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The morning light streaming through the windows lit his hair and caught the warmth in his blue eyes as he looked down at her. Marin laughed and looked down, giddy with relief and hope. “I would like to meet your people,” she said shyly. “I was never sure if the Mer really existed at all. What will they think of me?”

Her smile was so sweet and hopeful that for a moment Kaerius could not find any words at all. At last he managed, “My father will be grateful for how you have changed me.”

Brighton laughed under his breath, and Kaerius frowned at him in mock anger.

“How dare you laugh at the prince of the Mer?” he said, raising his chin.

“Sorry,” Brighton murmured. He eyed Kaerius as if seeing him a new light.

Kaerius blinked. “It was a joke,” he said. He studied Brighton’s face. The man was still pale, and the dark bruises around his eyes seemed even more pronounced than they had earlier. “You are as noble a warrior as I have ever met,” he said. “I am honored to count you a friend, Brighton.”

Brighton stood. “Likewise,” he said, and he pulled Kaerius into a short, hard embrace. He thumped the prince on the back before he pulled away.

Startled, Kaerius stood frozen for a moment, his eyes wide.

“Did I hurt you?” Brighton asked. “I’m sorry. Are you still injured?”

Kaerius shook his head with a soft huff of embarrassment. “I was going to say that I would count it a service to both our nations if you would not take my dignity too seriously, and not allow me to do so either, but it seems you do not need the invitation to unsettle me.”

Marin chuckled softly, relief and joy bubbling up in something like hysteria, and she wiped tears from her eyes as she laughed and wept at once. “Are you well, Kaerius?” she asked shakily.

Slowly and tenderly, he stepped closer and put his arms around her, taking his time so that she had time to withdraw if she wanted to. “I am,” he said.

Face to face, he bent just a little to meet her eyes, and he smiled, sweet and triumphant and joyful. “I am with you, so I am well, Your Highness.”

She bit her lip and smiled up at him. “I should call you Your Highness as well. You’re a prince.”

He blinked. “I like the sound of my name on your tongue much better than my title.”

“Kaerius,” she murmured.

His smile widened.

“You should call me Marin,” she said softly.

“Marin.” Her name tasted sweet in his mouth, like sugar crystals and hope. “Marin,” he said again, savoring it.

Then he took a deep breath and said, “I ought to speak with your father and make my intentions known before I introduce you to my people.”

The sunlight streamingin through the windows lit the spacious room in shades of warm gold. Kaerius followed Marin to where the king sat by the fire.

“Father,” she said, and she bent to embrace him. “Prince Kaerius sent them away. Lord Ralph is dead, and Lord Galbraith has agreed to a political alliance rather than marriage.”

“Kaerius?” the king said curiously. He looked up, his cloudy eyes searching for what he could not see.

Marin looked toward Kaerius and nodded that he should speak.

Kaerius knelt before the king, his clear blue eyes on the older man’s face. He took one of the king’s hands and cupped it on his face, so the king could feel him smile.

“It is an honor to greet you properly, Your Majesty,” he said. “I could not speak before, because I had bargained my voice to the Lord of the Deep for a chance to court your daughter. I have triumphed in that bargain: your daughter wept for me, demonstrating her love, and thus I have earned back my voice and my life.”

The king’s cool, dry fingers swept over Kaerius’s cheeks, feeling the soft golden waves of hair that fell over his ears and the sharp line of his jaw. He traced the line of Kaerius’s lips and paused as he felt Kaerius smile again.

“The Lord of the Deep?” the king asked.

“A kraken—thekraken—that rules the deep waters. His magic is great, and while he is not usually friendly to my people, he has been unexpectedly kind to me.

“I wish to marry your daughter. She has given me hope that if I ask her, she will not refuse me. Will you allow me to make a formal proposal?”