“What makes you think he’ll listen to me?”
Her expression hardens. “You hold sway over him like no one ever has before.”
Is she referring to my ability to use his name...or something else? She must know I’d never use Aspen’s name on her behalf. It was hard enough using it to save his life. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“Is that a promise?”
“No.”
Her lips pull into a smirk that looks close to admiration, then she nods in a semblance of a bow. “Very well.” With that, she faces the ocean and slithers toward it. The guards maintain a tight circle around her, careful not to stumble over the shards of coral littering the beach. I don’t take my eyes off the queen until the last flick of her tail glides beneath the water.
* * *
When I returnto the palace, there’s still no word on Aspen’s current status. My heart races as I consider the myriad of concerns plaguing me—the skirmish Aspen’s involved in, Melusine’s fear of Cobalt, the letter.The letter.My stomach turns every time I think about it. I wish he’d left it for me to read. I need to know what it says, what it means, why the treaty has been broken, why our pairing has been invalidated. I need to pull it apart and analyze every sentence, every word, every loop and curve of the pen that wrote it to understand it. I must know...what does it mean for me and Aspen?
With nothing to do but wait for Aspen’s return, I make my way to his bedroom to change out of my bloody clothes. Behind the dressing screen, I exchange my ruined nightdress and robe for a gauzy blue gown with a multi-layered, flowing skirt. When I come out from behind the screen, Lorelei enters the room. Her smile is warm as she approaches me, a shimmering swath of opalescent silk hanging over her brown arm, her petite frame swaying with every step.
“I was told you’d returned from surgery,” the wood nymph says. “Did everything go all right?”
“It went well,” I say, although I can’t bring myself to feign a grin. “The patients are recovering.”
She furrows her brow, clearly reading into my lack of enthusiasm. Still, she doesn’t pry and holds out the luxurious fabric instead. “Your wedding gown is ready for its final fitting.”
My eyes lock on the dress, and a shock of pain sears my heart. My emotions threaten to overwhelm me, but I force them down, force my voice to remain level as I say, “I don’t know if there’s going to be a wedding, Lorelei.”
She lays the dress over the arm of the nearby couch and takes me by the shoulders. “Why would you say that? Did something happen between you and Aspen?”
I open my mouth and snap it shut. “I...I don’t know.”
“Whatever he said or did, you’ll get through it. You know he loves you, right?”
That word—love—unravels me. Tears spring to my eyes, a sob building in my chest. “No, I don’t know and I might never know.”
“What do you mean?”
I squeeze my eyes shut, fingers clenching into fists as I swallow my tears and let anger replace my pain. “I’m so tired,” I say through my teeth.
She takes a step away. “Then I’ll leave you to rest—”
“I’m tired of living in fear of this treaty.”
I open my eyes to find her nibbling her bottom lip, expression brimming with concern. “It’s been hard, I know.”
“It’s been more than hard,” I say, my anger growing, burning the anxiety from my mind, the sorrow that tugs at my heart. “We’ve done everything we were supposed to. We had the mate ceremony. We performed the Bonding ritual by midnight on the required date. We won Aspen’s throne back from Cobalt. Our wedding is scheduled. Now we get a letter from Eisleigh’s council saying our pairing has been invalidated.”
Her eyes bulge as she processes my words. “Invalidated? But that would mean...”
I nod. “That would mean the treaty is broken. That we’re going to war.”
She shakes her head. “No, there must be a misunderstanding. King Aspen will take care of it.” She takes my hand in hers. “Youmustbelieve he will.”
I wish I could say I agree with her, but there’s only so much he can do. Besides, what if Aspen was right? What if the human councilwantswar? What if they fabricated this invalidation to give them what they wanted all along? “I feel like everything is working against me and Aspen. Maybe we aren’t meant to be together. Maybe there’s a reason things keep coming between us.”
“Don’t say that. There’s a genuine connection between the two of you. I can sense it with more than just my eyes. Whatever comes, you and the king will face it together.”
Her words manage to stabilize some of the rage and anxiety writhing within. Yet they don’t comfort me completely. There’s a much darker cloud hanging behind all of this—the possibility of war. If war comes to the Fair Isle, it won’t be as simple as facing the challenge at Aspen’s side. At least not for me. Not when my people—my mother included—will be suffering on the other side of the wall. They’ll be facing death and destruction because of a broken treaty my marriage was supposed to keep intact.
Anger returns to me in a rush. “There must be something I can do to fix this.”
