“You can’t—”
The liquid silenced her, slipping gently over her tongue. She swallowed because there was no other option, her alarmed gaze on mine the whole time. I only gave her a few sips, not wanting her to choke, and called the rest back to the bottle with a simple order from my mind. She gaped down at the item as if it had just bitten her, and set it to the side.
“As I said, humans call me Poseidon.” A ridiculous name, but not all that much better than Neptune. “I’m a god by your standards, and you, darling, are my long-lost mate.” I drew my thumb over her trembling bottom lip, pausing at the corner.
She needed to know everything, even if it meant repeating myself. It was the only way to break through her shell of silence, to prove to her the truth of our situation.
“Once upon a time, you were my destiny, Kailiani.” She’d quite literally been created for me—a siren with the will of a goddess. “Alas, Dolos took you from me, causing me to believe you left of your own accord to spite me. I came to this realm to seek revenge, but what I found instead was a second chance.”
She blinked several times, her expression shifting between disbelief and alarm.
“You’re a siren, or you should be, anyway.” I lifted my hand to run my fingers through her tangled strands.
She barely moved, but the slight flare of her nostrils confirmed she’d heard me, and she was breathing. A good sign for me to continue.
“Dolos—whom you call Corban—has done something to you. He’s reincarnated you as human. When we slept together that first time, our souls married one another as was intended all those centuries ago, which means you’ll no longer age. However, you’re still very fragile in this shell. Rejoining your siren soul with your current form will solve that. But we need Dolos to tell us how.”
And I would gleefully torture the information out of him.
“M-married?” she squeaked.
I chuckled. “Of everything I said,thatis the word you choose to question?” I cupped her cheek, forcing her gaze up to mine. “Yes, Kailiani. Our souls have completed the vows. It’s something that shouldn’t be possible in this realm, but then again, our mating was written into the stars long ago. You are mine just as I am yours. For eternity.”
Her pupils engulfed her eyes. “But I barely know you!”
“Your soul begs to differ.”
“Mysoul?” She shook her head, dislodging my hand. “I… None of this… I mean… This can’t… I’m not…” Words continued to fall from her lips, all of them jumbled and conveying broken thoughts as her mind processed everything I’d told her. I waited patiently, monitoring her breathing and heart rate throughout, and flinched when her palm cracked across my cheek.
“Oh, God!” She covered her mouth, her eyes wide. “I’m… I didn’t…”
I loosened my jaw, the sting of her slap smarting. “I’m going to allow that only because I deserve a good punch for ignoring you the week leading up to our vows. I was so focused on ensuring the visiting deities didn’t shred each other apart that I failed to check on what mattered most—you. All of this could have been avoided with a simple conversation.”
She snorted a laugh that lacked humor. “Avoided…” Another laugh. Then she collapsed in a fit of hysterics that left me sighing beside her.
Yes, this was going to take a while.
When her giggles turned to tears, I pulled her into my lap and held her while she cried. I didn’t know what else to do other than to offer her my strength. This couldn’t be easy for her to understand, let alone accept. I understood that, and now, knowing how this all had happened, I felt very much to blame.
All this time, I’d thought she’d purposely tried to hurt me. While I’d tried to find her, it’d been for the wrong reasons.
She didn’t deserve my wrath but deserved a heartfelt apology and centuries of groveling.
Dolos, however, would be punished. And far harsher than I’d ever planned for Kailiani. The demigod would drown for eternity.
“I’m being held byPoseidon,” she whispered to herself. “Agod.”
“I prefer Nero,” I reminded her. “Please.”
She glanced up at me through her damp lashes. “Nero.” Her uncertainty sliced my heart. I didn’t want this lack of trust between us, not after everything we’d endured.
“I’m the same man you’ve gotten to know over the last week, with a few added responsibilities and gifts. But I think you’ll find I’ve hidden nothing from you.” Even while in the water off the coast of Florida, I’d held the waves at bay, allowing her a lagoon-like experience instead of a harsh, wavy one. “All I want is for us to finally have our peace, Kailiani. But to do that, I need your help in locating Dolos.”
“Dolos,” she repeated. “Corban.”
“Yes.”
She shook her head, then nodded, and then shook her head again. “I can’t believe I’m…this… is happening.” She pressed her palm to my cheek, ran her fingers through my hair, and dropped her gaze to my mouth. “You’re a god.”
