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What is wrong with you? Remember who he is. Stick to your plan.

The plan to capture his heart and then break it. Maybe she should just touch his face anyway… all in the name of vengeance.

Mer stamped out the desire and yelped when the king swept her into his arms bridal-style, holding her close as he stalked down the dock, Gideon in tow. His wet robe slapped against his boots.

“I can walk,” she objected, not wanting to be close to anyone. At least he wasn’t touching her skin. Just the large cloak that cocooned her.

His fingers flexed against her body just as his nose brushed her temple. “I couldn’t let you go even if I wanted to,” he growled in her ear.

Right, the Lure.

“Where are we going?” she asked, shivering and hating herself as she cuddled closer to the king’s warmth, glancing over his shoulder. Captain Velicu hovered by the railing and lifted a hand in goodbye. Mer smiled at the formidable woman, but her smile dropped as the duke stepped up to the captain’s side. There would be consequences for what she’d done today. Keventin’s eyes promised retribution.

“Home. Where you can’t try to kill anyone else.”

She stared out at the open ocean, wishing she could have said a proper goodbye to the sea.

Something out of place caught her eye.

It looked almost like a face?

She blinked and it was gone.

Wishful thinking on her part.

Chapter Twenty-Four

MER

After her stuntat Laos Keep, the king had unceremoniously locked her away as soon as they reached the Onyx Palace. It had killed her leaving Phia behind, but the duchess promised to arrive within the week with her friend in tow.

If Keventin hadn’t killed the Sirenidae.

Mer believed he was smarter than that. Phia was the key to controlling Mer. He wouldn’t be that shortsighted, or at least Mer hoped so.

It seemed like the duke hadn’t made any accusations against her, but Raziel had seen something of the interaction between her and Keventin that made him believe she tried to kill the duke.

Any trust they had been building disappeared with her actions.

They hadn’t even let her out for meditation.

Even the dowager queen had shown up to give her a tongue-lashing about modesty, propriety, and attempted murder.Surprisingly, the older woman had focused on Mer’s dress, not Keventin.

Humans were odd.

Sirenidae had always hated clothing. For most of Mer’s life, she’d worn hardly anything but her sealskin, and that covered very little. There was never shame associated with anyone’s body or skin. A body was just that. A body. Something to be appreciated for the life and support it gave.

Her lips thinned as she played with the short ends of her hair.

Humans were a little different when it came to modesty, and it seemed Methians even more so. Every single person she passed seemed to be covered head to toe.

During the welcoming feast, she’d taken great delight in leaving the stodgy Methian gown in her room and tearing the curtains from the wall. The final look had been beautiful, even though the color hadn’t been right for her. What she’d enjoyed even more was the look on the queen’s face when she’d entered the dining hall.

That night felt like a lifetime ago.

When she’d left for Methi, Mer had painted King Raziel as the worst of men. While he still needed to pay for what he’d done, Duke Keventin was worse.

Her heart raced and her breathing accelerated.