Surrender to the Sea (Lords of the Abyss Book 4) by Michelle M. Pillow Page A

He’s not here. ’ Brutus reached deeper, rooting around. Sand kicked up around him as he tried to dig. She detected a nasty cut along his small caudal fin, but it didn’t seem to affect his movements.
    Laurel dropped the arm and swam upward to look around the immediate area. Seeing an unmoving body, she opened her mouth to shout. Briny water flooded in, keeping her from making a noise. She tried again. ‘ Brutus, I think I found him. ’
    Laurel led the way to the fallen merman. Brutus ran his hands over Vitus’s neck and chest before lifting him into his arms. ‘ We need to get him to Althea .’
    ‘ Go. I’ll follow. ’ Laurel darted down and grabbed the arm. The texture of the solid mass appeared strange, but she didn’t feel right leaving the limb behind to be snacked on by creepy lobsters.
    ‘ If you get lost, go to the top of the rock base and follow the curve of the dome, ’ he said. ‘ I’ll come back and find you. ’
    Brutus carried Vitus by hooking his arm around him. The silk of his caudal fin and the diamond shaped scales of his tail caught hints of the dome light, but the dark color was hard to track in the water and several times she had to call out to him.
    The fourth time it happened, she said, ‘ You swim so much faster than I do. Take Vitus. He needs help. I’ll swim up by the dome. I made it into the water, I can figure out my way back inside .’
    ‘ No, I can’t leave you alone out here. ’ He pulled her toward him with his free arm.
    Laurel caressed his face. ‘ I told the king we were mated. ’
    Brutus gave a small smile, but the expression didn’t last long.
    ‘ If Vitus dies because I swim too slowly I could never forgive myself. Please, you have to. Just hurry. Take this, ’ she handed him the arm,‘ and him, and come right back for me. ’ In truth, her body was sore from both slamming against the squid to free him and from the length of time she’d already been swimming around it the water. She needed to rest.
    ‘ Keep moving. Be alert. Stay close to the base, but up by the edge of the light. Keep your thoughts open so you may hear my call. ’
    ‘ I’ll be fine. Get Vitus help. ’ She had no way of knowing if that were true, but she knew Brutus wouldn’t take longer than he needed to. As she watched him swim away, there was so much she wanted to say to him. This was not the time.
    Now that she’d found him, swimming in deep ocean was scarier. She didn’t have the narrow-minded focus of helping Brutus to keep her thoughts occupied. She touched the smooth dome. It really was like a snow globe in the middle of the ocean. The glass-like barrier let her glimpse inside. An old stone wall jutted from the landscape, but there were no people. Behind her, the blackness of the ocean stretched on, deep and dark and frightening as hell. She stared into the dome like it was a blanket to hide under to keep her safe. She began the slow swim back.
    ‘ Freedom! I told you it would work. ’
    Laurel stopped swimming at the sound of a woman’s sultry voice and peered into the dome. She wasn’t sure how much time had passed or how close she was to the surfacing area. She didn’t see anyone on the other side.
    ‘ Stupid Merr, ’ another female voice answered as if agreeing. Cackling laughter followed the comment.
    Realizing the telepathic sound probably came from the water, Laurel pulled herself down into the shadow of the rocky ledge of the base and held very still as she peered over the distance. She caught movement. The mermaids swam above her, further away from the dome.
    A mermaid with red hair and scales led two others—one with long black hair and a green tail, and one a blonde with purplish-grey. Like Laurel, the fins along the women’s forearms were smaller than Brutus’s. They appeared dainty and delicate. Unlike Laurel, they were completely naked.
    ‘ Lucius is a fool ,’ one of them said. Without their lips moving, Laurel couldn’t see who spoke. ‘ He thinks