Turning to Lukas, I ignored the small crowd of onlookers that had at some point gathered around us. “Please can you just take me away from here?” I pleaded in a quiet voice. “I’m tired and hungry, and I can’t bear to be here any longer.”
Lukas’s powerful gaze met mine as my heart stuttered. For a brief moment, his eyes dropped to the crystals on my wrist before he tightened his grip on my arm and cleared his throat.
“I’ll take you to the banquet hall. They should still be serving food.” He spoke in a cold tone. Then he glanced at Arenn. “Unless you have any objection to me taking my fiancé to get some dinner?”
Arenn shrugged. “You can take her to as many dinners as you wish,” he murmured. “But what is mine will always come back to me eventually.” I stiffened as he swiped up my hand and placed a cool kiss on my fingers. “I’ll see you soon, dear princess.”
I didn’t have a moment to reply before Lukas tore me away, wrapping one arm tightly around my waist.
CHAPTER 12
Lukas didn’t speak to me at dinner. Nor did he speak to me on the journey back to my bedchamber, choosing to leave me at my door before marching back down the hallway without saying goodbye.
It was only as I was drifting off to sleep in my grand shell bed that I felt his presence again. Citrus and hints of salted caramel wafted past my nose while two strong arms pulled back into a warm chest. Letting my eyes flutter shut, I relaxed in his hold. Only to be woken up again what felt like five minutes later by a rough hand shaking my shoulder.
“Naria, wake up,” a male voice grumbled.
I winced as the harsh morning sun hit my eyes. Dressedin a loose cotton shirt, Lukas sat up propped on his elbows beside me, his wavy hair still mussed from sleep. Judging by the dark rings under his eyes, I clearly wasn’t the only one who could do with a few more hours in bed.
“What time is it?” I rasped. “I thought today was supposed to be another rest day.”
Lukas looked unimpressed. “I need to show you something.”
“Right now?” With a groan, I rolled over onto my side. “Ask me again in a few hours.”
But clearly he was in no mood to wait. Flopping me onto my back, he climbed over my body to leave the bed.
“Get dressed.” He swiped up a clean set of clothes from the back of a chair. “And wear something easy to take off again.”
My eyebrows shot up. Cheeks turning pink, I opened my mouth to protest, but before I could ask him what exactly he had planned for us, he marched out of my room.
Less than an hour later, his hand was tight around mine as he whisked me through the palace. My pale-blue gown with simple tie fastenings swung around my calves, and around my shoulders, my blonde curls hung loosely. Lukas was dressed just as casually, in a cream shirt and dark breeches, with no familiar golden crown upon his head.
If Raena were here, she’d throw a fit at how plain we both looked. But considering that dawn was just peeking over the sea outside, I doubted we’d need to worry about her judging our clothing any time soon.
Lukas didn’t slow down once we reached the palace grounds. Instead, he veered off through some palm trees and took a steep path down to the beach.
“Where are we going?” I asked, out of breath.
He didn’t stop to answer. “Just trust me,” he replied over his shoulder. Although I was finding it harder and harder to do so the more we ventured away from the sand-coloured palace.
Eventually he slowed his steps to dip between a gap in the cliff face. I fumbled around behind him while he kept dragging me along. The cave walkway was narrow and winding, but after a few minutes of darkness, it opened into a vast, sunlit chamber.
A gasp spilled from my lips. Morning sun poured in from the branch-covered crater above, casting dazzling patterns on the stone floors and onto a rock pool in the centre of the cave. The pool was no bigger than a fish pond, but the light reflecting off the water gave the chamber a gentle blue glow.
“It’s so beautiful,” I breathed, letting go of his hand to step forward. “What is this place?”
Lukas drew closer to the pool, his footsteps echoing through the chamber. “It’s some kind of old merfolk hideaway,” he explained, lowering himself to the edge of the pool. “When I was a child, I’d sometimes stop outside my mother’s bedchamber and listen to her talking to the servants. She’d tell them all manner of stories – most of them nonsensical. But one of them stuck with me.”
Dipping his hand into the blue water, he spoke in a low tone. “She’d tell stories of an underwater cave, hidden away by corals and guarded by dolphins with enchanted bridles, but there was an entrance to it above ground, along the beaches of Ryntook, if you knew where to look.” Sadness coated hisvoice before he cleared his throat. “Of course, I always thought it was just a story… Dolphins with enchanted bridles?” He shook his head. “But,” he swallowed, “after certain…eventstook place, I’ve started to wonder just how many of her stories were actually true.”
Rising to his feet, he turned to me. “And so yesterday when I woke before the sun, I took a walk along this beach to clear my head and I found this.” He pointed to the rock pool, the blue glow reflecting on his sleeves. “The hidden underwater cave from my mother’s stories and the perfect place for us to talk.”
“Talk?” My eyebrows flew up.
“Yes. Talk,” he shot back. “Because there are things you haven’t told me, Naria.” His voice deepened. “Abouthim.”
A swallow lodged in my throat.
