Page 11 of Cruel Tides

I brushed my fingers over the dark marks covering his chest. “But the trident hurtsyou, doesn’t it?” I asked, feeling like I already knew the answer. “Can’t you take it back out?”

“It’s a bit more complicated than that,” Leander said, his voice suddenly soft. “But yes, it might hurt me if I use its power. That’s why I don’t plan on using it.”

“So it won’t hurt you as long as you don’t use it?” I thought of the whirlpools he’d made in the bathroom and the storm he’d apparently summoned outside. That had definitely been him using magic. He hadn’t even seemed to know he’d done it. “But how much magic do you need to use before?—”

“It will be a slow death,” Barren cut in. He came up beside us, the muscles lining his square jaw pulsing with tension. Eyes darker than coal stared Leander down as Barren bared his teeth, showing off an anger I’d never seen in him before. “One that will not only destroy you, but those around you.” My breath caught as Barren’s dark eyes dropped to mine, focusing on me like he wanted to ensure I heard every word. “You can be sure of that.”

The warning in Barren’s voice made me shiver, but before I could say anything, Leander had turned, placing himself between me and Barren.

“You don’t have to worry about that. I won’t use any of the trident’s magic.” There was a resolute tenderness in his voice. “I’m not like my father. I don’t crave power just so others will fear me. I only want to protect what’s important. You. The kingdom.” His hand came up to cup under my chin, his thumb brushing a line across my bottom lip. “At least, I hope I’m not as cruel as he is.”

“You’re not.” I pressed a kiss to his thumb, then turned down to kiss his palm. “You’re nothing like your father, Lee.”

The stiffness in his shoulders relaxed, and he let out a long breath like I’d eased his fears.

But I was anything but relaxed. “You realize you’ve already used its magic, right?” I stared at the marks on his chest. “When we, uh—” My eyes cut over to Barren. He stood behind Leander like a massive statue, anger and annoyance lining every muscled inch of his face and neck. “While we were inthe bathroom.”

“I’ll learn to control it,” Leander threw right back, and I let out a heavy sigh. So it was that easy, huh? He’d justdo the thing. He’d been just as certain he could teach me to swim, but last I checked, I was still as useless in the water as I’d always been.

“But you didn’t even know what you were doing until after you finished,” I reminded him.

Humor twitched at the corners of his lips. “True,” he rumbled, his hands pressing into my lower back until our hips aligned. “But maybe with some more practice…”

The rising tension between us shattered as Barren barked some word I couldn’t place. The harsh syllables struck like a curse as he stomped back over to the counter.

I was about to ask if he was okay when Leander stopped me with a shake of his head. “It’s okay, Claira. I understand why he’s upset.”

I couldn’t help but feel like maybe I understood why, too. Barren was always quiet, but Kai and Leander clearly meant a lot to him. “It must be hard,” I whispered, staring off at Barren as he rounded the countertop. “Watching your friends get hurt.”

Of the three of them, Barren was the one who kept surprising me at every turn. He’d seemed stony-hearted at first, but I had a feeling there was a deeper layer to Barren. One that he rarely let others see. Someone uncaring wouldn’t have risked his own scales to save Kai. He’d even recognized what Leander was preparing to do and tried to stop it before Leander had even turned the trident to his chest. They were lucky to have Barren looking after them.

“I hope you’re not too angry to give me a ride back to the warehouse?” Leander asked suddenly, turning to Barren.

My eyes snapped back and forth between them. “What? Like, right now?” My brows furrowed. Kai still hadn’t even woken up yet. How could I leave him?

“Don’t worry. I won’t be gone long.” Leander chuckled. “I’ll be back here in the morning.”

“Wait—you don’t want me to go with you?”

“I think it would be better if you stayed here, don’t you? In case he wakes up.” Leander’s eyes turned down to the bed, and a torrent of emotions showed on his face. “I know his pet is here with him, but I’m sure he’ll still want to see you and know you’re safe.”

I knew the trident had affected Leander’s chest and arm, but had it done something to his head, too? This wasn’t like him. “Are you sure you need to go back to the warehouse? How can we be sure King Eamon won’t notice the marks all over you?”

“I was planning on grabbing clothes on the way.” He took a breath, rolling his wrist and watching his arm move like he was making doubly sure he couldn’t see the marks I saw. “With any luck, I won’t even see my father. But there are a couple of captains I need to talk to. Ones I would trust with my life. When I disappear, I’ll need them to keep watch for me on the inside.”

“When you… disappear?” Was he planning on leaving the Kingdom of the Atlantic now that he had the trident? Or was there something else he was planning? My heart hammered in my chest at the thought. Where would he even go?

Leander’s lips pressed against my forehead. “We can talk about that tomorrow. After Barren brings me back and I’ve worked out all the details. But you’ll be safe here for tonight. Well, as long as you don’t get too close to Kai’s fancy walrus pet.”

“Laverne,” I corrected. “She’s a sea lion.”

He gave a shrug that said he couldn’t care less what animal she was.

Although I hated being told to stay put, for once, I couldn’t find it in me to argue. I didn’t want to leave this hotel room. Not until Kai woke up and I knew he was all right. “Fine. I’ll stay here for the night.”

Leander gave a quick nod. “You ready, Barren?” he called, and Barren gave a grunt that might have been a yes. The tense way they looked at each other made my spine tingle. Something told me the ride over to the warehouse would not be a peaceful one. There was obviously a lot that needed to be said between them.

Leander leaned in to give me another quick kiss, this time on the lips.

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