Read Online Avenging (The Rising Series Book 3) by Holly Kelly - Free Book Online Page A

her.
    “Well, is that where your—?”
    “Nicole! This is not something I want to go into now. Let’s just say I have everything I need. Now, would you please drop this topic?”
    “Did I embarrass you? You’re not ashamed of your body, are you?”
    “Of course not!” he shouted. “Gods, do you not have a filter?”
    “Yes, but I try not to overuse it.” She smirked.
    He shook his head and cracked a smile. “Let’s get you and your mouth inside, and I’ll let you meet my servants. Try not to embarrass them.”
    “I won’t embarrass them.”
    “Oh no, I guess I’m an exception.”
    She chuckled. “I thought you weren’t embarrassed.”
    He shook his head as he led her to the castle. A gigantic creature with thick, tangled tentacles clung to the side of the wall.
    “Ge sheou fílenio mo,” Ty said, smiling.
    The creature growled, and Nicole plastered herself against Ty’s side. He wrapped his arm around her. The beast’s tentacles slithered like thick snakes sliding over each other to climb the building. His bulging eyes seemed to search her. Behind the monster lay a massive stone door. Ty waved his hand, and the door rumbled open.
    As soon as the doors closed behind them, Nicole said, “What in the world was that?”
    “That was Megalostas, a leviathan. He’s been with me for years.”
    “He’s huge.”
    “You should have seen him three hundred years ago. He could fit in the palm of my hand.”
    “Wow. What do you feed him?”
    “Trespassers,” he answered, smiling.
    Nicole’s eye widened. “You’re kidding, right?”
    “You probably don’t want me to answer that.”
    Nicole shook her head and then looked around. The place was spectacular. They were in a wide hall, with high ceilings. She searched the room. There were no lights or chandeliers. The light seemed to come from the walls themselves, which were stone with colorful tapestries hanging all around. There were probably a hundred of them. Each piece of fabric was a work of art. All of them depicted things from the oceans—seascapes, sea creatures, and several stunningly beautiful people—some with fins, some without.
    But nothing could compare to the mosaic on the floor. It was breathtaking. Colored rocks and seashells were embedded and sparkled all around. “Wait, just a minute,” she said as she let go of Ty and swam toward the high ceiling. Looking down, she could see a map of the world. The continents were black onyx, and the sea was made of colorful blues, greens, aquas, and white. “It’s beautiful!”
    Triton swam up to join her. “Thank you.” He smiled.
    “But why are the continents just plain black?”
    “We don’t care much about the continents around here.”
    “But they’re connected. You can’t forget we humans exist.”
    He swam up to her and pressed a kiss to her lips. “I could never forget you, love. But the other humans—”
    “Without balance between the four realms, all would perish,” Nicole said, but the words didn’t come from her.
    Stop talking through my lips! Nicole shouted to the voice inside her head. It didn’t often take over her speech, but when it did, it always made her furious.
    “What four realms? I only know of three.” Ty’s brows crunched in confusion.
    “I don’t know what I was talking about.”
    There are things I need to say to him.
    No, you are not to talk to him. You just need to shut up and go away! What’s the deal with you lately?
    Ty couldn’t hear her internal dialog, but she could tell he knew something wasn’t right. He confirmed her thoughts when he said, “Nicole, is there something you need to tell me?”
    “No!” she said a little too harshly. “I’m sorry. No, I’m alright.”
    Great, now he thinks I’m crazy.
    You’re not crazy.
    Says the voice in my head.
    “Okay…” Ty drew the word out. He took her hand. “Come on, I want you to meet someone.”
    They swam into another room and right in front of her—like an image in a National