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One of the mersoldiers glared at me. “That wasn’t our order. We don’t take orders from you. The commander is our new king.”
Shock sucked the air from my lungs. King? Had he killed my father and family already? Invisible tridents pierced my stomach and twisted.
Two of the soldiers dragged Fin and dumped him beside Gill.
“Saygoodbyeto your friends,” one said, pulling out a dagger.
Fear jacked up my heart rate. Breathing was close to impossible. I was about to say goodbye to two of the mermen I’d come to deeply admire and love. Yes, loved. Their deaths were going to split what was left of my heart after Nemo’s likely death into two. I couldn’t bear the thought.
Something thumped in the distance, catching my attention. I could barely see a thing through the smoky haze surrounding us.
“What’s that?” I asked, trying to distract the mermen. “I think your master has returned.”
“Don’t try to delay the inevitable, Princess.” A sinister gleam captured the soldier’s eyes.
“Which one shall we kill first?” one of them asked.
He grabbed Fin, and I whimpered, moving forward, but another soldier jabbed my stomach.
“Stay back, bitch,” he warned me.
But I no longer cared about death. If I couldn’t have my mermen, then my life wasn’t worth living.
The approach of horses’ hooves grew louder. One horse, this time. A lone soldier, perhaps, come to collect the commander’s prize.
My stomach wrung tight.
Fin jerked as the soldiers nicked his face with the sharp edge of a trident.
“Get it over with,” he demanded, his breathing slow, his skin very pale.
“Oh, no,” replied the soldier. “We’re going to make this nice and slow.”
Sadistic bastard.I lunged at him, scratching his face, tearing at his flesh. He pushed me to the ground.
Gill grabbed one of the soldier’s legs and tripped him up.
A trident flew out of the dark, striking the last soldier in the chest.
The rider was upon us, bursting through the smoky haze, and my breath hitched upon recognizing him.
“Nemo,” I whispered.
My great, big, lug of a merman was alive, albeit covered in blood and sweat. He leaped off his horse, onto one of the soldiers, and they crashed to the ground. Nemo sank his teeth into the soldier’s neck and drew blood. Large fists pummeled the soldier with such ferocity, I had to look away.
Gill was atop another soldier, strangling him with his bare hands.
I hurried to the horse and collected Nemo’s pouch of water. Out of all my mermen, Fin was in the most desperate need. Back by his side, I lifted the pouch and poured the liquid into his waiting mouth.
“Save some for Gill and Nemes,” he said, pushing the rest away.
“No,” I said, forcing him to drink it. “We passed a stream about half a league before the collector’s trove. They can drink there.”
Fin refused. Stubborn merman. Always more concerned with the health and safety of his men than himself.
When I turned around, all the mersoldiers were dead.
“How? Where? What?” I couldn’t get a proper sentence out.
