Chapter 7
What lies beneath
JUDE
The fruit tastes like ash. It’s sweet, juicy even, but every bite feels like swallowing defeat. Lorien watches me as if I’m some cornered animal. He’s waiting for me to lash out or cower.
I do neither.
I chew slowly, refusing to let him see how every fiber of my body aches to defy him. My pride tells me I should spit the damn food onto his perfect, smug face.
But I eat.
Because I know it’s the smart thing to do.
Because I know what will happen if I don’t.
“Good boy,” Lorien says softly, a glint of satisfaction flickering in his cold, calculating eyes. He leans back, utterly at ease, like this is just another meal, just another conversation.
As if I’m just another prisoner.
Like I’m not a person who has a life. Had a life.
Before him.
Soren’s chuckle grates on me from across the room. “I leave you to it, Lorien. Enjoy your bonding. Or whatever this becomes.”
I hate the way Lorien doesn’t even look at him, doesn’t acknowledge the dig. He just sits there, a predator toying with his prey. He just keeps watching me, trying to learn my weaknesses and give away signs, or figure out how to manipulate me better.
Eventually, he rises.
The sudden movement makes me flinch, and I hate myself for it.
His smirk tells me he notices. Of course, he notices. He’s noticed everything else. Even things I didn’t notice about myself. I lay awake last night, listening to his breathing as I tried to understand what passed between us.
What I felt last night was new, and more than just a physical thing that passed between us.
The rush of sensation, the heat of his body against mine, the way I wanted more and responded to him.
It was something deeper, something that unsettled me more than anything else.
A part of me wanted to run, to scream that this wasn’t who I was or what I wanted or liked.
I’m straight.
I always have been.
Until last night.
The other part of me wanted everything Lorien was offering and more.
It didn’t care about the consequences and it sure as fuck didn’t care about the label.
It wanted him. It wanted everything with him.
That’s what terrifies me most. The way he’s slipping past every defense I’ve spent a lifetime building.
The way he’s making me question everything I thought I knew about myself.
It's not the only thing that’s completely insane about this situation.
Apparently, mermaids are real. They don’t sing on rocks and dream of human legs.
No, they are something older and darker, creatures with teeth and secrets, ruling a world I never knew existed.
A world beneath the ocean, hidden in the deep where the light barely reaches.
I should be freaking out. Should be questioning my own sanity. I should be panicking about the fact that I am sitting in an underwater palace, surrounded by creatures out of myths and nightmares, because my aunt was a witch.
But I'm not.
Maybe it's because so much else has already unraveled. Maybe it's because nothing about my life has felt real since the moment Lorien dragged me down here. Or maybe it's because, somewhere deep in my bones, I already knew.
The ocean has always called to me.
“Are you finished?” he asks.
I don’t want to answer. I either give him permission to do something else to me or make him appear like he’s giving me what I’m asking for. Both are wins for him, both are losses for me.
I’ve got to learn to play this game better, and I’ve got to learn fast.
Perhaps there is a third way. One that doesn’t result in a direct win for him. Or at least, not an easy one.
“Why?” I ask, nibbling on fruit that I really don’t want.
His eyes shimmer as if lit from within, a molten gold that catches the dim light in the room and turns it into a live and predatory thing. His gaze pins me, holding me still as he strips me bare.
And it’s not just my body. It’s my soul.
There’s something ancient in those eyes, something that makes me feel like prey. He’s a hunter and he’s without mercy, and yet, I can’t look away. I don’t even want to try.
“Why what?” he asks.
“Why are you doing this?”
Lorien steps closer, so close I can feel the heat radiating from his body. It’s a mockery of warmth, just like everything about him.
“Because I can,” he says. “Because you intruded on my kingdom and your life was forfeited from that moment. It was already mine to take, after your aunt agreed to my terms, and now I have you, I don’t particularly want to give you up.”
He bends his knees and lowers himself, bringing his eyes to the same level as mine.
They’re still so startling, still so captivating.
They’re endless, like staring into the heart of a storm.
Dangerous, hypnotic, and so full of power that I forget to breathe.
There’s a promise in those eyes too, and it’s one I’m not sure I want him to keep.
“It’s been a long time since another has caught my attention. A very long time, Jude. I’m not prone to flights of fancy or fickle indulgences that change on a whim. You should be flattered. It is quite an honor to be the object of my attention.”
I grind my teeth and look away.
His hand finds my face and I hate how smooth his touch is. How soft and reassuring it is as he cups my cheek. How it almost makes me melt and give him whatever it is that he damn well wants.
“You have a little time,” Lorien says. “To learn. To accept what you are and what is happening to you. It is more than I would grant most. Use it wisely, before it runs out and I force the issue for you.”
His breath licks my skin and it quickens my breathing.
“Last night was not so terrible. Not so difficult either,” he says, leaning closer. “I am not such a cruel master that I would deny you pleasure, or even a chance to explore what pleases you. Provided you please me.”
He leans forward and plants a kiss on me. It’s as soft as his skin, as gentle as waves rolling over a beach on a summer afternoon. It’s warm and kind, a complete contrast to everything else he’s said or done.
“You will kiss me.”
I press my lips together and the pull on my collar moves me closer to him. He’s waiting. Watching. More patient than ever. The strain forces me closer, but his presence does the rest. My lips stay sealed, my pride and fury waging war with something quieter, something I don’t want to acknowledge.
“You will kiss me,” he repeats, his voice a low murmur that slides under my skin.
I should resist. I should spit in his face, or snarl that he can’t control me. But the warmth of his touch, the ghost of his earlier kiss, lingers. His breath fans over my lips, and my resolve weakens, cracking at the edges.
I don’t know why I do it. Maybe to buy time, maybe to gain some semblance of control in a situation where I have none. Or maybe, God help me, it’s because I want to.
My lips part, just slightly, and I press them to his. It’s hesitant, awkward, nothing like the commanding confidence he exudes. I hate the way he hums in approval, hate the satisfaction that flickers across his face.
But I hate myself more for not pulling away.
When I finally do, it’s not because I find the courage to break the moment. It’s because he lets me. His grip on my face softens, and he steps back, his smirk firmly in place.
“Good,” he says, his tone dripping with condescension. “You’re learning.”
I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand, glaring at him with all the venom I can muster. It doesn’t faze him. Nothing does.
“Come,” he says, gesturing towards a doorway I hadn’t noticed before. “It’s time to clean you up. You smell of sweat and defiance. I cannot abide either.”
I stay rooted to the spot, unwilling to follow him.
He doesn’t ask twice. A sharp tug on the chain around my neck sends me stumbling forward off the couch, and I grit my teeth against the humiliation.
My hands grip the chain and I try to pull back, but he’s far too strong.
Lorien tugs again, barely even flicking his wrist, and I fly forward, and I understand he’s teaching me another lesson.
He’s overpowering me, and he isn’t even trying.
I’ll never be strong enough to take him on. Never.
He pauses and I don’t know if it’s to let that fact sink in or if it’s to let me regain my composure. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s both, and the slow, pained sigh he releases only adds insult to injury.
“Are you done now?” he asks.
I don’t want to be, but there’s no point fighting this fight.
Not now. Not ever.
I take a few steps forward and he grunts an acknowledgement, leading me to a room as vast and opulent as the one we left.
It’s all dark marble and shimmering gold.
A sunken bath takes up most of the space, and steam rises lazily from the water.
It smells faintly of herbs and relaxation, a sharp contrast to the suffocating tension between us.
“Get in,” Lorien commands, his voice brooking no argument.
I hesitate, my hands clenching into fists. “You don’t want—”
“I can,” he cuts me off, his eyes narrowing. “And I do.”
The silence stretches between us, thick and suffocating. I know I’m fighting a losing battle, but pride forces me to push back, even if it’s only a little.
“Is it too hot?”
His laughter is low and mocking, sending a shiver down my spine. “I’d forgotten how fragile humans are. Into the bath, Jude, or I will punish your disobedience.”
I obey, the hot water scalding against my skin as I lower myself in.
The heat seeps into my muscles, loosening the tension I didn’t realize I was holding.
For those brief, few seconds, the world fades away and there’s only the warmth and its comfort, only the bliss of being completely at ease and free to move in the water.
But the momentary relief is shattered when Lorien follows, his presence a constant reminder of my captivity.
He kneels at the edge, rolling up his sleeves with deliberate precision.
“Stay still,” he says, reaching for a sponge.