Page 10

ten

TRITON

“Please tell me we’re almost there,” Aria mumbled.

The woman was driving me mad.

She was clearly in pain, yet every time I offered to carry her back to the castle, she turned me down.

If she made another sound of pain, I would have no choice but to drag her into my arms and haul her back despite her protests.

“It’s only a few more minutes. We’re entering through a cave into our grotto that lies beneath the structure, so no one sees your plant.”

If she waltzed through the doors carrying that thing, my people would do something ridiculous.

Like holding another vote about whether or not my mate was allowed to use birth control.

As if they could stop her—or me—from bringing a damn plant inside.

Though I understood the reasons that we needed to breed, and agreed with them, there was no world in which I would ever force my female.

Or allow anyone else to do so.

“Alright.” Aria winced with the next small roll of her hips.

Damn stubborn woman.

My patience ran out, and I grabbed her around the middle.

She gave a weak protest, but I pulled her to my chest and channeled the water around us as I covered the distance between us and the castle rapidly.

What would’ve taken her ten minutes took me mere seconds, and I wove through the underground caverns with ease before finding the entrance to my grotto.

The wall of water that would’ve been impenetrable for most let us through without pause, and I surfaced a moment later.

It took Aria a moment to clear the water from her system before she took a breath of air, and relief crossed her face.

I lifted her onto the solid edge of the library’s floor, and she dropped her plant beside her.

Her palms rested on the wood, and she closed her eyes.

As much as I enjoyed seeing her bare breasts on display, I wanted her comfortable.

So, I left her on the platform while I altered the flow of the tube that led up to my room in the castle.

It only took a heartbeat to make it pull me through the grotto’s ceiling.

Leaving all of the water in the small pond in my room, I crossed the space smoothly.

After entering the closet, I grabbed one of Aria’s new tops and went back to the grotto.

She eyed me warily when I surfaced in the lake at the top of the waterfall, but she didn’t say anything.

She’d pulled her hair over her chest and was leaning back like she was trying to stretch.

“How are you feeling?” I asked, as I handed the fabric over.

She took it with an appreciative look, and I lifted myself to the platform beside her.

Focusing my gaze on the waterfall, I gave her a moment of privacy to pull the fabric over her head.

“Sore,” she admitted.

“Thanks for the ride, earlier.”

“Of course. It’ll take time for you to adapt to living as a merrae, even if your body has already finished the transition.”

“Has it?”

“Yes. The rest of your scales have appeared.”

She looked down at her torso, and her gaze lingered for a few moments before she asked, “How many are on my back?”

“Four.” Their locations were burned into my mind along with images of the rest of her body.

The woman was fucking gorgeous.

“There’s one on your throat, too. Behind your left ear,” I added.

Her hand lifted quickly to her neck, and I knew she’d locate it without a problem.

“What about the earrings?”

“They’re the same size as mine now.”

Her fingers brushed the crown on her ear.

“This is all so insane.”

“I can imagine.”

“Can you, though?”

I chuckled.

“Maybe not.”

A soft sigh left her.

“Joa said I have to dry the plant for a while. Do you have anywhere I can hang it?”

“You can tie a few of the reeds to whatever you want. Except the books.”

“I would never defile them,” she said, feigning solemnity.

My lips curved.

“You need help getting to bed, don’t you?”

“No. I can do it.” Her answer was too quick.

She was stubborn.

I respected her independence, but she was only sore because of the changes my magic had put her through.

I wasn’t going to let her struggle through that alone.

I stood, lifting her smoothly to her feet with me.

She made a noise of complaint, but leaned against me heavily when I helped her walk to the bed.

With the lightest brush of my magic, I pulled the water off her skin and out of her hair, leaving it in the lake.

She shivered, leaning against me more.

“How are we supposed to resist jumping each other’s bones constantly if our magic turns each other on so much?” she murmured.

“We aren’t.”

“Helpful,” she grumbled.

“Thanks for drying me off.”

“Any time.” I eased her down to the mattress and pulled the blankets over her legs.

She tugged them to her chin, turning onto her side so she faced away from me.

“I’m just going to take a nap.” Her words were so heavy with exhaustion that I felt bad for not bringing her home sooner.

Our trip to the cliffs had been her idea, but she wasn’t sure what it took to keep herself healthy at the moment.

And she certainly hadn’t finished adjusting completely to my world.

“It’s nighttime anyway, so you may as well sleep until the sun rises.”

Aria let out a relieved breath and muttered something that sounded like, “Thank fuck.”

It took everything I had to ignore the urge to slip into bed with her, but the woman clearly wasn’t ready for that.

So, I stepped away from the mattress and took a seat on a chair nearby.

After she was asleep, I’d bandage the wound on her arm that she’d ignored.

Then, I’d handle whatever shit Rayna needed me to do.

My mate could rest safely in our sanctuary while I dealt with the kingdom’s messes.

Hopefully, she would hate our situation less after I gave her some space.