It’s easy to spot Ilryth’s treasure room. From there, I swim over the coral tunnel that connects with his room, coming to a stop just above his balcony. It strikes me that I am about to venture to a man’s room at night.
What would Charles— No. I refuse to think it. He is not a part of my life any longer and never will be again. He no longer has a hold on me, my body, or my heart. I need to stop worrying about him…however hard that will be to learn.
In fact, I will swim down because I can. To spite him if nothing else. Charles might never know I’ve moved past him, but I hope that he can somehow feel it deep within his soul.
Ilryth’s room is dimly lit by the small, glowing buds that dangle from his ceiling and the ambient moonlight. He lies on his bed, on his side, kelp piled around him like a nest. In slumber, he looks peaceful, almost innocent.
I breathe a sigh of relief at the sight of him. He’s here, which means there’s no attack. No cause for alarm. I turn, and start to swim back…until I notice a shadow looming over me. I startle, looking up. Every part of me is on high alert. My eyes meet a now all too familiar pair, the brown nearly black in the night.
“Is it common for you to be found sneaking into men’s rooms at night?”
“Y-Your Grace,” I stammer.
He frowns. “If you were thinking of killing me in my sleep, let me tell you all the reasons why—”
“What in my nature, after all this time, has led you to think I would cut a man’s throat in his bed while he slept?” I say, flabbergasted and more than slightly offended.
“I see you’ve already meditated on the how.” He folds his arms with a slight smile. My shock fades with a roll of my eyes. He’s teasing me.
I hold out my hands, motioning to myself. I am in nothing more than my shorts and corset—the same ones he has seen me in practically this entire time and with a woeful lack of pockets. “With what weapon?”
“Strangle me, then.”
“You flatter me by suggesting I could overpower you enough to choke the life from your body.”
That elicits a dark chuckle of amusement from him. “Are you saying you think I’m strong, Victoria?”
“What? No. I… Not to suggest you’re weak. But—”
A rumble of laughter stills me. I fight a flush on my cheeks. His grin is mildly infectious and I can’t help but mirror it, though only for a moment.
“Besides, do sirens even…breathe?” I realize I don’t know.
“Not in the way you think. Though I don’t believe I’ll tell you how, lest you try to use the information against me.”
“Fine, I’ll just ask Lucia in the morning. She will tell me because she is kind and good.” I turn, beginning to swim away.
He balks. “Kind and good? Are we talking about the right sister?” I laugh. “And what? Unlike me?” He says my implied words.
I glance over my shoulder and shrug, still smirking.
“What have I done to make you think I am anything less than ‘kind and good’?”
“You—” I stop short.
“Yes? You have me waiting on bated breath.” Ilryth folds his arms.
I was jesting. But it has me thinking…What has he done? Taken me early? Yes. But, Krokan had basically killed me—my second death. An old god who no doubt disrupted Ilryth’s magic. He imprisoned me when I first arrived…but it was necessary so I could continue existing in this world. He’s pushed me to learn his magic songs…so I can first go and get the silver my family desperately needs. Everything I thought might have been bad or wicked about him turned out to have an explanation that only made him shine all the brighter.
“You’re all right, I suppose,” I admit.
“Just ‘all right?’ And you ‘suppose’?” He swims up to me. We hover in the open water, filled with small, luminescent, blob jellyfish that make the dark ocean around us feel like a sea of stars. “You really don’t want to give me much credit, do you?”
“The last thing I would want is for you to get a big head.”
“I assure you I am at no risk of that around you.” The words are dry, but he wears a slight smile. “Why did you come to my chambers? Is everything all right?”
The genuine concern in his voice gives me pause. Even when I should know better. He seems like he cares…genuinely cares.
