Page 155 of Cruel Tides

The sea wizard’s piercing gaze aligned with our hands. His lips compressed into a pale line, as if my words had stripped away some of his victory in our deal.

“Names hold little significance in the Undersea. It’s what we are that defines us, be it a pawn or a sea wizard.” His hand unceremoniously dropped from mine. “The deal is struck. We’re tethered to our vows, you and I. Now, it’s time to go.”

Although I felt no different than before, I couldn’t help shaking out my hand.

“Wait, please,” I said, confused by his reluctance to give up his name. “Names might not be important in the Undersea, but they’re important to me. I can’t keep calling youwizard. I’m Claira.”

The sea wizard stared down at me, lips taut, giving me nothing.

I blinked. He blinked. Nothing.

“You’re really not going to tell me?” My mouth fell into a frown. “You do have a name, right?”

“Yes.” One word. That was all he said. A simpleyes, nothing more.

My molars ground. “Okay… Well, forget the name thing. Tell me about your trident before we go. How you’re able to remove it. That’s your end of our bargain, after all.”

“Ah, that.” Fingers flexing, he looked down at his arm as if perhaps he could see the magic marks there, too. “I didn’t specifywhenI would tell you. Only that Iwouldtell you.”

I gawked at him. “You’re joking.”

“Not in the slightest.”

Immediately, I took back wanting to know his name. “So you could just, oh, I don’t know, tell me after I’m dead and buried? And that would still count as you upholding your end of our deal?” My voice rose in pitch as I spoke, my outrage impossible to contain.

The sea wizard laughed. Helaughed. “I knew it wouldn’t take long for you to catch on, little captive. Regrettably, the vow has been made. There’s no going back on it now.”

I couldn’t believe it—okay, maybe I could. So what if he gave me a magic shell? He was a stranger to me. A cecaelia.Dark spawn. Someone who didn’t even have the decency to tell me his name.

“You know, you’re right about your name being unimportant. I should just keep referring to you as what you are.” Crossing my arms, I scowled as I asked, “Which do you prefer—puppet or creep?”

Judging by the way his muscles contracted, the comment had hit its mark. “Time to go,” he said coldly, his tentacles closing back around me tighter than they’d ever been. “And watch where you stick that seashell.”

“Why does it matter?” I retorted, frustration boiling within me that he’d made himself immune to the shell’s slicing. “It’s not as though it could cut you.”

“It can and it will.” As he spoke, his tentacles wedged between us, creating a subtle separation between the shell and his chest.

“Earlier, you didn’t seem afraid of it.”

“That knife has been enchanted to sever only that which you intend to sever. One of my more clever fabrications, or so I thought,” he said darkly. “Earlier, you had no intention of harming me. Now, I fear you might carve out my heart.”

“Fine, I’ll watch where I stick it,” I said, and although I tucked the shell safely in my arms, a faint smile played over my lips at my newfound knowledge of its power. “I’ll also enjoy watching it slice through your heart, should the mood strike me.”

“Fair enough,” he said, a shiver running through his tentacles, as if he found a thrill in my threat. “Shall I take you now, or do you wish to remove your clothing first?”

My jaw tightened. “Now I know you’re trying to get me to stab you.”

He chuckled as he shook his head. “I thought that might get you in a carving mood. But no, we’ve already delayed our departure too long.” Leaning down, his fingers grazed the side of my hair. “If you’re worried about me looking, don’t be.”

After everything, there was no way I trusted him enough to believe that. I’d rather have my pants explode off my legs with my transformation than strip in front of him. “Go ahead and drag me.”

He threw his head back, venting a smoky laugh. “As you wish.”

36

Claira

The sea wizard could have easily used one of his tentacles to carry me, but he chose to drag me into the water in his arms. My desire to maim him must have faded, because when my legs fused with an earsplittingpop, I was less than careful about where I stuck my seashell.