me, and with me inside you. I’d never let you go.”
His words waft around me filled with promise and something else that heats my already warmed blood. His declaration, it’s just the chitchat of a man that is desperate to leave freely.
But if he doesn’t talk, I won’t be able to give him that.
The sound of music muffles behind my bedroom door, which has me out exploring the scene. There isn’t anything else to do, Davina won’t hold a conversation with me longer than five minutes to build any sort of trust, and her sisters look at me like they want to murder me for fun.
So for hours, I’ve stayed in my room plotting because I found what I came here for.
The cuff.
A plain gold band that sat behind colored glass on one of Davina’s shelves between a chandelier and small chest. It glinted off a mirror, catching the end of the cuff that almost didn’t catch my eye. My father said it wouldn’t be flashy, no gem stones or engravings would decorate the piece.
And that’s exactly what it was—plain.
It belonged to our people and was stolen, holding more power than it portrayed from its humble appearance. More promise than I could ever hope for to keep our lands safe and secure against the impending Highlands.
The cuff was magic.
Magic that would bring back the creatures I’ve heard so many stories about and made my father so addicted to appropriating its return.
Dragons.
As a child, I believed those stories. I was enchanted by the fact that these large beasts flew and roamed our lands within our control. But when I grew up, I started to think my father fed me that line of bullshit to keep my faith when times were hard.
Until he came to me weeks ago with information to seize this relic, only entrusting me to bring it back home. The only thing I knew was that it was golden, plain, “might look like a piece of junk,” as my father put it, but I knew of nothing else.
No veil.
No realm of princess killers.
No trying to get myself out of this mess I was currently in.
The moment I’m down the hall, the music gets louder and draws me deeper into the castle toward the large dining room we eat in, like I’m one of theirs. Like they own me and I’m their little puppet.
I’ll play the part if it gets me closer to Blood’s curiosity.
When I make the last turn inside, there are people everywhere. Men and women dressed, actually scantily dressed, in seaweed, shells, pearls, and leather. I notice King Triton immediately, standing above other men with his broad chest puffed out. He’s speaking to them casually until his hard eyes fall on me. His mouth moves a moment longer then he turns his back on them, which sends them in my direction.
Three of them march toward me nonchalantly, and the reason is apparent. The King wants me to know I’m not welcome here, that his daughter isn’t here to save me, and that I’m fucked.
I was fully aware of that.
I study the men like I’m trained to do. Each bare-chested, holding large rods with a sizable shell on the top. It makes me wonder how often they’ve used them, if they know how, and if they’ve killed more people than me—I doubt it.
The moment they reach me, I’m immediately surrounded and herded outside like a sheep. We’re not far from the garden with the large pond that Davina swam in, a perfect and secluded spot for them to try and batter me up, possibly kill me. But without a blade, I don’t expect them to get very far, unless they have the strength of the girls, which means I’m worse off than I thought.
With the men following close behind me, I glance around the reclusive surroundings for a weapon of my own. The only things around me are ferns and various flowers. Nothing like oak or pine trees from home to break off a branch and try to gain some sort of advantage on them.
Suddenly, my foot is caught and yanked from behind, taking me to my knees and palms. A sharp pain hits my right kidney, but I force back the thoughts of experiencing or registering it fully.
Instead, I stand back on my feet and twirl around to punch the closest one to me. My knuckles slam into the side of one's face, and I quickly block another blow from the man to his left with my