“Mother,” I called in a firm voice. “Before you get too carried away, there’s something you need to know.” My mother’s eyes narrowed. She glared at my father, and he hurried to her side with a fixed smile in place. “My soul-bonded mate is not a mermaid.”
Mom’s mouth fell open in shock.
“Not a mermaid?” She almost choked on her words. “Is this a joke?”
“No, not a joke.”
“Then…who, or ratherwhat, is she?”
“Or he,” Dad interjected with a faint smirk. My father and Krillian, my mother’s second mate, were quite open about their affection for one another.
“She’sa witch.”
Mother gasped while clutching her pearls. Literally. “Awitch?” The derisive way she spat the word witch told me exactlywhat she thought my choice. And it didn’t involve welcoming my mate with open arms.
“She’s also mated to four other males.”
“Any of them merpeople?” Dad probably hoped a second merman in the harem would soften the blow. Sadly, it was not to be.
“No. There’s a bear shifter, the incubus, a mage, and…” My mouth slammed shut. As much as it hurt to think such an awful thing, I didn’t trust my mother with the news that Rasmus had survived the bloodborne virus. “A troll.” I winced. Hulder would not be thrilled to learn I’d just thrown him under the bus. I silently prayed my mother would not want this news to escape our inner court. If the trolls heard the news, my lie would unravel.
“A bear shifter,” my mother spat in disgust. “And a mage!” Her lip curled. She hated mages and shifters equally, as more often than not they worked together against us. With a loud sniff, she skewered me with a venomous look. “I suppose a troll is not so bad. At least the trolls are our allies.”
Dad heaved a sigh of relief. He seemed to think the drama would blow over by this evening and Mother would move on. But I had my doubts. My mother’s capacity for sulking was legendary. She’d once refused to talk to Daresh for six months because he’d offended her by cracking an inappropriate joke during a stuffy banquet.
God knows what she’d think if she heard Rasmus had survived.
“I cannot accept the mate claim, Malakai.”
As I suspected. “Fine. I’ll leave.” Her rejection was disappointing, but I’d known she likely wouldn’t budge. My mother was forward-thinking in some ways and horribly regressive in others.
“No, I can’t let you leave.”
Dad’s eyes widened, but he didn’t stand up for me. He never had.
“You can’t keep me here, Mother.” She raised an eyebrow, not having expected me to go against her wishes.
“I can, and I will. You’re my son, Malakai. The crown prince. Our people expect you to make a politically advantageous marriage, and with that in mind, I have several females lined up as your brides. You can pick one of them and forget this silliness. Mermen mate mermaids. That’s how it’s always been.”
“And what about Queen Regina Lirrius back in 1854? She took a siren as her consort. I don’t recall that being a problem.”
“At least sirens are comfortable in the ocean! Witches?” Mother huffed crossly. “A witch can’t live in our kingdom. Nor can any of her other mates. The whole situation…is ridiculous!”
Anger welled up inside. I’d spent my whole damn life trying to make her happy.Make her proud. Not once had she said she was proud of me. Not even when I left for Starfall Academy when other mermen and mermaids had refused to go or quit after a week. I’d stuck it out, despite the bullying and racial slurs thrown at me daily.
“Are you suggesting fate made a mistake bonding me to a witch, Mother?” My father flinched at my words. He knew as well as I that fate could be a fickle bitch. If Mother wasn’t careful, fate might send a century’s worth of bad luck her way.
“Malakai, I’m not saying that,” she hedged. “I’m merely pointing out your chosen mate can’t survive in our world, so it would be better to break the bond and move on.”
“The bond can’t be broken without one of us dying, Mother. Or is that what you want?”
“No, of course not!” she cried, wringing her hands. She paced back and forth while my father grew more anxious by the minute.
Mother was headstrong and known for making decisions that benefited nobody but her. I knew my father loved me and didn’t want any harm to befall me, but Mother could be ruthless. If she thought my mate bond with Raven would harm her rule, she’d do whatever to ensure that never happened.
“You called, my love?” Krillian, my mother’s older mate, strode in, his long silver hair loosely fixed in a knot with gold-plated fish bones.
“Malakai has found his soul-bonded mate.” From my mother’s face, one would think she was about to announce a new tax levy on the kingdom, not my mate claim.
