Page 24

They looked like the modern versions I’d seen in books and movies—almost—but something about the shape of their mouths was off. Too wide. Like if they opened them fully, there’d be two rows of blade-sharp teeth waiting inside. The scent that rose from the water was a more potent version of the lake, salty and wet. Something about it was unwell, or maybe I was biased.

Still… they were beautiful above the surface.

Below the waterline, I recognized the tails from earlier—the steel-blue fin nearly vanished beneath the murky depths, only giving itself away when light caught the flecks of silver along her scales. The other moved closer, her shadowed fins flattening instinctively alongside her companion’s.

There were no shells. No modesty.

Every curve was bared to the world, skin dripping with dew, as though they didn’t care who witnessed them. Their bodies gleamed with moisture and youth. The one with the sharp blue tail had deep skin, full lips, and hazel eyes glowing beneath wet curls. The other was pale as frost, red hair slicked back from sharp green eyes.

The mahogany-skinned one swam up to the bank, her eyes raking over us. Her voice carried a jagged laugh, sharp, hollow. “You are seeking passage for two today?”

Valentina nodded, her gaze flicking between the mermaid and me. “Yes. Two.”

I didn’t trust it. The thing had nearly killed me, and now we were asking it for help. It felt like asking the Joker for directions. There was no version of this that ended well.

My eyes narrowed at the pair before cutting back to Valentina.

“Why should we?” the mermaid asked, curiosity curling through her tone. “I don’t even care for your kind. You only take and take.” Her lips twisted. “If it weren’t for our king, I’d let you drown.”

I bristled. If they had orders to serve, they should’ve done it quietly, and frankly, I’d had enough waterboarding for one day. I cleared my throat, threading quiet charm into my voice. “You’re goddesses in your own right,” I said smoothly. “Temptation made flesh. Please, guide us. Clearly your king believed you wise…and true.”

Flattery felt like survival.

I brushed my wet curls back, swallowing my pride as I offered a careful smile.

Amusement warped her expression, vain, pleased. She let the trident slip from her grip and hauled herself closer onto the bank.

“So you bear no hard feelings?” she murmured, pushing forward to scent the soles of my feet. “Now what exactly are you?” Her smile sharpened. “You don’t smell quite human.” She inhaled again, slow and indulgent. “But I do love it when someone begs.”

Her gaze lingered on me before drifting back to Valentina. She let the silence stretch, the cold seeping deeper into our bones.

Finally, she slipped back into the water. “I will grant it.”

“Thank you,” I said, exhaling.

Valentina slipped off the backpack she’d brought from my room and began undressing. “What the hell are you doing?” My voice cracked higher than I’d like.

I didn’t want her out here like that. Not like this. Though I’d be lying if I said her body wasn’t...tempting. My primal instincts kicked in—mouth dry, or maybe too wet, I couldn’t tell. I dragged my hand through my hair, glancing back at the mermaids. They weren’t helping either, just floating there in full-on naked serenity. I looked back at Val waiting for her answer.

“You don’t want to freeze,” she said, matter-of-factly. “The water’s our passage—and once we cross, it’s cold. The vampire realm doesn’t get sunlight anymore.” I didn’t quite understand, and she must’ve seen it in my eyes, because she kept going. “The dark clouds are what’s keeping us locked in the dark ages. All the realms, vampires, werewolves, sirens, and demons have been at war for centuries.”

When she mentioned war, something cold twisted in my stomach. But it also made me think, she said, I was supposed to bring peace. I was inheriting centuries of pain. “Go on,” I said, quieter than before.

“Nature isn’t pleased. Sunlight barely breaks the clouds anymore. The realm has been colder ever since the night my father took you.”

I know she had mentioned before that it was her father who had saved me. I didn’t know how I felt about it. It was framed as mercy — but whose mercy was it? If the land physically changed from my absence, didn’t that make it a trauma?

My fingers clenched into a fist as I whispered, “Colder how?” As the question slipped from my mouth, the cavern around us seemed to drop in temperature, chilling me.

“Frozen over, it’s more of an Iceland than the spring my father once whispered about.” Val’s eyes darkened with a hint of sadness as she spoke, but she continued her story. “Your uncle—the King—blamed your mother. Said you’d been kidnapped by one of the other kingdoms. He never let go of the night she lay with his brother.” Her voice softened. “Your mother’s been filled with rage ever since.”

“What a horrible lie to tell someone,” I muttered, taking it all in. My mother lost her first child, and she told me that it was one of her greatest pains. She didn’t like to bring him up, so to know someone willingly inflicted that on her was so wrong.

“She searched for you, killed for you. And when she came up empty, she blamed the Royals of Elashia. Invited to talk peace, she slaughtered them instead.” She placed her hand over mine as she gave me every grueling detail. I knew my expressions weren’t hiding the horror I felt.

“What do you mean she killed them? They didn’t try to find me first?” I asked, horrified. This world I was stepping into felt far more violent than the one that I had grown to know. That’s why this girl seemed to have more fire in her than the usual woman I’ve come across. If she had to grow up in a world built on brutality, how could I judge righteously?

“They tried to make a treaty. Clearly, that failed. With their deaths—and your kidnapping—the fog over the sky became something else entirely.”