Chapter 92
I sit back in my chair, arms crossed, seething at Wake’s words. Outsider. That’s what he was implying, wasn’t it? That after everything we’d been through, after risking my life, after choosing him over everything else—I was still nothing but an outsider to his people. It stings more than I expected, cutting through my chest like ice. What was I even doing here? What had I spent all this time suffering for—suffering for him for?
Hiro, clearly uncomfortable, tries to diffuse the tension with a laugh that comes off a little forced. He points at me, grinning awkwardly. “But she’s not an outsider! Right, Phoebe?”
I shake my head slowly, trying to tamp down the rising frustration. “I’m not from the Deep Abyssian clan either, though, am I?” My voice is sharper than I mean for it to be, but I can’t help it. I feel cornered, frustrated.
Wake’s face remains impassive, but his response is immediate. “Correct.”
The word hits me like a slap. My eyes narrow as I study him. “So, you’re not allowed to share clan information with anyone outside of your clan,” I say, my tone biting. “But… are mated pairs from different clans common?”
Wake, ever the stoic, replies with a calm, unbothered tone. “Not implicitly, but yes, they are.”
“Then how does that work?” I demand, my voice rising in frustration. “What happens when people from different clans get together?”
“If the two clans have a favorable relationship,” Wake says, eyes locked on mine. “Each becomes an honorary member of the other, but this does not always affect the rules of sharing information between the two.”
Hiro jumps in, “And if their clans are not on speaking terms?”
“If the pair cannot appeal to their clan Heirs and make peace,” Wake says. “Then a choice must be made.”
I blink, feeling my pulse quicken. “Do the Eastern Twilight and the Deep Abyssian have a favorable relationship?”
Wake scowls, his eyes darkening. “No. But they will.”
“How can you be so sure?” I ask, the words falling out of my mouth before I can stop them.
“Because you are heir to your clan,” he says, voice steady. “And I will be heir to mine.”
Hiro leans forward, looking between the two of us with confusion. “Will be?” he echoes. “You mean you're not already?”
Wake’s expression hardens, his eyes like steel. “I am one of three males born to the same parents on the same night.”
My breath catches in my throat, as questions I’ve had about him since the beginning start to click into place. The details he always steers away from, his urgency to return to the sea…Wake's been on a mission this entire time. I just hadn't realized I was only a pawn.
“You mentioned you had brothers,” I say slowly, as the reality of it all begins to sink in. “But you’re a triplet. So I assume that means you’re in competition with your brothers to be named heir?”
Wake nods once, a single motion that’s weighted with meaning. “The first to find their mate and bring them back to the homesea will be named heir.”
I run both hands through my hair, tugging slightly at the strands as everything I’ve been through starts to reframe itself. “So that’s what all of this has been about?” My voice shakes with barely suppressed emotion. “That’s the reason you found me?”
Wake’s eyes lock onto mine, unflinching. “I found you because you are my mate.”
“But the rush to return to the sea,” I counter, trying to keep my voice from cracking.
He meets my gaze, and I see something flicker there—guilt, maybe, but not regret. “Is because the fate of my clan, and in turn, the fate of the Enkian in the coming war depends on me becoming Heir,” he says softly. “Not my brothers.”
Hiro looks between us, completely lost. “War?” he asks, his voice hitching up an octave. That’s it. That’s the breaking point.
I slam my hands on the table, pushing to my feet, my anger boiling over. “The one I’ve been risking my life for,” I snap, my voice shaking with fury. “But am apparently not allowed to know
anything about because mermaids don’t know how to fucking share!”
The words come out before I can stop them, and I don’t bother waiting for a response. Without another word, I turn on my heel and storm away from the table, heart pounding and fists clenched at my sides like the cowardly fool that I am.
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