Page 92 of Kingdom of Aramis

“Pfft, we know that’s not true. Humans only wish they could be as handsome and dashing as shifters.” Brodie laughs. “But developing a poker face should be a priority. We can’t have the queen ogling every naked person she comes upon,” he teases.

“Stop teasing the woman,” Gryff scolds his friends and heads over to a large tree not far from the edge of the pool. There, hidden amongst the gnarled roots, is a trunk. He pulls it open and drags out some fabric before tossing each of our bond mates a pair of shorts. “Cover up. We don’t want Colbie’s creature being tempted by all that dangling flesh.”

Brodie blanches and quickly pulls on his shorts, and the other four follow suit. I return to the subject at hand.

“Multi shifting is quite uncommon. In fact, I don’t think I know of another dual shifter.”

“That’s because our mate is special.” Gem smiles gently at the girl and takes a step toward her, clasping his hands at his sides like he’s restraining himself from reaching for her. “I can’t believe you’re our mate. We’ve waited so long for you.”

She shifts uncomfortably and doesn’t look like she knows how to respond.

“Easy, Gem. Give her time to adjust. Unlike us, who have known for almost ten years now, she’s had this all dumped on her. We need to give her a little bit of patience and understanding,” Hunter cautions, and Colbie smiles at him gratefully. Gem’s smile dips for a moment, but Colbie doesn’t miss his disappointment.

She reaches for his hand and gives it a squeeze. “I’m not saying I don’t want this or you, just give me time. Humans have dating rituals and a whole courting process before they decideto make things official. Maybe it would be easier if we all had destined mates. It would certainly save a lot of heart break. Just give me time to adjust. I’m not going to reject you, I promise. There’s this ball of want in me that is screaming at me to throw myself at you, but my brain still has some catching up to do. We’ll get there,” she promises, looking at each one of us in turn.

Her words seem to ease some of his disappointment and settle them all slightly. My life just changed in an instant, and although I’m thrilled to have a mate, my mind is reeling at the change. It’s nice to have some company, and maybe I can be the support she needs, since I’m experiencing some life-changing moments as well.

“How about you show me this mysterious creature? We can work on getting your shift to happen smoothly and help you feel comfortable in a different skin,” I suggest, and she nods at me gratefully.

“Sounds good. So how does it work?”

I gesture to the other guys. “One of them will be able to explain it better. My change isn’t as drastic as an animal’s. Once I hit the water, it just kind of happens. I don’t have to think about it at all.”

“Hmm, really? I guess there’s no time like the present to see if the queen has a mer form.” Before anyone can react, Liam tosses Colbie over his shoulder and strides to the water.

“What the fuck? Put me down!” she yells and bangs on his back with her fists, but they seem to do nothing. He just gives her a sharp slap on the bottom, which has her gasping.

“Settle, Your Majesty. This won’t hurt a bit,” he promises before tossing her into the water. There’s a moment of silence before she screams.

“You fucking bastard!” The rest of the words are lost as she plummets into the icy cold water.

“Aw, dude, you’ve fucked up now. Even if you had won the race, there’s no way you’re going near her bed anytime soon,” Brodie says as we rush to the side and watch to see what happens.

Chapter

Thirteen

Colbie

Ionly have enough time to take a deep breath before I plunge through the surface of the pool. The freezing cold water steals the air from my lungs, and my body seizes up. I struggle to move as my body temperature plummets, and I start to panic, trying to claw myself to the surface, but my limbs refuse to cooperate.

My chest heaves with the need for air, and I try to toe off my shoes, but my legs refuse to move. Glancing upwards, I see the cloudy sky through the surface and pray it won’t be my last sight, but then warmth pulses deep inside me, and power rushes through my body, wiping away the numbness. My pants shred, and my shoes fall to the bottom, then I look down and watch on in awe as a change occurs. Pain ripples through me as my legs fuse together and form a tail covered in pretty, shimmery pink scales, then a blinding pain slashes across my neck, like someone took a knife to either side. The agony is too much, and I can’t stop myself from screaming. As I part my lips and surrender to the pain, water rushes into my mouth, but instead of drowning, fresh air infuses my lungs, and they expand inrelief. I feel around for a wound, because a pain that bad must mean I’m about to bleed out, but instead of a gaping lesion, I feel gill slits. Holy crap.

Trying to make sense of everything, I look around in surprise. My eyesight has sharpened, and I’ve stopped descending. Instead, I’m suspended, my tail waving back and forth gracefully, and I can’t help but gape in shock. That sure was a dick move by Liam, but it seems it was effective. Fuck him, though, I plan on making him panic a little. The longer I stay down here, the more they are going to worry that I actually drowned. I wonder how long it will take before they send Micah in to rescue me. Stupid shifters don’t realize how fragile humans actually are. If I were still human, there would have been no hope for me whatsoever. I would have gone peacefully to a watery grave, but that asshole was right, and launching me into the pond triggered my shift.

The material of my tank top floats around me with the gentle current, so I peel it over my head, leaving me in just my sports bra. I release the tank and let it drift to the bottom of the pool, relieving myself of the tangled fabric. I give my tail a little flick and shoot forward. Holy crap, that thing has some power. I giggle, bubbles rising to the surface above me. I’m a freaking mermaid. The cold water is no longer affecting me, and I might go as far as to say it’s energizing. I feel more alert and focused than I have since I first stepped foot into the palace. Maybe the water has rejuvenating properties. I will have to ask Micah.

I decide to explore my new underwater environment, letting the guys sweat for a bit. It only seems fair. I don’t want them to start this relationship thinking I’m a rational, logical woman. Nope, I hold grudges, and there is nothing more terrifying than a woman with a grudge—Liam is going to find this out the hard way. I want to explore this pool, so I swim toward the churning water at the base of the falls. Fish dart away as I approach,making themselves scarce at the sight of a much bigger creature. I guess I’m at the top of the food chain now. I wonder how merpeople fare against sharks, or if they are still an apex predator in the ocean.

I reach the tumultuous, swirling water at the base of the falls and swim through it. The water pounds over my back for a brief moment, but instead of being painful, it’s almost like a massage, and when I exit on the other side, the water is serene but much darker. Light from the sky has been blocked out by a rock formation, so I swim to the surface to get a better look. Sure enough, the sky is obstructed by a cave carved out of the rock, but the ceiling is high above the pool. Turning in a circle, I notice the pool ends, and there is an opening—a small space with a dirt floor and not much else—but then I notice a tunnel that leads further into the mountain. I consider trying to get out and explore, but I’m not sure how to make the tail go away. The first time I shifted, I returned to human form because I was exhausted. I can’t do the same here and be stuck, unable to swim back out.

Turning to face the thundering wall of water, I notice there’s a weird glow, something that looks unnatural as opposed to the filtered daylight from outside. It starts off small and grows larger, spreading out and up, and just as I begin to become concerned, a familiar woman steps out of the glow and walks toward me across the water. My mouth drops open in shock as I take in the now familiar form of the goddess. Her long blonde hair and fitted red dress are completely dry despite her having just stepped out of a raging waterfall. She giggles with delight at my surprise and passes me, stepping up onto the dry land, wrinkling her nose with disgust before waving her hand. A surge of magic shimmers over the area, and a cozy couch appears right in the middle of the dank cavern. She takes a seat, crossing oneshapely leg over the other, then tilts her head and looks down at me, smiling.

“Hi, Colbie, how are things?” she asks casually, and I continue to gape at the woman who got me into all of this in the first place.

“Aramis?” I stammer, looking down at my body and wondering how I’m supposed to bow or curtsy or show whatever sign of respect she requires in this form.

“Call me Ari, and I think we’re past the whole groveling at my feet thing,” she tells me, obviously able to read my mind or something. The smile drops, and she becomes serious, leaning forward in her seat. “We need to have a little chat.”