It’s disturbing.
If sheissick like she says—like I feel—then it’s something I’ve never encountered. Not on land. Not at sea.
She looks perfectly fine now, though—arms crossed, chin high, challenging Alessio like she’s got a spine carved from whale bones. Her dress looks like it’s strangling her. Tight enough that her chest looks like it’s about to revolt. Not that I don’t appreciate the view—I am—but merhell… that thing looks like a torture device disguised in satin.
And she’s off-limits.Wayoff-limits. I don’t touch anything that came from that filth. Even when every line in her waist and hips looks like some God decided to show off.
“Alessio,” I say when his hand lingers too long under her chin, his smirk already asking for a punch.
“What?” he groans—still staring at her, not even glancing back. They're locked in a silent war of wills, fire brimming in both their eyes.
“Come here.Now.”
That’s not a suggestion, and he knows it. He clicks his tongue in protest but finally lets go of her, shoving her chin aside as he turns and stomps toward me.
At leastthat Pedro Jr. still remembers who’s in charge. Good.
“She’s not a plaything,” I warn, voice low. “We need to be careful with this one.”
Roran collapses back onto the bench like a queen in exile, arms crossed again, still fighting the laws of gravity, her dress is barely holding back.
“I’m taking her to the beach villa. Matteo will keep watch on her.”
Alessio stiffens. “What? We can use her to take down Fedor completely! Why in the merhell would you take her to yourparents’beach house?”
I sigh, running a hand down my face. “Because you and your mother are coming with me. We’re heading to Kolox City. And there’s another princess we need to find…” I sigh just mentioning the extra task. “It won’t take long, we’ll take care of the Fedor issue when we’re back. Your powers are needed.”
He blinks at me like I just switched languages. I don’t blame him. He never paid much attention to the old stories or the other pods' politics. My mom taught me most of the pod names, following the marks on my body, their meanings. The ones she didn’t know, my grandmother passed down like whispered prophecy.
But Alessio never cared for that enough to learn anything outside Mal-El lineage. He trained his power with his parents.He was raised to be second in line after Kayla—because black-blooded isn’t something you inherit, you’returnedinto one like my mother. Or you’rechosen, like me. Like Aunt Bay.
Alessio nods after a long silence, trying to absorb what I just said.
I avoid him and step toward Roran, locking eyes with her again.
The black haze of her soul doesn’t match the light behind her blue eyes. There’s too much life flickering in them to make sense of the darkness wrapped around her. I can’t read her like I usually do with others, but I see enough.
She’s too aware of every movement in the room. Braced, calculating. Acting tough in front of people she knows she shouldn’t even breathe wrong around.
And the worst part?
She looks startled.
Not scared.
Which means one thing—she’s seen worse than death.
I stop right in front of her, my body blocking Alessio’s line of sight like instinct.
“You said earlier Ivan’s after your medicine too,” I murmur, leaning in just enough to make the question private.
Alessio doesn’t get information I haven’t confirmed. Not yet.
She nods, swallowing hard when I get close enough to feel her breath hit my skin. Warm. Soft. Too human.
Too dangerous.
Why in the merhell does being this close to her feel right?
