Free Sea Witch: Children of the Waves by LaVerne Thompson Page B

just got you back.”
    “I’m fine. Let’s return to the others.”
    They turned around to head back to the
surface. He glanced down at their joined hands.
    When he tried to withdraw his, she
wouldn’t let him. “It no longer matters.”
    “Why?”
    “For one thing, they know. But also
because of Shawnah. I think she called upon her powers and the demons in the
water were drawn to it. To her.”
    “Shit! Does this mean Tabatha knows who
she is?”
    “She may not know yet, but we won’t have
much time.”
    “Are you all right?” Cori stepped into the
water and took Sienna’s hand as soon as they were near enough to shore.
    “Yes. I am fine.”
    “What happened? Why the subterfuge?” Xav
asked, straight to the point.
    “Did you have a vision, witch?” Zek
stared at her frowning.
    “Yes. And I am sorry, my king, for the
subterfuge, but no one could know of my true state.”
    “Come on everyone. Let’s go inside and
get comfortable, and then we can talk. Let Sienna rest a minute,” Des
suggested.
    Sienna shook her head. “No. Thank you,
but there is not much time, and I need to stay near the water now. It will
revive me fastest of all.”
    “This may take a minute. We have some
explaining to do,” Aaron said. At last, he would be able to tell his king
everything, as much of it as he knew. “Shall we.” He and Sienna still held
hands, which neither the king nor Zek missed, since they both raised their
eyebrows at him. Plus, the fact Sienna was a woman in her prime. No one could
miss that now, and perhaps connect the dots.
    Sitting down right where they’d been
standing, they remained partially in the warm water. Sienna sat next to him and
wrapped her arm around his elbow. If that wasn’t a clear sign of ownership, he
didn’t know what else would be.
    “Hmmm,” Xav said. “I can see there is a
long story behind this.” He sat and the other women sat down near each other.
“Go ahead.”
    “Sienna, who you know as the Sea Witch,
is my bride,” Aaron stated firmly, proud to be able to claim her publically at
last.
    “That much I believe we got.” Zek
grinned.
    “How wonderful!” Cori cried. Both women
offered congratulations.
    “But that’s not all,” Xav prompted. “Why
the illusion?”
    Aaron shook his head. “I’m afraid there’s
a lot more. You see, Sienna and I knew we were mated for a long time,
twenty-five years to be exact.”
    “What! How? You didn’t begin to age until
I did, and that has been less time than that.”
    “I created that illusion,” Sienna spoke
up. “As I created the one that kept me with the appearance of youth.”
    “Go on,” Xav encouraged. “You have my
complete attention.”
     

 
     
    Chapter Ten
     
    “More than twenty-five years ago, I had a
vision Tabatha was with child.”
    “What!” the king exclaimed.
    “Yes. I waited for her to come to me, to
tell me. Because I knew, she would need help with the birth. But there was no
way I could allow Tabatha to birth this babe.”
    “By Poseidon’s balls,” Zek said.
    “I turned to Aaron for help, help to keep
my secret.”
    Aaron squeezed her hand, silently lending
her his support to continue.
    They gazed at each other for a moment.
“We were always fated. But what I had to do, no one else could know. Tabatha
could not suspect how powerful I would become as I aged, and I didn’t want
anyone wondering who Aaron’s mate was, if he began to age too soon.”
    “All right, but I still don’t
understand,” Xavior interjected. “I don’t like the fact Tabatha had a child.
Something you withheld from me, but what does that mean for the Children and
why couldn’t she have the child? What am I missing?”
    “I am sorry, my king, but no one could
know about the pregnancy. You would have wanted the babe to remain in the sea.
My sister could not be allowed access to her offspring in any way. The child
Tabatha had was destined to be a powerful witch, much more so than her mother
or myself. Tabatha