Heiress of the Sea

Chapter 4

I gasped, taking a few steps back.

"Who are you?" I exclaimed.

Seated in front of me was a man with tousled dark-auburn hair, blue eyes, and an amused grin on his face. He was handsome, yet not as good-looking as Soren, but held some uncanny resemblance I couldn't put my finger on.

"Ailith, I know who you're here for. And that person is me," he said.

I crinkled a brow. "How do you know my name?"

He laughed. "Soren told me. My brother, King Soren."

I quirked a brow. "You're Soren's brother?"

He nodded. "So I see you two are on a first-name basis. Well, I've come to tell you that my brother won't be the help to you that I will. I am the Heir of Gaea, Ailith, the God you have been looking for."

I shook my head in confusion. "What are you doing in my chambers?"

A smile crept upon his face. "I thought it would be funny to surprise you. Nothing to scare a woman like a strange, handsome stranger in her bedroom."

"I wish I could say you're wrong," I muttered in response. "Hold on...you're Gaea's heir? Wouldn't that make King Soren Gaea's heir too?"

Slowly, he shook his head. "Soren and I are only half-brothers. Gaea was my mother, not his."

Slowly, I exhaled in satisfaction. "Great. Well, thanks for clearing things up. Can we go now? Because I have to save the Sea Kingdom. I promised Triton I would do things as quickly as I could."

He clucked his tongue, similar to the way Soren did. "I wish, warrior sea girl, but we're going to have to follow my brother's orders for now. He is king, and he did order you to stay at his court for an indefinite amount of time."

I rolled my eyes. "Great. So you're going to be just as helpful as he was."

"I'm assuming that he was insurmountably helpful," the man responded sarcastically, extending an arm. "I'm Lazarus."

"Ailith...," I responded, shaking his hand as Triton told me the people of the Land might do. "But, of course, you knew that."

He smiled. "Will I see you at the ball tonight?"

I smirked. "The ball?"

"Of course," he responded. "King Soren only throws the most magnificent balls in the Land. Tonight we celebrate the Summer Solstice."

Slowly, I shook my head. "I don't think I'll be able to attend."

He rolled his eyes. "Just come. You know you want to see what humans act like."

Unfortunately, he was correct. I did want to see how humans acted, and I did want to see if I could talk to Soren, perhaps convince him to make his decision sooner rather than later. Perhaps, however, Soren wasn't the one I needed to convince. Maybe it was Lazarus.

My head spun as I thought about getting intertwined with the two of them, trying to figure out who to believe.

Soren hadn't denied being Gaea's Heir, but he hadn't directly said he was, as Lazarus had.

"I'll be there," I told Lazarus. "And...how did you know I was looking for you?"

He grinned. "Remember—Soren and I spoke briefly."

"How"-

He pointed to his temple. "We're both the offspring of Gods. We don't need to use our mouths and ears to speak."