Page 72 of Of Song and Darkness

My father snatched it from Kai’s grip, his face pinched with anger. “Who are you?”

Kai straightened, stretching to his full height that towered over a man even as magnificent as my father. “Blackheart Kai.”

The entire ocean seemed to gasp at Kai’s admission. I glanced at my father, whose bloodshot eyes were filled with rage. Every muscle in his body tensed as he raised the hand clutching his trident.

“Manta!” My mother’s voice was a small mercy, cutting through the tension. She rushed through the doors with my sister in her wake and latched onto my father’s arm. “He has come all this way to return your trident. The least you could do is hear what he has to say.”

My father pulled his arm from her grip, turning his blazing eyes in my direction. “Is this what you wanted my trident for? To make it easier for this murderer to slay our kind? Have you taken leave of your senses?”

I eased forward. “Father, please.”

His face was so red it turned a purple hue as he swam closer to me.

Kai moved in front of my father, blocking his path. “With all due respect, Your Majesty. Rhea didn’t make me like this. My father gave me these abilities.”

My father stayed his anger, if only for a fleeting moment. “And who is your father?”

“Poseidon.”

An unreadable emotion flicked across my father’s expression. “He would be ashamed of what you have become.” My father jabbed Kai in the chest with an emotional knife and twisted.

Kai never backed away nor took his eyes off my father. “We were ashamed of each other.” Kai inhaled. “We don’t get to choose our family, and if it were up to me, he would have never been my father, but life often deals a dirty hand. I’m not trying to make excuses for what I have done. I have been running from my responsibilities for a long time, but Rhea helped me see past some of that rage.” Warmth blossomed in my chest as Kai glanced back at me. “I don’t expect you to understand, but I will not stand here and watch you take it out on Rhea when all she has done from the beginning was try to save everyone from the Dark Hydra, and she did so by abolishing the darkness that resided in me.”

My father blinked like the words Kai spoke were foreign, and his brows drew together in confusion. “You expect me to believe all of this?”

“I don’t, but I do expect you to have faith in the strong daughter you have raised. Because of her, the Dark Hydra is dead, and so is the sea witch.”

“The sea witch is dead?” My mother gasped, easing around Kai and embracing me.

I met my father’s gaze, which had softened slightly. “That’s why I wanted the trident. I needed it to save Kai so he could defeat the sea witch.”

My father pressed his lips into a thin line. “I understand what you did and why you did it, but stealing the trident from me and putting the ruler of Aquarius under your siren song is an unforgivable offense.”

“Manta, don’t you dare,” my mother threatened, but her words fell upon deaf ears.

“You are hereby banished from this kingdom.” My father’s words rang in my ear, sending a jolt of anguish straight into my heart. I swallowed as emotion crawled up my throat.

Kai was by my side in a matter of seconds, wrapping an arm around my waist and pulling me close. “I had no intention of leaving you here anyway. I need you by my side.”

My father’s banishment and Kai’s declaration of needing me had my emotions all mixed up. I was happy but had a broken heart at the same time.

My father eased forward, watching Kai with careful eyes as he approached me. He gripped my chin and stared deep into my eyes. “This doesn’t mean that I am not proud of you. You never belonged here anyway.” My father smiled at me. “Your place is by his side, ensuring the Seven Seas are safe for all creatures.”

I flew into my father’s arms. “Thank you, Father.” His hand reached up, gripping the back of my head, his long fingers stroking my hair in a soothing motion I remembered from childhood.

My father’s eyes climbed to Kai’s. “I will bless this union, but you must swear to protect her.”

“With my life,” Kai’s voice echoed through the water, touching my very soul.

My father pulled away, running his fingers down my cheeks. “Then it is done. This union that I have ordained, let no man nor creature come between.”

“You can’t be serious! Treason like this is punishable by death!” Every fiber in my being tensed as Orm rushed from inside the palace. He had his war trident gripped tightly in his fist, waving it around like a man possessed.

My father released me, and Kai latched onto my wrist, pulling me protectively behind him. “Oh yes, I almost forgot about you.” Kai’s lips twisted into the slightest hint of a grin that brimmed with all the evilness in the world, promising death.

I reached up, squeezing Kai’s biceps as I pushed around him. “Allow me to face my accuser?”

My eyes beseeched Kai, and his expression softened, but his muscles tensed as he turned to me.

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