AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Madame remains frozen, unmoving, as her face pales…in fear?
I can’t quite discern the emotion there before Damian appears at her side, pure fury coating his usually empty features as he locks eyes with me. It isn’t hard to guess why.
He was so close to having me.So, so close.
My heartbeat thunders impossibly faster. I never thought I would be grateful to someone for engulfing me in my own personal horror story, but even the frigid water is nothing compared to what Damian could do.
I think that even if I had died here, I would have preferred that tohim.
He makes to jump after us, but Madame holds out a hand to stop him, her gaze never leaving Natia’s impassive face.
“Can you get us out of here?” Aika asks the Mayima quietly.
Natia visibly hesitates with a nervous glance around the water.
“I already helped more than I am supposed to…” Where she seemed wholly unfazed by our situation or the ship looming over us, something in these waters clearly worries her.
Or someone. Remy told us the other Mayima were the only real threat to her.
And dragons.
I cling harder to Natia’s arm in spite of myself.
“Natia, please.” My sister looks from me back to the siren’s wavering face, closer to begging than I’ve ever heard her. The words come out disjointed with the way her teeth are already rattling together—from fear or the cold, I’m not sure.
“I’m the princess now,” she says. “I can get you anything you need, anything you want when we return.”
The words pierce at my insides. She’s the queen now, actually. But she doesn’t know that yet.
Finally, and only after one last searching glance at Madame, Natia nods. Grabbing hold of the flotation device, she gently pulls us behind her as she swims away.
Madame doesn’t order her sailors to come after us. She doesn't threaten or call out. Instead, she watches silently as we fade from view, sailing back through the water in Natia’s capable arms.
She lets us go.
CHAPTERSIXTY-EIGHT
REMY
Idon’t bother to disguise myself this time since there would be no hiding the massive Jokithan next to me anyway. Everyone moves out of our way as soon as they recognize me, or as soon as they see the battle-axe-wielding king storming toward the harbor.
A stabbing in my gut reminds me I am now a king as well, but I shove that thought away. There is no room for it here, not yet.
So, we stride onto the docks, the two men who rule the entire continent, here because of the actions of one insane woman.
Human, creature, whatever the hell she is.Mayima?
I scan the water for Natia’s telltale hair the entire way to the harbormaster, hoping that the siren might be able to tell me if she’s seen them.
But there’s no sign of her as I make my way down the docks. Lawrence shakes his head from where he is securing our ship. He doesn’t see her, either.
“I need to know every ship which has left the harbor in the past half hour, complete with a name, description, and destination,” I order shortly to the harbormaster.
The man pales, and I might think it was my expression or Einar’s looming presence, if I didn’t know damned well who we were looking for.
Even if he’s working for her, I don’t have time to threaten him, and I don’t have Aika’s skillset withextractinginformation. So I do what I do best.
Lying and bribery.
