Forged In Sea And Smoke

"No one is coming to save you. There will be no escape, there will only be you and me, here, for however long it takes for you to answer every one of my questions. If you are waiting for your King to come and save you, you are sadly mistaken, he cannot reach you here."

That statement might have defeated any other prisoner, but she knew better. She had known and accepted that she would find her death here.

She laughed as loudly as she could, making a show of it, "rescue me? Please don't tell me you think I'm a damsel in distress."

His smile met her laugh, meeting her challenge with his own. "Distress? No. But we have just gotten started."

----
Adriell did not come here for a prince, she came for his throne.

Born of the sea, bound by vengeance. Adriell, heir of the merpeople, and warrior, is captured by the humans from the land up above and transformed into the very creature she despises. Captured and transformed, she is a mermaid adrift, a warrior without her sea. Her prison becomes her battleground when she vows to assassinate the Sultan, the man who stole her life. To slaughter the sultan the way he slaughters her people.

In the heart of the enemy's court, she discovers Allaric, the Sultan's son, a man haunted by his own secrets and a man who yearns for his father's downfall. Forced into a dangerous alliance, they navigate a world of shadows and lies, where enemies become allies, and hatred simmers into a forbidden desire.

In this dark fantasy retelling, alliances are forged in blood, and the price of freedom is paid in secrets and sacrifice. A dark, enemies-to-lovers fantasy where the sea meets the sword.

Trigger warnings inside.