Kore tried to curl inward, desperate to hide, but his control of the water was absolute. Her body remained splayed for his amusement.
“An affront to the sanctity of our seas,” he continued, in a voice that was little more than a whisper. “The Accord of Nisyros outlawed the creation of your kind to spare us this corruption, your vile cunt leaking poison into our pristine currents.”
His gaze lingered on the glowing blue veins beneath her skin, then on the silver ribbons of slick curling between her thighs. For just a moment, something flickered in those glacial eyes. Not only revulsion, but a flash of something more complex before it vanished into cold contempt.
Heart beating high in her throat, Kore tried to curl in on herself and hide. But Thalos’ presence commanded attention, even as he watched her with that terrible, beautiful coldness.
That frigid malice.
Her body was a plaything. No longer her own. An object to be used and corrupted.
The current swallowed her sob as Thalos continued his inspection.
And then the water trembled.
A low vibration caught in her bones before she could hear it. A sound so primal, it resonated in her marrow. The pressure ballooned inside Kore’s ribs, before that vibration slid down her spine, only to be echoed in flesh that still ached from denial.
Thalos’ lips curled around a wicked grin, his fins flaring wide as he looked into the abyss with cold, glittering interest. Down into the darkness, where a violent tempest was brewing.
Nyxarion.
Rising from the black, Nyxarion’s massive body twisted through the current. His every muscle coiled with murderous intent.
And in his fist, the trident pulsed with a sinister blue light.
His was a face she’d been trained to fear, conditioned to crave—transformed by a possessive rage so complete, it left her reeling. Shocked by the silver gleam of fury burning in his eyes.
It was a darkness fixed not to her, but to Thalos.
The current warped as the waters clashed. Commanded by dueling weapons of mystical power, the water around her churned in violent eddies, tugging her between forces.
But Nyxarion drove up, trident aimed to kill. “She bears my venom!” he roared. “You think to take what is mine?”
Inclining his head in a curious tilt, Thalos was poised, fluid grace. “The Spiral does not recognize your claim, exile. Not any more. She has another suitor.”
Tail lashing, Nyxarion sent a shockwave through the water as he circled. “Don’t pretend this has anything to do with Thalassari law, Shallow King,” Nyxarion spat, the water around the trident’s teeth shimmering with barely restrained heat. “TheSpiral has never been sung for any but aVirelii,” he snarled, tail lashing as he twisted through the water. “Never. Yet you call it now. For her?”
Kore stiffened, a tremor rippling through her despite the current that held her between them.
Laughing low in his chest, Nyx’s gaze slid to her, just for a moment. Just long enough for Kore to see the dread gleaming in his liquid glare. “You want her for your own.”
“Want?” Thalos chimed.
“The reek of your jealousy poisons this sea,” Nyx spat, spines flaring wide and deadly.
At this, Thalos’ lips curled around a smirk. “Jealous?” he crooned, lifting his blade to spin Kore between them. Slow. “Of this piteous thing? This malformed creature you wish to see grow round with thin Abyssari seed? Look at it,” Thalos said. “A perversion of nature. You’ve condemned her to a life of suffering between forms. There is nothing here to envy.”
Swallowing, Kore’s throat grew tight and raw.
With a gesture, Thalos’ blade slipped through the current, coming too close to Kore’s navel.
“If you touch my bride, I will tear your scales from your flesh and feed your entrails to Vorynthar,” Nyxarion snarled.
But Thalos showed no hint of fear or caution when he continued to examine Kore’s nudity before saying, “This creature is a tragic mockery. Its flesh is a testament to your selfish cruelty, Nyxarion Korrides. A violation of every law and principle we strive to uphold, the very reason Abyssari face extinction, she has been condemned to an existence between worlds. Fit for neither.”
Cheeks burning, Kore curled in around herself. Trying to hide from the stabbing pain his words evoked.
Nyxarion’s face contorted with savagery. “Speak ill of her again, and there will be nothing left of you to mourn.”
