56
Morgana
Afanfare of trumpets announced the summit, their sound drifting through the palace. I hadn’t slept well, my mind consumed with images of King Neptunus’s dark eyes and the silver box. I stepped from my chambers just as Edward and Skye emerged on either side of me.
“Here goes. Soon, we’ll know if the Mer will go to war.” I choked back a rising tide of emotion as I looked between my friends.
Skye rubbed both her temples. “My head hurts.”
“Someone had a good night.” I giggled.
“I don’t want to talk about it.” She shook her head. “Where is this thing supposed to be held?” She dragged her gaze along the upper floors of the palace.
“I guess we follow the obnoxious trumpets. How very typical.” Edward rolled his eyes.
The horns echoed from a central point in the palace, and he’d had the right idea. Mer and Sirens were emerging along the curved corridors, all making their way toward a grand marble staircase where the twopassageways converged and descended. We allowed ourselves to be swept along with the crowd.
A glittering black tail and familiar muscular back caught my attention. “Aranare,” I called, and he turned, bronze chest tensing with the movement. His eyes glowed topaz down here, alight with a wildness they never had on land. His smile fell into an expression of disapproval, bordering on abhorrence, as his eyes traveled over us, and Skye stiffened beside me.
“I-I’m sorry, I’ve got to find my father.” Aranare’s mouth flattened. With a flick of his midnight tail, he shot into the crowd as if he couldn’t get away fast enough.
“What happened last night?” My eyes sprang wide, and I gripped Skye’s wrist.
“Don’t ask,” she mumbled, her cheeks staining red.
We continued moving along with the throng. A webbed hand seized my arm, and my breath hitched as it pulled me back from the others, but it was only Finn. “I need to talk to you—now,” he hissed, brow furrowed and face pale.
“What is it?” I asked as he yanked me from the crush of bodies and pressed me against the wall.
“I—” Finn raked a hand through his hair, biting his lip as if the words were lost somewhere he couldn’t reach.
I tilted my head when he made eye contact, studying his expression.
Then behind him, I heard someone say, “Well, if it isn’t the little Selkie.” The voice sent a chill through me, cold as the deepest parts of the Atlantic. My magic surged to the surface, and I knew who it was before I raised my eyes.
King Neptunus emerged from the crowd, gliding toward his son. His dark hair billowed around his shoulders, and the tattoos above his browstightened with the same fierce expression that was carved across his face. He wore gleaming silver armor and a matching coronet.
“Father.” Finn stiffened.
“Come now, Aigéan, we must find our seats.” The king dragged his black eyes over me, radiating distaste. “I’d ask your Selkie friend to join us, but the Neptunus seats are reserved for purebloods. I don’t know what would happen if we let such riffraff under our banners; she might very well implode.”
My heart smashed my rib cage with angry fists, and my power rose in response. I gritted my teeth as it hummed beneath my skin, and my eyes burned, alerting me that the power was shining in them, too.
The king noticed and let out a dark chuckle.
He’s baiting me. This is what he wants.
I took a steadying breath, feeling the magic retreating as I offered a calm smile.
“Let’s go before the little beastie loses her temper,” the king said, followed by a cold, manic laugh that quickly faded as he crossed his muscular arms, eyeing his son expectantly.
Finn looked like he wanted to speak, but his father was waiting, watching. He gave me a look that I felt somewhere in my chest, then turned and followed King Neptunus and the rest of the Mer.
I waited until they vanished into the crowd, then trailed behind the last of the lingerers toward the doorway at the base of the grand marble stairs.
Inside, the summit chamber stretched like a vast, domed sanctum carved from the sea’s heart. Its walls of white stone were inlaid with runes etched in glimmering silver. Overhead, a soaring central ceiling of translucent pearl refracted the bioluminescent light from enchanted orbs suspended in the current.
I stopped, my heart lodged in my throat, awestruck by the grandeur before us.
