This was the third time Roxy had walked down an aisle.
Technically, she wasn’t walking. She was gliding. And technically, the "aisle" was a current of warm, scented water flowing between rows of jagged pews filled with apex predators in formal wear.
But the feeling in her stomach was the same. That heavy, stone-cold weight of finality.
The first time, with her two ex-husbands, she had been terrified, overwhelmed by a world she didn’t understand. She had walked on trembling human legs, holding a bouquet of wildflowers, toward her husband hoping that they would love you like a man would.
This time, she had no legs. She looked ahead.
Waiting for her at the Altar of Shells was Caspian.
He looked... breathtaking. There was no other word for it. He wore ceremonial armor made of white gold and pearl, leaving his scarred, muscular chest bare. His silver hair floated in the water like a halo. His indigo tail was polished to a mirror shine.
He was looking only at Roxy.
His golden eyes held a look of such raw, unfiltered worship that it made Roxy want to look away.
Why is he fucking now looking at me like that?
He looked like a man who had waited his entire life for the sun to rise, and she was the dawn.
He is a good man, Roxy thought, a lump forming in her throat. He saved me from the Kraken. He fought for me. He loves me.
But he wasn’t her man. Not really.
Her men were on the surface. A tear leaked from Roxy’s eye.
It bubbled up, a tiny sphere of saltwater mixing with the ocean. It dissolved, invisible and useless.
"Don’t cry," Nimue whispered from beside her, holding the train of her silk dress.
"I’m happy," Roxy lied, her voice tight. "Just... overwhelmed."
"It is beautiful," Nimue agreed, looking around.
It was beautiful. The Altar of Shells was an open-air amphitheater carved into the highest peak of the Spires. Thousands of bioluminescent jellyfish had been released for the ceremony, floating above them like living lanterns in neon blues and purples. The city below glowed with warmth. The music was a haunting, melodic vibration created by whales singing in the deep.
But Roxy didn’t see the beauty.
I am the only human here, she realized with a chilling clarity. I am a distinct species. I am alone in a tank full of sharks.
She reached the altar.
Caspian swam forward to meet her. He reached out his hand. His fingers were cool, strong, and trembling slightly.
Roxy took his hand. She had no choice. The script was written. The exits were blocked.
"You look..." Caspian’s voice failed him. He swallowed, his gills fluttering with emotion. "You look extremely beautiful."
"You look okay too," Roxy whispered, forcing a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.
Queen Nerissa rose from her throne. The massive octopus-woman loomed over them, her black tentacles writhing in slow, ceremonial patterns. She held a trident made of pure white crystal.
"We gather under the pressure of the Deep," Nerissa’s voice boomed, vibrating through the water and into Roxy’s bones. "To bind the currents. To merge the bloodlines."
She lowered the trident.
"The Binding of Fins."
Nimue and Vespera swam forward carrying a long rope made of braided golden kelp. It was beautiful, but to Roxy, it looked like a shackle.
Caspian turned his body so he was side-by-side with Roxy. He lowered his powerful indigo tail. Roxy lowered her pink one.
The bridesmaids wrapped the golden kelp around their tails, binding them together tightly at the base.
It was a claustrophobic sensation. Roxy’s instinct was to kick, to free herself. But she couldn’t. She was literally tied to him.
"Two currents become one river," Nerissa chanted. "Where one swims, the other follows. Where one hunts, the other feasts."
Roxy stared at the knot. Where one stays, the other stays, she translated mentally. I am never leaving this ocean.
"The Sharing of Breath," Nerissa commanded.
This was the part Roxy had dreaded most.
Caspian turned to face her. He placed his hands on her waist, pulling her flush against him.
"Trust me," Caspian whispered, his golden eyes searching hers. "I will not let you drown."
He leaned in. He didn’t kiss her lips. He pressed his forehead against hers. Then, he flared his gills. A stream of oxygen-rich bubbles released from his neck, and he guided them toward Roxy’s face, creating a pocket of air between them.
Roxy didn’t know what was going on and just stayed still.
"I breathe for you," Caspian murmured. "My lungs are your lungs."
I don’t want your lungs, she screamed internally. I want the wind. I want the sun on my face. I want to walk on grass.
But she exhaled, letting her bubbles mix with his. "And mine are yours," she recited the line Nimue had taught her.
Whatever makes them sleep at night.
The crowd erupted in a low, thrumming cheer, a sound of clicking tongues and clapping fins.
Nerissa smiled, a terrifying, sharp-toothed expression of satisfaction.
"The Rite is witnessed!" the Queen declared. "The Ocean accepts the union!"
She raised her trident high.
"Hail King Caspian! Hail Queen Roxy! The Pearl of the Abyss!"
"HAIL!" the crowd roared.
Confetti made of crushed shells rained down on them. The jellyfish pulsed brighter.
It was over. She was married. Again.
Caspian didn’t let go of her. The kelp binding their tails was untied by the bridesmaids, but he kept his arm around her waist, anchoring her to his side.
He pulled her close, turning her away from the crowd, creating a private space in the middle of the celebration.
Roxy looked up at him. She expected him to look triumphant. She expected him to look like a conqueror who had finally secured his prize.
But he didn’t.
He looked humbled. He looked at her with a vulnerability that terrified her more than the Leviathans.
He leaned down, his lips brushing the shell of her ear. His voice was a low vibration, meant for her alone.
"I know you are scared," Caspian whispered.
Roxy stiffened. She pulled back to look at him, but he held her firm.
"I know this world is dark to you," he continued, his thumb stroking the scales of her hip. "I know it is cold. I know you miss the light."
He took her hand and pressed it against the center of his chest, right over his beating hearts.
"But you chose me," he said.
He leaned in again, his forehead resting against hers, his eyes burning with a terrifying, absolute devotion.
"From today," Caspian whispered, the vow sealing her fate more effectively than any kelp rope. "I shall be your slave and you shall be my Queen."
He squeezed her hand.
"Wherever you want to go, I will follow. If you die, I die. Even if the sea were to ever dry out and we both lose our lives..."
He paused.
"...I would want our soul to remain joined together, even in the afterlife."