Page 35 of Bride of the Sea King

“I don’t blame you. Some of the women having them right now feel similarly, but the alternative is letting merrae die out. If we get enough new blood and marry them off to humans when they’re grown, we can prevent our numbers from falling when those who lost their mates finally fade out.”

My forehead creased. “Youfadewhen your mate dies? You just disappear?”

“Yup. Takes fucking forever, though. A century or two. It’s a long-ass time to live without your other half.”

Damn.

“I didn’t realize it was that serious. Triton is obsessive, but I kind of thought that was easing up. He let me come out here alone now that our bond is sealed.”

Joa snorted. “Look behind you.”

I looked back and saw nothing but a beautiful, empty beach leading up to the castle.

“Higher.”

My gaze lifted, and I immediately saw what she was talking about.

Orwhoshe was talking about.

Triton was sitting on a balcony’s railing. His attention was focused solely on me.

I looked back to the ocean with a soft breath out.

Geez.

“You’re everything to your mate, regardless of how you feel about it. Considering who you’re mated to, the chance of you being truly alone while we’re not at peace with the selkies is zero. He’s not going risk losing you.”

I changed the subject. Talking about Triton was going to make me feel things, and I was trying not to do that. “What are the selkies like, in your opinion?”

“Smart.” Joa lifted a shoulder. “Smarter than us, obviously. They were selfish during the Dragons’ War, but sometimes being selfish is the smartest thing. And sometimes, the right thing to do isn’t smart. We knew what we could lose when we joined the fight. We just thought we would be sacrificing our own lives, not the lives of everyone who stayed home. You can’t really blame us for being bitter.”

“No, I can’t.”

I had lost my mom. I knew the deep, drowning pain that came with loss.

“At the same time, it’s hard to blame them for making a different choice. Our issue with them isn’t their selfishness then. It’s that they’re trying to take control of the sea now.” Jolie stared up at the sky. Hopefully the sun in Alterrae couldn’t burn your eyes like the one on Earth could, because she was staring straight at it.

I glanced over at her again.

Something about her seemed a little off, but not in a bad way.

“Did Triton want a mate when all of you were voting?” I asked.

“Oh, no. Well, not no. Just not yes either. He was neutral.”

That made sense, I guess.

“Whatever he really felt, I doubt he would share it. The merrae who were vocal about him helping continue our species wouldn’t give a damn if he didn’t want a mate. Those who were loud about maintaining the tradition of an unmated king wouldn’t be swayed if he wanted a partner. He didn’t even get a vote.”

“Seriously? What if he was into men?”

“Most of us knew him before he was the king, so we didn’t have to wonder whether he wanted a woman. Pros and cons of living forever unless killed, I guess.”

I grimaced.

Whatever his past was with relationships, I didn’t really want to know. Even if part of me itched to find out.

“I can’t imagine he would choose to stay single if there was another option,” Joa said. “He’s been on the throne too long to pick loneliness.”

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