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The little gasping noise of surprise she made against my mouth only spurred me on. What I’d intended to be just a press of lips against lips suddenly became something more as the blade of my making fell from her hand and fell to the ground below. My tongue speared past her lips and into her mouth and that action alone had her melting into my embrace.
The skin beneath my fingertips was soft, and I trailed them over her cheek, down to her throat, her collarbone, tracing a pathway of caresses that made her shiver. Finger stopping against her collarbone, I began trailing circles around her flesh.
And then she bit me.
I jerked away from her, pressing a hand to my lips in surprise. She was breathing heavily; the fast rise and fall of her chest was all I noticed at first. Then I looked into her eyes. Eyes that were as black as my blades.
“D-don’t do that again...” she stuttered, hand coming up to wipe at her mouth, as if she meant to get rid of the taste of me from her tongue.
Good luck, I wanted to tell her.
One kiss was all it took for her taste to be imprinted into my soul forever.
I smiled. “That your first kiss, little fish?” She was nowhere near being a little fish. This mer was on the taller side, with a strong purple tail and muscular arms and back. I noticed how she inclined slightly to the right, as if she favored that side more.
A single glance and I saw every detail about her.
Her hair was purple, like her tail. Her eyelashes had been a dead giveaway. Her fingertips looked calloused, though the skin on her face had been soft. She was young, I’d guess nineteen, only three years younger than myself. And there was something absolutely fierce about her.
“You tadpole! You never said that was the type of kiss you wanted!” She bent down to grab her blade and hold it up, pointing it at my chest. Her gaze stopped there, and I wondered if she could see the pounding of my heart or if she was picturing how she would skewer it with the very blade I fabricated.
I could have laughed in her face.
She didn’t know who she was dealing with.
Or maybe she did and just didn’t care. She did know my alias, after all. It seemed my reputation preceded me. I looked at the blade that was a smaller, twin version of my own. I recalled the day I’d made them, weeks after I’d escaped Selection. Mine had been the first, studded at the base with black gems I’d stolen. I remembered looking at it and feeling a sudden crippling sensation of loneliness. So I’d made its twin. Its pair. Its mate.
One that was studded at the base with sapphires, a glimpse of color against the darkness. It should have made me happy, but I’d sold it soon after.
And now here it was again, being wielded by an angry, impulsive, beautiful mer.
If that wasn’t a sign from the tides that she was meant to be mine, I didn’t know what was.
“Put that down before you hurt yourself.” I smirked because I already knew the action irritated her. “And tell me, what is your name?” She didn’t put it down and she didn’t offer me her name, either. Stubborn little fish. “Since I saved your life, I’d think you’d have the decency to at least give me some answers.”
She growled low. “I was trying to save your life, you guppy!” I liked her already. Anyone who was brave enough to scream at me, knowing who I was, deserved my respect. “And if you could beat them all easily, why did you let yourself get pushed around like that in the first place?”
“All part of the game, little fish.” I held my hands out at my sides in mockery. It was amusing, to watch her reactions. I wanted to know how deep I could sink my hooks into her skin. How far she would let me go.
“You’re supposed to be the Black Blade?” She finally sheathed her weapon, probably deeming me not to be a threat anymore, and crossed her arms against her chest. My eyes followed her every movement with burning curiosity. “You’re the one who freed mer from the Selection. The very first escapee in Thalassarin history?”
Ah, a title to be proud of. An outlaw to the crown. A criminal who sold blades like rare candy and who kept secrets more valuable than money. I was proud of who I was, and if I was not mistaken, there was a hint of awe hidden beneath the blatant disgust.
“The one and only.”
Her dark eyes shone beneath the bioluminescent lighting of the alleyway. Yes, that was praise there. She just didn’t want to admit it.
“I expected more.”
I chuckled but didn’t take offense. “Did you expect a phantom? Sorry to shatter your illusion, but even us legends are mere mermen.”
“So, Black Blade, do you have a real name?” She leaned her back against the wall casually.
“Do you?” I countered.
“Maisie,” she replied slowly, if a little cautiously. Good. What a foolish thing, to throw your name to strangers.
But for her, I would be honest. “Elias Blackfin, at your service.” If I had a hat, I would have taken it off to bow. Though the gesture itself would come off mocking.
“Elias...” she repeated quietly. I liked the way my name sounded coming from her lips. I liked it a lot. “Well....” She straightened, adjusting the strap of the bag over her shoulder. “Thank you for your assistance. I really do appreciate it.” She gave a little wave and started to swim away.
That wouldn’t do at all.
I blocked her exit, placing my body too close in front of hers. She startled back, shooting me a glare. “You can’t leave. Not when you still owe me.”
If she could have killed me with her eyes, she would have. “You took your payment.”
I liked the way her voice quivered at those words. It almost made me want to take her mouth again, but I vowed that the next time we kissed—and I’d make sure there was a next time—she’d tremble and beg me for it. And not wipe her mouth in disgust.
“You think that’s enough to satisfy the Black Blade?”
She scoffed. “First, don’t refer to yourself in third mer. It’s weird. And second, as I told you before, I have coin.” Flipping the flap to her messenger bag, she opened it to reveal the contents inside. I caught sight of a flash of gold and rubies, but what held my attention was the disk.
Without asking for permission, I reached inside and pulled it out despite her cry of protest. When she made a lunge for it, I held it out of her reach.
“Give it back!”
She obviously cared for this thing a great deal. It was more valuable to her than any gold pieces she had in that bag. I looked it over. It was one of those old conch projectors. Why would this be more valuable than anything else?
“Are you done gawking?” she snapped.
I smirked, holding the disk tightly in my fingers. “Where could you possibly be going with this?”
“I’m going to have it fixed, if you must know.” She huffed angrily as she lunged, snatching the disk from my fingers and shoving it back into her bag.
“I’ll fix it for you,” I offered with a mischievous smile.
She snorted. “No, thank you.”
My smile only widened. This little fish obviously didn’t know that I never backed down from a challenge. She was no exception. “Do you even know where to go to get it fixed?” I inquired. “Or were you planning on swimming around the streets of Eramaea without a clue?” Her face flushed and I knew I’d been right.
“I’m sure I’ll manage well enough alone.” She tried to swim past me but found herself blocked again.
“You’ll be fresh bait for thieves and criminals out there, little fish.”
She looked down at her outfit, then back up to me. “I blend in.”
I snorted. “You think they won’t notice that the thread on those clothes is made from expensive sea silk, or that your purse clatters when you swim? You think they won’t notice the color of your lashes and your tail?” My irritation rose higher the quicker my words were spoken. I reached forward and yanked the hat from her head, watching her purple hair slowly float down past her shoulders. “Did you really think I wouldn’t know who you were, Princess?”
I noticed everything. I’d known from the moment she’d appeared in that alleyway, the moment I’d set eyes on her.
She appeared too startled to move or even speak. Her eyes were widened with shock that she didn’t bother to try and hide behind glares or sharp words. I’d expected more than her silence...
Then, “You really are as incredible as the stories say.”
I hadn’t expected that. I smiled and tossed the hat back to her. She caught it in her fingers. “I’ll take it to get fixed for you,” I offered again. “I know a mer. He owes me a favor.”
The look of awe vanished immediately and was replaced with the narrowing of eyes and distrust. “Why would you help me?” she demanded.
I shrugged. “Who wouldn’t want to have the Princess of Thalassar in their debt?”
She scoffed. “Despicable tadpole.”
“Lesson one, nothing in this world is free.” I held out my hand, smiling and expectant. “So?”
She thought for a long moment, so long and with an unreadable expression that I thought there was a possibility she would be stubborn and turn me away. But what had happened moments ago in this alleyway had been proof enough that she was not ready for the streets of Eramaea. Her royal sensibilities and upbringing would be a dead giveaway.
Strange, how she didn’t act like any royal I’d ever met. And I’d met my fair share of royalty, after all. I was the Black Blade. Escapee. Seller and vendor of secrets. Leader of the uprising. Hero to Thalassar. King of the slums of Eramaea.
Finally, she dug through her bag and pulled the disk out. I took it from her and tucked it under my arm. “Fine. But I’ll need it back as soon as possible.”
“As soon as possible, little fish. Though I have to wonder, you have servants at your beck and call. Why not get one of your palace maids to do it?” Her stiffening was answer enough. She was so easily readable, the little thing. I waved her off with my fingers. “Scurry away back to where you came from,” I said. “The hour grows late, and you’ll soon be missed.”
Her black eyes narrowed, and she pointed an accusing finger at me. “You promise you’ll get it back to me as soon as possible?”
“Oh, little fish...” I took a stroke closer, but she didn’t scuttle back. She straightened, looking up into my eyes. I bent down, feeling the challenge pulse and hum through my every nerve. Our lips were but a kiss length apart. I whispered near the edge of her mouth, “I always keep my promises.”