by his own hands.
And Brendan. Brendan, the only one I loved, left me to surrender to the call. It was something he promised he’d never do. Julian made it sound like he was miserable, yet he still managed to spend the night with me without any hesitation. He didn’t have any problem reaching in and tearing my heart out because that was what was best for him. I struggled to breathe. I was so angry and so distraught. Why was this happening now?
“Eviana?” Lucian’s voice broke through my concentration. “Eviana, you might want to let go.”
I looked at him and then followed his gaze down to Graham. His bright red face grimaced in pain as I nearly choked the last breath from him. Maybe I should finish the job.
As if hearing my thoughts, Lucian bent forward and pulled me off of Graham. I stumbled backward and tried to put some space in between us.
“Get your hands off of me!”
“Eviana…”
“Don’t even speak to me.” I brushed myself off and looked down at Graham. He’d rolled to his side and began to push himself up to his knees.
“I’m sorry, Eviana,” Graham’s strangled voice whispered to me.
I pointed my finger at him. “Don’t you talk to me, either. I don’t want your apologies.”
“Daughter,” Lucian started but changed his mind after I glared at him. “Eviana, you must make up with the man, for he is your betrothed.”
“No, he isn’t.”
“I’m afraid it is true. Your bloodlines will finally be joined again,” he continued then sauntered over to Graham and offered him a hand up off the ground. “Although, he may need to get back into my good graces before I offer up my only daughter to him.”
Graham coughed while I stared at the bizarre situation in front of me. It was like someone dropped me into a parallel world and everything was jumbled. This couldn’t be real. Maybe I was still dreaming.
I pinched my arm and winced. Nope, not a dream.
But I didn’t need to live this nightmare any longer. I turned and ran as fast as I could back toward the cabin, hoping I could make it close enough to yell for Caleb and Gregory. I leapt over a boulder and ran around another before I got to the edge of the forest. Lucian yelled for me, but I didn’t dare stop.
I didn’t want to stop but sometimes situations were out of my control. I felt his body slam into mine right before I went down. Lucian jerked my arms behind my back and lifted me off the ground. I struggled, but my shoulders hurt and he outweighed me by almost a hundred pounds. I screamed.
“Be quiet!” he demanded and I felt the headache burn through my skull. There was a sudden urge to relax, and I realized with a jolt that Lucian had the ability to control other merfolk. I pushed his presence out of my head but remained silent. Perhaps I could trick him.
Lucian laughed and the sound reverberated through my core. “You are strong, but I am stronger.” I suddenly felt a pain so sharp I collapsed to the ground holding my head. I thought it would explode and I cried out in pain.
“Stop it!” Graham yelled and I knew the moment he crashed into Lucian. My arms were yanked sharply again, but the pain in my head trumped the muscles revolting in my shoulders.
As the two men rolled on the ground, my headache began to ease. I watched as Graham fought against Lucian and was amazed at how futile it was. Lucian was fast and strong and in less than a minute, he held Graham up in the air by a hand wrapped around his neck.
“How dare you?” Lucian asked through gritted teeth. “After everything I’ve done for you!” Graham began to lose consciousness, and whatever hint of sympathy I may have felt, I pushed aside and used the distraction to try and escape again.
I struggled up to my knees, lifting one foot at a time. When finally on two legs, I ran. Lucian pushed into my head again and commanded me to stop, but I tried to feed on that energy and use it for my own survival. I heard him growl in a way that reminded me of the ratchets, just before Graham’s body flew through the air in front of me. Lucian had used him as a projectile aimed at stopping my escape.
Graham’s head slammed into a boulder and he dropped to the ground. I screamed and almost ran after him. He may be a liar but he’d been trying to protect me from Lucian. Only the sound of footsteps running in my direction kept me moving forward.
“Eviana!” Lucian yelled. “You can’t get away from me this time.”
As soon he said those words, I couldn’t move my legs any more. It was as if I was sinking into the ground and being swallowed by the earth. When I looked down at my feet, I noticed that was exactly what happened.
I panicked. Drowning in the sea was one thing, but being suffocated in the earth was not a death I wanted to face. Looking over at Graham, I tried to force him awake with my mind. If Lucian had that ability, and I was his daughter, then I should too. And if Graham woke up, surely he would help me, right?
But Graham didn’t respond. In fact, I wasn’t sure if he was even alive. I struggled against the water and the ground that I was now knee deep in. Focus on the element. My water control was nowhere near Kain’s or Graham’s but I had to try.
Kain. What would Kain do? He was rational and calm and always knew what to do next. He was stable. He was the only stable part in my life and I suddenly understood how much that meant to me. I didn’t want to live a life without him in it. I don’t even know if I could.
Thinking of my friend helped give me the strength I needed. I concentrated on the water and forced the tendrils to dissipate into the earth. In another few seconds, my body rose out of the ground as the water pushed me toward the surface. I was doing it!
“Impressive,” Lucian said directly behind me. I gasped and turned around to see him standing there with a smug look on his face and a glimmer of pride in his eyes.
Someone called out my name. Lucian and I turned toward the path where I could only assume Caleb and Gregory were coming to rescue me. For the first time in the last hour, I finally felt some hope. Lucian wasn’t going to win.
“I guess that’s our cue,” he said and grabbed at my arm.
Jerking away from him, I stepped around the puddle and moved closer to the path. “I’m not going with you and my protectors will be here any moment.”
“Come!” The headache slammed back into my skull but I pushed against it. Lucian sighed in frustration and threw out his arm at me. “Fine. Sleep Eviana! Sleep now!”
An overwhelming urge to close my eyes and curl up on the ground flowed through my body. I could barely keep my eyelids opened and it was hard to focus on Lucian. The shouting from the woods got louder. I just had to hold out a little bit longer. They were almost here.
“You are as stubborn as your mother,” Lucian snarled and that brought a smile to my face.
“You can’t have me,” I said. “It’s too late.”
“It’s never too late,” he replied and barreled toward me.
I thought I saw Caleb out of the corner of my eye, but my focus stayed on Lucian. He reached behind his back and pulled out a broad sword that I couldn’t believe I hadn’t noticed earlier. The silver metal gleamed in the sunlight and the look on his face sent a wave of terror through my bones. He was going to kill me!
“I’m not going to kill you,” he said just as he slammed the hilt of the sword against the backside of my skull.
There was a moment of pain, followed by one of numbness. I began to fall to the ground not really capable of moving any other part of my body. I thought I saw someone running in slow motion into the meadow with a gun in his hand. The world looked hazy for a moment, but as soon as the fog lifted, my vision narrowed and everything went black.
