Page 40 of The Kraken's Queen

“Many years, you say?” I smile, leaning my head against his chest. His hand runs soothingly up and down my back.

“Many, many years,” he promises. “You’re in Mescos now. Humans live longer here.”

“I’m going to hold you to that.” I like the idea that I get more time with my kraken. My eyelids get heavy and start to droop. Feeling at complete peace makes me tired. Maybe because I don’t have to fear what will come for me in the dark. Not when the deadliest thing is Allarick, and I’m certain he would die first before hurting me.

In no time at all, I lose the battle to sleep, drifting away in Allarick’s embrace. The last thing I remember before sleep claiming me is Allarick’s lips on my forehead and his soft hums of a lullaby.

Chapter 23

Erin

Today I’m getting married to my kraken.

I never thought I would say those words. Most little girls dream of marrying their prince or princess. I doubt many girls dream of marrying a sea monster. To be fair, Allarick is the furthest thing away from a monster. He’s my gentle giant. My king.

And about to be my husband.

My lips still tingle from the earth-shattering kiss we shared last night. It was just a kiss—well, a lot of kisses—and yet I can’t stop thinking about it. The way he made me feel. Both safe and desired. How I wanted more but didn’t know how to ask.

We left early this morning for Tetria. I’m not sure how Allarick did it, but when we arrive back home, Iris and Delmare await us. We decided—after much back and forth—we want to marry immediately, which explains why the castle is already buzzing with activity; merpeople, krakens, and sirens all rushing around. Somehold decorations in their hands, and others bark orders. The one thing they have in common is they all stare at me, smiling widely like they have a secret I’m not privy to.

“We received your message, my king. The wedding preparations are going on full force,” Iris says. “We should be ready by this evening.”

“Good. See to it that Erin is comfortable,” Allarick says, and my stomach drops.

“You aren’t staying with me?” Of course, I should have known he wouldn’t be getting ready with me during our wedding day, but I had the childish hope he would. I kiss him once, and suddenly I’m attached.

Allarick’s features soften as he turns to me. He rests his hands on my hips and leans down to press a kiss to my lips. My cheeks burn bright red because both Iris and Delmare are there to witness this. Not that they haven’t done the same thing a million times, some in front of me, because they are married.

“Iris will help you get ready for the wedding, sweet girl. I have a few things I need to do to get ready as well. Make sure things are in order for the ceremony. Delmare will assure your safety while I’m away.”

“No harm will befall you, my queen,” Delmare vows. And I don’t doubt his ability to keep me safe. He’s just not Allarick, who brings me peace and helps to keep me calm.

I don’t want the nerves and the small voice that tells me I don’t deserve someone like Allarick to ruin our day. I smile and nod, not able to trust my voice right now.Allarick squeezes my hips before Iris takes my hand and leads me away. I swim besides Iris, allowing her to lead while Delmare follows from behind.

I expect Iris to take me up to my room, but we stay on the main floor, and she takes me into an interior room. “I can take it from here, my love. The queen will need to dress,” Iris says to her husband. Delmare nods in understanding.

“Let me secure the room first.” He swims inside, inspecting every inch of the room. When he’s sure there isn’t a killer shark in the corner or an angry siren fixed on ending me, he swims back out.

“Safe.” He stations himself right outside the room.

“Thank you.” Iris shuts the door behind him. There are no windows in this room, which I’m thankful for. I’m still not fully comfortable with undressing in front of Iris; the last thing I need is for the entire ocean to be able to see me. Even if Allarick stresses they can’t see in. I’m not willing to take that gamble.

The room is set up with three large mirrors adorned with colorful seaweed. A slightly raised dais stands in the middle. There’s a large walk-in closet and many trunks around the room. “This is our royal dressing room. It’s where I’ve been getting most of your clothes,” Iris explains, leading me to the dais. “Start stripping, my queen.”

Iris disappears into a closet. I hear her rummaging through trunks and grunting as she heaves something heavy. When she reappears, she’s winded. “Found it. Pesky thing was trying to hide from me.” She smiles asshe carries what appears to be a box. “We haven’t had a royal wedding in some time, and I’ve always wanted to see the dress in person.”

Iris undoes the locks on the box and lifts up the lid. She pulls out a shimmering opal bodice and inspects it before holding it up. The bodice is made up of hundreds of scales with small pearls sewed in throughout. It looks heavy and breakable. “That’s gorgeous, but are you sure I should be wearing that?”

Iris stares at me like I’ve sprouted a second head. “This dress is made for a queen. You will be queen. Therefore, this was made for you, dear.”

I finish taking off my clothes, balling them up and tossing them into an empty, open trunk as Iris wraps the bodice around me. She begins to tie it in the back, sucking me into the damn thing. Breathing and moving are clearly not needed today.

The panties she gives me to put on are hardly panties at all. More like three strips of…whatever fabric they’re made up of. Hides absolutely nothing. Still, I pull them up over my legs and shimmy into them. “And the skirts, my queen.”

In Iris’s hand is a full white skirt made up of organza material. The light hits it just right, making it sparkle like a million rainbows. It’s beautiful and the nicest thing I’ll ever wear on my body. I help Iris get the skirts on me. They dance in the ocean, fanning out around me. There’s no hiding in this outfit.

Next comes my hair, which Iris twists into several medium-sized braids before doing an elaborate pin-up. She uses pins with tiny seashells at the end to keep myhair in place. Makeup really isn’t a thing here—at least from my brief encounter with Tetria—so she rubs various oils on my body until I smell like a fresh bakery.

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