Kadir waited on the dock for his bride. Early morning sunlight touched the bay. A sensation like electric eels pooled in his belly.

“Will she really come?” Soren demanded beside him.

They stood on the wooden dock. The tide was high, and waves splashed against the slats. On both sides, his warriors bobbed in the ocean. Although it was very unlikely any other city’s warriors would come this close to the human-filled shoreline and engage an attack, his warriors were ready for danger from any direction.

Kadir rested his palms on his wet jeans. “She will come.”

What Soren and the other warriors didn’t know was that Kadir almost didn’t want her to.

From a very early age, he had known the old traditions were wrong. Bringing his race into a new era was his destiny. He embraced and fought for it. Founding a new city was the first step. His actions now ensured his city’s — and his race’s — survival.

Yesterday, he’d glimpsed the end of the old ways. A modern woman who possessed a cell phone and a television would transform by her own choice and stay on as a queen, dawning a new era of revitalization. His gut told him that human was Elyssa. All claims began with the kiss. So, yesterday in the auditorium lobby, when Elyssa vowed to rule Atlantis as his queen, Kadir had pulled her forward to claim her lips.

Now he couldn’t get the memory out of his mind.

It consumed his thoughts. Distracted him from the plans he should have been making with his warriors for their return journey to Atlantis. Enslaved his soul.

As he waited for her arrival on the dock, the memory surged once more to the forefront. Unbidden and uncontrollable. The kiss had foretold danger, and he kept reliving it to fully identify exactly what was dangerous.

She’d stumbled. For a human who’d spent her whole life walking, she was oddly unprepared for it. He’d stepped forward to catch her.

She’d braced her hands against his biceps. Her small body fit into his arms as though she were designed to rest there. She let out a quick, surprised breath and looked up at him in apology.

Her expression froze as he lowered his head to claim what was his.

Their lips touched.

She melted against him.

Her softness felt like nothing he had ever prepared for. What he had intended as an imperial stamp of possession, perfunctory to complete the contract, intrigued him to linger.

He cupped her cheeks, holding her where he wanted her. Her lips trembled. What was her flavor? He had to know. He teased her lips. Sweet murmurs of hunger encouraged him to do it again. He nibbled at her gently with his teeth.

Her lips parted.

He surged into the opening, connecting with her deeply. She moaned, yielding completely to his possession. Feminine and gentle, with hints of sweetness and spice. For some reason, he couldn’t get enough. She tentatively returned his thrusts with her own curious exploration. He took what she offered, claiming her wet interior, inside and outside, for him alone.

In her chest, her light flared to blinding. Something shifted deep within his soul.

What was that? He’d jerked back. Struggling to catch his inner balance, he’d rocked, even though he was standing flat-footed on the even tile floor of the auditorium lobby.

That was the moment his memories kept circling. What had shifted? This small thing, whatever it was, could change everything. He knew it. But how? All he was left with was the unsettled feeling of risk.

Risk to his city. Risk to his warriors.

Risk to his soul.

Yesterday, when he’d been reeling from the unidentified sensation, Elyssa had stroked his cheek gently. That small comfort was enough to give him back his center of gravity. He’d shrugged off the unsettling feeling and focused on what next needed to be done.

But when she had pulled away to complete the human’s paperwork, he had spent a long night with his warriors mulling the situation over.

Twin feelings warred within him. One was hope and the other fear. One obsession and the other panic. One craving, and the other the need to crush that craving under iron control.

Both feelings were equally powerful.

Only one feeling could win.

A different bride would make his duty easier. One of the other pageant females would perform as queen admirably, require little attention, and Kadir could ignore her to focus on his city.

Kadir could never ignore Elyssa.

Her soul light fluctuated unpredictably. She had denied his claim and then changed her mind. Their kiss had unsettled him. His ongoing, obsessive reaction to her was frightening.

The life he thought he had been training for was gone. A glimpse of a stronger, more vibrant life beckoned — if only he had the strength to swim out and spear it.

And her craveable flavor once more teased his tongue. Her soft sweetness hooked under his skin. Would her second kiss feel as unsettling? Or would it show him a more direct path to his accomplish his vision?

Despite his concerns, he had to know the answer.

Vehicles drove to the isolated parking lot. Aya arrived first. Dark hollows bruised her cheeks as though she hadn’t slept. She directed employees onto the dock. Some carried masks, tanks, and air-breathing gear. Others filmed for their TV program.

Soren couldn’t take his eyes off Aya. “You are making a mistake.”

Maybe. Maybe not.

Kadir ignored his first lieutenant.

Elyssa’s car rolled to a stop at the marina. He sensed her presence inside. She climbed out and walked beside two older humans. A cloth in pretty shades of kelp-forest green wrapped around her body.

Aya posed her for filming, gave her black devices to fix on her earlobes, and then led her onto the dock. The two adults remained with her. Elyssa’s cheeks burned bright red and she, like everyone, focused on Aya.

Not on him.

Kadir fought the urge to storm across the dock, grab her chin, and force her attention on him. I am yours. You are mine. That was the danger, the obsession, the need to possess surging in his mind. He would not have felt this uncontrollable emotion with another bride. And he could not stop the feelings now. No matter how intently he pushed the thoughts at her, she focused resolutely on Aya and on the filming cameras.

Soren made the tsk noise. Because he sensed Kadir’s unrest or because he took Elyssa’s focus on Aya for submission to a more dominant female? Either irritated the first lieutenant.

Aya, in contrast, strode fearlessly to Kadir.

“King Kadir.” A bold red dress clothed Aya’s body, dark sunglasses hid her eyes, and white heels tap-tapped on the wood. “We’re ready to make the exchange.”

Kadir knelt. Iyen lifted the tightly woven bag full of Sea Opals into his arms. Kadir hauled it onto the wood at his feet.

“We give the bride her Sea Opals.” Kadir untied the knot.

Aya’s lips parted.

Inside, the smooth, white resin spheres gleamed.

Aya counted quickly and silently.

The foundation of a city was its Life Tree. As it aged, “Sea Opal” resin dripped from its branches and formed mountains around the trunk. At the appointed time of year, the worthiest warrior rose from the depths and placed a single Sea Opal in the sacred island’s church as his offering. Shortly after, a bride descended to join with him. Despite the abundance of gems, the covenant decreed only one, and the sacred island brides had never asked for more.

Van Cartier Cosmetics asked for a hundred.

The Life Tree of Atlantis was merely a sapling. It dripped tiny pebbles. Out of all the times to demand bags of Sea Opals, the founding of a new city was the one time a merman could not provide them.

Most warriors who escaped to join Kadir had been unable to bring much with them. A few plants from their home castle gardens, a rusty trident no one would miss, a dagger strapped to a thigh. But, out of hope for wooing a modern bride, they had all brought one mating jewel.

This was what Kadir gave to Aya. Because these thirty were from different Life Trees, they had different hues. Some were pink, iridescent black, gold, or his own silver.

She removed her sunglasses and counted again. “This is only a third of what you promised. Where’s the rest?”

“Coming.”

She withdrew her hand and stood, looking down on him. The hot sun haloed her head. She was angry but controlled. “That wasn’t the agreement.”

Her anger barely touched him. His warriors sacrificed much to gather this amount. “It is what we have.”

“When will you have the rest?”

“We will pay as we can.”

“You will pay at the first support visit. In full.”

Distant sea-birds screamed on the salty breeze.

“You will have all the Sea Opals in Atlantis,” he promised.

Aya huffed, took the bag, and struggled with the weight. She gave it to two suited men, who strained to carry the dripping treasure back to their SUV.

Kadir stood. Behind and below him, his warriors watched their mating jewels disappear with stony resolve.

These were the jewels of their home cities. The jewels which they had carried to claim their own brides. Van Cartier Cosmetics demanded an unprecedented ransom for a single bride, and after much debate, they had agreed to spend all on their king.

If Atlantis was on friendly terms with any other city, then the other city could easily provide ten bags of gems. Or twenty bags. Or even a hundred bags, each bag the size of a boulder. And the older Life Tree would quickly generate even more.

But Atlantis stood alone. Anathema. Constantly at risk of destruction. They would have no more Sea Opals until they received recognition as an official city from the All-Council and made effective alliances with their nearest neighbors.

Or until they excavated the treasury from the sunken wreckage of their ancient namesake.

That was what Kadir and the other warriors focused on. Giving away their precious gems now would lead to the successful debut of a mermaid queen. More warriors would escape to Atlantis, swelling their ranks to the necessary size. Their city would become recognized. Sea Opals would flow.

Enough to tempt a thousand brides. Enough to join with each and every one of his warriors.

“In exchange, my bride,” he ordered.

Elyssa jumped. The older adults rubbed her shoulders.

Aya turned serious. “King Kadir. Please accept my cousin, Elyssa Van Cartier, as the first ambassador to Atlantis. I hope you will always respect her, be patient with her as she learns your ways, and treat her as precious to you…” Aya’s voice cut out. A strange moisture filled her red-rimmed eyes. She cleared her throat and stiffened. “As a precious, and irreplaceable treasure as she is to me.”

Elyssa’s chest glowed with her cousin’s words. Not a bold glow like Aya. A warm, gentle glow that sparkled.

“I will protect her with my life,” Kadir swore.

Aya frowned hard.

He knelt again and reached over the side of the dock. Iyen ushered the precious, tiny white blossom he had guarded into Kadir’s cupped hand.

He stood. “This nectar will permanently transform a human into a mer.”

Aya blocked his path as though she had suddenly changed her mind.

Too bad. The time for changing minds was yesterday, and the only minds that mattered were his own and Elyssa’s. Kadir strode past Aya as though she did not exist and presented his Life Tree’s flower to his bride. “Elyssa.”

Her soft lips parted. She sucked in a breath and finally, finally met his eyes. Tentative, fearful, determined. “Yes?”

“Drink.”

“Now? Oh. Um…” She reached for the flower and then stopped. “Sorry. Do you mind?”

His guts twinged. So close. “Mind?”

“Before I transform, I wanted to introduce you to my parents. This is my dad, Baron, and my stepmom, Suzanna.”

Her parents craned their necks to look up at him.

Baron brushed his thick, brown hair out of his eyes. “Hello, sir.”

“Hi there,” Suzanna said, her cheeks red.

“If anything goes wrong, send her right back.” Baron squeezed Elyssa’s shoulder. “I mean if it doesn’t work out. The whole ‘water-breathing and ruling Atlantis’ thing.”

“Dad,” she said softly. Her light proved she did not object to her father’s kindness. She only felt love for him and her step mom.

“It’s going to work out,” Suzanna said with a short laugh.

Their anxious gazes pleaded with him to take good care of their daughter. Kadir had known Elyssa for less than a day, and yet, he was about to take her far out of their reach.

“I will protect her,” he repeated softly. “She will return to you many times. Together, we will rebuild Atlantis. You will meet her often. And, soon, our son.”

“Right.” Her dad released Elyssa and held his wife for strength. “I’m too young to be a grandfather.”

“Hush, Baron.” Suzanna raised her chin. “We’ll hold you to that promise, King.”

The other warriors shifted. Even in the thin air, they must sense Suzanna’s hope and longing, her anxiety and pride. This deep familial connection was what he hoped to secure for his young fry. To know the love and protection of both parents. Not only the father.

Now, thanks to Elyssa’s insistence to introduce her parents, the warriors who returned empty-handed to Atlantis could hear the hopeful message for themselves. The future they clung to was also a future held tightly by humans.

Aya cleared her throat.

Elyssa’s cheeks reddened like her step mom’s. “I guess I’ve held the schedule back long enough. Um, how, exactly, do I drink this?”

“Cup the flower in your hand. Drink the liquid pooled in the blossom.”

“Like this?” She pinched and lifted the flower.

Its thin walls collapsed inward. Precious nectar dripped out and stained the dock.

His heart pounded. He cupped the flower again. “Do not lift it from the water.”

“Oh.” Her light dimmed. “Sorry. I’ll, uh, be more careful.”

They maneuvered awkwardly. She finally rested her chin against his hand and tried to suck the blossom closer. He tipped his hand. The last drop of nectar poured into her mouth—along with the cupped seawater.

She choked.

Seawater streamed out of her mouth and dampened the front of her green dress. She coughed and hacked. Her step mom clapped her on the back. Her dad rubbed her elbow.

His warriors stared, stunned.

Soren lifted a brow. His authority-challenging lips curled into a sneer. Kadir could imagine his question. Are you sure you chose the best bride?

Elyssa hacked. She rested her hand on Kadir’s forearm. “Is… it… always like that? When people change?”

He did not know. “The sacred island brides transformed before coming to us.”

His warriors calmed. Yes, perhaps her reaction was natural.

But worry sliced into his confidence.

Had Elyssa received any nectar? At all?

She cleared her throat and met his eyes. Hers were red and full of tears from coughing. “Okay. I’m ready to try again. Let’s drink.”

“That was all the nectar.”

“Oh.” She sucked in a shaky breath and squared her shoulders. “Then, this is it.”

She removed the kelp dress to expose a white bikini dotted with pink flowers. She hugged her stepmom, kissed her dad’s cheek, and waved brightly at Aya. Aya waved back, worry tightening her body. Elyssa turned, marched past Kadir, and jumped off the dock, into the ocean.

Where she abruptly proceeded to drown.