Duty clamped down, anchoring me, when all I wanted in this moment was to press her against the wall so I could lick and suck that word right out of her sensuous mouth.
I held still, my thoughts at war within me. A sad acceptance weakened her trembling smile. Turning away, she quietly entered her bed chamber. It was for the best.
With a frustrated sigh, I adjusted my pants and locked myself in my room.
If only ithad been possible the night before to take a cold shower while in the depths of the ocean. I had finally fallen into a fitful sleep, trying to avoid intrusive, lurid thoughts and smoky venom-infused dreams. The ornate clamshell, which served as a clock on the wall, displayed a pre-dawn hour.
I groaned into my pillow. Rue was the girl I had lost. She was the woman I couldn’t keep.
As a child, I was sent out to search for orphans before Nolan could collect them, and instead, I foundher. I kept her a secret from the Liberation, my protectiveness for her overpowering even then. She was always alone, always cloaked in her own shadow of grief. Until the day she disappeared. I had feared the worst when I couldn’t find her. That bottomless feeling of dread and desperation still tormented me.
The urge to learn everything about her dominated my thoughts ever since I realized Ruin was Liora. But she still didn’t trust me; not like she did with Bowen. I had no doubt I could sway her my direction, but it wouldn’t be fair to open that door when I knew what was to come. We were raised to be enemies. Maybe I still was. I rolled over, groaning again.
I forced myself to think through our meeting with the queen. The Liberation needed the Nereids as allies. Xuri foresaw our future alliance. She also made it clear that if I die, there would be no hope for the realms. It would be subjugated as darkness devoured it. This alliance was the next step toward our success.
Hope was a fragile thing. A dangerous thing. I had seen its loss devastate some of my strongest soldiers. I was wary to give it too much weight. Putting your hope in the wrong thing… that’s what destroyed spirits. I had let Xuri’s enthusiasm rub off on me.I tried to reel some of it back in, preparing myself for the worst-case scenario. But what would that even be? I suppose Queen Thaleia could offer me nothing, and then I’d be no worse off than before. But that would certainly seal my future fate. There were no other options left—outside of the queen—nowhere else I could turn.
The clock finally displayed an acceptable hour to start the day. I shifted off the bed and pulled on my tunic and leathers. I wasn’t completely comfortable peacocking around without a shirt. Though I wouldn’t put it past Finn to “align with the culture” and have an easy excuse to flaunt himself.
I sincerely hoped Rue wouldn’t try to. I growled internally. That sheer gown last night viscerally unsettled me. Watching so many males peruse her curves had left my jaw so tight from its clenching that I wouldn’t have been surprised to have cracked a tooth.
I popped my neck and shook out my arms, refocusing on the task at hand. A spread of food lay artfully displayed in the central living area where all our rooms connected. Bowen glanced up from his bowl, offering a drowsy nod. Finn strolled in from the main hallway moments later, disheveled, still wearing last night’s clothes. He arched an eyebrow daring me to ask questions. When I didn’t offer any, he shrugged and strolled to his room, yawning.
I grabbed a plate, loading it up with food that deceived with its beauty. I popped the delicacies in my mouth, the salinity of it all confirming my suspicions. The saltiness made me grimace but I swallowed it down.
Rue finally emerged; her hair plaited back, the glow of the light giving it a strange lilac hue. She nodded her greetings toward Bowen and me, carefully aloof. “This is salty. And this is saltier,” I warned her.
She unsuccessfully restrained a grin as she piled food on her plate. She took a deep breath to steel herself, then after several attempts at chewing, made an audible swallowing sound. I stifled a laugh. She didn’t hide her glare, though a smirk chased after it. I struggled to turn away from her.
Before I had a chance to bring up the morning’s meeting with the queen, Aydrielle entered. “Good morning. I hope you all enjoyed yourselves last night.” Her voice dripped heavy with innuendo.
She piled shrimp onto a plate alongside pickled sea cucumber. Her shoulder grazed mine as she proceeded to languidly eat her food. She sucked on her fingers as her gaze lingered on me. I shifted to put some space between us.
“If you are ready, the Queen awaits.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
THE SPY
Aydrielle’s gaze knifed into Dom’s, boring into his golden eyes as she greeted our group. My chest tightened. I directed my focus on a teapot. If he had entertained her last night, it was none of my business. My heart raged. I took a deep breath, willing myself to ignore their interaction, pasting a blithe smile on my face.
My breakfast nearly choked me when she seductively licked her fingers. I swallowed my rising temper. If I possessed claws they would have extended. Instead, I ground my teeth as frigid ice threatened to spear out of me. What Dom chose to do and who he chose to do it with shouldn’t concern me. My mind conjured an image of Dom’s hands all over Aydrielle’s voluptuous body. I could almost hear her moaning his name. My mouth turned dry. The floor beneath me started to freeze.
Aydrielle spun toward me with a calculated smile. I bared my teeth. I had to get a hold of myself before we met the queen. For a moment last night, I thought he might have held more than just respect for me. I had been wrong. I had misread his behavior. He had the chance to make a move and chose not to. Even under the thrall of that venom. Disappointment made a home in my chest, constricting it. Jealousy burned on the fringes. Dom’s presencecalled to me constantly and it took everything in me to stay away. Gods, I needed space.
Dom cleared his throat. “Shall we?” He gestured for me to go first through the doorway. I felt out of place, my fingers fidgeting with the hilt of my daggers. I shoved my hands in my pockets. Between my confession the night before, Aydrielle’s blatant desire for Dom, and my attendance with the queen, agitation and anxiety threatened to overwhelm me.
Aydrielle led us up a set of stairs to a room with an intimate seating area. Coral adorned the walls and framed the doorways in a kaleidoscope of color and texture. The queen reclined in an antique settee, gilded and covered in midnight-blue velvet. Tapestries softly billowed along the walls, depicting mermaids in various geological locales. Dom and I bowed upon our entrance and the queen waved her hand, dismissing Aydrielle and the other servants.
“Please, do sit,” she directed us. My relief at Aydrielle’s departure was palpable. My murderous thoughts dimmed. Dom shot a curious glance my direction that I chose to ignore.
We sat down on two ornate chairs with high backs and matching ottomans facing the queen. Dom started, “Thank you for meeting with us. It’s an honor to have a moment of your time, and a privilege to learn from your experience.”
The queen inclined her head in appreciation. “What do you wish to find here, Prince?”
Confusion bristled my brow at her address. Dom moved on without correction. “A darkness consumes the land, and it withers. King Nolan’s power grows as he harvests more magic from his people. We have come seeking an alliance. I know you have won wars in your past against powerful realms. Would you allow your armies to fight again, alongside us?”
Queen Thaleia assessed Dom, her mind rapidly processing before carefully responding. She slowly stood, her finger tracingthe outline of the settee as she swept around it. “It has been a very long time since we have seen war. But rest assured, we have remained prepared. The lands have been dying for a while now. But it’s getting worse. The glacial hinterlands, north of Yarit, are an ancient area most sensitive to magic and its fluctuations. There is a darkness that has come, and as it consumes, it sucks out life and light. The evidence is laid bare in the glaciers. But it spreads.
