“What is going on here?” my father asks as he throws the doors to the adjoining room wide open. They slam off the walls, the sound thundering through the now silent ballroom.
“You will not interfere, King Morcant. This is between my bride-to-be and me. She should know her place, and eavesdropping on me is a crime in my books,” Lord Vaan’s icy voice comes. “I no longer wish to marry this scum.”
“That is my eldest daughter, Lord Vaan. She is precious to me. To insult her-”
“Your eldest daughter? I don’t think so. From what I know, your eldest daughter is the one standing behind you,” Lord Vaan says as a layer of ice spreads across the floor. “I have changed my mind; I shall marry her.”
Father almost splutters. “She is cursed, Lord Vaan. I assure you, I gave you the most precious jewel in the ocean!”
“The most precious?” Lord Vaan’s eyes flicker to Father’s crown, and the unease I have felt since getting here increases tenfold, and not hearing a word from Kai is making me even more worried. Is he ok? If something has happened to him, I would have felt it, but then why isn’t he here?
“Very well, if marrying my eldest daughter, Siralaine, is your wish, then so be it.” Father grabs my arm and shoves metowards Lord Vaan. “Have her.” He’s angry, his nostrils flaring as Maerina starts crying and rushes to him.
“She’s stealing my husband!”
“Everyone get out,” Lord Vaan commands, his eyes on me.
“Father-”
“You belong to him. He can do as he wishes.”
Father’s tone is as cold as the deep. No emotion, no hesitation, no compassion.
Pain flashes through me, sharp and cruel, dragging with it memories I’ve long buried, trying to ignore them. He was the one who took my mother to those monsters. I remember how he turned his back as those monsters took my mother. How he didn’t care when she was screaming. I swallow hard, tasting blood in my mouth.
I watch as he wraps an arm around Maerina’s trembling shoulders, leading her out while she weeps into his chest. He only cares for them…
The doors slam behind him as two of Vaan’s men pull them shut, leaving me alone with the man himself.
The silence seems to be alive; it’s too tense.
“I have no wish to marry you,” I say evenly. My voice doesn’t shake, though the fury under my skin simmers hot enough to burn.
Vaan smirks, all arrogance.
“You don’t have a choice. You’re the eldest daughter. When we’re married, I will inherit the ocean through you. It’s simple.”
I stare at him. “And what will you inherit when I kill you?”
The smirk fades. His eyes darken, like a storm gatheringover calm seas. “What did you just say?” he hisses. Before I can answer, he backhands me across the face before hauling me up by the arm and throwing me to the ground. I gasp when my back hits the ground, where his ice cuts into me like thousands of little knives.
I let out a scream, hating to give him the satisfaction. As I sit up, my world spins.
“You sea siren scum are all the same,” he spits, his words dripping venom. “Useless and still pretending you’re worth more than the filth you are.”
“Then why marry one?” I hiss, forcing myself upright, anger burning brighter than the pain. “Is power worth that much to you?”
His hand cracks across my face again, snapping my head to the side. The taste of blood floods my mouth. He catches my jaw, forcing me to look at him, his grip bruising. “I know exactly who you are,” he whispers, eyes glittering with sick pleasure as he crouches before me. “The little sea siren who thought she could play hero. You have been planning with the sky siren to overthrow your father, right? You’ve been a nuisance long enough. You could have ruined my plans.”
My stomach twists. “What do you mean?”
He grins, that awful knowing sneer. “Oh, you’ll see. But first, let’s seal our union.” He holds out a hand, mockingly gentle. “With a ring and a kiss, and then your freedom ends.”
I wipe the blood from my lips and stand, refusing to take his hand. The look in his eyes hardens into rage. He moves towards me, raising his hand again, but something inside of me snaps.
The ice morphs to water as it rises from the ground. My chest heaves as the power that has been forced down within me beginsto rise, singing beneath my skin.
My vision sharpens, my heart becomes the rhythm of the sea. Anger pours through me like a current, fierce and wild. I open my mouth as I sing with everything I have.
