The Captive Merman's Promise, Peculiar Tastes #5 by Zoey Castile

Author:Zoey Castile [Castile, Zoey]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Condor & Hart LLC
Published: 2022-10-03T16:00:00+00:00

THE GRAND WARLOCK OF THE ABYSS

Ammon, the Grand Warlock of the Abyss, felt Amada’s power stir within the enchanted walls of the Shadow Market. He eased back into his chair, the mahogany creaking slightly under his weight. In his hand was a golden oval locket, tarnished by the centuries. He stared at it for a long time, admiring the faded etched lines and the A right at its center. The soft pad of his finger toyed with the clasp.

A knock reverberated at his door. The pixie on the other side didn’t wait for a reply, only entered with a tray of black tea and a saucer of dark cherries soaked in brandy and sugar. She’d called herself Dolly for the past fifty years, but he’d known her by several names. There was no loyalty among the beasts in his debt, but after a time, when they stopped fighting their bargains, when they became accustomed to the safety within the halls of his enchanted tent, he knew he could count on their obedience. Dolly arrived every night at the same hour with a tray of tea and cherries.

“Thank you, love,” he said softly.

Her gauzy dress covered nothing of the lilac skin beneath. She wore that dress when she wanted him, but he was not in the mood.

“You may go.”

She didn’t budge. Instead, her delicate wings shimmered the way they did when she was nervous. “I—I—”

He scooped a healthy helping of cherries into his tea and stirred before tapping the silver spoon with too much force. “Spit it out, or get back to work.”

“I followed him. Rónán.”

He looked up, pleased at the way she averted her eyes. The way she straightened. Her rail-thin body trembled ever so slightly. “Good.”

“It was as you predicted, my grand warlock,” Dolly said in her lilting soprano. “He tried to run. The magics began to unravel when he strayed too far from the tent.”

“And the witch?”

“She saved him. But the inn is warded against the fae. I could not enter. I just came from there, and no one has come or gone since.”

Ammon set the locket down on the table. That filthy merman was with Amada. His mind conjured a dozen obscenities, a thousand things they could be doing together. He would have been fool not to have sensed the connection between them, and even if he were a fool, he was also the Grand Warlock of the Abyss, and the spirits at his command had let him glimpse the possibility of their union.

“M—my grand warlock,” Dolly pressed on. “If you want the girl, why not take her? Why let them be together?”

“I have my reasons, my pet.” He looked up and smiled. He knew the effect his smile had on the pixie. She softened toward him like a beautiful wildflower that had learned to love the moon. “Now I need to rest.”

Dolly bowed and crept out, glancing back once with a longing he would never reciprocate. There was only one person he wanted. Had always wanted. Ever since he’d been a boy racing up the streets of Granada, his heart had belonged to one woman.

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