“Chatharnak. Warrior nymphs,” Matt clarified.
Anna wanted to clear her ears to see if she had some wax built up and had misheard them. Did Matt just say nymphs?
“I know you won’t believe us. Come.” Justin got up from the bed and offered her a hand. “See for yourself. Our homeland, Azura.”
Anna took his hand as she climbed down from the bed, feeling surreal. She just noticed the strange gown she was wearing. It was pure white, slim-fitted on the top with a long skirt that swept the cold floor. She was bare-footed.
Justin led her to one of the bedroom’s towering windows and pushed aside the sheer drapery. Her mouth fell open when she saw what was beyond the thick glass.
They were completely underwater!
Beyond the window was a jaw-dropping scene of an ancient city at the bottom of the sea. Across her line of sight, towering structures forged in black granite-like stones stretched as far as the eye could see. Colourful reefs formed an enchanting underwater garden. Anna rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. She thought she saw mermaids, too, swimming lazily between the coral gardens.
Anna turned around and blinked. “This can’t be real. I must be hallucinating.”
“How many toes am I holding up?” Ralph called cheerily from the bed, wriggling his hand.
“Anna.” Justin held her face and gave her a light kiss. “I know it’s hard for you to accept, but nymphs do exist.”
“And mermaids too…” Anna groped at the windowsill. “I…I need to sit. Hey!”
Justin swept her off her feet and carried her in his arms to the bed. He deposited her in Ralph’s lap.
Ralph felt her forehead. His face looked serious. “Just the shock. She’s fine.”
“I don’t feel fine. Tell me I’m high on PCP.” Anna rubbed her eyes again. She still didn’t want to believe that what she had witnessed was real. “So.” She cleared her throat. “You are all nymphs?”
“Half-nymph. Our mother is human,” Justin explained.
“And your father is a nymph.” She wanted to clarify the facts.
“Full-blooded nymph.”
“And definitely not Dutch.”
Justin laughed.
“And you’re not really fashion designers…”
“I guess we should tell you from the beginning.” Justin waved his hand and a chair zoomed in his direction.
Anna’s mouth fell open again watching him perform the magic trick. “How…?”
Justin sat in one fluid, graceful motion. “In Netherworld, a nymph mates for life, Anna. And since our people believe that one predestined mate is bound to one birth, the three of us are destined to be bound to one woman, our cevborn. We’ve been looking for our mate since we came of age. However, our special lady was nowhere to be found. Then our father arranged a seer to foretell our future. She said our mate wasn’t a nymph, but a human. Seven years ago, we went to the surface world.”
“Surface world?” Anna echoed.
“Miami, to be exact. We’ve been all over the place to look for our mate, and we still couldn’t find you…”
Anna fell silent as Justin continued his story. Everything began to unravel. The hints and riddles she had heard from the brothers started to make sense. About Netherworld. The Claiming. The ménage. And most of all, the secret behind Surrender.
She gripped herself hard. No wonder she couldn’t find that damn formula. She could play a cat and mouse game until she got old and she still wouldn’t be able get that secret from them. Anna felt cheated. But she was also flattered knowing the three of them wanted her as their woman. She’d never been this confused in her life. “I…I don’t know what to say. You’re asking me to stay here and become your wife?”
“Not asking,” Matt answered, slipping into his stern, warrior mode. “This is your fate. You’re our cevborn and Azura is your future. The question is, will you accept it peacefully?”
“You mean I can accept it violently?”
&nb