Of all the timing!

Torun heard the words as clearly as if Lucy had spoken them aloud. She rubbed her stomach. She was ravenous, and his castle was not far.

He tugged her through the city, swimming between the king’s castle and Council castles, and outward, to the periphery. They met no one, thankfully, on the approach to his domicile.

The city was empty. The border guards acted watchful, not war-like, meaning there was not a risk of attack. Perhaps the migrations had come early and the city emptied for a great hunt. Had the city been occupied, the entire community would have assembled at the Life Tree’s single note, sounded when Lucy had kissed the trunk.

What did the note mean?

He had not heard any song from the Life Tree in decades. Not since Prince Jolan’s birth, the last presentation of a young fry.

Had the tree recognized Lucy’s resonance? The note had tapered to a minor key. Did it hold a different, more sinister warning?

No. Impossible.

Lucy was his mate. He accepted no other woman as his queen.

Wait. He accepted no other woman as his queen? Truly?

The thought jarred him with shocking awareness.

He had intended to claim a bride. The brightest soul, whoever she was. But that was no longer true.

Now, he knew Lucy more deeply than any other. Even more deeply than his own warriors. He had met her friends and listened to her dreams. She was not his bride. She was his Lucy.

She resisted him. She threw herself headlong at him. She spoke of transferring his attraction to another woman. She spoke of an incurable illness.

Madness. She would be healed by the Life Tree. She had to be. No other bride would ever satisfy him.

Uniting would sweep all doubts away. Torun squeezed Lucy’s hands and pulled her faster through the water. They approached his family’s castle and the entrance appeared as a pinprick in the center of the bulb.

“This is your castle?” she asked.

He assented. Everything she said and did took on extra significance as he evaluated whether her answers proved she was fit for this life or whether the Life Tree’s note had been a warning of disaster. “Do you like it?”

“It’s big.” She looked way up. “A perfect sphere and just one tiny entrance.”

Although tiny in comparison to the overall size of the castle, the main entrance gaped wide enough for six mer warriors to enter, shoulder-to-shoulder. Thick walls dampened the music of the ocean to a quiet, fan-like hum of privacy.

They entered his castle. She craned her neck to look behind them. “No door?”

“If we are attacked, this passage will close and seal off the uninvited.”

“That’s handy.”

They swam out the passage and into the inner courtyard.

Windows of rooms dotted the inner walls. His family’s castle was old, so the rooms had grown several layers thick. Soil was tilled in the inner courtyard and gardens burst with overgrown food. Torun’s ancestors had once easily housed large families of ten, fifteen, twenty grown mer and their young fry. Now, like in so many other emptied castles, he was the last of his line to survive.

In the center of the garden, one single column grew up and formed a living dais. It glowed with the pure, white seed of the Life Tree.

She swam to the seed. “What’s this? It looks like a fava bean.”

“It is our right and legacy. Every house pledges to protect and honor the Life Tree. In return, we are blessed with one seed. Should we fail in our duty, our seed is crushed and we are cast out of the city.”

She touched a notch in the dais. “Is this a decoration?”

“No.” Several more were near the first. A battle had taken place here. “A rival tried to dishonor, or destroy, my house.”

Her mouth opened. She looked at the entrance. “I thought you said it would close. Are we in danger?”

“The gate may be breached, but the house will defend itself from attack.”

If the Council had so chosen, they would muster a large force, and his seed would be gone. Good. His escape from Jolan and Malem had not turned the king or Council fully against him. He still had the chance to earn their good will with Lucy and succeed.

She studied the seed. “Will it ever grow?”

“Yes. The most honorable males choose a leader to found a new city. They plant his seed, and the others plant theirs around him. The leader’s seed grows into a new Life Tree. Those around take on the power of its founding house.”

“That’s a heck of a down payment. It must be hard to move.”

“We do not move.”

She looked at him.

“We all,” he indicated himself, “form a life-blood connection to our own Life Tree, and remain where we are planted. Many feel angst about the young leader of Atlantis’s wish to draw off more males. That is another reason he has been imprisoned. Founding a new city bloods the old, and now our numbers are dying, our old is a thin corpse that cannot afford the loss. That is why I hope to invigorate Sireno, here, and breathe life into our own Life Tree, rather than going away to strengthen another city.”

“Changing at home is the best place to start.” She placed her hand over her heart. “I pledge…do I pledge?”

“It is not necessary,” he said. “Brides usually do not. However, it is customary among close males, and I would be honored if you pledged to defend our seed.”

“How do I do it?”

He told her the words.

She placed her hand over her heart. “I vow to defend this seed as I defend my home.”

The dedication moved him. A lump formed in his throat, unexpected and tight. His queen-to-be pledged herself to their castle. It felt like she was vowing to join with him all over again.

“As it will defend you,” he intoned, finishing the father-son recognition ritual. “Kiss the seed, as you kissed the trunk.”

Her hand hovered over the seed. “I can touch it?”

“Yes.”

She picked it up. It filled her hand, oblong and striated and white. Her lips touched its smooth surface. Sand wafted off.

How embarrassing. That was a result of his inattention. “Sorry for the mess.”

“Not at all.” She polished the seed and replaced it in its place of honor. “This is a lot to take care of by yourself.”

True. Since the passing of his uncle, only he remained to carry on traditions and battle the upkeep.

First, he showed her the fruits and vegetables ready for harvesting.

“This one tastes like corn.” She crunched a bumpy rhizome and bit into a succulent fruit. “This is like if an apple and a grape had a baby.”

He repaired a basket and harvested a bounty, eating, as she did, while they worked.

“Do not lose all your hunger. There is still the physical commitment of the wedding feast.”

“No problem. I feel like I haven’t eaten in days!” She brightened. “Lead me to it.”

“It is in the pantry.”

He swam to the upper balconies and entered. The castle’s passages wound and curled, making wonderful nooks and crannies. He had adored playing here as a young fry, hiding from his grandfather and bursting out to startle visiting warriors. Soon, their own young fry would fill these hallowed halls.

He swelled with purpose. The rest of the castle was a mess, but he cared for the pantry. He swam the last turn. At least here, his queen-to-be would see the glory of—

Disaster had struck in here too. Things had been pulled out of secure storage and thrown around. Empty shells and husks scattered across the floor and piled in the corners.

His heart sank.

He released her hand to sift through the devastation. “I did not realize I was absent for so long.”

“Did the bad guys break in here too?”

“No. This assailant is still in the house.”

His words affected her, and his Lucy stiffened.

“Be not afraid. You will see soon. Where is he?” Torun checked his locked cabinets. All emptied; some, smashed. His vintage sea fruit wines, all decanted. His private reserve fish cakes. “Show yourself.”

The culprit lurked in the shadows.

“Come out!”

Lucy peered into the small, dark hole in the wall with concern. “What—”

The house guardian bolted from the hole and gripped onto Torun. His arms suctioned Torun’s body and his beak clacked furiously. His dark red skin turned bumpy with fury.

Torun protected his face. “Yes, yes. I am sorry. I expected to return sooner. I thought I left enough food.”

His house guardian pinched Torun’s forearm in his beak, hard.

“Ow! I am sorry!”

Lucy’s laughter startled the house guardian. He released Torun and floated backward, into his hole.

“Do not ink,” Torun warned him. “She is the new mistress of this castle. Lucy, this is the guardian of the castle.”

The house guardian regarded her with first one eye, then the other.

“What an adorable red octopus. He’s skeptical of me,” she said.

“He is hungry,” Torun corrected, sweeping up the debris and searching for anything remaining undamaged to serve his new bride. “And he is a faithful guardian of the house, and will not cause you any problems.”

“You know, it’s funny. I’d say he was large, but after seeing Mr. Huggles, yours seems like a mini pet.”

“He is a dangerous pet, but only to those who would try to break in.”

“I hope we make friends.” Lucy offered a handful of crispy weeds from the courtyard garden.

The house guardian crept out and slunk along the wall. His skin changed colors, from green to white to speckled, and textures from ridged to smooth. He inspected the offering and then backed away again.

“I’m sure he’s skeptical,” Lucy said.

“He eats other fish, not plants. And anyway, he is probably nervous. We have only just arrived, and he must have fended off one, if not two, attempts to desecrate my family seed.”

Finally, Torun unearthed a case of fillet steak from a great hunt. This was a fitting first meal for a wedding night. Enclosed in its savory box, the meat steeped in the aged wood’s rich flavoring.

“He’s like an attack dog,” she said, understanding. “Are you, buddy? Are you a good guy?”

The house guardian rippled.

“He does not know dogs,” Torun explained, working open the aged seal, “and I do not know them well either. He is loyal to his family and faithful to his home and very, very hungry.”

“That sounds like a dog to me.” She approached the lurking house guardian again. “Shall I call you Lassie? Lassie was the smartest dog. Oh, but now that I think of it, Lassie was supposed to be a she.”

“That does not matter.”

“Really? Hmm. The dog who played Lassie on TV was a male, so I guess it’s okay.”

Torun offered her the first slice of the rare, savory meat. “We should eat in a grand room.”

“This is fine for me.” She tried a bite, chewed, and closed her eyes. “Mmm, mahi. Oh, I think this is the best tuna sashimi I’ve ever eaten. The meat is firm and melts in your mouth. Oh my god. It’s so thick and flavorful.”

Hearing her enjoy his food with such rapture made his blood hum. To put the same expression of pleasure on her face later was his only goal for this night.

He cut off the rinds for the house guardian, served the richest meat to her, and consumed enough protein himself to ensure he would have his strength.

The house guardian, Lassie, dragged the rinds back to his hole and ate them. He finished, crept out of his hole, and snuck close to the tasty meat.

Torun leveled the dagger at him. “Do not think any strange ideas. This is food is for mer.”

Lucy gasped. “He’s missing his arms.”

She was correct. Lassie had lost two full arms; a third had been hacked off in the middle.

“What happened?” she asked the house guardian. “Did you lose those defending our house?”

He reacted to her tone, puffing up his sack. He loved her sympathy and attention.

“This could have happened,” Torun conceded. “He will fight to defend his territory. A formidable house guardian could fight off two or even three trained guards.”

“And they respond by hacking off his arms? Monsters.” She held out a piece of rich meat. “Here. Get your strength back.”

The house guardian perked up.

“Lucy,” Torun warned.

“Go ahead.” She tossed the meat. “You deserve it.”

The house guardian caught the rich meat and, with a sideways glance at Torun, scurried back to his hole to consume the forbidden feast.

“That is the best meat,” Torun protested. “For a special occasion, such as our wedding night.”

“And Lassie is a member of our family,” she said. “He lost two and a half arms defending our home.”

“They will grow back.”

“Faster, with the best food.”

Lassie emerged from his hole. Torun gave the house guardian a silent warning. Lucy cooed at him, and with a gaze to Torun that clearly told him where his loyalties lay, Lassie happily floated over to Lucy’s side and accepted another chunk of her meat.

By the end of the meal, after performing all sorts of puffing and twirling, Lassie nestled in her lap, stuffing his beak full of the rare treat, one pleased arm curling around Lucy’s wrist, gently tasting her. If the house guardian really were a dog, he would be licking her hand.

“You have made a friend,” Torun said. Although a house guardian should not partake of rare foods when it could easily be satisfied by eating small parasites, the view of his beautiful queen-to-be befriending her castle’s loyal guardian warmed his heart. “I am glad.”

Lassie finished the final meat and puffed up, expanding into what Lucy called a “parasol” shape, and slowly twirled his appreciation. Lucy laughed.

“You have an affinity for guardians,” he noted.

“Octopodes are awesome.” She watched Lassie float over to his hole and squeeze inside. “I always wanted one for a pet. It’s not practical, so I had Sea Monkeys instead.”

He tilted his head. “Primates of the sea?”

“Brine shrimp.” She held her fingers close together to indicate the miniature size. “Teensy bit different. I got them on my tenth birthday. It was the first time I realized I could never really reach my dreams.”

A shadow passed over her.

“And now you are here in a mer city surrounded by Sea Opals. You have reached a dream.”

She glowed again. “And now I have. Because of you.”

Her heat crackled across to him. It forced him to rise, as she did, as though they were linked by a powerful magnet. Her heart beat faster. Anticipation? He felt it too.

She licked her lips. Her gaze descended across his powerful body. “Torun. I have another dream. Can you help me?”

“I can.” Whatever it was, he pledged his assistance.

Her gaze rose to his. Despite the faster heartbeat, a smile curled her lips. “Will you take me to our bedroom?”

Torun’s blood heated with his queen-to-be’s hungry words. He had fed her body, and the need she had now was for him to fill her soul.

“It is time for the commitment of the spirit.” He held out his hand. “Come.”

She linked hands and floated too close. Her lips teased his. Her touch awakened all of his desires. Hot blood flowed into his cock, and his arousal pounded.

“Hurry,” she murmured, against his mouth. “I want you.”

He broke off their kiss and swam the passages hard, fighting to reach the heart of the castle before he lost control and took her in a less shielded region. He wanted to wrap her in him until their bodies burned away and their souls melded into one.

Her pleased laughter warmed his heart. Yes, she affected him deeply. The knowledge made her soul burn brighter. And that was only good.