by Linsey Hall
“Well, you get cleaned up and I’m going to pick out an outfit for you. Something to really wow the Court.”
“Make it sexy.”
Syrea turned back and arched a brow. “Really, now? Got someone you’re trying to impress?”
“Oh, a certain king.” Girl talk might just be the way to her heart—or at least, seeing me as a person as opposed to a prisoner, which I didn’t want to become. And frankly, it wasn’t a lie.
“Ooh, what’s he like?”
I drew in a deep breath. “Handsome. Strong. Honorable.”
“Sounds perfect.”
“Well, he did hunt me all my life with the intention of sacrificing me to save all the people in his kingdom.”
“Oh, that sounds bad.” She raised her brows. “But you worked it out?”
“Yeah, mostly. Though it did involve a love potion he’s still mad about. Says he can’t trust me.”
She grimaced. “Men don’t like those.”
“No one does. Anyway, we’re fated mates, but I don’t want to be.”
“That’s not really something you can fight.”
“Sure, I can. I can fight anything.”
“Well, you can’t win it. Even if you don’t fall in love with him, you’ll always want him.”
“We’re going to do a ritual to break the mating ceremony we did. It will be fine.”
“Yeah, that’s not going to work.” She gave me a skeptical look. “He’ll never let you go. It’s just not possible.”
I sighed, frustrated. “But our past… I ran from him for years. We’re from rival courts. The love potion.”
She shrugged. “What’s a little conflict in romance?”
“This is more than a little conflict.”
“Whatever, you’ll work it out.” She grinned. “Now I’m going to go find a sexy-as-hell dress for the king that you say you don’t want.”
She left, and suddenly, I was alone in the terrifying water room. As weird as it was to have an audience for my bath, she’d distracted me from the ocean. But now terror could distract me from thoughts of Iain.
“Suck it up.” I drew in a breath and turned to face the wide ocean that stretched out in front of me.
A group of fish had gathered in the water across from me, right at my eye level. They were all different colors and sizes. The octopus was still there, and a squid had joined them. It was like staring at an aquarium tank, except there was only air and magic between me and their watery habitat.
“Hi guys.” I watched them as I scrubbed the soap through my hair, unable to look away.
They stared at me, unblinking, and it was easily the weirdest experience of my life. “You’re all a bit pervy, aren’t you?”
Of course they didn’t answer, but I knew I’d remember this for the rest of my life. I dunked myself in the ocean to rinse off the soap, then quickly scrubbed the rest of myself. I had to assume these were some kind of ocean-friendly suds.
Clean, I walked out of the water and grabbed a towel. As I dried off, my comms charm buzzed with magic.
I slapped a hand over it and whispered, “Connor? Speak quietly.”
“Hey Claire.” His voice was nearly silent. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Living that mermaid lifestyle, you know?” I was just glad the comms charm worked all the way down here. “You get any info about my missing magic?”
“Not yet. But I’m trying to figure out a way to contact The Oracle. Since the Rowan Seer wouldn’t help, she’s our best shot.”
“Wow. Is that even possible?”
“You doubt my ability?”
“No, but… it just seems difficult.”
“It is, and I’m working on it. And while working on it, I got an update on our Court. Basically, you need to hurry. More Fae are losing control of their flames. And the Tor of the Ancients is having some trouble.”
Crap. That was the home of the SoulStone.
“I’ll hurry, I promise. And good luck.”
“Thanks. You too.”
I cut the magic to the charm and made sure the towel was fully wrapped around myself. I gave the terrifying—yet amazing—bath one last look, then joined Syrea in the main chamber.
She held out a sparkling black dress that flowed like a waterfall of silk. “What do you think?”
“Fantastic.”
“Good.” She laid it over a chair. “Let’s do your hair first.”
She directed me to a chair and began to fuss with my hair, magic sparking from her hands. My soul shriveled up at the idea that I was going to sit here getting a makeover while the SoulStone was out there and my magic was still lost. There was so much that needed to be done, and I was doing this.
I called on my smallest ax from the ether, gripping it tight in my lap. It was like a security blanket. Deadly, but soothing.
“Ooh, what is that?”
“Oh.” I tightened my grip on the ax. Maybe I shouldn’t have called upon a weapon while I was with her. She might view it as a threat. But she didn’t seem frightened. “It’s an ax. Do you not recognize it?”
She leaned over my shoulder to get a better look at the bronze weapon. “Never seen anything like it. What’s it for?”
I wasn’t about to tell her that I used it primarily for killing, that was for sure. The fact that I sunk it into more hearts than trees was not the way to start. “It’s a tool. Most people use them to cut down trees.”
“Trees?”
“Oh, ah. Wow. I guess you haven’t seen trees before. They are a type of plant on land.” I described them briefly.
“So why did you call upon your tree cutter?”
Now I looked like a lunatic. I decided to fess up. I was supposed to be bonding here, anyway, and admitting to a fear was good for that. This was different than being around the guard and showing fear—there was no chance I’d be bonding with that dude.
“I guess I was feeling nervous about the water. And normally when I’m feeling nervous, it’s because something is trying to kill me. So it felt natural to grab the ax. Like a safety blanket.”
“Ah,” she said, her voice knowing. “You don’t usually use the ax to chop down trees.”
“No, I use it to chop up demons.”
“So it’s a weapon.” Suddenly, she sounded a lot more interested. “I thought it looked handy for that.”
I looked back at her. “You like weapons?”
“I don’t do this all day, you know.” She grinned cheekily. “Your hair is almost done, then can I hold the ax?”
“Sure!” This was the kind of bonding I was good at.
She put the finishing touch on my hair, which I couldn’t see because there was no mirror, then stepped back. Quickly, she moved around to the front of me and held out her hand. “Now, gimme.”
I laughed and handed it over. “The bronze is from my homeland. The Fire Fae live on Dartmoor, an area known for its tin mining.”
“Tin?”
“Right, of course there are no tin mines down here. It’s a type of metal used in bronze and other things.”
“Oh, interesting.” She tested the weight of the ax, inspecting every inch of it.
“Keep it,” I said. “As a gift for doing my hair.”
Her eyes flashed to mine, clearly surprised. “But you need it! It’s your safety blanket.”
I shrugged. “I have another. Anyway, it’ll be a small peace offering between my people and yours.”
“But we aren’t royalty.” She tilted her head. “Though I did think there was something about you…”
“What do you mean?”
She trailed off. “Oh, nothing. Don’t know what I was thinking.” She looked at the ax again. “Do you mean it?”
“I do. Thank you for the help.”
A knock sounded at the door, and her gaze lifted. “You should put on your dress. It’s time to go.”
Quickly, she helped me into the dress, which slicked over my curves like water. The neckline was plunging and the skirt lon
g. I eyed it appraisingly. It was definitely long enough to wear my boots.
Syrea held up a pair of pretty black shoes. They weren’t heeled—maybe that fashion hadn’t made it down here—but they did look delicate and uncomfortable. Bad for running. And I was still in enemy territory, after all.
“I was thinking I would wear my boots. No one will see.”
She eyed them skeptically, then shrugged. “Whatever you say.”
I grinned and pulled them on.
“You look fantastic.” She gestured to a silver mirror that was set into the corner. I approached it, realizing that it was actually water imbued with magic. I had no idea how it worked, but it provided a clear image of me.
“Damn, I look good.”
“You do.” She winked. “I think your king will approve.”
“We’ll see.”
She walked me to the door, then gripped my arm, leaning close to murmur. “Be careful around the queen. She’s… mercurial.”
I shot her a look. “Thanks.”
“She’s not bad, just… hard to get a grip on. And if she gets annoyed… Well, not pleasant.”
It was clearly hard for her to say these things about her ruler. I squeezed her hand, trying to imbue it with my feeling of gratitude. “Thank you. Really.”
She nodded. “Now go. They’re waiting.”
I opened the door to find Iain and the guard waiting on the other side. He wore his normal clothes, which apparently passed muster. Or he hadn’t caved to the makeover.
“You look beautiful,” he said.
The guard looked away.
“Thanks.”
He held out his arm, and I took it. The guard escorted us through the twisting tunnels that formed a hallway through the coral palace. I’d love to see this place from the outside, but that would require swimming through the deep blue water.
I was so not up for that.
The guard led us to a huge rectangular room that was filled with a long dinner table occupied by dozens of people. It was laid with at least forty place settings, all made of ornately carved pink shell. Plates piled high with strange foods marched down the middle, and most of it appeared to be cold, appetizer-like foods.
Oh fates, were we in for a long, drawn-out meal?
The table was mostly full of Primordial Ones in fabulous outfits. Silks and satins, jewels and brocade. They had to have a trade network set up somewhere—otherwise, how would they get all this stuff?
The head of the table was conspicuously empty, and from the size of the chair, it was clear who was missing.
“The queen will be here momentarily,” the guard said, as if hearing my unspoken question.
A moment later, she appeared through a grand doorway on the other side. The entire crowd stood, and she swept through in an even bigger emerald silk gown than she’d been wearing before. It glittered and flowed like water behind her, and she moved with a grace that made her appear to float. Her ebony wings gleamed in the light.
Her gaze moved immediately to Iain, and she gestured for him. It was clear as day that she was not also gesturing for me, but I followed anyway.
I felt the burn of dozens of eyes as we strode down one side of the table, meeting her at her end.
“Iain, you look magnificent.”
“As do you, Mareline.” He bowed.
She tittered.
Annoyance spiked.
“Come,” she waved him forward. “Sit next to me.” She paused, then as an afterthought, waved to a seat a couple down from her. “You can sit there.”
I gave her a tight smile—it was the best I could manage, and damned if I wasn’t trying my hardest. I didn’t like her interest in Iain, even though I knew it was dumb. But this damned mate bond was getting to me.
She swept away, and Iain gave me a long, loaded looked before he joined her. I had no idea what it meant, though, so I ignored it and headed quickly to my seat.
An older woman sat on one side of my chair, and she hardly spared me a glance. The man on the other side appeared very interested, however. His eyes glinted with delight, and the corner of his lips formed a rakish smile. He was handsome in a sophisticated way and looked to be only a few years older than I was.
He rose gracefully, then pulled out my chair. “Please, sit.”
“Thank you.”
I sank into the chair, and he returned to his seat, turning immediately to face me. “It is rare that we have such beautiful strangers visit our Court.”
My mind raced as I debated how to play this. Given his interest, I settled on flirting.
I laughed low in my throat and leaned toward him. “I must say that it’s rare I’m greeted by such a handsome man.”
Briefly, I worried that my approach was too obvious, but he smiled broadly. Okay, good. He was totally susceptible to flattery.
I held out my hand, leaning close and dipping my shoulders so that my cleavage was displayed to its best effect. Iain’s gaze moved toward me, and his brow creased.
I ignored him. There was no way I was wasting this opportunity to get some intel. I was too far from the queen to try with her, and she hated me anyway. He could handle that angle. I’d work the rest of the crowd.
The man’s eyes gleamed as they moved between my breasts and my face.
Holy fates, this dude was obvious.
He gripped my hand gently—way too gently, the kind of gently that indicated he had no idea that I normally used my hands for killing demons—and raised it to his lips.
He kissed the back of it, and I was grateful to find his lips cool and dry. I wasn’t into it, but it wasn’t gross.
“I am Fabien, fair lady.”
I nodded. “Caera.”
“A beautiful name.”
The queen laughed loudly and raised her glass. The crowd turned its attention to her as she spoke. “To all of our esteemed guests gathered here today—”
She droned on, and I kept my ear on her words as I scanned the crowd around us. It was a boring toast, full of regalese about the glory of the kingdom. What I was really interested in were the party guests. I needed info.
Finally, she tapered off and people began to eat. The queen immediately leaned toward Iain and placed her hand on his arm. Her lips went right to his ear, so close they were almost touching.
What the hell was she whispering to him?
He leaned toward her attentively, and I nearly growled.
Fates, I needed to get ahold of myself.
“Can I serve you some prawns, Caera?” Fabien held out a small platter of prawns, and I stared blindly at them for a moment, my irritation nearly getting the better of me.
Then I snapped back to attention. I needed to be on my game here. “Yes, thank you.”
As he filled my plate, my gaze moved back to Iain. He was speaking quietly, but I was just able to make out a bit of what he was saying. He was talking about the SoulStone. And pressing his hand over top of the queen’s.
I strained my ears, trying my best to catch anything she said. Snippets of her words drifted toward me, and my attention snagged on one particular sentence. “It is in the possession of the Kraken now.”
Hold up.
A freaking Kraken?
A Kraken had the stone?
Shit.
Iain’s lips moved, and I assumed he was asking about the Kraken.
She gave a catlike smile and shrugged, clearly wanting to hold onto the information.
Iain leaned closer, his lips going to her ear as his hand stayed on top of hers.
He was flirting.
Irritation surged within me, even as I knew it was unwise.
I narrowed my eyes at him. Two could play at this game.
8
The conversation at the queen’s dinner party flowed merrily, cutting off most of my ability to eavesdrop on Iain and the queen.
That was a bad plan, anyway. He was gathering information over there, and I would do it from my seat. I turned to Fabien, who was staring down my top i
n a way that was only a little creepy. He was the sort of man who had so much unspoken charm about him that one could think that the breast-staring was possibly an accident.
It wasn’t.
And I’d use it to my advantage.
I leaned toward him and smiled. “This is just the most amazing place. Have you lived here all your life?”
A satisfied grin stretched across his face. He was used to attention from women. Given how he looked, I wasn’t surprised. He wasn't my type, but objectively, he was handsome.
“All my life, yes. I’ve been very fortunate.” He took a deep drink of his cup, draining nearly half of it, then turned to me. “And you?”
“I’m just visiting.”
He laughed and leaned closer, reaching up to toy with a piece of my hair. “I could tell that, kitten. It’s not exactly a huge palace. We don’t get many new people here.”
Kitten.
I resisted wrinkling my nose and tried for a giggle. I was good at this when I put my mind to it. “I suppose you don’t. But it’s just so amazing. This place is huge, with so many magical spots. Things we’d never see on the surface. You wouldn’t believe the bath I took today!”
His eyes glinted with interest, as I suspected they would. I took a sip of my wine, hoping he would follow my lead and drink some more of his own.
He did, then leaned closer to speak in my ear, brushing his lips against my skin. “Tell me more.”
Wow, this guy moved fast.
I caught Iain’s eyes on me and spotted heat flaming in their depths. His gaze moved between me and Fabien, his brow wrinkled.
Go back to your flirting, I wanted to shout at him.
Instead, I turned my attention to Fabien, managing to snag a full pitcher of wine to refill his glass as I described the bath. I went into as much detail as I could, going so far as to call it skinny-dipping. His eyes gleamed.
“That sounds like a very good time, indeed,” he murmured.
I pulled back slightly and sipped my wine, barely swallowing any so that I could keep my wits about me. Fabien followed suit, but drank much more deeply.
“There must be so many other amazing things here,” I said. “I’ve even heard rumors of a Kraken.”
His eyes shuttered slightly, and I backtracked quickly. Clearly, he’d need more wine before I went that far.
