She popped the last shrimp in her mouth and chewed. She watched him. Eric didn't break the gaze. She was testing him. He had no idea of the answer but hoped he would pass.
“If we have nothing to hide from each other, I see no reason we shouldn't marry now.”
Eric blinked, thrown off balance—not by the proposal but by the absolute certainty in her tone. No hesitation. No coyness. Just fact.
“The bonds of marriage, and the vows we speak, will tie us together,” she continued.
Eric leaned forward, his hand brushing the edge of hers on the table, his fingers itching to close the space between them. “I was tied to you the moment your lips touched mine and you breathed life back into me.”
She uncurled her fingers and rested them in his. There were claws at the tips of them. There were gills in her neck. He only saw them because of the slight gap whereskin met skin.
They were so different. But he felt like she was so completely right for him. The only person in the world for him. And he would have her.
“If you want my vows, princess, I’ll gladly give them to you.”
CHAPTER TEN
Once again, Ursula's hand rested lightly on Prince Eric's arm. Once again, she found herself enjoying the solid warmth of him beneath her fingers. He insisted on offering his support, as if she were dainty, as if she needed it.
She didn’t. But she didn’t mind. Because he felt good.
He was so solid, so strong. The muscle beneath his shirt shifted with every step. And gods, he smelled better than any man had a right to—salt and leather and sun-warmed. The scent teased her with every breath, urging her to stick out her tongue and lick.
He was so nice to look at, too. Broad shoulders, sharp jaw, that easy, confident smile set within the fertile brown of his features. She had known men whocarried power, but none who wore it so effortlessly as did her prince.
Her prince? Yes, her prince. She might keep him. After she took back her crown, after she reclaimed what was rightfully hers, maybe she’d return for him. He’d be worth coming to shore for. Worth tangling her fin with.
The church loomed ahead, its stone walls weathered by salt and time. The great wooden doors stood open in welcome to all from land, sky, and sea. The scent of wax, damp stone, and distant incense drifted from within, mixing with the briny sea breeze that wound through the marketplace.
Ursula had never been inside a human place of worship. She had no use for their gods or their rituals. But power? Power was found in spoken vows, in written alliances, in the weight of words binding two people together. If Prince Eric wanted to give her that power, she would take it.
"Not sure why we're even bothering with an alliance,” a passerby scoffed, loud enough for half the marketplace to hear. "Nothing good ever came from the sea, especially not from that witch."
That witch? There were plenty of witches in Evermore. The passerby could've been talking about the Snow Queen, who was a witch.
"I reckon it’s the sea witch is the reason for ships sinking. She called the kraken all them years ago."
"I hear she's as ugly as an octopus, with tentacles."
Heat flared through Ursula like a spark igniting dry oil. Anger flashed hot in her veins. Her jaw tensed, ready to let out her song. She'd summon the tide, call the kraken onto dry land to drown that fool where he stood. The murmur of agreement from a few others only deepened her fury.
Eric must have felt the shift in her posture because he glanced down, his eyes narrowing at the tension in her shoulders. "The sea witch? That’s your aunt?"
"Yes." The lie felt fuzzy on Ursula's tongue. So she gave him a truth. "She's not an octopus. She's a siren."
"Like you?"
Ariel was nothing like her. The child had no conception of how to use her powers. Because there had been no one to teach her after they kicked Ursula out of the kingdom.
"You care for her?" Eric continued.
"She saved me as a child. Though I didn't deserve it."
"Don't say that."
"It's true. I was an unholy brat back then."
"You grew up to be my hero. And now you'll be my bride. You wouldn't be here without her. If ever I were to come face to face with her, I would offer her my gratitude."
