- 20 hours ago
Mated To The Sea’S Deadliest Alpha Engsub
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Short filmTranscript
00:00The night I was to tell him about our baby, my merman cut my heart open.
00:03Serafina needs your blood.
00:05No!
00:06See this as your payment for tearing us apart.
00:10When I woke up again, I was at the auction with Serafina.
00:13The mate claim is our clan's law.
00:15A woman standing rises and falls entirely with the merman she's bonded to.
00:19So last life, when I was maneuvered into taking Serafina's leftover,
00:22a merman whose tail hung in broken scales, I had no choice.
00:26I bled my heart essence for 49 days before he was barely healed.
00:29I hunted abyssal cores at every turn, pouring them into him to elevate his bloodline.
00:34Yet the first thing he became the Siren King was to kill me, his mate, as well as our unborn
00:38baby.
00:39This is my second chance.
00:40I won't make the same mistake.
00:42I want this one.
00:43Serafina's voice cut me back to the present.
00:45She pointed towards the enormous tank in front of us.
00:47She chose Silas.
00:48My eyes found Silas instantly, cowering at the very back of the holding tank.
00:53A merman's greatest pride is his tail.
00:56Every other tail in that water prison shimmered, rippling like silk ribbons in a dark current.
01:01Silas's tail was stripped nearly bare, scales shed down to raw, ragged flesh.
01:06Serafina, pack heiress and eldest daughter, exactly as she had in our last life,
01:11gestured lazily toward the two mermen at the back.
01:26In my last life, I had believed every word.
01:31Mermen didn't come cheap, and I had assumed even Serafina wouldn't deliberately choose the most broken creature in the tank.
01:37But she had.
01:38She had actually purchased the barely breathing Silas.
01:42Our father had erupted in fury over it.
01:45Father, Allora picked him herself.
01:48You know how she is.
01:49I only paid.
01:50I chose the strong one.
01:52I'm taking mine now.
01:54And just like that, the half-dead wreck called Silas had been handed to me.
01:58This life, I would not fall for a single word.
02:01And called my bid before she could speak.
02:02Take what you want, Serafina.
02:05I pointed at the stone-faced merman in the corner.
02:08I want that one.
02:15It didn't matter who I chose.
02:17If I'd turned the broken, helpless Silas into a siren king, I could do it with anyone.
02:22Every creature in this tank would surpass him with the right hand guiding them.
02:25This time, I just wanted one who would be loyal.
02:28Serafina's smile thinned when she realized the hook hadn't landed.
02:31Allora, you gave us a fixed amount.
02:32If you use it all, what's left for me?
02:34I gave her a single, flat look.
02:35How had I spent an entire lifetime missing how well she could perform?
02:39She had engineered this from the start.
02:40Push the broken merman onto me.
02:42Keep me weak.
02:43Keep herself on top.
02:44Her trap had been set the moment we walked through these auction doors.
02:47I stared straight at Silas, who was pressing himself against the tank wall,
02:51performing desperately for any buyer.
02:52That one doesn't look bad.
02:54Feed him right, and he might amount to something.
02:56If you really can't afford your pick, buy him.
02:59Serafina laughed, sharp and incredulous.
03:02I wouldn't want him to warm my bed.
03:03I smiled, but there was nothing warm in it.
03:05Poor Silas.
03:06In our last life, he had actually believed I was the one who separated them.
03:09He had never known that Serafina wouldn't have had him on a bet.
03:12As in our last life, Serafina claimed her merman Jace without hesitation.
03:16But as I walked out with my merman Kaelin,
03:18something slammed against the walls of the holding tank.
03:21Silas, thrashing.
03:22Is he trying to get someone's attention?
03:24Broken thing like that.
03:25I glanced at Silas's frantic movement.
03:28Then at Serafina, who had gone very still.
03:30Had Silas also been reborn?
03:32His panic made sense.
03:34The woman he had spent his whole life loving had just walked away without him.
03:37I caught the fractured blue of his eyes through the water and smiled.
03:41When a dream you've chased for a lifetime shatters in an instant, that has to hurt.
03:45This life, no one punished me for leaving Silas behind.
03:47Kaelin stood before me, his tail slapping the floor in slow, rhythmic strikes.
03:51Can you shift to human form?
03:54He pressed his lips together and pulled the tail in.
03:57Obedient, but clearly reluctant.
04:01Unlike the others, there was no relief on his face.
04:04No gratitude for being purchased.
04:06Looking closer, his blue eyes held something else entirely.
04:08Cold detachment and a pride that hadn't been broken yet.
04:11You don't want to come home with me?
04:12Kaelin glanced at me once and said nothing.
04:15As far as I know, the holding tanks run on hierarchy.
04:18Without a buyer, you fight every day just to hold your rank.
04:21I can protect that rank, right now.
04:23He moved to the chair farthest from me and sat.
04:26I'm not the wreck who got his tail beaten to pieces.
04:28One sentence, and I was already smiling.
04:30He was right.
04:31For a merman to have his tail destroyed like that, what was that, if not useless?
04:35If you don't want to stay, the door is open.
04:40Something flickered in Kaelin's blue eyes.
04:42He was tempted.
04:43I could see it.
04:44Before he could act on it, I stood up.
04:47What are you doing?
04:48Since you don't want to be here, I'll go select a different merman.
04:52I'm building a Siren King.
04:53I have no room for someone with a divided heart.
04:56In my peripheral vision, Kaelin looked at me with something new on his face.
04:59Becoming the Siren King was every merman's deepest ambition.
05:02He had the raw power, but raw power could be cultivated in anyone.
05:06A backstabber like Silas wasn't worth the investment.
05:09The auction is over!
05:10I turned and smiled at him.
05:12A family that can afford a merman a senelmest in the first place?
05:15You think we worry about finding another one?
05:19The next several days, I left early and returned late.
05:23Kaelin hadn't left, but I needed my own contingency plans.
05:27What I didn't expect.
05:28The moment I stepped onto the street that afternoon, Silas came staggering toward me.
05:33Lara!
05:36Why didn't you take me?
05:37He threw his arms around my legs.
05:39Take me with you, please.
05:42You were always supposed to choose me.
05:44My heartbeat stuttered exactly once.
05:47What did you just say?
05:49Lara, look at me.
05:50Are you really not choosing me?
05:52Silas gripped my legs tightly with both hands.
05:56That confirmed it.
05:57Silas had been reborn too.
05:59But if he got a second life, why was he coming to me instead of running straight to Serafina?
06:03I shook him off without expression.
06:04What are you rambling about?
06:06Who is your owner?
06:07Don't come grabbing at strangers in the street.
06:10I turned to walk away, but Silas chased after me recklessly, following closely in haste.
06:15I was half a second from losing my composure.
06:18Then I caught sight of Kaelin, following at a distance behind me.
06:22My eyes shifted, calculating.
06:30Your tail is badly damaged.
06:33Did the other mare shifters in the tank do this to you?
06:36Silas blinked, then nodded quickly.
06:39In my peripheral vision, Kaelin had drawn several steps closer.
06:43I ran my fingers along Silas' damaged tail, the same way I had in our last life.
06:48Every wound on his body had been healed by my hand.
06:51I knew exactly where the pressure felt good and where it burned.
06:53So when I pressed just right, a shudder rolled through Silas' entire body.
06:58He kept leaning into me, breathless.
07:00Master, will you take me home?
07:03I curved my lips.
07:05Of course, I...
07:07Before I could finish, Kaelin launched forward and smashed Silas away with its tail.
07:12He slammed him violently onto the street, five meters away.
07:15He planted himself in front of me, jaw set.
07:17I haven't left yet.
07:19Silas hit the pavement and couldn't get back up.
07:22Several failed attempts, then stillness.
07:27I blinked at Kaelin with wide eyes.
07:30Was that really necessary?
07:34Didn't you say you were leaving?
07:37Why stop me from finding another merman?
07:39The hands hanging at Kaelin's sides curled into slow fists.
07:42I'm not leaving.
07:44Satisfaction curved my mouth upward.
07:46Mermen had their own will.
07:48Every one of them needed to be won, not forced.
07:51He had taken the first step.
07:53I would accept the olive branch.
07:56As for Silas,
07:58he dragged himself upright and crept forward again.
08:02Master, you agreed just now.
08:06You were going to take me.
08:07I slung my arm over Kaelin's shoulder and gave Silas a bright little wave.
08:11Sorry.
08:12I changed my mind.
08:14Silas opened his mouth to protest and moved one step forward.
08:18Kaelin's tail cracked down onto the pavement directly in front of him.
08:21One more step and the next thing that breaks will be your bones.
08:25When the tail lifted, I looked at the cracked stone beneath it.
08:28Kaelin was, without question, in another league from Silas.
08:31To prevent another betrayal, I forced Kaelin through the blood bond ritual.
08:35You can actually make me Siren King?
08:37I said nothing.
08:38A master speaks.
08:39She doesn't explain herself.
08:40In my last life, I had poured everything into making Silas a king,
08:43and forgotten to make myself stronger first.
08:46If Kaelin performed, the title was his.
08:48If he showed one flicker of divided loyalty,
08:50he would spend this lifetime as nothing but a bed warmer.
08:53If you don't want to walk out, then don't.
08:55I turned to leave, but before I'd taken a single step,
08:58Kaelin drew a blade across his own tail and pressed the blood from it.
09:02I'll do it.
09:03After the bond sealed, Kaelin stood beside me, stiff and stilted.
09:07I'm your merman now.
09:08Up close, a faint flush had crept across his pale face.
09:13Oddly endearing, I tilted my chin toward the bed.
09:16Go lie down.
09:17Just to watch his reaction.
09:20Kaelin's face went a deeper red.
09:22He shuffled to the bed, one careful step at a time,
09:25and let his bleeding tail hang off the edge,
09:27so it wouldn't stay in the sheets.
09:28What are you doing?
09:29The crimson flooding his face nearly made me laugh.
09:32All that menace.
09:33And this was what was underneath it.
09:35I ran a deliberate hand along his tail.
09:37You know the custom.
09:38When our family brings home a mermond, there's a mate claim.
09:41Which means, technically, you're my husband now.
09:44Kaelin said nothing, but the moment my fingers made contact,
09:47his tail gave a small, involuntary shiver.
09:49Our eyes met, and something in his expression shifted.
09:52A quiet resignation, and he closed his eyes.
09:54A soft laugh escaped me as I turned and reached for the medical kit.
09:58With his eyes still shut, I leaned in
10:00and blew a gentle breath across his bleeding wound.
10:03Does it hurt?
10:04Kaelin's tail began to sway side to side in small, helpless arcs.
10:08In merman body language, that meant only one thing, pleasure.
10:12I packed the wound and settled back into my chair.
10:14Stay out of water for a few days.
10:16It'll heal.
10:17Less painful now?
10:18The flush hadn't left Kaelin's face.
10:19He darted one glance at me and turned to look pointedly at the wall.
10:23Hyrus doesn't belong on my tail.
10:25Hmm.
10:26Then why was it still swaying?
10:27Once his tail healed, we fell into a daily training rhythm.
10:31Unlike my last life, this time I trained too.
10:33What kind of woman builds a siren king and leaves herself defenseless?
10:37We hadn't been at it long when Serafina arrived with her merman, Jace.
10:41My little sister, so committed you've thrown yourself into the sparring too.
10:44You spent so long choosing at the auction I expected something impressive,
10:47but honestly, he's not even half of what my Jace is.
10:49I stopped and looked at Serafina and Jace without expression.
10:52Jace was built impressively, yes, but in our last life, he had been thoroughly ordinary,
10:57and Serafina was no handler.
10:59After her mate claim, our father had handed house authority to me instead.
11:02I said nothing, but Kaelin stepped in front of me.
11:05Huh.
11:05A mermane.
11:06Challenging me?
11:07Let me make this clear.
11:09I am this family's pack heiress, and when the time comes, I run this house.
11:15Jace, teach him.
11:17Jace lunged.
11:17Kaelin moved without urgency.
11:19He even had time to guide me to a clear position before turning to face the attack.
11:24Good.
11:24I wanted to see what he could actually do.
11:26The two of them clashed hard, but within a handful of exchanges, it was obvious Jace
11:31was losing ground.
11:33Serafina, who had opened with absolute confidence.
11:36Kill him!
11:36Just kill him!
11:37Why are you holding back?
11:38Finish him, and I'll take the blame!
11:40Jace showed no visible improvement, but Kaelin had stopped pulling his strikes.
11:44He was half a second away from crushing Jace's shoulder completely.
11:47No, Serafina screamed.
11:49How dare you!
11:50Alara!
11:50Look at what your pet did to my immersion!
11:53I smiled.
11:54Serafina, weren't you the one who let Jake start it?
11:57You were screaming at him to kill Kaelin.
11:59Everyone present heard you.
12:00Serafina couldn't win the argument, so she crossed the floor and put herself in my face.
12:04If Jace is injured, I will have father come down on you so hard!
12:07You cost a fortune.
12:08I held her gaze for a long moment.
12:10Then told Kaelin to let Jace go.
12:13Smart girl.
12:14Eldest is eldest.
12:15No matter what, this house will never be yours to run.
12:18She snatched Jace by the arm and swept out, hurling curses the entire way.
12:22I should have finished him.
12:23What's the rush?
12:24Serafina had taken her first loss.
12:26She would come back with real hatred now.
12:28Let her rage.
12:29Let her spiral.
12:30The one who goes mad first loses everything.
12:33Serafina began watching me the way a predator watches an open wound.
12:36I had expected her to undermine me in front of our father.
12:39What I hadn't expected.
12:40She had brought Silas home and put into work as a house servant.
12:44The moment he blocked my path in the corridor and begged, my step stuttered.
12:47How are you here?
12:49Serafina stepped out from around the corner, smiling, with our father right behind her.
12:53So the rumors are true.
12:55I stared at her.
12:57What rumors?
12:58The father's expression was stoned.
13:00Elora, you already have a mate claim.
13:02Why are you still tangled up with him?
13:04Your sister was fortunate enough to run into him today.
13:06She brought him here to keep him quiet.
13:08Otherwise, your reputation would be ruined.
13:10I had no words.
13:13Serafina strolled toward me with pure delight on her face,
13:15hooking Silas' chin up with the toe of her shoe.
13:18Little sister, he's been asking around outside,
13:20trying every connection he has to get through our gates to reach you.
13:23You should have said something.
13:24If there was something between you two, you could just bought him at the auction.
13:27Why bother bringing Kaelin home?
13:30The more she talked, the darker father's face became...
13:33Elora, clean this up or get out of this house.
13:36He turned and left without another word.
13:39Serafina beamed at me.
13:40My capable little sister.
13:43Take your time sorting it out.
13:48Silas knelt half on the floor, his face tilted up toward mine, his eyes full of naked wanting.
13:55You love being near me that much?
13:58Then stay.
13:58Better to keep him where I could watch him than to throw him out blind.
14:02In this life, without my heart essence, Silas surviving at all was already uncertain.
14:06He started drifting through every room I occupied.
14:08Kaelin, on the other hand, had gone cold on me again.
14:11When I cornered him in the back garden one morning...
14:13You're coming to me right now?
14:14Shouldn't you be with that pathetic Silas?
14:16That whole scene on the street was staged.
14:19You two tricked me into the blood bond.
14:21Kaelin's tail hit the ground in sharp, irritated slaps.
14:24I watched him with genuine interest.
14:25You already bonded.
14:27There's no running from that.
14:29The real question is...
14:30Do you still want to be Siren King?
14:33He gave me a flat, suspicious look, like I was setting another trap.
14:37There's a Mermin tournament in two months.
14:39Whether you become Siren King depends entirely on what you do with that time.
14:43Really?
14:44There's truly nothing between you and that Mermin?
14:46I was half a breath from swearing on it.
14:49Kaelin finally let out a grudging huff and fell into step beside me.
14:52We drilled repeatedly in the draining field, while Silas kept finding reasons to wander past.
14:58Let me break his tail, see how he walks after that.
15:02Kaelin!
15:04I have plans for him.
15:05All that heart essence I'd fed him in our last life was not going to be wasted.
15:10He walked right up to us.
15:11What happened next was on him.
15:13That evening I had Silas called to my room to serve.
15:16The Siren King of my last life was now on his knees at my feet, cradling a basin of water.
15:21His injuries were severe enough that he swayed every few minutes, barely holding himself upright.
15:25You're not well?
15:26I kept my voice casual, almost bored.
15:29The annual Merman tournament was weeks away.
15:31Silas had to be crawling out of his skin.
15:33In our last life, with my help, he had claimed the Siren King's title.
15:37A man who had sat at the top of the world does not quietly accept kneeling on someone's floor.
15:41So no matter what it cost him, he would endure.
15:44Because he still needed my heart essence.
15:46Silas sad sideways onto the floor, his voice thin.
15:50My tail was damaged in the holding tank.
15:52It never healed properly.
15:55What would it take to fix it?
15:57This house doesn't keep idle staff.
15:59Silas looked at me, testing the water.
16:01A human's heart essence.
16:0249 days of it.
16:04Taken in doses.
16:06Only then will I heal.
16:08I said nothing.
16:10Right now, he was nothing but a servant.
16:12When I didn't react, he coughed twice.
16:15I know I'm useless.
16:17All I ask in this life is to stay near you.
16:20I would never dare dream of your heart essence.
16:23Why are you so set on staying near me?
16:27Silas studied my face, searching for the lie.
16:30My expression was open, guileless.
16:31There was nothing for him to find.
16:33Once he was certain I wasn't performing, he shook his head with a face full of grief.
16:49I dug my fingernail into my own palm, hard enough to leave a mark, and I did not slap him.
16:56Gratitude and loyalty.
16:57He had taken my trust and stabbed me with a knife.
17:00And here he was, performing it with shining eyes and a breaking voice.
17:05If I didn't still carry every memory from our last life, I might have believed him.
17:09I ranged my face into something soft and moved.
17:12Just 49 days of heart essence, and you'd be fully healed?
17:16Silas' eyes lit up.
17:19The hunger behind his eyes was obvious, but he was working hard to swallow it.
17:24Yes.
17:26But Alara, it hurts to draw heart essence.
17:31I let a pause stretch, then spoke carefully.
17:35I can save your life, but once you're healed, you will not come near me again.
17:42Something flickered across Silas' face, a flash of injury, but he agreed almost immediately.
17:48Agreed.
17:50I won't come near you.
17:51He bowed his head, and behind his back, I finally allowed myself to smile.
17:56My heart essence is not so easily given.
17:59Starting the next morning, I sent Kaelin out each day to buy fresh chicken blood from the market.
18:05Diluted with water, the smell was manageable.
18:07To make sure he couldn't detect the switch, I dissolved several herbs into the mixture.
18:11He needed to see results, or he wouldn't keep believing.
18:14Silas drained bowl after bowl, his brow creasing tighter every time.
18:18Alara, this heart essence tastes strained.
18:21I immediately let hurt flood my expression.
18:23Blood is never going to taste good.
18:24I cut open my own chest for you.
18:27If you don't like it, I'll just throw it out.
18:29Silas did not dare.
18:30He tilted the bowl back and licked it clean.
18:32Alara, this kindness is something I'll carry forever.
18:34I wish I were the one you'd chosen.
18:35I could spend my life at your side repaying this.
18:37I pulled my face into something pained and troubled.
18:40It was already a significant problem for me.
18:42You heard what father and Serafina said that day.
18:44I kept talking, watching him in my peripheral vision.
18:47When I mentioned Serafina, not a trace of longing crossed his face.
18:50What appeared instead was something close to hatred.
18:52I had died in our last life before seeing what came after.
18:56But judging by his face now, the Siren King's reign had not ended well for him either.
19:00Still, none of that is your fault.
19:03Serafina has always had it out for me.
19:05She's simply using your situation to make me look bad.
19:08The hand Silas had rested on the table tightened into a fist without him noticing.
19:12Looking at the locked muscle in his jaw, I knew I'd guessed right.
19:17Alara, don't worry.
19:19I won't be a burden to you.
19:20Good.
19:20Because in this life, he didn't come close to deserving to be my problem.
19:23Silas stopped haunting my rooms as much.
19:25Lately, he'd been gravitating towards Serafina's wing instead.
19:28He had taken what I said to heart.
19:30If he could be a blade, I aimed at her.
19:32That was at least partial penance for the last life.
19:34To keep him from noticing anything off, Kaelin and I had shifted our training sessions to my room at night.
19:39Faster.
19:41Every merman in that tournament fights to kill.
19:45If your speed isn't there, you'll walk in and get carried out.
19:48I finished and waved him over.
19:52Come on.
19:53Spa with me.
19:55Kaelin smiled, and it was absolutely contemptuous.
19:58Get over here.
19:59Before the words finished leaving my mouth, he was already in front of me.
20:04Fast enough that I couldn't track how he'd moved.
20:07How did you...
20:08Before I could finish, he pressed the attack.
20:11I dodged twice, barely, and then my footing slipped, and I went backwards.
20:16Kaelin's sharp inhale.
20:17His hand caught my waist.
20:19I was fairly certain he did it on purpose.
20:21The momentum carried us both down onto the bed together.
20:24Pinned beneath him, my heartbeat stopped being something I could control.
20:27Those blue eyes flickered, and without a word, he locked both my wrists above my head.
20:31Silas gets to come to your room at night.
20:33Why don't I?
20:34He had found out about Silas coming every night to drink.
20:40Sibus has business!
20:43Kaelin didn't move, the heat of his breath spreading across my neck.
20:46His tail reached out and drew the bed curtain closed.
20:49He said, low and certain,
20:51Master, you're the one who said I'd be your husband.
20:54By the time my legs had gone completely weak,
20:58Kaelin was still murmuring in my ear,
21:00asking whether I wanted him or Silas.
21:03I gave some incoherent answer,
21:05while internally screaming about how unfair it was
21:08that this infuriating merman had a body like that.
21:11A month later, Jace's tail collapsed.
21:15Serafina tore through the house like something feral.
21:18Jace lay on the bed, the color of ash.
21:22How does something like this just happen?
21:25Jace, did you eat something?
21:27Where is your tail?
21:28How are you supposed to compete with no tail?
21:30Are you even a merman anymore?
21:32Father, please, find someone to look at him.
21:36The tournament troll is almost here,
21:37and I've put everything into him.
21:40Father's brow furrowed, but he nodded.
21:42The merman physician examined Jace,
21:45set down his wrist, and left shaking his head.
21:47The tail looks intact from the outside,
21:49but they've already begun to dissolve.
21:51Within three days, his skeleton will be nothing but fluid.
21:54Jace threw himself at the physician in a frenzy,
21:56so violent he rolled off the bed.
21:59Serafina stared at the wall, repeating impossible to no one.
22:02After she sent the physician out,
22:06she lunged straight at me,
22:08and Kaylin stepped between us before she got close.
22:13Alotta, this was you, wasn't it?
22:15You've always been jealous of Jace's talent.
22:17Terrified he'd become Siren King,
22:19and you'd never get above me,
22:20so you did this to him.
22:21You destroyed my merman!
22:23I will ruin you!
22:25You can die!
22:25Father walked in on those exact words.
22:27Enough!
22:28Enough!
22:28Father's voice cracked like a whip,
22:30and Serafina went silent.
22:31Serafina, I genuinely have no reason to hurt your merman.
22:34Whoever ends up as Siren King,
22:36Kaylin outwells Jace so completely
22:38that Jake was never a competitor we even considered,
22:41so why would I bother?
22:43Serafina tried to erupt again,
22:45and Father shut her down.
22:47What's done is done.
22:48Stay in your rooms and rest.
22:49You're not competing in the tournament.
22:52As for that useless mermaid,
22:54that's your problem to solve.
22:56Both Jace and Serafina went white.
22:58A merman without a tail,
23:00turned out of this house.
23:02What were the odds of survival?
23:04And Serafina, without a merman,
23:07had just lost every card she held.
23:09When Silas came to drink that evening,
23:11the good mood was written all over him.
23:13He looked at me like he was offering something.
23:15Serafina won't be able to take anything from you anymore.
23:18I handed him the bowl.
23:19He was nearly through the full course now.
23:21I had increased the herbal dose recently,
23:23and Silas did look genuinely better,
23:25visibly stronger.
23:26But it was all surface.
23:27The herbs were keeping a thread of life taut.
23:29The moment he exerted himself past a certain point,
23:32the crisis would hit without warning.
23:33When it did,
23:34a hundred days of true heart essence wouldn't save him.
23:37That business with Jace,
23:38that wasn't you, was it?
23:40I let my eyes go wide with something that looked like awe.
23:43How did you manage it so cleanly?
23:44He just fell apart.
23:46I asked.
23:47He turned coy.
23:48For your sake, there's nothing I wouldn't do.
23:50I turned away and let out a quiet, cold laugh.
23:53The only reason he knew how to do any of this
23:55was because he had been Siren King once before.
23:57His body was a wreck,
23:58but the dirty knowledge that had stayed.
24:00He drained the bowl and licked his lips with slow satisfaction.
24:04Behind him, his tail flicked out in a slow arc, showing off.
24:07After he left,
24:08Kaelin stepped out of the shadows.
24:10His expression was set and watchful.
24:12Alara, he's dangerous.
24:15Why are you helping him?
24:16I stared at the red stained bowl and let the question hang before I turned it back on him.
24:21What makes you think I'm helping him?
24:24Kaelin paused, and I pressed immediately.
24:26The tournament is in three days.
24:27Do you believe you can take the crown?
24:29He reached back and closed his hand over mine.
24:31If my master wants it this badly, I'll throw my life on the line to win it.
24:34That, genuinely, inconveniently, made my face go red.
24:38I had assessed every merman in that tournament.
24:40As long as Kaelin fought at his actual level, this was already decided.
24:43On the day of the tournament, father came with us, along with Serafina.
24:47I hadn't seen Silas at the house since the day before.
24:49He had entered, then, he had to have.
24:52Kaelin.
24:52This match carries the family's name and standing.
24:54Give everything you have.
24:56Understood?
24:57Father's voice was low and firm.
24:59Serafina twisted her mouth to the side.
25:01But, unusually, she said nothing.
25:02I glanced at her sideways with the particular unease of someone who knows a quiet snake is
25:07worse than a loud one.
25:08Right before Kaelin was called to the arena floor, Serafina pulled a handkerchief from her
25:13bodice and moved to wipe his face.
25:15Kaelin never allowed strangers close to him.
25:17He stepped back immediately.
25:19Serafina's hand hung in empty air, the moment crystallizing into something awkward and ugly.
25:23Little sister, look at this merman of yours.
25:27I'm just wiping some sweat.
25:30If he becomes Siren King, it reflects on all of us, doesn't it?
25:36How petty.
25:38Huh?
25:39Helpful?
25:40I laughed, hollow and bright, and took the handkerchief out of her hand and dragged it
25:44across Father's face.
25:45What?
25:46Stop!
25:46The way Serafina's words failed completely confirmed what I already suspected about that
25:51cloth, so I scrubbed harder.
25:53What's wrong?
25:53The tournament matters, but Father has been standing in the heat for us.
25:57It's only right that I take care of him.
25:58While I was still talking, I pushed Kaelin toward the arena entrance.
26:01Two months of work.
26:02No one was going to dismantle it in the final seconds.
26:05Serafina began shifting her weight, watching.
26:08Her eyes kept cutting to Father.
26:09When he started to sway, I understood.
26:12A sedative.
26:12She'd laced it with a sedative.
26:14Father, are you alright?
26:15Father pressed a hand to his temple.
26:17Fine beads of sweat were already breaking out across his forehead.
26:20You were fine a moment ago.
26:23One wipe of a handkerchief and now this?
26:25I was still asking when Serafina's composure cracked.
26:30What are you insinuating?
26:33Father is just unwell.
26:35What does my handkerchief have to do with anything?
26:38Father was already too disoriented to speak.
26:40I turned to Serafina with a pleasant smile.
26:42Whether there's a problem or not, we'll find out when we test it.
26:46This time the drug had landed on Father.
26:48I couldn't see how he could look away from that.
26:50Serafina's goal was simple enough.
26:52Her own merman was finished.
26:53She simply refused to let Kaylin compete.
26:56But she had forgotten.
26:57As long as someone brought glory to the family, Father never cared who that person was.
27:01Once the tournament started, Kaylin tore through the brackets and into the final rounds without breaking a sweat.
27:06Father was barely conscious.
27:08Neither Serafina nor I had time to tend to him.
27:11When Silas appeared on the arena floor, Serafina's jaw dropped.
27:14His tail was ruined.
27:16He was a house servant.
27:18Why is he here?
27:19Then she seemed to grab hold of something.
27:21His tail can heal.
27:22Does that mean Jake still has a chance?
27:24That was you, wasn't it?
27:26How did you heal him?
27:28I tilted my head.
27:29Want to know?
27:30Feed him your own heart essence.
27:32Every day for 49 days.
27:34I told her the method with complete sincerity.
27:36But the moment Serafina heard the words,
27:38Your own,
27:39Her entire face changed.
27:41For a merman?
27:41Ha!
27:42I'll just buy another one.
27:44But Alara,
27:46You healed Simus just to watch him fight Kaylin in the ring?
27:49Serafina looked at me like she was watching something too stupid to pity.
27:52I fixed my eyes on the arena and said nothing.
27:55Before we'd arrived, I had given Kaylin one instruction.
27:58If you face Silas in that ring,
28:00don't stop until he can't get up.
28:08All that chicken blood and herbs had been worth every drop.
28:12Silas and Kaylin finally stood face to face.
28:15Kaylin rolled his shoulders once and charged without a word.
28:18Silas had looked formidable against everyone else.
28:21But against Kaylin, he shattered instantly.
28:23Kaylin lifted Silas over his head and brought him down hard onto the arena floor.
28:27The scream that tore out of Silas spilt the air of the entire stadium.
28:32I was smiling.
28:32In my peripheral vision, Serafina had stopped being able to.
28:36How is Kaylin this strong?
28:38Less than a quarter of an hour into the match,
28:40Silas could barely crawl.
28:43Was still waiting.
28:45Waiting for the moment he pushed too hard and the blood came.
28:48He spent everything he had just dragging himself back upright.
28:52First thing he did when he was standing again,
28:54was look for me in the crowd.
28:56I turned my gaze away, cold.
28:59That manufactured devotion in his eyes was nauseating.
29:02Silas threw his head back and gathered himself for one total all-or-nothing strike at Kaylin.
29:07And then his hand flew to his own chest.
29:10A rush of blood spilled from his mouth.
29:12Kaylin didn't need to finish him.
29:14Silas put himself on the ground.
29:16Serafina.
29:18Kaylin won again.
29:20By the end of the final matches,
29:23his title as Siren King was absolute.
29:26Across the crowd, Kaylin found me and held my gaze.
29:29Serafina's back molars were going to crack under the pressure of her clenched jaw.
29:34Back at the house,
29:35it took until the following morning for Father's head to clear.
29:38When he heard that Kaylin had won the tournament and claimed the Siren King title,
29:43Father was overcome.
29:44He said good three times in a row.
29:48It seems I can rest easy leaving the family in your hands.
29:52Before I could respond,
29:54Serafina erupted.
29:55Father,
29:56I am the pack Hi-Ress.
29:58This house should pass to me.
29:59My merman was sabotaged!
30:01Otherwise the Siren King would have been ours!
30:04Father delivered a few mild words of rebuke,
30:07and seemed prepared to let the matter go.
30:09I reached into my bodice and drew out the handkerchief.
30:13Father,
30:14yesterday,
30:15before Kaylin's match,
30:16Serafina tried to wipe his face with this cloth.
30:18It contains a heavy sedative.
30:20You only came to yourself this morning because of it.
30:23This concerns
30:26the family's future.
30:29Serafina's intentions are unforgivable.
30:33Father's expression went still,
30:34and then ignited.
30:36Thank God Kaylin stepped back.
30:37If that cloth had touched him,
30:38the Siren King's crown would have gone somewhere else entirely.
30:41You have spent your entire life competing with your sister,
30:43and I have spent your entire life looking the other way.
30:45But it is clear to me now that this family cannot be given to you.
30:48Are you really fanning over Alara just because her merman won a tournament?
30:53How dare you!
30:56Get back to your room.
30:59Serafina,
31:00you are forbidden from keeping a merman from this day forward.
31:03Serafina was dragged out.
31:05That last sentence had sealed every exit she had left.
31:08Without a merman,
31:09what did she have left to use against me?
31:11Kaylin and I rose to a new position in the household,
31:13one that would hold.
31:14That night, Kaylin's tail moved in restless arcs across the bed.
31:18Are you going to sleep?
31:21Sleeping.
31:27What did you say to Simus after he went down?
31:31I told him he'd been drinking chicken blood the whole time.
31:33You were....
31:34hating on him.
31:36The third sentence in city of night
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