But he didn't pause to gloat. Didn't bother acknowledging his victory, or the gathered Pelagorn circling to witness his tide with the Siren.
He moved.
Fleeing into the current.
Fast.
Coiled muscle and heaving scales, he lifted his fluke and sent the ocean screaming over her ears. Her gills. Every violent movement propelling them away from Nyxarion. The Hollow Court. Vorynthar.
Away from witnesses.
"What are you doing?" Kore cried, her hair swirling around her face as the current gushed over her.
He only adjusted his grip. Pressed her to his chest and poured his energy into ferrying her away from the eyes of his people.
Fingers twisted in a string of pearls draped around his neck, Kore clung as he moved. Legs fluttering in the current.
Claws prickling her scales, caging her tight against his chest, Thalos swam at a speed she'd never known might be possible.
Every movement sleek. Controlled.
Art in motion.
The black waters howled as they rushed past her ears.
Too fast. Controlled, for it wasn't desire that drove him… it was secrecy.
Fingers growing tight, pressing the round edge of a pearl between her digits, Kore's heart thrashed against her ribs. And she tipped her head into the rushing water, searching the abyss for a hint of Vorynthar's distant glow.
Scanning for a glimpse of the courts gathered to watch, as they'd done when Nyxarion had won the first trial.
But there was nothing.
Only the endless maw of a yawning void.
And Thalos.
Secreting her away. Free of witnesses, so none might hear her scream when he dragged his waveblade across her throat.
"Thalos! Where?—"
"Hush," he crooned, grip growing tighter. Possessive. "We don't need an audience for this, little monster."
Yield.
It was an echo.
Let him think he owns you. Convince the Shallow King that Sirens belong in these waters…
For a moment, there was horror. That her survival hinged on convincing this frigid, cruel creature that she had worth. That she'd be forced to use her body to do it. To yield to another male who saw only a womb. Leverage in female flesh.
But what was another sacrifice to a woman born to kneel?
Twisting, Kore let her muscles loosen. Curling in, cheek to his chest, she made herself soft where he was hard.
It was almost funny how fast she felt the shift. The way his claws softened against her skin. His ribs twitching on a caught breath.
She let the water drag her against him. Thigh brushing against his scales, where his slit concealed his repressed interest.
