Chapter 31

My skin heated, not from the suffocating sun but from the anger coursing through me.

"You traitorous eel," I shrieked and bounded toward the railing, intending to leap over the side of the ship and claw Orm's eyes out.

Kai's thickly muscled arm banded around my waist, wrenching me backward until my back collided with his ridged chest. I thrashed in his arms, trying to reach my target.

"Rhea." Kai's voice held a subtle warning. It was warm and deep, pulling a hazy veil over my anger. "Who is this?"

I blinked a few times to clear the rage from my eyes. "Orm, my betrothed."

Kai's muscles tensed, and I couldn't withhold the smile that brushed across my lips as he tightened his hold on me in a possessive manner. He had nothing to worry about. There was no love between Orm and me, and after Morgana had just announced that he was her minion, I certainly had no intention of marrying the betrayer of my kingdom.

"That's right." Morgana moved in front of me, feigned shock on her face. "He was your fiancé… Too bad he is mine now. A deal's a deal."

My eyes flicked to hers. "What deal?"

Morgana's smile widened. "He offered himself to me in exchange for keeping him safe from Dark Water."

I shook my head in disbelief. Orm's betrayal did not surprise me. The bad thing was that there was no longer any Dark Water to protect him from, but he was still bound to their deal. He's getting exactly what he deserved.

Orm's glare bored holes into my skin when I glanced in his direction. His eyes ignited in anger, turning a darker shade when he saw the way Kai was holding me. Good. I wanted him to squirm like the sea leech he was.

"You're not going anywhere with him," Kai growled in my ear.

I turned in his arms, running my hands up his black-veined chest. "We don't have much of a choice."

Kai's fingers brushed against my hips as he pulled me closer. "This whole idea is foolish." He glanced around, lowering his voice. "I have no idea the amount of power in your father's trident, but judging by the lust in the sea witch's eyes, it's dangerous."

My breath caught in my throat as I stared into Kai's dull blue eyes. "I will not stand by and watch you die. This is the only thing I can think of to save you."

Kai sneered. "I'm not going to allow you to put yourself and the entire ocean at risk to save someone as worthless as me."

His declaration brought a smile to my face and warmed my heart. "I believe that black heart of yours is starting to beat red. The man I met on the beach months ago wouldn't have cared about me, or anyone else, for that matter."

A placid look overtook his features, and he stood up taller. "No words in the world could encompass all the reasons I am wrong for you." The blood in my veins pumped louder as his grip on my waist intensified. "I am a terrible person and have made all the wrong choices, but being with you, knowing you, has made me want to be a better person."

Tears etched a path down my cheeks, and Kai reached up to wipe them away. "I'm not sorry that I've fallen in love with you, and all I ask is that you trust me. Let me go with Orm and get the trident."

"I'll grant your request, but I won't be happy about it," Kai said, motioning one of his men forward.

Kai gestured to the dagger and sheath tied to the man's middle, and he quickly took it off and handed it to his captain. Kai lifted my shirt, his fingertips brushing across my skin. Warmth blossomed in my chest, and my skin broke out in goosebumps as Kai strapped the dagger to my waist.

"If he even looks at you wrong, I want you to carve out his heart," Kai asserted loud enough for Orm to hear, which, judging by his face, was the intended effect.

My eyes flicked to Orm, who waited in the water. "You have my word," I promised Kai as I shed my clothing, walked over to the railing, and dove overboard.

My body sang as the cool water encircled me, hydrating my parched skin. I swam back to the surface to find Kai with his hands braced on the railing, tension evident in his taut muscles.

"I'm ready," I called to the sea witch.

A wicked smile tugged at her lips as she shot her magic toward me.

A scream ripped from my throat as the transformation started. Tears of pain leaked from my eyes, and I wished Kai had changed me instead of the sea witch, but I could deal with the intense pain if it kept his true identity safe.

I breathed deeply, thankful that the whole ordeal was over. My tail ached, and the thought of using it to swim all the way to Aquarius felt like a daunting task. The sea witch's skill in the transformation process seemed inferior to Kai's, or she intentionally heightened the pain. Given her nature, the latter was likely the case.

The water beside me rippled. I turned to see Orm's hand reaching for my shoulder, concern lining his expression.

"Touch her, and I will cut your heart out myself and feed it to the gulls," Kai warned from above.

Shock rendered me speechless as Orm lowered his arm back into the water. I had never seen Orm back down from anyone or anything. I glanced up at Kai. His dark, unruly hair blew in the wind, and the menacing set of his stubble-lined jaw promised death and danger. Even in his weakened state, he was a force to be reckoned with. I could easily understand Orm's hesitation.

Kai's gaze raked over me, and I felt a tug in my chest, pleading for me not to leave his side.

"Let's go," I said to Orm as I dove beneath the waves before my emotions argued me out of my mission.

I plummeted deep, hoping the cold water would numb the ache in my heart. The thought of Kai dying before I returned clawed at my mind, making my thoughts dizzy.

Orm caught up with me quickly. He had always been faster than me with his powerful tail. "You think your father will just hand you his trident?" Orm gripped my arm, forcing me to stop.

I knew my father would never give up his trident, and the fact that I would have to put him under the persuasion of my siren song a second time made my stomach sour.

I tore my arm from Orm. "You have no right to ask me anything after what you did."

"After what I did." Orm scoffed. "You went to see the sea witch too, and don't try to deny it. She told me you did."

"That's the problem, Orm. I went to see her to save everyone. You went to her to save yourself."

Orm grabbed for me again, but my senses were on high alert, and I easily avoided him, which seemed to ignite the fire raging inside him. "Don't you dare judge me for trying to save myself. What you've done is much worse."

"Please tell me what I've done that is so bad?" I questioned with a lift of a brow.

"You fell for a land dweller. A killer of our kind. Both of you should be put to death." Orm rushed forward, gripping me by the shoulders. The force he applied was painful as his breath bubbles flew across my face. "How could you choose him over me?"

My hand went to the blade at my side. I snatched it from the sheath, slicing it across Orm's face. The water around us turned crimson with his blood. He released me, reaching up to cover his wound. A dazed and angry look crossed his features.

"Be careful," I warned. "The siren princess you used to know died along that treacherous journey. She is no more."

Orm's eyes swept over me in disbelief. "What has he turned you into?" He sneered at me, showing his pearly white teeth.

I returned the dagger to its sheath. "A stronger being who relies on no one."

Orm held his ground, and so did I. I fully expected him to attack me for carving a notch in his pretty face, but instead, he swam off in the direction of Aquarius, still cradling his cheek with his hand.

I followed behind him at a distance, still not trusting him not to retaliate. The swim after our encounter was blessedly quiet and gave me a chance to decide what I was going to do. I could try reasoning with my father, but from past experience, that had never gone well. We were too alike and known for our short tempers. He would banish me for treason if I even hinted at the fact that I wanted his trident to save the notorious Blackheart Kai.

I stalled in the water, emotion rising up my throat as I took in all the destruction. Dark Water wasn't here anymore, but it had left behind its carnage. Everything that once lived, fish and sea vegetation, was charred, blackened with death and decay. My once beautiful kingdom was just a shell of what it used to be.

I continued forward, dreading what my eyes would behold next. The massive kingdom of Aquarius came into view. The smooth, shell-colored towers of the palace that once reminded me of sea glass on the ocean floor when the sun's rays hit just right were now dull and dingy. Dizziness overtook me as I realized how close Dark Water had come to swallowing up my home.

My gaze sliced to Orm as he looked back at me. "Do you see now why I did what I did?"

"I understand," I conceded, "but all this does is prove how much of a coward you truly are. You abandoned women and children to save yourself."

I rushed past him, disgust churning in my stomach. The thought of going through my home's gates made fear rise inside me like waves in a squall. What I was getting ready to do was treason, and by the looks of it, Aquarius had been through enough.