Kadir rested just below the surface. He could still make out Elyssa’s face, pale and sad, as she leaned over the side of the dinghy.

But if he reached out, he would only cause her agony. Again.

A motor started on the platform. The dinghy rose from the ocean and she disappeared from view.

She was gone.

His chest hiccuped.

He had taken the correct action. Kadir wheeled and slowly descended to the marine current back to Atlantis. He needed to rush as quickly as possible. The city might already be under attack. But he could barely make his fins kick. He was suddenly so tired.

Losing Elyssa will destroy your city.

Soren was right. But Kadir would rather destroy his city than hurt Elyssa. She mattered more. Another warrior could found a new city and become king. So long as she was safe and unharmed — so long as no white flowers were cast upon the water because of his unworthy wish to break the rules — so long as she remained safely on the shore and he in the water, he would sacrifice anything.

Even his deepest held dream.

So his city would be destroyed. His warriors would disperse. Their home cities would be glad to have them. Only he would swim the ocean, an eternal exile.

But even that was better than continuing to cause her pain.

I love you.

She had said that. It made his heart swell. But what had his love caused her?

Flinching. Crying. Begging. Desperation.

Every moment he prolonged her stay with him, he deepened the lacerations on her soul. Soon, she would be as scarred and cautious as Faier. It was good he had forced her to the surface…

But wait.

Faier had served Rusalka honorably. They had rewarded his faithfulness by declaring him unfit and denying him a bride.

Elyssa had cried over and over that she was trying. She wished to stay. She loved him.

By forcing her to the surface simply because he couldn’t stand to see her hurt, hadn’t Kadir treated her with the same grave dishonor?

Shock reverberated through him. He stopped in the current and treaded water.

He was a king, but he was also a warrior. A mer.

Elyssa had asked to stay with him. To join with him. To bear his young fry.

She loved him.

And that was why she could never be injured! Kadir fought with himself, kicking first deeper, then shallower once more. Taking her back to Atlantis in the middle of a battle could be deadly. She must remain on the surface where it was safe. Where he could find her again. Where she would be…

Be what? Treasured?

Leaving her on the surface was actually the easier path. Even though separating hurt him, it kept her safe. This was the cautious path Adviser Creo always wanted him to take. Do not treat your bride roughly. Do not allow her to swim alone or love freely or make mistakes.

Be a bride, Adviser Creole always said. Not a full queen.

But Kadir declared that he wanted Elyssa for his queen.

Didn’t that mean he had to take her back to Atlantis? That he had to brave the raiders and face her fears and become strong enough for the both of them? And wasn’t the one who was fearful, the one who had lost his faith, the one who needed to harden himself to endure pain actually Kadir?

The truth blazed through him like a bright, shining light.

Leaving Elyssa was the cowardly path.

This dull ache in his chest was much easier than the terror of turning back. Of accepting her into his heart. Of saying, “I love you also and will keep you with me no matter the pain or danger, to either of us, for the rest of our lives.”

Could he not cross to that final shore?

He needed Elyssa. Atlantis needed their queen. The mer needed a modern bride who succeeded.

This was his final opportunity to save his city. He had to be strong enough, no matter the consequences, to cross to that shore.

He kicked to the surface. The dinghy was still lifted. He swam around the platform until he found steps and climbed the rocking path to the deck.

There, inside a glassed room, a black-souled male threatened his Elyssa. His yellow teeth flashed. “So. You must have spent a lot of time thinking about me.”

“Well, um, uh, not really.”

He flashed cold, calculating rage. “You’re about to.”

Another shock stung Kadir. While he thought to leave her to the safety of the surface, a hidden enemy had sprung a trap.

The lesson was clear.

Kadir would never leave her alone again.

She pressed a small rectangle of fabric to cover her front. “I thought you were in a Mexican jail.”

“I got out for good behavior.” He pulled out a black weapon and began pacing. He was shaky and clearly unwell. “Your aunt wants me to ask about Aya. But I don’t actually care where the ice witch is. Tell me where to find Atlantis’s Life Tree and I’ll let you live.”

He had left the door open. Kadir edged closer. The glass was dark.

“You can’t get to it even if you know,” Elyssa argued.

“The submersible’s ready.” Blake waved his barrel at the ceiling. “You lead me to the city. I’ll take care of the rest.”

“Don’t you want Sea Opals, Blake? Atlantis doesn’t have any. They’re all in Sireno.”

He lowered the weapon to point at her. “You expect me to believe—”

Kadir leaped through the open door and slammed into the dark-souled male.

“Kadir!” Elyssa shrieked.

The male smashed to the ground. The gun bounced from his hands. He scrambled after it.

Kadir forced him onto his back and squeezed his throat. Under Kadir’s mass, this male was skinny as a bundle of twigs bound with a cable. Fury peeled back Kadir’s lips from his teeth. How dare this male threaten his Elyssa?

The dark-souled Blake popped an elbow at Kadir’s nose. He had apparently seen a lot of scrapping in his life. It smashed into Kadir’s throat like the base of a trident. He lost his breath and coughed. His grip on Blake slipped.

Blake rolled. He landed on the gun and pushed to his feet.

Kadir rose and faced off against the male. Fight honorably and destroy—

Elyssa shoved him out the open door. “Go! Now!”

He stumbled back.

She dropped her towel and ran across the exposed deck for the dinghy.

Kadir leaped after her.

Bang!

Zing!

A super-heated chunk of metal burned the tip of his ear. A projectile weapon. Kadir shifted to cover Elyssa’s exposed back.

She scrambled into the dinghy

Bull shark fins cut the water below.

She vaulted over the side. Kadir jumped right behind her.

He would fight the sharks while she—

Bang!

A sharp fist pounded him in the shoulder. Pain splattered up and down his spine. Kadir roared.

They landed in the middle of the sharks.

Kadir transformed and flew ahead of her. Blood tainted the water metallic. It spilled from his shoulder.

The sharks bellowed. They swerved after Elyssa.

Curse it.

He turned.

She paddled in the water helplessly. Her heart ran away with itself. Her eyes were wide and white.

“Dive!” he yelled at Elyssa.

She paddled down. One shark swerved close. Elyssa shrieked. Bubbles flew past her cheeks and excited the sharks even more. She was holding her breath.

The sharks flew into a classic prey-driving frenzy.

Empty hands. His trident had been left. Where? Atlantis?

Elyssa exhaled and dove under Kadir.

A shark thumped him and swerved away. The bullet’s pain lanced his back. He roared again.

Another shark dove at Kadir. Its big teeth bent inward. It bugled a challenge.

Kadir rolled to face it. His back spasmed.

The shark’s jagged mouth loomed.

He fought the pain and exhaustion to brace for the shark’s impact. The shark’s nose slammed into his chest. He caught it at the two classic shark-wrestling hand-holds: nostril and below the first line of teeth. It shook its head. He released it. It darted away.

Three more dove at Kadir.

He braced and grabbed. He was in the mouth! No, he was fighting, holding its jaws open. Barely avoiding its teeth.

Another swerved at his torso.

He let go.

The two sharks attacked each other. Kadir wrestled with a third, fourth, fifth shark.

Elyssa wheeled. Her heart rate climbed again. She closed her eyes and held out her hands.

What was she doing? “Dive.” He shoved the third one off and gouged its eye. It thrashed away from him. “Now!”

She twisted her lips in frustration but obeyed.

Wounded or not, he had the expertise to protect her.

The sharks peeled away for easier prey. He wrestled free of the last, persistent shark and joined her.

Kadir reached her. He gripped her face in his ripped up, bloodied hands. “Are you okay?”

“Thanks to you.”

She was okay. Of course she was.

The pain spiked. He collapsed in her arms.

She entwined him as he had often done to her, holding him close and twirling in the water. He was so much larger, he towered over her. Her fin tips barely brushed his ankles. “You came back.”

“I also love you.”

Her chest rose with hope. “Really?”

“Yes.”

Soft, golden light fell on him like the warmth of the sky’s sunlight.

He had finally crossed that shore.

And then he collapsed with a spasm.