Page 37 of The Dark, Dead, Deep

Tarsainn—the home of the merfolk.

“Are you going to kill me?” I replied, my lips numb and my words without emotion.

His pupils swelled, swallowing his hazel irises. “We haven’t decided yet.” The male reached forward, brushing a lock of hair behind my ear. His finger skimmed my cheek. I flinched away. “Does it hurt?” he asked.

“He didn’t rape me,” I said, broken.

Shay frowned. “I meant your cheek. Who—”

“My cheek is fine.” I reached up and pressed my finger against my cheek, frowning at his question. Outside of the water, my pearlescent freckles were nothing but smooth skin, but still, the crescent moon throbbed, a scab forming on my cheek.

“I don’t—” I cut myself off, clearing my throat. “Is there a cut on my face?”

He cocked his head to the side. “Tormalugh is too skilled with memory enchantments; I fear he may have done some damage.”

I opened my mouth to ask what he meant. Instead, he interrupted me. “We’ll be in Tarsainn tomorrow evening. We can only hope that Belisama will ensure a clear path back to the city.”

“You’re the only nymph here,” I pointed out. “Why are youhere? The selkie. The Kelpie. Merfolk. But nymphs live on the shore.”

“The tumult in the water affects everyone,” he said coolly. “Until recently, we were all fighting. Until we found the true enemy. Your uncle,” Shay said simply.

I turned back to the water. “No one knows I am a Cruinn, save for a select few.” All the people who knew I was the mad queen’s daughter lived in Cruinn castle.

Shay smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Was that a question?”

“Am I allowed to ask questions?” My comment would have come across as snide if I wasn’t so exhausted.

“You told us your name,” Shay informed me, his braids slithering as if waking from a nap. He brushed his hand down the side of his head, stroking his hair as if to calm it.

“I didn’t.” My nostrils flared.

Shay shrugged, turning back to the beach as the others approached.

“Ready to go?” Rainn, the selkie, shifted his weight to adjust to the pack on his shoulder.

“We need Maeve to lead the way out of the lagoon.” Cormac did not look up as he adjusted the strap on the armor at his forearms. “The magic won’t allow us to pass unless she is with us.”

I held my hands up and stepped away. “You want my help?” I said, my gaze automatically searching the trees as I fought the urge to run. “Why would I helpyou?”

“You didn’t reject my help last night,” Cormac replied dryly.

Rainn’s head snapped between us. “What help?”

“You can’t kill me.” I straightened my shoulders, emboldened. “You need me to leave the lagoon, as you said.”

Tormalugh, the dark-haired male, stood further back. “We could always tie her corpse to my flank.” His midnight eyes sparkled in a way that I did not like.

Shay let out a long-suffering sigh. “If we carry on like this, we won’t make it to the Reeds by sundown.”

“I thought that we were going to Tarsainn?” I wrapped my arms around my body, but nothing brought warmth to my cold skin.

“We will have to rest on the journey, and the kelpie are expecting us,” Rainn assured me.

Cormac glared at him. “What part ofcaptivedo you struggle to understand?”

Rainn narrowed his eyes. “The selkie do not take captives,” he stated darkly.

My eyes flicked down to the chained skin on his belt before I could school my reaction.

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