“What kind of ideas?”
“Like he decided to reach the bottom of the Abyss one day and even assembled a group of children willing to join him on that quest.”
“Did you join him too?”
“Me? No.” She laughed. “I was a timid girl, even if not always obedient. No one has ever been to the bottom of the Abyss. Most sirens believe that the Abyss has no bottom at all. But if it did, I think little Prince Kye would be the one to reach it or die trying. He was such a brazen, determined little boy.”
“What happened to that quest? Did he try to go down into the Abyss?”
“He tried, but the queen’s guards caught him and the other children just below the palace, on their way down.” She smiled, shaking her head. “Prince Kye was furious at the interruption and accused the queen of ruining the greatest expedition of all time.”
“Did he argue often with his mother?” I remembered the white-haired woman in the portrait. She was beautiful like all sirens. And she looked happy in that picture, gazing down at her son with so much love.
Elina’s cheerful expression dimmed.
“Yes. They argued a lot. And the older he got, the more they clashed.”
“But why?”
“From what I’ve overheard here and there, the queen wanted her son to mature and show interest in state matters, since he was the one to run the kingdom after her. And he... Well, he wasn’t a bad boy or a bad man, even if some still blame him for so many things. But...he often did act irrationally and in a rush, which...” She paused, drawing in a long, mournful breath, “Which had dire consequences for him and the others.”
“What kind of consequences?” I urged.
Elina frowned, biting her lip.
“Absolutely not!” Kye’s sharp, loud exclamation rang through the palace, cutting off our conversation.
He agitatedly gestured at his uncle, who spoke to him in an even, calming voice.
Watching them through the glass, I tried to piece together the puzzle that Kye was. I’d collected many pieces of him already. The mocking, ruthless fae who intimidated even a cruel, unfeeling man like Leslo. The hesitant siren who was afraid of water at the beginning of our swim lessons. The shameless, seductive flirt whose naughty words and smoldering gazes made me weak at the knees. And now, the bold, unruly kid from Elina’sstory. And also, the tempestuous, indignant king who was pacing the great hall right now.
Which one of them was his true self?
And if he was all of them, how did they all fit together?
“He was my first kiss,” Elina said unexpectedly, snapping my attention back to her reflection in the mirror in front of me.
Her fingers stilled in my hair. Her eyes peered at Kye through the layers of glass. A soft smile playing on her lips.
“He was?” Was the only thing I could utter, momentarily shocked by her admission.
She met my gaze in the mirror.
“We were both sixteen at the time. I just started feeling some interest in boys and hadn’t even had my first kiss yet. But I knew that the prince...well, the rumor was that he’d already had all his firsts with girls and even some seconds and thirds too.” She giggled like the little girl she once was. “I asked him to kiss me, curious to know what it felt like. And he did.”
“And? How was it?” The question came out slightly out of breath. I found myself waiting for her answer with far more attention and impatience than I should feel.
She glanced up, scrunching her nose in concentration, as if trying to recall the sensations from so long ago.
“It was soft. Gentle, because he knew it was my first kiss. Wet.” She laughed. “A bit awkward, especially from my side. But sweet. It certainly woke the desire in me to do more.”
I swallowed something tight and sour that had lodged in my throat.
“And did youdomore?” I asked with exaggerated indifference.
I’d never been a jealous person, so I didn’t immediately recognize the highly unpleasant feeling that seemed to suck all joy from my heart, replacing it with anxious insecurity, when I imagined Kye with Elina.
Was that jealousy? If so, I truly hated it.
