Page 58

Like a bloody fool.

Her words a fortnight ago haunted him.

Raziel had reached out to Samuel Ramses, the Spymaster of Aermia, about his new queen. The information he’d received had been surprisingly vague, and it seemed Samuel would be visiting quite soon.

Mer Thalassan had indeed been married before. Her husband, Ream, had been a healer, but there wasn’t much on his death, only that he’d died during the Warlord’s War. What confounded Raz was the fact that the Sirenidae had been their allies. He didn’t understand how he could be responsible for herhusband’s death. When Raz took a life, it tended to haunt him at night.

No Sirenidae faces visited him during his nightmares.

That’s not true.

He gritted his teeth.

Mer visited him in his dreams. Ones where skin slid against skin, and she sighed softly in his ears.

Raziel shook the image from his mind and focused on important matters. Like communicating with his queen so they could move forward in harmony.

She hadn’t brought her husband’s death up again, and he didn’t know how to broach the subject without incurring her considerable wrath.

He’d wed a feral little bride.

Like calls to like.

Wading into the cool water, he tiptoed past sea anemones, starfish, and tiny crabs watching him with large eyes. His toes became buried in the sand as he stopped, standing beside the Sirenidae. Her eyes were closed, lips slightly apart.

Once again, she was only half dressed.

Raz shook his head and soaked in the salty air, breathing through the Lure that perfumed the air. His mouth watered at her tantalizing scent, and his hands trembled with the need to run them across her skin.

Maybe this was a bad idea. His dreams of the night were too fresh in his mind.

He eyed the ocean, a small smile lifting his lips as dolphins played in the water. They sped through the side of waves and leapt out of the sea in arcs like they weighed nothing. It was incredible.

“What are you doing here?”she asked, not opening her eyes.

“Meditation, my queen.”

Mer snorted, her nose wrinkling with the movement. “Your custom.” A pause. “Don’t you think we’re past honorifics in private? I did try to kill you.”

Her blunt words pulled a booming laugh from Raz. Tears sprouted at the corners of his eyes, and he bent in half, bracing his hands on his knees. Stars, she was brash.

“Are you done yet?” she drawled.

Raziel glanced at his wife, who scowled down at him. He laughed harder. Swiping the tears away, he straightened, shaking his head. “Only you would say such a thing... Mer.”

“And only you would laugh at a death threat, Raziel.”

They stared at each other for a beat before she cracked a smile and snickered.

Something inside his chest loosened at the sound. She really was lovely.

That’s the Lure talking.

She caught the look on his face, and her laughter was gone as soon as it came. Mer regained her composure, all traces of mirth wiped from her face.

His smile disappeared and he sighed. For a moment, they’d both forgotten what each had done, or at least they could laugh about it.

He turned his attention back to the rolling sea, unease rising as the waves did. What if one got too big and swept them away?