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“I won’t let you hurt Maeve,” Tor swam to my other shoulder as he spoke through gritted teeth. “You are wrong for this, brother. You cannot see that she should not be the subject of your anger.”
“She is a Cruinn!” Cormac lifted his voice, his face red with anger, his nostrils flared. He caught himself, straightening his back and brushing his hands down his chest as if wiping away his rage. “Maeve Cruinn killed my mother!” He shouted, rallying the soldiers behind him. “She is an enemy of the Mer!”
The soldiers began to jeer, brandishing their weapons above their heads. Cormac crossed his arms over his chest, smirking proudly.
“Don’t do this,” Rainn pleaded. “This war has gone on for long enough.”
“Both my father and my mother have fallen to the Undine,” Cormac bit back. “They have died because of Cruinn. The blood debt will be paid.”
Tor and Rainn moved forward, forming a shield in front of me, but I placed a hand on their shoulders to stop them.
Tor stared Cormac down, hatred in his eyes.
Rainn tilted his chin to the side, his gaze questioning.
“I want to talk to him,” I whispered.
A pained look twisted Rainn’s mouth. “I don’t think this is a good idea.”
“I still have to do it.” I jutted my chin, trying to portray bravery I didn’t feel.
After a moment, Rainn nodded and stepped aside.
Tor turned to me. His dark eyes were unfathomable. “You want me to stand aside?”
“I want totalkto him,” I repeated.
Tor grimaced but moved aside as well.
Cormac, having heard our conversation, waved away his guards. His burning green eyes showed his hatred, even if his face was twisted with pompous confidence.
My legs were weak as I forced myself to swim forward to meet him. I knew what he was seeing, my shaking hands and the tiny knife on my belt.
Something inside Cormac’s mind echoed against mine. I had been inside his dreams and pulled him free, I had seen his very core, and now, as I walked towards the Mer-king, all I felt was deep harrowing fear.
Had there ever been a moment when I wasn’t afraid of Cormac? When I hadn’t considered him an enemy?
I should have pulled the water through me and killed him—the same way I had turned his mother to foam.
More death. Blood. Foam.
When would it end?
Finally, I stopped ten feet from Cormac, surrounded by the Mer soldiers. The other side was an endless wall of darkness, with Tor and Rainn the only thing separating us from the abyss.
Cormac rolled his shoulders and reached for the holster on his back. He pulled the trident free with a swish. The sound rang out across the water, a chime of power. I wasn’t sure if it was a glamour—something the Mer specialized in—but the atmosphere changed around us. The water darkened as true night fell on the surface, stealing all light from the stars.
“You want to talk,” Cormac pointed his trident at me, the sharp blades glinting in front of my face. Though the weapon shortened the distance, there was still another six feet between my throat and the blades of the trident. Cormac closed the distance between us before I could blink. “So talk.”
“Your mother tried to kill me,” I told him. “She came into your chambers when I was asleep. I’m not a spy. I’m not with Cruinn or my uncle. I’m not your enemy.”
Cormac snorted a laugh, and his weapon didn’t waver. “You’re not, are you?”
“I saved your life,” I whispered.
Cormac’s smirk widened. “More fool you, Princess.”
The ground began to rumble; with a frown, I looked down at my feet and then back to Tor and Rainn. Confusion rippled through the waves of soldiers behind Cormac, erasing any mirth from his face.
