24. Harven
HARVEN
Something is very wrong.
The warmth in my chest I’ve always associated with Eve has grown cold. Perhaps that kindness has been taken away from me for coming to see my Pearls.
They surround the room, undulating suggestively to some silent song. Every time Nixie’s hands graze me, I fight the urge to vomit.
Bly and Seera keep their distance. They see more than they’d ever admit.
Nixie saunters over to me in a twirl. She falls onto the floor near my tentacles. They pull back from her, as disgusted by her touch as I am.
The siren is not perturbed. She merely gives a happy shimmy of her shoulders, making her breasts bounce.
“My king,” she whines. “You’re wearing far too many clothes.”
Her wandering hand strays to my belt, but I snatch it before it gets far. My lips curl as I shove her away. Surprise twists her features into anger before another sickly sweet smile consumes her face.
She twists away with fluid grace.
What am I doing here? Had I really meant to fuck them to keep with tradition? I’m a damn fool. This was wrong. So incredibly wrong I don’t have the words for it.
I don’t want to be here. I don’t want them.
The only thing I’ll ever want for the rest of my life is Eve. I love her. I gave her my wretched heart and bound our souls together. When she transforms into her final form, I planned to tell her that when she dies, so will I.
I can’t imagine life without her. I hate being away from her. I couldn’t draw breath knowing she was in the afterlife.
Wherever she goes, I will go. Forever.
She’s more important than anything. How many times did I tell her that, only for me to come here tonight when she’s been sick? I’ve kept her in the dark like a fool. It made her think I didn’t want her, and coming here only made those feelings worse.
I’ve failed her spectacularly. I have to make this right.
Eve is kind and brave. She let me come here, even though she hated the practice. I’d never show that kind of understanding if she sought out another. I’ve been selfish.
The truth is that if Eve ever did want to leave my bed, I wouldn’t let her. I’d bind her to it every time she thought about running until she was so thoroughly pleasured she’d agree to anything.
Her place is at my side just as mine is beside her.
There will never be anyone else for either of us. If she cast me from her bed, I’d rather sleep on her floor than in someone else’s.
I love her.
My blood burns with the desire to have her. To hear her laugh and listen to stories of her past. She’s seen into the depths of my rotten soul and loved me afterward.
I betrayed her tonight. I have to make this right.
My tentacles sag with relief. I push up on them as the Pearls stop their movements.
Nixie’s eyes brighten.
“Finally come to join us, my king? Perhaps you’d like my ass to—”
“No.” My word cuts through the room like a blade. “The practice of the King’s Pearls ends with me. You are all dismissed. A royal wage will be paid to you. Accommodations will be made. Tomorrow you will be formally escorted from the palace.”
Bly and Seera glance at each other. Their shock turns to delight. I don’t care enough to study it further.
Not as Nixie stomps her foot.
“What!” she shrieks, charging towards me. “You can’t do this—not for that human whore who can’t even—”
I collar her throat.
Lifting her off her feet, she claws at my hand. I squeeze tightly until her pulse flutters weakly against my palm.
I snarl into her face. My voice drips with deadly menace.
“Never disrespect my mate again.” I toss her to the floor. She gasps and clutches at her throat, eyes seething. “If you value your life, Nixie, I better never see you again.”
I turn from the three of them, but before I can reach the door, it bursts open. A frantic Leri makes my hackles rise.
“My king,” she pants. “Come quick. It’s Eve. She’s gone.”
“Gone?”
My heart stumbles in my chest. Pushing into the hall, the nymph races alongside me.
“I went to deliver her tea as you asked, and she wasn’t in her room.” Leri turns a sickly green. “There was blood, my king.”
Anger roars in my head. Denial punches through my gut.
No, no, no. This couldn’t be happening.
I pray that Leri is mistaken and that Eve will be waiting for me on her bed just as I left her. I’ll confess everything to her as soon as she’s back in my arms.
I arrive at Eve’s room at record speed.
I break down the door and take in her desolate room. The blanket she was wrapped in is still on the bed. Nothing seems missing. My hope that she'd moved to a different room for the night dissipates.
My breath catches at the crimson splatter on the marble pillar. A red trail leads to the entry pool at her window. I should’ve sealed it off. I didn’t think anyone would try to gain entrance with the additional patrols.
Gods, I’m such a fool.
Whoever made my mate bleed will be treated to a fate worse than death.
A flurry of movement comes through at the door. Five of my royal guards pour in wearing their sapphire armor. The leader catches his breath while bowing.
“My king, the guards stationed outside your mate’s room have been slaughtered. It had to have been multiple assailants.”
Rage and fear, unlike anything I’ve ever known, consume me.
I hold tightly to the fleeting warmth of our bond as I shuck my crown and dive into the water. My guards know to follow.
I catch the scent of her blood and follow it through the murky depths. No matter what happens, I will find her.
Hold on for me, Eve. I will down the bond. I’m coming for you.