Hazel throws her head back with a groan. I really appreciate Seiji being a goof right now because my mate was trembling with nerves before, but now, she’s just irritated.
“Look at her, she’s dying to kiss me! Dean, watch out, gay or not, she’s falling for my charm.”
Anxo smacks the back of his head. “Stop pushing your luck before she snaps.”
Seiji grumbles but steps forward, lowering his head so Hazel doesn’t have to stand on her toes. She hums as she kisses his forehead, sealing the protection around him.
“I still can’t believe how much you’ve changed. You would’ve cut my hand off if I tried to touch you before, but look at you now, you’rekissingme.”
“Toprotectyou,” Hazel growls.
“Whatever helps you sleep at night.”
“I’m going to kill you.”
Seiji backs off with a smirk. “And the balance is restored.”
My mate turns to me next, and I pull her into my arms again without wasting another second. I don’t know how I’m supposed to stay focused knowing she’ll be on the other side of the kingdom in enemy territory.
Hazel kisses my forehead, lingering until I cup the side of her face and pull back. I expect to see worry, maybe even a little fear about being forced to confront the root of her nightmares, but all I see is quiet acceptance.
She’s already made peace with what needs to happen so we can finally stop looking over our shoulders.
Something in her cracked the night Tiberius tried to hurt us. She blames herself, and I can tell the guilt still lingers inside her.
After seeing how he’s willing to hurt us to get under her skin, a fire ignited in her. This isn’t fear anymore. It’s vengeance. And she won’t stop until everything he’s touched is ash.
I take her lips in a kiss, pouring everything I can’t say into it—belief, trust, certainty. She could’ve put the bastard in the ground alone… but now that she has all of us? He doesn’t stand a chance.
I press one last kiss to her head, then force myself to step back, turning away before I can change my mind and switchplaces with Khatri so I can stick to my mate’s side wherever she goes.
Anxo, Khatri, and I exchange a final nod and head into the ocean, pushing forward until the water swallows us whole. The deeper we go, the more distorted everything becomes. I don’t know whether it takes us hours or minutes to finally see a faint pulsing light in the distance.
For a second, I think maybe Eldoris isn’t that far, and we didn’t need Hazel’s spell, but when I glance back, there’s nothing but dark ocean stretching endlessly.
The pressure on my ears and chest builds with every second until it’s almost unbearable as we get closer to the underwater kingdom before it finally comes into view.
And it steals the air from my lungs in a different way.
We stop, stunned at the sight of Eldoris, the kingdom we’ve only heard whispers about. Seiji and Anxo exchange a baffled look, unable to find the words to describe the architectural marvel before us.
Eldoris sits on an underwater mountain shaped like an infinity loop, split at the center by massive gates that divide Tiberius’s palace from the villages.
The contrast between the two sides is staggering. Tiberius lives in a glorious palace fit for a king, while his people have huts that you wouldn’t expect even in the poorest supernatural kingdoms.
Hazel told us that his part of the kingdom is restricted to everyone. Once someone is taken beyond those gates, they don’t come back. Especially the women.
I knew he ruled through fear, but this is worse. He holds so much power over them, I’m starting to see why the villagers sacrifice their women and children to keep the rest of them safe.It’s not devotion… it’s desperation.
There’s a thin line between betrayal and survival here.
A flicker of movement catches my eye. I turn and freeze at the sight of two sirens swimming toward us faster than we can blink. But it’s not them that makes Seiji screech… it’s what stands behind them. Spirits of two shadow horses with glowing red eyes.
Kelpies.
Not something you want to meet in the dark.
They are like distant cousins to sirens, who are usually found near lakes. I didn’t know they had hunting grounds this deep in the water.
