Page 4 of Whispers Beneath the Deep
Cursing myself for wasting a moment to gawk at the abnormal prince, I bent down to scoop up my sword and darted after them as well. I should have never let her swim down from that balcony. I’d made a vow to protect Maisie like I’d failed to protect Princess Odele, and I couldn’t break my promise now.
I put in a burst of speed, coming up beside Prince Kai. He may have had a special set of skills that set him apart from other royals of his station, but I was made for this. Meant to protect and defend.
The amphitheater was shaped in a circle, with different levels for seating arrangements. I caught sight of a purple and black tail ahead, heading for one of the many exits around the stadium. If they made it out, it’d be harder to catch them. Harder, but not impossible.
And I meant to catch him, and send him straight to the gallows. Whether that fool of a mer, Maisie, wanted the Black Blade dead or not. I’d see to it myself. Because he’d threatened her life, and he’d taken her.
And now, the only thing between her and death was me.
Chapter Three
Kai
When I first arrived in the kingdom of Thalassar to formally announce my engagement to Princess Odele before the courts, I had vowed I would never show my true self to these mer. My reputation as the brutal Dragon Prince followed me all the way from Draconi. I heard them whisper about me and the lives I’d taken, about my other form, though they hadn’t seen it.
“They never will,” I’d said as I left the home I knew for these warmer waters, for these strange mer with their strange traditions.
Today, I had broken the leash I had on the dark violence inside of me.
And the Dragon Prince had been unleashed.
The sight of that criminal holding Odele to his chest, his filthy hands roaming all over her, sparked a rage in me that I hadn’t even known I could feel on her behalf. I’d already killed for her. I’d beaten servants and guards in interrogations in the days following her poisoning. But I’d never been unhinged.Unleashed.
I wanted to protect her, and I would drop my facade if it meant getting her back. No matter what my advisors said. No matter what they reported back to the emperor.
For Odele, I would face my father’s wrath tenfold.
For her, I would lose myself entirely to the savage part of me. If only it meant that I could hold her within the safety of my arms, and rip apart the criminal who dared touch what was mine.
Chapter Four
Maisie
We burst out of the arena and onto the Eramaean streets. I struggled the whole way, but Elias’ grip on my upper arm was strong enough to leave an imprint against my skin. He pulled me by his side forcefully and into the fray of bodies swimming through the streets.
I was hauled through traffic, passing by a speeding hippocampus pulling an ivory shell cart behind it. It nearly trampled us, rearing back at the last second, giving us just enough time to dodge it.
My heart was racing harder than it ever had before. I tried dragging my tail behind me, but my torn fin cramped unpleasantly, nearly crippling me into the silt. Elias, though, was having none of it, yanking me up whenever I fell down.
“Keep up!” he spat over his shoulder.
The anger in him was new. I hadn’t known the Black Blade long, but I didn’t associate what he was doing with who I thought he was. Maybe I was just a fool. Maybe I’d only seen what I’d wanted to see. Or maybe that had been his true self but when threatened, he would risk everything to get himself out of that situation.
Even me.
“Let me go!” I responded, clawing at his hand. I felt betrayed. Betrayed by the one mer in this whole city who I thought understood me more than anyone else. A sob threatened to rise in my chest, but I pushed it down. Tears would do no good now.
We swam hard, my chest heaving and every limb and muscle in my body aching. The pain in my fin was nearly unbearable. It throbbed incessantly, each pang a sharp warning that I should stop and rest.
We made it to the market. Like Lagoona, the stands and stalls were made up of all types of materials. From coral tables, kelp woven mantels, to two-legger objects like sheets of metal or rotting wood. Vendors hawked their wares to the mer passing by, offering everything from fresh eel meat, to an array of water fruits and greens.
I was pulled between the long aisle of stands, voices shouting all around me, blending together in one cacophony of confusion. But above the rising voices of the mer citizens there was one I recognized over all others.
“Halt!”
The voice was so commanding, that Elias obeyed, but not without pulling me to his chest as he whipped around to face him.
Prince Kai.
