Page 116 of Cruel Tides

“Mmmh,” the queen hummed, and I bristled at the sound of it.So similar to Barren. “What do you think?” she asked, and when I turned to her, her dark eyes were lingering on where her two mermen attendants stood well away from her brother.

“Excuse me?” I asked, trying my best to read this woman. Her body language conveyed a sense of ownership, as if she thought she possessed everyone and everything in her vicinity. Including me.

The tip of her tongue toyed with the corner of her mouth, reminding me of a sea snake contemplating which prey to strike. “I’m to marry one of them.” She didn’t look particularly thrilled by the notion. “Which do you think I should choose?”

Was a queen truly seeking my counsel on two mermen I had scarcely encountered? I didn’t even know their names—not that I cared to know them. They both seemed terrible, and I had no doubt they would make awful kings.

When I didn’t immediately answer, she tutted. “I hate the thought of splitting them. They complement each other so perfectly, don’t you think?”

Was she serious? I went to eye the strangers when movement behind them caught my eye as a man in a black suit stood from a card table. The back of his broad shoulders flexed when he ran a hand over his dark hair, slicking it back.

Beside me, the queen laughed. “Ah. It seems you won’t be much help.” She swirled her glass before throwing back the drink, draining it down to the ice. “You have quite the wandering eye.”

I squirmed in my seat, my body tensing in response to her accusation. “If you’re so concerned over splitting them, why not marry both?” I said with a shrug. “You are the queen, aren’t you?”

She laughed even harder, the grating sound so different from Barren. Each of his hard-won laughs was throaty and genuine, nothing like the noisy crowing of his sister.

“And miss out on crushing one of their hearts?” She tutted again, going for another sip of her drink and scowled when she realized it was empty. “A queen must seek her amusement somewhere.”

With the swish of a hand, she summoned one of the mermen back over. The man’s jewelry bounced as he rushed down the steps.

“My darling,” she said, drawing out the words.

“My queen,” he replied, his eyes revealing a desire so deep it was uncomfortable to look at. She brought him close enough to toy with his dangling earrings. When he seemed a hair’s breadth from crawling onto her lap, I tuned them out by shifting my attention up to Barren.

Despite the distance, his unwavering gaze was on me. Had he even blinked once since leaving my side?

“My brother seems very taken by you.”

Startled by the queen’s words, I sat up even straighter. How long had I been staring at Barren? I hadn’t even noticed that the queen had sent the merman away. “R-really?”

Her eyes gleamed as her attendant returned with fresh drinks, though when he went to hand me mine, his hand swerved away at the last possible moment. Gasping, he twirled around and chose to sit the drink down on the low table in front of me before taking his leave.

Strange.Was I included in the superstition surrounding Barren now that I’d openly touched him?

The queen took a long sip from her fresh glass. “My brother’s conduct has been rather unusual as of late. It appears his attention is focused solely on you.”

I shrugged, though my eyes found Barren again, and sure enough, he was looking right at me.

When I glanced back at the queen, her eyes had narrowed. “It makes one wonder if he intends to betray his queen.”

Now it was my turn to laugh. “Barren brought me here, didn’t he? You’re the one who asked him to take me, right? Well, here I am.”

The queen sighed. “That, I did. But he was… hesitant.” She swirled her new glass, as if pondering. “Hesitancy is not something I tolerate. It leaves me no choice but to question his allegiance.”

“No, I—I guarantee Barren wouldn’t—” An abrupt slam cut me off, her glass against the table in front of us.

“And what do you know about Barren?” Rage flickered in her eyes as she leaned in, her voice compressing to a hiss. “My brother is broken, more worthless and pathetic than a bullray who’s lost its spine. He was only good for one thing—following my orders. Now tell me, why is it that Barren is looking atyouwhen his loyalty is supposed to belong tome?”

The word‘broken’reverberated within me, penetrating my thoughts as if determined to stay. Barren,broken?I didn’t believe it. Even so, the word gripped me, boring into every corner of my being, willing my mind to accept it as fact.

The queen’s eyes flashed with a dangerous glint.

I clutched my head as tension built in my temples.

What kind of mermaid magic was this?

My knees almost gave out underneath me as I shot to my feet. “Barren is not broken,” I said, gasping out the words. “He’s not worthless. If this is you trying to get me to help you…”

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