Jennifer was red-faced as Adrian swam away. She leaned in and whispered something vile to her yellow-tailed friend, who was shooting daggers atAdrian’sback.
He was going to piss off a lot of women tonight. Happy Birthdaytohim.
“I thought we talked about this. You’re not to bring it up,” his father hissed at him in low tones. “No talking about thesurface.”
“Sorry.” Adrian knew his father only let him get away with so much because he was a boy, and because he felt the need to indulge him as long as he could before the duties of the crown took overhislife.
But… his father thought that Adrian only went up to the surface every now and then. If he truly knew, if he realized it was a daily thing… he’d never be allowed to leave thepalace.
His father introduced him to mermaid after mermaid. Adrian kept waiting for that special moment, a powerful connection, some sort of love at first sight, but it never happened. None of the girls caught Adrian’s eye or even held hisattention.
It wasn’t like he didn’t like them as people… but as his queen? Most of them weren’t concerned about him or his feelings, what he wanted, what he wished for and dreamed about. They just wanted that shell tiara on their head, and the big wedding that would comeafter.
They wanted to behis queen.They didn’t want tobehis.
They didn’t know what they were getting into. It was a big job. The mermaid he chose would eventually become the Mistress of the Waves, Protector of the Depths. Poseidon might be King of the Sea, but it was Ianthe who kept it safe from the humans, who restored the waters each year and who tended to the care of each and every creature that dwelled within itsreach.
Adrian knew he couldn’t pick just any girl. Whoever became his bride had to be kind… sweet… and had to have the ability to hold great power without it going toherhead.
That wasn’t any of the girls here, that was for sure. Most of them were prawning about, showing off the shell jewelry their parents had bought them or bragging on and on endlessly aboutbloodlines.
In Adrian’s opinion, such things didn’t matter. But… he had to remind himself that his queen wouldn’t be the only one with a heavy burden. Someday, he’d be Lord of the Sea, and he’d have just as much responsibility on his shoulders as hisfatherdid.
The thought made him wanttopuke.
Ianthe noticed Adrian was less than enthusiastic about the whole affair. She pried him away from his father’s side and wrapped an arm around him. “Feeling a littleoverwhelmed?”
The room was spinning. “There are so many.” And he had to pick one? The right one, tonight? He wasn’t even sure if he could remember half the names. How was he supposed to find his soulmate in this mess? The night would be over by the time introductions werefinished.
“Give them a chance, Adrian,” Ianthe said, quite gently. “I’m sure some of them are just as nervous asyouare.”
He wasn’t sure about that. The girls who didn’t get picked would go home and be free to marry whomever they chose. For him, there was no getting outofthis.
Ianthe took over and started introducing him to different mermaids. The ones she chose were better than Poseidon’s picks, but Adrian looked at them immediately as friends, notlovers.
Over and over, Adrian kept on coming back to the girl on the boat, the one with the green eyes.More like the one without fins, mind you,Adrian thought. It was a pointless fantasy. He’d never see that particular girl ever again, and even if he did, he’d never be able to bring her back to Aquatica. She belonged on land. And him,thesea.
But if she were here, and if she were a mermaid and not a human… he’d pick her in a minute. He knew it. There was just something about her that… clickedwithhim.
Hours passed, and the night lengthened. He longed to sleep, but knew these kinds of parties could go on for days. After he’d met nearly a hundred girls, Adrian excused himself to get a bite to eat, but really, he wasn’t hungry. He just needed an excuse for a break. He sat at the table next to his father and picked at the swordfish and seaweed hash that had beenserved.
His father was having a grand old time. You’d have thought it was his birthday and not his son’s. Adrian leaned on his hand and hoped he’d have a few more minutes of peace to be single before his parents shoved him out into the crowdagain.
Then— the great doorsblewopen.
A giant wave pushed them apart and merpeople quickly swam out of the way. There was a sound like a mass of water being shifted, and the entire room went dark for a moment before it brightenedagain.
Merpeople started screaming. Adrian straightened up— finally, some excitement. An inky black cloud surrounded the water between the two doors, and from it emerged a figure Adrian hadn’t seen in over tenyears.
He was thin, with spines jetting out of his back and short black hair clipped into a point on his head. He had a goatee with a long face, and wore a smirk, like he knew everyone in the room was afraid of him. Eight tentacles, like those of squid, propelled him through the water toward the dining table. Like most mermen, he carried a weapon: a wooden staff made of driftwood, and a shining black stone smoothed by the sea set in the topofit.
Stavros… the seawarlock.
His reputation preceded him. Stavros had a talent for luring merpeople into traps with promises of whatever they wanted… for a price. The price was always,alwaysmore than what merpeople could afford to pay. Adrian didn’t know how Stavros kept making deals, but Adrian supposed if you weredesperate…
Thousands had fallen due to his dark magic. He’d even cursed an entire city of merpeople to dust andsand,once.
Everyone was afraid of him— save for Poseidon, andAdrian.
