Page 53

53

Claira

T here was a time when I would have given anything to move freely underwater. But if there was one thing I’d learned since, it was that some wishes had teeth.

When I finally parted the curtains that separated my chamber from the rest of the Undersea, Hari wasn’t anywhere in sight. Too weary to care or worry about when she’d return, I dragged myself across the last stretch, my body aching, my fingers raw and stinging. My tentacles trembled with exhaustion, the hearts that fueled them hammering with the strain of awakening muscles I’d never before used.

But none of that mattered, because I’d made it here.

As soon as my head sank into the softness of seagrass, I surrendered. Desperate sleep claimed me. Empty, lonely sleep, with dreams so dark that not even a merman dared to visit. And when I awoke, it was only to a nightmare that was just beginning.

“ What have you done to my brother? ” Hari’s voice cracked from across my chamber, startling me awake.

My eyes flew open, and my vision sharpened on a sight that made my blood freeze. A skull bone rested in the seagrass beside my head, its hollow sockets staring back at me.

I shot upright with a violent jerk, gawking down at those emptied eyes. The bone was already smoothed, stripped of flesh, unrecognizable. But I knew.

Oh, I knew what—no, who —this skull had once been.

“My lady!” Hari was almost on top of me, yet I didn’t even glance up. My hands moved as if possessed, picking up the skull and lifting it to my face, my eyes locking onto the chilling manifestation of what my power had wrought.

Jagati.

Dark tendrils of magic coiled around my fingers as I squeezed . The bone was hard as steel but not unbreakable. No, not with this power I had coursing inside me.

“ My lady! ” A tentacle seized my arm, and the glare I shot up at her stopped her cold. Startled, she shook the flinch away and, with an almost reckless boldness, yanked again.

The moment she lifted me from my bed, a remarkable surge of magic flared to life inside me. The darkness stirred, ready to snap, ready to consume her . But before I could decide whether to hold it back or unleash it, my attention caught on what she was dragging me toward.

Who she was dragging me toward.

I froze, my magic sputtering out like a snuffed flame.

The powerful chest that filled my entryway was a twisted mesh of scar tissue, like a net someone had hastily mended back together with the wrong type of twine. Despite its intimidating frame, it expanded slowly and cautiously, as if the man it belonged to had recently learned that even strength has its limits.

“Jagati…” My voice faltered, my mind refusing to accept what I was seeing.

His dark eyes met mine, and in that harrowing moment, the knight’s composure unraveled. He drew even closer, stopping just short of entering my chamber. “P-pr-princess,” he rumbled, his awe spilling into every clumsy movement as he bowed.

No. No. I’d left him to die. I’d melted a hole into his freaking chest cavity—how had he possibly survived it?

“Get a hold of yourself!” Hari released me to grab her brother by his shoulders, shaking him hard. “What in the five briny hells is wrong with you, Jag?”

Instead of answering, he craned his neck around her, keeping me in his sights.

If Jagati wasn’t dead…

My gaze fell to the skull that remained clutched in my hands.

Then who the heck was this?

Revulsion kicked in, and I flung it away with a shiver. When I looked back up, keen eyes were sweeping over me with an intensity that kept my skin right on crawling.

From the palms of my hands to the ends of my tentacles, Jagati was taking me in. “Y-you have returned.” The words trembled from his lips—not from fear but from something infinitely more unsettling.

Shit . Even after what I’d done to him, his fixation on me hadn’t changed. If anything, it had grown even more disturbing.

Scarred and broken, he stood here, looking at me as if I were the only thing keeping him alive when all I wanted was to see him dead.

My voice shook with anger. “How are you even here?”

Jagati’s eyes widened, his scarred lips parting uselessly. “I-I-I—” No coherent words followed. It was as if the fact that I’d uttered words to him was too monumental for him to process.

Hari groaned. Her patience had clearly reached its limit. “He’s been acting like this since you left,” she spat, throwing her hands toward her brother’s pitiful state. “So, my lady, you’re going to need to tell me what you did to make him this way!”

“I didn’t make him like this, ” I shot back, matching her gesture with equal frustration.

“Right.” Her tone was acidic. “Tell that to the poor soul who found your crown. They handed it in, just like they were supposed to, and you don’t want to know what he did to them for daring to touch what’s yours.”

She was right, actually. I didn’t want to know.

I’d had enough of this damned nightmare. “Jagati, if you’re not going to tell me what happened, then get the fuck out of my entryway,” I said, my voice sharp enough to slice. “I thought I made it clear how much I don’t want to see you.”

His eyes went wide again, his lips fumbling. “It was Ahhh—Ara—Ara?—”

What was he even trying to say?

“Aracos?” I ventured.

Jagati lowered his head in a bow, looking like I’d just named a saint.

Nope. Uh-uh. “There’s no way.” Aracos wanted Jagati’s skull. He wouldn’t have let him live.

Then again, the only way Jagati could’ve known Aracos’s name was if he’d spoken to him.

“Dammit,” I muttered, scrubbing a hand over my face. That little traitor.

“You w-were—” Jagati choked out, his voice cracking like a dam on the verge of collapse. “You were… astonishing.”

Well, that was the last thing I expected to hear from someone I’d tried to melt.

Hari barked a laugh. “Astonishing?” She jabbed her brother in the ribs like she couldn’t fathom him actually being impressed by something I’d done. “Now I know you’ve lost it. Your mind, your spears, everything . You need rest, brother. Maybe a good hearty meal to get you past this idiocy.”

Not even Hari’s strength could make Jagati sway. “I—I could feel it,” he rumbled, his wide eyes fixed on me. “It was as if the ocean itself had decided that not even I was enough to st-stand against you.”

With every passing second his adoring gaze didn’t leave me, my unease continued to swell. Until, finally, the dam burst.

“I w-wish for you to take me as one of your lovers,” he blurted as if he couldn’t have possibly held the thought back any longer. “You have tamed m-me. Let me stand with you, even though I c-can no longer touch you as I once could.” He brought his hand to his chest, his fingers digging into freshly formed scar tissue as though the ridges were chains binding him, keeping him from reaching for me. “That is okay, b-because you can still touch me. Do wh-whatever you want to this body—it is all yours.”

Hari’s jaw nearly hit the floor.

As his confession lingered, a frost crept into my very soul.

“Take you as one of my lovers?” Disgust had my tentacles shrinking into tight, bristling coils. “You’re out of your damned mind. I don’t want you. You don’t get to stand with me, you don’t get to touch me, and you sure as hell don't get to come anywhere near my chamber.”

Shock drained the life from Jagati’s face, paling it beneath his scars. “M-m-my lady?—”

I didn’t spare him another glance before spinning to Hari. “I don’t care that he’s your brother. I want him out of my sight.”

Her stunned silence lasted all of one heartbeat before her glare returned, sharp and accusing. “But, my lady!” she whined like she was still expecting me to fix him. Yeah, that was not going to happen.

“ Dismiss him,” I said, lowering my voice to an icy threat, “or I’ll dismiss both of you. I’m sure I can find plenty of knights out there willing to take your place.”

I had no idea if that was true, but it didn’t matter. The words hit their mark and got her moving.

With a frustrated huff, she shoved back into her mountain of a brother. “You heard her, Jag. Let it go. The princess isn’t asking you to stay.”

Damn right I wasn’t.

With that, I turned my focus to my tentacles, leaving her to deal with the mess her brother had become. My muscles protested as I stretched them, but one strong push against the water set me in motion. The rush of the current sweeping through my hair sent a thrill racing through me.

Even though I could barely stand the sight of those writhing limbs, they worked . No more crawling across the ocean floor. The freedom felt almost too good to be true.

When I reached the back wall, I hovered for a moment, trying to figure out the best way to turn around. Thinking of my tentacles as tiny oars helped keep me moving forward, but when it was time to steer? That’s when everything fell apart.

Like right now.

“Ugh.” Freaking tentacles. I groaned, fighting to get them to untangle.

If my tail had worked—if I’d been born a mermaid?—

No. My hand lifted to my throat, fingertips digging into where I could still feel Barren’s hand tighten around it, my arm prickling where Kai’s jaws hadn’t held back. There were no visible marks left, but it was always the scars inside, the ones you couldn’t see, that hurt the most.

I couldn’t afford to dwell on what-ifs. I wasn’t the mermaid they’d fallen in love with. And I never would be.

Once I conquered the Undersea, my mates would finally see the real me. What they decided from there would be up to them, but I knew I’d never fit into their world the same way again.

“What am I going to do with him?” Hari groaned as she finally pulled away from my entryway.

“Aside from keeping him away from me?” I said absently. “Don’t care.”

I could feel Hari’s judgment, even with my back turned. “What’s wrong with you?” she demanded, her voice like a pike driven between my shoulder blades. “Did breaking that curse break something in your head?”

“Yeah.” I dropped my hand from my throat, casting a glance back at her with a lazy smile. “Maybe it did.”

Hari’s lip curled in disgust, but my focus was already elsewhere.

I sensed him before I saw him—a strange pull deep within my chest, a charged energy rippling to life in my veins.

“Abyssal,” I breathed out as he materialized in my newly vacated entryway. His blood set my senses alight, excitement crackling through me like static. With a swift shove, my tentacles pushed off the wall, sending me gliding toward him.

“Don’t even think about threatening him, Hari,” I warned, not taking my eyes off my sea wizard. I was the tide, and he was my moon. Magic smoke sifted and swirled around him, sliding down his form like a cloak.

If Hari dared to lift her pike at him, my magic would make sure she never held a weapon again.

She huffed. “Yeah, I wasn’t going to bother.”

I barely heard her. When Abyssal met my gaze and that smirk of his stretched—so sure, so damned irresistible—I thought I might simply melt into nothing.

“Hi,” I said, my hearts pounding so loudly I was sure he could hear them.

He dipped his head in a formal bow. “Princess.” When his gaze lifted, he tilted his head as if he were appraising me. “I see you’re adjusting well.”

Heat flushed through me, making my tentacles buckle and twist awkwardly behind me.

Goodness . It was amazing how looking at my tentacles made me cringe. His, though? I simply couldn’t stop staring at them.

“Oh. Yeah, I’ve been practicing,” I muttered, remembering how graceless my grandmother had said I looked. But when I caught the hint of approval in his eyes, my confidence lifted. “Made it all the way back here by myself from the throne room.”

“Did you, now?” He raised an eyebrow, genuinely surprised, before the corner of his smirk deepened. “You’ve done well.”

There I went, melting yet again. I’d never get tired of hearing his praise. “Sorry that my grandmother sent you away,” I said, awkwardly trying to smooth out my tentacles behind me. It would have been nice to have him there, seeing me struggle through the challenge and finally succeed.

Okay, who was I kidding? I definitely would’ve let him carry me.

“No need for any apology.” Abyssal’s voice was soft and almost teasing. He moved closer to me, gliding past Hari without sparing her a glance. “Speaking of apologies, however, it seems Aracos has already come by to offer you his.”

With a casual flick, one of his tentacles snatched up the skull from the floor.

I blinked, incredulous. “ That’s his apology?”

“Indeed.” Abyssal’s expression tightened as he turned the skull in his grasp, inspecting it with an equal mixture of distaste and amusement. “And it seems to be one of his finer specimens,” he mused. “He must truly feel terrible about his actions. As he should.”

“You’re right,” I said, kicking out with my tentacles to glide closer. “He should feel terrible. And not just about the bite.”

As my body stilled in front of him, his eyes swept over me. His arms tensed as though battling the urge to pull me into them, but he held back like he knew I didn’t need him to steady me.

And that made him all the more irresistible.

I glanced up at Hari before leaning in closer to Abyssal, lowering my voice to a bare whisper. “Why did he spare Jagati?”

Most people would’ve felt relief at not being responsible for a death. Not me. I was furious.

Abyssal seemed to enjoy the secrecy of our little whispering game. “Ah, the knight.” His gaze drifted sideways as he considered. “I imagine it’s because Aracos found a use for him. There were conditions, though he didn’t share all of them with me. But there’s no need for concern, princess.” His voice took on a harder edge, satisfaction mingling with something much darker in his expression. “The brute cannot touch you. He is forbidden from harming you in any way.”

So, it was like Jagati had said. He really couldn’t touch me anymore. At least there was that.

“I could argue that showing up at my chamber to irritate me counts as harm,” I said, reaching out to take Abyssal’s hands. I laid my lips to his jaw as I guided his arms to my waist, letting my voice return to its normal volume. “I know I can move on my own now, but you’re still able to hold me, you know.”

He softly let out a dark, rich laugh as his hands settled lightly on where my skin darkened into tentacles. “You’re remarkably bold, princess.”

I tilted my head, daring him with my gaze. “And you’re remarkably restrained compared to yesterday. Should I stick out my tongue for you?” I teased, playfully doing exactly that.

His gaze shadowed, locking onto the movement, and his hold on me firmed.

The thrum of his blood inside me was dizzying, making me long to press against him. I wanted to follow him back to his chamber and whisper pleas for him to never let me go. Maybe even as he graced me with more praises.

A flicker of possessiveness ignited in his eyes as though his thoughts were similar to mine. His pale lips parted in a smirk, his fingers flexing. “I assure you, I was plenty restrained?—”

Hari’s shocked gasp cut through the moment. “For the love of decency, control yourself!” she snapped, moving toward us like she was ready to intervene.

What? My anger numbed everything else until she jabbed at my tentacles.

“If you’re going to lust over him, fine,” she hissed, prodding me again. “But at least have some respect for yourself, my lady!”

Had she really just told me to control myself?

Confused, I followed her gaze down to a gaping hole at my hip, just above where my tentacles spread. “What the heck is that?” My stomach dropped as I saw a second hole on the other hip.

“You’re serious?” Hari gave me a disapproving look as if it should have been the most obvious thing in the world. “Those are your—” She made a noise in the back of her throat, half-gag, half-groan, before turning her shoulder to box out Abyssal. “—Nesting hollows. They’re exposed during… Well, you should only ever show them to your intended mate. Right now, your body is telling the queen’s puppet far more than you’re meaning to, my lady.”

Oh… Oh.

I gritted my teeth, instantly mortified. So, my body was giving away exactly what my filthy mind was thinking? Fantastic. “How do I close them?”

I wasn’t sure why I did it, but I looked up at Abyssal like he might know. His eyes were busy roving over the exposed hollows with a look that said he’d been keenly aware of them all along.

When he caught my gaze, he leaned in with that maddeningly composed smile. “I don’t mind them,” he said smoothly, his thumb stroking my hip. “It just occurred to me that I’ve yet to mention how lovely your tentacles are. Consider that oversight now corrected.”

Oh, goodness. I wasn’t going to look, but with the sound Hari made, I was sure the holes had gaped wider.

“Hari,” I said, my voice steady but strained. “Would you mind leaving us alone?”

Her shocked stare was enough to amp up the tension. “Are you?—?”

“Now, Hari.” I gave her a pointed look, silently demanding her to go while I was still able to be polite about it.

Abyssal chuckled softly, his hands leaving my waist. “There’s no need to send away your knight,” he said, his fingers tracing down to my wrist as he took my arm.

He pressed a kiss to the top of my hand that had Hari sucking in a gasp.

“I came simply to inform you that I have some business to attend to. It’ll take a few days, but I promise I’ll be back in time for your welcoming ceremony.”

“You’re leaving for days? ” I felt the weight of disappointment reach all the way to the ends of my tentacles. “I think you should take me with you.”

I knew I sounded childish, but the words slipped out anyway. Abyssal, however, was already shaking his head.

“My apologies, princess, but I cannot.”

I let out a small, frustrated sigh, lowering my gaze to his lips.

He flipped my hand over in his, leaning down to kiss the other side. Despite the sweetness of the gesture, I couldn’t help but feel he was deliberately keeping our mouths apart. “You’ll manage without me,” he said softly. “Just a few days.”

“Yeah, I guess,” I murmured, cradling his chin in my palm before he could pull away. “I’ll keep practicing while you’re gone. Maybe when you get back, I’ll have figured out how to get these holes to close… or maybe I won’t want them to.”

He paused, his chin resting in my palm for a fraction longer before he straightened up with a quiet exhale. “I look forward to seeing it, either way,” he said evenly. As if I hadn’t just offered up exactly what my body was advertising to him. “Until then, I’ll be eagerly counting the days.”

“Hari, turn around,” I said, giving her all the warning she was going to get before I slid my arms around Abyssal’s shoulders.

Looking up at him, I softened my voice, biting my lower lip before whispering, “You think you can leave me here for days without giving me an actual kiss before you go?”

A sly smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth as I held tighter, pulling closer to him. “Such persistence,” he murmured, a hint of a chuckle in his voice.

“Yep,” I said, shuddering as his lips brushed mine softly, teasing before deepening into something far more urgent. The moment our lips met fully, something ignited inside me—a slow, curling heat of desire that wasn’t just mine but his as well. His magic wove through my veins, reacting to every point of contact, the intensity of it making my pulse stutter.

When he pulled away, I let out a faint, almost wistful sigh, my fingers still curled around his neck, too lightheaded to do anything else.

“My blood has had quite the effect on you,” he remarked, a confusing hint of sadness in his gaze. His thumb brushed gently beneath the eye that he’d tattooed with his magic. “But don’t worry. By the time I return, I expect you’ll be feeling more like yourself.”

He thought I was only being affectionate because of his blood? “I’m not worried?—”

Just then, he teleported, leaving my arms and my tentacles to feel the loss of where he’d been. Freaking sea wizard. Just how important was this business he had that he could teleport away from me while we were still touching?

Hari let out an exaggerated huff, throwing her back against the side of my chamber. “I think you’ll survive four days without him, my lady.”

“Four days?” I stared at her, my voice breathless. “My welcoming ceremony is that soon?”

Hari scowled. “Of course.”

The reality of it made my stomach flip, my nesting hollows mercifully sealing shut. How could it be in four days? I hadn’t even thought about what I was supposed to do or wear, let alone prepared for what the ceremony might actually entail. Sure, I’d sampled the cake that one time, but that was it.

“Are you going?” I asked, trying to distract myself from the fact that I had absolutely no idea what was to be expected of me.

Now Hari looked really annoyed. “Why wouldn’t I?” Her nostrils flared as she crossed her arms. “I’m a knight, for blunder’s sake!”

“Oh, um, of course.” Huh. She really was going? I couldn’t even imagine what she would look like with legs. “What are you going to wear?”

Hari blinked before her eyes darted away. “Haven’t decided yet,” she muttered, her voice low like the question had caught her off guard.

“Well, do you know what I’m supposed to wear, then?” I gestured at the oversized shirt hanging off me, which made me look like I’d gotten tangled up in a ship’s sail. I probably should have taken the time to change back into ocean silks, but it had been the last thing on my mind when I’d finally made it back to my chamber.

Hari shrugged, her indifference grating more than it should have. “Do I look like I’d know?”

I groaned, dragging a hand over my face. Of course, she didn’t.

“Wait.” I lowered my hand, narrowing my eyes at her. “How do you know when the party is, and I don’t?”

Her tone was sharp as ever as she huffed, “Obviously, my brother’s excited about it.”

“What? Why would he be…?” Oh, crap.

She snorted, her smirk almost taunting. “After he saved you from the merfolk’s attack, he’s more favored than ever to become your rook.”

No. Absolutely not. My stomach twisted with anger, my jaw tightening. “He didn’t save me. ” He’d ruined everything, actually, and Aracos had better have a damn good explanation for healing him. “If my grandmother announces something that idiotic, you’d better be ready to hold me back if you care about your brother’s life.”

“Oh, yeah?” Hari threw her head back in a laugh. “And what are you going to do to him, my lady? Hope he drops dead from a few broken hearts?”

I glared, heat rushing to my face. Maybe that’s where I’d gone wrong. I’d only focused on melting one heart, not all of them.

A soft knock at my entryway broke the moment. Hari pushed off the wall she’d been leaning on, her smirk fading as she parted the curtain.

“Your Highness,” the chef greeted flatly.

He practically swallowed the room with his size, his cold, heavy stare landing on my tentacles before snapping back to my face. “Your breakfast feast,” he announced, giving a bow so shallow it barely counted.

Even with my tail being gone, it was apparent he still didn’t think much of me. Not that the feeling wasn’t mutual.

As the first platter was carried in, I felt Cyre stir, his focus honing in on what was before me. Typical. It wasn’t that he was always hungry. He just couldn’t resist the thought of a meal he didn’t have to work for.

“This will be my last time serving you, Your Highness,” the chef said suddenly, his tone detached, like he thought the news was hardly worth mentioning.

“What?” I blurted, my hand hovering over the nearest platter. “Why?” Was it because I’d name-dropped him to my grandmother? If it was, I should have done it so much sooner.

His expression didn’t so much as flicker. “I’ve been informed that Your Highness will be moving to more suitable chambers,” he said, his gaze dropping pointedly to my tentacles. “From here onward, the court chef will handle all of the princess’s feasts.”

It wasn’t what he’d said that hit me hardest—it was the way Hari’s face went pale, her eyes wide and disbelieving. “Really?” she stuttered. Her gaze was locked onto him as he hefted himself to leave, and I swore that she looked like someone had just knocked her tentacles out from underneath her.

It must have been a family trait, huh? To fall apart in front of whoever they were obsessed with.

“Guess this is news to you, too, then?” I said as soon as the last of the chef’s workers were out of my chamber.

It wasn’t a huge surprise when I thought about it. My grandmother had made it insultingly clear how she felt about me being ‘presentable’ now. I’d suspected she’d been keeping me hidden here, and now I had my answer.

Hari’s lower lip quivered. “I didn’t know they’d be moving you before the ceremony.”

I could see how it shook her, but strangely, it didn’t affect me the way it would have before. I’d expected to feel more for her, but instead, I just felt… indifferent. Whether she came with me or went back to her old post didn’t seem to matter much to me anymore, either.

Let a pawn try to slither into my chamber without Hari there to guard it. It would be the last mistake they ever made. My grandmother might have loved playing games with her pawns, but I doubted she’d notice if a few pieces slipped off the board.