Dark Depths

by Lani Lenore

  There were so many things that humans must know—so many differences between their cultures—that Treasure had begun to wonder if she would ever learn it all. She did not stop to think that these things might only be the practices of royalty, but she knew that she didn’t care about all of this. She just wanted to be with Nathan. Where was he? Why couldn’t she go to him?

  Treasure was not entirely sure of the situation that she found herself in, but she was feeling more uneasy with every second she was away from the one she loved. She would go along with this role until he helped her out of it, but as time passed on, she was growing more anxious.

  Days. It has been days.

  If she could have, she would have simply explained to Thaddeus that she was grateful for his help, but it was all a mistake. She had come to be with Nathan, and that was what she intended to do. But since she could not say those things, she would try to wait. She would—

  “Miss, please pay attention.” The stern voice of her tutor, Danielle, brought her back. The old woman’s harsh gaze was upon her, and Treasure felt chastised enough just to be beneath it.

  “You weren’t listening at all, were you?” the woman asked, disappointed. Treasure could not even manage a look of apology. Danielle sighed. “Listen carefully, I don’t know who you are or where you came from. Neither does young Ellister, and I don’t think he cares. He’s too mesmerized by your beauty, but that doesn’t change your need to know royal protocol. He intends to marry you, so you’d best get this right.”

  Marry? Treasure did not know what that meant. She wondered if it was good or bad, but she did understand the concept of these trained behaviors. She only hoped further lessons would have nothing to do with bloodletting for her company’s pleasure.

  Treasure felt accurately put in her place, and she would try harder now so that she would not be scolded again. She’d lived her life in obedience, and she knew what happened to those who didn’t learn their lessons.

  Putting her attention back to what the woman was showing her, she made the decision to behave.

  2

  Resolve—Nathan had finally found his resolve. The remnant ache of a hangover was looming over him, but he was set. The morning was already creeping toward noon, but he had vowed not to let this day slip by without seeing Treasure. He would try to do it discreetly, if possible, but if someone had to see them, so be it.

  He had to talk to her—to know why she was here.

  His methods of searching for the answer had yielded nothing, and the only way he would find out the truth was to ask her directly. There were many things on his mind, but first, he needed to know if her inability to speak was truth or just a ruse. He would go from there.

  Nathan wandered the palace halls just as he had done the night before, but after a bit of searching, he finally located her in the dining hall—a continuation of her lessons at table, perhaps. She looked as beautiful as any time he’d seen her, yet even more like a lady than simply for having legs. Her dress was in pale, rosy tones. Her wavy hair was brushed and pinned up with glittering combs of pearls and jewels. She had become like so many ladies he had seen in this city, but she stood out among them. To his eyes, she always would, but he could not be taken with her now. He had a purpose.

  Ellister was not with her, but she was with that old crone of a tutor that the crown prince had assigned to her, and the reality of all this suddenly hit him. He highly doubted he could catch Treasure at a time when she wasn’t supervised, unless he caught her in her bed chamber at night, but of course that would seem even more suspicious if he was caught. Desperate as he was, he decided that the time to make his move was now or never. Only one adversary was before him.

  He strode into the room as if it was perfectly natural for him to intrude. He had the right, he supposed, but made sure to maintain confidence to show that his purpose was true.

  Treasure recognized him swiftly, her eyes shooting to his face. He took note of her expression, the longing for him to grasp her up and take her away from here, but he could not do that so abruptly. After the briefest of glances, he was content to ignore her for the time so that she would not seem out of place.

  Danielle was quick to notice him as well, but her gaze was not so eager.

  “What has given you the thought that you can interrupt us, Mr. Thomas?”

  Nathan made certain that his words were level and to the point. “Ellister sent me to retrieve her.”

  Nathan knew that he had power here, and there were few who questioned him. Unfortunately, this woman seemed to be one of the few.

  “I highly doubt that, young man,” she said with judgmental eyes. “I’ve been put in charge of her today, and that is all.”

  Nathan felt his teeth clench, but he managed to keep his composure.

  “Should I trouble the prince again to ask?” he demanded, firm with meaning.

  The tutor eyed him. Knowing she was a woman who was bold, he suddenly doubted that she would relent. A second later, he saw her sigh, and he knew he had won.

  “Very well,” the woman said, then turned to Treasure. “He’ll escort you, dear. But don’t think you’re near done. There is much more to cover and I don’t intend this to be a lengthy interruption.”

  Nathan heard those words, taking them to heart. He hoped to steal Treasure away, but knew he would have to return her. Before that though, he at least hoped to gain a better understanding of all this.

  His heart raced with fear and anticipation as Treasure rose up and took his arm, whether to touch him or just to keep her footing, he did not mind. He tried to keep himself calm, but his mind was singing. He had stolen her away. The closer he got to the door, his heart pounded ever more, and when they were finally beyond the threshold, he felt relief and elation that had not crossed him in days.

  He knew that Danielle would not let this go for long, and so he aimed to be quick. He did not say a word to Treasure until he had led her down the hallway and pulled her aside into an alcove, where they at least might be hidden for a time. Only then did he look at her.

  When she faced him, he could see that tears were coming into her eyes, but she clenched her fists and waited for his cue. Perhaps she waited for him to embrace her, but he could not. He was careful not to touch her now or give any indication that he might have reached out. Nathan pressed his hands together as if in prayer, in order to keep them close, and with them, he gestured to show his seriousness.

  “Is it true?” he asked for his first question, recalling what Ellister had told him about her tongue. “Can’t you speak to me?”

  Her eyes were sad as she shook her head. No. This left his mind unsettled, and he could hardly remember what he had meant to say.

  “I’m sorry,” he said, feeling an ache in his heart. “Was it some sort of punishment?”

  She shook her head quickly. No.

  “Did Ellister do this to you?” The possibility had only recently occurred to him, remembering what Sophia had said before. Our future king prefers his women to be silent. But once again, she shook her head before his anger could flare.

  “How did you get here? How are you even…?” He motioned toward her legs, unable to voice it, but he thought she understood. She gestured toward her mouth, but he was not sure he understood what she had meant.

  “Does your tongue have something to do with why you’re here? I just— Who did this to you?”

  She shook her head briefly, tried to mouth words, but he could not make them out. He hated this lack of communication between them, but for now, this was all he had. She could not tell him the truth.

  I’ll find a way, he vowed. But not yet.

  He could see the tears rising up in her eyes again, threatening to spill over, and though he wanted to hold her and kiss her and tell her that everything would be alright, he could not allow himself to do that. It was not safe, and he did not know when it would be.

  “Alright, tell me this: did you come here for a reason?”

  Treasure nodde
d, and he understood now that he had to rely on his own assumptions, but he had uncovered no clues. The only thing he had to go on was—

  “Did you come here for me?”

  Yes, she mouthed, a glistening tear running down her cheek. It took all he had to contain himself, but he could not let his emotions get the best of him.

  “Don’t cry,” he urged. “I know it’s difficult.”

  He touched her hand, and already he knew it was too much, the warmth of her fingers bleeding onto his, a slight tremor there.

  “I don’t know what to make of all this, but I’m going to figure it out and make things right. Until then, you should go along with this. Ellister is king. He’s a very powerful man here, and above all he cannot know about our past.”

  A mask came over her face then, a blank sheet. Did she not understand what he meant by that? He did not have much time to explain it to her, but he hoped she could trust him and understand that this was for both their sakes. He could not, however, ignore her expression.

  “You seem nervous. Are you alright?”

  Treasure looked over to him, and he saw the fear in her eyes. There was something that she wanted to tell him, but she could not convey it. She gripped his hand tighter, and the touch of her fingers sent a jolt of heat through him. She reached to her throat and grasped an item which she hid in her fist, then she pulled it away from her neck and folded it into his fingers.

  He looked at what she had given him, seeing that it was a small conch on a string.

  “What is this?” he asked, but he was not able to venture a guess before they were interrupted.

  “Amelia, there you are.”

  Shit… Nathan could feel the tension in his body, and then the gradual release when he realized that there was nothing he could do. The voice that had spoken out was Ellister’s. They had been caught, though Nathan had to be somewhat grateful that they’d not been wrapped in an embrace. With a slight of hand, he quickly hid the conch up his sleeve.

  “Nathan, thank you for finding her,” Ellister said, stepping up to them, holding his head up knowingly.

  Nathan had been so focused on Treasure that he’d not even noticed Ellister and his entourage approaching the alcove. Now he could hardly breathe.

  Be calm.

  “She doesn’t seem to grasp the importance of her lessons yet,” Ellister commented. “But I’ve been through them myself. Can’t quite blame her for wandering off. Come along, darling,” Thaddeus urged her, taking her arm, and though she did glance at Nathan briefly, Treasure did as he asked more swiftly than the former pirate would have thought.

  That made him feel relief as well as pain.

  “Please go back to Mrs. Barnaby,” Ellister told her softly. “I know she can be a bore, but it’s good for you.”

  Treasure looked into his eyes and nodded, then without another glance at Nathan, walked away. Ellister’s secretaries bowed to her and moved out of her path as she passed, but they kept out of the way and remained silent on the matter. Nathan could help but feel that those men were satisfied that he’d slipped, and he knew that this confrontation was not over. Ellister stepped up to him, looking him in the eye. Nathan tried to keep steady, to keep his guilt from showing. He wasn’t always good at that.

  “I came to check on her,” the crown prince said, his voice low. “Somehow, I can’t get her out of my mind. Imagine my surprise when Danielle told me that you had taken her away.”

  “It’s not what you think,” Nathan tried, but then wondered if he ought to have said anything at all. “I only wanted to find out if she was really what you believed—”

  Ellister tilted his head, cutting him off.

  “Could it be that you are overstepping your bounds, Nathan?” His calm was like the gray clouds before a squall. “I’ve trusted you with my affairs, put you in charge of many of my own things, but this I cannot. Stay away from Amelia. I will not warn you again.”

  The look in Ellister’s eyes was unlike Nathan had seen before, even when the man was serious. Nathan knew Ellister was willing to turn a blind eye to almost anything he might do outside the palace walls, but this was a true warning. He believed it.

  “Do we understand each other?” Ellister asked, and Nathan knew the only answer.

  “Yes, Your Majesty,” he said in his most sincere tone.

  Ellister gave a short nod of satisfaction and turned away. Nathan stood there, defeated.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Oblivion

  1

  The sun rose and set thrice more, and Nathan had not managed to get any closer to Treasure—not since Ellister had caught them together in the corridor. He’d been too timid to try, and Nathan hated himself for it. She might have just as well remained a daughter of the ocean for the distance between them, even though she was not always so far away.

  He would catch a glimpse of her at times in passing, but she was always escorted, either by her shrewd tutor, other attendants, or Ellister himself. They were teaching her how to conduct herself—to be submissive in the presence of royalty, how to behave at dinner, and how to dance.

  Nathan had seen her dancing once after that first day, her hair gleaming in the light of the sun as she moved across the shining floor, her feet and ankles revealed beneath the sweeping hem of her gown. From what he’d seen of her, she was becoming truly refined, as if this life was meant for her. There was grace in her movements, and he couldn’t help thinking of her as a princess.

  As Ellister’s queen.

  The crown prince had been particularly cold to Nathan since he’d begun to suspect him of such a great sin—of desiring his bride-to-be. That was not a lie, but Treasure—Ellister’s Amelia—was not the prince’s to have. Her longing heart belonged to him. Nathan would not stop believing that.

  Even now, out on one of Ellister’s boats, he could not gain a reprieve from those thoughts. He stood by the ship railing, feeling the wind in his hair as he examined the small conch that she had given him, twisting it between his fingers. He’d been meditating over it for days, and yet he still was not sure what it meant. Was it simply a strange gift that she had decided to bestow? A token of her affection? Or did it mean something else? Hours of pondering had not brought him closer to the answer. The only thing it had served him in was to bestow a slight sense of calm when he put it to his ear. No matter where he was, he could always hear the ocean.

  He did not associate with the rest of the crew, content to be lost in his own thoughts. The ship drew further out to check more nets, and he was only brought to attention when he was approached directly by one of them. The man stepped up beside him without introduction and joined him at the rail.

  Nathan did not even lift his eyes to observe the one next to him, for he had very little interest in this outing. It was simply an escape for him today.

  “What do you want?” he asked sharply, finally lifting his eyes from the conch to shoot a piercing glare at the one beside him.

  His eyes widened when he recognized this filthy sailor. He recognized her.

  She looked very different in men’s clothes. She wore a heavy coat to make her look broader, and her lean shape certainly did not give her away. She had a boyish figure to begin with. From what he guessed, her long hair was tucked beneath her hat, except for the ends, which hung in greasy tendrils around her face, making her look like an adolescent urchin. Her eyes were still harsh beneath the brim of a wide hat which shadowed her face, and her skin was smeared with dirt to conceal her female identity, but he knew her.

  Sophia.

  “I’m glad you’re the only one who can tell,” she said, trying to keep her voice low, making it sound deeper than her normal tone. “I had hoped.”

  After the initial shock, Nathan was able to be annoyed by her presence. He didn’t want to be troubled by her or anyone else.

  “What are you doing here?” he asked in quiet disbelief, then hoped that his voice hadn’t been too loud. He glanced around to see if the others might have hear
d him, but no one seemed to be giving them mind. Her secret was safe for now.

  “I had to see for myself—what you do,” she said. “I can’t stand being pushed to the side. I need to be involved.”

  Nathan was not sure of what her personal issue was, or what, exactly, her place was in all this, but he did not argue.

  “They think I’m incapable,” she muttered, refusing to look at him for long. “My father, and Ellister… Do you think that?”

  Because you’re a woman? He wanted to ask, but knew he shouldn’t voice it. Someone might overhear. Honestly, he wasn’t sure that he had any feeling toward her. He wouldn’t concern himself with her personal problems. He had his own.

  “What do you expect to see?” he asked instead. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been out on this boat, checking those nets, examining wreckage, and there is never any trace of the monsters—perfect or imperfect either one.”

  “But you know they’re out there,” she confirmed. “You must.” She paused a moment, then added as an afterthought: “I need to remember why I hate them; not that I could actually forget.”

  Nathan allowed himself to wonder about this girl and her father, Gideon. How had they gained a direct connection to Ellister, and what had brought them to know the things that they did? By her words now, he knew her hatred of the nymphs was personal, but he did not care to intrude. Secrets were kept for a reason.

  But I wonder. I wonder if she would tell me if I asked.

  Behind them, men were pulling up the nets, and an outburst rocked them more than the waves against the boat.

  “What is that? What the bloody hell is it?”

  Nathan turned toward the cry, and Sophia followed to join the rest. He did not try to keep her back, concerned only with what he saw before him.

  There was a mass caught in the net, dripping red water. Nathan could not identify it at first, but his mind finally connected the tangle of blue scales and brown hair. It had been weeks of checking these nets, and finally something had been caught. Ellister would be pleased, perhaps, but Nathan had thought many times on what he would do if something like this happened. Would he take the nymph back to Ellister, kill her, or let her go?