Page 32 of Bride of the Sea King

The woman’s face went crimson red, and she took a threatening step toward us.

Triton’s power lit up the room, a wave of electricity tearing through the space.

I had to bite my cheek to stop a moan in response. Whatever his power did to me, it did it really, really well.

“Back away from my mate,” Triton said calmly.

The way the faces of everyone else in the room went ashen told me none of them wanted to know what he was going to do next.

Eila took a quick but clearly upset step backward.

Triton’s magic finally eased, though it didn’t disappear completely. It took everything I had not to react to the feeling of it by shivering or rubbing myself all over him or something.

“You seek to claim some of our power while our numbers are low, because you know we’ve started taking human mates,” Triton said. “We see it, and we won’t stand for it. If you can convince one more kingdom to trade with you, we will allow that, but we will hold the throne and the sea’s magic as we have from the beginning of time. If there is something you need from us other than power, I suggest you ask before the relationship between our people is ruined completely.”

Her glare burned us. “Watch yourself, King Triton.”

“She’s not going to give us answers. Tell her to leave,”Triton said into my mind.

He still wanted me involved in the conversation.

That was nice. Really nice.

“I think it would be best if you leave now. Before anything escalates,” I said.

After another moment’s glare, Eila finally jerked her head toward us in something that almost resembled a nod. Her people followed her to the doors, and they were escorted out of the room by a merrae holding a large spear.

“She wasn’t afraid of you,” I said, standing up as soon as they were gone.

“Not afraid enough,” Triton agreed.

I turned to face him, folding my arms over my breasts to hold my hair in place and ignoring the dampness between my thighs. His magic had royally screwed me over.

“Why aren’t they?”

“Most of the selkies aren’t warriors, but they wield poison the way most of us do blades and magic. They’re smaller than most beings in Alterrae, and they use it to their advantage when it comes to seducing and poisoning their prey.”

“Then why haven’t they attacked you yet? They obviously want to control the sea. And why haven’t they wanted power until now?”

“We still aren’t sure. We’ve sent spies, but none of them have found any real explanation. As far as attacking me for the throne, they know they can’t win that fight. If they could slaughter us, they would answer to the rest of Alterrae. While they hid during the war, the majority of us suffered and were massacred together to save our world. I am friends or at least allies with the leaders of every kingdom, even the one the selkies work with. If the selkies kill me, they will all promptly be slaughtered themselves.”

“Then what are we supposed to do about that?” I gestured toward the door the selkies had gone through. “They don’t seem like they’re planning on backing off.”

“They aren’t. If we can’t figure out why they’re acting out, they will eventually attack us to get what they want.”

“What if they do?” I asked.

“Then we’ll fight.”

Another small wave of electricity zapped the room, and I bit back a groan.

I needed to get away from him before I did something that made no sense at the moment. Like screwing him again.

“I need some air,” I said, and Triton nodded.

To my surprise, he didn’t protest as I slipped through the door, walking past Rayna and down the hallway.

I didn’t know where I was going… but I needed to be away from the king and his wild magic so I had time to process my thoughts.

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