Seduced by the Sea Lord

Chapter 24

The world had been totally black a second ago, and then Lucy had been thrown out of a net and shaken. Her brain still felt scrambled, but when Torun snarled at the warrior, Jolan, to remove his hands the force of his rage calmed Lucy.

Torun was here. Everything would be okay.

Even though she was now floating in the middle of what felt like an arena full of angry, armed warriors who gaped with shock.

Her heart pounded. Her stomach squeezed. Her body trembled.

She tightened her hands into fists.

The purple-tattooed warrior, Malem, stared at her in awe. "A bride."

Many voices spoke at once. "A bride is here. A bride has come! Torun was right. We have a bride—"

"She is not a bride. She is not a bride!" The elderly council head's quavering voice carried over the rabble. "Torun. You have damned us all with your flagrant disregard for the health and happiness of Sireno."

"She is my queen," he said.

"Queen," the others whispered.

"Queen." Belief filled Malem's voice.

The old male shook with anger. "She is not a queen! She is an unaltered, untransformed human of the basest kind."

"She transformed," Torun insisted.

"She is no mer."

"Look at her! She spills no bubbles. She is able to see. She moves as one of us, without the bulky cages and lights and air."

The others agreed.

"Look at her hands." The council elder's lips pinched in frustration. "They are human hands."

Uh-oh. She spread her fingers. Were they supposed to be webbed or what?

"Look at her feet. If she were truly your queen, she would have fully taken our form. Instead, she hides in her own."

Lucy tried to flex her feet. "I had it once, sort of. I can do it. Just give me a second."

They gasped again. The warriors closest to her floated back, giving her a direct line of sight to Torun.

"She speaks." Torun burned with faith in her. "And she shines. She chose this of her own free will. You cannot be blind to her light."

They murmured.

Lassie crept free of his now unattended net.

"This is madness," the council leader said. "You cannot bind yourself to her. She is not from the sacred island. The covenant does not apply. You have brought a human to our city, and you must be punished for your blasphemy."

He ordered the closest warriors to grab Torun.

They refused.

"Malem," he shouted in frustration. "Take away that human!"

"She is another warrior's bride." Malem dropped Torun's house seed and kicked back. "I cannot touch another warrior's bride. Even if she did choose Warlord Torun."

The council leader shook his fist. "Obey my orders. I am king!"

Disagreeable mutterings followed his order.

Lucy paddled forward and grabbed the sinking seed.

"Listen, my warriors." The council leader regained pinched calm. "You are confused. But Torun's disgraceful actions threaten to destroy us. Even if we accepted this mainland female as a bride, we cannot accept Torun as her husband. The most honorable warrior always chooses his bride first. The last time a warrior chose a bride out of turn, Jolan's father was killed. It nearly destroyed us."