Dark Depths

by Lani Lenore

“This plan,” he managed to interject. “What is it?”

  3

  Beneath the shadow of his cloak, Ellister left the tavern. He had once been known to frequent this place in secret, but that was before his father had grown ill. He’d not felt the need in a long time, but now, he felt another need.

  His thoughts had been on his bride-to-be. The coronation had been interrupted, and she’d not been announced as they’d planned. He’d been so busy that he had not been able to see her, but he wanted to see her now. Not even the lovely creatures in his chamber pool had been able to soothe him recently, and the thought of them repulsed him for a reason he could not explain. He wanted to see the one who had come to him from the depths—the answer to his troubles.

  His Amelia. Only his. He would go to her now.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Sharp Truth

  1

  Treasure had never been so hurt, inside or out. Even in all her years of slavery, she had felt physical pain, but had been numb to any emotion. The day she had seen Nathan, her heart had been filled with something she had never felt before: love. She had known it the moment she’d seen him. Since then, he had been her only thought of freedom, even though, perhaps, their love had been doomed from the start. Perhaps she had always known it, just too foolish to accept. Now she was caught by emotions that made her feel nauseous and terrible. Yes, she was disappointed—and angry!

  Wrapped in a pale blue dressing gown, Treasure had uncovered a heavy piece of luggage from within the armoire, but after hoisting it up onto the bed, she decided that it was simply too hefty to carry with her. She needed to travel light. At that, she had decided instead on a simple hat box. She did not have many belongings, after all.

  She did not know where she would go, but she knew that she could not stay here. Nathan did not want her, and she could not be what Thaddeus insisted she be. She could not go back to the sea, and so her only option was to run. If she left, she did not know how long she would be safe from the ones who would hunt her, but she was too overwhelmed to care at this moment.

  As she gathered some of the clothing items that she had been taught to wear, she could hear Bliss’s voice in her head, taunting her.

  Not what jou thought is it, little minnow? Jou ‘ave never been anyting but a foolish girl.

  Treasure closed her eyes and swallowed hard, trying to shut the voice out.

  How am I supposed to do this? she wondered in desperation. I know nothing about this world.

  How could she be on her own? She could not speak, she could barely understand, and she knew nothing. A tear came to her eye at the thought of how helpless she was here.

  But if I were in the sea, things would not be better. I would still be hunted.

  True that the look of her skin would be enough to bring hate her way. She would be a captive again or, as punishment for fleeing, she would be killed.

  She lifted her head, catching her reflection in a mirror, and gazed into her own watery eyes.

  There is nothing left for me anywhere. There is—

  The slightest sound drew her attention, and movement in the mirror caught her eye. From around the frame of the terrace door behind her, wicked fingers were reaching in, aiming for stealth, but Treasure had spotted them.

  Fear pulsed out from her heart. The window had been open! Who had been so careless? Had she? No. She would not have dared to open it.

  Acting only on instinct, she rushed to the doors, gripping the handle just as the hunter sought to fling the way open. She heard the angry, shrieking language of the creature beyond the glass, but she could not interpret it. Whether it was pain or threat, her response was the same.

  Treasure did not stop pulling on the door with all her weight, digging her heels in and straining as if her life depended on it. Likely it did. She pulled on the handle until the fingers on that gnarled hand began to crack and split—until she had closed the way and those clawed fingers had broken off, laying on the floor in front of her. The blood was sticky and thick like sap, but she did not stop to examine it. Her shaky hands fumbled with the latch. The frame of the window was swimming in her vision, but she managed to secure it. It was not very strong. She only hoped it would hold.

  There was a screech as the beast retreated, and a flapping of wings signaled its departure. Her heart eased to a slower rhythm. Treasure felt, for now, that she was safe, though she did not hesitate to quickly draw the curtains. How many more were waiting for her to step outside? She did not want to be picked to bits by birds. It seemed as terrible as anything the Mistress might have done to her.

  Despite the tears welling in her eyes, Treasure had learned something in that moment. She had wanted to live. Her life was worth keeping. Silently, she slid the half-packed box under the bed.

  When a knock resounded on her door, she leapt, but did not hesitate to go forward. Anyone was welcome to interrupt this fear. She hastily parted the way, but had not expected Thaddeus to be standing there, yet she had not much cared who it would be. He must have noticed the wild expression on her face, for he did not say a word. He was silent as she was, and Treasure had no complaint. Desperately, she threw herself into his arms.

  Thaddeus enveloped her swiftly. His throat was warm to her cheek, and his back was firm beneath her grasping hands. She felt safer in his embrace. For a moment, an image floated into her mind and she recalled what he had done to the tutor, but he had only done that for her sake, hadn’t he? No, he would never harm her.

  “What’s wrong, darling?” he asked soothingly, doubtlessly confused. He stroked her hair and held her close, asking her why she was so upset.

  As if she could tell him.

  His chin rested against her head and she breathed him in. He smelled different from Nathan, like sweet tobacco smoke. Not at all like the sea.

  “I’m sorry for how things have gone lately,” he apologized. “I know it’s been stressful for you. Truth be told, things haven’t been going so well for me either. But I want you to know that I have you in mind. You are dear to me.”

  He urged her back and touched her face, and it was then, looking into his blue eyes, that Treasure wondered if she could love him. He was handsome; she believed he was sincere, and yet— He lifted her chin, his fingers feather-light against her jaw, and lowered his lips to hers.

  She felt the warmth of his mouth, and closed her eyes, trying to lose herself in the moment. He pulled her flush against him, and she thought she could feel his heartbeat along with hers. He was romantic and soft, loving in the way his fingers danced behind her ear. Perhaps there was something to be found between them after all. Since she was to be his bride, perhaps it was worth searching for.

  He closed the door behind him, pressing her back into the room. His hands were on her waist, but she did not put hers back on him. Instead, she waited. She thought that something might happen, that her heart would expel Nathan and embrace Thaddeus as the center of her world, but as the moments passed, still it did not arise.

  She could tell that he was diligent in his conquest, and that he craved her intimacy as well as the lodging space between her legs. She almost—almost—wanted him too. Treasure liked the way his lips felt on hers, but there was no longing in it for her, and so it was not good enough. He wanted the action, the sensation; not her. She knew that.

  Though his body was warm and hard and pleasing, she could not kiss him any longer, and turned her face away, a trace of his damp lips on her mouth.

  “It’s alright,” he said after a moment, breathless. “I understand. I won’t force you. And I know I never asked you properly, but—”

  She looked up at him. The urge to tell him everything was swelling within. She had come here to be with Nathan, and if he would just so kindly let them be, that would make her happier than anything.

  “I hope you’ll be glad to be my queen. I think you’ll be happy here with me.”

  This was all happening, coming at her from all sides, whether she wanted it or not. She opene
d her mouth, but all that came out was a forlorn sigh. She wished she could have asked him to leave, but a scratch against the window once again brought her back to her reality.

  When she remembered the sirens, she pulled him to her once again.

  2

  Nathan was trudging through sand, as heavy around his ankles as his heart was in his chest. He had hoped the ocean breeze would help with his swimming head, and as he’d suspected, he thought he was sobering a bit. Too much had happened, and while he’d wanted to forget, he couldn’t ignore the state of things.

  Ellister was on edge, and Nathan knew that did not mean good things for him.

  The nymphs were close now, growing more active, and he had no idea of what could be done about it. Those were certain problems, but he had something else on his mind at this moment. The thing that was stuck in his head was the voice he’d heard in the tavern before he’d seen Ellister. He’d recognized the chiding tone and the accent. It belonged to the silver-eyed beast that had violated him, and she had said something about the conch.

  He grasped the shell in his hand and pondered over it. That evil creature was able to communicate with him through this? By listening to it, had he invited her voice inside his head? He wanted nothing of that.

  Snatching the conch from his neck, Nathan aimed to toss it into the rolling waves, but as if summoned by the action, the voice rose up again, warding him from it.

  “I need to speak wit jou. Now. Come to de beach beyond de palace. Dere are tings jou need to know.”

  Nathan knew that he was not far from there, but perhaps if he’d been in a better frame of mind, he would not have hesitated so strongly. Or perhaps he would. He was not anxious to see the silver-eyed nymph again, but he felt a sudden wave of sobriety, and he knew that she might be his link to the answers he needed. Treasure could not talk to him, but this one might know.

  As he made his way to the spot she’d designated, he resolved that whatever she wanted from him—and he knew it would be something—would have to wait. He had his own questions that must take priority.

  When he arrived, the sea like a blanket of black diamonds, Nathan was not surprised to see the dark-skinned mermaid with the silver tail, poised within the rocks at the very place where he’d met with Treasure once before. His lip curled involuntarily at this mockery of the special place, but he would not let that get the better of him. He had already let her have more of him than he wanted to admit.

  “Dere jou are,” she said, her lips curving into a malicious smile. “Long time.”

  “Certainly not long enough,” he sneered in return. He saw no reason to hide his distaste. He knew it was no surprise to her.

  “So cruel,” she said with a pout. “But I didn’t come here to be taunted. Dere’s another reason I called jou.”

  “I imagined there was,” Nathan declared with confidence, crossing his arms before him. “I suspect you called me here because you want something, but before I hear anything you have to say, you’re going to hear me.”

  “Dere is no time for nonsense,” she said sternly. “Dis has to do wit war.”

  “War doesn’t interest me,” he lied—or perhaps it was true in that moment. “I need answers. So before you use me for your own devices, I need to ask you some questions.”

  “Jou’ve grown bossy.”

  “I’ve gotten very good at bargaining.”

  Her shining eyes smiled at him. “Dat happens to be my specialty as well. Let us bargain. Jou deliver a message to de human king, and I will answer jour questions.”

  “Alright, you first.” He couldn’t deny that he was curious about the message, but he could not back down.

  She smiled spitefully at him, her eyes narrowing. “As much as I enjoy a good bargain, we can’t spend all night like dis. Jou take my message, come back tomorrow, and I will tell jou what jou want to know.”

  Nathan was not sure if he could trust her, but was uncertain of any other choice. She might have information about the Mistress that was important, and he likely needed it. What was one more day?

  “Tink what jou want about me,” she said, doubtlessly sensing his hesitation, “but I’m on jour side. I want no’ting more dan for my wicked sisters to be defeated. I can tell jou how. But jou must do as I say.”

  Best to take the deal. You don’t have much leverage.

  “Fine,” he relented.

  “Good. Now listen carefully and take dis message back to jour king. I know jou have a connection to him. De Mistress and her army are preparing to rise in three nights. She told him dis. Ships will not help jou. Anyting on de water will go down. Jour troops must be stationed on de land. Call de nymphs forward, but know dat she will bring masses of creatures along wit her—de likes of which jou have never seen. Encourage jour men to plug deir ears, for dey will bring songs wit dem. Jour guns will help, but calling dem toward land will bring aid. De sirens will descend, and dey will help jou pick off jour enemies.”

  “Sirens?” Nathan tried to cut in, but she kept on.

  “De sea will be violent. It will storm, of course. And de Leviathan will come. I have never seen it myself. I do not know what it can do... Dat is anyone’s guess. We have only de lore, rumors of its massive size and of de lights in its belly.” She seemed to contemplate this even as she said it, but soon snapped back. “Dat is all. Make sure jou tell him.”

  “You said something about sirens,” Nathan reminded her, but she was already departing.

  “Tomorrow for jour questions,” she said firmly. “Go.” And disappeared with a splash.

  Nathan stared in the direction she had gone, unhappy, but trying to mentally note the things she had told him. As he stood there in thought, a sharp drop of water hit his forehead. A second later, he realized it was freezing.

  Nathan lifted his face to the sky, and then the downpour began.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Cold Horizon

  1

  Rain had poured over the kingdom all night, confining citizens to their homes. The aftermath of the flooding could be seen beyond the windows as Nathan looked out from the palace and down on the city below, feeling blank.

  All had seen the phantoms on the water, wandering restlessly all night. They had seen the skeletons of long-sunken ships, which had risen from the depths for one last voyage. These were signs. The time was indeed drawing closer.

  The chamber door opened and King Ellister III stepped inside. This was Nathan’s first audience in days if one did not count the meeting at Gideon’s, when they had barely spoken. There was such a difference in the air between them that Nathan was not sure how things would go, but he tried not to let his own uncertainty reveal itself.

  “Well, Nathaniel,” Ellister addressed, seeming much more like his calm and collected self, “have you given our situation some thought?”

  More than you know. But he kept that to himself.

  “I do have some information for you. A nymph was caught in one of the nets,” he said. He neglected to mention that this was days ago. He saw no reason why he couldn’t combine that incident and his meeting with the dark one to produce the information he needed to convey.

  “What sort?” Ellister asked, but he hardly seemed interested.

  “One of the lovely ones. But she’d been tortured by her own kind. She died from her wounds.” He’d lied again, but those facts were not the important ones. “I was able to get some information on the nymphs’ movements. The Mistress, as they call her, plans to rise in three days. She will bring not only her warriors but creatures from the deep as well—and the Leviathan they plan to summon, apparently, but that was all vague. We should attack from land. She said that if we do, aid will come.”

  “Aid?”

  “She mentioned sirens. I’ve been researching them for a while and haven’t found much, but it would seem now that the siren must be the natural enemy of the sea nymph. I don’t know much more than that.”

  Ellister hummed thoughtfully.

  “Th
en I suppose that is still to be proven, isn’t it?” Ellister asked, seeming bored. “This plan is already similar to my own. I’ve had many years to think these things through. I’ve learned much about how the nymphs move, and I have gathered what I could about this Leviathan creature we have legends of. I believe I know how to fight this battle.”

  If your pride doesn’t get in the way.

  Nathan hoped the man was as confident as he sounded, but at the same time, wondered if it was misplaced. After what he’d been through himself, he could not say how much faith he had.

  Ellister moved to the window, peering out beyond the water droplets on the glass.

  “The rain… Even now it has stopped. The wedding is tomorrow.”

  Still the wedding. Nathan cringed, but he hoped Ellister did not see it.

  “Do you still intend to evacuate the people?” Nathan asked.

  “When the celebrations die down tomorrow,” Ellister said. “We will give them a day of joy and then we will do what needs to be done. The day after the wedding, we prepare for war. I’ll address the people. I need to quell their fears.”

  “Is it wise for you to go through with it?” Nathan asked, the thought of the wedding stirring nausea in his stomach. Of course, he would always speak of this as if it were about Ellister. “You could be a target.”

  “I must. It’s my duty, and I am not a coward. I trust you will continue to do your duty until then.”

  “Of course.” Since Ellister did not seem to be getting much from this conversation, Nathan guessed it might be time for him to leave. He was about to excuse himself, but the king spoke again.

  “Tell me though,” Ellister interrupted, stopping him. “The mermaid who gave you the message—the one who died: did she have dark skin? A silver tail?”

  Nathan tried to keep his expression level, but of course this struck a chord in him. Ellister had some connection with that wicked one? Based on what he knew, that could mean only one thing, but there was no reason to let on that he knew her.