22. Eve
EVE
Picking at my cold stew, I eagerly await Harven’s return.
Being away from him causes physical pain. I know he has responsibilities to the court, but I hated that he couldn’t seek me out today. I’m hoping that once I’m pregnant and fully realized as his queen, he’ll begin including me in his work.
I’d rather spend my days by his side than ticking down the minutes until I see him again.
We’ve entered into a mating frenzy. It’s a mutual need we both indulge all the time. One minute in each other's presence and we're consumed by the need to fuck.
I’m not pregnant, but it’s not for lack of trying. I don’t think I’ve ever had this much sex in my life.
When it’s as good as it is with Harven, the tenderness when I walk is no hardship. I can still feel the remnants of his seed on my thighs. I’d gladly welcome him back into my body the moment he steps through the door.
The two of us have figured out our sex life, but there are other things we haven’t had the chance to discuss. We’ve been too consumed with being in love to risk ruining it with tough conversations.
They are necessary ones, though.
I want to have them before I get pregnant, so that the matter can be settled. I’ve realized I won’t stay with Harven if he sees his Pearls after I’m pregnant. Maybe my opinion on them will change in fifty years, but right now I don’t want him seeking them out.
My mood darkens along with the room.
No matter how much I love him, I won’t be able to withstand him choosing another's bed over mine. Once I’m pregnant, my body will change, and the thought of him not by my side will be too great for me to bear. I’ll think the worst. I know myself.
I won’t raise my child in that environment.
I’ll let Harven take time and wrap up the loose ends—get fucking them out of his system if he has to—but I won’t accept them as part of his life as king. If he fights me on this, I don’t know what I’ll do.
The bliss we’ve been living in will stop.
This isn’t something I can waver on. It goes beyond a difference in customs.
Why couldn’t I have fallen in love with a creature who mated with one partner for life and lost sexual interest in any other? That’s what I thought being mates meant.
Harven desires me—he loves me—but sometimes I wonder if what I feel is different. If there are limits to what he can offer me emotionally.
How can he snarl at the guards who look at me for too long, but expect me to be okay with him fucking other people?
A familiar ache blooms at my temple. I’ll work myself up if I keep thinking about it. I need to talk to Harven before uncertainty threatens to spoil our love.
The room chills, and it has nothing to do with my sour mood.
A dark cloud spreads along the floor. I shiver in my chair.
A figure emerges from the smoke. Oily black hair seeps over her bony shoulders. Her tattered white dress hangs limply, brushing her clawed toes. Eyes the color of a midnight sky bore into mine.
Fear grips my heart. I should call for Harven. I should—
“Hello, Eve,” the female purrs.
Her serpentine movements unsettle me. Her magic smells like fire and rotting wood. There’s something otherworldly about her, and that says a lot given the creatures I live with.
She approaches in measured steps.
“Don’t be afraid. I mean you no harm. I’ve been waiting a long time to speak with you.”
That’s when it clicks.
“Are you the Sea Witch?”
Her pale lips pull apart, revealing broken, black teeth.
“Call me, Gyll.”
“Why have you come?” I ask, relaxing if only by a fraction.
She lowers herself into the chair beside me. Her clawed hands trace the table's edge. Despite her outward appearance, there is a softness to her.
Hyra’s earlier words float back to me. She is neither good nor evil. She just is.
“To check in on you. You’ve done remarkably well. Captured the king’s heart and gave him yours in return.” She inhales deeply. The thin gills at her neck flex. “I can smell the depths of your love. Good. You’ll need it for the final trial.”
“What trial?”
Her smile is as indulgent as it is sharp.
“I can’t tell you, my child. It would spoil all my careful planning.”
Gyll snatches Harven’s plate. She slices into it with her fingers. I try not to wretch at the sound of her consuming bone and scales along with the meat.
“Why did you curse Harven and not his father directly? Can you at least tell me that?”
The Sea Witch fishes a bone fragment from her teeth. She downs my glass of sea-wine and sighs.
“I didn’t curse him. I cursed his bloodline. His father had grown too powerful—too callous. He threatened the ocean's order. It was up to me to reestablish balance. If his sons had more sons, the cruelty in their bloodline would’ve spilled onto the land. Throwing our world and yours into chaos.”
Gyll shrugs as if we are talking about the possibility of rain. I suppose for a witch, curses and retributions are a mundane topic.
“I wanted Harven to secure the throne,” she adds. “He was kinder than his brothers. Softer. He would be a noble king if others didn’t threaten him. If he had the power to take them all down. Power I bestowed on him when he was tucked inside his mother’s womb.”
The Sea Witch gestures around the room.
“I see all, my child. Past, present, future. It is up to me to act. And act I did. I forced him to eradicate the cruelty from his bloodline for the good of us all. For your sake. I gave him a lover’s heart as much as a warrior’s strength.
But good doesn’t come without evil. My aid in giving him such power came at a price. ”
“The curse,” I breathe.
“Precisely. It was to keep the order. The power Harven wields had to be contained to a mate. A mate he would love. He would never grant another his child, even when the curse breaks and he’s free to. He loves you too much.”
Her words warm me, but not enough to lower my guard. If Harven can get others pregnant, then we need to talk about his Pearls immediately.
“The curse breaks when I’m pregnant?”
Gyll’s eyes drift towards my stomach. A soft smile curves her lips.
“When you are pregnant, yes. The babe in your womb will fortify you. Its magic will change you. Neither human nor seafolk. Something else. Something wonderful.”
“But not immortal like the king.”
“No.”
The pit in my stomach yawns open. It’s another conversation our rampant fucking has made me lose sight of.
Harven can live for a thousand years. Longer.
I’ll inherit the lifespan of the other seafolk, but that’s a blip for him. My soul won’t be reincarnated.
When I die, will he choose to come with me? Or will he forget me and turn towards another?
I shake myself from my insecure thoughts. Without speaking to Harven, I can’t just assume what his answer will be. Maybe he’ll surprise me. I can only hope.
“Sounds like a magical pregnancy,” I offer.
“It will be.” The Sea Witch’s cold hand encircles my wrist. “Stay alert, Eve. Listen to your heart. Trust it. Trust the king.”
She releases me and quickly munches through the rest of the fish. Swallowing soundly, she rises with fluid grace.
“We will see each other again very soon.”
That’s all the goodbye she offers before disappearing into a plume of smoke. My mind races with all that I’ve just learned.
I don’t have time to sort it all as the doors fly open and Harven walks in.
He looks haunted.
The blue-green of his skin is pale. A fine sheen of sweat beads along his brow. I rush over and take his hand.
I need to feel him to chase away Gyll’s lingering warning.
“Are you alright?” I ask.
Harven looks around the room. His eyes snag on the devoured fish and the traces of black smoke on the tiles. Tentacles skim over me as if inspecting for injury.
“The Sea Witch was here.”
His hand tightens on mine.
“What did she say to you?”
“Vague riddles. Told me to listen to my heart and prepare for a final trial. Whatever that means.”
Harven envelops me in his strong arms. Tentacles rub soothing circles along my back.
“I will protect you, Eve. No matter what.”
I smile into his chest.
“Would you be opposed to postponing our date?” My tongue darts out to lick his nipple. “I suddenly have the overwhelming urge to be alone with my mate in bed.”
Harven chuckles, the tension in his body ebbing away. Curling me into his arms, he turns towards the hall.
“As you wish.”