From observing the sea, he couldn’t fathom what would be so dangerous. The sun was caught in a delicate dance atop the glossy surface, gulls squawking above while heat radiated from the sand and stones below Kaid’s boots, warming his toes. There was nothing that told him to back away. It was quite the opposite, actually. As though he could hear whispers coming from the ripples.
Come, child. There is no danger here. Only joy. Only power.
Kaid bent down once more, stretching his fingertips toward the foamy waves. The tingling jolt struck him again but he pushed through it. As his shaking fingers were mere inches from the water, he heard a shout.
“Stop!” Kaid’s father was sprinting toward him, Halsten at his heels. “Back away, son!”
Kaid glanced back and forth between his father and the sea at his fingertips. The lightning was becoming stronger, impossible to fight. Kaid pulled his hand away and fell backward, landing on his rump. He cradled his wrist, taking in the streaks of white skin that ran from his three middle fingers, through the back of his hand and up his forearm. The skin throbbed and flashed a handful of times before the marks disappeared completely. The stinging sensation was still there, however, the skin tender like it was freshly healed.
His father and best friend were at his side a moment later, just a few seconds too late to witness the odd pale skin that had now vanished. His father knelt down next to Kaid. “Are you allright?” He smoothed down the top of Kaid’s windblown hair. “I’ve told you to never,never, touch the sea. What got into you?”
What had gotten into Kaid was mere children’s curiosity. He had snuck away from his father while he was in a business meeting in a coastal territory and used the opportunity to make his own judgments of the sea, not opinions that had been forced onto him.
“I only wanted to see what was so bad about it. It looks fine from—”
“Kaidian Poulson, you listen to me right now!” His father snapped, a tone Kaid rarely heard. Halsten shifted nervously on his feet. “I only warn you because of what lies below the surface. There are things down there that dream of eating up small children like you.” His father’s gaze shifted between Kaid and Halsten now, extending the warning to his best friend. “Your mother went to great lengths to make sure you would stay safe and far away from the sea. You owe it to her to honor her sacrifice.”
Kaid hated when his father brought up his mother. The only thing Kaid knew of his mother was that she passed during childbirth. His father wouldn't even share her name, as though it was too painful to recall anything about her. But Kaid and Halsten had done some digging in his father’s study one day and found a locket with the initials, “A. A.” engraved on a golden seashell. The photos inside had withered and crumpled to dust by the time Kaid had discovered the locket, but he found some comfort in knowing his mother’s initials.
“Maybe she was wrong! Maybe it is not so bad! I can hear it, you know… It has been whispering to me all day. It sounds friendly. It tells me that I will be happy.” Kaid’s voice faded away when he noticed the distressed looks from both his father and Halsten.
Halsten cleared his throat. “You hear the sea talking to you, mate? Like voices in your head, or—”
“I’m not mad! Listen!” Kaid shouted. Once again, he could hear whispers rolling toward him from the deep.
Return to me, boy. You were so close to solace. So close to your full potential.
The three males stood perfectly still as Kaid took in the sea’s latest murmurs. “See! Can’t you hear it?”
Kaid’s father slowly shook his head. “No, son. I think you need to lie down. Come back inside.”
Begrudgingly, Kaid stood up and turned toward the manor. He found no reason to fight or argue further. Why would anyone ever believe that he heard voices inside of his head without accusing him of insanity? If Halsten had been saying such things, Kaid would be calling a mender straight away. He knew how bad it sounded, but he couldn’t help but stare back at the sea one final time. One particularly tall wave held steady for a moment before breaking, as though the sea were gesturing a goodbye.
Kaid sat straight up in bed, drenched in sweat and tangled in his sheets. He pressed a finger to his temple, instantly regretting how much he had drunk the night before. He remembered getting to the ballroom, but not returning. Well, aside from knowing Asta had been here. But why? What had they said to each other?
And then he had the dream. The same dream Kaid had every time he was trudging through emotional turmoil. The dream was a memory, down to every last detail. He never understood why this specific memory surfaced when he was going through troubling times, but it was almost a comfort at this point. A reminder that it was all real—the whispering waves, the dangers, the skin on his arm that would become tender each time he had the dream.
Kaid ran his thumb over the back of his hand, a tickling sensation of fresh skin causing goosebumps to surface. He untangled himself from the bedding and stood up, approaching his wall of windows overlooking the shoreline. He stared into the waves as high tide came in, swallowing up the beach and almost brushing the castle walls. An object washing back and forth caught his attention—a seaman’s hat. He watched as the fabric floated atop the tide, not yet soaked enough to sink into oblivion. Either it had just blown off someone’s head or something very terrible had just happened to a fisherman.
Then Kaid saw it—the large, maroon fin glowing beneath the water’s surface. Kaid was too far to see more detail, just that it seemed to resemble an over-sized eel. He rubbed his eyes, his vision going blurry from the excruciating headache he now suffered. When his hands fell away from his face, the fin and hat were gone.
Chapter 14
Asta nervously paced in her common room as she watched the time tick by. Any minute now and Kaid would be in her suite for their lesson.
With royals from neighboring countries and nobility from all over Salendron arriving every day in preparation for the wedding, security around the castle had tightened and no room was a secret anymore, not even the music room. So, Kaid suggested having their lesson in Asta’s suite, since no other suites in the west wing would be occupied per Asta’s request.
It wasn’t a request, really, but more like a scolding. Asta had reamed her father out weeks ago when she realized that Kaidand Halsten were taking up rooms in her wing and King Botmar had heard the message loud and clear, and not simply because of the volume of her voice.
Knock, knock.Pause.Knock, knock, knock. Pause.Knock.
Asta rolled her eyes and opened the door, wisps of her light waves blowing back from the motion. Kaid stood in the hall with his cloak hood up. “I told you a secret knock wasn’t necessary. We’re the only ones here.” She snorted, taking in his appearance. “Also, you’re wearing a cloak indoors. Not very inconspicuous. You’re literally just walking one door down the hall.”
Kaid stepped inside and closed the door, turning the lock behind him. “I’m the husband-to-be in the upcoming wedding. Surely, I cannot be seen entering my fiancé’s sister’s suite without trouble.”
The overly cautious lord pulled his cloak off, revealing a white blouse with a black button-up vest over it, the fabric clinging to his back muscles as he reached up to hang his cloak on a hook. Her eyes traveled lower, observing the curves his pants hugged, admiring the view from behind before he turned back to face her. Asta only allowed herself to look because she knew nothing would ever happen between them. If she was stuck with this man for the rest of her life, she might as well enjoy the little things.
Luckily, Asta didn’t match him in her white flowing dress and black underbust corset. She had inspected every one of their outfits as they approached each other since that day on the beach. The day when she broke what little trust they had finally built between them. She had sacrificed it all for a silly prank.
