I barely had time to appreciate Nori's equine beauty before he came racing at me. I yelped, but all that came out were bubbles. Diving beneath me at the last second, Nori came up between my legs so that I straddled his back. As soon as my body came in contact with his, I was stuck fast. Kelpie magic. Perfect for drowning their victims. This time, however, it was used to simply keep me from falling off as Nori galloped off into the dark sea.
I hadn't spent a lot of time in the far reaches of the Water Kingdom, and I hadn't felt the lack. The short visits I'd had in the future had been intimidating, to say the least. This time was no different. No, that's a lie. It was different. This time was scarier.
The Ocean of Faerie was vast and that meant it was home to all sorts of marine life. And not the kind you'd find in the oceans of Earth which were horrifying enough in my opinion. The sea dwellers of Faerie were more the sort that human sailors had nightmares about. Things far worse than a giant shark—which I'd had nightmares about as a child.
Most of the sea life was relatively harmless and beautiful. Magnificent fish swam by us, the scales glinting with brilliant colors and fins fanning behind them like feathers on exotic birds. Creatures with sleek, iridescent bodies undulated by, spinning as if dancing for our entertainment. And pods of sea mammals with pearly skin and horns down their backs swam overhead.
Those were lovely. No problem. Fun to watch.
But then a maenach drifted by, its vast mouth large enough to hold two school buses. Yes, its mouth. And if you're thinking it must be the Faerie version of a whale, let me clear things up for you. Maenachs have the bodies of apes—an ape that would make King Kong cry for his mommy. In addition to a body that belonged on land, it had a long tail and a crested fin going down its back to meet up with that tail. It was like a giant, primitive mermaid. If Faerie had evolution, I'd think this was the ancestor of the Water Fey. You know, apart from its size. But then again, dinosaurs became birds, right?
And forget about hiding in the darkness. The maenach had spotlights built into its eyes. Its glowing stare shifted our way but then, as if it were bored, it directed its light forward and swam on. I suppose we wouldn't even register as a snack for it. Which made me wonder about what it did eat. Even at our speed, ten times as fast as the maenach, it took us far too long to get past it. I had an up-close view of its fangs, each one larger than Nori and me combined.
At last, the water brightened. We were approaching a village. Homes spotted the ocean floor, nestled among massive branches of coral and fronds of seaweed. A coral reef surrounded the village, fey lights nestled within its nooks and crannies. The reef would keep back the larger bottom-dwelling sea creatures while the lights would warn off those that could swim. It also helped to light the village, casting a glow on the whole of it.
Nori took me to a large stone home on the outskirts of the village, right beside the reef. He touched down in the backyard—a space defined by flowering sea shrubs and great fronds of kelp that swayed in the currents he created. A stunning coral tree grew in the center of the yard, its branches covered in crimson polyps. Fey fishes darted in and out of the branches, flashing bright yellow, emerald, and turquoise against the deep red.
The magic holding me to Nori's back suddenly ceased, and I slid off his back, then floated to the ground, unable to right myself with my arms restricted and hands full of Nori's clothing. Nori shifted back to his man form and gratefully took the clothes from me. After getting dressed, he led me inside his home, through an open archway. I guess Faeries had to find creative ways to secure their personal property in the Water Kingdom.
Nori's home was simple. We entered a spacious room furnished with net chairs that hung from the ceiling and a floor covered in clam shells. Judging by the stairs to our right, there was a second floor. But Nori didn't take me upstairs. He motioned me behind those stairs to another flight that went down. Halfway down the long stairwell, we came to a door. Nori unlocked it and held it open for me. I slipped past him, sort of floating and bobbing down the stairs until I passed through the telltale shiver of magic. On the other side of the magic barrier was air. Even better, the ward kept back all the seawater, drawing it from my hair and clothes so that I emerged on the other side of it dry.
I knew all about the twin cities of Under and Water. Water was located in the ocean proper while Under was far beneath it in a cavern of air. But I didn't know that there were other air-filled caverns in the Kingdom of Water. I mean, why wouldn't there be? It made complete sense that there would be more faeries like those who preferred to live in Under. This little village had a dual nature just like the crown cities to provide that. Even better, it gave dual living to each of its residents and not just its queen. We went from the watery world above and down to a brightly lit cavern full of air, all while remaining in Nori's home.
My body was fine now that it had its long breath of water. And it was a good thing too because the ward also pulled the seawater out of my lungs, freeing me to take a deep breath of air. I used that breath to say, “So this is where you keep your nice stuff.”
As Nori joined me, I looked around the comfy room. A thick couch sat against a stone wall hung with tapestries of coral and fish (the underwater version of a landscape painting), a blooming plant took up the entire corner beside it, and two chairs sat opposite the couch with a low table between them. Shelves held all sorts of little treasures—carvings of coral and jewels, small paintings (one of Dubheasa—ew), and bejeweled weapons. Light came in through the open windows, tinted blue. I caught a glimpse of an algae-covered ceiling outside, the algae providing that bluish light. To my right, an archway led into a kitchen/dining area. That's where Nori went.
“It's easier to speak down here too. Especially with someone who doesn't have telepathy.” Nori waved at the wooden dining set, the table corners and chair backs carved to resemble coral.
I sat down, laying my manacles and chain on the polished table top. “So, you've managed to elude the King of Fire. Now what?”
“I don't know,” he grumbled and went to a cabinet.
Nori pulled out a loaf of bread and sliced it, then took a block of cheese out of a stone case in the floor and sliced that as well. He brought the platter to the table and set it before me, then went back to his little kitchen to pour two glasses of water from a pitcher. He handed me one as he sat down.
“Whatever happens, please don't introduce me to your queen,” I said.
“Why not?” Nori swigged his water and stared at me.
“I can't tell you.”
He grimaced. “Very well. At least for now, I will hide you. I must figure out what to do next anyway. Taking you to my queen won't help me. She may even punish me for bringing an impossible Dragon-Sidhe into the kingdom.”
“Good.” I made a face at his grimace. “I mean, I'm glad you won't introduce us.” I went with the excuse he'd given me. “It could start a war.”
“Indeed.” Nori stacked some cheese on a slice of bread and took a bite.
I made a sandwich and dug in, relieved that Nori had more to offer me than fish. I'd once thought it odd that Water Fey ate fish. I mean, it's like eating their own people, right? Not right. It's the same as a person on land eating steak or pork. I don't know why I never thought of it like that. Water Fey are not animals. Duh. Even if they were, animals eat other animals. Second duh. Fish ate other fish. Even people on land ate them. Fish are delicious. I just wasn't in the mood for it after that swim.
Now that we had stopped running—or swimming, rather—my churning thoughts had time to settle. They focused on Arach. He'd be so pissed. I could imagine him prowling that cave, following my scent up to the wall. He might even break through the stone. But he wouldn't be able to follow me into the water. What was he going to do? Knowing my husband, he wasn't going to be stopped by something as trivial as seawater. Arach wouldn't let anything stand between him and something he wanted.
“Oh, squishy SpongeBob and his stupid square pants!” I muttered.
“What?” Nori scowled at me.
“Sorry. That's my version of cursing. I'm thinking about King Arach. Water, even an ocean of it, is not going to stop him. He has my scent. He'll know where you've taken me.”
“What can he do?” Nori shrugged. “He's not going to attack Water. It's the hardest kingdom to invade.”
