“Queen–” Tyrion starts to say as he bows at me in the hall. I trail my eyes over his built body in his new red shirt, the tight black trousers, and his messy brown hair. It’s curly, with little curls falling into his brown eyes when he looks up at me. He is so handsome, and I know I’m not the only one that notices. It just seems like I’m the only one he doesn’t care about noticing in return.

“You don’t have to call me that Ty, it’s Everly,” I smile at him, but he keeps his expression cold and emotionless. He's been like this from the moment I told him about the promise I made to the mermaid king. The price I paid months ago to save my friend and to save Calais. To marry him, a complete stranger. Yet, he doesn’t care about that, apparently. My best friend won’t even look me in the eye.

“Queen Everleigh, the council has called you to the throne room,” he says, and then turns to walk away. I start to follow him, but I don’t because he walks away too fast, and I can’t run to catch up. I have a stupid damn limp in my leg because a sword did too much damage in the war. I look back at two of my personal guards, both of them silent as always, but they are watching. I swallow my annoyance at Tyrion and walk down the corridor and towards the stairs, limping the whole way. I try to hide it now, but it doesn’t make it easy. Everyone here knows about it, anyway. I finally get to the second to top layer of the mountain, where my rooms, the throne room, and the council room are located. The council does have another room above us, but only changed ones can enter that. Changed ones are people born with a mark on their forehead, marking them as kissed by the sea god and special. The war was because of them, because the old king used to hunt their kind and kill anyone that protected them. Like he tried to do to me for protecting my best friend, Cassandra. I smile as I think of my best friend, knowing she must have had her baby by now, and I can’t wait to get a letter to find out if it’s a boy or a girl.

“Queen Everleigh,” three guards at the door say as I walk into the throne room, and I hear them close the door behind me and my guards. I look over at the two council members in the room, Master Pirate and Master Light. Both of them I have come to trust. I stop when I see the woman standing just behind them. Her bright-blue hair is down, and she actually has clothes on this time, when usually she never wears them. Mermaids don’t from what I’ve seen.

“Kiaw?” I ask, walking over and offering her my hand to shake. She does, and I feel how warm she is, almost burning.

“The king has sent me to collect you. It is time, Queen Everleigh,” she says, and I smile tightly. I walk around them all and go to my throne, sitting down and folding my hands in my lap.

“You can return to your king, and give him a message instead,” I say, and her eyes widen in shock.

“You promised. You must not break your word,” she hisses.

“I am not,” I say simply, and it seems to calm her down a little. “You can tell your king that if he wants his bride, then he must come to collect her himself,” I say, and she shakes her head.

“The king does not leave his city. That is an impossible demand,” she says, her eyes wide and frightened. I want to feel sorry for her, but this is what I’ve planned. I will not leave my people so soon after the war.

“Then it will be impossible for him to collect on my promise. Now leave and safe travels,” I say, nodding my head at my two guards, who escort Kiaw out. When the door shuts, I wait for the council members to say anything.

“I do not believe that was wise, your highness,” Master Pirate says, his words sarcastic and annoying.

“That was my choice. I do not want to marry a stranger. A king of the mermaids who killed his family for his throne. If I marry him, he will be king of all of Calais.”

“Yes, but you will be queen,” Master Light says and walks up to me, taking my hand in his. “To be queen, you must sacrifice your ideals and your personal wants. The king will come here for you, to collect on your promise. You must return to his world, and come back as the queen of both land and sea.”

“Is the queen of land not enough?” I ask, and he nods, turning my hand over. His finger traces a line in the middle of palm.

“They say our life stories can be told in our hands, in the lines we have. They say the god of souls looks at your hand before he decides whether to take your soul or not.”

“Who is the god of souls?” I ask, only ever having heard of the Sea God.

“Someone you could do to learn about, Queen Everleigh,” he chuckles and lets go of my hand. I watch as he walks out of the room with Master Pirate, before I stand up and look towards the two guards left with me.

“I’m ready to go to my rooms,” I say, but neither of them move, they keep their heads down, looking at the floor. I slowly walk over to the one on the left. My heart pounds in my chest when I see the blood dripping out of the corner of his mouth. I touch his shoulder, and he falls to the floor with a smash. I back away, turning and rushing towards the door, just as I feel a pain rip through my chest. I look down, seeing the black arrow sticking out of my chest where my heart is, and blood dripping down my red dress. I fall to the floor, gasping for air, but only tasting blood in my mouth as my vision goes blurry.

“Death to the throne, and death to the queen,” a man’s voice says, as a blurry figure steps over me, and everything fades away before I can see his face.