In order to save the world from eternal night, Red must find a way to unlock the dormant power of the Sun Goddess running through her veins without killing herself and everyone she loves.
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Panic slithered through me as the fish men swarmed, their webbed fingers groping, prodding, touching and testing.
"Please," I gasped, backing up against a slimy chest. "I can't —"
An arm lashed out, pushing the scaly monsters back. Their faces were melting, scales dropping to the ground like pine needles in a gale, pattering on the floor. Some of them gurgled with pain, others with excitement as one by one, the river nymph's curse melted away and they regained their true forms.
"Give the girl some room!" the man boomed, clearing a circle around me. I blinked in stupor at his stark nakedness; lycans were a brazen sort, but my most recent company relished privacy. "Are you daft? She saved your bloody lives, the least you could do is give her some bloody room."
I'd never met the man before, but there was something instinctively appealing about his flashing eyes and rugged beard, as if they somehow guaranteed that I would be provided for, that there would always be a roof over my head and wood to feed the fire should we ever share a home.
The others were just as distracting. I didn't know where to look as tens upon tens of men materialised before my eyes, all breathtakingly beautiful, all naked as the day they were brought into this world. One of them winked at me, and I quickly realised the only safe place to look was up, so I craned my neck back to avoid any misconceptions of interest on my part.
Once their boisterous cheering had settled into a steady murmur, the first man raised his hand for silence. It was slow to come, excited as they were to use the tongues they'd long been denied, but eventually everyone was looking to their leader for direction. I dared to do the same, pointedly ignoring the intense staring from those less inclined to keep their desires in check.
"Long have we awaited this day," he said. "To whom do we owe our thanks?"
"Uh..." I cleared my throat, feeling crippling self-conscious. For the first time I wished I had a different name; one that somebody had chosen for me, not out of obligation, but because it meant something to them. "Red. My name is Red."
Another round of cheers. The leader bowed deeply, and I noted the salt and pepper weaving through his tangled locks. "On behalf of the harem, I, Halbrom, thank you for your intervention. Some of us have been trapped in servitude for centuries."
I offered him a hesitant smile. It was an uneasy thing to be in a room full of strange men, with all of their eyes upon me. "I'm glad I was able to help."
"How can we return the favour?" he asked gruffly, dropping to his knees.
When I saw his eyes were wet with tears, I realised he had probably been a simple woodsman, once upon a time; come down to the river to wash his hands when something grabbed him without warning, just as it had grabbed me. I couldn't be sure which of them had done it, but I couldn't blame them. Nalia had changed the very fabric of their being, moulded them to serve her irregardless of their own desires. She had been so desperately, pathetically lonely that she'd tortured and imprisoned countless men when one of them might have fallen in love and come willingly under different circumstances.
