There.
Nestled together in the bowl of calcified ribs, Kore lay curled against Sera. Tucked beneath the general’s chin. Breathing slow and deep, the coral around her reflecting the peaceful rhythm of her languid state.
Sleeping.
Again.
Almost constantly, now.
His throat flexed, working to swallow a lump of something hard and foreign.
It was strange to see her this way. To witness that strange, human dive into vulnerable surrender, and behold the chaos of her dreams when they spilled out into the Raskoril. Something he’d never tire of watching.
It was a whisper.
An echo of her humanity she would never lose.
And for a moment, he simply watched the way Sera’s claws drifted through her hair. Listened to the low croon hisVireliigeneral hummed as Sera indulged.
She looked small in Sera’s arms.
Fragile.
He swallowed again.Hard.
And, meeting Sera’s gaze, he flicked his fins. It was a tiny gesture. A summons meant to bring his general and leave his Siren to her slumber.
Moving with ethereal grace, Sera lifted Kore. Weightless and buoyant, she settled her against the throne and slid free. Gliding across the chamber with a careful flick of her tail.
Voice hardly a breath of sound, Nyx tilted his head. “Well?”
One arched, Sera’s lips twitched. “Give hersomecredit,” she murmured, fins spreading in a slow creep, fanning to holdherself still. “The girl immolated an ancient with a stray touch. Perhaps it’s safe to say you don’t need to worry overmuch.”
"It drained her,” he returned, and his gaze slid back. Helplessly. “She’s exhausted, even now. Tides later."
Lips twitching, Sera twisted around him. “She’s calm. Adjusting.” Her face softened, just for a moment. Just long enough to let him glimpse theVireliishe occasionally allowed herself to be. “The child keeps her anchored.”
And for a moment, they merely watched her. Quiet together, lulled by the gravity of the moment.
But Sera’s gaze slid back to his. Coy, when she asked, “Are you going to tell mewhyThalos is still feeding your bride Asterion venom? Or do I have to pluck the information from your scales myself?”
Spines lurching, Nyx pushed a breath through his gills.
Irritated, for Thalos had bound him to secrecy, but that silver-tongued prick hadn’t earned the loyalty Sera inspired in him.
Catching her arm, he reeled her in. Lips pressed to her ear, he whispered part of the truth. “I’m working to have the Accord dissolved.”
Eyes wide, rimmed in white, Sera went still. Utterly motionless.
“It was Kore’s doing,” he added, and the admission was laced with a smile no one could see. “My queen demanded it be rendered null. Replaced with a pact between kingdoms.”
A tiny gasp escaped her lips, but that was all.
“Peace,” he said, and it tasted strange. Foreign. “To honor Nerissa, and return Sirens to the seas.” He hesitated, then. Just for a moment. The instinct to guard something precious from discovery—even from Sera—made his teeth clench. And then, “Kore is the bridge between,” he admitted. Careful with his wording. “Her womb the chalice laced with the venom oftwokings. The child is not safe in a sea that does not recognize a new tide.”
For several weighted breaths, Sera was silent. Still, right down to her gills.
And when she spoke, it was in a tone heavy and layered with shock. “You made a pact. With Thalos Asterion. Without telling your general. In secret.”
