Poseidon (Contemporary Mythos Book 5)

Breathing underwater came as easy as on land—the steady rhythm through my nose or mouth. My dark hair floated in light wisps, curling over my arms as the current washed over me—patches of bioluminescent blue scales scattered over my skin. Something stirred behind me, and I whirled around, dragging my fingers through the water and sending a swirl of bubbles. Simon floated in front of me, a cinch in his brow, staring at me with that radiant emerald gaze.

I knew him.

As I reached forward, keeping my gaze focused on his eyes, the specific part of him I recognized, his expression fell. It resembled someone who’d been punched in the gut but transgressed into shock and soon—relief.

He spun in the water, kicking up so many bubbles it impeded my vision. When he stopped, he was no longer the short-haired surfer I’d met on the beach. He appeared as I knew him with his long hair, falling past his shoulders and full beard.

“Poseidon?” I said, the water welcoming my words and not distorting them.

His brow furrowed, and he swam toward me, letting me touch the side of his face. No sooner had my skin brushed his, he closed his eyes with a contented sigh. “Amphitrite.”

“I don’t understand what’s going on.” I tangled my fingers through his wet beard. This was the man I knew. The god. My husband. My king.

I snapped my hand away and turned my gaze down. Was my husband. The suppressed emotions punched at my skull—hurt, abandonment, guilt.

“Amph, look at me.” His large hand cupped my chin as he lifted my eyes to his. “We have a lot to talk about, but right now, I need to stop the rest of those pirates from taking over the ship.”

That first group of pirates. The mysterious force that made them all disappear.

“You’ve been here since I texted you. Haven’t you?” I stared into his eyes, welcoming the safety they had always exuded like our hideaway grotto.

He nodded and took my hand in his. “All things we can talk about later.”

Before I could say any more, he catapulted us through the water like a great white shark readying to breach the surface. We landed on the deck. With ill-practiced sea legs, I fell to my knees, sputtering water.

A memory sizzled over my brain, my knees crashing against the wet wooden planks of a classic tall ship. Night had overtaken the sky—a storm making thunder boom overhead, the rain pouring over the boat in droves. My soaked linen dress clung to my legs as I scrambled, my long dark hair stuck to my face. A burly man with a shaved head, his bronze skin caked with oil and tar despite the rain, barreled toward me, a toothless grin pulling at his lips. My chest pumped with erratic breaths as I backpedaled on my heels, colliding with the wooden mast, my neck brushing against the coiled rope around it. He snatched my wrists, and I screamed, pinching my eyes closed.

“Amph, it’s me,” Poseidon’s voice soothed.

Refusing to look, I shook my head, trying to force the memory away.

“Amphitrite,” Poseidon yelled.

My eyes flew open, and I stared up at him, my wrists held within Poseidon’s delicate grasp, concern furrowed in his brow.

“This is all too much, Seid. So many years of memories. How am I going to filter through them all without it driving me mad?” My limbs went limp as I slumped to the deck as if defeated.

“Look at me.” He tugged one wrist and slipped his fingers under my chin.

Doing as he asked, I lifted my eyes to his, my gaze blurring with tears.

“You can do this because you have to. You need to find Meg.”

“Meg,” I breathed out, wincing at my buzzing brain.

“Amphitrite. You will get through this. And I know because you are the strongest woman I’ve ever met. Even twice.” His callused thumb circled my cheek.

I slipped my hand over his and a weak smile quirked my lip.

“But right now, sweetheart, I need you to move.”

Meg. I couldn’t lose her. It was enough to force me to my feet, holding onto Poseidon’s arms as leverage.

“Meg is right around the corner. You’ll have to go on your own. I can’t have anyone noticing me.” He pinched my chin with two fingers. “You’re going to be alright. They won’t get that close to you again. I promise you.” His last words rolled off his tongue in a snarl.

“Go stop those assholes.”

Poseidon backed away with the grace of the sea god I knew him to be and pointed at my arm. “You’ll need to make those disappear.”

“I—I don’t know how to do that. I don’t remember.” I held my arms up and stared at the glowing scales, shaking my limbs as if that were the answer.

He delicately pinned my arms at my sides, the calluses on his palms making my toes curl. “Close your eyes and think about them disappearing. Will them back to the sea.”

Doing as instructed, I let my lids shut and thought of nothing but the vast empty ocean. Calling to it, I beseeched it to hide my scales—my true self—until I beckoned for it again.

Poseidon’s lips brushed my cheek, his beard tickling my skin. “They’re gone. We will talk about all of it.”

With a shaky breath, I blinked my eyes back open. “When?”

He was gone.

I bolted around the corner, finding Meg curled against the same wall I’d been. “Meg, it’s me,” I whispered, trying not to startle her.

“Cory?” Meg stared at me wide-eyed before launching at me, pulling me down, and hugging me.

“I’m okay. Everything’s going to be fine. We just need to stay put.” The anxiety I’d felt melted away with the knowledge of who was on board, ridding the decks of pond scum.

She peeled away and touched my face, my shoulders. “I don’t understand. You’re soaking wet, and I heard that gunshot. It took everything in me not to scream.”

“They did shoot but missed. It startled me, and I fell overboard.”

It felt so wrong to lie to Meg. What’s worse—it was the first in a forthcoming string of hidden truths. How did someone tell their best friend they were a sea goddess in a past life? A queen? The instances she couldn’t explain my connection to sea life were because I could speak to them and control them.

“How the hell did you get back on deck, Cor?” Her eyes frantically searched my face, her lips thinning.

“You know I’m a strong swimmer. Besides, I knew I needed to get back for you.” A weak smile tugged at my lips.

Lies. Lies. Lies.

Meg was an intelligent human being. The situation warranted her questioning expression, and I braced for the impact of her fiery interrogation techniques.

“Ladies and gentleman, the situation has been contained. We are turning course for the nearest port, and as a safety precaution, we ask all guests to migrate to the bottom deck for the duration of the trip. Upon arrival in San Juan, you will be given complimentary flight service back to Orlando and a full refund. We hope you’ll still consider a future cruise with Calypso Cruises, and we deeply apologize for today’s occurrence,” an announcer voiced across the deck over the intercom.

“Let’s get below decks.” I helped Meg to her feet.

As we walked, Meg stayed deathly quiet, switching between rubbing the back of her neck and running a finger over her eyebrow.

“You okay?” I risked more questions asking this, but I couldn’t in good conscience pretend I wasn’t concerned. We’d gone through a life-threatening ordeal. It could rattle anyone.

“All things considered? Yeah. But I can’t get past something.” Meg shook her fist as if she played roulette again.

“Oh?” A barnacle formed in my throat.

I wasn’t ready for this conversation. I’d yet to figure out things for myself, let alone explain it to someone who had no idea our world existed.

“There is no feasible way that boat could’ve caught up with the speed of this cruise ship. Not to mention the water cannons. It barely phased them. How?” She snapped her gaze to mine, her jaw tightening.

All valid questions. And the answers I knew lay with Poseidon.

“I don’t know, Meg.” I frowned and hugged her to my side.

When we reached the lower decks, hundreds of people scattered the tables they’d spaced throughout, including a dozen buffet counters with various foods and bottled water. It took several hours to travel back to San Juan and another couple of hours to fly to Orlando. With our vacation cut short, I accepted a job offer to fill in for a tour guide who called in sick at an aquarium in Orlando. Meg hadn’t complained much, considering she planned to spend the day with Mickey in the Magic Kingdom. I told her to grab me a pair of Little Mermaid mouse ears.

Donning my striking oversized blue polo with the Brizo Aquarium logo over my left boob, I led a small group of attendees. Two parents carted their twin toddlers in a conjoined stroller, an elderly couple who couldn’t stop making googly eyes at each other, and two young women who spent more time taking selfies for social media than looking at the fish.

We approached the jellyfish tank, and my heart wrenched. Their anxiety pulsed through me in waves. They wanted to be in the open ocean. Their appreciation for being in the tank and out of harm’s way was evident, but it couldn’t compare to freedom. Gulping down the anger and irritation storming in my core, I drowned them out as best I could before I suddenly started Operation: Free the Fish in the middle of a public aquarium.

“A little known fact, but jellyfish are one of the oldest multi-organ animals, having been around for at least six hundred million years.” I referenced the floating, gracefully flapping jellyfish with a hand, beaming at my tour group.

“Wow. Before the dinosaurs?” The older man asked, wrapping his arms around his wife from behind her.

“Yup. Even before the dinosaurs, before plants or fungi in fact, as well.”

One of the young women finally lifted her nose with a sneer. “I still think they’re aliens. They don’t have brains or any other real guts for that matter.”

“Fair point. But they do have an advanced nervous system. Does anyone know what all their receptors can detect?” I lifted my brows, waiting for an answer.

“Vibrations?” The mother of the family of four chimed in.

I pointed at her with a smile. “That’s one thing.”

When silence fell over them, I folded my hands behind my back. “They also help detect light and chemicals in the water. With these extra senses and their gravity navigation abilities, it’s how they chart themselves through their environment.”

“Have you heard of the immortal jellyfish found in the Mediterranean Sea?” A deep husky voice asked from behind the crowd.

Every nerve in my body sparked like tridents clashing.

Poseidon.

The small group of tourists stepped aside as Poseidon made his way forward. He was utter perfection with his hair down in wavy tendrils, sculpted full beard, Henley shirt with the sleeves rolled, exposing his tanned corded forearm muscles. I plucked at the buttons of my polo, somehow remembering flashes of our times spent together in bed. The way he rolled his hips. The feel of his beard brushing my inner thighs when he—

“Miss?” The older woman asked, making me jolt from my daydream.

“Yes. Sorry. I’m sorry. That concludes the tour. If there aren’t any questions, please enjoy the rest of your stay here at Brizo Aquarium.” With a quick, bland smile to reassure the tourists, I curled my hand with Poseidon’s arm and dragged him to an alcove where few attendees walked.

Poseidon smiled wide, his bright white teeth shining in stark contrast to his darker beard. “You look adorable in that polo, but they didn’t have a smaller size?” He chuckled, pointing at the length draped to my knees like a dress.

I pulled at the hem, feeling my cheeks warm. “How did you find me?”

His brows bobbed as he stared at me, waiting for me to answer my own question.

I palmed my forehead. “Right. I don’t remember how to use my—” Lowering my voice, I leaned into him. “I don’t remember how to use my powers.”

“Amph, you’re not going to have them all anyway. You’re mortal.” He rubbed my shoulder, a sympathetic pout melting over his lips.

Turning away from him, I flopped onto the bench facing the Mediterranean Sea tank. “You can’t call me that in public, Simon.”

Poseidon winced before sitting in the space beside me. “You finally realize who you are, and we still have to pretend. The irony.”

“And why are you still in your true form? How is Simon Thalassa going to explain growing long hair and a beard overnight?” I ran my fingers through his blonde tendrils and gulped.

By Olympus, he was beautiful.

“I’ll tell them magic. They’ll think I’m being a smart ass and forget about it in a week. Guaranteed.” He smirked and gripped the bench’s edge, moving his gaze to watch the fish—a blue tint flowing over his features from the tank lights. “Besides, I don’t ever want to lose that look on your face when you saw the real me and knew who I was.”

As pleased as I was to see him and as grateful as I was to no longer be stuck in the sky as a constellation, we had such a rocky past, he and I.

“I don’t know where to start with this,” I whispered, my nose stinging, threatening tears.

“Yeah. Not sure there’s a written protocol for a situation like this, Starfish.”

The nickname made my heart swan dive, and I snapped my gaze to his, tears clouding my vision.

He gave a sheepish smile, cocking his head to one side, causing his hair to fall in glorious shambles over one eye. Reaching a hand, he swiped a rolling tear from my cheek with his thumb. “We both did some things. Some—horrible things. But it was a lifetime ago. I’d like to think we’re—” He bent forward, dropping his hands between his knees.

“Getting a second chance,” I finished for him.

He nodded, lifting his eyes back to the colorful fish in front of us. “If we want it.”

Why would anyone not want a second chance at anything? But could we honestly work through what we’d done? And more importantly, what we’d done to each other?

“What’s the last thing you can vividly remember?” He played with one of several hemp bracelets on his wrist, twirling a small shell attached to one between two fingers.

“Of which life?” I huffed a breath, disorientation roiling in my brain as soon as I tried to recall all the lives I’d led.

His jade eyes found mine. “Ours.”

Pinching my knees together, I folded my hands in my lap. “Zeus exiling me to the stars. Pure darkness with the occasional glimpse of Olympus until one day I just—” I paused, glancing around us to ensure no one was within earshot. “I was a child in the Middle Ages.”

“Shit. Reincarnation. Is that what happened on the boat? Did you have a memory? Thought I was someone else?” He sat up straight.

I raised my shoulders to my ears before letting them flop back down. “Yes.” It came out stilted. “And I keep having these random flashes like a real-time slideshow in my mind.”

He slid his hand on my knee, and I zoomed to a memory of us on our thrones in Atlantis, his hand sliding over that same knee, smiling at me. When I tensed under his touch and looked away, he slid his hand to the bench.

The skin between his eyes formed a deep groove—his expression when deep in thought. “We’ll figure it out, but I think this—” He paused to point between us. “Is the more immediate hurdle to overcome.”

“We’re a hurdle now?”

He bumped his shoulder against me. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”

“What have you been doing all this time?” I scooted backward, making my toes barely touch the ground.

He blew out a harsh breath, making his lips vibrate. “Oh, man. Well, once mortals stopped believing in us, we all had to start disguising ourselves if we wished to stay amongst them. I’ve donned many hats. Military diver. Dockworker. Ship captain. Even worked as an actor for a spell.”

“An actor?” I pinched my lips together, attempting to hide my smile. “You?”

He playfully nudged my chin with his knuckle. “Yeah? How’s that so unbelievable, miss pro gamer?”

I gasped, feigning offense with a dramatic hand over my chest, and then…I narrowed my eyes. “You’re KingofFish69.”

A gooey smile played over Poseidon’s lips, and he lifted a palm. “Guilty.”

I rolled my eyes and leaned on the carpeted pole behind us. “You knew who I was this entire time and have been so—” My gaze fell to the horse tattoo covering the inside of his forearm. “—patient.”

He nodded, beating his fist against one knee. “A lot of things have changed about me, Amph.” He quirked one brow and scanned the area.

“Yeah. I can tell.” Feeling bold, I brushed my pinky against the hand he rested on the bench between us.

“You have as well.” Poseidon eyed our skin touching, and he curled a single finger with mine. “Maybe that’s what it took. Eons apart.”

“Rebirth,” I said on a breathy exhale.

“Go on a date with me.” His green eyes sparkled.

“A date?” A fluttery laugh escaped my throat.

“If we’re starting over, we might as well go all out. Besides, we never even had a first date. I sort of—” His cheek twitched.

“Claimed me?” I raised a brow.

“I’m not proud of it.”

“As long as you pick me up in a car and not a dolphin, then yes.” I tightened my one-finger grip on him.

He chuckled—deep and godly. “Deal.”

The aquarium boss tossed me a glare as he pointed at the last tour group for the day waiting.

“Damn. I have to give a final tour.” Standing, I turned to Poseidon towering over me.

“Tomorrow at seven work for you?” He slipped his hands in his front pockets.

I played a finger over the tip of my nose. “Perfect.”

“Cool. I’ll uh—I’ll see you then.” He dragged a hand through his long hair before turning on a heel and walking away, stealing a final glance at me over his shoulder.

Two gods torn apart for past selfishness brought together again in search of hope and serenity. Ages ago, the idea of it would’ve brought me comfort, but despite our history, it was as if we were meeting for the first time. I wasn’t the same person as I was back then, and it was clear—neither was he. Still, the Fates gave us another opportunity to find the happiness we’d lost. Could we work through it? Could I deal with the onslaught of past life memories? Would they stop? All of it aside, I owed it to myself to try.