Chapter 2

I took Chloe back to our quarters and began to pack.

I was ready. I was taking Chloe home. Back to the Southern Coral Sea. My father is the god of that small domain. I met Poseidon while traveling with my sisters. He was captivated the moment he saw me and, with the arrogance of a god, dragged me back to his palace.

At first, I despised him. I hated his arrogance and his dominance. But over time, I saw a gentle, tender side to him. He wouldn’t let me leave, but he gave me everything I could ever want. The slightest mention of a desire, and it would appear before me. How could I not fall for such a passionate, powerful man? I agreed to marry him.

But my father never forgave him for taking me. He always insisted Poseidon was nothing but a tyrant. When he heard I was coming home with Chloe, he was overjoyed, ready to come and get me himself.

Just then, another message came from Thalia.

It was a moving picture—a memory captured in the shell. In it, Poseidon was gently tending to a cut on her hand, his own hand covering hers as his divine power healed the wound. They looked like lovers, their hands clasped together.

As always, Thalia’s message was a taunt.

“You see? The Sea God’s love can be mine whenever I want it.”

Before, a provocation like that would have earned her a swift lesson in a sea nymph’s magic. But now, as I watched Chloe carefully polishing her small conch shell, only one thought crossed my mind: It’s not worth it.

I snapped the message conch shut. We would leave at dawn, the day after tomorrow.

Not long after, Poseidon returned to our rooms. He was carrying a golden toy chariot, inlaid with pearls.

Chloe and I both stared, stunned.

He’d always despised such things, calling them “cowardly trinkets.” Because of him, Chloe had to suppress her fascination with mortal crafts, her pleas always met with a stern refusal.

Why would he bring one home now?

Chloe and I exchanged a look of disbelief.

Poseidon walked in slowly. Seeing the half-packed trunks, his expression shifted. “Thalia was very drunk, so I stayed a little longer. On the way back, I remembered you two like mortal toys, so I bought this.”

He gestured to the trunks. “What are you packing for? A trip?”

I nodded, then shook my head. “Sort of.”

With only two days left until the contract was sealed, I didn’t want any complications.

For some reason, he seemed to let out a breath of relief. “This whole thing was my fault. I was careless. I’ll take you to the market myself. How about tomorrow? I swear I won’t break my promise this time.”

He knelt in front of Chloe, his voice earnest.

Chloe’s hands stilled. She looked at him, then at me. Her eyes were filled with a mix of hesitation and a fear of being let down again.

Seeing her waver, my heart softened.

“Alright,” I said. It’s only for one last time.

As soon as I spoke, Chloe’s eyes lit up. She hugged her little conch and scurried off to her room.

After she left, I went back to packing. Poseidon came to my side, his powerful presence enveloping me. He spoke, his voice hesitant.

“About Chloe calling me ‘Lord’ today…”

My breath caught. I looked up at him.

He knelt, placing the golden chariot by my hand. His voice was laced with that familiar, deliberate affection he used whenever he wanted to soothe me. “My Nerida, I know what you’re thinking. You feel I’ve been too good to Thalia, that I’ve neglected you and Chloe.”

“But I swear, I am only protecting her as a god protects his people. She’s a widowed nymph. I just don’t want her to suffer.”

He took my hand and pressed it to his heart. “Just give me a little more time. I will handle the situation with Thalia and her son. I won’t let you or Chloe be hurt again.”

I stared at him, stunned. I could barely remember the last time he’d looked at me with such sincerity. Maybe at our bonding ceremony, when he held my hands before all the gods and swore to protect me for eternity. Or maybe the day Chloe was born. He had held our divine child so carefully in the temple, his hands trembling as he placed a kiss on my forehead.

“Nerida,” he’d said, “I will never let you or our heir suffer any injustice.”

I thought of those memories and was silent for a long time.

Finally, I decided to tell him about the contract.

“Poseidon, the truth is…”