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Bile burned the back of his throat as he thought of taking a Sirenidae princess as his bride. Would her skin be cold and clammy? Would she try to control his mind using the Lure? Would she steal his soul and feast on it?

“Do you truly have a contract from the Sirenidae king?” he forced himself to ask.

“I do.”

“Why now?” He turned and met his mother’s gaze. “We’ve been at odds with those creatures for years. What could they possibly want from us? What are they not telling us?”

“It’s my understanding that Sirenidae live a very long life. If a daughter of Thalassa was married to a king,” she blew out a breath, “then once you die, the kingdom would belong to your heir... and she would be regent.”

Anger heated his chest. “So, they seek to steal our kingdom.”

His mother rolled her eyes. “Every country seeks to expand their borders and improve their land—Sirenidae are no different. We just need to have a plan put into place.”

He picked afiileehair from his black velvet vest and stared at it before tossing it out the window. “We gain healers for the Mirror Plague.”

“And herbs from the trenches.”

His gaze sharpened. “Are you quite sure?” The life-lengthening herbs were impossible to get their hands on, even if they were royal. The Sirenidae guarded the plants fiercely.

“We’ve been granted an allotment along with treasures from the sea.”

Raziel smirked. “You mean treasures they’ve pilfered from sunken ships that were probably ours to begin with.”

His mum huffed. “I see you’re determined to be negative, so I shall take my leave.”

He reached out and caught the dowager queen’s hand before she could leave. “I will think on this. Please have the contract brought to me. I will consider it.”

“That’s all I ask.” She squeezed his fingers and then bustled out of the room as quickly as she’d come in.

Scrubbing a hand over his face, he sat in his chair and stared blankly at the desk. The existence of the Mirror Plague was a fiercely guarded secret. Methi’s borders had been closed until the Warlord’s War. Even then, only loyal warriors who’dsurvived the plague were permitted to leave. Not one foreign person had set foot on Methian soil in over thirty years. If the plague ever spread, their kingdom would be blamed.

They needed a remedy now.

It seemed a dangerous cold bride could be just the cure.

Chapter Three

MER

“That’s the last of it,”Sin said, brushing his palms together.

Mer nodded, tucking the stolen Sirenidae herbs carefully inside her cloak. They would save so many human lives. “You have my thanks.” She pulled the leather pouch full of gold from her leather belt and held it out to her brother-in-law.

Well . . . former brother-in-law.

The thought pierced Mer, and she inhaled sharply.

Sin shook his head, the shells in his silvery locs clinking softly at the motion. “I won’t take payment for something that is my duty. It’s not right to keep the bounty of the trenches to ourselves. We should share it with others.”

“My sentiments exactly.” Mer stepped closer, took his hand in her own, and placed the pouch in his large palm. “You never know when you’ll need it. Please take the coin.”

The tall Sirenidae studied her with familiar light magenta eyes. “How are you holding up?”

She closed his fingers around the coins and stepped away. “I’m fine.” A simple word for complicated feelings.

“Lies,” he murmured as he tucked the gold into the back of his ill-fitting leather breeches. Aermian clothing never fit their race quite right. Always too big around the waist and too short. “It doesn’t look like you’re taking care of yourself.”

Mer glanced around the dock and at the nearby brothels. There were quite a few people about, but no one was paying them any attention. The sailors and merchants were either too drunk, or otherwise occupied. She turned her attention back to her former brother-in-law.