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He was right. Even though I’d never felt so drained in my life, the wooliness in my head and the throat ache were gone. Maybe there were hidden benefits to being a feeding source for an incubus. But my limbs were heavy as lead, and thinking took more effort than I could muster.
As Dyf’s steady heartbeat lulled me toward sleep, my thoughts wandered to the last moments of Than’s life. What had he felt when the dogs had torn him apart? Had he cursed me with his last breath? God, I missed him so much. Swallowing down tears, I pushed myself closer to Dyf.
“Stop torturing yourself,” Dyf whispered, sensing my turmoil. “You cannot change the past, and we did everything we could.”
“Can’t help it,” I muttered, my voice thick with exhaustion. “I just... I don’t want to lose anybody else.”
“Neither do I,” he admitted, a note of vulnerability in his voice.
Chapter twenty-six
DYFROEDD
Theexhaustedkingslayerwasout like a light, although her fever had broken. I lay awake, despite my fatigue after feeding the demon. The wilderness was no place to let your guard down. Any number of hungry creatures might take a bite out of us if we all slept.
So I stared at the canopy that shielded us from the sky and listened for anything approaching. Soon, my mind wandered to what had happened.
I could not believe how much pleasure I had taken from servicing the incubus, and having the girl again had been no hardship, either. I had not touched her that way since the blood vines. Then, I had wanted to save her so I could deliver her to her executioner.
Now, doubt wormed its way through my thoughts. I had met many cold-blooded killers in my life. None had shown the fortitude and compassion as this girl had last night.
I knew that mating bonds went one way with incubi. They tied the demons to their mates, but not the other way around. Especially if the mate was not fully Fae. So it could not have been the bond that made Beth care so much. It had been her.
This did not line up with the story I thought I knew about her—that she was a vicious killer, an ambitious human who might not even be the Lost Princess’s daughter. The woman I had gotten to know was brave in the face of danger. She did not care about fine garments or hardship. Instead, she was loyal to a fault.
She had suffered greatly in the ice dungeon, yet had given much of herself to the human, Than. He had died, and she still mourned him. Even though she had only known him for a short time.
Last night, she had risked her life to save the incubus. None of this made any sense.
But then I remembered what I had lost because of her. My tail would never again be part of me. The dead king’s geas had made sure of that. I could still hear his words echo in my memory.
“Swear on your lineage, Dyfroedd of the Seas. Swear that if my granddaughter, the future queen, comes to harm, you will forfeit your life.”
That was a standard oath, and I had been happy to take it. But then King Rhys had added, “And if she recognizes your true nature, you shall lose your tail for eternity, denying you access to your natural element.”
That had seemed extreme, and I had hesitated long enough for the king to raise his eyebrow. To this day, I did not know why I had agreed. What had been his reasoning for making me swear an oath that would cut me off from the ocean, from my kin, from my birthright as the future ruler of the Morwynion?
Bile rose in my throat, and I squeezed my eyes shut, holding back hot tears of rage and helplessness. Had the old man known I would fail? I was next in line to lead the merpeople, but that avenue was now closed off to me.
All because of that human chit, that imbecilic female who I had sworn to protect and yet was honor-bound to deliver to the new king.
What if she was innocent? I hated her for what she had done to me. It was still her fault I was no longer a merman, no longer Dyfroedd of the Sea. And yet, her courage and compassion drew me in. I sighed as the carousel in my mind span full-circle again.
But my first loyalty would always be with my people. The land-bound Fae and the humans would have to fight their quarrels without me. I would deliver Beth to the new king and demand that Prys break the oath as only he could before I handed her over. Then I would find a way to recover my tail.
And in the meantime, I would keep my distance from the female as much as I could.
***
BETH
When Dyf shook my shoulder, there was barely any daylight left.
“Wake up. We must hide before the shadow creatures begin their hunt.”
Daeary was already on his feet, but I felt so weak that Dyf scooped me up and carried me the few steps to the shelter he’d built for us. It was nothing more than tree branches leaning against a sturdy brush, but he’d spread moss to soften the ground.
“Here,” he murmured, laying me down. Daeary scooted in behind me, pulling me to his front. Feeling warm and safe, I fell asleep again.
