In the Veins of the Drowning (The Siren Mage, #1)

by Kalie Cassidy

“And you, Your Majesty, are clearly too shrewd to fall for his elaborate scheme.” I boldly met his gaze. “You seem far from charmed by me.”

Envy ripped through me. He could silence a room by simply entering it, could command awe, fear, without making a sound.

“Answer me or leave.”

“Marriages are not performed as blood bonds on Seraf, Lach. She didn’t know.” “Marriages!” My gaze bounced between all three of them. “We’re married?” Theodore rubbed at his eye. “That’s fine,” said Lachlan, clearly annoyed. “But you did. And you agreed. So now, in the eyes of the Great Gods, you’ve taken a fugitive wife, right before you’re supposed to meet your fiancée.” “Your what?”

“Well… if you find yourself inspired to shirk your responsibilities…” I tried for levity, despite the frantic claws scraping through the inside of my chest. “… Perhaps I can offer you some guidance on how to rid yourself of an unwanted fiancée.”

“I cannot tell whether you mean what you say.” “I always mean what I say, my lady. It’s my implication that you cannot grasp.”

I have no desire to be like you—” I jabbed a finger against his chest. “To scrape myself empty for others and call it noble.”

“Gods, even your apologies are deprecating.”

“You speak of desire like it’s an illness. Like I have infected you with it.”

“How dare you blame me. As if I’ve laid a trap for you, or as if it’s vile to want. I may be the object of your desire, but I am not its source.”

“You should have just focused on the horse.”

Hahah

“I cannot even see her for the way you encompass me.”

“I’m just too anxious to sleep. It’s like there are bees in my skull.”

Relatable.

But if you are to devastate me, then let it be completely. Lay waste to me and everything that’s mine. A life without you in it is not one I wish to lead.”

Yours unendingly, Theo