Page 117 of Cruel Tides

My chest heaved—my heart was beating so, so fast. If Laverne were here, she would have seized the glass on the table and dumped it on top of the queen’s perfect, shiny head of hair.

Accompanied by a smirk, the queen’s magic seared me again, branding my insides with her lies. No—Barren wasnotbroken.Notworthless. My fingers tangled in my hair, pressing against my scalp as if maybe I could claw the magic back out.

“Well, aren’t you resilient? Impressive,” the queen said, though her laughter was far too cruel. “But let me be blunt. I did not bring you here to play fetch. In fact, I believe it would be a challenge for you to even locate my trident.”

With my hands still muffling my ears, I stared down at her in disbelief as she continued, “Do I strike you as the type of ruler who would leave her most valuable possessions lying around?”

Leaning forward, she smoothed out the front of her black dress. “Here’s what I do want. I want you to continue living here on my island without a care in the world.”

“Right,” I said stiffly, lowering my hands as the effects of her magic seemed to wane. “I believe that.”

“As you should. You were unable to locate that fool of a king’s trident. What is his name?” She tsked, faking disappointment in herself. “Oh. King Eamon, perhaps.” I held my breath, going rigid, not wanting to reveal that we had been successful in locating the trident. “So, what would make me confident that you could find mine if I sent you down to look for it?”

“I don’t understand. If you don’t want me to get your trident, then why am I here?”

“Ah, now there’s the question I’ve been waiting for. I do not wish for you to collectanyof the tridents. What I want is for you to live up here. Wait out the curse on land like the rest of us.” She waved a gloved arm, dismissive. “I care little about what it is you do as long as your legs remain dry. Those are my terms—stay here on land. Disobey them, and I order my brother to execute you.”

“Execute me?” Well, that sure was an abrupt and unexpected turn.

She shrugged. “And if he refuses, I’ll have him executed as well.”

My heart plummeted, rattling all of my organs on its way down. As much as I desperately wanted to dismiss her threat as empty, the ruthless, unyielding look in her eyes made it impossible not to believe her.

Shit.

“I cannot risk losing all that my kingdom has worked for here amongst humans. As you may have realized, the other kingdoms are naïve, desperate. There is no telling what one of those fools might do with a trident if you were to bring one up here on land.”

I stiffened. The logic was there, but I couldn’t bring myself to agree with someone who casually threatened our lives. “And what if another kingdom steals me away again? What then?”

“This island is under my complete control,” she said with a smirk. “Nothing happens without my knowledge, so do not think of pursuing the trident for Barren’s sake.” Picking up her glass, she took an annoyingly long sip before adding, “Even if you gave him my trident, he could never be ruler. This kingdom had the opportunity to welcome him as its king once already, and, well, you know how that turned out.”

“What…?” I whispered.

“They chose me, of course.” Her self-satisfied sneer was like a punch to the gut. “In their eyes, even a six-year-old merfry was more desirable than him.” Her lashes lifted, as if maybe she finally spared him the briefest of glances. “Although I can’t blame them for wanting someoneclean. Untainted.” She sighed as if reliving a fond memory. “No matter how much Barren wants power, this kingdom has already declared him unworthy.”

“It’s a shame,” I said flatly, causing the queen’s gaze to snap up from her glass.

Her expression turned cold. “Excuse me?”

“That you don’t know your brother at all,” I said, even as her eyes sharpened with what looked like murderous intent. Maybe my execution would come sooner rather than later. “It’s a shame for you, because Barren is worth getting to know.”

I glanced up at where Barren stood and felt my lips tug into a smile when our eyes met. “Although I can see why he might want to keep his distance from you.”

Turning back to her, I threw my hands up in an exaggerated shrug. “But what do I know? I’m just a free mermaid caught up in all this trident drama and undersea politics. You want me to stay dry on land? I’ll stay dry. Because, honestly, I don’t believe you’re worthy of wielding a trident. But just so your teeny crown feels a bit more secure there on your teeny head, I’ll let you in on something you obviously don’t know about Barren.” I leaned in, just to be sure she could hear me. “He doesn’t want your trident. He detests them. So, if you’ve got nothing else to say to me, I think we’re done here.”

Had I lost my mind? Probably. Here I was in her kingdom, surrounded by her followers, running my mouth like she hadn’t just threatened to use one of my mates to end my life. Sure, Barren had promised to protect me from harm, but I doubted he had considered the possibility of me starting a fight.

Wait—my mate. Barren hadn’t even confirmed that he was drawn to me, but I felt it. The undeniable bond between us, maybe even before the first time his voice called to me.

With my hands balled into fists, I lifted my chin high. “Well?”

Without a word, the queen set her glass down on the table. She sat back for a moment, assessing me. “For the lowly offspring of one of King Eamon’s dogs, you are quite bold.”

Then she stood, and I wasn’t ready for the sudden change in perspective when she rose to her full height.Damn. She looked like a bronzed statue of a goddess draped in black and gold. Their parents really must have been titans.

“You are free to take your leave,” she said, formal and stiff. “Dive for the trident, if you wish. I will enjoy watching the light fade from your eyes as I order Barren to strangle your neck. Or perhaps a better punishment would be to have you watch him get strangled first. As I said earlier, a queen must seek amusement somewhere.”

Poseidon help me. This woman knew how to piss me off. “I wonder how you plan on doing anything to Barren when it appears that your entire kingdom is too afraid to even go near him.”

---