A single, razor-edged fin unfurled from his forearm, the spines along its edge glinting. A bead of venom welled at the tip, but it wasn’t what Kore knew.
It was violet.
Almost electric.
The echo of lightning after a strike, staining every blink in purple streaks.
Kore’s pulse spiked. The water between them hummed, charged with everything that went unsaid.
And then, with a flash of silver, Thalos’ hand darted out. His grip a vise about her throat.
Kore’s breath hitched, fingers flying to his wrist. Trying to pry at his grip, where his thumb pressed into the fragile pulse beneath her jaw.
The Shallow King only pulled her closer.
Enough that she could see the way his pupils dilated, swallowing that ring of icy blue. Close enough to feel the current of his breath, sharp with salt and something darker.
Disgust.
His upper lip curled. “Pathetic.”
Heart thrashing against his palm, Kore went still. Gills flaring wide where his fingers threatened to pinch them closed and rob her of breath.
Frozen as that frigid glare raked over her. Lingering on the fresh marks Nerissa had carved, the way her scales caught the dim light, iridescent with the fire of a sunset.
Upper lip curling, he sneered. "A living flame," he mused, tipping her head this way and that. "A human shell stuffed with trench-filth."
As if reacting to the threat against her, Nyxarion's venom surged in her veins. Burning where it spread. Sending another gush of slick pooling between her thighs. Nipples growing peaked and taut under Thalos' hateful gaze.
His grip grew tighter.
Merciless.
A snarl twisted his perfect features as his barb struck—fast, deep—sinking into the soft flesh between her ribs.
Shocked, Kore arched with a silent scream.
Liquid ice gushed through her veins.
Flooding the chambers of her heart.
Blistering, brilliant agony spread as frost crept through her chest.
She came alive.
Thrashing, Kore tried to claw her way free of his grip, but Thalos held her fast. "Hush, little bride," he crooned. "Just a little more. That's it. Take it all now."
He was inside her.
A barb lodged between her ribs, a key turning a forbidden lock.
Cold burned through her chest, her lungs. Leaving frost crusting around her heart as he continued to empty every last drop of venom into her heart.
Back arching, a sound tore free of her throat as her nerves lit up, every inch of her skin suddenly alive, too sensitive, too raw.
His venom didn’t burn like Nyx’s.
It froze, crystallizing her blood, locking her muscles in rigid submission. Kore’s gills flared, desperate for air, but Thalos only pressed closer, his breath a gush of fury against her ear.
