Page 16 of Making Out With Mermaids (Haven Ever After #6)

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

AMATHEIA

I daydream about returning to Betmal and my art as I float toward the door of my suite. Formal dinner starts in half an hour, and if the rumors are to be believed, Stefan will be there.

He arrived early. Great.

This morning, I pleaded with Caralorn not to put me in this position. I told him I wasn’t interested in being sold off to the highest bidder. He didn’t care. So, I appealed to his love for my mother. That only incensed him. Finally, I promised to simply disappear and become someone else’s problem. I held back from mentioning Betmal only because I didn’t want Caralorn to immediately leave the lake and cause drama in Downtown Ever.

I know he would.

After I told him I’d disappear, Caralorn roared at me to go farm the Sea Julienne fields and never gave me an answer of any sort.

I’m mad now, though. I’m not a prize broodmare to be auctioned off. I’ll be polite tonight only because I don’t want to cause a scene in front of the entire kingdom. Technically, Caralorn is not only within his rights but also doing what my parents might have wanted by arranging a suitable marriage for me.

Technically .

I just don’t want it. None of it. Especially after being out of town with Betmal and getting a taste of freedom. And the freedom isn’t even the best part. Betmal is, and I want it so badly, I will risk anything to get it. But I need to do so in a way that keeps him safe.

So, I’ll be polite tonight, but I’ll make sure I’m not alone with Stefan and I’m noncommittal if he references our…arrangement.

When I open the door to my suite and glide through, I swim right into a bare chest. Sucking in water, I jolt backwards and throw up my hands, glancing up into the handsome face of a gold and rust-colored merman. Eyes the color of amber facets wrinkle at the corners as he smiles at me.

Malakat hovers behind him, staring daggers at me as she holds her spear, her fins stiff. “Prince Stefan insisted on meeting you privately ahead of tonight’s meal, Cousin,” she says in a simperingly sweet tone.

Oh Thalassa. Oh depths . This is him, the suitor.

I force a polite smile as I look at the muscular merman floating in front of me. “I wasn’t expecting to meet you so soon.” It’s all I can manage. How the depths am I going to get out of this situation?

Stefan smiles, but even though it looks genuine, I flutter my hip fins and move slightly away from him. His smile falters as he looks down at me.

“I know this isn’t traditional in the slightest, to see you before tonight’s meal, but I thought perhaps it would be nice to chat before everyone gets…” he grins, “tense and weird and formal.”

Behind him, Malakat lets out an irritated snort.

Stefan glances over his shoulder. “Mala, why don’t you give me a little space, alright?”

Her emerald eyes move to him, and for a moment she looks stricken. But she flips in place and zooms along the corridor, disappearing from view.

His smile falls when he looks back at me. Amber eyes drift down to my missing fin then back up. “I thought perhaps we could take a little swim and chat, but I don’t want to put you in pain. I’ve…heard about the attack.”

Shock courses through me. Did Mala tell him when she arranged this on Caralorn’s orders?

He cares if I’m in pain?

I gulp. “That is an unexpected kindness, Prince Stefan, but I’d be happy to take a quick swim, if you like.”

He smiles again and offers me an arm.

Cautious, I slip my hand through the crook of his elbow, careful to keep my body as far away from his as I can.

He guides us through the suite and out the giant archway into the city, toward the Sea Julienne fields. After a few minutes of silence, during which I can’t think of a thing to say, he glances down at me.

“Although it’s customary for our people to arrange marriages like this, I hope you’ll find me a pleasant enough husband. I thought perhaps if we went away from everyone for a few minutes, we might get to know one another and find common ground.”

Goddess, I can’t do this. I can’t pretend this is fine in order to save face at tonight’s dinner.

“I’m in love with someone else,” I blurt out, dropping his arm and halting mid-glide.

His mouth drops open in surprise, amber eyes wide. His shoulders slump as he grits his jaw and glances away from me. When he looks back again, a deep, watery sigh comes from his throat. “As am I, Wife, but we have a duty to fill, do we not?”

I snort. “I suppose we do, and yet I cannot find it in my heart to agree to this, no matter what my uncle wishes or what he promised my parents.”

Stefan runs both hands through long, golden-yellow hair. “We cannot simply say no, Amatheia.”

I ball my fists. “Why can’t we? Why can’t we be the first to come to another agreement? If you love someone else, why shouldn’t you have her?”

His expression goes resigned. “She is not the first in line of her house,” he whispers. “Were she, I’d have taken her already.”

“Fuck that,” I growl. “Now that I’ve blurted out my thoughts on this topic, I find myself unable to stay quiet on this topic. I have begged and pleaded with Caralorn not to follow through with this. I have offered to disappear and never return to this place. Do you truly wish to take a wife who will be miserable? I would never see my cousin Thatraeia again. I would?—”

He throws his hands up. “Wait, wait one second. Are you saying, if you come with me, you think I would keep you from your family?”

I halt. “Err, Caralorn has always said that is how it would be.”

Stefan barks out a laugh. “I have only been in Caralorn’s clan for a few hours, Amatheia, but I can tell you he runs this place far differently than my father runs my clan. And when I become king, I will make further changes still.” His eyes narrow. “I would never seek to keep you from coming or going or traveling, or whatever you would like to do. My goal is to be a good partner for you.”

“I don’t want any of it,” I manage. “I want the man I love, the man who is, as we speak, waiting for me to come to him. I can’t do this, Stefan. I refuse to do this.”

His next sigh is softer. “I don’t know how to make that happen, Amatheia. Our kings brokered this deal, and there is much on the line.” He looks off into the dark depths of the merkingdom. “We do not need to figure this out right now. Let us return and make our appearances. I will think on it. But honestly,” his expression grows sorrowful, “it’s entirely possible that the only way out of this is war.”

He pushes through the water and brings a finger underneath my chin. “Would you bring war to your kingdom and mine simply to be away from me?”

Sorrow and understanding fill me in equal measure as I stare up into his handsome face. “Would you not fight for your love, Stefan? Would you not raze this city to the ground to have her?”

He drops his hold of my chin and spins slowly, looking over his shoulder at me. “Let’s go, Princess. Dinner is beginning.”

I watch as he heads toward the city, golden fins seeming to cast light into the darkness as he sluices gracefully through the water.

Thalassa below, help me figure this out.