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“I sentence you to die...”
My fingers felt numb from how tightly I held to the railing, watching from my place on the balcony high above the arena at the coral-made stage below. The crown that had been placed on my head by the queen an hour before this moment, though wiry and adorned with very few jewels, suddenly felt too heavy. Its weight threatened to drag me down into an abyss of despair as the sack was pulled from the criminal’s head to reveal the identity of the merman underneath.
Elias Blackfin.
The infamous Black Blade.
If they hadn’t said his name, I still would have recognized him, even from this height. Even with his dark skin mottled and swollen with bruises, even without the obsidian rings adorning his fingers, even as he now wore the gray rags of a criminal, his presence was dominating, commanding.
From across the space that separated us, Elias looked up, dark eyes finding my own amidst the crush of mer filling the stadium, and he smiled.
My next breath stuck to the back of my throat.
There was a reason he had looked up at me and no one else, a menacing danger in the curve of his too-sensual lips. A danger that I could read all too well.
You owe me, Princess.
A sudden cheer trembled the waters of the arena. I tore my gaze from his to look at the merpeople of the kingdom of Thalassar, jumping from their seats and cheering at the prospect of death. The words they shouted spun through the violent riptide of waves in my mind, threatening to overwhelm me.
“Finally!”
“Kill the Black Blade!”
“Off with his head!”
My gut clenched. Nausea roiled over me, and I tasted bile rising in the back of my throat. This scene was familiar to me. The victim, officials, their swinging ax. I’d witnessed it a thousand times before. But this... the cheering, the jeers, it was all new. Back home in Lagoona, deaths were mourned, fueling our hatred for the capital city, Eremaea, and the royals of Thalassar who resided here, where they relished in the death of a mer.
Because we meant nothing to them.
The weight of jewelry and silks adorning my body suddenly pressed too hotly, like the finery itself was speaking to me in vicious whispers, begging my frigid body to move. To do something. My fingers dug into the rail, and I felt my painted nails crack. I ignored the stinging pain. I doubled over, and the dainty little crown toppled and spun down to the waters below.
A gentle hand pressed against my lower back.
“Are you alright, Princess?”
I half turned to look at the merman who spoke. Brown eyes met my own, and I could see the severity in those depths. Prince Kai kept his hand placed lightly on my back, and I wished his warm touch could help anchor me. Instead, it just gave me a harrowing sense of dread.
“This is barbaric,” I ground out from between tightly clenched teeth. I wondered if Prince Kai thought these actions to be just as vicious as I did but shook the notion off. He was a royal himself. Surely this was not a new occurrence to him. Even the kingdom of Draconi held their own executions, and I knew they were more brutal than to just suffer at the swing of an ax. I’d heard in whisperings that criminals in Draconi suffered death by dragon.
I jerked away from him, pressing my body tighter against the rail, as far away from him as the confines of the balcony space would allow. He looked at me, a brief expression of hurt passing over his elegant features, before he set his gaze back to the scene below, expression hardening.
Behind him, Captain Saber was studying me with apprehensive, aquamarine eyes. Looking at him made me equally ill, so I turned back down in time to see the guard haul Elias forward violently and bend him over to expose the back of his neck. The cheers became a deafening roar now, vibrating the waters. The tendrils of Elias’ dark hair floated up, like tiny wisps of a shadowy curtain parting to reveal his face. Broken, bruised, his eyes still held mine from down there.
The executioner swung the ax in a few test tries that had me seeing blood. I was familiar with the swing of a merman who didn’t care who he killed. I’d seen that carelessness before. Like they did this for sport, or worse still, like they just wanted to get this nuisance over with before they could go back home to their lives, unencumbered by the scum of Thalassar.
He lifted the ax high over his head now, strong, muscular arms cording and bunching up with the strain.
And those dark eyes were still on me. They weren’t begging, pleading, but demanding. A sharp, dark reminder of what I owed him for all he had done for me since we’d met. He wanted to be saved, and only I had the power to save him.
That wasn’t technically true. Princess Odele Malabella Oriana of Thalassar, future ruling queen, could save him, and though I wasn’t her, nobody knew that except for a few seated near me. The queen, king, and Captain Saber. They knew I wore her mask, and that I was just a figure for the mer to look at. I held no real power. I was nothing. Nobody.
But the mer didn’t know that.
It was high time I tried to make a change.
Fingers shaking, I straightened to my full height and shouted over the roar of the crowds. “Stop!” My voice did not quiver. I was fueled with the implacable desire to protect. To stop this madness. I always used to sit back and watch the inevitable death of those around me. Not this time. This time I would try to do something about it.
The mer did not hear me. Those in my company did. “What are you doing?” the queen hissed from beside me. “Sit down, foolish child.” I did not spare her, decked out in jeweled finery, a glance.
“Princess...” Captain Saber’s voice was stern, a command that I chose to ignore.
Straightening my shoulders, I pushed myself off the balcony railing, feeling Prince Kai’s adept fingers tug lightly at my dress, trying to hold me back. I flicked my tail, ignoring the pain of my shredded fin on the left side of my body, and swam down from the royal enclosure.
As the mer saw me descend, they began to hush, sitting back in place, some bowing as I passed. I ignored them. Hateful creatures. All I was focused on was Elias, bent over, beaten and tied, ready to face a death he did not deserve.
I swam to the edge of the stage and stopped. I didn’t know what my facial expression looked like at that moment. All I knew was that the executioner took one frightened look at me and dropped the ax to bow low on the coral-made stage.
“This has to stop,” I whispered angrily, then turned to the crowd. They were all staring at me with confusion and irritation. I glared at every single one of them, and finally, up to the balcony where the queen and king sat. Prince Kai was floating where I’d been only moments before, his hands gripping tightly at the ledge. Captain Saber kicked off from the balcony and started towards me. “This must stop!” I called out to the audience. I had too much practice using that Eramaean accent; it rang out confidently, firmly. They shifted in their seats. “This merman does not deserve death. Stop the violence. No more!”
“Majesty.” The executioner spoke reluctantly like I was no more than a petulant child. Odele may have been one, but I was not. “This merman has committed many crimes against the kingdom. The law clearly states—”
“The law is wrong!” I interrupted. Shocked gasps rang out through the arena. I turned back to them, eyes beseeching them to listen. “The kingdom of Thalassar has been ruled too long by tyrant laws. Children, mothers, and fathers are sent out to fight in the war with Kappur. Those who fear the striking of blades, those who flee are punished with death. What message is this?” I turned, gesturing at Elias with a wave of my hand.
“Violence is all this kingdom is now. Violence and death. Surely there was a time when this kingdom shone with the same radiance as its castle, when praise was given to the queen and king. Now, the mer whisper of their hatred for the royals.” I banged my fist against my chest, and the aggressive sound reverberated along the rippling of water. “They hate us, and it is their very right. Because we steal them. We take them from their homes and we murder them without a second thought.”
Captain Saber was getting closer now, his face tight with disapproval. I turned and went over to Elias. The guard behind him froze with uncertainty, watching as I swept low and grabbed Elias by the elbow. Slowly, I helped him up so that his face and bruises were visible to all.
“No more!” I shouted. “The violence stops now. And it stops with me.”
“Princess, he is a dangerous criminal,” the guard stuttered.
I glared. “Unbind him!”
“Princess... the law...”
“I said unbind him.”
The guard started forward reluctantly. I didn’t miss the way he shot glances up the arena where the queen and king were seated, as if he were hoping her command could supersede my own. But in her rage, she kept silent. He’d be a fool to disobey the rulings of a princess. And I was his princess as far as he knew. He bent and took a knife from a holster at his side, and in a couple of sawing motions, Elias was free of his restraints.
I smiled just as Captain Saber reached the edge of the stage, a sword held tightly in his hand, as if it had been there all along. “Princess, get away from that sea scum, now.”
I glared at him, too. “No more violence, Captain.”
“He’s dangerous.”
“He is not!”
I felt Elias’s chest brush against my back and my body heated. I felt his hand snake up to rest on my shoulder, giving me a tiny squeeze of gratitude. I didn’t turn to look up at him, but I saw Captain Saber’s eyes narrow on the hand of the criminal behind me.
“Unhand the princess and face your sentence.”
I glowered. The captain was disregarding every word I had said publicly.
“Oh, little fish...” I felt Elias’s warm lips against the lobe of my ear and my face flushed. With just the proximity of his mouth, I felt my mind drift back to a few weeks ago. When those lips that whispered darkly in my ears now had pressed against my own. When his tongue had invaded my senses and made my fins curl. When, for the first time in my life, I felt desire. Involuntarily, my eyes went up to the balcony, where I saw Prince Kai’s murderous gaze even from here. Suddenly he was swimming towards me as well, with his Draconian guards and his advisors. “You should have listened to your captain...”
Before I could gift him with a questioning glance, I felt his forearm snake around my shoulders and go around my neck, pressing my body tighter against him. I startled and Elias squeezed, closing off my gills and water supply.
I choked, clawing at his hand. “Elias...” I gasped.
He held me tightly and backed away from the captain and the guards. “Come closer,” he threatened, loud enough for the entire arena to hear, “and I will kill the princess.”
What are you doing, Elias?
I wanted to scream the words, but they constricted in my throat. I couldn’t breathe in the water that my body so desperately craved. I didn’t want to believe that Elias would hurt me. How could I, after all we’d shared? A favor, a shoulder to cry on, an understanding... A kiss.
But I should have known. I should have known things would end this way. He was a criminal, after all, and he’d made that little fact known since the first moment I’d met him.
In this one swift action, of placing a forearm against my throat, everything I thought I’d grown to feel for him shattered, like the fragility of an old conch breaking under a rough touch. Hatred rose, surging through me like the hot current of a lava seam.
“Drop your weapon, Captain!” Elias commanded, his voice menacing, dangerous. For a moment, I was transported back into the mouth of that alleyway to the first moment I’d seen him. He’d transformed right before my eyes. Funny, how he could look helpless and weak one moment, and completely change into a deadly shadow. Into what he was truly meant to be.
The Black Blade.
Captain Saber pointed the tip of his sword in our direction. His stance was battle-ready. I hadn’t seen him in action, didn’t know the extent of his force, but the two of them facing one another? They’d be formidable.
“Let the princess go!” the captain commanded.
I raked my nails down Elias’ exposed skin. Water... I needed to breathe. He only jerked me tighter against the hard panes of his chest and pressed his cheek against my own. His skin was warm, but when I tried to jerk away, his grip on me tightened.
“Put down the sword first.” As he said the words, his arm slid around my waist to pull me closer, if that were even possible. He already felt close enough, and things were starting to blur around my vision. Darkness wasn’t too far behind.
The indecision on Captain Saber’s face was all but obvious. His eyes darted up to my own, then to Elias, assessing, and I wondered what he saw. With great reluctance, he finally dropped his sword to the stage where it fell with a clang.
And then I could finally breathe.
I sucked in water, gills and lungs burning with the action. I could feel the heavy imprint of his violence against my skin. Now, his arms were wrapped around my waist, keeping me as a shield between him and the wrath of both Captain Saber and Prince Kai, who swam up at the captain’s side.
I couldn’t keep the heat from rising up my neck and cheeks at the sight of Prince Kai. How was it that he could look both elegant and dangerous? The finery draped over his body only accentuated the murderous gleam in his eyes. It was a look I’d never seen before.
“Looks like the cavalry has arrived!” Elias laughed harshly in my ear, tugging me back. “What an honor it is to float in your presence, Prince Kai Li.” He mockingly bowed, chest pressing into my back, forcing me to mimic the gesture as well. My hair fell over my cheeks in thick tendrils, and when they parted, I glimpsed Kai’s expression.
It was nothing short of murderous.
“Release her,” Kai demanded. The cadence of his voice was different, almost guttural in a way that sent shivers down my back.
Elias edged us backwards again. What was he doing? Surely he must know that this couldn’t end well, that there was no way for him to escape? We were surrounded by guards and citizens. He couldn’t use me as a shield forever.
“Or what, Dragon Prince?” he mocked. “Will you spit ice? Will you eat me with sharpened teeth?” He chuckled with feigned amusement.
Kai’s hand twitched at his sides.
“Please feel free,” Elias continued. “But know this: if you do...” He bent us down then, and it was then that I realized what his intent was. He picked up the ax that had been meant to end his life. He held the heavy weapon in one arm, bringing it up to the base of my throat. “I will kill your precious princess.”
And before anyone could reply, Elias brought his arm back and then forward, releasing the ax in one violent, strong throw, aiming straight at Captain Saber and Prince Kai.
I screamed, but he didn’t let me see the aftermath of the blow. He whirled me around and hauled me away after creating the perfect distraction to escape.
Using me as bait.