Page 11

eleven

ARIA

When I eventually opened my eyes, I had no idea how much time had passed.

It felt like a lot, because my eyes were dry and gritty and my skin felt kind of itchy.

I scratched the scales on my back without rolling over, then looked down at my chest in alarm as I checked to make sure they hadn’t fallen out.

If they fell out, I could get pregnant.

And I hadn’t been able to use Triton’s plant yet, so that would’ve been bad.

Really bad.

A relieved breath escaped me when I found them firmly in place.

The itchiness must’ve been from something else.

I rolled over with a loud groan.

I was still crazy sore.

More sore than I’d ever been before.

I’d never been big on working out, but I’d been to the gym a few times in the past.

The soreness I felt now was on an entirely different level than it had ever been.

I could barely move.

Lifting my head, I scanned the room with a bleary gaze, expecting to find Triton sitting in a chair or something.

He wasn’t.

My forehead creased, and I blinked more sleep from my eyes.

That couldn’t be right.

But another look around confirmed it.

The king was gone.

“Triton?” I called out, hoping he was just in the water or something.

There was no response.

Shit.

I bit my cheek to stop myself from panicking.

Everything was fine.

He’d probably just gone into the castle or something.

He’d be back soon, right?

I wasn’t sure how to get out of the underground room, so I pretty much had to hope so.

Theoretically, I could control that water tube we’d traveled through, but I wasn’t placing any bets on me being able to manipulate it like the king had.

Another wave of itchiness had me scratching my stomach roughly.

Something was clearly wrong.

And Triton was gone, so I was going to have to figure it out on my own.

I forced myself to go through everything I’d learned about merrae yet again.

The bond meant I could reach out to him mentally with a question—but he felt further away than he had when we were swimming, and he definitely wasn’t hearing my thoughts at the moment.

He would’ve said something.

The man hated when I was uncomfortable.

So the distance must’ve changed the bond just a little.

Maybe just while we were apart.

I continued trying to come up with an answer…

But yeah, I had nothing.

With a soft sigh, I finally sat up.

Something crinkled beneath me when I did, and I looked at the place I’d been laying.

A folded piece of paper was there, though it was really wrinkled.

The wrinkles would’ve been my fault.

Oops.

I picked it up and opened the sheet.

It took me a solid few minutes to translate the words written in his language, but eventually, I figured out what it said.

Aria,

I have to handle some things in the castle, but I’ll come check on you in a few hours.

Just relax and take some time for yourself.

You’re safe in our grotto.

My people returned with your things, so I made space for your books on one of the shelves.

Use the bond to let me know if you need anything at all.

Triton

I folded the letter again and carried it with me as I forced myself out of bed.

Every step made my entire body hurt, but I did my best to ignore it.

I was fine.

So very fine.

My legs were trembling when I reached the shelf that held my books.

Leaning against the wood, I groaned softly.

Okay, fine, I was in bad shape.

My stomach rumbled.

And I was hungry, apparently.

Yay.

I had no idea where I was supposed to go to eat in the castle, but I hadn’t seen a kitchen in any of Triton’s rooms.

So it seemed safe to say there was one somewhere.

I could ask Triton for help…

Or I could figure it out on my own.

Which sounded terrible.

But also, useful.

Talking to Joa had definitely opened my eyes to more of what was going on.

Leaving the room alone meant I could learn more about the castle and the merrae without Triton there to put everyone on their best behavior.

So…

I was going to do it.

Assuming I could actually figure out how to control the water tube thing that would carry me out of the grotto.

I gave myself a few more seconds to catch my breath before I forced myself away from the wall and shuffled across the platform.

After staring enviously at the fish, who clearly weren’t sore from swimming like I was, I dove into the lake.

They ignored my presence as I shifted my legs to a tail.

My magic seemed to have regenerated entirely, and it felt stronger than it had before.

I was pretty sure that was good.

The itchiness I’d been feeling vanished entirely as I shifted.

I guess my skin was just tired of being in human form or something.

Triton had mentioned my body forcing me to shift eventually.

Maybe that was what he had been talking about.

Weird.

But not weirder than the fact that I could actually turn my butt into a fish tail.

It hurt so bad to swim across the lake that my eyes legitimately burned, but I ignored them.

When I reached the bottom of the waterfall, I stared up at it for a solid five minutes while I tried to use my magic to make it carry me upward.

It didn’t even pause, no matter how much magic I shoved at the thing.

I must’ve been doing it wrong.

With a long sigh, I shifted my tail back to legs and climbed out of the water.

My knees knocked together as I dug my fingers into the rocky wall of the cliff beside the waterfall.

It was slippery, and there was moss all over the rocks, but I could do it.

I’d figure it out.

My arms shook as I pulled myself up a couple inches off the ground.

My foot glanced off a sharp rock, and I winced at a gash of pain before I planted my foot on another rock.

Yeah, I was probably bleeding.

I remembered cutting my arm the day before, and twisted awkwardly as I tried to check out the wound.

There was a large, white bandage where the cut had been.

I blinked down at the thing, not remembering cleaning the wound.

Or covering it.

Triton must’ve done it while I was sleeping.

I wasn’t sure how to feel about that, honestly.

Grateful?

Yes.

But everything else was an uncertainty.

How much of what he was doing was just so I’d be willing to let him breed me?

How much of it would end if I let him knock me up?

How would he treat me if he wasn’t actively trying to convince me to accept him as my mate?

I managed to climb another foot off the ground before the moss on one of the rocks I clung to slid off.

I fell so fast and hard that I couldn’t do anything to catch myself.

Luckily, I hadn’t been far off the ground, because I was now flat on my back.

My ass hurt something fierce, too.

Groaning, I stared up at the waterfall and the water tube above me.

They may as well have been taunting me.

If I was just as strong as Triton…

“I am as strong as Triton,” I grumbled at the water.

“Or I will be, according to him.”

It didn’t reply, obviously.

I forced myself back to my feet, ignoring the throbbing in my ass that had officially joined the pain in nearly every muscle I possessed.

Letting out a harsh breath, I closed my eyes and focused on the electricity in my chest.

If Triton could do it, I could too.

In theory.

Theory was just going to have to be good enough, because the alternative was sitting in the grotto like a princess trapped in a tower.

And I wasn’t freaking Rapunzel.

It took a minute to connect with the electricity, but it blazed down my arms after I did.

Thrill raced through me.

I could do this.

I really could.

Triton had told me to focus on what I wanted to happen, so I did.

I focused on the water tube, and imagined it moving toward me.

I pictured it wrapping around me and whisking me off my feet.

Carrying me up and into Triton’s room in the castle.

Peeking an eye open, I checked on it.

The tube was moving.

It was actually moving!

I slammed my eye shut and focused harder, picturing it more emphatically.

The twist of my electric magic felt unnatural, but it was working, so I ignored the feeling.

Finally, the water whisked me up off the ground.

A whoop escaped me, excitement overtaking my focus as I neared the top of the pool.

The magic suddenly gave out, and I screamed as I plummeted back down—right into the pond below Triton’s room in the castle.

Surfacing, I stared at the tube.

My nemesis.

But…

I had actually done it.

I had controlled the water.

I just stopped focusing too soon.

The pond was pulling me toward the waterfall, so I swam over to the side of it and pulled myself onto a large rock.

After taking a minute to catch my breath, I focused on the tube again.

It took a little longer the second time, because my magic was a little weaker.

But finally, the water scooped me up.

I didn’t let myself celebrate as it hauled me up to the small pool, or as it spit me out.

I landed on my butt again a moment later, but I was on the tile.

In the castle.

I dropped my back to the floor, grinning up at the ceiling.

Triton was right.

I was really fucking powerful.

I could control the water just like he could.

Five minutes later, I finally had the willpower to climb to my feet again.

My legs shook something fierce, and I was dripping wet, but nothing could shake my feeling of victory.

I slipped out of the bedroom and padded down the hallway, figuring I’d ask the first person I found for directions to the cafeteria.

Or whatever they called it.

There was probably a fancier word, but I didn’t have the energy to try to come up with it.

It didn’t take long to find another merrae, though I was pretty sure I was going the wrong direction.

A pair of them stepped out of a large door a few hallways away from Triton’s room.

The man was almost as big as the king, with light skin and white-blond hair.

The scales scattered across his back gleamed bright orange.

The dark-skinned woman tucked against his side had a mass of neon orange hair tied in a messy bun on top of her head, and the sea silk she wore was the same shade.

My mood brightened further.

She had been human, too.

She was built tall and strong for a human woman, so she looked like she physically fit into the castle much better than I did.

But I didn’t give a damn about that.

“Hey,” I called out, not sure what else I should say.

They both glanced backward, and the man’s eyes widened as he stopped abruptly.

He pulled the woman with him, and she glanced at his face, like she wasn’t sure why he was so shocked to see me.

As she turned, my eyes widened.

She was pregnant.

Like, super pregnant.

I had no idea how pregnant you had to be to look like you were about to pop, but whatever it was, she qualified.

“Your Highness,” the man said, finally jerking his head in a quick bow.

“That’s not necessary,” I said hastily.

“My name’s Aria. I was just hoping you could point me in the direction of food.”

The last thing I wanted was people bowing toward me.

Well, maybe not the last .

But it was up there, and it was insanely awkward.

“It would be easier to show you,” the man said.

“If you’re comfortable walking with us?”

The woman elbowed him in the side, and he grunted.

“Of course she’s comfortable walking with us.” She rolled her eyes toward me, as if to point out how ridiculous the man was.

Her accent wasn’t the same as mine, so I figured she was from another part of Earth than me.

“The warriors take everything too seriously. I’m Eloise.”

I fell into step beside them, and they led me down the hallway.

“How long have you been in Alterrae?” I asked her.

“Almost ten years. I was the first human mated with a merrae, so we were kind of the test couple. I was at my year mark when my fertile period hit, and this sexy bastard of a man convinced me to have his baby even before things got all kinky during breeding.” She gave me a wicked grin and patted her belly.

“This one is number five. My other littles are at a playgroup right now. All of us who came from Earth take turns watching each other’s kids so none of us get too overwhelmed.”

I couldn’t miss the way her mate’s eyes softened as he looked at her.

“I can’t say I recommend pregnancy, but the mating situation is hard to beat, and the babies are a ton of fun,” Eloise added.

“Congratulations.” I managed a small smile.

“I keep telling Triton he should’ve picked someone who was actually on board with the whole breeding thing.”

The man snorted.

“I’m sure the king took that well.”

Eloise flashed me a grin.

“I’ve only met five women from Earth who were actually excited about the prospect of trying to rebuild a population, and they were all baby hungry before they were mated. There are about four hundred of us now. When you fall in love with a merrae man, and you’re constantly around babies, you get the fever.”

My forehead creased.

“What fever?” No one had mentioned a sickness.

“Baby fever.” She wiggled her eyebrows, and I couldn’t suppress a laugh.

“I don’t think that’s going to happen to me.”

“Have you met a merbaby?”

“No,” I admitted.

“You’ll see. The fever catches quick.” She patted my arm as if in condolence.

“How does the king feel about your tattoos?”

I frowned again.

“What do you mean? He hasn’t mentioned them.”

“Merrae don’t do tattoos. The king’s the only one who has one, and it’s because of the throne. None of the rest of us do. Even the women from Earth.” There was a pause before Eloise elbowed her mate again.

“Don’t tell me I can’t ask her about the king. I’m being friendly. Snooping is part of friendship.”

They must’ve been communicating mentally.

I’d clearly missed something.

My frown did deepen, though.

“What do they have against tattoos?”

“I don’t know. No one will give me a real answer. It’s probably the only thing I still don’t understand about merrae culture.”

“Even your mate won’t tell you?” I glanced at the guy again before refocusing on the hallway.

“No. He keeps giving me vague answers.”

The man grunted.

“What? You do,” she pointed out, before looking back at me.

“I assumed they have something against them, but if the king mated with you, that must not be right.”

“Maybe he hates them and just hasn’t said anything. He asked me about one yesterday,” I remarked.

“Your mate can’t hate a part of your body,” Eloise protested.

“It’s not possible. Is it?” She looked back at her mate.

He grunted again.

Clearly he wasn’t committing to an agreement in either direction.

Triton could totally hate my tattoos.

I wasn’t sure whether to be bothered or excited by that.

Maybe if he hated my tattoos, he would back off on the baby thing.

Not that he’d been pushy about it anyway.

He had technically helped me sneak that birth control plant back to his room.

Maybe he didn’t want to have a kid with me at all.

Maybe—

“Oh my, look at you!” Eloise squealed.

My attention jerked back to her, and I watched her waddle-run across the hall to a merrae woman with brown skin and bright red hair who was holding a redheaded baby boy in a silky crimson diaper.

His skin was a similar shade to hers, and he was making little noises that even I had to admit were adorable.

Apparently, sea-silk diapers were a thing.

That shouldn’t have been cute, but it was.

The redhead handed her baby over without hesitation, and Eloise snuggled him close.

When he babbled at her and pulled her hair, she beamed at him.

I had all of five seconds to consider sneaking away before Eloise waved me over, “Heidi, this is Aria, she’s Triton’s mate. Aria, this is Heidi. She got here a few months after I did, and this is her third little one.”

Heidi gave me a quick smile.

“Nice to meet you. For your sake, I hope your cycle starts soon. Everyone is dying for the king to have a baby. It’s all people can talk about.”

My stomach tightened.

My throat did too.

“Here, want to hold him?” Eloise held the baby out toward me.

“Oh, I’ve never really held a baby before,” I said, staring down at his little face instead of reaching for him.

He was adorable.

Those clear, hazel eyes and cute little gummy grin made my heart melt about the breeding thing, just a little bit.

“You don’t come from a big family?” Heidi asked.

“No, it was just me. He’s cute, though,” I said.

“Just think how cute a mini Triton will be.” Heidi nudged Eloise.

Eloise snorted.

“Shush. We all know you and every other turned human in this castle is attracted to him. The last thing we need is for one of our mates to threaten the king. Especially yours. He’s the scariest one.”

My eyebrows lifted.

All of the turned human women were attracted to Triton?

I mean, yeah, he was gorgeous.

But that thought still wasn’t comfortable to me.

Was he attracted to them too?

“My mate may be scary to some of you, but he is well aware that Triton is the prettiest of all of us. Except maybe our new queen.” She winked at me, and my face heated.

I wasn’t sure whether I was jealous that everyone found Triton so hot, or embarrassed that they were talking about me behind my back.

Thankfully, my stomach chose that moment to rumble loudly, declaring to everyone that I was hungry.

“The dining hall is through those doors,” Eloise said with a smile, gesturing to a pair of double doors to her left.

“We can come in with you so you don’t have to sit alone, if you want. The pureblooded merrae keep to themselves most of the time, so it’s usually awkward if there aren’t any turned humans to eat with.”

“I actually think I’m just going to grab some food and take it back to Triton’s room with me,” I said quickly.

“Thanks, though.”

“Any time. Come find us if you need anything,” she offered, gesturing to herself, her mate, and Heidi.

I wouldn’t know how to find them, but I thanked her anyway before crossing the hallway.

When the doors closed behind me, I let out a breath of relief.

Until I noticed ten sets of eyes on me.

Everyone in the room was staring.

The blue hair made it impossible to hide.

A woman glared at me.

Guess I’d found someone who voted with Joa.

The man next to her leaned over and whispered something in her ear.

A pair of people at the table next to them leaned over and joined their whisper conversation, too.

I looked away.

Two frazzled-looking merrae couples with three babies and four toddlers between them turned back to their kids.

A man and a woman who looked absolutely uninterested refocused on their meal.

My face heated.

Maybe I should’ve accepted Eloise’s offer after all.

The doors opened behind me.

A tall, dark, and handsome hero came to my aid, stepping up beside me and draping an arm over my shoulder.

“Wennel told me he and Eloise found you in the hallway. Are you okay?” Triton asked me mentally.

Relief had me immediately relaxing against his side as he led me smoothly across the room.

“Yeah, just hungry.”

“The kitchen’s this way. You put your order in, then wait for it to come out. Doesn’t take too long,” he said into my mind.

“Thanks,” I whispered back.

“You were supposed to wake me up when you needed something. How did you get out of the grotto?”

“I decided to be independent, and figured out how to use my magic. Only fell on my ass once.” I paused.

“Okay, twice.”

He rumbled unhappily.

“You’re hurt?”

“Only a little.” Unless you counted my soreness.

Then, it was a definite yes.

I ached everywhere.

“You should’ve asked for help, Sweetheart.”

“I can manage just fine on my own.”

“Of course you can. You’re the queen. But you’re my queen. And that means I don’t want you hurting. Or struggling.”

We reached a set of menus, and I scanned the list slowly.

The writing was elegant, and it may as well have been in a foreign language for all my skill at reading it.

I was too sore and exhausted to try to translate it.

“Can you pick something for me? Whatever’s the most similar to human food?”

“Of course. Unless you’d prefer I read you the menu.”

“I’ll take a rain check on that for next time.”

He ordered food for both of us.

The man behind the counter was chatty, congratulating us on our mate bond and asking Triton a few questions.

I gathered that they were about a farm of some sorts, though I didn’t push for details.

It seemed safe to assume that the merrae would grow food both underwater and on their island.

“How are you feeling? And I want the full truth, Aria,” Triton warned as he led me out of the kitchen.

“Exhausted,” I admitted.

“And sore. All of the swimming yesterday did a number on me. How long did I sleep for?”

“Eighteen hours. The sun will be setting soon. Where are you sore?”

“A better question would be where am I not sore. And the list is pretty short.”

He made a noise of dissatisfaction.

“We’ll take the food back to our room when it’s ready.”

He started to lead me over to an empty table in the far corner of the room, but when he slowed, I noticed his gaze on the frazzled couples with the young kids that I’d seen earlier.

He wanted to help them.

Something on his face said as much.

“You can go over there. I don’t mind sitting alone.” I nudged him in that direction, but he didn’t leave.

“I’m not leaving you to eat alone.”

With an inward sigh, I tugged Triton toward the couples.

I didn’t have a problem with socializing, but I had been exhausted even before I came up into the castle and was itching to go back to bed.

I could wait, though.

The toddlers climbing around the table made sounds of excitement when they saw Triton.

All four of them barreled toward him, three little boys and a little girl who crashed into his legs as they exclaimed, “King Triton!”

They couldn’t pronounce all of the sounds right, which was kind of adorable.

Triton laughed loudly, scooping all of them into his arms.

My heart melted just a tiny bit, though I tried to harden myself against the feeling.

It didn’t really work.

There was no way to avoid acknowledging how attractive it was that the king was good with them.

“I think you’re supposed to be eating,” Triton said, setting them down in their seats before we took our own.

“They are,” one of the moms agreed.

She looked even more exhausted up close, and was the only adult who wasn’t currently holding a baby.

“Do the magic,” the little girl yelled at Triton, pounding her tiny fist against the table.

One of the moms sighed heavily.

“After your food is gone,” Triton promised.

All four of them complained, but slowly started to eat.

Triton introduced me to everyone at the table, and the kids waved and grinned at me.

One of the little boys told me he liked my weird blue hair.

Another one said he wanted tattoos on his arm like mine.

The girl countered that she thought my tattoos were stupid.

I couldn’t help but love their bluntness.

It felt like a breath of fresh air.

The adults were friendly too, and asked polite questions about my life on Earth before we started talking about their kids and babies when our plates arrived.

The food was insanely delicious.

I was shocked by how good it was, and when I stole a bite of Triton’s, I realized his was even better.

He scooted his plate right next to mine, and we shared all of the food without discussing it while the conversation at the table flowed.

Triton seemed to know many small, personal details about the families, so it seemed safe to assume he was actually their friend.

I never would’ve expected their king to know all of those things.

But then again, I was still learning how the merrae worked.

Triton teased the kids and grabbed them with magic before they could run off every time.

They thought it was hilarious, and slowly worked through their food.

My gaze kept going back to the babies.

I only had one cousin on my mom’s side of the family.

We were only a few years apart in age, but she was always off on service missions in third world countries.

I hadn’t seen her since I was twelve, and we didn’t talk on holidays or anything.

On my dad’s side, I had four cousins, but they were assholes just like he was.

So family wasn’t really a thing for me.

Little kids weren’t either.

They were cute, though.

In a messy, wild way.

And Triton clearly adored them.

One of the babies made a loud sound as I finished up my plate, and I looked his way again.

He waved a toy at me, grinning with a face covered in some kind of food.

He was strapped in a small seat that was set up on the table, like a weird version of Earth’s highchairs.

I bit my lip to stop myself from smiling back at the little guy.

Was I supposed to smile back?

Or ignore him?

Or…

what?

He shoved the toy at me, and my forehead creased.

Was I supposed to take it?

I glanced at Triton, but he was still playing the game with the toddlers where he dragged them back to the table with water tentacles while they tried to run away.

When I peeked at the baby’s dad, to see if he cared, I got a small, respectful smile and a quick bow of his head.

Guess I could take the toy.

I slowly accepted it, and the baby squealed in delight.

Then, he ripped the toy out of my hand again, and threw it at his dad.

I blinked.

His dad handed the toy back, his smile slightly more genuine.

The baby shoved the toy at me again, waving it around as he made a demanding sound.

I took it faster than I had the first time, and he screeched with happiness.

Before he stole it back and threw it at his dad again.

His dad caught it this time, and the baby laughed loudly.

When his dad returned the toy, he repeated the first motion again, handing it to me.

And so our game began.

We must’ve played for ten minutes before Triton finally squeezed my thigh and murmured into my mind, “I think I’ve riled the kids up long enough. We can head down to the grotto if you’re ready.”

I agreed.

I liked the baby, but I was still sore and exhausted.

And even though I’d kicked the grotto’s ass with my magic earlier, I didn’t want to have to get myself back down to the library on my own.

We said our goodbyes to everyone at the table—the toddlers wailed for a minute, but their parents distracted them with the promise of a swim—and slipped away.

Triton’s arm went around my waist, supporting some of my weight as we walked back to our room together.

I leaned against him more than I ever had before.

And for once, I didn’t feel like I needed to put more space between us.

I actually kind of enjoyed being so close to him.

I wasn’t going to overthink that feeling, obviously, but I didn’t hate it.

Not even a little.

And as much as I didn’t want to admit it, I didn’t hate kids either.

Maybe I even loved them.

I could dissect that monster of a realization later.