“What did you just call me?”
Unfortunately, before the actual fun can begin, Angel interrupts our lovely interaction.
“All right, ladies, that’s enough getting to know each other for you two.” He slides in front of me, covering me with half his body.
How cute of him to think I need protection.
Backing out of the kitchen and taking me with him, he asks Hazel. “Find the others and meet us in the living room.”
“Oh, of course, my majesty!” her dramatic bow makes me snort. She tries to suppress her smirk at my reaction while poorAnxo looks completely done. “Anything else this peasant can do to appease you, my lord?”
Oh, I really like her.
“Hazel? Would you please be a lifesaver and do what I asked?” He requests rather than demands unlike before.
Anxo’s words might be polite, but his eyes are shooting her a clear warning, which Hazel is smart enough to catch.
Before leaving, I turn around at the last second and blow her a kiss to mess with her one last time. Hazel is quick to show me the finger, but I don’t miss the twitch in her lips.
“Uh, Anxo?”
I try to match his pace as he leads me to another room filled with sofas and walls of glass. That can’t be safe, right? What if someone smashes into them without realising it and falls to their death? And why are Angel’s legs so damn long?
What was I going to ask?Oh yes.I look around to make sure we are alone and whisper, “How the fuck did you convince asirenof all species to be your head warrior?!”
I’m sure my shock is plastered on my face. My eyes hurt from how big I’m making them but anyone else will be equally dumbfounded.Hello! She’s a siren.An extremely rare and powerful species that we know next to nothing about is in my presence, and her attitude is to die for. I’m allowed to freak out a little.
“Do you always swear this much?”
Angel looks amused, genuinely interested in my answer, which makes me nervous. What’s wrong with swearing? Please don’t tell me people stopped cursing in the last decade.
“No, I’m being civil. This is me trying to make a good first impression.”
He rewards my honesty with a loud laugh, and I almost die from how fulfilling it sounds. If he’s happy, that means I said the right thing.
“You are your father’s daughter.”
“Are you sure they let you have Conquer willingly because your intelligence makes me question your position, big guy?”
Anxo chuckles and brushes my minor insult off. I’m starting to freak out because nothing I do makes him angry or even remotely flippant.Strange guy.
We take a seat on the smallest couch. I wonder why we didn’t take the other larger and empty couch. His thigh presses against mine and I’m not sure why, but I make sure to sit still.
Something’s really wrong with me if I don’t care about people touching me anymore.
“When I met Hazel, she was a runaway siren, which you might know is unheard of, so it was quite a surprise. She immediately accepted when I offered protection from—uh, sorry sweetheart, I don’t want to say too much. Not my story to tell.”
A runaway? That can’t be right. Merfolk hate surface people and tend to stay in their cities deep underwater.
What if—no. It’s impossible to reach their cities, let alone kidnap someone.
Why would anyone go after her so aggressively? Pushing her enough that she thought leaving home was the only option?
Running from your demons is something I can relate to. The only difference is Hazel had the strength to get out and rebuild her entire life while I lost all hope and faded away for years.
For some reason, I can’t shake the rage that comes with the thought of someone harming that cute woman who likes her knives. I don’t know her well enough to care, but it doesn’t stop my Divine from stirring uncomfortably.
“The moment I saw her defeat warriors double her size without losing a drop of blood, I knew she was perfect for my second in command. I know it’s not traditional to incorporate other species into our higher ranks, but Hazel has proved herloyalty more times than I can count. Now, three years later, she is part of the family.”
