“When I did a dream ceremony with Peisinoe, we made a blood oath and a heart tattoo appeared on our hands. When that blood oath was fulfilled, the heart disappeared.”
“You think Finn’s made a blood oath?” I stared at her, jaw slack and mind whirring.
“I’ll examine his tattoo at the soiree and see if it matches the one that appeared on my hand.”
Skye stepped back, and I moved to the mirror, letting out a small gasp. She had woven white sea flowers through my hair, and though the jewelry had overwhelmed me, her choice was perfect—a broad collar of hammered gold, delicately layered with filigree, and a pair of matching earrings.
“I don’t care what anyone says—looking good can feel like armor. And tonight, I think we all need a little of that,” she said with a grin, rubbing balm between her webbed hands before she used them to style Edward’s copper hair.
“Such a Siren thing to say. I don’t know how I never guessed it,” I rasped with a chuckle. The others laughed, too, and for a minute, the darkness lifted in this simple moment with my two best friends.
55
Skye
My stomach tightened as we made our way back downstairs. I had been smiling and joking with Edward and Morgana, but my heart was thudding against my chest, and it had taken all my willpower to stop my hands from trembling as I pinned Morgana’s hair.Aranare. Would he be here? Only the most powerful members of each house were invited. Surely that wasn’t him, I exhaled, shaking the thoughts away.
The soiree rooms mirrored the palace’s grandeur, with high ceilings and intricate archways, but here, every surface was adorned in elaborate tile mosaics. The space was alive with color and movement as Mer and Sirens filled the hall, each dressed in their finest displays of oceanic elegance. Edward gasped as he and Morgana stepped in behind me, the three of us freezing in place as we entered the space.
Princess Aarna hovered beside her family, radiant in golden jewelry, her crimson tail gleaming as they spoke in hushed tones. King Neptunus drifted nearby, deep in conversation with a stunning pale-haired woman whose icy-blue tail shimmered like frost. Beside her loomed a toweringmerman with a chest twice the breadth of Neptunus’s and a tail of glittering obsidian. A jagged crown of icicles rested on his head, glinting in the light.
“Bit of a tail-measuring contest all this, if you ask me,” a voice with a rich accent crooned behind me. I spun around. Alexandros was floating there, his bronzed chest flexing as he grinned lazily.
I threw myself into his arms. “You’re okay.” I pulled back, observing his face.
His playful expression grew grave. “Layla stayed behind to fight, giving us the chance to reach the tunnel. She gave her life for us.”
I glanced over at Aarna and her family again. A shadow hung over their faces while the other partygoers made merry around them.
“Where’s Porphura?” I scanned the crowd for the lavender-haired mermaid.
“She hasn’t left her room.” Alexandros’s shoulders curled, and I noticed the weariness behind his smile.
“We sent Layla to a peaceful afterlife,” I whispered past the lump in my throat. Beside me, Morgana nodded, her eyes reflecting the same sorrow.
Alexandros thumbed my cheek. “I am glad you are coming into your own, bella.”
I flushed and looked away.
“And the tunnel?” I pulled my gaze back to his, searching those purple-flecked eyes.
“The darkness we faced there will haunt me for all eternity.” Alexandros shook his head. “But come now, let’s not speak of such things,” he said, straightening as he swept an arm around Morgana and me, flashing a wink at Edward. “Let’s get some drinks, and I will point everyone in the room out to you. You can try to guess which ones I’ve made love to.”
I nudged his chest playfully with my shoulder, letting him keep Morgana and me tucked in his muscular embrace as he guided us throughthe gathered Mer toward a table piled high with food and drink. Edward trailed behind.
Alexandros released us, his back muscles rippling and his lilac tail swishing as he leaned over the decadent spread. He filled three golden goblets with wine and handed one to each of us before pouring his own.
“Now, where were we...” The purple-haired merman slipped an arm around my lower back as he drifted between Morgana and me again. Sipping from his glass, he surveyed the crowd.
“That’s Queen Drifa Niveus and King Väinö Niveus—Glacies’s parents—talking to King Neptunus. They rule the Arctic Ocean.” Alexandros pointed to the large merman with the crown of icicles and his stunning wife, whom we’d seen on entering.
Alexandros took another long swig of wine, then swept his gaze across the room. “That magnificent creature over there with Glacies and Finn is Glacies’s brother, Jökull.”
“Wow,” Morgana mumbled, flushing, and I turned to see a muscular merman with sweeping blonde hair, an icy-blue tail, and shards of frost-like armor gleaming across his chest.
I narrowed my eyes, watching Finn’s flexing torso as he spoke with Glacies and her brother. His golden dress cuffs were in place; now I knew they hid the veins of the Shadow. The heart tattoo on his chest resembled the one that had formed on my hand during the dream ceremony, but his had two concentric bands, whereas mine just had a single line.
I turned to the others, and Morgana leaned around Alexandros, eyes questioning. “I can’t be sure,” I whispered.
