Spellbound by the Sea Lord

Mer warlord Balim, the wry healer of besieged rebel city Atlantis, has finally found his soul mate.

Bella’s fierce red hair teases his fingertips, velvet-encased curves entice his eyes, and intricately patterned freckles make him crave more than a taste. She awakens his most selfish desires.

But when Bella trusts him with a dangerous secret, his most sacred values are challenged, and choosing her means Atlantis itself may suffer a devastating fall...

Enjoy this complete standalone novel in the Lords of Atlantis series! Spellbound by the Sea Lord contains cursed daggers, heroic giant octopuses, and the power of love. Settle in for a twisty, steamy adventure of passion beneath the sea!

CHAPTER ONE

Balim raced across the hospital parking lot with the elixir, flip-flops scuffing the rough concrete. His iridescent heartblood-red tattoos reflected the midday sunlight, and his slacks and long-sleeve gray shirt clung damply to his hard muscle.

Bursting through the reflective glass doors, he stormed into the emergency room.

It was filled with an assortment of bright and dim-souled humans in different postures.

The brightest soul belonged to a female with short hair. She sniffled and smeared black paint around her eyes with a fistful of paper napkins. Her soul glowed in the center of her chest like a small sun.

Her expression changed to recognition even though they had never seen each other before. She stepped toward him as he pivoted toward her.

“Where is he?” Balim asked her tightly.

“They took him back already.” Nora waved behind her.

He started in that direction, but he couldn’t help asking, with irritation. “Why did you bring him here?”

She hiccupped in surprise, following him. “The ambulance brought him.”

“You should have waited for us at the coffee shop.”

“B-but he was—”

“Sir?” An elder woman’s voice cut across the room. “Sir, you can’t go back there.”

A security guard pushed out the interior doors and blocked their entrance.

Balim stopped. “You must let me through.”

The security guard looked at the elder.

“My warrior is there,” Balim told the uniformed hospital elder. “He cannot have your medicine. The effects are unknown and could be catastrophic.”

“Uh-huh.”

“You must release him at once to my care.”

The elder flicked tired, world-weary eyes to the sniffling female. “Who’s the patient?”

“Pelan,” Balim said.

“He got sh-shot.” Nora pointed at her own shoulder.

“You do not know how to handle his anatomy. You must let me administer this healing elixir.” Balim held up the single bottle he’d had on him when he’d received the call.

The elder stared at it, then nailed him with a look. “Sir, that’s a Dasani.”

“It is filled with the pure elixir of what you call Sea Opals.”

“That’s a gemstone,” she said skeptically.

“We covered them in your local tap water and steeped them in an Instant Pot.”

“Yeah… So, we do have bottled water here.” The elder pointed him to the chairs of the other waiting humans. “If you’ll just take a seat, I’ll let you know when—”

“He must have this immediately to avoid a tragedy!”

“This is a level three trauma center,” the elder assured him. “And you’re my third ‘medicine man’ this week, so I assure you, we’re fully trained and able to, ah, ‘heal’ your ‘warrior’s’ human body.”

“But that is precisely the problem,” Balim insisted. “His body is not human.”

The elder checked. “What?”

Balim lifted his hands and spread his fingers, shifting so the webbing slid up to the tips and stretched, turning his hand into a very inhuman, intricately tattooed fin-paddle. “He is a mer.”