“You can’t do that-“
“Utterly unacceptable-“
The Lady Seal and the Lord Orca were finally united in agreement about one thing, at least. Their overlapping voices rose in outrage.
“Continue speaking,” he said flatly, his harsh voice cutting through the babble, “and I shall eat you.”
The Lord Orca’s mouth closed with an audible click. The Lady of Seals, younger and less experienced, looked mortally affronted.
“How dare you-“ she began.
He looked at her. She fell silent, shrinking back into her seat.
The Empress stood, causing a mass scraping of chairs as every other member of the Sea Council hastened to rise as well. “We will take a short recess. Master Shark, a word.”
The rest of the Sea Council gratefully fled. The Empress motioned the on-duty guards out as well, though the Royal Consort stayed by her side, as ever.
The Empress waited until the three of them were alone, then whirled to face him, her hands on her hips. “What on earth was that?”
“You wished me to resolve their dispute, Your Majesty.”
“Not with your teeth!”
“I am a shark. How did you expect me to resolve it?”
She raked her hand through her curly hair, knocking her crown askew. “With tact and subtlety and just the barest hint of threat, the way that you have always done. Master Shark, what is wrong with you?”
He stared at her, impassive. She knew full well what was wrong. He’d been forced to tell her, in the bare minimum of words, when he’d unexpectedly returned to Atlantis.
The Empress winced, biting her lip. “I’m sorry, Master Shark. That was thoughtless of me. Look, are you sure you don’t want to take some time off?”
“I took one vacation at your bidding, Your Majesty,” he said stiffly. “I will not take another. Now allow me to return to my duty.”
“No.”
Both he and the Empress looked around at the Royal Consort. The towering sea dragon met their stares steadily, his indigo eyes cool and unreadable.
“When last I checked, Royal Consort,” the Master Shark gritted out through clenched teeth, “‘Emperor’ was not among your many titles.”
“But I am still the Imperial Champion, responsible for the Empress’s well-being.” The sea dragon folded his arms across his broad chest, armored vambraces catching the light. “And you have become a liability.”
Blind fury filled him, the first emotion he’d felt since his mate had walked away. “You are the one who insisted I was needed here!”
“The Empress needs the Master Shark!” The sea dragon’s own voice rose, scornful harmonics scratching around his words. “Not some hollow, hungering husk. What good are you to her like this, coward?”
His control snapped. If he’d had his sword, it would already have been in the sea dragon’s heart. He lunged for the Royal Consort bare-handed, murderous with rage.
The sea dragon was less than half his age, and the finest swordsman in the sea—but he was the Master Shark. He barely felt the blow the Royal Consort landed on his face, returning one of his own that sent the younger man staggering.
“STOP!” The Empress’s shout stopped them both in their tracks—quite literally.
Her magic froze the blood in his veins, holding him motionless. All the seas were hers to command, and he was as much a part of her domain as the waves or the tides. Darkness encroached on the edge of his vision as his heart stuttered.
The Empress held them for a moment longer before releasing them. Both he and the Royal Consort fell to their knees, fight forgotten as they gasped for breath.
“Have you lost your mind, John?” the Empress demanded of her mate. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“What I wish someone had done for me,” the sea dragon knight panted. Despite the blood running down his chin, his mouth crooked in a wry smile. “Knocking some sense into his thick skull.”