“I, um, I suppose I’d just feel safer with you here,” I carried on despite the guilt gnawing in my mind.This is fine, I argued with myself. Lukas was safe all the time he was unaware of the connection I had with the faery prince, and right now, he was unaware – or at least I hoped he was.
Swallowing, he nodded. “I’ll stay as long as you need.”
His words made my chest feel warm, but before I could thank him, a knock clacked against the door.
“Your Highness? I’m here to take you to Queen Cora,” a voice called from the hallway.
Lukas caught my wince, and all traces of five minutes ago were masked behind a wave of seriousness. “It’s alright,” he reassured me. “Queen Cora will be the easiest for you to win over. Just apologise for what happened in the meeting and be yourself. She’ll like you, I’m certain of it.”
“Be myself?” I raised an eyebrow.
Lukas sighed. “Just be what your people need.”
Fear swallowed up the last of the butterflies in mystomach. What my people needed was a real queen, not just a girl with little patience for politics. But I didn’t tell him that. Instead, I slipped out of bed and wandered over to the wardrobe, busying my shaking hands with choosing the most regal gown to wear.
CHAPTER 9
The vast hallways of the Ocean Palace were as spectacular as the crashing waves outside. For once, I was able to appreciate the palace’s interior without a rushing guard or a groaning faery prince at my side. Huge arched windows allowed sunlight to pour onto swirling staircases, while sandstone columns supported the daintily painted ceilings.
The fashion here was different to Drothmore. Nobles wore much lighter clothing, with summer dresses that swayed around their calves or loose breeches paired with colourful tunics. Even the servants were dressed for the tropical climate. Those working in the grounds wore sun hats with theiruniforms, while the wealthier held parasols to fend off the heat. All the while, the rest of the realm battled winter.
“How is it always so warm here?” I asked the young servant beside me – the same mousy-eyed woman who’d arrived at my bedchamber to escort me to Queen Cora.
She adjusted her sleeves timidly. “It’s the merfolk. We don’t know how they do it, but somehow they keep the air hot here to warm the seas.”
“How interesting,” I marvelled. “Can all merfolk control the weather?”
The servant tugged on her sleeves again. “We’re not supposed to talk about them.” I followed her down a quieter corridor. “But I’ve heard it’s only those with the Divine Gift.”
“The Divine Gift?” My eyes narrowed. Where had I heard that phrase before?
A shudder passed through me as memories of the faery palace flooded my mind. More specifically, the quartz-walled dining room where Lyssandra – Arenn’s long-lost sister – had used her magic to show us the past.
Lukas’s parents had met here, on the beaches of Ryntook. His mother was merfolk, and his father was human – but back then, they were so in love that it didn’t matter.
Soon, they were married, and she fell pregnant with Lukas. But after he was born, Ikelos grew tired of his wife having to return to the ocean every few seasons. So one night, while she slept, he slipped a potion past her lips and—
I winced at the memory of Erissa losing her merfolk essence. How her screams had made me beg Lyssandra to stop showing us these awful visions of the past.
But of course, she didn’t stop there. Lyssandra toldus how Erissa’s essence had transferred back to the maker of the potion – the Faery Queen – who just so happened to be pregnant at the time with her. Meaning Lyssandra was born half faery and half merfolk.
And after she forced Ikelos to confess to starting the fire that destroyed my kingdom, she summoned a huge serpent-like beast to murder him.
‘She has the Divine Gift,’the Faery King had said after we’d finally subdued his daughter with my sleeping powder. But what did that mean?
After a few quiet moments, I turned to the servant beside me. “What’s your name?”
“Mae,” she muttered.
A smile pulled at my lips. “Well, Mae, since you seem to know a little about the merfolk, perhaps you could help me understand—” But before I could finish, a familiar voice echoed down the hallway.
“Naria, thank goodness!” Ivy’s brown hair spilled over her shoulders as she charged towards us. Her hands gripped the skirts of her pale green gown, clearly one from Raena’s collection, while her forehead glistened with sweat.
“I’ve been searching all over for you,” she panted. “I found a servant. He’s got some kind of sickness.” Doubling over, her hands pressed against her knees. “It’s fishpox, I think.”
My chest seized. “How certain are you?” If she’s right, this could be bad. More than bad. Catastrophic!
“Quite sure,” she wheezed, pushing herself up. “I told him to stay put while I found you to come and check him.”
