He was never meant to fall in love with the surface. Auren is a Mer prince with a restless heart and a dangerous fascination for the surface world. When he falls for Elias, a charming human with a smile like sunlight, Auren breaks every law of the deep to see him again. But someone is watching-Ulric, the Kraken court sorcerer sworn to protect him, and the only one who knows what it will cost if the sea decides to punish Auren's defiance. He was never meant to feel anything at all. Ulric has guarded Poseidon's bloodline for centuries, bound by ancient magic and an oath he cannot break. Auren was supposed to be a duty, nothing more. But every rule Ulric has lived by starts to fray the moment the reckless prince dares to look at him like he's more than a monster. And when Auren turns to him for comfort, for touch-Ulric knows the price of breaking his oath may be his soul. In a world of gods, monsters, and forbidden magic, love is the one thing neither of them was meant to survive. But when a prince offers his heart to the dark, the dark just might love him back-with all its teeth.