​Thalor stood at the edge of the water. He had already taken off his clothes, and his skin was shimmering with that iridescent, fine-scaled sheen that appeared whenever he was close to his true element.

​"The others have taken the babies," I said softly, my voice echoing in the damp air. I held the blue pearl in my palm; it was vibrating with a frantic energy, sensing the water nearby.

​Thalor turned to me. His pupils were wide, nearly swallowing the violet of his irises.

"I can feel the pearl, Arinya. And I can feel the pull of your heart."

​"Thalor, I was worried about the three days," I admitted, stepping closer into the mist. "Damar’s rut was... a lot. But you need the water. Can you really handle being locked in here without losing your strength?"

​A faint, beautiful shimmer of purple scales appeared along his jawline, a sign that his beast side was rising to the surface.

"My magic is the water, Arinya. As long as I am within it, I will not tire. In fact..." He stepped backward into the pool, the water swirling around his waist as if it were greeting its prince. "In the water, a merman’s stamina is far greater than any land-dweller’s. It is you I am worried for."

Ah, I’m worried for myself as well.

​He reached out a hand, his fingers webbed slightly with shimmering light, beckoning me into the glow.

​"The marking pearl will not just trigger the rut," he whispered, his voice sounding like the hypnotic song of the deep sea. "It will link our spirits through the water. You will feel the weight of the ocean and the hunger I have suppressed. Are you sure?"

​I didn’t answer with words. I dropped my own clothes and felt the cool air bite into my skin, but it was for the best. I stepped onto the first submerged stone step.

The water was silk-warm and humming with his power. I moved into his arms, the blue pearl tucked safely under my tongue.

​"Show me the depths, Thalor," I breathed.

​I leaned in, and as our lips met in the center of the glowing pool, I passed him the pearl.

​The moment it dissolved, the water around us erupted in a soft, bioluminescent flash. Thalor’s eyes turned a solid, glowing violet, and his grip on me became absolute.

This was a fluid, overwhelming surge—a tidal wave of sensation that pulled us both under.

Ah, I hope I don’t break a leg after this.

Through the water, I didn’t just feel his hands on my skin; I felt his very heartbeat, his ancient lineage, and a hunger that was as vast as the trenches of the deep sea.

In the water, Thalor made me feel weightless, suspended in a shimmering blue world where the only oxygen I needed seemed to come directly from his lips.

​The first night was a blur of violet light and silk-warm waves. Thalor was tireless. His magic kept the water moving, supporting my back and lifting my limbs so that even when my muscles began to ache, the water carried the burden for me.

He was a creature of the depths, and in this pool, he was a god.

​It was going smoothly, but then, by the next morning, something changed.

​The three-day marking ritual was supposed to be about his rut, his claim. But as the sun’s light filtered through the high stone vents of the Sovereign Wing, a strange, terrifyingly familiar heat began to bloom in the pit of my stomach.

It wasn’t the external heat of the water or the friction of our bodies. It was coming from inside.

​My skin felt like it was on fire. Every brush of Thalor’s scales against my thighs made my breath hitch in a way that wasn’t just a response—it was a demand. My own scent began to change, turning sweet and heavy, thick enough to cut through the humidity of the room.

​Oh, no, I thought, my mind hazy as Thalor pulled me back into the center of the pool. Not now. Not like this.

​I was going into heat.

​My previous cycle was, well, manageable, but combined with the raw, magical energy of the marking pearl and Thalor’s primal state, my body had decided to throw a full-blown rebellion.

This wasn’t going to end in three days. My heat would stretch this ’marathon’ into five, maybe more.

And there was no way for me to stop it. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

The second day passed, the third day passed, but then, when it was the fourth day, and I still wasn’t out, things changed.

The hallway was silent, but the air outside the heavy stone doors was thick enough to make a man choke. Noah and Fenric stood a few paces back, their expressions grim. They could still hear me moaning, still hear the water splashing, and our grunts of pleasure in sync.

It was already more than three days, so why were we still at it?

Damar was closest to the door, and it felt like the veins on his head and neck were going to pop.

He had been pacing for the last hour. The three-day mark had passed at dawn, and according to the ’plan’, the doors should have opened by now.

But they couldn’t even assume I was taking a long nap because of the sounds we were making.

​"Something is wrong," Damar hissed, his emerald eyes flickering with a dangerous light. The silver mark on his neck was glowing a fierce, agitated blue. "The ritual should be finished. Why is the door still bolted?"

​Fenric stepped forward, his nose wrinkling as he caught a stray draft from the seam of the door. He froze. His pupils dilated instantly, his wolf instincts snapping to attention.

​"Damar, wait," Fenric rumbled, his voice dropping into a warning growl.

​Noah moved in, sniffing the air, and his cocky smirk vanished. He slammed a hand against the stone wall, his breathing turning ragged.

"That’s not just the smell of arousal anymore."