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00:00When 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.
00:14A 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.
00:41I 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?
00:49My eyes found Silas instantly, cowering at the very back of the holding tank.
00:54A merman's greatest pride is his tail.
00:57Every other tail in that water prison shimmered, rippling like silk ribbons in a dark current.
01:02Silas's tail was stripped nearly bare, scales shed down to raw, ragged flesh.
01:07Serafina, pack heiress and eldest daughter, exactly as she had in our last life,
01:12gestured lazily toward the two mermen at the back.
01:27In my last life, I had believed every word.
01:32Mermen didn't come cheap, and I had assumed even Serafina wouldn't deliberately choose the most broken creature in the tank.
01:38But she had.
01:39She had actually purchased the barely breathing Silas.
01:43Our father had erupted in fury over it.
01:46Father, Elora picked him herself.
01:49You know how she is.
01:50I only paid.
01:51I chose the strong one.
01:53I'm taking mine now.
01:55And just like that, the half-dead wreck called Silas had been handed to me.
01:59This life, I would not fall for a single word and called my bid before she could speak.
02:03Take what you want, Serafina.
02:06I pointed at the stone-faced merman in the corner.
02:09I want that one.
02:17It didn't matter who I chose.
02:19If I'd turned the broken, helpless Silas into a siren king, I could do it with anyone.
02:23Every creature in this tank would surpass him with the right hand guiding them.
02:27This time, I just wanted one who would be loyal.
02:30Serafina's smile thinned when she realized the hook hadn't landed.
02:33Elora, you gave us a fixed amount. If you use it all, what's left for me?
02:36I gave her a single flat look.
02:37How had I spent an entire lifetime missing how well she could perform?
02:41She had engineered this from the start.
02:42Push the broken merman onto me.
02:44Keep me weak.
02:45Keep herself on top.
02:46Her trap had been set the moment we walked through these auction doors.
02:49I stared straight at Silas, who was pressing himself against the tank wall,
02:53performing desperately for any buyer.
02:54That one doesn't look bad.
02:56Feed him right and he might amount to something.
02:58If you really can't afford your pick, buy him.
03:01Serafina laughed, sharp and incredulous.
03:03I wouldn't want him to warm my bed.
03:05I smiled, but there was nothing warm in it.
03:07Poor Silas.
03:08In our last life, he had actually believed I was the one who separated them.
03:11He had never known that Serafina wouldn't have had him on a bet.
03:14As in our last life, Serafina claimed her merman Jace without hesitation.
03:18But as I walked out with my merman Kaelin,
03:20something slammed against the walls of the holding tank.
03:23Silas, thrashing.
03:24Is he trying to get someone's attention?
03:26Broken thing like that.
03:27I glanced at Silas' frantic movement.
03:30Then at Serafina, who had gone very still.
03:32Had Silas also been reborn?
03:35His panic made sense.
03:37The woman he had spent his whole life loving had just walked away without him.
03:40I caught the fractured blue of his eyes through the water and smiled.
03:43When a dream you've chased for a lifetime shatters in an instant,
03:46that has to hurt.
03:47This life, no one punished me for leaving Silas behind.
03:50Kaelin stood before me,
03:51his tail slapping the floor in slow, rhythmic strikes.
03:54Can you shift to human form?
03:57He pressed his lips together and pulled the tail in.
04:00Obedient but clearly reluctant.
04:04Unlike the others, there was no relief on his face.
04:07No gratitude for being purchased.
04:08Looking closer, his blue eyes held something else entirely.
04:11Cold detachment and a pride that hadn't been broken yet.
04:14You don't want to come home with me?
04:15Kaelin glanced at me once and said nothing.
04:17As far as I know, the holding tanks run on hierarchy.
04:20Without a buyer,
04:22you fight every day just to hold your rank.
04:24I can protect that rank, right now.
04:25He moved to the chair farthest from me and sat.
04:28I'm not the wreck who got his tail beaten to pieces.
04:31One sentence and I was already smiling.
04:33He was right.
04:34For a merman to have his tail destroyed like that,
04:36what was that if not useless?
04:37If you don't want to stay,
04:39the door is open.
04:44Something flickered in Kaelin's blue eyes.
04:46He was tempted, I could see it.
04:48Before he could act on it,
04:49I stood up.
04:50What are you doing?
04:52Since you don't want to be here,
04:54I'll go select a different merman.
04:55I'm building a Siren King.
04:57I have no room for someone with a divided heart.
05:00In my peripheral vision,
05:01Kaelin looked at me with something new on his face.
05:03Becoming the Siren King was every merman's deepest ambition.
05:06He had the raw power,
05:07but raw power could be cultivated in anyone.
05:10A backstabber like Silas wasn't worth the investment.
05:13The auction is over!
05:14I turned and smiled at him.
05:15A family that can afford a merman a senelmest in the first place?
05:19You think we worry about finding another one?
05:24The next several days,
05:25I left early and returned late.
05:28Kaelin hadn't left,
05:29but I needed my own contingency plans.
05:31What I didn't expect.
05:33The moment I stepped onto the street that afternoon,
05:36Silas came staggering toward me.
05:38Lara!
05:40Why didn't you take me?
05:42He threw his arms around my legs.
05:44Take me with you, please.
05:46You were always supposed to choose me.
05:49My heartbeat stuttered exactly once.
05:51What did you just say?
05:53Lara, look at me.
05:55Are you really not choosing me?
05:57Silas gripped my legs tightly with both hands.
06:00That confirmed it.
06:02Silas had been reborn too,
06:03but if he got a second life,
06:05why was he coming to me instead of running straight to Serafina?
06:07I shook him off without expression.
06:09What are you rambling about?
06:10Who is your owner?
06:12Don't come grabbing at strangers in the street.
06:15I turned to walk away,
06:16but Silas chased after me recklessly,
06:19following closely in haste.
06:20I was half a second from losing my composure.
06:23Then I caught sight of Kaelin,
06:25following at a distance behind me.
06:27My eyes shifted, calculating.
06:34Your tail is badly damaged.
06:37Did the other mare shifters in the tank do this to you?
06:42Silas blinked, then nodded quickly.
06:45In my peripheral vision,
06:47Kaelin had drawn several steps closer.
06:49I ran my fingers along Silas' damaged tail,
06:52the same way I had in our last life.
06:54Every wound on his body had been healed by my hand.
06:56I knew exactly where the pressure felt good,
06:58and where it burned.
06:59So when I pressed just right,
07:01a shudder rolled through Silas' entire body.
07:03He kept leaning into me, breathless.
07:06Master,
07:07will you take me home?
07:09I curved my lips.
07:10Of course, I...
07:13Before I could finish,
07:14Kaelin launched forward,
07:16smashed Silas away with its tail.
07:18He slammed him violently onto the street,
07:20five meters away.
07:20He planted himself in front of me,
07:22jaw set.
07:23I haven't left yet.
07:26Silas hit the pavement and couldn't get back up.
07:29Several failed attempts.
07:30Then stillness.
07:33I blinked at Kaelin with wide eyes.
07:37Was that really necessary?
07:41Didn't you say you were leaving?
07:43Why stop me from finding another merman?
07:46The hands hanging at Kaelin's side,
07:47it's curled into slow fists.
07:49I'm not leaving.
07:51Satisfaction curved my mouth upward.
07:53Mermen had their own will.
07:55Every one of them needed to be won,
07:57not forced.
07:58He had taken the first step.
08:00I would accept the olive branch.
08:03As for Silas,
08:04he dragged himself upright
08:06and crept forward again.
08:08Master,
08:09you agreed just now.
08:12You were going to take me.
08:14I slung my arm over Kaelin's shoulder
08:16and gave Silas a bright little wave.
08:18Sorry.
08:19I changed my mind.
08:21Silas opened his mouth to protest
08:22and moved one step forward.
08:24Kaelin's tail cracked down onto the pavement
08:26directly in front of him.
08:28One more step
08:29and the next thing that breaks
08:31will be your bones.
08:32When the tail lifted,
08:33I looked at the cracked stone beneath it.
08:35Kaelin was,
08:36without question,
08:36in another league from Silas.
08:39To prevent another betrayal,
08:40I forced Kaelin through the blood bond ritual.
08:42You can actually make me Siren King?
08:44I said nothing.
08:45A master speaks.
08:46She doesn't explain herself.
08:48In my last life,
08:49I had poured everything
08:49into making Silas a king
08:51and forgotten to make myself stronger first.
08:53If Kaelin performed,
08:55the title was his.
08:56If he showed one flicker of divided loyalty,
08:58he would spend this lifetime
08:59as nothing but a bed warmer.
09:00If you don't want to walk out,
09:02then don't.
09:03I turned to leave,
09:04but before I'd taken a single step,
09:06Kaelin drew a blade across his own tail
09:07and pressed the blood from it.
09:10I'll do it.
09:10After the bond sealed,
09:12Kaelin stood beside me,
09:13stiff and stilted.
09:14I'm your merman now.
09:16Up close,
09:16a faint flush had crept across his pale face.
09:21Oddly endearing,
09:22I tilted my chin toward the bed,
09:23go lie down,
09:25just to watch his reaction.
09:29Kaelin's face went a deeper red.
09:30He shuffled to the bed,
09:32one careful step at a time,
09:33and let his bleeding tail hang off the edge
09:35so it wouldn't stain the sheets.
09:37What are you doing?
09:38The crimson flooding his face nearly made me laugh.
09:40All that menace,
09:41and this was what was underneath it?
09:43I ran a deliberate hand along his tail.
09:45You know the custom,
09:46when our family brings home a mermond,
09:48there's a mate claim,
09:49which means,
09:50technically,
09:51you're my husband now.
09:52Kaelin said nothing,
09:53but the moment my fingers made contact,
09:55his tail gave a small,
09:56involuntary shiver.
09:57Our eyes met,
09:58and something in his expression shifted,
10:00a quiet resignation,
10:01and he closed his eyes.
10:02A soft laugh escaped me,
10:04as I turned and reached for the medical kit.
10:06With his eyes still shut,
10:08I leaned in,
10:09and blew a gentle breath across his bleeding wound.
10:11Does it hurt?
10:12What?
10:13Kaelin's tail began to sway side to side,
10:15in small,
10:16helpless arcs.
10:17In merman body language,
10:18that meant only one thing,
10:19pleasure.
10:21I packed the wound,
10:22and settled back into my chair.
10:23Stay out of water for a few days,
10:25it'll heal.
10:26Less painful now?
10:27The flush hadn't left Kaelin's face.
10:29He darted one glance at me,
10:30and turned to look pointedly at the wall.
10:32Hyrus doesn't belong on my tail.
10:34Hmm.
10:35Then why was it still swaying?
10:37Once his tail healed,
10:38we fell into a daily training rhythm.
10:40Unlike my last life,
10:41this time I trained too.
10:42What kind of woman builds a siren king,
10:44and leaves herself defenseless?
10:47We hadn't been at it long,
10:48when Serafina arrived with her merman,
10:50Jace.
10:50My little sister,
10:51so committed you've thrown yourself into the sparring too.
10:53You spent so long choosing at the auction,
10:55I expected something impressive,
10:56but honestly,
10:56he's not even half of what my Jace is.
10:58I stopped,
10:59and looked at Serafina and Jace without expression.
11:01Jace was built impressively,
11:03yes,
11:03but in our last life,
11:05he had been thoroughly ordinary,
11:06and Serafina was no handler.
11:08After her mate claim,
11:09our father had handed house authority to me instead.
11:11I said nothing,
11:12but Kaelin stepped in front of me.
11:14Ha!
11:15A mermane?
11:16Challenging me?
11:17Let me make this clear.
11:19I am this family's pack heiress,
11:21and when the time comes,
11:23I run this house.
11:25Jace,
11:26teach him.
11:55Jace lunged.
11:57No,
11:57Serafina screamed.
11:59How dare you!
12:01Alara!
12:01Look at what your pet did to my immersion!
12:04I smiled.
12:05Serafina,
12:06weren't you the one who let Jake start it?
12:08You were screaming at him to kill Kaelin,
12:10everyone present urged you.
12:11Serafina couldn't win the argument,
12:12so she crossed the floor,
12:14and put herself in my face.
12:15If Jace is injured,
12:16I will have father come down on you so hard!
12:18You cost a fortune.
12:19I held her gaze for a long moment,
12:21then told Kaelin to let Jace go.
12:24Smart girl.
12:25Eldest is eldest.
12:26No matter what,
12:27this house will never be yours to run.
12:29She snatched Jace by the arm,
12:31and swept out,
12:31hurling curses the entire way.
12:33I should have finished him.
12:34What's the rush?
12:35Serafina had taken her first loss.
12:37She would come back with real hatred now.
12:39Let her rage.
12:40Let her spiral.
12:41The one who goes mad first loses everything.
12:44Serafina began watching me
12:46the way a predator watches an open wound.
12:48I had expected her to undermine me
12:50in front of our father,
12:51what I hadn't expected.
12:52She had brought Silas home
12:54and put into work as a house servant.
12:55The moment he blocked my path
12:57in the corridor and begged,
12:58my step stuttered.
12:59How are you here?
13:01Serafina stepped out from around the corner,
13:03smiling,
13:04with our father right behind her.
13:05So the rumors are true.
13:07I stared at her.
13:09What rumors?
13:10Father's expression was stoned.
13:12Elora, you already have a mate claim.
13:14Why are you still tangled up with him?
13:16Your sister was fortunate enough
13:17to run into him today.
13:18She brought him here to keep him quiet.
13:20Otherwise, your reputation would be ruined.
13:22I had no words.
13:25Serafina strolled toward me
13:26with pure delight on her face,
13:27hooking Silas' chin up
13:29with the toe of her shoe.
13:30Little sister,
13:30he's been asking around outside,
13:31trying every connection he has
13:33to get through our gates
13:33to reach you.
13:34You should have said something.
13:36If there was something between you two,
13:37you could just bought him
13:38at the auction.
13:40Why bother bringing Kaylin home?
13:42The more she talked,
13:43the darker father's face became.
13:45Elora,
13:46clean this up
13:47or get out of this house.
13:48He turned and left
13:49without another word.
13:50Serafina beamed at me.
13:52My capable little sister.
13:54Take your time sorting it out.
14:00Silas knelt half on the floor,
14:02his face tilted up toward mine,
14:04his eyes full of naked wanting.
14:08You love being near me that much?
14:10Then stay.
14:11Better to keep him where I could watch him
14:13than to throw him out blind.
14:14In this life,
14:15without my heart essence,
14:16Silas surviving at all
14:17was already uncertain.
14:19He started drifting through
14:20every room I occupied.
14:21Kaylin, on the other hand,
14:23had gone cold on me again.
14:24When I cornered him
14:25in the back garden one morning,
14:26You're coming to me right now?
14:27Shouldn't you be
14:28with that pathetic Silas?
14:29That whole scene on the street
14:30was staged.
14:32You two tricked me
14:33into the blood bond.
14:34Kaylin's tail hit the ground
14:35in sharp, irritated slaps.
14:37I watched him
14:37with genuine interest.
14:38You already bonded.
14:40There's no running from that.
14:42The real question is,
14:44do you still want to be Siren King?
14:46He gave me a flat, suspicious look,
14:48like I was setting another trap.
14:50There's a Mermin tournament
14:50in two months.
14:51Whether you become Siren King
14:53depends entirely
14:54on what you do with that time.
14:55Really?
14:56There's truly nothing
14:57between you and that Mermin?
14:59I was half a breath
15:00from swearing on it.
15:01Kaylin finally let out
15:02a grudging huff
15:03and fell into step beside me.
15:05We drilled repeatedly
15:06in the draining field
15:07while Silas kept finding
15:08reasons to wander past.
15:11Let me break his tail,
15:13see how he walks after that.
15:15Kaylin!
15:17I have plans for him.
15:18All that heart essence
15:19I'd fed him in our last life
15:21was not going to be wasted.
15:23He walked right up to us.
15:24What happened next
15:25was on him.
15:27That evening,
15:28I had Silas called
15:29to my room to serve.
15:30The Siren King
15:30of my last life
15:31was now on his knees
15:32at my feet,
15:33cradling a basin of water.
15:35His injuries were severe enough
15:36that he swayed
15:37every few minutes,
15:38barely holding himself upright.
15:39You're not well?
15:40I kept my voice casual,
15:42almost bored.
15:43The annual Merman tournament
15:44was weeks away.
15:45Silas had to be crawling
15:46out of his skin.
15:47In our last life,
15:48with my help,
15:49he had claimed
15:49the Siren King's title.
15:51A man who had sat
15:52at the top of the world
15:53does not quietly accept
15:54kneeling on someone's floor.
15:55So no matter what it cost him,
15:57he would endure.
15:58Because he still needed
15:59my heart essence.
16:00Silas sad sideways
16:01onto the floor,
16:02his voice thin.
16:04My tail was damaged
16:05in the holding tank.
16:06It never healed properly.
16:08Hmm.
16:09What would it take to fix it?
16:11This house doesn't
16:11keep idle staff.
16:13Silas looked at me,
16:14testing the water.
16:14A human's heart essence.
16:1649 days of it.
16:18Taken in doses.
16:20Only then will I heal.
16:23I said nothing.
16:24Right now,
16:25he was nothing but a servant.
16:27When I didn't react,
16:28he coughed twice.
16:30I know I'm useless.
16:32All I ask in this life
16:33is to stay near you.
16:35I would never dare
16:36dream of your heart essence.
16:38Why are you so set on
16:40staying near me?
16:42Silas studied my face,
16:43searching for the lie.
16:44My expression was open,
16:46guileless.
16:46There was nothing
16:47for him to find.
16:48Once he was certain
16:48I wasn't performing,
16:49he shook his head
16:50with a face full of grief.
16:51You truly don't remember me.
16:53You saved my life once.
16:56Mermen repay their debts
16:57and that is why I stay.
16:59Even knowing that you
17:00and Kaylin,
17:02as long as I can see
17:03you live well,
17:04I have no regrets.
17:05I dug my fingernail
17:07into my own palm,
17:08hard enough to leave a mark,
17:09and I did not slap him.
17:11Gratitude and loyalty.
17:12He had taken my trust
17:13and stabbed me
17:14with a knife.
17:15And here he was,
17:16performing it with shining eyes
17:18and a breaking voice.
17:20If I didn't still carry
17:21every memory
17:22from our last life,
17:23I might have believed him.
17:24I ranged my face
17:25into something soft
17:26and moved.
17:27Just 49 days
17:28of heart essence?
17:29And you'd be fully healed?
17:31Silas' eyes lit up.
17:34The hunger behind his eyes
17:36was obvious,
17:36but he was working hard
17:38to swallow it.
17:40Yes.
17:42But Alara,
17:43it hurts
17:43to draw heart essence.
17:46I let a pause stretch,
17:48then spoke carefully.
17:50I can save your life.
17:53But once you're healed,
17:55you will not come near me again.
17:58Something flickered
17:59across Silas' face,
18:00a flash of injury,
18:01but he agreed
18:02almost immediately.
18:04Agreed.
18:05I won't come near you.
18:07He bowed his head,
18:09and behind his back,
18:10I finally allowed myself
18:11to smile.
18:12My heart essence
18:13is not so easily given.
18:15Starting the next morning,
18:16I sent Kaylin out each day
18:18to buy fresh chicken blood
18:19from the market.
18:21Diluted with water,
18:22the smell was manageable.
18:24To make sure
18:24he couldn't detect the switch,
18:26I dissolved several herbs
18:27into the mixture.
18:28He needed to see results,
18:29or he wouldn't keep believing.
18:31Silas drained bowl after bowl,
18:32his brow creasing tighter
18:34every time.
18:34Alara,
18:35this heart essence
18:36tastes strain.
18:37I immediately let hurt
18:38flood my expression.
18:39Blood is never going
18:40to taste good.
18:41I cut open my own chest for you.
18:43If you don't like it,
18:44I'll just throw it out.
18:45Silas did not dare.
18:46He tilted the bowl back
18:47and licked it clean.
18:48Alara,
18:49this kindness is something
18:50I'll carry forever.
18:50I wish I were the one
18:51you'd chosen.
18:52I could spend my life
18:53at your side repaying this.
18:54I pulled my face
18:55into something pained
18:56and troubled.
18:56It's already a significant
18:57problem for me.
18:58You heard what father
18:59and Seraphina said that day.
19:01I kept talking,
19:02watching him in my
19:02peripheral vision.
19:03When I mentioned Seraphina,
19:05not a trace of longing
19:06crossed his face.
19:07What appeared instead
19:07was something close to hatred.
19:09I had died in our last life
19:11before seeing what came after.
19:13But judging by his face now,
19:14the Siren King's reign
19:16had not ended well
19:17for him either.
19:18Still,
19:18none of that is your fault.
19:21Seraphina has always
19:22had it out for me.
19:23She's simply using your situation
19:24to make me look bad.
19:25The hand Silas had rested
19:26on the table
19:27tightened into a fist
19:28without him noticing.
19:29Looking at the locked muscle
19:30in his jaw,
19:31I knew I'd guessed right.
19:35Alara,
19:35don't worry.
19:36I won't be a burden to you.
19:37Good.
19:38Because in this life,
19:39he didn't come close
19:39to deserving to be my problem.
19:41Silas stopped haunting
19:42my rooms as much.
19:43Lately,
19:43he'd been gravitating
19:44towards Seraphina's wing instead.
19:46He had taken what I said to heart.
19:47If he could be a blade,
19:48I aimed at her.
19:49That was at least
19:50partial penance
19:50for the last life.
19:51To keep him from noticing
19:52anything off,
19:53Kaylin and I had shifted
19:54our training sessions
19:55to my room at night.
19:58Faster.
20:00Every merman
20:00in that tournament
20:02fights to kill.
20:03If your speed isn't there,
20:05you'll walk in
20:05and get carried out.
20:07I finished
20:07and waved him over.
20:10Come on.
20:12Spa with me.
20:13Kaylin smiled
20:14and it was absolutely
20:15contemptuous.
20:17Get over here.
20:18Before the words
20:19finished leaving my mouth,
20:20he was already
20:21in front of me.
20:22Fast enough
20:23that I couldn't track
20:24how he'd moved.
20:26How did you...
20:26Before I could finish,
20:28he pressed the attack.
20:29I dodged twice,
20:30barely,
20:31and then my footing slipped
20:32and I went backwards.
20:34Kaylin's
20:34sharp inhale.
20:36His hand
20:36caught my waist.
20:37I was fairly certain
20:38he did it on purpose.
20:39The momentum
20:40carried us both
20:40down onto the bed together,
20:42pinned beneath him.
20:43My heartbeat stopped
20:44being something
20:44I could control.
20:45Those blue eyes flickered,
20:46and without a word,
20:48he locked both my wrists
20:49above my head.
20:50Silas gets to come
20:50to your room at night.
20:51Why don't I?
20:53He had found out
20:54about Silas coming
20:55every night to drink.
21:00Silas has business!
21:02Kaylin didn't move,
21:03the heat of his breath
21:04spreading across my neck.
21:05His tail reached out
21:06and drew the bed curtain
21:07closed.
21:08He said,
21:09low and certain,
21:10Master,
21:11you're the one
21:12who said I'd be
21:13your husband.
21:14By the time my legs
21:15had gone completely weak,
21:17Kaylin was still
21:18murmuring in my ear,
21:19asking whether I wanted
21:20him or Silas.
21:22I gave some
21:23incoherent answer
21:24while internally
21:25screaming about
21:26how unfair it was
21:27that this infuriating
21:28merman
21:29had a body like that.
21:31A month later,
21:32Jace's tail collapsed.
21:35Serafina tore
21:36through the house
21:36like something feral.
21:38Jace lay on the bed,
21:39the color of ash.
21:42How does something
21:43like this just happen?
21:45Jace,
21:46did you eat something?
21:47Where is your tail?
21:49How are you supposed
21:49to compete with no tail?
21:50Are you even a mermint
21:51anymore?
21:53Father, please,
21:54find someone
21:55to look at him.
21:56The tournament troll
21:56is almost here
21:57and I've put everything
21:58into him.
22:00Father's brow furrowed,
22:01but he nodded.
22:02The merman physician
22:04examined Jace,
22:05set down his wrist
22:05and left shaking his head.
22:07The tail looks intact
22:08from the outside
22:09but they've already
22:10begun to dissolve.
22:11Within three days,
22:12his skeleton will be
22:13nothing but fluid.
22:14Jace threw himself
22:15at the physician
22:15in a frenzy,
22:16so violent he rolled
22:17off the bed.
22:19Serafina stared at the wall,
22:20repeating impossible
22:21to no one.
22:22After she sent
22:23the physician out,
22:26she lunged straight at me
22:28and Kaylin stepped
22:29between us
22:29before she got
22:30close.
22:32Alotta,
22:33this was you,
22:34wasn't it?
22:35You've always been
22:36jealous of Jace's talent.
22:37Terrified he'd become
22:38Siren King
22:39and you'd never get
22:39above me,
22:40so you did this to him.
22:41You destroyed my mermint!
22:43I will ruin you!
22:45You can die!
22:45Father walked in
22:46on those exact words.
22:47Enough!
22:49Enough!
22:49Father's voice cracked
22:50like a whip
22:51and Serafina went silent.
22:52Serafina,
22:53I genuinely have
22:53no reason
22:54to hurt your mermint.
22:55Whoever ends up
22:56the Siren King,
22:57Kaylin outwells Jace
22:58so completely
22:59that Jake was never
23:00a competitor
23:01we even considered,
23:02so why would I bother?
23:04Serafina tried to erupt again
23:05and Father shut her down.
23:08What's done is done.
23:09Stay in your rooms
23:10and rest.
23:10You're not competing
23:11in the tournament.
23:13As for that useless mermaid,
23:15that's your problem
23:16to solve.
23:17Both Jace and Serafina
23:19went white.
23:19A merman without a tail
23:21turned out of this house.
23:23What were the odds
23:24of survival?
23:25And Serafina,
23:26without a merman,
23:27had just lost
23:28every card she held.
23:31When Silas came
23:32to drink that evening,
23:33the good mood
23:33was written all over him.
23:35He looked at me
23:35like he was offering something.
23:37Serafina won't be able
23:38to take anything
23:39from you anymore.
23:40I handed him the bowl.
23:41He was nearly through
23:41the full course now.
23:43I had increased
23:43the herbal dose recently
23:44and Silas did look
23:45genuinely better,
23:46visibly stronger.
23:47But it was all surface.
23:49The herbs were keeping
23:49a thread of life taught.
23:51The moment he exerted himself
23:52past a certain point,
23:53the crisis would hit
23:54without warning.
23:55When it did,
23:56a hundred days of true
23:57heart essence
23:57wouldn't save him.
23:58That business with Jace,
24:00that wasn't you,
24:01was it?
24:02I let my eyes go wide
24:03with something
24:03that looked like awe.
24:04How did you manage
24:05it so cleanly?
24:06He just fell apart?
24:08I asked.
24:09He turned coy.
24:10For your sake,
24:10there's nothing
24:11I wouldn't do.
24:12I turned away
24:13and let out a quiet,
24:14cold laugh.
24:15The only reason
24:15he knew how to do
24:16any of this
24:17was because he had
24:17been Siren King
24:18once before.
24:19His body was a wreck,
24:20but the dirty knowledge
24:21that had stayed.
24:22He drained the bowl
24:23and licked his lips
24:24with slow satisfaction.
24:25Behind him,
24:26his tail flicked out
24:27in a slow arc,
24:28showing off.
24:29After he left,
24:30Kaelin stepped out
24:30of the shadows.
24:31His expression was set
24:32and watchful.
24:37I stared at the red
24:39stained bowl
24:39and let the question
24:40hang before I turned
24:41it back on him.
24:46Kaelin paused
24:47and I pressed immediately.
24:51He reached back
24:52and closed his hand
24:53over mine.
24:54If my master
24:54wants it this badly,
24:55I'll throw my life
24:56on the line to win it.
24:57That, genuinely,
24:58inconveniently,
24:59made my face go red.
25:00I had assessed
25:01every merman
25:01in that tournament.
25:02As long as Kaelin
25:03fought at his actual level,
25:04this was already decided.
25:06On the day of the tournament,
25:07father came with us,
25:08along with Serafina.
25:09I hadn't seen Silas
25:10at the house
25:11since the day before.
25:12He had entered,
25:13then,
25:13he had to have.
25:14Kaelin.
25:15This match carries
25:15the family's name
25:16and standing.
25:17Give everything you have.
25:19Understood?
25:19Father's voice
25:20was low and firm.
25:21Serafina twisted
25:22her mouth to the side,
25:23but, unusually,
25:24she said nothing.
25:25I glanced at her sideways
25:26with the particular unease
25:28of someone who knows
25:28a quiet snake
25:29is worse than a loud one.
25:32Right before Kaelin
25:33was called
25:33to the arena floor,
25:34Serafina pulled
25:35a handkerchief
25:36from her bodice
25:37and moved
25:37to wipe his face.
25:38Kaelin never allowed
25:39strangers close to him.
25:40He stepped back
25:41immediately.
25:42Serafina's hand
25:43hung in empty air,
25:44the moment crystallizing
25:45into something
25:46awkward and ugly.
25:47Little sister,
25:48look at this
25:49merman of yours.
25:51I'm just
25:52wiping some sweat.
25:54If he becomes
25:55Siren King,
25:56it reflects
25:57on all of us,
25:59doesn't it?
26:00How petty.
26:02Huh?
26:03Helpful?
26:03I laughed,
26:04hollow and bright,
26:05and took the handkerchief
26:06out of her hand
26:07and dragged it
26:08across Father's face.
26:09What?
26:09Stop!
26:10The way Serafina's words
26:11failed completely confirmed
26:13what I already suspected
26:14about that cloth,
26:15so I scrubbed harder.
26:16What's wrong?
26:17The tournament matters,
26:18but Father has been
26:19standing in the heat
26:20for us.
26:20It's only right
26:21that I take care of him.
26:22While I was still talking,
26:23I pushed Kaelin
26:24toward the arena entrance.
26:25Two months of work.
26:26No one was going
26:27to dismantle it
26:27in the final seconds.
26:29Serafina began
26:29shifting her weight,
26:31watching.
26:31Her eyes kept
26:32cutting to Father.
26:33When he started
26:33to sway,
26:34I understood.
26:35A sedative.
26:36She'd laced it
26:37with a sedative.
26:38Father,
26:39are you alright?
26:40Father pressed a hand
26:41to his temple.
26:41Fine beads of sweat
26:42were already breaking out
26:43across his forehead.
26:44You were fine
26:46a moment ago.
26:47One wipe of a handkerchief
26:48and now this?
26:49I was still asking
26:50when Serafina's
26:51composure cracked.
26:54What are you insinuating?
26:57Father is just unwell.
26:59What does my handkerchief
27:00have to do with anything?
27:02Father was already
27:03too disoriented to speak.
27:04I turned to Serafina
27:06with a pleasant smile.
27:07Whether there's a problem
27:07or not,
27:08we'll find out
27:09when we test it.
27:10This time,
27:11the drug had landed
27:12on Father.
27:12I couldn't see
27:13how he could look
27:14away from that.
27:15Serafina's goal
27:15was simple enough.
27:16Her own merman
27:17was finished.
27:18She simply refused
27:19to let Kaylin compete.
27:20But she had forgotten.
27:21As long as someone
27:22brought glory to the family,
27:23Father never cared
27:24who that person was.
27:26Once the tournament started,
27:27Kaylin tore through
27:28the brackets
27:29and into the final rounds
27:30without breaking a sweat.
27:32Father was barely conscious.
27:33Neither Serafina
27:34nor I had time
27:35to tend to him.
27:36When Silas appeared
27:37on the arena floor,
27:38Serafina's jaw dropped.
27:40His tail was ruined.
27:42He was a house servant.
27:43Why is he here?
27:44Then she seemed
27:45to grab hold of something.
27:46His tail can heal.
27:47Does that mean
27:47Jake still has a chance?
27:49That was you,
27:50wasn't it?
27:52How did you heal him?
27:53I tilted my head.
27:54Want to know?
27:55Feed him your own
27:56heart essence.
27:57Every day
27:58for 49 days.
27:59I told her the method
28:00with complete sincerity.
28:01But the moment
28:02Serafina heard the words
28:03your own,
28:04her entire face changed.
28:06For a merman?
28:07Ha!
28:08I'll just buy another one.
28:09But Alara...
28:11You healed Simus
28:12just to watch him
28:13fight Kaelin in the ring?
28:14Serafina looked at me
28:15like she was watching
28:16something too stupid
28:17to pity.
28:18I fixed my eyes
28:18on the arena
28:19and said nothing.
28:20Before we'd arrived,
28:21I had given Kaelin
28:22one instruction.
28:23If you face Silas
28:24in that ring,
28:25don't stop
28:26until he can't get up.
28:34All that chicken blood
28:36and herbs
28:36had been worth
28:37every drop.
28:38Silas and Kaelin
28:39finally stood
28:40face to face.
28:41Kaelin rolled
28:42his shoulders once
28:42and charged
28:43without a word.
28:44Silas had looked
28:45formidable
28:45against everyone else.
28:47But against Kaelin,
28:48he shattered instantly.
28:49Kaelin lifted Silas
28:50over his head
28:51and brought him
28:52down hard
28:53onto the arena floor.
28:54The scream that tore
28:55out of Silas
28:56spilt the air
28:56of the entire stadium.
28:58I was smiling.
28:59In my peripheral vision,
29:00Serafina had stopped
29:01being able to.
29:02How is Kaelin
29:03this strong?
29:04Less than a quarter
29:05of an hour
29:05into the match,
29:06Silas could barely crawl.
29:09Was still waiting.
29:11Waiting for the moment
29:12he pushed too hard
29:13and the blood came.
29:14He spent everything
29:15he had just dragging
29:16himself back upright.
29:18First thing he did
29:19when he was standing again
29:21was look for me
29:22in the crowd.
29:22I turned my gaze
29:24away, cold.
29:25That manufactured
29:26devotion in his eyes
29:27was nauseating.
29:28Silas threw his head
29:29back and gathered
29:30himself for one total
29:32all or nothing strike
29:33at Kaelin.
29:34And then his hand
29:34flew to his own chest.
29:36A rush of blood
29:37spilled from his mouth.
29:39Kaelin didn't need
29:40to finish him.
29:41Silas put himself
29:42on the ground.
29:44Serafina.
29:45Kaelin won again.
29:48By the end
29:49of the final matches,
29:50his title as
29:51Siren King
29:52was absolute.
29:53Across the crowd
29:54Kaelin found me
29:55and held my gaze.
29:57Serafina's back
29:57molars were going
29:58to crack under
29:59the pressure
30:00of her clenched jaw.
30:02Back at the house,
30:03it took until
30:03the following morning
30:04for father's head
30:05to clear.
30:06When he heard
30:06that Kaelin had won
30:07the tournament
30:08and claimed
30:08the Siren King title,
30:10father was overcome.
30:12He said good
30:13three times in a row.
30:15It seems I can rest
30:16easy leaving the family
30:17in your hands.
30:19Before I could respond,
30:21Serafina erupted.
30:23Father,
30:23I am the pack
30:24Hi-Ress.
30:25This house
30:26should pass to me.
30:27My merman
30:27was sabotaged.
30:28Otherwise,
30:29the Siren King
30:30would have been ours.
30:31Father delivered
30:32a few mild words
30:33of rebuke
30:34and seemed prepared
30:35to let the matter go.
30:36I reached into my bodice
30:38and drew out
30:38the handkerchief.
30:40Father,
30:42yesterday,
30:42before Kaelin's match,
30:44Serafina tried
30:44to wipe his face
30:45with this cloth.
30:45It contains
30:46a heavy sedative.
30:47You only came to yourself
30:48this morning
30:49because of it.
30:51This concerns
30:53the family's future.
30:56Serafina's intentions
30:57are unforgivable.
31:00Father's expression
31:01went still
31:02and then ignited.
31:04Thank God
31:04Kaelin stepped back.
31:05If that cloth
31:06had touched him,
31:07the Siren King's crown
31:07would have gone
31:08somewhere else entirely.
31:09You have spent
31:09your entire life
31:10competing with your sister
31:11and I have spent
31:12your entire life
31:12looking the other way.
31:13But it is clear to me
31:14now that this family
31:15cannot be given to you.
31:16Are you really fanning
31:18over Alara
31:18just because her merman
31:20won a tournament?
31:21How dare you!
31:25Get back to your room.
31:27Serafina,
31:29you are forbidden
31:30from keeping a merman
31:30from this day forward.
31:32Serafina was dragged out.
31:33That last sentence
31:34had sealed
31:34every exit she had left.
31:36Without a merman,
31:37what did she have left
31:38to use against me?
31:39Kaelin and I
31:40rose to a new position
31:41in the household,
31:42one that would hold.
31:43That night,
31:43Kaelin's tail
31:44moved in restless arcs
31:45across the bed.
31:46Are you going to sleep?
31:49Sleeping.
31:55What did you say
31:56to Simus
31:57after he went down?
31:59I told him
32:00he'd been drinking
32:00chicken blood
32:01the whole time.
32:02He'd been drinking
32:04and He hospired
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