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Oceanborn
Amalie Howard
The coronation is over.But the battle has just begun.Nerissa Marin has won her crown. But can she keep it? Already, her ties to the human realm are driving a wedge between Nerissa and her people. When word arrives that her part-human prince consort, Lo, has been poisoned, she makes the difficult choice to leave Waterfell and return landside. As the royal courts debate her decision, even more disturbing rumors surface: a plot is rising against her, led by someone she least expects.On land, Nerissa learns another shocking truth–Lo does not remember who she is. As her choice to try to save him threatens her hold on her crown, changing loyalties and uncertainty test her courage in ways she could never have imagined. Nerissa will have one last chance to prove herself as a queen…and save the undersea kingdom she loves.
The coronation is over.
But the battle has just begun.
Nerissa Marin has won her crown. But can she keep it? Already, her ties to the human realm are driving a wedge between Nerissa and her people. When word arrives that her part-human prince consort, Lo, has been poisoned, she makes the difficult choice to leave Waterfell and return landside. As the royal courts debate her decision, even more disturbing rumors surface: a plot is rising against her, led by someone she least expects.
On land, Nerissa learns another shocking truth—Lo does not remember who she is. As her choice to try to save him threatens her hold on her crown, changing loyalties and uncertainty test her courage in ways she could never have imagined. Nerissa will have one last chance to prove herself as a queen…and save the undersea kingdom she loves.
“It’s good to see you, Lo,” I whisper against his neck.
As if a spell has been broken, Lo pulls away, his eyes narrowing a fraction in frustration as he struggles to remember. “So you’re Nerissa? Bertha told me that we were friends.”
“Friends,” I repeat, hearing my own voice break slightly on the word.
“We went to school together, right? Dover?”
I swallow hot bile at his nervous recitation. Even prepared, his reaction comes as a shock. I don’t even want to look at Bertha or Grayer, or even Echlios. I don’t want to see the expressions on their faces. Instead I smile through trembling cheeks and watery eyes. “Yes. We met at Dover. You don’t remember me at all?”
The look in his eyes is tortured, as if he’s struggling to place me in his head. “There’s a part of me that feels like it does know you,” he says, gesturing to his chest. “But I can’t remember it here.” His fingers jerk to his head and then flutter to his sides in a defeated motion. “I’m sorry.”
Praise for Amalie Howard and Waterfell, book 1 of The Aquarathi (#ulink_5c518477-75e0-5b18-a1bc-3e66bd30f87f)
“Howard has crafted a page-turning blend of magical realism and fantasy.… Plot shifts, surprises, and a love affair not yet fully realized sets readers up for the second in the fascinating trilogy.”
—Booklist
“A fantastical surf-and-turf romance.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Exhilarating, romantic, and totally unique, Waterfell is an absolute page-turner!”
—Kristi Cook, New York Times bestselling author of the Winterhaven series
Books by Amalie Howard available from MIRA Ink (#ulink_97103456-c22a-5b87-80f0-3481c675faef)
The Aquarathi
(in reading order)
WATERFELL
OCEANBORN
Oceanborn
Amalie Howard
www.miraink.co.uk (http://www.miraink.co.uk)
For my brothers, Gian Kris and Givan Kyle, who are the true ninjas.
Contents
Cover (#u993abba9-bf9e-56d0-841f-bc16139d06f9)
Back Cover Text (#u28fd6810-be0c-5a30-b275-734f7d2447d4)
Introduction (#ue47c1748-0338-5c5f-84ad-8edc449dc3a1)
Praise (#ub1955e68-3e6a-52db-aafd-9760dd0e5144)
Booklist (#u99877431-9d62-5a4e-a108-a188db54e91f)
Title Page (#ufe0c46cf-8dbe-5a34-aadf-57eb6e019f5e)
Dedication (#u8f6c4d9f-a46a-550e-8136-2a07dc7d7e26)
Epigraph (#u42dc5e6b-658a-59d6-80de-9ebd9cc47fc3)
1 Glory and Pain (#u1d9ac237-57e3-54d5-8106-97774cf6a9d3)
2 Impossible Choices (#u6d131bdb-de3f-547f-b7d3-093b19c676e8)
3 Confusion (#u349994a3-b74c-5d57-9793-389919b4e38a)
4 Surf Your Heart Out (#uf522785e-6b62-51dc-ac9e-21d3d5dc2a6d)
5 Game On (#u13d746d5-41b9-5dbe-8c6e-2437644a6f58)
6 Make Your Move (#u55609773-ff34-5e3a-8e77-1724e7f338f1)
7 Stop, Drop and Roll (#litres_trial_promo)
8 A Kiss Is Just a Kiss (#litres_trial_promo)
9 The Challenge (#litres_trial_promo)
10 Water and Blood (#litres_trial_promo)
11 Braving a Glimmer (#litres_trial_promo)
12 Monster (#litres_trial_promo)
13 The Rules of the Game (#litres_trial_promo)
14 Sleight of Hand (#litres_trial_promo)
15 Friends and Frenemies (#litres_trial_promo)
16 Hell Froze Over (#litres_trial_promo)
17 Chimeras (#litres_trial_promo)
18 The Call of Land and Sea (#litres_trial_promo)
19 Clash of the Teen Titans (#litres_trial_promo)
20 A Queen’s Word (#litres_trial_promo)
21 Catch and No Release (#litres_trial_promo)
22 Second Chances (#litres_trial_promo)
23 Vendetta (#litres_trial_promo)
24 Leap Before You Look (#litres_trial_promo)
25 Girlfriends, Grenades and Goodbye (#litres_trial_promo)
26 The Art of War (#litres_trial_promo)
Acknowledgments (#litres_trial_promo)
Playlist (#litres_trial_promo)
Questions for Discussion (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)
Epigraph (#ulink_3e8e74f9-0a08-575c-9669-20ff315e4809)
Roll on, thou deep and dark blue Ocean—roll!
Ten thousand fleets sweep over thee in vain;
Man marks the earth with ruin—his control
Stops with the shore.
—Lord Byron
1 Glory and Pain (#ulink_01c13aa8-1bc1-55bd-9148-9d0d42bc5286)
We are savage. We are proud. We are the dark rulers of the sea.
Deep in the ocean near the earth’s core, I survey the Aquarathi people—a firestorm of color—as the four courts pay homage to their new queen. Closest to me, the Gold Court stands quietly proud. The Sapphire Court is flamboyant in their tribute. The Emerald Court, more demure. But the Ruby Court, I watch with silent, cautious eyes. Months before, they supported a rival queen in her bid against the High Court, and she almost won.
Almost.
The great hall of Waterfell is deep and cavernous, with cobbled golden stalactites and stalagmites spanning its entire length to meet in the middle like majestic columns. In the human world, I learned about the marble pillars of the ancient Greeks. Ours remind me of the pictures I saw of theirs, only the ones around me are far older and more forbidding. The floor glitters with all manner of earthly minerals, reflecting off our bodies like prisms.
Today we celebrate my coronation as heir to the High Court. In Aquarathi society, it’s a pivotal milestone, one made even more momentous by the fact that my father—the last king—is dead. If he were alive, years from now he would be the one to transfer the proverbial baton to me. The endorsement from one ruler to another is a vital piece of our tradition. An Aquarathi coronation isn’t the same as humans might expect from what they know of royalty in the media, but power is passed from the old monarch to the new one in a ritual that’s just as significant.
Aivana, which translates into the human language as beautiful flower, refers to an ancient Aquarathi practice. Like Sanctum, it is a gift born to those of royal blood. In our world, when kings or queens die, they can bequeath their power, should they so choose, to a next of kin. Aivana is not only a transfer of Aquarathi energy from one ruler to the next; it’s a transfer of trust—a blessing of sorts from the old to the new.
In a parallel world, my father would be alive and standing at my side. I can picture his face, silvery blue and radiant with pride. Everyone would watch with bated breath as he touched his nose to mine and bent his forehead to rest directly upon my brow. We would both glow so brightly that the light would extinguish all colors save ours. Together, we would bestow Sanctum—an ancient Aquarathi practice used by royals to strengthen our people—to everyone in the room, reminding them of our strength and our love. Eventually his bioluminescence would fade, merging into mine and signaling the rise of a new ruler.
But my father isn’t here, and there’s no one to pass along a crown to make this any easier or to make the Aquarathi immediately accept me. I am alone. And I am already a queen. My coronation is but an afterthought. My people watch me in expectant silence, crowding into the great hall of Waterfell like silent luminescent candles flickering in a body of water. A shiver winds through me as I study their faces—my fledgling rule has already raised questions and a near-royal coup. I’ve had to earn their approval. I still have to.
I wish I were back in La Jolla.
The thought is errant. And cowardly. I am Aquarathi, not human. And I belong here. I know that. But the truth is, I miss being human—playing hockey and surfing, lunches in the quad, hanging out with my best friend, Jenna. Being human. But I’m not just a girl. I’m part of an alien marine species living on this planet, and my place is in the ocean, not landside.
I almost smile, remembering snippets of a conversation I had with Jenna during one of our sunny lunches in the Dover Prep courtyard, a couple weeks after I’d revealed what I was to her.
“So, do you live in a giant underwater castle? You know, like Ariel?”
I snorted soda through my nose at the Disney reference. “Um, no. There are no underwater castles in the ocean, Jenna, and I definitely don’t sit on rocks grooming my hair in the sunlight waiting to be rescued by Prince Eric...even though he is kind of dreamy.”
Jenna grinned. “Well, now that you’ve gone and dashed all my childhood ideals, enlighten me.”
“Disney version or Jeopardy version?”
“Jeopardy.”
“We live in underwater caves. We hunt, we sleep, we reproduce and we work. As a species, think of us as a cross between whales, dolphins and wolves. No castles, no tea parties, just the occasional sushi brunch. We’re just like any other sea creature living in pods...pretty boring really.”
“Don’t you have an economic or political structure?”
“An economy of what? Trading in plankton? Our political structure is divided into four courts, as you know, with one high court. Unlike most humans,” I said with a grin, “we are a very simple species.”
“I don’t get it. I mean, you’re so evolved. Intelligent.”
“Why? Intelligence is measured in different ways, not necessarily according to human standards or human categories. For us, it’s about self-awareness. We exist within the parameters of our world, within our social and cultural structures, living as one with the environment. We don’t belong up here, involved in politics and MTV and wireless Internet. A killer whale doesn’t just get up and say, ‘I want to play some video games and maybe try using a fork,’ and neither would any Aquarathi. It doesn’t make us any less intelligent.”
“Yes, but you can transform to be like us. Human.”
“Not all of us. Most Aquarathi can only exist in human form if they’re in close proximity to me. It’s not our natural state.”
She stared at me as if I were an imbecile missing the big picture. “Still, for argument’s sake, think of what you could do if you did—I mean you could be a part of the government instead of working policy change from the sidelines. You could make sure we don’t do anything to jeopardize your species. You could play an active part. I mean, more than you already do in secret, and you wouldn’t have to hide.”
“If the humans knew about us, it would lead to worse things, Jenna.”
