Chapter 1

A month ago, when I realized his heart was no longer mine, I’d started a new rule. Every time he chose Thalia over us, I made Chloe refer to him as “Lord Poseidon.”

It was a reminder, for both of us, not to break our hearts over someone who wasn’t worth it.

But Chloe didn’t see it that way. She’s only seven, an age when a girl worships her father-god. Every time I asked her to call him “Lord,” she would hesitate for a long time before whispering the title.

But today, she said it on her own.

It rolled off her tongue—smooth, cold, as if she’d practiced it in her heart a thousand times.

Seeing us stunned, Chloe took my hand and turned to Poseidon.

“You must be busy, my Lord. Please, don't let us keep you.”

Then she looked at me. “Mother, let’s go.”

She led me away.

The trip to the mortal market was Poseidon’s idea. It was meant to make up for missing Chloe’s birthday to be with Ethan. Chloe had been looking forward to it for two weeks.

I followed her numbly, a bitter sorrow tightening in my chest.

I first knew his affections had shifted because of a pearl.

He had gone to see Thalia. When he returned, the box that once held the Sea Heart Pearl was empty. It was a divine artifact only a queen of the seas was worthy to wear, a symbol of the Sea King’s supreme love.

On our last anniversary, I’d asked for it, wanting to feel the magic of when we first met. Poseidon had said he planned to gift it to Zeus’s partner. I was disappointed, but I understood.

A few days later, he gave it to Thalia.

And Thalia made a point of wearing it in front of me.

“An eternal treasure,” she’d purred, “is for an eternal love. Poseidon said he felt only I was worthy of it.”

Thalia was his old flame, a deep-sea nymph with a young son.

That night, we had the worst fight of our lives. I told him I was petitioning the King of the Gods to dissolve our sacred bond.

Poseidon called me unreasonable. He asked how I could bear to leave Chloe without a father. He swore on his own divinity that his relationship with Thalia was merely a god’s protection over one of his people.

Seeing the fear on Chloe’s pale face, I bit my tongue so hard I nearly drew blood. I knew if I left then, she would never forget him. But I also knew that one betrayal would lead to countless more. I wouldn’t let my daughter suffer for his so-called “protection.”

So I chose another path. I tricked Poseidon into signing a contract to dissolve our bond.

When I presented it to the Emissary of the Styx, he sighed. “The contract will take effect in 30 sunsets,” he warned me. “If you change your mind within these 30 days, come back for it. I will act as if this never happened and will not inform the Sea King.”

I won’t change my mind, I told myself.

I spent those 30 days doing everything I could to break my daughter’s attachment to him.

Today is the 28th day.

And Chloe had called him “Lord Poseidon” on her own.

My daughter’s small body trembled against me. There was no triumph in my heart. Just a cold, sharp pain, like being pierced by a shard of glacial ice.

We had already walked some distance when Poseidon finally snapped out of his shock. He took a few steps after us, about to ask what was wrong, but his message conch chimed. It was Thalia again, her voice a drunken, weeping mess.

“Poseidon, is Nerida still angry with me? I swear I was just trying to toughen Chloe up, I would never hurt her! I know Nerida doesn’t like me, I’ll leave right now…”

Poseidon rubbed his forehead, annoyed. “Don’t be ridiculous, she’s not angry. Besides, where would you go, alone with Ethan?”

“I’m on my way. Wait for me.”

He turned back to me, leaving me with a curt, “We’ll talk later,” and vanished in a surge of water.

The sea god’s chariot sped away.

Chloe stopped, turned, and buried her face in my robes, her tears soaking the fabric.

“Mother,” she sobbed. “Can we not have Lord Poseidon anymore? Please?”