My lips parted, but nothing came out, so I nodded.
As the music swelled, he drew me to his chest, and my fingers wandered over the inked patterns on his arm.
“I can’t stop thinking about our time by the pool.” Finn’s voice was low and rough against my neck. “Do you know how much I ache for you, I ache forthis... It is as a storm swelling upon the horizon, desperate to break.”
I chewed on my lower lip, heat engulfing the place between my legs. I scanned the dance floor to distract myself from the feeling. Finn’s powerful tail swept in controlled arcs, guiding us through the water.
Glacies and Aarna leaned into each other at one of the tables, sharing a vat of wine.
“This is the happiest I’ve seen her, spending so much time away from our castle,” Finn murmured, following my gaze.
I watched as Aarna took Glacies’s hand, guiding her to the dance floor. They locked eyes, then shared a kiss.
Layla and Porphura twirled nearby, as did Skye with Alexandros, and Edward with Damon. Pisceon was drifting alone, arms crossed, brows furrowed, his eyes tracking Damon and Edward.
“Are Pisceon and Damon... ?” I asked Finn as we spun, my hair swirling around me.
“For tonight or this week, maybe.” He twirled me away from him. “Pisceon never gets attached. Before he left our castle, he was dallying with a mermaid. She fell completely in love with him, and he pushed her away.”
“But why?”
“Pisceon lost his family to the Shadow. He is scared to let himself fall in love, since he might lose them too.” Finn’s fingers wove through mine as we danced face-to-face again.
My throat burned as I watched Pisceon pace, his cobalt tail swishing in agitation while he tossed back gulps of wine. Damon had pulled Edward closer, and Pisceon’s eyes were narrowed on the pair.
“Damon will be using the Drowned boy to make Pisceon jealous.” Finn rolled his eyes, holding my body against his.
“Poor Edward. He has sworn off love, just like Pisceon. Perhaps they would make a better pair.”
Finn let out a hard laugh. “Yeah, right, a Mer and a Drowned.”
“Can we go somewhere quiet? I-I need to talk to you about what happened with Stavros.”
Finn’s eyes searched mine, filling with concern. He nodded and didn’t let go of my hand as he guided me through the crowd, weaving betweenvibrant corals until we reached a quiet clearing. Here, the reef gave way to long, swaying seaweed surrounding a secluded patch of sandy glade.
He turned to face me, running his hands up and down my arms. “Gods, you in this Selkie suit.”
When I stayed silent, he pulled back, searching my eyes. I couldn’t meet his gaze, so I looked away. “I can’t control my powers. I turned those men into dust, and it’s all I can think about.”
“They were no loss.” Finn waved a hand. “Good riddance, if you ask me.”
“He was a Siren, and they’re almost extinct.” Tears welled in my eyes. “I feel sick about it. I’m supposed to be here to fix things, not break them.”
“Sometimes, the only way to fix something is to break it first.”
“Spoken like a typical prince.” My throat burned with the threat of tears, so I changed the subject. “Why do you always speak like that—in poetry?”
Finn’s eyes were intent on mine. “I’ve always loved poetry, the way it paints a beautiful picture of dark, messy things. Bukowski, Plath, and my favorite, Byron—”
I snorted a laugh.
“What?” A dimple appeared at the curve of his mouth.
“It’s just ironic, as youarethe Byronic Hero . . . dark . . . brooding . . . tortured.”
Finn knocked his shoulder into me, but then his eyes glazed over. “Books were always an escape for me.”
“Me too,” I said quietly. “I liked that I couldn’t sense the emotions of the characters, but that was before all of this. Now I’m living in a book, and I’m not sure if it’s a fairy tale or a horror.”
