Chapter 314: Episode 312: I am yet to punish you.

Caspian’s silver-blue eyes searched her face, desperate for a lifeline, terrified that the magnitude of his sacrifice had finally pushed her away.

The sharp, stinging sound of flesh meeting flesh echoed like a gunshot in the quiet room.

Caspian violently flinched. He let out a sharp, breathless hiss, his newly formed mortal muscles seizing as a hot, bright flare of pain bloomed across his thigh.

For a merman who had spent centuries shielded by impenetrable abyssal scales, the sudden, raw sting of a physical slap was entirely foreign and shockingly sharp.

He winced, rubbing his leg in pure bewilderment.

“Well, I am not sorry,” Roxy declared, her voice trembling but laced with absolute, unyielding fire.

She didn’t stay seated on his lap. Roxy immediately stood up, breaking the cage of his arms and creating a sudden, jarring physical distance between them.

She looked down at the former Abyssal King, her chest heaving, her eyes blazing with a storm of complex, overwhelming emotions.

But Roxy’s sudden, jerky movement as she stood up shattered the delicate peace in her arms.

Tyara’s eyes fluttered open. The three-day-old tiger cub let out a sharp, indignant squeal that instantly escalated into a furious, demanding, and incredibly loud wail.

Her tiny fists punched the air, completely offended that her comfortable slumber had been interrupted.

Again!

Roxy let out a ragged, frustrated sigh. The heavy, emotional confrontation was immediately derailed by the sheer, feral demands of her newborn.

Without breaking eye contact with Caspian, Roxy expertly shifted her grip on the squalling baby. She reached up, pulling the fabric of her violet silk robe aside to completely reveal her milk-swollen breast.

She guided the furious cub to her nipple. Tyara latches instantly, her fluffy white ears flattening against her head as she roots and feeds with an aggressive, desperate intensity, plunging the room back into relative quiet, save for the rhythmic sounds of her nursing.

With the baby momentarily pacified, Roxy unleashed the full weight of her fury onto the Merman.

“You should have been patient!” Roxy scolded him, her voice cracking as the sheer, devastating reality of his mortal lifespan crashed down on her. “You foolish, impatient, overbearing fish! How could you make a decision like that without me? Did you really think I would just leave you down there?”

Caspian remained frozen in the leather armchair, his eyes fleeted down.

“I saved this world, Caspian!” Roxy cried, her free hand gesturing wildly. “I cured a plague! I engineered miracles! I told you I would find a way to bring you to the Surface, and I meant it! I always find a way! You didn’t have to throw your immortality away! You didn’t have to banish yourself from the ocean!”

Fucking hell, it was the sweetest sacrifice someone has ever made for me, but I am too mad to reel myself in it.

Caspian’s mortal heart hammered a frantic, heavy rhythm against his ribs. The anger in her voice wasn’t born of disgust or pity. It was born of pure, desperate, overwhelming love.

She was furious because she valued his life, his eternity, more than he did. A profound, overwhelming warmth flooded his chest, melting the icy terror that had gripped his soul just moments prior.

But as he looked up at her beautiful, flushed face, the warmth instantly shattered.

Roxy was crying.

Thick, heavy tears were spilling over her dark eyelashes, tracking rapidly down her cheeks to splash against the silk of her robe. She was mourning the centuries he had sacrificed. She was mourning the fact that they were now bound to the fragile, ticking clock of a human lifespan.

Just like her…

She loved her immortal men, even if she couldn’t live as long as them. She was sure that once the system used her enough, it would dump her, just like it dumped Nerissa in this world.

A sharp, agonizing pang of absolute guilt pierced Caspian’s chest. He couldn’t bear the sight of her tears, especially when he was the one who had caused them.

He immediately pushed himself out of the armchair. His mortal legs were still weak and incredibly shaky, but he ignored the lingering tremor in his knees, stepping directly into her space.

“Roxy, please,” Caspian whispered, his hoarse voice thick with immediate repentance.

He raised his calloused, battered hands, gently cupping her face. He used his thumbs to carefully, reverently wipe the hot tears from her cheeks, his touch incredibly soft.

“I am so sorry,” Caspian murmured, leaning his forehead against hers. “I am sorry for making you cry. I didn’t want to burden you with my sacrifice; I only wanted to be by your side. Please don’t weep for my immortality, my Queen. An eternity down there was a cold, miserable cage without you.”

Roxy let out a wet, shuddering breath, leaning into the warmth of his palms. She wanted to stay angry, but the solid, grounding reality of him standing right here in the Iron-Wood was completely disarming.

“Look,” Caspian whispered softly, a small, tender smile touching his lips as he glanced downward. “See? Tyara is looking at you.”

Roxy sniffled, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand as she looked down at her chest.

Tyara had paused her aggressive feeding. The tiny tiger cub had unlatched slightly, a drop of milk resting on her plump lower lip. Her blue eyes were wide open, staring directly up at her mother’s tear-stained face.

As Roxy looked down, Tyara’s tiny, fluffy white ears twitched, and the corners of her mouth curled upward into a sweet, fleeting reflex smile.

Roxy’s heart gave a massive, overwhelming thump. The sheer, impossible innocence of the newborn cub acted like a magical balm on her frayed nerves.

She let out a watery, breathless chuckle, gently kissing the top of Tyara’s head before the cub eagerly latched back on to finish her meal.

“Tell me what happened,” Roxy asked quietly, her voice finally steadying. She looked back up into Caspian’s striking silver-blue eyes. “What was Nerissa’s reaction? How did your mother even agree to do this? And Nimue… how was she?”

Caspian’s expression turned somber. He kept his hands resting gently on her waist as he gave her the full gist of his final hours in the Deep Spires.

“My mother was terrified,” Caspian admitted quietly. “She locked me in the royal vaults to protect me from myself. But when she realized that keeping me in the dark was destroying me mentally… she offered me the blood-magic. She performed the transmutation herself, Roxy. She traded her son’s eternity so that I could have a chance at happiness.”

He didn’t mention Keenan.

He paused, a heavy sigh escaping his lips. “And Nimue… my sister was entirely heartbroken. She begged me not to do it. She cried until the currents grew heavy. I told her to find her own mate, and to visit me on the shore whenever she could. It was not an easy farewell.”

Roxy’s heart ached for the ancient matriarch and the younger princess. The sacrifices his family made to ensure their reunion were staggering.

Just as a heavy, respectful silence settled over them, the parlor doors swung open.

Dena stepped into the room, holding the wooden tray of food she had originally brought upstairs. The young wolf-shifter had completely reheated Kaelen’s savory bone-broth congee and the mashed sun-melons, ensuring the Queen’s delayed meal was still perfectly warm.

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” Dena murmured respectfully, setting the tray down on the low wooden table near the armchairs. “But Alpha Kaelen left strict instructions that Queen Roxy must eat.”

“Thank you, Dena,” Roxy smiled warmly.

She moved to sit on the edge of the plush sofa, still carefully supporting Tyara at her breast. Caspian didn’t miss a beat. The former immortal King immediately sat down right beside her. He picked up the ceramic bowl of warm congee and the wooden spoon, completely taking over the domestic duty.

“Open,” Caspian instructed softly, scooping up a small portion of the rich, savory broth.

Roxy raised an eyebrow at his commanding tone, but she obediently parted her lips. Caspian fed her carefully, spoonful by spoonful, making sure she ate every last bite of the healing meal while nourishing their newborn daughter.

After twenty minutes of steady feeding, Tyara finally had her fill. The tiny tiger cub’s jaw went slack, her eyes completely closed in a deep, milk-drunk slumber.

Roxy carefully unlatched her, patting the cub’s back until a tiny burp escaped.

“I’ll take them upstairs, Queen Roxy,” Dena offered, stepping forward with a warm smile.

She carefully took the sleeping Tyara from Roxy’s arms, tucking the cub securely against her shoulder. Then, she walked over to the fireplace, gently lifting Zale, who had been quietly playing with a woven rug the entire time.

The abyssal prince went willingly, resting his stark-white head against Dena’s other shoulder.

“Thank you, Dena,” Roxy sighed, incredibly grateful for the girl’s help.

Dena offered a respectful bow and quietly carried the two sleeping children out of the parlor, leaving Roxy and Caspian entirely alone in the grand room. Ren had long since vanished, likely retreating to the upper floors to give them the privacy they desperately needed.

Roxy let out a long, heavy exhale, her shoulders dropping as the fatigue of the day finally began to catch up with her. She looked down, shifting her violet silk robe to tuck her heavy breast away and tie the sash securely around her waist.

Caspian watched the movement, his silver-blue eyes darkening slightly. A spark of his old, arrogant, deeply possessive self returned to his mortal features.

“I may have sacrificed my immortality,” Caspian teased, his hoarse voice dropping into a low, incredibly sensual purr as he leaned closer to her. “But the view on the Surface is certainly worth the trade.”

Roxy gasped, her cheeks instantly flushing a brilliant, fiery red.

Without missing a beat, she raised her hand and slapped it flat against his solid, muscular chest.

“Don’t get cocky, fish,” Roxy warned, her eyes narrowing as a wicked, punishing glint flashed in her gaze. “I haven’t yet punished you for making a decision without me.”

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