Heiress of the Sea

Chapter 7

"Don't blame Lazarus; I was the one who decided to go to the shore," I exclaimed as Soren led me through a wing of the palace I had never before been his, his arm stiffly looped around mine.

"You almost died," he snarled.

I sighed in exasperation. "I almost died getting to the Land in the first place. So what?"

"Ailith, I'm warning you not to intensify my anger."

"Anger towards who?" I gasped.

"Lazarus."

"But I told you, it wasn't his fault!"

He gripped my arm tighter. "You could have been easily killed back there. Luckily, you must have some form of inherited strength you had yet to discover that happened to become of use when you most needed it," he responded, seeming a bit annoyed at the spontaneity of my new skill. "If you hadn't been able to do any of that, Lazarus would certainly be dead, the Sea Kingdom would be doomed, you would be forced back into marriage, and the prophecy of our marriage would never be fulfilled, meaning corruption of the entire world."

He stopped in his tracks, breathing heavily as he stared at me for a few moments, his dark eyes looming upon my face.

"Why are you so worried about me?" I whispered.

He inhaled slowly. "Why do you think? Because you're my fiancee, Ailith."

"No, I'm not. I said I'd consider your outrageous proposal. Mostly out of politeness," I grumbled.

He glared. "Well that's comforting to hear."

"I'm sorry, but nobody proposes to another person when they've only known them for a day." I folded my arms in front of my chest.

"They do if they've been destined to wed for seven hundred years," he responded, stepping closer.

"Can we please put this behind us?" I asked.

He nodded, slowly. "Under two conditions. The first: you must promise not to go back to the shore. Ever. I can get you seawater to drink, or I can send a servant. No one else is to go, not Lazarus...and especially not you," he said, pausing. "And the second is that you really consider the proposal. Consider that you could be saving our whole world immeasurable pain by marrying me. I promise, I will make a good husband."

I snorted. "You think I'm going to take you at your word at this point?"

"Take me at my word, and I will take you at yours," he said. "Promise you will seriously consider the proposal."

I rolled my eyes. "Um...no."

"Well, I'm glad to see you really thought it through," he muttered, before turning and walking away.

As he was halfway down the hall, I could hear his shoes screeching to a halt before he turned around and faced me again.

"Oh, and Ailith?" he yelled.

I glared. "Yes?"

"Don't expect any help after this, for your kingdom. From me, or Lazarus."

With that, he slammed the door at the end of the hallway, and I sighed.

"What a drama king," I mumbled, before strolling off to the opposite side of the hallway, leaving this strange wing of the palace.

Soren was so irritating, which made my blood simmer a bit. However, I was even more upset when I realized he was right. I did need to consider the possible consequences of not fulfilling the prophecy.