Free MERMADMEN (The Mermen Trilogy #2) by Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

understand his words. It didn’t make sense that he still felt so connected to his mate if she had no soul, did it?
    Jason turned away. “That’s enough chat for today. Get some rest, landlover. I’ll be back for you at sunset.”
    “Can’t wait.” She entered the cabin and closed the door, wondering if she might be able to sneak off and find Dana. It sounded like Jason was going to get some sleep.
    Liv peeked out the curtains of the small living room and there was Jason standing right in front of the window, with his big arms crossed over his chest, frowning. “Get some sleep, landlover,” he ordered. “I’m not going anywhere.”
    Dammit.
     

CHAPTER EIGHT
    Later in the evening, after a long day of pacing and nerves and trying to get a little sleep, Jason came to collect Liv and take her to the great hall, where the festivities were already underway.
    Why in the world do they call this “great”? Liv thought the moment they entered the jagged stone entrance. The only thing great about it was—okay, nothing was great about it. It was a big, dark, damp cavern with a high ceiling and a dismal fireplace that did absolutely nothing to fight the frigid temperature. The walls, all solid rock, dripped with that strange “sacred water,” which flowed into little channels along the edges of the floor toward an eerily glowing green pool in the back furthest from the entrance.
    Jason pulled Liv through the dense crowd of nearly naked men, who stood to the edges of the room, facing Roen’s throne—a wooden chair with a sea serpent carved into the high back. The women stood behind him in a long line, each “guest” wearing the same style white outfit like before.
    Liv tugged at the top of her dress and tried her best to ignore the tightening in her chest. She felt Roen’s gaze from across the room. She wanted to run to him and warn him what was coming, but she’d already gone over this twenty times in her head today. She had to stick to the plan.
    Liv’s eyes went to work searching for Dana. Thankfully, she wasn’t among any of the women. So where the hell was she?
    Liv turned to Jason. “Where’s my sister?” she whispered.
    “Shhh… It’s about to start,” said a man to her other side.
    Her eyes traveled up, up, up the wall of muscles and scarred skin to find Lyle looking down at her. A shiver rippled through her nervous system. Lyle’s face looked very similar to Roen’s—chiseled jaw, high cheekbones, and full lips—only he wore a full beard and had dark long hair. He also had a few inches on his brother in every direction.
    Liv stared up at the seven-foot man, masking her fear. Everything about him said “Danger. If you see this man, run the other way.”
    “Hello, Lyle. Nice to see you again,” she said.
    “Only my family calls me Lyle. You may refer to me as L’isle, my traditional merman name.” He pulled his stern gaze away and directed it toward a woman—a thin blonde who couldn’t be older than twenty—who’d stepped forward and now stood beside Roen’s throne. Two men moved from the crowd to the center of the room, where they removed the cloths around their waists.
    Liv’s stomach tightened into a sick ball. Oh shit. No. She didn’t want to watch this. Liv turned away.
    “Liv, they’re only penises,” Jason whispered in her ear. “And it’s disrespectful not to watch.”
    Liv had seen so many large merman penises last night that when she’d grabbed a few hours of sleep in the morning, she dreamed they’d formed their own country and started demanding rights. It was pretty weird. “I don’t give a crap about the nudity. I’m not watching two men kill each other.”
    “Only one man will do the killing,” he pointed out. “And they don’t always die. Some just get really close, and we can save them.”
    “And those who aren’t saved?” she whispered over her shoulder.
    “Hey, the maids gotta eat, too.” He chuckled.
    Liv wanted to vomit. These people were so