"The last song she ever sang to me was on my thirteenth birthday." The memory hurt, even now, and I felt tears tracking down my cheeks. "A year before I presented. She brushed my hair and sang about a girl who found treasure at the bottom of the sea. I didn't know it would be the last time."
Riven's growl was constant now. A low, dangerous rumble that vibrated through the water, his claws extending and retracting.
"They stopped seeing me as a person." The words hurt. They always hurt. "I became valuable. An investment. A thing to be protected not because they loved me but because damaged goods don't sell as well."
"Lily." Thane's voice cracked, his face buried against my shoulder, his tears hot on my skin.
"The day my father signed the contract—the day he sold me—my mother was there. She watched. She didn't say anything. Didn't try to stop it." I opened my eyes, found Kaelan's dark gaze. "That's when it really drove everything home and I knew I had to run. Not just because of the man who bought me. But because of them. Because my own father sold me. Because my own mother watched me be sold and said nothing..."
"She's dead. They’re all dead." Riven's voice was ice, absolute, his golden eyes burning with cold fury. "When we goback for the others, she's first. I'll make her understand what she did. I'll make her feel every moment of pain you've ever felt, and then I'll?—"
"Riven." Kaelan's voice was gentle but firm, his hand finding Riven's shoulder, grounding him. "Not now." The scarred siren fell silent, but I could see it in his eyes. The promise. The plan already forming. He would find her. He would make her pay.
Part of me should have been horrified. Should have begged him not to hurt my mother, no matter what she'd done.
I didn't.
"You are not a thing." Kaelan's voice was absolute, his hands cupping my face, making me look at him. "You are not an investment. You are not property to be bought and sold. You are OURS. And we see you, Lily. All of you. Every broken piece, every scar, every nightmare. We see you, and we love you, and we will never—never—let anyone make you feel worthless again."
"Good omega," Vale's voice was soft against my hair, his wrists running along my arms, scenting me. "Such a brave omega. Telling us everything. Letting us carry some of that weight."
Riven's tail wrapped around me. Not gentle. Possessive. Claiming. He pulled me against his chest and didn't let go.
"Mine." He growled against my ear, his arms like iron bands around me. "You're mine, and anyone who ever hurt you will suffer for it. I swear it on the depths. I swear it on every stars in the sky. They will pay. All of them."
I should have been afraid of the violence in his voice. Should have been disturbed by the detailed plans for revenge that I knew were forming in his mind. Instead, I relaxed into him. Let his possessiveness wrap around me like armor. Let his rage become my protection.
"I believe you." And I did. Completely. Utterly. We stayed in the garden until I lost track of time. Swimming. Floating. Existing in this perfect space they'd created, that they'd shared with me, that was ours now.
Eventually, I had to go back.
"The jewels." My voice was reluctant, and I touched the gems in my hair, not wanting to let them go. "I have to?—"
"I know." Vale's hands were already in my hair, carefully removing the ruby, the emerald, the sea glass. Each one left an absence, a cold spot where warmth had been.
"Soon." Kaelan's promise was fierce, his dark eyes burning into mine. "Soon you won't have to take them off. Soon you'll wear our treasures always, and no one will dare try to take them from you."
"Because anyone who tried would die." Riven's voice was matter-of-fact, simple, true, his golden eyes gleaming.
"Yes." Kaelan didn't argue, didn't soften the statement. "Because anyone who tried would die." I let them scent me before I left. Let them rub their wrists across my neck, my hair, my wrists. Let them cover me in their smell until I reeked of them, of ocean and depth and danger.
Kaelan went first, his touch methodical, thorough. He scented every inch of exposed skin, his dark eyes never leaving mine.
"Anyone who smells you will know." His voice was rough with possession as he pressed his wrist to my throat. "They'll know you belong to something ancient. Something that will destroy them if they dare to touch what's ours."
Riven was next, his scenting more aggressive. He pressed his wrist to my throat hard enough to feel my pulse, and when he felt it racing, he smiled. That sharp, predatory smile that should have terrified me and instead made my omega purr.
"Mine." He breathed the word against my ear, his scent flooding my senses. "Even when you're up there, you're mine."
Vale ran his wrists through my hair, weaving his scent into every strand.
"Beautiful." He murmured, his silver eyes soft as he watched his scent sink into me. "You smell like us. Like home. Like you were always meant to be ours."
Thane was last, and his touch was gentle. Reverent. He scented me like he was performing a sacred ritual, like every brush of his skin against mine was a prayer.
"Come back to us." His voice was thick with tears, as it always was. "Promise you'll come back."
"I promise." I kissed him softly, tasting salt. Then Vale, who hummed against my lips. Then Riven, who growled and bit gently at my lower lip. Then Kaelan, who held my face in his hands and looked at me like I was the entire ocean.
