Page 130 of Rise of the Siren Queen
This would cost more than money.
But I would pay.
Gladly.
“All right,” I said at last, every word an oath I hated. “You have your deal.”
He smiled as if he’d just won something.
“It was a pleasure doing business with you.” His voice was like velvet hiding a blade.
“Let’s hope you forget it,” I said, brushing past him.
He laughed under his breath. “I won’t, Adrian.”
Across the room, Malia danced. Spiraling. Carefree. Trusting.
“You don’t know him like I do,” I murmured.
As promised, Lorenzo backed off.
Thirty-two votes. One speech. Five billion credits. The Senate applauded.
The island was mine, bound in red tape, guarded by regulations and eco-preservation acts no one could breach without bleeding for it.
The public cheered. The government fed. And Iryen’s world stayed buried beneath the tide. There are many ways to protect a kingdom. I just bought one. Some victories taste like ash. Like the silence after a scream. Like every choice, you can’t undo.
But they count. Because I did what I had to do. I protectedher.
And no one—not my father, not Lorenzo, not the world. Would take that from me.
* * *
Chaos.
That defined my life for these past two weeks.
Between countless board meetings and my mom educating me into royal politics, merfolk culture and control over my powers—per her request—I was exhausted, and the pain never left, an awful reminder I was incomplete.
I still felt her, even more than before, but so far away.
I felt her pain, her sadness, her doubt, and then I felt a void, nothing coming from that thread that linked us, I nearly lost my mind, hence why mommy dearest insisted in training me, and when I felted her again, the rage she shoved down the bond almost knocked me down.
I regretted letting her go, not fighting for her, accepting so easily. I was a fucking mess, confused about all the life-change revelations, and I knew in my gut something wasn’t right. So when despair I had never felt before mixed with shattering grief, panic constricted in my throat.
I was done with this city, drifting in a shallow—empty life.
With my head pounding as every situation played in my mind, I allowed myself just a few minutes before storming out of the conference room and calling my sister on the way to my car.
“Hi, big bro.” my sister’s cheerful voice rings in my ear.
I was glad she had returned to herself. She struggled with her identity after our mother explained to her about our origins.
“Hi. I need you to take care of the company for me.”
“What happened” Her tone shifted, and I could visualize her brows pinched in concern.
“Can’t explain, but I need to find her.” I hadn’t had the time to explain the combination of emotions I felt from the bond.
