My pulse spikes, pounding in my ears. My marks flare, flickering with a sudden intensity. Light spills from my skin, warm and uncontained, mixing with the rush of adrenaline curling through my veins. The glow pulses like a warning, like the storm already building inside me.
I clench my fists until my nails dig into my palms. My teeth grit together. Every nerve in my body screams—anger, fear, determination—ready to explode.
“You care for her.” Her voice is soft. She cups my cheek, locking my gaze to hers.
“I don’t—”
“Don’t lie. I can feel your emotions too.” Her lips twitch into a forced smile. “If it helps… I don’t think she knows. She believes she’s sick. That only her father has the cure. If she knew what it really was… she’d be chasing our blood, not his medicine.”
I exhale, letting go of the breath I didn’t realize I’d held. The glow on my body begins to fade.
Roran better not be lying to me.
“But Malec,” she says suddenly, sitting up straighter. “I know I’m the last mermaid who should ever say this... but youcan’tbe with a human. You’ve been too volatile lately—and every time, she’s somehow involved.”
“I know. I don’t care about her,” I lie.
Do I?
“Don’t worry.”
She narrows her eyes. “Should I remind youagainthat I can feel your emotions, too? You’re going to be the death of her, Malec.”
I know.
“I won’t touch her.”
Not when my marks are glowing like this, at least.
I’m getting better at controlling it.
It’ll be fine.
I think.
A snort barging into my mind, loud and mocking—Myko.
I’ll show him too.
Roran
Idon’t know why my legs decided to take me to Kayla’s floor instead of waiting on the sofa for Malec to get back.
But that girl—Onyx—bothered me. Too much.
And somehow, I ended up here, hovering outside the entrance to Kayla’s floor, not daring to step into sight, slowly realizing how stupid it is to even try and get involved in something that clearly has nothing to do with me.
I should go back.
I should go back down the stairs and wait for Malecian—
No.Malec.
Where he told me to wait.
I sigh, mocking myself for coming up here in the first place, and spin back toward the stairs.
“You want me to touch her?” Kayla’s voice cuts sharp through the air, stopping me cold before my foot lands on the first step.
