"The humans call it an engine," Zephyr informs us. "It allows them to travel great distances in less time."
"Interesting," Zale murmurs.
I shake from my stupor. "Truly, but we're on limited time here, brothers. Has anyone stopped to think that if that's a human boat, we must not be in our own realm anymore?"
"That could be cause for concern," Zephyr starts, "but I can feel the magic, Zan. Can't you?"
Now that he's brought attention to it, I do feel my magic reaching as though with an invisible hand. Taking a risk, I bring us to the surface just as the ship has passed us. There on the other side is one of the largest spouts I've ever seen playing across the water and that's saying something considering our mother could make a spout to rival the gods.
My attention is still riveted to the magic I can feel leaking from the spout when Zale gasps. Before I can ask, there's a loud splash that hits me like a sucker punch to my gut. Then Zale and Zephyr are swimming away, leaving me to recover from whatever just happened. Maybe they hadn't felt it.
I shout their names as I take off after them. This whole thing could be an elaborate scheme, and I refuse to let my brothers rush headfirst into danger.
In the twenty seconds it takes for me to catch up with them, my mind has reeled with the names of which enemy could be at the root of this. Our list is a long one, but it's gone in an instant as I see the small form of a female in my brother's arms.
"What in the name of-" I start, but Zale cuts me off. "She fell off the ship, Zanthus."
"Then leave her to her fate," I demand, my chest screaming at me to take the words back.
"No!" Zephyr yells at the same time Zale shakes his head, echoing the answer.
I point to the ship growing smaller on the horizon. "It's too late to put her back. What are we supposed to do with her? We can't even take care of ourselves right now."
"She's not a pet," Zephyr growls, pushing the hair away from her face.
In all our years, I've seen my brother have many lovers, but never has he looked at one the way he does this female. Nor have I heard that tone from him in ages.
Looking to Zale for his support on this, I'm shocked to find the same enamored look upon his face as well. I know it's been a long time since any of us have seen a woman, but this is just ridiculous.
"How do you expect us to get her into our realm?" I argue.
Not missing a beat, Zale replies, "Give her your talisman. It'll have the magic for us to get her to the Keep. If we leave her here, she'll die. I can already feel the presence of a predator down below."
"And just how am I supposed to make it?" I ask, tossing out the problem these fools haven't considered yet.
"Zephyr will bring it back as soon as we've got her inside. You know he swims like lightning anyway. He can make it," Zale says assuredly.
I'm already shaking my head. "It's too risky. We're cutting our time cl-"
"Just give her your damn necklace, Zanthus," Zephyr snaps.
Neither of them is going to give me much choice in the matter, and if I'm honest, my whole being rebels at the thought of leaving this female to succumb to her fate.
"Bring her to the spout," I tell them taking charge again. "There should be enough magic for a portal close enough to the barrier."
"I wonder who created the other one that brought us here," Zale mutters more to himself than us.
"One problem at a time," I tell him, coming close enough that I'm able to siphon magic from the spout and open the portal back to our realm. Facing my brothers and the female held aloft between them, I place my talisman around her neck while uttering, "I hope you two know what you're doing."
My head pounds like the seventh gate of hell. Any movement above my neck causes pain behind my eyelids so intense that I feel as though I'm going to puke. Using distractions to my advantage, I run my fingers through the soft sheets surrounding my body. They caress every inch of my naked skin, and it feels marvelous. Wait a minute, naked?
After a quick inspection, it's confirmed. Damn, I must have gotten drunker than I thought last night. That dream was something else, but it makes me seriously glad that I never left my room. I couldn't even imagine being stranded in the ocean. Bile tries to rise again just thinking about it. However, I will take those sexy voices any day of the week. Leave it up to my imagination to tease me.
Speaking of those voices. "Do you think she'll wake up soon? What if the spell was too strong on her?" one of them asks.
Shock overrides my pain as I jerk straight up in bed. At the last minute I remember to grasp the sheet to my chest, but the three strangers standing around me still get a quick glimpse underneath.
Jackhammers pound my skull as I demand, "Who are you, and what are you doing in my room?"
"Actually, Damselfish, you are in my room," says one of the blonde ones.
His long hair hangs down to the middle of his back. There are braids with tiny beads lavishly woven in. The thing that captures my attention the most is his eyes. They are the most startling shade of seafoam green.
I finish my perusal of his body and can't stop gaping like a fish. He is naked from the waist up with only a pair of soft blue jeans covering his legs. Tan skin leads down into that sexy man v.
The other blonde one shifts from one foot to the other off to the side, pulling my attention to him. Twins. Very sexy twins.
He looks identical to his brother. The only difference being the scowl directed at me and their eyes. This one’s color is a tang fish blue. He crosses his arms across his chest, and I lift my right eyebrow at him. I don't want to look away and lose the staring battle that we have going on, but curiosity gets the best of me. Rolling my eyes, I turn to the last person in the room.
He is standing halfway behind and to the side of the first brother at the foot of the bed that I am laying in. His features match the other two exactly. Though this one has harsh laugh lines marking his face, and the color of his hair and eyes are different. The sandy brown locks make his gold eyes stand out. He's got less beads braided into his hair, but it's just as long as his brothers'. If those things didn’t set him apart, the tattoos definitely would. They cover every inch of skin that is visible from the neck down. I can’t make out all of them, but I sure would love spending the day doing an inspection. Especially the ones that trail out of sight.
My gaze travels back over the three of them. So, triplets then? Smokin’ hot triplets, who are all standing in front of me shirtless and looking all too much like the cat that ate the pet goldfish.
I turn back to the one who spoke first. He seems like the safest to get answers from considering his replica looks ready to kill me and the other one is eyeing the sheet covering my body just a little too hard.
I think since I'm lying naked in a bed in front of three strangers it might be a good idea to introduce myself.
"Rubi," I blurt.
Subtle, Murphy. Real subtle.
"I mean, my name is Rubi," I say, correcting myself.
The dark-haired one smiles widely, accenting those laugh lines while his green-eyed brother introduces the three of them.
"I'm Zale. These are my brothers, Zanthus and Zephyr," he says pointing at the other blonde and then the darker-haired one, still grinning.