Treacherous Seas Read online

  Table of Contents

  Books by L.M. Brown

  Title Page

  Legal Page

  Book Description

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

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  About the Author

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  To See the Sky

  To Change the Stars

  My Boyfriend’s an Alien

  One Perfect Wish

  Falling into Darkness

  Mermen and Magic

  Forbidden Waters

  Tempestuous Tides

  Heavely Sins

  Between Heaven and Hell

  Between Good and Evil

  Between Life and Death

  Mermen & Magic

  TREACHEROUS SEAS

  L.M. BROWN

  Treacherous Seas

  ISBN # 978-1-78651-788-3

  ©Copyright L.M. Brown 2019

  Cover Art by Erin Dameron-Hill ©Copyright June 2019

  Interior text design by Claire Siemaszkiewicz

  Pride Publishing

  This is a work of fiction. All characters, places and events are from the author’s imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, events or places is purely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form, whether by printing, photocopying, scanning or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher, Pride Publishing.

  Applications should be addressed in the first instance, in writing, to Pride Publishing. Unauthorised or restricted acts in relation to this publication may result in civil proceedings and/or criminal prosecution.

  The author and illustrator have asserted their respective rights under the Copyright Designs and Patents Acts 1988 (as amended) to be identified as the author of this book and illustrator of the artwork.

  Published in 2019 by Pride Publishing, United Kingdom.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the authors’ rights. Purchase only authorised copies.

  Pride Publishing is an imprint of Totally Entwined Group Limited.

  If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book”.

  Book six in the

  Mermen & Magic series

  One merman. Two lives. A love so powerful it tore apart a city and broke the heart of a god.

  Caspian, the Atlantean God of Justice, has devoted his eternal life to protecting the merfolk. He has no time for romance, not even when the merman he now watches over is his former lover reincarnated.

  Phoebus, a merman living in the sunken city of Atlantis before the Atlanteans were banished, never intended to fall for Caspian, the most promiscuous of all the gods. Yet, when Caspian offers him immortality, Phoebus doesn’t know if he can pay the price, even if refusing means breaking the heart of a god.

  Back in the present, Marin remembers the love he once had for Caspian, but he’s not the same merman now. Caspian might have loved him as Phoebus, but he knows the god cannot give him what he needs.

  Marin doesn’t want Caspian’s protection. He wants revenge, and he is prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice to get it, even if it means breaking Caspian’s heart a second time.

  Prologue

  Cari stood on the balcony of her private quarters in her palace on the Isle of the Gods. From her vantage point, she watched the two men sparring on the beach below.

  “His form isn’t too bad,” Medina commented from beside her.

  “No, it’s not,” Cari agreed. “His form isn’t the problem, though, is it?”

  Medina sighed. “I suppose not.”

  “There’s a great difference between fighting another man—even a god—and battling a sea dragon. No matter how much he’s improved, he still won’t survive a battle with Urion.”

  “Maybe Caspian will talk him out of it,” Medina suggested.

  “I doubt he’s even trying to,” Cari muttered. If anyone could appreciate the thirst for vengeance, it was her brother.

  Medina leaned on the railing. “I don’t know. Caspian knows what will happen if Marin tries to fight Urion. Do you really think he’d let him face that fate?”

  Cari closed her eyes and summoned a vision of Marin’s future. Once again she saw him, trident in hand, facing the largest of Mariana’s sea dragons, Urion. Urion dispatched the merman with frightening speed, burning him with sea fire until there was nothing left at all.

  Marin’s desire to avenge the man he loved would lead to his death, and no matter how many times Cari gazed into the future, she couldn’t see anything different.

  Chapter One

  Marin glared up at the god from where he lay sprawled on the sandy beach.

  Caspian held out his hand. “Perhaps we should call it a day?”

  “It’s still light,” Marin argued, though he accepted the outstretched hand and let Caspian pull him to his feet.

  “You’re getting tired.”

  “I’m fine.” He picked up his trident and took his fighting stance once more. “Come on. You’re a god, you’re not tired.”

  Caspian shrugged and placed his feet in the sand. “You need to work on your balance.”

  Marin snorted. “I’ll be facing Urion underwater. What’s the point of learning to balance when I’ll be swimming?”

  “Because I said so,” Caspian replied as he thrust his trident at Marin.

  Marin dodged the jab with ease and countered with a stab of his own. Caspian swung to avoid his attack, and with one sweep of his weapon, he sent Marin flying again.

  “You’re too tired,” Caspian said. “When you’re fresh and concentrating, you can anticipate that move with ease. Come. Let’s get something to eat and call it a day. We’ll practice again tomorrow.”

  Marin opened his mouth to argue but Caspian had already vanished from the beach.

  With a frustrated sigh, Marin scrambled to his feet and walked over to the path leading from the beach to Caspian’s temple and palace.

  The temple was overgrown and sorely neglected. Caspian had told him that part of the building was forbidden to him. Marin had no problem with that. The place gave him the shivers.

  The palace was in a slightly better state of repair, though not by much, and only a few rooms were habitable. The rest were dusty and unused and didn’t beckon explorers at all.

  Caspian had brought him here two days ago. He’d given him a quick tour of the rooms he could go into and had made it clear that everywhere else was strictly out of bounds. When Marin had asked where Caspian’s own rooms were, in case he needed something, Caspian had told him he didn’t live here, but
the god wouldn’t elaborate further.

  Marin didn’t press for information. It wasn’t any of his business. He was here so Caspian could train him for his battle with Urion. He didn’t need to know any more than that.

  When Marin arrived back at his rooms, he found Caspian setting the small table. He’d clearly been somewhere to get what he told Marin was a takeaway while Marin had been walking back from the beach.

  “What do you intend to do tonight?” Caspian asked after they had begun eating.

  Marin shrugged. “Sleep and get an early start with our training in the morning.”

  “It’s the solstice,” Caspian said.

  “Yes, I know.” Marin had felt the heat of the mating fever rising throughout the day. He’d done his utmost to ignore it. It wasn’t as if he had any intention of breaking his fever. It was his second solstice without Calder and the pain was already worse than the last, but he was trying as hard as he could to put it out of his mind.

  “Would you like me to take you to the island that the mer from Atlantis are using?”

  “No, that won’t be necessary.” Marin concentrated on his food and tried not to think about the mating seasons he had spent during happier times.

  Calder.

  Older and more experienced, Calder had known without being told what Marin needed on the night of the solstice. On their first night together, Calder had taken him to a secluded grove and initiated Marin in the ways of mermen who craved the touch of their own gender.

  Big and strong, Calder had been the most powerful of the Atlantean guards, yet he had submitted to Marin without hesitation, spreading his legs for the younger merman with a willingness that had been as arousing as it was surprising.

  They had never spent a solstice apart.

  Until Calder had been cruelly taken from him.

  “The pain from your fever will get worse if you don’t break it,” Caspian reminded him.

  Marin glared across the table. “Do you think I don’t know that?”

  “Sorry, but I’m sure there are many mermen who would be happy for you to suck their cock.”

  “That’s not my trigger,” Marin replied.

  “Oh. Sorry. I guess I just assumed. Well, even so, many mermen would be happy to fuck you, too.”

  Marin didn’t bother to reply to that, annoyed that Caspian, like everyone else, automatically assumed that he would be the one taking another man up his arse. Truthfully, he didn’t mind being on the receiving end of a good fuck, and he and Calder had often switched roles the rest of the year, but it wasn’t what he needed during the mating season.

  “It’ll only take a few seconds for me to transport you to the island,” Caspian continued. “I can collect you later and bring you back.”

  Marin pushed back from the table. “I have no intention of breaking my fever. Tonight I intend to honor Calder’s memory by remaining abstinent.”

  Caspian stared at him, his expression unreadable, for several long seconds. “Even though you know it will bring you pain?”

  “Yes,” Marin replied.

  Caspian nodded slowly. “I understand. Now, finish your meal and I’ll say no more about the solstice.”

  Marin hadn’t thought he would convince Caspian so easily. He pulled back to the table and picked up his fork once more.

  It was going to be a long night, but he owed it to Calder to be strong and focused.

  * * * *

  “I’m ready,” Marin declared.

  “No, you’re not,” Caspian argued. “If you leave now, you’ll die.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  “Yes, he does.” Cari appeared behind Caspian. “Calder was a fine merman and I’m truly sorry for what happened to him.”

  “Not sorry enough to do anything about that monster that murdered him,” Marin pointed out. “And if you and the rest of the gods aren’t going to bring him to justice, I will.”

  “Justice will be served,” Cari said.

  “When?”

  “I don’t know, but it will come to pass. I promise.”

  Marin paced away toward the edge of the water. “That’s not good enough. I want him dead.”

  “Revenge isn’t the answer.”

  “He murdered the only merman I’ve ever loved. I want justice for him.”

  “You want revenge. There’s a difference.”

  “I don’t care,” Marin screamed.

  “Urion’s death won’t bring Calder back,” Caspian said.

  Marin glanced over his shoulder to glare at Cari’s brother. “For a God of Justice, you don’t seem to be delivering it. I’d say you’re somewhat slacking.”

  “It won’t take away the pain of his loss either,” Caspian added, ignoring Marin’s jibe.

  Marin choked out a bitter laugh. “What would you know about loss? You and the rest of the gods have never had to lose anyone. You’ve not had to hold your lover in your arms while he takes his last breath. You’re immortal. How can you ever understand what I’m going through?”

  “Enough!”

  Marin flinched at the booming voice. The god who had shouted appeared a moment later.

  “Grandfather.” Cari bobbed a low curtsy that the god completely ignored.

  “This is Antar,” Caspian said. “He is our grandfather and the God of Space and Time.”

  Antar ignored Caspian’s introduction as well. “You, merman, dare to raise your voice to a god?”

  “It’s fine,” Caspian interrupted. “Marin is just a little upset.”

  “Entire armies have been destroyed for lesser insults,” Antar continued.

  Lightning flashed over the water, even though there wasn’t a cloud in the sky.

  “Grandfather, leave Marin be,” Caspian said. “He’s been through enough.”

  With a wave of his hand, Antar froze both of his grandchildren in place.

  Marin took a step back.

  “Yes, you should be scared,” whispered Antar, the soft tone even more terrifying than when he’d shouted. “You show disrespect to those who have shown nothing but kindness to you. You aren’t worthy of their attention.”

  A waft of perfume heralded the arrival of Medina, the Goddess of Love.

  “Stay out of this, Medina,” Antar warned, without turning his steely gaze from Marin.

  “Marin is a merman who has lost the one he loves. His heart cries out to me.”

  “A broken heart is no excuse for disrespecting the gods.”

  “I’m sure he didn’t mean to. Perhaps a second chance, before you do anything drastic?”

  “Why does this insolent creature deserve a second chance?” Antar growled.

  “Look into his eyes,” Medina said. “See what Caspian, Cari and myself already have.”

  Antar seemed to take her at her word and stared right into Marin’s eyes, searching for goodness knows what.

  “Ah, I see,” Antar finally said.

  “If you punish him for his insolence, the repercussions will be disastrous.”

  “I presume your appearance here means you have another suggestion?”

  “Marin needs to remember how to love,” Medina said.

  “I know how to love,” Marin interrupted. “I love Calder.”

  Antar nodded. “He does have a point there. But he has forgotten so much. Perhaps it is time he remembered.”

  Marin felt rooted to the spot, unable to move his limbs or utter a word.

  The wind howled through his ears, though not a hair moved on the heads of any of the immortals standing before him.

  Lightning flashed over the ocean and the earth seemed to shake beneath his feet.

  “Remember,” Antar whispered. “Remember…”

  Chapter Two

  The Isle of the Gods

  Before Records Began

  Caspian blinked as he stared up at the seething goddess at the end of his bed. “I thought I made it clear several centuries ago that women weren’t welcome in my bed.”

  “You did,” re
plied Medina, her tone as icy as her glare. “You’ll note that I’m not in your bed, unlike my priests.”

  Caspian smiled and stretched as he took in the delectable sight of his most recent bed mates. “They came to me willingly. It took very little persuasion to convince them that they might find the touch of men as satisfying as that of women.”

  “As my priests are specifically chosen because they are attracted to both genders, this doesn’t come as a surprise to me. I have no issues with them seeking pleasure with each other when I’m otherwise engaged.”

  “You mean once you’re bored with them,” Caspian replied.

  One of the priests stirred beside him and Caspian patted him on the rump.

  “My priests can bed whomever they wish,” Medina said, “just not when they’re due to perform ceremonial duties in my temple.”

  “I’m not keeping them from their duties. They are free to leave whenever they wish.”

  Medina gave the nearest priest a shove, waking him from his slumber and nearly sending him to the floor.

  “What the—?”

  “Your goddess requires your presence,” Caspian explained.

  “The dawn blessing!” The priest darted from the bed, waking the other three occupants in the process.

  There followed a mad scramble of arms and limbs as Medina’s priests clambered to their feet and rushed around the room in search of their robes.

  Medina ushered them out of the door before casting a final vicious glare at Caspian. “Do you think now that you’ve bedded all my priests, you might turn your attentions elsewhere?”

  Caspian shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not. Your priests are most talented.”

  Medina snarled, her lovely face becoming ugly for a brief moment, before she disappeared through the archway, leaving only a lingering trace of her perfume in her wake.

  Caspian chuckled and gave his cock a rueful glance. It was a shame—if not entirely unexpected—that Medina had charged in here so early. Maybe he shouldn’t have deliberately enticed her favorites into his bed the night before the dawn blessing ceremony. He’d have to track down one of his own priests to take care of him.