Page 17 of Sea of Love

He nodded. It looks just as it did in the mosaic.

Michael took hold of her hand and began swimming toward the temple. But something smashed into them from above, wrenching them apart.

A pale-haired mortal female who also used a bird breather darted away from them. The lower half of their attacker’s body was that of a fish. Summer quickly held up her hands in a gesture of surrender. But the mermaid whipped around her, and struck her with a hard slap of her tail. Then went after Michael.

Oh, but I have some tricks, too, Summer thought.

The water around her turned bright green as she summoned her Tablet power. She used it to shove the mermaid away from Michael. The sea churned as a surge of current struck Summer, driving her back, and then coiled in front of her as it formed a grinning sprite.

We knew you would come, our Queen. The sprite bowed low.

Summer didn’t have to vaporize it this time. Troy appeared beside her and volleyed a burst of his power at it, smashing it apart. Elettra and the Templars joined them, all three looking battered. More mermaids swarmed around them, their faces contorted and eyes black with rage. Behind them dozens more water sprites appeared.

Troy took her hand and Michael’s. We have to channel the Tablet together, around the team, he thought to her through their link. If they take the birds, we die.

Summer nodded and gestured for the others to come closer, guiding them into the middle of their circle. As the mer-people and the sprites converged on them, she released her Tablet power into her mates. The dome of verdant light formed around them just before the closest mermaid reached them. It knocked her back with such force that she crumpled and fell to the sea floor. Behind her someone was swimming out of the temple. Summer’s eyes widened.

A huge woman and a small man were using bird breathers. Between them they held an algae-covered spear. The woman met her gaze and grinned around the bird. She and her accomplice swam toward shore.

Suddenly Summer understood. Wickerman’s accomplices had needed a distraction in order to get past the water sprites and the mer-people. She and her mates had been duped into providing one.

Suddenly the tip of the spear glowed with a light that blinded Summer. Her ears popped as the water pressed in on them like tons of concrete. Clouds of silt rose as the temple below began to shake.

Earthquake, Michael thought to her and Troy.

The temple toppled and sank into the growing murk.

Daughter, you cannot remain here any longer.

The protective light around them shrank down and massed itself as it took on the shape of a huge sea creature. The green faded to gray and white, and the big dolphin turned to look at her with a gleaming emerald eye.

I will take you to safety.

• • • • •

Elettra did not know why the dull-looking fish dragged the six of them to shore, but she suspected Summer had somehow tamed it with her witch powers. All she knew was that she had never been so happy to crawl on her hands and knees out of the churning surf and flop on the sand. Even if the ground was still shaking, land was land, and there was air to breathe.

She decided she would never touch a fish again. Not even to dine on it. If she craved meat it would have to be cow or giraffe or antelope. Stringy and gamey as it had been, she rather missed antelope.

“Who are you?”

She opened one eye to see Shelton standing and dripping on her. “Go away.”

He took a step back, and shook his head, flinging more water in her face. “You are not a witch at all.”

Elettra tucked in her chin to see her battered, soaked and undisguised body gleaming in the sun. Being so close to RainLance must have interfered with her magic. She hadn’t even realized she’d dropped her mortal guise.

Damned fish people.

A hard hand grabbed her arm and flung her around, and Elettra discovered that in her true form she could look directly into Shelton’s smoky topaz eyes. She had not realized he was so very tall. The sunlight had formed little golden arcs around his pupils, which made her heart thump painfully beneath her breast.

“You are a goddess,” the Templar said, his voice strangling most of the words.

The compliment pleased her, wrong-headed as it was.

“I am not. I am Fae. We are sometimes confused with deities because, well, we are fair and mortals are stupid.” She glanced down at his grip on her. “Release me now, Templar.”

His throat moved, and his face reddened. “You tricked me.”