Page 147 of A Vow of Wrath and Ruin

“I swear I don’t have her.”

The fear in her eyes told Tharan she was telling the truth.

“The song. Give it back then, and I will spare your life.”

“No.”

He squeezed her neck tighter. The muscles tightened beneath his fingers as they worked harder to get air in.

“Are you sure?” he asked through gritted teeth.

“It’s true.” Ursula stepped forward; her eyes filled with tears. “She doesn’t have them. I swear it!”

Tharan held out his hand.

“I’ll take the necklace back then.”

Reluctantly with a shaking arm, Calliope handed the sapphire to him.

A dark part of him wanted to end her and be done with it. That would start a war he didn’t know if he could win. Would the Undersea bow to him? Would it matter? Calliope would never bow to him again. He glanced at Ursula, who could not be trusted but was loyal to her queen. She would be livid if he killed her queen, but zealots need a god, and he could be her savior if he installed her as acting regent.

Shaking the dark thought from his mind, he released Calliope.

Ursula ran to her queen, helping her up.

“How dare you treat my queen this way!”

“Careful, little mermaid,” Tharan warned. “We’ve seen how fish fare on land.”

She bared her sharp teeth at him and pulled Calliope back into the water. The queen’s guards followed behind her. The splashing of their tails echoed through the empty warehouse.

Tharan let out a heavy breath.

“What was that?” Hopper hit his friend on the shoulder. “Do you want to start a war with the Undersea?”

He didn’t want to admit the dark thoughts flying through his mind, but there was a part of him regretting letting Calliope go.

“Honestly? I considered it.”

Hopper clicked his tongue at his friend.

“Your magic is wild. You need to learn how to contain it before you hurt someone, whether you mean to or not.”

“It won’t happen again.” Tharan pinched the bridge of his nose. “But if she doesn’t have Aelia and Baylis, then who does?”

Amolie stepped forward.

“There is only one other person who would want them.”

“Gideon and Erissa?” Tharan said, his voice was no more than a whisper. “But how?”

Amolie shrugged.

“We all knew this was a possibility.”

Tharan shut his eyes.

“Is someone going to tell us what’s going on?” Sumac said, sheathing her sword. “We almost just killed a queen.”

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