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Drowning Mermaids
(Sacred Breath Book 1)
(Sacred Breath Book 1)
by Nadia
Scrieva
Drowning Mermaids, the first book in Nadia Scrieva's Sacred Breath series, is currently FREE. Also available: Fathoms of Forgiveness (ON SALE for $0.99; read my blog post), Boundless Sea, Abyssal Zone, Sacred Breath Boxed Set (Books 1-4), Tides of Tranquility, and Maelstrom.
This book blitz is brought to you by Reading Addiction Book Tours. Please be sure to visit the other participating blogs as well.
Description
She is an elegant
princess displaced from her home. He is a rough sea captain with a heart of
gold ...
To escape the war in her underwater kingdom, the noble daughter of a
murdered king must flee to Alaska. Doing all she can to keep her younger
sisters safe, Aazuria tries to assimilate and work among the Americans, with
her feisty red-haired bodyguard at her side. This refuge holds pleasant
surprises, for the princess meets a somber gentleman in a dark corner who
promises to show her his world.
Trevain Murphy is a successful crab fisherman who has spent his life
building an empire above the sea, but knows nothing of the greater empire
beneath the surface. When a graceful dancer captures his attention, he becomes
fascinated with her old-fashioned speech and unique mannerisms. Learning that
her father has recently died, he cannot resist extending his kindness in
offering to guide and protect her.
As it becomes clear that the dark-haired woman is much more than she
seems, Trevain is unprepared to uncover the staggering secrets behind her
innocent facade. Neither the captain nor the princess can imagine that their
lives will become forcibly entwined as a common enemy threatens both of their
worlds ...
Excerpt
“Why are we here, Brynne?” Trevain asked, leaning against the wall
angrily.
“I wanted a snack,” she said, rummaging through the cupboards.
“I didn’t.”
“Well, you need to eat dinner,” she said, with her mouth full. “We’ve
been fishing all day.”
“I’m not hungry. Look, Brynne, is there a reason you haven’t left my side
this whole trip? Do you think that I’m emotionally vulnerable because Aazuria
left me and I’m going to fall into your arms or something?”
“Here, just relax and let me cook something good for you.”
“I appreciate your concern for my health, but I already told you that I’m
not hungry…”
“Hey! That’s funny. Why is there sound coming from this bag of rice?”
Brynne placed her ear against the bag. “Weird. It sounds like a clock.”
Trevain frowned and moved over to the bag of rice to listen.
Brynne shrugged and continued gathering cooking utensils. “Reminds me of
that story about the captain and the crocodile—he could always tell the
crocodile was near because it had swallowed a clock, and he could hear the
ticking…”
“Shut up, Brynne.” Trevain pulled a knife out of the drawer she had
opened and slit the bag open, causing rice to spill out all over the floor.
“Hey, Trevain! You’re making a mess!” Brynne scolded. “Just because you
don’t have to clean anything up around here since you’re the high and mighty
capt…”
“Where the hell did you get this?” Trevain yelled, staring at the strange
homemade bomb which was nestled in the rice.
Brynne had not turned around, and was continuing to gather ingredients.
“Oh, some sweet blond lady on the docks gave it to me…”
“Dammit!” he cursed. “There’s no time.”
“No time?” Brynne asked in confusion. Trevain grabbed her hand and was
pulling her into the next room. “What are you doing, Murphy?”
“Get in the bathtub, Brynne!”
“What? Why? I’m not into kinky…”
“Down, now!” Trevain grabbed Brynne and dived with her into the bathtub,
covering her body with his and waiting for the sound.
The next second, all that they heard was—nothing. The sound of the
explosion was so deafening that there was a moment of intense pain in their
ears before they lost the ability to hear. They felt, however. They felt the
intense pressure of the bomb exploding. They felt the unbearable heat of the
explosion burning their skin and singeing their hair. They felt the bathtub
being ripped from the ship, and pieces of debris colliding with their bodies.
Trevain felt large objects colliding with his head and back painfully, and he
felt his skin being punctured in several places. Finally, he was aware that
they were surrounded by water.
It was several seconds before the heat subsided to the cooling water, and
a moment later he was finally able to open his eyes. He could barely make out
the scared expression on Brynne’s face in the darkness. There was debris
everywhere; pieces of the broken ship. His broken ship. Trevain was completely
disoriented. It was difficult to figure out where they needed to swim. He could
tell that sections of the boat floating near the surface were burning. He
looked around for the other members of his crew, trying to get his bearings.
The flames were growing stronger. The ship’s diesel was leaking from the
ruptured gas tank. They could not swim to the surface, or they would be burned.
Brynne’s face was lit by the flickering firelight as she panicked and tried to
communicate with him, but they could not understand each other. As he
frantically made hand signals indicating for Brynne to calm down and stay close
to him, he was met with only mystification on her face. He appreciated the need
for sign language more than ever at that moment. Brynne was freaking out, and
she began swimming off in one direction. He was sure that it was not where they
needed to go. He tried to reach for her, but he was feeling dizzy from the lack
of oxygen flowing to his brain. He looked around, trying to figure out where to
go and what to do. He could not help panicking as well.
Trevain tried to swim away from the flames, but he could not get very
far. The burning diesel had leaked out over the surface of water for what must
already be a square mile, and he could not swim that far without taking a
breath. Without several breaths. He needed air badly, and finally realized that
he was going to drown. He could not breathe underwater; he did not have the
ability. He simply did not know how. What Aazuria and his mother were talking
about—he wished it was all true, but it was not. Not for him.He knew that he
was about to die. His lungs painfully begged him to take a breath, but he knew
that the moment he did, he would drown. Although he had almost wanted something
exactly like this to happen to him when he had set sail earlier, he now
realized that he had been fooling himself. As demented as he had been feeling,
as self-destructive as his intentions, it had all been just a farce. He did not
really want to die.
He tried as hard as he could to hold onto his last few moments of life.
A glimmer of white caught his eye, and he saw that an exquisite creature
was suddenly before him. Long white hair fanned out around her face, and the
purest eyes of blue sapphire stared at him. The lovely phantasm was smiling as
she reached out to take his hands; he knew it must be an angel.
It was his angel. He knew her, although she looked nothing like before.
She was his Aazuria, his mythical heroine. In the dancing glow of the oil
blaze, she was simply too dazzling to be real and he knew that he must be on
death’s very threshold. He had heard that people often hallucinated in moments
such as these, seeing what they most yearned to see. As she hovered in
suspension before him, her skin and hair were almost luminous in the dark
water; almost phosphorescent. Perhaps she never had been real. It did not
matter—she was firmly grasping his hands, and it sent a feeling of comfort and
tranquility through him. He knew that she loved him.
He could see forgiveness and acceptance in her expression. None of the
turmoil between them mattered any longer in this pacific moment. In her
benevolent gaze, he could finally forgive himself. He smiled at her. Although
his vision was fading and the world was disappearing, he could only smile. He
tightly gripped her hands to thank her for coming back for him. He could not
bear the thought of letting go; he did not want to be robbed of her touch. He
tried to keep his eyes open for as long as possible—he tried to keep gazing
into the salvation of those unfamiliar ultramarine orbs. So this was what she
really looked like, in her element. He wished he could have known her true
form. It was mystical.
Trevain could imagine no better way to die. No better sight to see in the
final moments during which he was capable of vision. He was wholly happy and
blissfully complete. A peaceful expression descended on his face, and the
captain’s tired eyes closed for what he knew to be the last time.
Review
What a sweet ending!
As someone a little older, I appreciated the way the story addressed
aging and arthritis. It's true that it's easier and more comfortable to move in
water, and I wish I could breathe underwater, because I would live in it too!
Trevain is probably my favorite character because he is so calm and
responsible, but sometimes he has these sexy little explosions of anger.
I have already read book #2, and I really enjoyed it. I wish there was
more Visola in this novel because I'm really attached to her character. Looking
forward to book #3.
About the Author
Nadia Scrieva is fantasy writer who believes her Anthropology degree is
best applied in creating compelling subterranean or extraterrestrial life
forms. She also has deep fondness for double-edged, pointy objects. Nadia lives
in Toronto, Canada with no husband, no kids, and no pets. She does own a very
attractive houseplant which she occasionally remembers to water between her
all-consuming writing marathons.
Links
