She might not come at all.
But there was a chance she would.
A big enough chance Selena and Thaan hadn’t wanted me to risk it.
And after Sidra dragged me into the depths, what then?
What would itfeellike to break a Naiad vow?
“If you’re going to jump, you might as well time it right,” came a flinty voice behind me.
A voice I knew.
“I wasn’t going to jump,” I said, my words tinged with venom. Over my shoulder, Kye lounged in the grass, his body encased in shadow. He’d been watching me.
“You’ll want to wait until the tide is high,” he went on, flicking a blade of green grass into the air. “And mean. Right as the waves rush toward the rocks, so that you’ll get pulled down with the undertow. Just in case you have any second thoughts.”
Propped on one elbow, he’d stretched out in the dark. I’d have seen him if he’d followed me. He'd been here before I came.
I crossed my arms, gazing down my nose at him as I took a step in his direction. “Congratulations on your big announcement tonight,” I sneered through my teeth.
He stilled, his fingers meeting at his chest as he passed a plucked bit of turf from his left hand to his right. “The same to you,” he murmured darkly, throwing it.
“A commander and a husband all within a week,” I continued, edging toward him. “You must be beside yourself with pride.”
Gold eyes flickered up at me. I expected him to glare, but he didn’t. He watched me side-long, violence and hunger in his gaze. “What do you want, Leihani? I was here first. I’m not in the mood for games tonight.”
“No, the only thing you’re in the mood for is self-pity, when you’re the one who stuck yourself in this situation in the first place.”
His brows twitched, though he said nothing. The glare I’d waited for appeared as he dropped his eyes to the grass in his fist. I was close enough now to see a bottle of liquor beside him, corked and completely full. He’d intended to get drunk by himself but hadn’t.
Why did the thought of that make me want to feel sorry for him?
“Don’t let my mood sour your own celebration, since we both know that tonight only moves you closer to your goal,” he said in quiet thunder.
For some time now, I’d begun to determine emotion by a human’s scent. Fear was sour, like spoiled milk. Lust was heady—thick and sweet and potent. And anger was sharp. Like metal in a forge, heated down into a malleable cloud. Not solid, not liquid. Slippery and scorching.
I smelled his anger now.
It plumed from him, so dense I could almost taste it, metallic on my tongue.
He was always looking for ways to disappoint his father. But marrying a Leihaniian girl might be his boldest move.
I canted my head, frowning as I puzzled out why he’d be so angry. Commander in his father’s army…
Was it a punishment for agreeing to marry me?
I let out a small scoff, and Kye’s gaze flew to mine, his brows knit with fury.
All his carefully laid plans, wasted. The King was sending him off to fight a war. That would put a damper on things, wouldn’t it? Hard to kill his brother when fighting across the kingdom.Mihauna, I’d been upset only twenty minutes ago, but as I stared at him with a knowing smile, I couldn't help the flush of triumph that ran through me.
“I bet it really burns,” I purred, “That you’ll be there, and I’ll be here, without you watching my every move.”
He went still except for the dangerous fire in his eyes.
“Without you ordering me to stay away,” I continued, sauntering to him. I lowered myself into the grass like a cat, stretching my limbs in indulgent pleasure and setting my head into my palm. “I can go where I want, say what I want." I walked my fingers down his forearm."Speak with who I want.”
I didn’t need to articulate who I referred to. We both knew.
