Frustration that he tries to veil as amusement lights up Ventris’s eyes. “Your tenacity will serve you well in guiding all the unruly, waiting souls to the beyond.”
“I look forward to it…after I ensure Ilryth has been well taken care of.” I swim over to Ventris, hovering right before him. “Now, take me to him.” Ilryth did me countless favors since I arrived, even before then. I owe him the life I knew for the past five years and my family’s futures. Sticking up for him now is the least I can do.
“As Her Holiness desires.” He bows his head and turns, heading out from the room. I follow behind him. The warriors take up the rear.
We swim through the tunnels, rooms, and halls of the castle. There are small, intimate areas contrasted with larger, sprawling salons. Ornate gardens overlook the sea, protected from the rot that festers in the open water by the silvery barrier, as well as cramped coral tubes that have been carved with markings similar to what’s inked on my flesh—what I saw in Sheel’s home. I wonder just how much of the designs are placed there for protection, added over the last fifty years of Krokan’s rage.
We arrive at an opening covered by a curtain of kelp, on what feels like the opposite side of the structure to where I’m staying. Two more warriors hover on either side. They straighten, holding their spears at attention as we approach.
“Duke Ilryth, Her Holiness has come to pay you a visit,” Ventris says, hovering right before the kelp curtain.
“Enter, Victoria.”
I swim forward, around Ventris’s side. When he moves as well, I stop him by holding up a hand.
“I wish to see Ilryth alone.” I don’t bother with speaking directly to Ventris. Let them all hear, Ilryth included. Before Ventris can get a word in, I continue. “Thank you for your understanding. I won’t be long so your chorus won’t be delayed.”
“I appreciate your consideration.” The words are as tense as his pursed lips.
I swim ahead, leaving them behind. The kelp is thick, blotting out all light for a moment as I cross through. I emerge into a room that is much smaller than mine, but no less well-appointed. Large windows—void of glass—open to the city beyond. It certainly feels more like a guest room than any kind of prison, and that unravels a knot of tension that had been tugging against my ribs.
But Ilryth is nowhere to be seen. I turn, looking for him, only to have two hands reach forward and grab my cheeks. He must’ve been waiting on the side of the door for me, ready to pounce.
His large palms cradle my face between them. His shining eyes hold all the intensity in the world as he stares down at me. Ilryth is still moving. He pulls me toward him slightly, coming down to meet me.
Without warning, his face is close enough to mine that were we above the water I could feel his breath. I can see every fleck of honey, every hickory depth, as rich as forests mottled with late afternoon sun, in his eyes. He has freckles, I realize. Incredibly faint ones, dotted across his nose and onto his cheeks like the constellations that guided me for years.
My whole body is tense, but now for completely different reasons than with Ventris. The knot has left my chest and dropped into my lower stomach. I ache from top to bottom, yearning for something I haven’t had in years—for something I never thought I might have again.
Is he about to kiss me?His eyelids are growing heavy. His lips are relaxed. I find myself tilting my head forward despite myself. My own eyes are fluttering closed.
I can’t…I shouldn’t. This is dangerous territory. I am marked for death. He is forbidden to touch me and we are no longer in his domain, where he can bend the rules. I can’t risk his well-being like this…
Entangling myself with this dangerously handsome man, even if only for physical indulgence, is a risk neither of us can take.
Because you can’t keep things purely physical, Victoria, my mind cautions.Kiss him and you will fall for him.
I can’t honestly be growing affections for the first man with bright eyes and a warm smile that I let get close to me since Charles, can I? I’m stronger than that. I’m more levelheaded than the girl I was. I’ve learned from my mistakes of falling too fast and wanting too much.
Panic now competes with lust and desire. I must stop him for both our sakes. I raise my hands, placing them on his chest, ready to push him away. But all I feel is warm, sturdy muscle under my fingers and my will is sapped. I forget I need to project my thoughts for him to hear. I move my mouth on instinct in a weak attempt at an objection.
His nose brushes against mine.Oh, old gods, he’s going to kiss me and I don’t want it to stop. I want his hands to slide from my face down my shoulders. I want his fingertips to brush over my chest, teasing me in all the ways that have been forbidden.
Once more, before I die, perhaps I will feel again. Perhaps we will throw caution to the wind and indulge in passion and lust. I have hidden the shattering of my heart before; I can do it again. And maybe the pieces that are left of that infernal organ won’t be enough to fall in love. Maybe I can forget that it ever happened once I’m satisfied. One song of the old ones would be enough for me to forget Ilryth and I ever existed, if it came to that. Maybe—
His forehead touches against mine. But he does not move. I open my eyes and find his still closed, his brow furrowed slightly in intense focus.
“We’ll only have a moment before he begins to wonder why we’re not speaking,” he says. “It’s risky to speak here without touching. Ventris no doubt uses the wards and blessings to listen in on this room. Touch will help make the connection stronger and more private.”
I suddenly realize how cold the ocean water is as it douses the budding flame that’d been growing in the pit of my stomach. I hang limply in the water, held in place by his hands.
You fool, Victoria, he wasn’t trying to kiss you…he was trying to talk to you. Why would a man like him, with so many prospects and so much life ahead, want to kiss a woman marked for death?I’m grateful for the necklace Fenny gave me for keeping those bitter thoughts and the internal, harsh laughter that follows to myself.
But is it necessary for him to be so close if all that’s required is touch? I don’t dare ask. I hardly think so. But I don’t want him to stop… Is it so wrong for a woman to want a little bit of warmth before her life is over?
Ilryth’s eyes open slightly, meeting mine. The stare is intense, this close. “They’re going to take me before the chorus. It shouldn’t take long, and then I’ll come and find you again.”
“Is everything all right in there?” Ventris calls in.
