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26

CORDELIA

Awave breaks over the sand, rushing beneath our guest’s feet and soaking the bottom of my gown. Something has gone terribly wrong.

My anxiety spikes, but Zephyr doesn’t respond. The aether remains inactive, my pendant cold against my chest.

My Ocean Voice echoes all around as clouds gather overhead.

“A storm, a storm, a storm.”

“A siren song,” Darcy hisses, one hand going to her sword hilt. She sets her eyes forward, pulling me down the aisle as she shouts against the wind, “House of Cinder will not fall to a siren’s call. No monsters will stand in the way of our union.”

The crowd presses in on us, pushing away from the shore break, but Darcy moves swiftly, blocking anyone who gets too close to me. I try to keep up with her, my feet slipping inside my boots.

Zephyr. I call out for them in my mind, willing them to come back to me. Please.

They’ve vanished, following the lure of my song. My heart sticks in my throat.

They’ve gone to Cosette.

“Wait,” I croak, pulling my arm away from Darcy’s.

I can’t go through with this. I can’t make a vow to her when Zephyr is in danger.

“What’s wrong?” A flush creeps up her neck, the thin white scar on her cheek shining as she lowers her voice. “We have to keep going. We have to show them we’re committing to protecting the island.”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t.”

I take a few steps back, a terrible pain ripping horizontally across the sides of my neck.

Darcy’s eyes fly open. I look past her to the outline of the white orb peeking above the water. The full moon is barely visible through the dark clouds, but it’s pushing up past the horizon.

Threads of gossip weave through the crowd. I press my hands to my stinging skin as my gills flap, shaking my head.

Darcy unsheathes her sword and points it at my throat. In an instant, she turns on me.

I feel my mermaid strength returning to my body. I don’t want to claw my way out of this crowd, but I will if I have to.

“Your Grace.” Bijou has abandoned our wedding arch. The petite priestess’s veil flies off in a harsh wind as she elbows her way through the crowd to lay her hand on Darcy’s blade. “No, don’t do this.”

I release a breath, ready to bolt.

“Not in public,” Bijou says. “Take her to the dungeon for questioning, and we’ll find out what she is.”

I’m rocked by the whiplash of her tone. She’s not pleading on my behalf.

The guards snatch me up by my arms, and I start to thrash, quickly realizing my limits.

I’m strong enough to fight them off, but not to run. My toes are unraveling inside of my stockings.

The pain forces me to let them lift me and throw me into Bijou’s carriage.

“What the fuck is this?” Darcy shouts, sliding onto the bench across from me, holding her sword between the priestess and me. “Did you crawl out of the eternal abyss and pull me from the sea just to humiliate me?”

“Darcy,” Bijou cautions, drawing the curtains shut as the carriage clambers back up to Blustery Heights. “We need to talk.”

“No, I need to find out who this monster is.” She raises her sword to my throat again, the tip scraping my skin.