Page 42 of Bride of the Sea King

The stupid thing still didn’t flinch.

I looked back at Triton with a flat expression.

He wasn’t even trying not to look amused.

Bastard.

He grinned at the insult, which he must’ve heard even though I hadn’t purposefully thought it at him.

“Would you like help, mate?”

“Don’t call me mate.”

His eyes gleamed wickedly.“Wife.”

I wasn’t going to win this argument, and we both knew it. Because as much as I didn’t want to admit it, we were freaking married.

“Would the bond disappear if I went back to Earth?”I asked.

All traces of humor vanished from his face.“No. It began on your planet, and the mark of the throne appeared on your shoulder there. Regardless of where you are, you are my queen.”He gestured toward the plant that was still firmly attached to the rock.“Try again.”

“I obviously don’t know how to get it out.”

“The roots burrow into the stone. They’re invasive plants,”he explained.“Someone brought one back from the deepest part ofyour planet a few centuries ago, and they spread like weeds. Thankfully, they can’t travel past the cliffs here.”

“So how do we remove them?”

“Magic.”

“Like everything else in this world, then.”

“Pretty much.”He waved me toward him.“I’ll help. Come here.”

“Can you just do it for me?”I didn’t want his hands on my body again. The man had too much power over me.

“If I did that, you won’t learn how to get them out yourself.”

I sighed, reluctantly swimming closer to him. My tail was still gone, and my hips were starting to feel a little sore now that I wasn’t actively swimming. I really dreaded shifting back.

Hoping a conversation would prevent me from feeling any more attracted to him than I already was, I asked,“What can other merrae do with their magic? And selkies?”

“They all have power over the water in small doses. We have it in full.”

“Are you only half as powerful now that you share the throne?”

“No, you have the same amount of control as I do.”

“So if you and I ever faced each other in a magical fight after you finished teaching me how to use my magic…”I trailed off, curious.

“We would be evenly matched.”Triton’s answer was simple, and there was no suspicion or fear behind it.“When enough timehas passed, your magic will be stronger than mine, though I’ll always be physically larger than you.”

He wasn’t afraid of fighting me.

I wasn’t surprised about that. The man could kill me as easily as a human squashed a bug.

I definitely hadn’t thought I could ever be more powerful than him, though. That would help level the playing field.

Triton pulled me into his arms and settled me against his chest. His front was to my back as he braced his feet against the rock like I had earlier. His stance was casual enough that he obviously wasn’t worried he was going to have to throw all of his muscle into it the way I’d tried to.

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