Excerpt: Relentless

“Jarek!!!”

There was no reply from the azure haired prince as he proceeded to scale the side of the ship, preparing to let go. Now, for the record, Zure was officially panicking.

“Jarek you big fool! Get back here!!” A shimmery hand was flung over the side and tangled in the princes’ hair as she yanked him back aboard. Jarek yowled in pain, landing on the deck with a thud.

“What’s you problem woman?! What do you think your doing?!” He glared up at her from the ground for several long moments before Zure thrust a small package at him. Beeswax.

“Quickly, the others are falling.” Leaping over the edge, Zure took to her ether form, forcing the other two men back onto the narrow ledge the stood upon in an effort to keep them out of the churning Seren waters. Ilias was not complying nicely. In fact, the burly man was swinging punches at the Tri-Koen,

“Ilias, stop it or so help me I’m going to beat the naioe out of you when this is over!!!” Zure was not a particularly docile woman but Jarek saved his long time friend by yanking him back onto the ship and slapping him. Several times.

“Stop,stop,stop! Jarek what in the world are you doing? Have you gone completely mad?” Ilias sputtered, shoving the Prince back, dusting himself off.

“No I’m not mad and you need put these in.” A set of earplugs were given to him just as Dagan landed on the deck with an audible thud, skidding a bit as Zure descending and shifted to her human form with a scowl. Dagan managed to stand and shake himself off just before Zure’s fist slammed into his face, knocking him back down to his knees. The silvery woman disappeared again.

“Well someone sure likes you, Dagan.” Ilias chuckled as the crimson haired man rubbed his jaw with a curse.

“Shut up, Jarek.”

“I believe this is what we came for.” Zure broke into the conversation sharply, giving a suspicious glare to the creature at her feet. The three men looked at her with awe, admiration and jealousy. This woman…she was outdoing them on every level! Jarek was not used to being second best. Ever.

“How’d you do that?” Dagan asked, staring at the Siren in wonder.

“I came willingly of course. Though I’m beginning to wonder if I made the wrong choice.” The female gave a small ‘humph’ and turned up her delicate nose at the men. Zure snickered a bit and introduced them to their aquatic companion.

“May I introduce Kora Stormbreak?” Zure smirked at the woman, who studied the group imperiously, wrinkling her nose a bit before looking up at Zure with impossibly large gray-blue eyes and speaking.

“They smell.”

“I know. You’ll get used to it. Once we get home, they can bath and they won’t smell as badly. I hope.” The look on Jarek and Dagan’s faces was priceless and Zure let out a loud snicker as the two approached the woman slowly.

“Are you sure its not a mermaid, Zure?” Dagan asked, earning a growl from the purple skinned woman. Examining her dark nails, she spoke calmly, slowly as if she was warning the humans.

“I’d be careful, youngling, its no mermaid you speak to.”

“ But you have fins…” Dagan pointed out, cringing as both Zure and Kora let out a huff of annoyance.

“They aren’t fins. See, look, I have feet. Now, call me a mermaid again,” the word mermaid was spat out like a curse and Kora continued with disgust.

“And I’ll personally see to it that you watch your own entrails become fish bait.” She smiled sweetly...