I inhale a heavy breath to steady my racing thoughts and follow the guards to the beach. With the caves beneath the palace closed off, we take the long way down, skirting around the palace to a steep staircase cut into the cliff wall. When we reach the bottom, I find my unwelcome guest. Like the first time I spoke alone with the Sea Queen, Melusine perches on the shore, chin held high with a confident smirk. This time, however, she’s surrounded by a circle of Aspen’s guards. Luckily, she appears to be alone. Her beauty is as prominent as ever, with her dazzling stormy eyes, coral-red lips, and her long, indigo hair that flows in waves over her bare human-like upper body. Her blue-green serpent’s tail props her up from her waist to where human feet should be, while the rest of her tail undulates behind her in anxious ripples across the sand.
“My, my, don’t you look dreadful,” she says in her melodic voice before flashing her sharp teeth in a semblance of a smile. My two guards flank me as I stop several feet away from her. Only now do I consider my state of dress. Foxglove and Lorelei always had me primped and preened with the utmost care before meeting with the queen. Now I come to her wearing a bloodstained robe and hair still mussed from sleep.
I narrow my eyes as if my appearance is the least of my concerns. That much, at least, is true. There are far more pressing matters at hand. “Why are you here, Your Majesty?”
“I wanted to know what my dear son was doing to my beautiful caves,” she says with a pout.
“Your son doesn’t want to speak with you.” I hope she can’t sense the omission in my voice—that my words obscure the fact that Aspen isn’t currently here. That is, if she doesn’t already know as much.
“It’s clear he doesn’t want to speak with me. I’ve tried making contact every day since the incident with his brother.”
The incident.I bristle. That’s a mild way to refer to Cobalt’s attempt to steal Aspen’s throne. “So, you decided to speak with me instead?”
She shrugs a bare shoulder. “It worked, didn’t it?”
I hate that she’s right. Aspen had the sense to ignore her, yet here I am giving in at her first request. My curiosity always does get the better of me. “Cut the iron-laced kelpie crap and get to the point,” I say with a sweet smile. “Why are youreallyhere?”
She rolls her eyes and lets out a huff. “I want you to speak to Aspen for me.”
“And tell him what?”
“Tell him I want to form an alliance.”
My mouth hangs on its hinge before I can speak. “An alliance? Isn’t that what the council is for? Weren’t you already supposed to be his ally when you sought to replace him with Cobalt?”
Her cheeks redden, lips pressing into a tight line, looking flustered for the first time. “I was wrong. I never should have supported Cobalt’s claim.”
I let out a bitter laugh. “Why, because he turned on you? Lied? Because you realized he was never going to be your unseelie puppet?”
“Cobalt stole lies from a human and turned them on me,” she hisses through her teeth. “That is unforgivable. More than that, I respect the decision of the All of All, which he did not and will not abide by. The All of All should not be questioned. The unseelie know this in our blood.”
“I’m sure Aspen will appreciate your acceptance of the All of All’s verdict,” I say without warmth. “Why do you seek an additional alliance?”
Again, she purses her lips as if her next words pain her to say. “I seek his protection.”
“His protection? From what?”
“From my other son.” Each word is punctuated with her growing rage. “He’s all but taken over my court. Half my soldiers think they serve him, and that wretched human pet of his struts around in her selkie skin like she’s the Queen of the Sea.”
I narrow my eyes. “That wretched human is my sister.”
She meets my gaze with a glower. “Then you know just how wretched she is.”
My nails dig into my palms, irritation growing hotter inside me. “Melusine, you’re one of the most powerful fae alive. You have the entire sea at your beck and call. What protection do you need from Aspen that you can’t provide yourself?”
“I can’t defend myself against my son when he can meet my powers underwater. I need somewhere on land to stay until he can be dealt with.” Her shoulders tremble visibly.
I’m caught off guard by how truly shaken she seems. How can Queen Melusine fear Cobalt, her own son? He may have power over the water element, but he can’t be anywhere near as fearsome as she is. Right?
As if she can sense my question, she adds, “I can’t trust Cobalt now that he’s ceased to be bound by fae rules. He can lie like a human and betray his allies without so much as blinking. Now that he’s won over so many of my soldiers, I don’t know what he’s going to do next. I’d rather not wait around and find out.”
My heart sinks. Unless she too has stolen the power to lie, she’s serious.
She slithers closer, but Aspen’s guards stop her from closing the distance between us. With a grumble, she says, “Speak to Aspen on my behalf. Please.”
“You’ve already told him all this yourself?”
“He won’t listen.”
