Page 136 of The Hunted

Arelle lifted one dainty, naked shoulder. She’d not even bothered with the sheer robe they’d demanded she wear—she was bare for them to see, anyway. What even was the point? If they wanted to watch her walk around naked like a show to scandalize their minds, well, she could absolutely play along with that.

The king reached forward to snag one of her red curls between his fingers, and out of instinct alone, Arelle moved away. He gave her a look. She merely stared right back.

“You will learn to behave,” he told her. “You do well, but you can do better.”

“He thought the same. Until he learned to love me.”

Eryx had never said it.

She didn’t need Eryx’s own words to know that was true.

Misael’s eyes darkened with merely a spark of rage. A bit of disbelief colored his expression, too. She welcomed his challenge because he likely thought she would be the same as every other mermaid here.

Afraid.

Compliant.

His.

She was none of those things.

Arelle turned back to the rest of the room but only because a man approached the king from his left, and that allowed her a reprieve from his attention … or punishment. She wasn’t sure which one it would be.

Here, one trusted nothing.

The second thing she learned.

“What?” Misael snapped at the man who stopped next to the king’s seat on the pillows.

“Word has come from the west, sire. Seems there’s been a fire … and then an attack.”

“Why on earth would that concern me?”

“The fire happened in the row of the west village, sire. The attack was on a whorehouse in that row. A slave was taken.”

That quieted the king.

But only for a moment.

“Which slave?” he asked carefully.

“The one who called herself Poe.” The man cleared his throat, his gaze darting to Arelle and then back to the king before he said quieter, “There’s more, sire. It seems there’s those who say they saw the man who started the fire and attack—they spotted the prince, my lord.”

Arelle felt the eyes turn on her, but she continued watching the room with a smile. In her heart, she could hear him again.

Eryx, that was.

I’m coming.

How, she didn’t know.

When, it didn’t matter.

He was coming for her.

THIRTY-TWO

Eryx