Page 25 of The Nymph Prince

My lungs burned. As I remembered I was far below the surface with no way to breathe, panic set in.

Malik turned me in his arms, grabbed my face, and touched his lips to mine.

He’s kissing me?

I thrashed and tried to shove him off, but as air filled my lungs, I stopped fighting him. He was literally breathing air into me. Nothing sexual or romantic. Just necessity. I wished Lorcan could’ve been the one to carry me then. It washislips I wanted to give me life.

A memory stirred in the back of my mind.

After I was shot and had faded in and out of consciousness, I vaguely remembered gliding through the water and feeling something warm and soft press to my mouth. Lorcan had done this exact thing to me, only I hadn’t been awake to experience it.

Even in the depths where it was normally pitch black, the water was so clear and blue that I could still see my surroundings. We’d been a bit farther north when Malik had found us, so I was stunned to see the water as it was. We must’ve traveled south at an incredible speed, for it seemed like only minutes had passed.

We were descending to the sea floor. Fast. Right toward a jutting of sharp rocks.

I gasped. Bubbles scurried upward and the little breath I had escaped. Malik took my face in his hand once more and breathed air into me. A moment of relief before I turned back to look at the rocks. My heart raced as we neared a sharp point of the biggest rock.

They were insane! Completely bonkers.

I’m about to die.

Lorcan stopped right before he reached the point and stuck out his hand. The rock rippled in an odd way at his touch, and then the rock absorbed his body. Before I could scream again, and thus swallow more water, Malik shot forward with me thrashing in his arms. The tip of the rock was aimed right at my throat.

I closed my eyes, bracing myself for impact.

It never came. Only an odd rippling on my skin before the weightless feeling of being in the water fled.

When I realized I could breathe on my own, I opened my eyes. Suddenly, I found it difficult to breathe again, even though the air allowed me to do so. I’d never seen any place as magnificent as the city I looked upon.

There were trees, plants, houses, a marketplace, and in the distance stood a palace of gold. The plants were unlike anything I’d ever seen on the surface. They glowed in different hues; purple, orange, yellow, and blue.

A young girl touched the purple plant, and it shone a brighter shade before returning to its usual light. I looked up and saw the clear water just outside the barrier, as well as a few mermen practicing sword-fighting on the other side of the dome.

Lorcan was in his human form again, wearing only black trousers. Water glistened off his toned chest and his feet were bare. The short strands of his silver hair were damp, and his green eyes gleamed with excitement as he looked at me.

“Welcome to Avalontis,” he said, taking my hand.

A part of me thought I was dreaming it all. Yet, my dreams had never been so beautiful.

Malik stood at Lorcan’s side, looking every bit as intimidating as he had when I’d first met him. The more I’d been around him, the more he’d seemed to loosen up. However, he’d returned to the silent protector, towering over all other men and keeping his hand on the hilt of his dagger.

“Your Highness,” a man said after approaching. He was in full armor with a sword at his hip, and he bowed his head to Lorcan. “The king has requested your presence in the throne room.”

Lorcan lifted a brow to me. “It seems you’re about to meet my father.”

There were several reasons why his words knotted in my gut.

One, King Triton had placed the curse on Kellan. My captain had been cruel in the past, and I acknowledged his faults, but he was a changed man and didn’t deserve the horrible fate that awaited him if the curse wasn’t broken.

And two? He was Lorcan’s father. I might not have known Lorcan that well, but Ididknow I needed to be with him. He and I were connected in ways that went far beyond my comprehension.

What if King Triton sent me away? I was an outsider in his kingdom after all. Someone who didn’t belong.

Funny how I didn’t belong in the surface world, either.

My people, the other mages, were mostly wiped from the earth by the cruelty of men. The ones who remained lived out their days in secret, hiding from those who wished to see their heads on pikes.

The man who’d spoken to Lorcan had four other armored men behind him. Perhaps they were the king’s guard. The request had seemed very much like a demand, and they waited for Lorcan to start walking before falling in line behind us.