Page 33 of Cruel Tides

I barely made it around the car before I lost my breakfast on the gravel beside it. This time around, Barren’s sandwich hadn’t tasted too good. When I was sure I’d finished, I let out a moan and braced a hand on the side of the car, staring pathetically at my feet. Fantastic. How many merfolk had watched me do that? I turned away from the evidence, wanting nothing more than to disappear.

The passenger door was cold on my forehead as I slumped against it, until a wide hand landed on my shoulder, and my stomach rolled again. “I told you not to follow me,” I groaned, pushing Barren away, but the freaking titan wouldn’t move. Great—how pathetic could I get?

Barren’s face was serious as he stepped over the mess I made and went for the driver’s side door. “Sit,” he said, holding the door open for me.

My legs were so unsteady, I didn’t need to be asked twice. “Fine.” I practically collapsed inside. For a split second, I was surprised at how far the seat had been pushed back. Then I remembered Barren was the driver and how he needed every inch of space he could get to fit.

I barely opened my mouth to apologize when Barren cut me off with a shake of his head. “You don’t need to apologize.”

My lips pressed back together, and I leaned into the seat while he walked to the trunk, popping it open for a second and then slamming it shut. When he came back, he passed a bottle of water into my hands.

“Thanks,” I mumbled, opening it up and taking a sip. It was strange how far away he seemed, with him standing and me sitting. I stared at Barren’s slacks, perfectly clean and pressed, as he shifted uncomfortably on his feet. Not a single gray thread was out of place.

When I took another sip, Barren said, “I was behind you when you went inside.”

“Oh.” My gaze dropped to my lap. Of course he was.

He’d heard everything, then—all the sickening things Papa had said. Shame reddened my face as an uncomfortable silence stretched between us. Then his pocket started buzzing.

If I hadn’t been so close to his hand, I might not have seen it flinch. Rather than reaching for his phone, Barren tightened his knuckles against the doorframe until the hinges creaked.

The vibrating continued, one buzz after another, filling me with clarity. Barren was trying his best, but he couldn’t ignore whoever was on that phone forever.

I swallowed down the sour taste of bile and took a steadying breath. “Barren?”

He dropped to my level, taking a knee in the gravel. “Yes?”

The chaos of this morning had worn me out, and I was tired of it. Tired ofallof this. There were too many uncertainties in my life right now. I wanted the truth, and I needed to believe Barren would give it to me. “Are you supposed to kidnap me?”

His expression changed—concern morphing into pain before settling on a hazy, detached stare. “Yes.” His lips barely moved.

Although I already knew the answer, my stomach still lurched, and it suddenly seemed like a blessing that I’d already lost my breakfast. I forced out the next question before my heart could keep me from rethinking it. “And if I don’t want to go”—I swallowed dryly—“would you make me?”

There was no hesitation. “No.”

My pulse skipped. I sat the bottle of water beside me and folded my hands in my lap. “No?” I chewed my bottom lip as I thought it over. “But your phone keeps ringing.”

Gravel crunched under his knee as he leaned closer, his face nearly coming into the car. “I would never force you to do anything you didn’t want to do.”

The words swirled in a dizzying song that flowed straight to my head, filling me with a mix of warmth and giddiness. His voice was like a blanket that I could wrap around myself to feel safe and cozy. Protected from every hard truth in the world.

I could lose myself in it. Inhim.

“Claira?” Barren’s voice cut through the heady spell it had conjured, breaking the magic’s hold over me and leaving me with a hot face and panting mouth.

Damn,the thrallwas going to be the death of me.

When I didn’t answer, he placed his hand over mine in my lap. His palm was so wide it easily domed mine. “I can return without you.”

As he spoke the wordswithout you,my whole body bristled.

Some feral part of me didn’t like that he’d suggested it, a lurking beast that curled and clawed my insides at the thought of letting him go. Maybe I was as unhinged as Papa was. I licked my lips, my mind racing. “And if you don’t follow your orders? What will your kingdom do to you?”

His jaw clenched. “You don’t need to worry about me.”

Considering what I knew about merfolk, and especially their royalty, I had good reason to worry. It didn’t matter how strong Barren was if his kingdom turned against him. I had no idea what horrors his queen was capable of.

Placing my hand over his, I sandwiched his palm between mine and took a breath. “I’ll go.” Maybe I was unhinged.

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