“Fuck, little mate, are you alright?” Maverick dragged himself up while Zane lay groaning on the floor. Rasmus opened his eyes and made a pained sound too, but like Zane, he seemed unable to move.
I ignored all three of them and rushed over to where my poor merman lay slumped in the corner.
“Kai, please wake up!” I knew he wasn’t dead—the tether between us remained intact, no thanks to the now-dead sea witch—but that didn’t mean he would recover. Goddess, what would I do if my merman was in a coma?
Fat tears dripped down my cheeks as Kenji jumped from my arms.
“We need to go,” he said. “I’m hungry after expending so much power. If my blood sugar dips too low, I get cranky.”
“Time to go, princess,” Farris called from the doorway, phone in hand. He surveyed the smoky cave, took in the state of my four mates, and then focused on the pile of rags.
“Nice work, princess.”
I scrubbed my teary eyes with my sleeve and strode over to the smug fae.
“This is for being an asshole,” I snarled before punching him in the face.
“Hey!” He glared at me while I pretended I hadn’t just broken my hand. “That was uncalled for!”
“If you upset my mate,” Zane commented as he sat up with a wince, “you deserve it.”
“I suggest you be a little nicer to me given I’m your ticket out of this fucking place!” the fae snarled.
“My poor boy!” Daresh ran in and dropped to the floor. He lifted Kai’s head and choked on a sob. Kai needed me, but Maverick staggered over and pulled me into his arms.
“I’m so sorry, little mate. I didn’t help you.” Anguish and sour shame radiated across our bond. My bear thought he’d failed his mate, which was absurd.
“I didn’t need any help,” I lied, trying to extricate myself from his grip. “I had everything under control.” Kenji scoffed loudly before licking his butt.
“And that’s why I didn’t bother assisting,” Farris sneered, still annoyed because I’d punched him. Fucking asshole. Like he would have helped.
“Fuck off, Farris. Go swipe right on some poor unsuspecting female with low self-esteem.” I pitied the poor females who bought what he was selling. Thank the stars my bestie had more sense. She’d never fall for his crap.
She was a witch who knew her self-worth. Just like me.
“I need to go to Kai,” I told Maverick. He reluctantly let me go and moved to help Zane up. Smothering my surprise that one of my harem was willing to help another, I sank to my knees beside my merman.
“Will he be okay?” I asked Daresh. Surely he’d know what magic the sea witch had used on my mate.
“I don’t know,” he admitted, his eyes wet with tears. “The sea witch was vague about her methods, and besides, my queen knew I wasn’t happy about what she wanted to do, so she told me very little.”
“Why didn’t you stop her?” I still didn’t understand why he and his other mate let the queen hurt Kai. If I had a child—ahypotheticalchild because I was still in denial about my recent conception roulette incident—I would kill anyone who tried to hurt them.
“As would I,” Maverick growled, having read my thoughts. My other two mates both nodded in agreement.
“My beloved queen is very traditional in her outlook,” Daresh sniffed. “She wants the best for our son, which means a mermaid mate who can thrive in our kingdom and help him rule once the queen passes.”
“Uh oh, the queen’s on her way,”Kenji warned me exactly five seconds before Her Royal Highness, Queen Laryssa, the Esteemed and Most Beautiful Mer Queen, stormed into the cave, Krillian close behind her. From the state of the queen’s hair and her disheveled gown, she’d left the banquet mid-tryst.
Krillian’s eyebrows shot up to the ceiling while the queen’s eyes flared with rage as she gazed at what remained of the sea witch.
Kai coughed, and then his stormy gray eyes opened and met mine. My heart burst with love for my shy, sweet merman. I sobbed as fresh tears fell, soaking through my charred pants.
“You came for me,” Kai croaked. “My fierce mate.”
“Of course I came for you!” It was rather hurtful that he thought I’d abandon him, but having met his mother, I could see why he had mommy issues.
“My beloved son, I’m so sorry.” Daresh stroked his son’s gaunt cheek, his head low. The queen sneered in disgust, not at all happy the sea witch had failed to break our soul-bond with her evil magic.
