“You didn’t know me. You still don’t.”

“The chance to get to know you is what I cared about.”

“The loneliness was that bad?”

I stroked the sensitive spot on her spine just to see her shudder again. “There are no words to describe the utter bleakness of five centuries alone. I felt like a monster when I was the one person who truly enjoyed our war—because it meant I was living among my people and the other kings, interacting as if I was one of them.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize for something you played no role in, Aria.”

She rolled her eyes at me. “It’s a way of empathizing, asshole. I’m just saying I wish you didn’t have to deal with that.”

“It could’ve been much worse. I could’ve lost my mate to the plague while I was fighting.”

Aria scowled. “Don’t do that. Don’t compare your personal hell to anyone else’s. Suffering isn’t a competition. There’s no winner.”

“I suppose not.”

“Do you think the selkies are going to use their plan?”

“I’m positive they will. If I wasn’t, I would’ve already taken you away from the castle. Most newly-mated pairs spend a few weeks alone, on the islands off to the north.”

“Really? Why?”

“I suppose it’s our version of a human honeymoon. It began after the first merrae mated with a human female. He took that time to help her adjust to the change and her new magic, and everyone else who came after did the same.”

“Eloise was the first one, right?”

“Yes. You met her?”

“Yeah, when I was looking for the dining room.”

“Did she treat you well? I wasn’t sure how the turned humans would take having a queen.”

“I don’t think they care about the royalty thing as much as the rest of the merrae, but yeah, she was cool.” Aria grabbed her hair off her back, pulling it away so I had better access as I started tracing her spine again. “How do you think the selkies are going to attack? And when?”

I lifted a shoulder. “It’s hard to say. We made enough of an impression in the meeting with them that they haven’t done anything yet. At the same time, they must realize that the longer they let me train you, the stronger you’ll become and the harder it will be to take us down.”

“So you think it will be soon.”

“If I were them, I wouldn’t wait.”

“You would attack right now?”

I made a noncommittal noise. “I’m back home, and they know we’re stronger than them. With me here, they know a loss is unavoidable if they move against us directly. Whatever their plan was, they had to have changed it. Now, their best option will be to try to get you away from me.”