Sir Fulgor folds his hands behind his back with a furrowed brow. “Why? What can we possibly give them that they don't have?”
I smirk. “Mirella has my heart. I have hers. I understand that love might be a foreign concept in our world, but the fact is that we are in love. For the past year, the court has been pressuring me to get married. I'm doing what is expected of me. I would marry her even if she was a commoner.”
“It would probably be best if she was a commoner. A human girl who could bear your children,” my interlocutor mutters.
I sit straight as the other male members of my court whisper and talk among themselves.
Getting up, I descend the few steps that lead to the throne and use my size to intimidate my counselor. “My future queen is every bit as much a woman as any of the human females I've bedded. I can assure you of that.”
He holds his ground. “Yet, we have no idea if they can bear children.”
I clench my teeth and notice him swallow. Sweat prickles at his forehead.
Someone else speaks and diverts my attention from Sir Fulgor. “Your Majesty, an alliance with a mainland princess would suit our purposes better than with a sea princess.”
I gaze at Sir Joly with a frowned expression. “How is that?”
“Like Sir Fulgor mentioned, we don't know if she can conceive an heir. A marriage like this is...unheard of.”
I ball my hands. “I've summoned you as a kind gesture to express my intention of marrying Princess Mirella of the Merfolk. I listened to your arguments. That said, I'll marry her with or without your approval. I'm the King. I have the final say and my heart belongs to Mirella. If I don't have offspring, my sister's eldest son will inherit the crown, thus calming down your fear of not having an heir.”
Whispers echo inside the throne chamber as the court elders talk among themselves.
Leonard speaks, “Let's not forget the unimaginable treasures the Sea King brought as a wedding gift. The money and the jewels alone are enough to hire a small army of mercenaries to fight the Vampire King and buy wood to build more ships. There will be no kingdom to rule if we are all dead.”
I give him an assertive nod.
Sir Fulgor speaks and quiets the audience. “When will the wedding ceremony take place?”
“Tonight,” I reply.
Sir Joly gesticulates effusively as he speaks, “We need time to prepare a feast and announce the event to our people. This is a huge event, and they will want to celebrate. We need to distribute wine and food to the villagers, create big bonfires, and celebrate a blessing ceremony.”
He must be out of breath when he stops talking because his face is red and his eyes are almost bulging out.
“We can't tell our people about the existence of mermaids. If the rumor spreads...others will come here to try to find mermaids and...sell them as exotic animals. We all know what humans are capable of doing with supernaturals like ourselves. Our ancestors were hunted, killed, and displayed in cages,” Sir Fulgor retorts.
I clench my teeth at the uncomfortable truth. “I trust everyone inside this chamber. We'll hide Princess Mirella’s true nature and origin. I will agree to postpone the ceremony until tomorrow. My queen needs a dress, and I have important matters to talk about with her father. Sir Leonard de Ganis will take care of all the preparations for the ceremony and the party.”
“I'm your commander, not your valet,” Leonard protests.
I smirk. “I happen to know that you know the servants quite well. Besides, Sir Fulgor will help you with the preparations.”
Without waiting for Leonard’s snarky reply, I exit the room and stride up the stairs as my heart longs to reunite with my soon-to-be wife. Being apart from her is excruciating.
***
PLACING THE GLASS OF wine on the table, I look at the Sea King. “My father died one year ago, fighting on the mainland against the human invaders from the south. We managed to push them back but at the cost of many lives.” I try to sound detached from my narration. A king can't show weakness. Still, King Tritan wants to know my story.
I focus on Mirella and her kind expression. I long to reach for her and take her in my arms.
“And your mother?”
My head turns to Sybil, the oldest of them all. “She died many years ago, giving birth to my younger sister.”
“So, you do have a family,” the king professes.
I nod. “She is spending some time with her husband in our uncle's fortress in the northern sea.”
Apart from the king and his daughters, only Leonard and the priest sit at my table. The next day, I'll be introducing my bride to my people. Tonight, I must get to know my new family and please my future father-in-law, so he understands that I'm worthy of his daughter.
I frown at Leonard who seems too keen to gape at the other princesses. Yes, they are stunning. Mirella is the most beautiful one for me. But I can't deny that Sybil is a stunning woman and Dana has luxurious blonde hair and sea-blue eyes. It must have something to do with them being descendants of the gods.
Leonard relaxes against his chair and taps his fingers on the table. “What's taking so long for the food to arrive?”
The king indulges him a reply, “We brought our own food and servants to prepare it. You'll need to know Mirella's diet. They'll teach your cooks. She's not accustomed to your food.”
I nod. “All I wish is for her to be happy. I'll take good care of her and all her needs.”
Looking at my goddess, her silver eyes are aimed at me. My lips curl up into a smile as my muscles tense, eager to be left alone with her.
The king clears his throat and Dana giggles, covering her mouth as she looks at Mirella. Pink covers my mate’s cheeks as she pushes her sister aside.
“Manners,” the Sea King orders.
A servant opens the door, steps in, and announces, “Dinner will be served.”
An army of servants wearing white tunics come in with an array of plates. The smell of raw fish enters my nostrils, and I frown at the display of small slices of different fish that are decorating the table.
Leonard takes the words out of my mouth. “Where's the red meat?”
“Underwater, we don't have animals or fire. We eat all raw,” the king says.
“It's great, you'll love the salmon and the oysters,” my soon-to-be wife adds.
Her lips are red and plump. The last time I touched them, she smelled of sea and tasted of salt. It wasn't unpleasant. The earthy and musky smells were what I was used to. The exalting happiness I feel when I touch her is enough to ignore the pungent scent of the sea. Her tongue feels soft and tastes sweet. I have time to find out what else tastes sweet on our wedding night.
When I wake up from my thoughts, the servants are serving the food and pouring the wine.
As much as raw fish doesn't appeal to me, I make an effort to swallow a few tranches. The wine cleans my palate as I realize that the merfolk don't touch their drinks. I wonder if they drink anything other than salty water.
“Do you wish anything else to drink?” I ask the Sea King.
The king raises his eyes to me. “We don't drink. Our bodies are surrounded by water on a daily basis and our skin absorbs what it needs. But that brings me to the fact that Mirella will need to be constantly hydrated to survive on dry land. Her tail will only appear with salty water. Like werewolves only turn with the full moon. Spring water won't reveal her true nature.”
“That's good to know,” I say, grateful as I drink more wine and smile at the warm sensation in the pit of my stomach.
“She's half human,” the king adds. “Not like the rest of my daughters. Mirella's mother was a powerful sorceress who requested a child from me in exchange for her help to heal one of my daughters.”
“What happened to her?” I ask. Mirella never talks about her mother.
“Once she understood that Mirella needed to be with her kind to survive, she gave her to me. Humans don't understand magic.”
“My mother was killed because of her powers,” Mirella explains. “I've never met her.”