Peering over my shoulder, I get a brief view of pearly whites tucked beneath the swarm of dark facial hair and I can't help but to return his smile. Sweat still glistens on both of their skin, making them shine underneath the dome of light above us. Were I single, I'd be all over that like a fat kid on cheesecake, but now that I've felt the mating bond, it's easy to dismiss their attractiveness.
Noticing he has my attention again, Zanthus continues, "My brothers and I think it's best to have these two train you. We're likely to be too soft considering you're our mate, or in scatterbrained's case over there, predictably easily distracted with other things."
Zephyr doesn't bother to correct his brother nor be offended by his statement. We all know there's truth to it. He does, however, glue himself even further to my side as we make our way around the side of the Keep. Maybe one of these days, I'll stop being so surprised at the unknown around here because as it stands, my chin drops as I get my first look inside the second largest building under the barrier. Dark gray flooring covers the entire area with four matching walls home to a variety of weapons. Most of them look more lightweight than what the mer are using to spar outside and gleam under the magical lighting. I itch to take one in my hand, but refrain knowing it's best to wait for instruction instead.
My toes sink into the material underfoot, and I realize it's the same thing the small depression in my room is made of. Quite spongy and hopefully won't hurt as bad if someone were to fall on it. A lot better than the original thought I had of it being concrete, which goes to prove I still have a ton of human conceptions I need to drop.
"Have you had any self-defense training at all, your highness?" Easton asks, coming up to the side Zephyr hasn't suctioned himself to. His voice sounds exactly how I imagine that it would, airy like he doesn't have a care in the world. If I hadn't seen the male fighting a few moments ago, I'd have questioned the Z's sanity for choosing him. Then I remember he asked a question.
"No, none," I reply quickly.
He doesn't try to hide the corners of his lips lifting in response as if he knows what I'd been thinking.
"That's too bad," Caelan mentions behind us, and I turn to face him as he adds, "It would be a good place to start, but we're on somewhat of a time schedule here. I'm sure your mates already told you the clunkers we're training with out there aren't your typical water weapon, but they aren't completely useless when paired with our magic."
"What do you use if it's not those?" I ask curiously.
He points to the wall at my left with the hunk of steel in his hand. "Those. Or a slimmer version of this."
Those turn out to be kickass looking tridents. Dragging Zeph with me, I walk to the wall. Something sparks in my gut and I don't pull my hand away when it reaches out to touch the closest one. The object warms under my palm, but I bypass the first one to follow that sharp tug in my belly. I let my fingers brush over each of the magnificent tridents, knowing I probably shouldn't, but no one tells me to stop. They're all various colors and sizes. One is a thick gold yet the one beside it is a thin black. There's even silver and red.
"What are these made of?" I ask as each one does the same as the last, warming at my touch.
Zephyr answers, "A material that is found near our one and only volcano in the realm. It's much like obsidian as humans would call it. Only our version is much stronger and assimilates itself with the wielder’s own magic."
I hum my response because as really freaking cool as that is, the purplish black trident we've stopped in front of seems to be vibrating with power. None of the others in the room make any note of it, so it might be a safe assumption they don't even feel it. My fingers have clenched into a fist inches short of touching it. The magic pushing itself towards me feels familiar. Almost like how it feels when I use one of my mate's given magics.
Zeph presses his lips to the spot right under my ear, making me shiver. Being stuck between the mate pull and whatever magic is undulating off the trident has my fist unclenching and grasping the weapon. It comes off the wall with a pop-like noise. Now that it's in my hand, the humming stops and settles down into a low vibration. As that tingling feeling I've come to associate with magic snakes up my arm, one of the others behind us whistles softly. If there were ever a moment when my life should be a movie, this is it. I swear to Poseidon, I can almost hear the cue call for special effects lighting and theme music.
"Ever seen anything like that?" Caelan's deep voice asks the room.
Easton snorts quietly. "I think we could all live to be a thousand and will never see it again."
I lift my eyes up to Zephyr and find a proud grin lighting his face. Gold dances around his pupils right before he seals our lips together. It'd be simple to get lost in the moment, but I can't dismiss the new people in the room as easily as he can. Regretfully, I pull away and smirk at the disappointment in his frown.
"What happened?" Merrick asks strolling in through the doors we left open.
Zanthus, arms folded across his chest and wearing a pleased grin that matches Zeph's from a few seconds ago, answers the question I had just been about to ask myself, "Just Rubi's magic claiming a trident."
Merrick's forehead creases with his surprise. "Really? Her magic must be exceptionally strong. Excuse me, highness. I wasn't trying to talk around you. It's just we haven't had someone powerful enough for their magic to choose a weapon since..."
"Our father," both Zanthus and Zephyr finish for him.
The trident warms under my hand and I pull it in front of my face to get a better look at it before stating, "It sure is pretty too, huh?"
All four of them laugh. It's okay, though, because it's true. Examining it further, I'm pleased to note that it shines from black to blue to purple depending on how the light catches it. The weight is just light enough to not be overbearing, and the height, standing tip to my shoulder when it's flat on the ground, is prime for not having to awkwardly haul it everywhere. I'm not one to brag, but I seriously have the coolest weapon ever.
My gaze lifts with a grin to the five shirtless mermen in the room. "So, who’s first?"
Hours later, I drag my limp noodle arms and legs up to my room. I don't think I'll admit most of that dragging was actually Zephyr carrying me. The trident and my magic may have gotten along well, but my hamburger loving ass is not in good enough shape for endurance. I'd shocked us all when Caelan had first come at me and the trident whipped out to catch him right on the back of the leg, dropping him to the floor like a stone. I wish I could claim the credit because it was so completely badass, but whatever happened with the claiming of it, I'd also picked up the ability to kick some major ass, too. Of course, Merrick had brought out the idea of it being all magic-related. Where I could read a language I'd never studied before by borrowing Zale's magic, he thinks Zanthus' had something to do with my skills. Can't argue with the logic either. I just wish those skills came with strong muscles.
I had Zeph bring me to the bath in my room, and he’d reluctantly left me alone to relax. The words never left my lips, but he could tell I needed some time to think just as I could tell he didn’t want to leave. I'd hoped by some miracle I could sweet talk the water into a massage to take some of the pain away.