“Her Royal Highness, Queen Laryssa, the Esteemed and Most Beautiful Mer Queen is dealing with some family issues right now and isn’t taking meetings. But we anticipate the situation will be resolved in three to four days, so if you are willing to wait that long, I will schedule a meeting for Friday morning. Is that acceptable, Your Highness?”
There were several concerning things about what the merman just said. First, was Farris a fucking fae royal?! Dear goddess, I hoped not for the sake of the Fae Royal Family. That asshole lacked many things, not least diplomacy skills.
However, what really concerned me about the merman’s offer of a delayed meeting that none of us wanted was his mention of family problems. He had to mean Kai, right? So if this issue was expected to resolve in three to four days, we needed to get Kai the fuck out right now, because in three or four days, I might no longer have a merman mate.
And if what Glynda had told me was true, losing a soul-bonded mate would quite likely kill me.
If that happened, Her Royal Highness, Queen Laryssa, the Esteemed and Most Beautiful Mer Queen would regret the day she ever hurt my male because I’d haunt her ass from beyond the veil.
14
Raven
“Stop staring at the ceiling. There are no cracks.”
“But what happens if a crack appears?”
Kenji scoffed and turned his back on me. He’d shown no empathy whatsoever about my drowning phobia, but being stuck in this cave—sorry,guest suite—was doing bad things to my mental health.
Kai needed me.
Even though I could still feel him via the tether in my chest, the link remained weaker than my sense of self-control around my mates. And the merman’s vague declaration that the mer queen’s family issues would resolve in a few days was not at all comforting.
Farris stomped around the cavern, still pissed about Kenji peeing on his boots. I had no clue why. Thanks to cleaning magic, they no longer stank; therefore, he had nothing to complain about. Honestly, the fae was an asshole. I’d added him to my shit list, along with all wolf shifters, Demelza, and Alaric. Oh, and the fucking mer queen.
“I need to find Kai,” I repeated for the millionth time.
“We will as soon as we get permission to leave this cavern, little mate.” Maverick watched through slitted eyes as my vampire rubbed my back in response to my unhappiness.
I’d expected him to rush over and cuddle me, but he seemed tense. No doubt he was as worried as I was about being stuck here, at the mercy of a capricious and arrogant fae asshole.
But maybe he was just tired of dealing with my problems.
I sighed and pushed that thought from my head before any of my mates read my mind, as they were apt to do at the most inconvenient times.
The snooty merman who’d delivered Her Royal Highness, Queen Laryssa, the Esteemed and Most Beautiful Mer Queen’s insincere apology for beingunavailablehad said we could explore the city. But first, we needed a laminated pass. Or the mer people equivalent.
It was all bullshit.
Luckily, Farris already had high-level clearance, so he assured me it was a box-ticking exercise and not to worry. Except several hours had now passed, and we were still stuck in this cave.
Yes, it was pleasant enough, with a comfortable couch, plenty of refreshments, and several adjoining bedrooms and bathrooms, but I wasn’t in the mood to chill and eat my weight in snacks.
Unlike Kenji, who’d spent the last two hours working his way through all the non-fish food items.
“I’m bored,” Zane complained from the couch where he was juggling three small knives.
Maverick rolled his eyes. “You have the attention span of a fruit fly, so hardly a surprise.”
“Want to go for a nap, pet?” Zane’s smirk told me no sleep would be involved, but Farris’s presence was a major libido killer. That andthe fact I might drown imminently. Oh, and also that my merman was in grave danger.
I opened my mouth, but before I could reply, the outside door swung open and a tall merman wearing a shiny gold robe strode in. His long, braided gray hair shone with tiny jewels, and there were gold runes covering his exposed navy-blue skin. I guessed he was someone important, but not having researched the mer people in great detail, he could be the cave cleaner for all I knew.
Farris tensed while the rest of us gazed at the new arrival with a mix of concern and curiosity.
The male scrutinized each of us before he focused on me for a few seconds longer than was polite.
“My queen would be delighted to host you and your entourage at tonight’s banquet,” he said in an imperious voice.
