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Barren

I ’d wait for her forever if I had to.

Leander and Kai were inside, tending to the merfolk Claira had rescued, but they kept stepping outside, checking for any sign of her.

She hadn’t returned. But she would.

Three nights ago, the cecaelia protecting her had told me to expect Claira and the merfolk the Undersea had imprisoned to come. He’d also warned me that he would be next—no matter how hard he fought against it.

His body would betray him, just as mine had when my hand closed around my mate’s throat.

I’d prepared as best I could, though I couldn’t put up an illusion to keep him and the rest of the cecaelia away until Claira returned.

My hand clenched. The need to act, to undo what I’d done, had burned beneath my skin for days. But even as she’d slept, I hadn’t been able to bring myself to go to her—not after I’d hurt her again.

The memory was seared into me. Twice now, my hand, my strength, had been a weapon against the one I loved most.

I’d only wanted to reach her. To comfort her. I never should have opened my eyes. Never should have let myself see what would turn my hand against her.

Now, I could barely stand to look at myself.

I hadn’t been sure she would ever forgive me—not until I saw the way she looked at me from across my doorstep.

And in that moment, I’d felt it. Our hearts still undeniably sang for one another.

She had promised she would return, and in my soul, I knew she always would.

The thought still lingered when I felt a gentle pull at my heart, bringing me to stillness.

“ Barren, ” came a soft voice behind me.

I turned to my mate, and though she was bloodied and shaken, the woman standing before me was far from broken.

A quiet strength radiated from Claira as she lifted her chin. Despite the tears threatening to spill, when I looked at her, a flicker of a smile tugged at the corners of her lips. “I’m back.”

I hadn’t realized how desperately I needed to see that smile. Every night spent fighting to reach her, every moment of fear and doubt that had worn me down to nothing—it had all been worth it.

But as her gaze lowered, relief gave way to something heavier. “I’m so sorry I left you,” she whispered. “I hope you’ll forgive?—”

I couldn’t stop myself from pulling her close, holding her against me.

“You’re here,” I murmured, my voice rough, as if it had been years since I’d last spoken. I pressed my lips to her forehead. “That’s all that matters.”

Her breath wavered as she pulled back just enough for our eyes to meet, her blood-streaked face still holding that quiet pride.

Her eyes were different, now the beautiful green of a frangipani leaf. But it wasn’t just her gaze that had changed. She was different, too. Stronger in ways I hadn’t expected.

And despite everything we’d been through, despite how our worlds had bent and twisted around us to keep us apart, I smiled down at her.

Because she’d found it. Her power—the core of who she was. I didn’t need to look into her mind to know that she had.

It was everything I’d hoped for, everything I’d been waiting to see since she first stepped away from us.

“You don’t have to worry about me leaving you. Never again,” she said, her arms pulling around me in a promise not to let go. Then, a frown settled over her mouth as she turned her chin, looking away. “But Kai and Leander… What do they think about me now that they know the truth?”

What did they think about her? She was worried about that?

I bent down, gathering her close for a lingering squeeze, feeling the vibrations of my heart in full song as I held her. When I finally pulled back, I gave a reassuring nod, my smile steady.

“We’ll go ask them together.”