He had an unusually powerful voice, rich and deep like dark chocolate or a smoky, decade-old whisky. Yet it surged effortlessly to any height the melody demanded from it, and it flowed smoothly with the tenderness of the lyrics, warmed by emotions I hadn’t expected from the siren king.
I never knew talent like that existed. And now, all I wanted was to hear him sing again and again.
I slipped from under the covers, then peeked out from behind the screen.
It was sunny outside. Daylight flooded the room, brightening the never-ending kaleidoscope of light and shadows bouncing through the glass walls of the palace. The sun had already risen high over the horizon, spraying the ocean waves below with golden bursts of light.
It was hard to believe this was the same place that had reduced me to tears last night. A cold shiver ran through me at the memory of the slimy, otherworldly appendage wrapped around my leg. It didn’t even feel like flesh of a living being but like a blob of congealed mud. Thankfully, in the bright sunlight of the morning all of that felt like a passing nightmare now.
Wrapping a sheet around me, I stepped out from behind the screen and...almost tripped over the man stretched on the floor in front of the screen that separated my sleeping area from the rest of the room.
Kye was sleeping peacefully, about two steps away from my bed. With his arm under his cheek, his luminous hair strewn over the glass floor, and one of his legs bent, he lay on his side, snoring softly.
I understood his bed wasn’t softer than the floor, but still the floor didn’t seem like a suitable place for a royalty to sleep on. Yet there he was, lying on the floor between my bed and the exit from the room. Was it to stop me from escaping at night? Or to protect me from the monster in the great hall?
The lyrics from his song echoed through my mind once again:
“You will never face the darkness alone.”
Regardless of his reasons for sleeping on the floor, I felt safer with him closer to me. I still wasn’t sure why Kye’s was the name I called for help last night, but I was grateful that he came when I called.
He didn’t move as I stepped around him to get to the trunk with the dresses. If he had chosen to sleep on the floor to stop me from escaping, he did a poor job of it. I could run all the way to the ocean right now, and he looked like he would just keep on snoring. Except that running wouldn’t do me any good. The vast ocean all around the reef kept me locked in this palace far more effectively than any locks or chains ever could.
Hugging the sheet around my naked body, I sneaked past Kye to get some clothes. The breeze blew freely through the palace. It puffed my sheet out, sliding its edge across the smooth glass floor. A corner of the sheet skimmed along Kye’s shin, and the fabric immediately stiffened then crumbled in my hands. The sheet burst into shards all around me, raining down to the floor in thin glass splinters.
Kye sat up, then scrambled away from me, his eyes unfocused and filled with primal terror.
“Maren?” His voice was small from fear. Uncertain.
“I’m here,” I said quickly. “Still alive.”
It shocked me again how fast the transformation happened. One moment, I clutched the soft fabric in my hands, the next, my fists were filled with cracked glass.
Kye ran an anxious gaze down my body.
“Fuck, you scared me, little butterfly.” He ran a trembling hand through his hair, then jumped to his feet in one smooth, fluid movement. “Are you hurt?”
“I...I don’t know,” I mumbled, opening my fists.
The shards in my hands kept the smooth shape of crumbled fabric, only the broken edges were sharp.
“Careful. Stay where you are.” Kye reached for me but kept the safe distance of a few steps between us. “Don’t move. I’ll get the servants.”
“Um...I’m naked,” I reminded him, trying to cover myself with my hands the best I could, but there was no use. He’d already seen me.
He paused. His features softened with a cheeky smile.
“I noticed,” he assured me.
I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at that. “I mean, I’d rather not have a large audience here right now.”
“I understand. I’d much rather keep this view all to myself too.”
“Oh God, spare me...” I groaned through my teeth, carefully stepping behind the screen and out of his sight.
“Fine, I’ll get just one servant. A woman,” Kye conceded before rushing out of the room.
A few moments later, he returned with a woman who followed him at a safe distance. She brought a broom, a bucket, and a dustpan with her and promptly started sweeping the glass into a pile in sure, practiced movements.
