After some time, his gentle exhale alerted me that he’d drifted off. I was still holding his hand, so I laid it across his chest, which was rising and falling with each breath.
I stood, surveying the sleeping man, his dark hair strewn across the pillow, lips slightly parted. Untangling the twisted sheets, I pulled them over him.
As I crept back to my room, something buried deep within me stirred. Finn hadn’t killed my grandmother. I exhaled. Still, I had the distinct impression he was withholding information about other things. Were theveins creeping up his wrist punishment enough to excuse the secrets he kept? Maybe. I wasn’t sure.
One thing I knew for certain—he loved me. He’d used his magic to save me instead of taking the chest for himself, even though it was killing him.
I wanted to trust him despite not having all the answers. But maybe that’s what trust really was: choosing someone, even in the dark.
My heart clamored as I climbed back into bed. I hoped the empty chest would be enough to fulfill the second task and grant the third.
35
Skye
There was a soft knock on my chamber door, and I flung it open, biting my lip, expecting to see Alexandros. Instead, I found Layla and Porphura.
“We are taking you to the market to get everything you need for dream weaving.” Porphura giggled, grabbing me by the wrist and pulling me from the doorway.
“Everything I need?” My brows kicked up as I followed the two of them down the stone steps to the throne room.
“Yes.” Layla waved a hand, her gold bracelets jangling. “You can’t practice a dream weaving ceremony without the proper priestess attire.”
“Wait.” I stopped in my tracks, and both mermaids swung toward me. “That all sounds very serious. I’m curious about dream weaving, but I don’t know if I want to be a... a priestess.”
Porphura gave a sharp snort, her indigo tresses rippling with the motion. “Don’t get ahead of yourself, honey. Becoming a priestess takes rigorous training, but at least you can start by looking the part.”
I remained frozen, my stomach knotting as her lips curled into a devious grin. “If you’re worried you will no longer be able to stroke my brother’s tail, Agápe is the goddess of love. Her priestesses are encouraged to be sexually adventurous.”
I flushed but trailed Layla and Porphura across the patio, its waters lit by sunlight from high above, where the king and queen sat breakfasting with Edward.
“Good, my girls have found you.” Queen Peisinoe surveyed me from her abalone swinging chair. “They will help you get everything you need for tomorrow’s practice ceremony.”
I nodded, then drew my gaze to Edward. “Do you want to come?”
“I’d rather spend the day in the library. Only if that’s okay?” A blush crept up his neck as he looked at the king and queen.
“My boy,” King Proteus boomed. “You are our esteemed guest. Our library and its books are yours to visit when you wish.”
“You’ll love our village. It is the most beautiful of all the Mer shopping quarters.” Layla laced her fingers through mine and gently squeezed as she pulled me after Porphura’s flickering purple tail.
I waved over my shoulder at Edward, who was still beaming from ear to ear.
Layla hadn’t been lying: the Thálassian shopping village was a wondrous place. Nestled in shallower sun-dappled waters close to the eastern coast of Sicily, the stalls bloomed around a central piazza. Mer eateries crafted from pale limestone lined the edges of the square, their balconies adorned with potted sea plants. Winding streets snaked between them, forming an intricate network of shops.Each street was marked with a tile signed with the Runes of the Ocean. Above all, the piazza’s bell tower stood watch, chiming every hour, its toll echoing through the waters.
“Let’s do something fun first.” Porphura swung toward us with a flick of her purple tail, eyes gleaming.
I shifted nervously from foot to foot, dragging my eyes over the bustling space, where Mer moved in colorful droves.
Layla raised her brows. “Have you ever been to a high-end Mer boutique?”
I shook my head.
“You’re going to love it,” Porphura cried, yanking me toward one of the lanes.
Elegant shops with smoothed sand façades lined the path, each with an arched doorway framed in gold. Algae and small sea plants still clung to the rock in places, but it was well groomed.
“We enjoyed the human shops on Taormina and Santorini so much that we replicated them in our kingdom. Perhaps this will help you feel less homesick.” Porphura grinned, waving a webbed hand at the stores.
