could demand to know what was wrong, she spoke up. “Is this Miles’s
sister?”
Miles. My heart clenched when I thought of the kid killed at the Bloody
Carnival. I’d never met him personally, but I knew his death haunted Z. He
was the one she couldn’t save, the innocent soul cast to damnation because of
the wickedness of our world.
“Mary-Lynette,” Axel introduced, smiling broadly. “I brought her here
safe and sound, just like I promised. Did you know she’s named after another
Mary I know? Okay, not technically, but I’d like to think she is.” He sighed
dreamily, bringing a finger to his shoulder and brushing it down the blade of
the machete resting there.
“Mary-Lynette,” Z murmured, seemingly in a daze. She stared intently at
the little girl, and Mary-Lynette stared back with the same intensity.
“Did you know my brother?” The girl’s voice was soft but held an
undercurrent of ferocity that I saw in Z every day. It made a tiny smile pull at
my lips, even as my stomach muscles tightened in sadness for her loss.
“I did.” Z nodded once, her expression grave. “He was a good kid.”
“A good brother,” Mary-Lynette agreed. For a moment, the two girls
stared at each other, an entire conversation exchanged without a single word
being spoken. It only lasted for a few seconds before Mary-Lynette turned to
face Axel.
“She’s a good kid, Z.” For the first time since I’d met him, Axel’s voice
was serious. Grim, even. “But there’s something we need to discuss about
her.” His eyes flickered to me and the other princes, distrust written across
his features, before he clenched his jaw and added, “Later.”
Z’s brows furrowed, but she nodded. “Later,” she agreed. “Now, how did
you find me?”
The seriousness drained from Axel’s face, replaced by amusement as his
grin widened. He glanced towards the van sitting in front of Paco’s shed.
“You should really check your vehicle for trackers, little sister.” He gave
her a sheepish, what can you do about it smile, and her lips hardened into a
straight line.
“So you stalked me. And brought me an…army.” Her voice was devoid
of any inflection.
“They’re your followers,” Axel responded without any shame
whatsoever. “I just picked them up along the way. Word of your sexual
prowess has spread throughout the kingdoms.”
“Do not say sexual prowess,” Killian hissed, causing Axel’s eyes to shoot
to his face in surprise. His eyebrows raised.
“Damn, son. When did you turn so possessive?”
Killian’s cheeks turned bright red, and he immediately released Z’s arm. I
hadn’t even realized he’d gripped it in his haste to assert his ownership.
“Oh…um…I…” he stuttered, taking another step away, and Z threw him
an amused, slightly curious smile. Apparently, his display of possessiveness
didn’t bother her as much as she usually let on.
“And you brought them here because?” Z pressed, getting our
conversation back on track. The same distrust Axel had directed at my
brothers and me was emanating from Z’s eyes now. I knew she didn’t trust
him any more than she trusted the kings. Axel had spent too long being their
yes-man that it was surreal to think he’d ever turn against them.
Instead of answering, Axel simply winked. “I can’t give all of my secrets
away, now can I? I have to maintain some air of mystery.”
Z released a heavy breath, running her fingers through her tangled blonde
hair.
“I honestly don’t know what to say to all of this.” She stared pointedly
out at the crowd of people who were eerily silent, staring at her as if the
world ended and began in her name. I could understand that expression only
too well—it was the same one my brothers and I wore daily when we were
with her.
But why the fuck were these random strangers staring at her with hearts
in their eyes, as if they were seconds away from falling to their knees and
worshipping her?
Before I could voice my discomfort to Ryland, a twinge of discomfort
had me shuffling from foot to foot. It was a familiar sensation, and I mentally
Mermaids came from Envy, and as such, we were forced to spend twelve
hours a day on land and twelve in water, never truly a part of any world and
always wishing for what we couldn’t possess. I couldn’t remember the last
time I’d been in water, which meant it’d been too fucking long and my body
was failing me.
I cursed again as pain rippled down my spine, the touch colder than ice,
and turned helplessly in Bash’s direction. Instead of meeting his eyes,
though, I found myself face-to-face with Z.
Her face was creased with concern as she stared into my pained eyes
before understanding dawned.
“You need water,” she stated, and I watched as guilt splayed itself across
her face. Instantly, I moved to take her hands in mine, ignoring the whispers
that began in the crowd at my initiation of contact. I didn’t give a fuck what
they thought about our relationship. She was our mate, and I would never
hide it, regardless of my status as the prince.
“It’s not your fault, sweetheart. You didn’t know.”
“I should’ve paid attention—” I cut her off with a kiss to her mouth. It
was the briefest graze of lips, but it had heat entering her cheeks immediately.
“It’s not your fault,” I repeatedly sternly, and though she didn’t protest,
guilt still swam in her expressive eyes. After a moment, she took my hand in
hers and began dragging me towards the pathway.
“Come on. I found water with Jax a little bit earlier.”
I hesitated, digging my feet into the dirt. As much as I wanted to be alone
with her…
“Shouldn’t you remain with them?” I whispered, jerking my chin in her
followers’ direction. They continued to stare after her with wide, awestruck
eyes, and her lips twisted with disdain.
“No. Right now, I need to be with my mate. Axel can handle all of…
that.” She waved her hand in their direction with a disgruntled growl, and I
smirked.
“Not a fan of being a general of an army?” I teased.
She pursed her lips. “That’s the thing, Dair. They’re not looking at me
like I’m their general…they’re looking at me like I’m their queen.”
WE FOUND THE RIVER EASILY ENOUGH AND CONTINUED WALKING UNTIL THE
stream transformed into a brilliant lake. The waning sunlight glistened on the
top of the water, casting streaks of orange, red, and gold across the dark blue
surface. It wouldn’t be long until the sun fell completely and darkness took
over.
As I swam in my mermaid form, Z settled on the edge of the bank, her
knees pulled up to her chest and her arms wrapped around them. Her gaze
was distant, staring at something I couldn’t see on the horizon.
I swam towards her, treading water and staring at her beautiful, angelic
face in the rapidly dimming sunlight. Sometimes, I found myself struck
stupid by her bea
uty and perfection. Take now, for example. There were a
thousand things I should’ve said to her, but instead of doing any of that, I
simply stared like an imbecile.
Her dark lashes fluttered against her cheekbones, and she heaved out a
breath, stirring a few strands of hair that had gotten caught on her lips.
“I don’t know what to do, Dair,” she whispered, resting her cheek on her
arms and meeting my bright blue gaze. “About the kings and those humans
and…everything.” The despondent note in her voice had my heart clenching
with the need to go to her, pull her in my arms, and promise her everything
would be okay.
But that was a lie, and we both knew it.
We were pawns on a game board with no rulebook. Our movements were
dictated by fate itself, and no amount of running away would allow us to
escape it. Z was trapped by the spell the kings had placed on her, and we
were trapped by our love for her.
“Don’t think about that,” I told her, diving beneath the surface and
swimming even closer to her. I paused when I was level to where she was
sitting and rested my arms on the rocky dirt, my tail swishing in the water
behind me. “Tell me something about yourself.”
She blinked in shock, obviously not expecting that change of subject from
me.
“What?”
I offered her a dimpled smile, one I knew short-circuited her brain waves,
if that dazed look in her eyes was anything to go by. “You’re my mate, Z. I
want to know everything there is to know about you.”
“Oh…um…” She released another breath, though this time, it took the
tension out of her shoulders. “What do you want to know?”
“Tell me about your parents,” I suggested. When her expression fell, I bit
down on my lip hard enough to taste blood and mentally chastised myself.
“You don’t have to—”
“Mom used to sing when she cooked.” She picked at a thread on her
sleeve, not meeting my gaze. My heart juddered wildly in my chest as she
opened up to me. For so long, she’d kept impenetrable barriers around
herself, refusing to allow any of us entry. Only now, they were beginning to
crumble into dust. “I don’t remember the song, but I would dance with my
dad in the living room while she laughed and clapped.” A tiny smile graced
her perfect features.
I didn’t dare breathe, as if that one sound would have her retreating into
herself yet again.
“My favorite dish was…” Her nose scrunched up as she struggled to
remember. “Lasagna!” she declared after a moment. “My mom made the best
fucking lasagna. Dad used to joke that it was what made him fall in love with
her.”
“They sound wonderful,” I said sincerely, and sadness flitted across her
face once more.
“They were,” she agreed softly, her attention still on that damn thread.
She tugged sharply, almost as if she wanted to rip it from her shirt, before
sighing and dropping her arms to her sides. “Sometimes I wonder why I’m
still alive and they’re not. I wonder why I was spared when they weren’t.
And then I wonder what I could’ve possibly done in this life to deserve you
guys.” Her legs dropped next, and she shifted until they were underneath her.
She nervously licked her upper lip while I waited for her to gather her
emotions. “I just don’t understand.”
“Fate is a mystery to us all,” I responded simply. “We never know what
the universe is going to throw at us next. Sometimes, the greatest joy can
only be achieved by experiencing unspeakable pain. We were meant for you,
Z, just like you were meant for us.” I swam closer and placed a hand on her
knee, rubbing my thumb back and forth gently. “We each offer you
something different, something that makes you feel whole. Killian’s your
innocence. He reminds you every day what you’re fighting for— who you’re
fighting for. You also know you can fall with him. He might not catch you,
but he sure as hell would throw himself over the edge to be with you.
“Devlin’s your best friend, your confidant. He takes the lead when you
feel too weak to do it yourself. He’s a reminder that you’re not alone, that
you’ll never be alone again. Lupe is your protector. If you have to charge into
battle, you can bet your perfect ass that he’ll be right by your side. He might
prefer to fight with words rather than fists, but he’ll do anything for you. We
all would.
“Jax brings out a softness in you that I don’t see with anyone else. Every
day that you’re with him, you’re reminded it’s okay to feel. It’s okay to lose
yourself to your emotions.
“Ryland is your wit and your rock simultaneously. He was the first one to
recognize what you were to all of us, and he constantly pushed you towards
that conclusion yourself. He’s the person you can rely on when it feels as if
the world is falling down around you. He’ll fight with you, yes, but he’ll also
sit in absolute silence for days if that’s what you want.
“Bash is your anger, but he’s also your motivator. He pushes you to be a
better person. You may not realize he’s doing it, but that anger you
experience fuels you. It changed you into the woman sitting before me
today.”
A single tear slipped down her cheek. I imagined before she would be too
terrified to show such an emotion in front of me. Now, it came unbidden, and
she didn’t lift a hand to brush it away.
“And you?” she whispered, her voice a low murmur.
“Hopefully, I’m the person you can lean on. A reminder that you’ll
always have someone in your corner. I don’t know what will happen next, but
I’ll be with you every damn step of the way. We’ll be with you. I don’t care
what the consequences are.”
More and more tears cascaded down her cheeks, but when she didn’t say
anything about it, I didn’t bring it up either. Instead, I moved my hand from
her knee to clasp hers, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
I didn’t know how long we stayed like that, my hand intertwined in hers
while we remained in two separate worlds, one of land and one of water, but
by the time we finally pulled away, night had fallen.
And the monsters always came out to play in the dark.
FIFTEEN
Z
I left Dair a few hours later, when the sun had finally disappeared
completely and a silvery streak of moonlight bathed the forest in white.
I kept one hand on my dagger as I ventured down the familiar
pathway, back towards Paco’s shed-cottage-deathtrap.
What the fuck was even happening with my life? These people had
come…for me? Why? Was it because of what I did at the Bloody Carnival?
What would the kings think of this?
Those thoughts plagued me as I picked up my pace, suddenly desperate to
find my men and lose myself in their embraces. The memory of my coupling
with Jax had heat rising to my cheeks, though I bit down on my lip to stop the
girly smile that wanted to emerge. That urge to smile faded when I thought
about what was waiting for me.
What did we d
o about these humans? Would Paco allow them to remain
on his land? Would he tell the kings? Bash seemed adamant that he didn’t
give a shit enough about the world to do anything, but I wasn’t so certain.
That mage… He’d once held absolute power. It ran through his veins and
permeated his very soul. He couldn’t just switch it off, despite his
eccentricity. Still, we needed him, needed his power and potions, and until
we received what we wanted, we had to remain on his good side.
I was so lost in my thoughts that my brain almost failed to register the
pounding of footsteps breaking branches. I ducked behind a tree, my dagger
extended, and waited until the figure passed my hiding space, heading in the
direction I knew Dair still to be.
Before the stranger could take another step, I leapt forward and placed the
blade against his neck.
“Who the fuck are you?” I demanded.
“Let go of me,” a decidedly feminine voice squealed, struggling in my
arms. I stared at the back of her thrashing head before releasing her. She
stumbled, curses spilling from her lips, before spinning around to face me.
One glance in her young, elfin face confirmed she was human, though I’d
already suspected as much. Unlike the nightmares, she didn’t emit any
power.
Rocking back on the balls of my heels, I nonchalantly dropped the blade
back into the waistband of my pants. Despite lowering my weapon, I wasn’t
relaxed.
Not at all.
But I didn’t need a dagger to kill her if the need arose. My hands were
plenty capable.
With her face shrouded in darkness, it took me a few tries to make out her
features. The moonlight illuminated a pasty, freckled face surrounded by
stringy red hair. She was probably a few years older than myself, though her
face had a sickly tint to it that made her appear younger. Her bones stood out
prominently beneath her translucent skin, almost as if she hadn’t eaten a full
meal in days.
A pang took up residence in my chest, and I instinctively brought my fist
to my heart and began to rub at it. I remembered far too well how it felt to go
hungry. To be weak. To feel nearly out of your mind with hunger pangs.
“Liberator, I need your help.” Her voice shook, and she began to fidget