Shadow Cursed by May Sage Page 0,45

mind the sea folk. Tired as I am, I could simply drown out there.

I vaguely consider swimming back up to the surface, when I realize I don't need to. The air in my lungs is gone, but the burning I should feel is absent. I am breathing. I'm breathing water.

Seconds after I've realized it, I hear a laugh all around me, echoing with the waves. And the next time I blink, the water is gone. I'm standing on a beautiful beach, and the sun is shining in the horizon. I’ve never felt sand on my toes. I can’t say I like it.

I seem to be unharmed, but none of this makes sense. Seconds ago, I was underwater. Am I dead? Is this what death feels like? It would be peaceful, if not for the panic rising in my chest.

"I've never smelled such a stench of desperation."

I turn toward the deep, familiar voice.

Him.

"Lind," I say, half fear, half relief.

He's sitting on the golden sand, his bare chest wet, a long dark skirt cloaking his legs.

"Hello, landling."

"You came."

He laughs again. "I wasn't going to, but you're so very miserable, I couldn't resist. I'm not entirely heartless, you know."

Somehow, I doubt that.

I don't waste time. "I don't know what you've heard, but the situation in Tenebris is…"

"Hopeless. Wretched. No, I know." He smirks. "Pathetic."

He's beautiful, treacherous, and cruel, just like the sea.

"I need your help. Please. All I need is a water stone. Well, one or two," I amend quickly. "A handful, maybe."

Given how much effort this trip has taken, I should stock up.

His smile is all teeth. "All she wants is a handful of pieces of my soul. Just that, nothing else."

I still.

Pieces of his soul?

"A stone imbued with my magic is a part of me, landling. Surely you know enough of elemental spells to realize that?"

I hadn't.

I bite my lip. "What do you want? In exchange."

This is the language of the fae. Deals, bargains.

He throws his head back, his bright blue hair shining in the sunlight. "Let's see…"

"We could trade for a favor," I offer, knowing nothing of more value.

He shakes his head. "Oh, I think not. You already owe me one of those, remember?"

How could I forget? He saved me, along with all of Hardrock, ten years ago.

But he hasn't refused. I hold on to that. He hasn't refused, which means that he intends to accept. It's just a matter of finding the right price.

Unless he's toying with me for his entertainment. A likely possibility, but I ignore it.

"What do you want, Lind?"

I don't point out the obvious. I am at his mercy. There is nothing I can deny him today.

"Well, you want pieces of me. I'd like a piece of you in exchange."

I blush, taken aback. Somehow, I didn't expect that.

Lind made it clear he wasn't interested in me ten years ago. Now, he is willing to trade water elemental stones for sex with me? I was offering everything—anything. I can't believe this is his price.

He'll have it, if he demands it. I don't have a choice. But Drusk. The very thought of touching anyone but Drusk makes me want to vomit.

"I don't…" I wet my lip. "I have a mate. Is there anything else?"

He laughs again. I could strangle him. All of my people are about to die, and he's making fun of me.

"Aren't you just a darling? I don't hurt for female company, Nevlaria Bane. Your body, delightful as it might be, isn't what I require." Humor leaves his sea eyes, now set on me with a harshness I didn't know him capable of. "The immortals came for your land. On the other continent, the folk are being attacked, hunted. Humans and their technology have worked out that we rule the world, and now they want a piece. The gods are on their side, as they can control mortals, but cannot hope to have us kneel at their feet."

He gets to his feet and advances toward me. "Misguided as your former high queen and my mothers were, trying to pair me with the likes of you, they had a point. We need to be linked in the only way that cannot be denied or broken. By blood. The sea, the land—seelie and unseelie alike. We need to stand together."

I'd forgotten he’s a ruler until now. A lord of the sea. I won't make that mistake again.

"I will give you twelve stones, and you and I shall be allies. The price you will pay will be your blood.