I giggle at his look of chagrin. Maybe it’s because of my previous nightmare and my confessions about feeling completely helpless, or maybe it’s because Nox looks soaliveright now, but I’m surprised by my desire to attain the same level of elation.
“I think I want to train.” For some reason, my cheeks heat at the admission, but Nox’s eyes sparkle with what looks like relief—the emotion perhaps also mixed with pride.
“Of course, Rhea. Anything and everything you want to do and learn, you will.” He turns, heading towards the bathroom. “I’m going to take a shower, and then I was thinking we could start to explore Galdr if you want.”
He doesn’t make it more than halfway across the room before I’m leaping off the bed and following him, exploring something entirely different under the warmth of the shower.
Chapter Thirty-Six: Aria
Sitting with Lyre onmy bed, we both stare at the aged book between us. She had come by my room after the queen had dismissed me, a large tome in hand that she had stolen from the library after overhearing what our mother wanted. I am leaving tomorrow morning to journey around the Continent to the Northern Island, a small plot of land technically part of the Siren Queendom, to retrieve an old set of rings that are supposedly enchanted by a past queen.
“Enchanting items isn’t a magic we possess anymore, but millennia ago, one of our queens did. I found an archive of some of the items she enchanted,” she says, flipping the pages as we pore over the different items listed.
There are books and swords and jewelry documented, all ranging in magical capability. Some magic was small, like armor that never nicked, while others were more grand, like a necklace that could be worn to soothe an aching heart and swords that gave the wielder immunity from our song. I turn the page, scanning it for anything that might mention rings.
“Here,” Lyre says, pointing at one of the listings. The details of the rings it describes are slightly different from what my mother told me—silver instead of gold, diamonds instead of pearls—but perhaps the enchantment would still be the same. “The bearer of the rings, so long as they have royal blood, will be able to command the magic of it. Placing the ring onto another will yield control over their autonomy to whoever the bearer wishes, whether that be themselves or another. Only can one of royal blood break the spell and end the enchantment for all who wear the rings.”
My brows furrow as I click my talons together. I can’t at all think why my mother would want such a thing when she already controls everyone by fear alone. Lyre must think the same, as she shakes her head, looking up from the pages to me.
“Why? Why send you, of all people, to retrieve this?”
“She threatened the sirens of the seamounts if I don’t. It’s just another way to control me since I’m not producing heirs as she wants.” Lyre flutters her lips, her exhaustion showing when she yawns heavily. “Go, sister. It’s late, and we both have to be up early for my send off.”
She closes the book and tucks it under her arm as she swims for the door. “I will try to keep her attention elsewhere whileyou’re gone,” she says, looking over her shoulder at me. Her eyes sparkle in earnest, but guilt chews on my conscience.
“I can’t have you do that, Lyre, nothing that will draw her focus to you.”
Her lavender brow lifts in challenge, the corner of her mouth rising to match. “I have been alive far longer than you have, Aria. I know how to handle myself.” Sending a wink my way, she says goodnight and shuts the door behind her.
I continuously circle my room in the minutes after, little bubbles fluttering around me as I do. It will take me over two months to travel around the Continent and return. And if I didn’t come back on time…
A knock on my door startles me, and assuming it’s Lyre, I rush to open it. Lore hovers in the hallway, her long yellow braids pulled together into a thick plait that lays over her shoulder. Her dark skin gleams in contrast under the light of the crystals.
“Lore, what are you doing here?” I ask, my heart plummeting to my stomach.
Bright yellow eyes caress my body as she interlaces her fingers in front of her. “I was hoping we could chat.” She pulls her lower lip into her mouth, dragging her teeth along it while I hide farther behind the door.
“I don’t know, Lore. I have to leave in the morning, and I—” My words are forced to a stop when she rushes forward, weaving her hands into my hair and drawing me into her.
“You look like you need to relax, Aria. And I want to help you do that. Please, let me help you.” Her voice is soft and melodic, not with magic but from her own lust.
“I am leaving tomorrow morning,” I whisper, my eyes darting out into the hall. My mother had not said I had to keep my departure a secret, and when I asked her what she wouldtell people about my absence for so many weeks, she merely laughed.
If Lore is surprised by my news, she doesn’t show it. “Then let’s make tonight worth it.” Her fingers drag slowly down my shoulders as she crowds me, guiding me backwards towards my bed. “Come on, Aria, you and I both know this is what you want.”
I start to recoil, the word “no” bubbling up my throat, but when she is in a mood like this—so clearly ready to take from me, whether it’s being offered or not—I don’t know how to deny her. When her hands drag over my breasts and descend, her eyes lifting to mine expectantly, I don’t bother trying to delay the inevitable.
Legs and feet replace my tail fin, and my scales retract until there is only a shimmer of their pattern on my skin. Lying back, my gaze stays unfocused on the pearlescent ceiling above me. The first lick of her tongue flat against me sends a shiver through my legs.
“So responsive,” she hums, her grip on my inner thighs bruising.
My heart rattles in my chest, forced desire and lingering fear warring with each other between my ribs. I wonder if it is normal to always feel a coating of dread during moments of supposed intimacy.
Lore was my first female sexual experience, and the only one since. She knew my body—my likes and dislikes—better than even myself. Our early encounters were passionate and heated, with Lore exploring every part of me in exquisite detail, and I had liked it then, those first few times. I had thrived under the attention she gave me and the way her eyes lingered on parts of me that left my cheeks flushed. She treated me like something precious—a treasure found amongst sand.
Then my choice had been taken from me in front of an audience—one which Lore was a part of. Though I knew shecouldn’t have said anything, there was a part of me that hoped, when my panicked eyes found hers, that she would. That she would find me worthy of speaking up for. It seemed like I was always waiting for someone to find me worthy ofsomething. So far, no one truly had. Not in any way that mattered. Not when the cost was their flesh versus my own.
But was I any better?
