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“I’ll be fine,” she replied. No one was coming for her, and if they did... well, she wasn’t sure she cared all that much. “Keep your eyes and ears open. I’ll see you soon.”

Mer pushed away from the rock and prowled toward the tree line.

“You’ll always be my queen,” Sin called. “No matter what happens.”

Mer glanced over her shoulder and gave him a dark smile. “I’m no queen. I’m the traitor of the tides.”

Chapter Seven

MER

Mer heldher head high as she glided through the underwater assembly toward her grandfather. He sat on a huge throne carved from abalone, his long silver hair floating around him, the pale whalebone columns rising behind him in the amphitheater.

The stares of her people pricked her skin like a thousand needles—some angry, some sad, some betrayed.

Today she’d receive her punishment.

Finally. Waiting was torture.

Somewhere in the crowd were Lilja and Sin. Her aunt and brother-in-law wanted to accompany her but she turned them down. Mer needed to accept the consequences of her actions alone.

Plus, she didn’t want to appear weak.

She stopped before the dais, her feet settling gently in the sand. Her pulse rushed in her veins as she gazed up at her grandfather impassively. Shame threatened to rise up at the whispers, but Mer shoved it down. Her actions hadn’t beenshameful when she’d helped their allies. The only thing she regretted was hurting her grandfather. Even now, she could see pain lurking in the king’s pale magenta gaze.

He stood, trident in hand, and she knelt in respect. Sand billowed in a cloud around her knees.

“Mer Thalassan, royal daughter of the tides, you have been convicted of traitorous crimes against our people. You disobeyed the king, conscripted your own army, assisted the surface kingdoms, and conspired against the crown. Are you ready to accept your fate?” her grandfather said, his deep voice cutting through the depths of the ocean.

“I am,” she responded, her voice ringing clear and strong.

“For your crimes, you are to be cut off from your people indefinitely.”

She swallowed thickly and tried not to cry. Mer had already suspected she’d be banished, but hearing it cut her to the soul.The Sirenidae were her home.

Her grandfather continued. “You will be marked as a traitor so all will know you for what you are.”

Mer bit the inside of her cheek. She was to be branded and her hair cut. No Sirenidae would ever again acknowledge her.

“And finally,” he said.

She bowed her head, bracing herself for the final blow. Was her punishment not enough? No Sirenidae had been punished this harshly in five hundred years.

“The council and I have taken into account your royal blood as well as your good deeds in the past for our people. Even though you will not be welcomed here, we will not toss you out into the world without protection. We’ve found a solution suited for your royal status.”

Mer lifted her head and tried to calm her breathing as she locked eyes with her grandfather. The king’s expression held no sympathy and no condemnation.

“You are no longer a widow.” Shock radiated through her. “You have been married by proxy to a king that we deemed suitable for you.”

Her mouth gaped open, and it felt like she was drowning. Marriage? “To whom?” she rasped as the ocean tilted around her. Mer dug her fingers into the sand to ground herself.

“You are wed to King Raziel of Methi. Prepare yourself. You will depart for your new home and husband immediately after your marking.”

The world dipped out of focus, and her hands shook.

“Do you accept your punishment?” her grandfather asked.

Don’t let them see you falter.