COMPLETED
Nereida has always been shackled to her royal duties as princess of Triteria, and when her kingdom becomes involved in a series of mysterious vanishings and deaths she begins to seek answers. Rebels soon shatter her world, and she finds he...
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My captor stood leaning against the door, smiling wickedly, watching the scene while my eyes were wide with embarrassment. I released the parchment from my hands and looked away. I took a seat without saying a word about it. He chuckled slightly as he walked over to the table and sank into the larger chair on the opposite side. Reaching out in front of him, he picked up the jar before me and filled a bronze-looking bowl with the brown liquid. As he did this, he continued to watch me, and I, intrigued by his actions, watched back.
"Would you care some whiskey?" he offered, but I didn't respond. Instead, I just stared at the floor, lowering my head. "No? Maybe some water instead. I'll wager you're thirsty."
The man filled the second bowl with water and pushed it toward me. I looked at it, unsure what to do or whether to trust it. Unfortunately, he was right—I was desperately in need of it. As a human, I couldn't consume water the way I had been able to as a mer, and I didn't realize how much of it I would need to keep up with the ever-present heat. I cupped the bowl in both hands and brought it to my mouth. After quickly smelling it, I took a small sip and eagerly drank it.
"Easy there, love. There's plenty more where that came from," he laughed and took another sip from his cup. The man then took out an object, and soon, the red, yellow, and orange lights I had seen on the day of the raid were in his hand. He brought it near the white stick, and the light remained there. It was so beautiful, so luminous, and inviting.
It tempted me to reach out and touch it.
"Don't. You'll burn yourself if you touch that. It's called fire and used to illuminate the rooms," he explained casually as if he could read my mind.
Fire...
I could see him more clearly now. The curls that had once been wet and clung to his forehead were now dry and full, falling slightly into his eyes. He looked intriguingly young to be a captain, and when he smiled, little indents formed on his cheeks, making him even more youthful and inviting. But the darkness in those eyes revealed his true intentions. His black shirt was open, revealing a bit of chest hair, and around his neck was a gold necklace with a circular object of some sort.
He gazed at me momentarily and then abruptly stood up from the table. The sound of the black objects that concealed his feet against the floor gave off a loud reverberation with each step. Snatching a couple of round objects, he returned to the table and placed them in front of me. It was cutlery, and I noticed he had a few silver and gold rings on his fingers, some with giant jewels. He then sat down again and took a longer drink from the bowl while removing the top. It revealed a platter with colorful items of various sizes.
"You must be hungry. Eat! I have some meat coming, but these are the finest fruits you've ever tasted," he raved and grabbed one of them, taking a bite from it. I watched as the juice slid down his mouth, but I crossed my arms defiantly, refusing to be swayed by fancy fare. He merely laughed at the act.
