Bride of the Sea Monster - Eve Langlais Page 0,38

many a tragic romance, we’d die together, because, despite his best efforts, the world grew dim. My lungs too tight. This must be the final wall of water.

I closed my eyes and felt myself drifting, and could have sworn I heard his voice.

Never!

I found myself being propelled rapidly to the surface and flung from it. I yelled as I soared, and my power let me see all the bad ways it could end. Then chose one of them where I landed face first.

Crunch.

To my surprise, I regained consciousness.

“I’m alive.” The words emerged hoarsely from my mouth.

Surprise. The seeing surged within me and giggled.

“Fucker. You knew I wasn’t going to die all along.” Sometimes, I hated my ability.

Sitting up, I noticed that I’d been placed in Ian’s bed, dressed in a dry gown, my hair brushed and loose around my shoulders. Alone.

“Ian?” I pulled back the covers and stood on legs that wobbled. How long had I been unconscious?

I staggered to the balcony door and called him again. “Ian?” Last I’d seen, he’d sustained serious injury. “Ian!” I shrieked his name as I flung myself outside.

The man leaning over the balcony replied, his tone somber, “He’s gone.”

I paused at the words from Ian’s uncle. “What do you mean gone? He died?” My heart seized at the thought.

“He’s not dead, but he might as well be.” Shax waved a hand to the calm seas below us. His eyes were red-rimmed.

“So he’s a sea monster. Whoop di doo. He won’t be for long, because I love him.” I leaned out over the railing. “Do you hear that, Killian Kraken? I love you.”

Not a single hump broke the surface. I frowned. “Why isn’t he answering?”

“Because the Ian you know is gone. He’s all beast now.”

“He can’t be gone.” I shook my head. “Because I broke the curse. I married him, and I love him.”

“You loved him too late, I guess.”

“Ha, more like she didn’t love him for a long enough.” The devil appeared wearing an eye-popping yellow banana hammock and a wink. “Hello, Sasha.”

“Don’t you hello me. We need to talk,” I snapped.

“Are you finally going to agree to come work for me?”

It would be a cold day in Hell before that happened. And since Hell had recently frozen over for the first time ever, I was pretty confident it would take a while before that happened again.

I eyed the devil and didn’t need my power to see the best way forward. The only way forward. “You will help Ian.”

“Can’t. It’s too late. Too bad, so sad. Good for me!” the devil sang.

“You’re the Lord of Hell, greatest of all demons. You can do anything.”

“Ah, flattery. It never gets old.” Lucifer made an aw-shucks gesture. “But in this case, a curse is a curse. And let’s be honest here, even as it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. If you wanted to free him, then you should have saved him yourself before the deadline.”

“But I did. I married him, and even though I didn’t say I love you to his face, I felt it.” I thumped my chest.

Lucifer smiled, that of a hunter springing his trap. “Yeah, it was close. For a second there, I thought you might just free him, but no cigar. See, you never consummated the marriage. It’s not legally binding.”

“What are you talking about?” I only had to close my eyes to remember Ian’s head between my legs.

“Ah, sweet girl. Your lack of inhibition makes me so happy. Alas, the fact you didn’t actually fuck makes it null and void.”

I blinked. “Seriously? The curse is going to get nitpicky on the actual act?”

“Bad enough you aren’t a virgin, you needed actual intercourse. Where he finishes, you know…” The devil made a rude gesture with his fingers miming screwing, then…

My cheeks heated. “That’s gross.”

“That’s what the curse demands.” Lucifer shrugged. “Don’t blame me, blame your ancestor. She’s the one who set the rules for it.”

“So he’s stuck as a kraken forever?” Shax queried.

“Unless we find magic strong enough to break it,” I mused aloud. “Maybe start a new curse. One that will turn him into a man with true love’s kiss. We just need a strong enough spellcaster.”

Shax jumped in. “How about a sea witch, like Dorothy?”

Lucifer snorted. “She’s but a shadow of her forbearers. And the curse is deeply entrenched at this point. It would take someone ridiculously strong to nullify it.”

“Who has magic strong enough?” I asked.

“As if I’m going to tell,” Lucifer taunted.

The smirk was enough to

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