Page 106 of The Dark, Dead, Deep

I didn’t understand the sour feeling that curdled my stomach and made my blood turn cold. I shook my head to clear it. “That sounds like the dream we were trapped in,” I murmured, leaving out Cormac’s advances and the kiss that had made my entire body come alive.

Tormalugh hummed his understanding. “Try not to take it personally.” His lip twitched into a smile. “If you truly were Cormac’s shíorghrá, I’m certain that only you would be in his bed.”

“Good thing I am not his true mate then,” I replied tersely, placing my head back on his chest.

Rainn rolled onto his back and placed his arms under his head. “Perhaps we should stop talking about the mer-king for a moment,” he said, with his eyes on the ceiling. “Not that I don’t delight in speaking about His Majesty and how insufferable he has been these past few days.”

“I thought you were all friends.” I closed my eyes and basked in the feeling of Tormalugh stroking my hair.

“We were. We are,” Tormalugh stated. “Though our bond was formed in battle on the front lines, the four of us are in a unique position that not many can understand.”

“What a diplomatic answer,” I said carefully.

Rainn exhaled sharply through his nose. “I wonder what would happen if we didn’t just allow Cormac Illfin to dictate how we live our lives,” he murmured, low enough that I wasn’t sure I heard him.

Tormalugh’s hand froze on my hair, and I stayed silent, hoping that he would slip up and say something in front of me—so that I might have even the tiniest insight into what Rainn was thinking.

“Rainn…” Tor warned.

Rainn’s sky-blue eyes flicked to me for a moment before settling on the kelpie. “I won’t apologize for taking what I want,” he said, and I got the impression that he was talking about me.

Tormalugh thought for a moment. “I won’t apologize either.”

I sat up, my brow furrowed as I crossed my arms over my chest. “I was a very willing participant in whatever happened between us,” I informed them primly.

Rainn licked his lips. “I know you were, princess.”

Tormalugh surprised me by moving my hair away from my shoulder before wrapping it around his fist and using it to pull me closer. His lips pressed against mine, slow and decadent as if he was making a statement that I was his. A shudder traveled through my body, settling in my stomach, and the kiss was over.

Tormalugh searched my eyes for something. “We should have let you reach your magical majority,” he said, his dark eyes unreadable.

I felt sick. “Why did you have to say something like that?” Why did he have to remind me of all I had lost.

Tor winced.

Rainn cleared his throat. “Let’s sleep. We have much to do tomorrow if we want to prepare for this sham of a wedding.”

I couldn’t catch my breath.

I couldn’t say a word.

After what we had done, they both expected me to marry Cormac Illfin?

Chapter 21

The bed was cold when I woke up, but I felt eyes on me from the corner of the room.

Gooseflesh peppered my arms, and I tugged the cover up over my chest as I sat up, my eyes colliding directly with Lady Bloodtide’s, who sat her crimson tail in the chair in the corner of the room—comfortable, as if she had been there for a while.

I opened my mouth to ask her where Rainn and Tormalugh were before closing it without saying a word.

Though I didn’t want to give too much away, it seemed that Lady Bloodtide had read the question in my gaze as she laughed on a breath and shook her head. “They aren’t here, child. They are meeting to talk about your uncle’s recent advances on the front line.”

I blinked and said nothing.

She continued. “It seems your uncle has finally heard of what happened at the Frosted Sands.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “Oh. That explains why you’re in my room while I’m sleeping.” I bit back in a saccharine voice.

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