Chapter2

Even now, that night still feels unreal.

Two months ago, Kaelan entered his Blood Tide.

Under every blood moon, royal blood surges out of control, and the heir has to spend seven days alone until the moonlight tames it.

No one was allowed in or out of his chambers. Only me, his maid, left to polish the coral and tidy the shell bed each day.

I was timid, but I was careful with my work, and those days were the most peaceful of my life.

Until the third day.

Kaelan's royal power broke loose, and the Blood Tide spun completely out of control.

Wild currents tore through his chambers and turned everything upside down.

I was flung across the room and slammed into a giant clam.

The pain made my tail spasm.

Before I could even push myself up.

Kaelan's hand closed around my wrist.

His eyes had gone so dark they were almost black. Veins stood out at his temples.

I screamed his name.

"Your Highness! Your Highness, please, snap out of it!"

But he was long past hearing me.

He didn't hear anything.

He dragged me deep into the coral cave.

His cold scales pressed against my burning skin.

I fought with everything I had.

But how was a half-blood maid supposed to fight off royalty?

His hands gripped my waist.

He bent his head and kissed me...

What happened after that...

I don't want to remember.

All I know is that when I woke up.

Every inch of me hurt.

Kaelan lay beside me.

His breathing was steady, his face calm.

The Blood Tide had passed.

A few days later.

Kaelan came back to himself completely.

The first thing he did was start hunting for the person from that night.

He swore he'd make them wish they'd never been born.

I'd long since fled into the anemone beds, shaking.

Terrified he'd remember it was me.

Luckily.

He didn't.

He knew someone had been there, but he couldn't see their face.

So I gathered my courage and slipped back to his side.

When Kaelan spotted me peeking around the doorway, he raised an eyebrow.

"Coral? Where have you been all week?"

I swam in obediently.

He didn't ask anything else. He just said, "Glad you're back."

And went right back to searching.

"Coral, why aren't you eating?"

We were at the dinner table.

Kaelan's voice pulled me out of my memories.

The table was covered in my favorite foods.

Grilled kelp rolls, oysters on ice, and a bowl of creamy shellfish chowder.

But one look at that chowder.

And my stomach turned over.

"I'm not hungry."

I set down my fork, covered my mouth, and turned away.

Kaelan frowned.

"What's wrong? Are you sick?"

He reached out, ready to sense my body with his magic.

I panicked and blurted out the first excuse I could think of.

"I just didn't sleep well."

The comments floated by.

[She's throwing up! Morning sickness!]

[The prince is literally hand-feeding her and she can't keep it down? Girl's pregnant.]

[Ladies, it's confirmed! Do the math, the timing lines up with the Blood Tide!]

My hand jerked. I almost knocked over the bowl.

Pregnant?

Impossible.

Half-blood mermaids almost never get pregnant. And it was one night.

But then I thought about it.

That night, almost all of his runaway royal power had poured into me...

[LOL she's counting the days.]

[Half-bloods do have a hard time, but that was a royal Blood Tide. That kind of power rewrote her whole body.]

[TL;DR: yes, she can.]

I was completely stunned.

"Coral?"

Kaelan saw me staring into space and said my name again.

I snapped back and forced a smile.

"Your Highness, I just remembered something I have to do. I'll be going!"

I didn't wait for an answer. I turned and swam.

His voice followed me, cool and even.

"You've gotten awfully fast lately."

I didn't dare look back.

There was no time to waste.

I had to know if I was really pregnant!

Deep in the sea, there's a shell called the moonlight clam.

If a pregnant woman lets a drop of her blood fall onto its flesh, the shell slowly opens.

It's the oldest pregnancy test among merfolk, more accurate than any spell.

I huddled behind the reef and bit my fingertip.

I watched the drop of blood fall onto the clam.

I didn't dare breathe.

Three seconds later.

The shell slowly cracked open, glowing with a soft, pearly light...