Nimue chuckles. “It won’t be obvious, my child. For I do suggest you deliver your kiss in private, especially if you can get him alone without leaving proof you’d been together. Contestants are required to remain guests at the church for the duration of the pageant or until they are eliminated, which means you’ll have plenty of chances in the dark of night. But even if you were found to be with him when he died, there would be no evidence you’d caused his death. I saw what Zara looked like before I brought her back. She could have suffered any number of natural sudden ailments had I not known better. You could be inspected and prodded until you’re blue in the face. There will be nothing to tie you to his death.”
“I don’t want to be inspected or prodded.”
“Then do a proper job.” Her voice comes out sharp. “I’m doing you a favor, Maisie. I’ve been waiting each day since you were born to discover you have magic like mine so I could get back the child I lost. Do you think I like having to punish you at our first reunion? Do you think I make no sacrifice in my offer to you? I’ve agreed to release you, to release the claim that binds us.”
I roll my eyes. “If you were truly doing me a favor, you wouldn’t manipulate me into killing someone. That’s why I’ve been running from you for a year. Because I don’t want to be part of this.” I gesture toward the Sisters, who snarl in reply. “I don’t want to kill people.”
Nimue comes closer and lowers her voice. “One more kiss, Maisie, and you’ll never have to kill anyone again. You can finally kiss someone for love.”
Love. The very thing I swore I’d never get to have. Can I accept her offer? Kill a man in exchange for freedom from my horrible magic? My life could be so different. If Nimue truly releases her claim on me as her subject, I wouldn’t have to run anymore. I could go home to Father. I could travel the isle without having to hide or steal. I could go on adventures and see what I’ve been missing my whole life. I could…fall in love.
But first, I’d have to kill the man I saved.
Can I do that?
I lift my chin. “What if I say no?”
“Then you remain a subject of my court and will be bound to follow my orders, which might very well include induction into the Sisters of the Black Eel. And, yes, you could try to run away, but what I said earlier remains. You will be dead in ten days unless you obey me. Only I can revoke the curse I’ve laid upon you. Trust me, my love, when I say I have every intention of seeing you live a very long and happy life.”
I step back from her, torn between indignation and helplessness. On every side of me lies an impossible outcome. On one, I’m free but must kill a man. On another, I become the tool of a monster. Or I choose death. My heart hammers so hard against my ribs I fear it could explode.
“One kiss, Maisie,” Nimue says, her voice as soft as tiny waves lapping upon the shore. “That’s all I demand. One kiss and the death of a dangerous man.”
Resignation tugs my bones, making me feel heavy, tired. Lost. My voice comes out small. “I don’t even know if I can join the competition. What if they already have enough contestants?”
Nimue’s lips curl into a satisfied grin, one that makes bile rise into my throat. “You’ve already entered.”
“What? How?”
Movement catches my attention and I see Zara’s scales flicker from scalp to foot. As they settle, a glamour takes their place, one that leaves her looking like…me. Aside from the hideously puffy pink dress, of course. Other than that, the likeness is disturbingly uncanny. She clasps her hands at her chest and plasters a simpering smile over her—my—lips. “Oh, I would so love to participate in the pageant,” she says in a voice that almost sounds like my own. “I’m the one who rescued him after all. Did you know that? I fell in love with him the moment I saw him.”
I gasp, heat burning my cheeks, and not just because of the offensive impersonation. “You can lie.”
“It’s what makes her so valuable to me. A cuttlefish sprite can not only don glamours that expertly mimic another person, but—so long as she’s acting as someone else—she can lie.”
“If she can impersonate anyone, why am I needed at all?”
“Because this is your mistake to fix,” Nimue says. “You owe your allegiance to me now, and I will treat you the way I’d treat any of the Sisters. You interfered with a mission, so you will set it right.”
“I only rescued him because he was already in the ocean. He wouldn’t have survived if Zara had properly done her job in the first place. Am I wrong?”
Zara opens her mouth, sharp teeth bared, but Nimue holds up a hand to still her.
“You will do this, daughter. The truth remains that he would have drowned had you not escorted him across the border.” She extends a hand toward me. “Do we have a bargain?”
I bark a laugh. “I may be sheltered but I know better than to agree to a bargain before finalizing its terms.”
She gives me an approving smile. “Very good. Here are my terms. You will enter the pageant under the guise of competing for Dorian Ariko’s hand with the goal to end his life. You will deliver your kiss before sunrise ten days from now, before he can wed a fae bride. In addition, I will enchant your lips so that your next kiss will be the last that must cause death. If you succeed at killing Dorian Ariko, I will release my claim on you as both your mother and your queen and will return your sealskin to you.”
When she says nothing more, I give her a pointed look. “And if I fail. I want to hear that part too.”
Another approving grin. She’s testing me, and I hate her for it. “If you fail to deliver the kiss and Dorian Ariko still lives by the first sunrise after his sanctuary expires, the curse I’ve laid upon you will take you. The terms of the curse are as follows. Any human clothing you wear will burn up, as will any other sealskin but your own.”
Panic laces through me. Selkies can’t survive in seelie form during daylight hours unless they don human clothing or return to their sealskin. Otherwise, they die. Not even hiding in the ocean can save a selkie from such a fate. Their lives remain forfeit in the sea, but as they die, they turn to seafoam. Because of this, I’m never fully naked during daylight, not even to bathe or change clothing. I always have at least one small article on at a time.
Fury flashes inside me, rising like a tidal wave. “You’re cursing me even if I agree to your bargain? Broken bargains result in death for the fae as it is. Shouldn’t that be enough?”
Nimue reveals not a hint of shame. “My curse will remain in tandem with our bargain. I promise, though, if you succeed, I will meet you at Cape Vega before sunrise ten days from now. There I will revoke your curse and return your sealskin. If you fail, well, I expect you there regardless so you can explain yourself to me. Now, do you agree to this bargain? If not, you are still my subject and must remain with me. You could, of course, gamble the next ten days away and try to please me enough that I revoke your curse and let you live. Then your deadly magic remains to you as it is now, and you can start getting to know your new Sisters.”
