“You’re better,” Cora rasped. Tears coated her cheeks. Reaching for a limpet across his brow, she scowled as the creature remained stuck fast.
“You’ll need to bathe him in this.” I passed her the pouch, still half-full of algae. “Have the servants fill the deepest tub they can find with seawater, pour in the leftovers of that pouch, and submerge his entire body below the water,” I recited the information Adriana had given me. “That should return his skin to normal.”
“Of course.” Cora nodded. But before she could separate herself from her son, Ivy sprung up from the bed.
“I’ll fetch the servants now,” she offered. Dipping her head, she excused herself with an excited giggle.
When I went to follow her, I was stopped by Cora’s hand on my arm.
“I’ll never be able to thank you enough, my dear.” She pulled me back down to the edge of the bed, her face glistening with tears. “I don’t know how you did it, but whatever you did, Ryntook will always be in your debt. Anything you need for your kingdom to grow, we shall help you as best as we can.” She spoke while embracing her son, rubbing his back as if he were just a baby.
“That’s very generous.” I smiled. “Thank you.”
Drawing back from the boy, she tilted her headlongingly. “Now if only we could find out who did this to you…” She chewed her lip. “Do you still remember nothing, dear?”
I waited for him to give her another vague response about his memories being foggy, but instead, this time, he stiffened.
“Actually,” the boy mumbled. “Now I feel better, I remember everything.”
My eyes widened. “You do? Who was it? Was it the merfolk?”
“If it was the merfolk, I’ll have that foul queen caught and roasted on a pike,” Cora seethed, her tone more deadly than I thought possible for the gentle-eyed queen. “I’ve had it with her and her sea beasts stealing away my good people. She’s made my best sailors afraid of the sea,” she scoffed as I held back a wince.
“Who was it, Raphael?” I asked gently.
The boy scrunched his nose. “It was a man… He was tall and he was nice to me. He gave me a sugar mouse.”
“Do you know his name?” Cora asked.
He shook his head. “I’d never seen him before,” he murmured. “But as soon as I ate that mouse, I started feeling sick, and then…” His voice trailed off as he shuddered.
“It’s alright, dear,” Cora soothed him. “We’ll find this horrible man. He won’t hurt you any more.” Raphael nestled into her hold while thoughts raced through my mind.
A man? Not a merfolk? Technically, it could’ve still been a merfolk in human form, but Adriana said males were rare…
“What did this man look like?” I asked, keepingmy tone soft. Maybe if I had a description I could give it to Adriana.
“He had dark hair, the same colour as father’s, but his skin was really pale, like yours.” He blinked at me.
My heart stilled.
Dark hair. Pale skin.
He wouldn’t… Not a child. It couldn’t be.
“Arenn,” I shouted, my jaw clenched. “Come out here, please.”
Silence fell over the room as Cora and Raphael just watched me, confused.
“Arenn,” I yelled again. My voice echoed through the dark bedchamber.
Finally, out from the shadows, stepped the faery prince. His glamoured ears were round as he grabbed the back of his neck, swallowing.
Cora gasped, clutching Raphael to her chest. “How long have you been hiding there?” she stammered.
Ignoring her, I turned to her son. “Was this the man who gave you the mouse?” My lower lip trembled as I spoke.
“No.”
