Page 23

“Phew. This is why I’m glad I’m not the one who inherited the dukedom.” James crosses an ankle over his thigh and refills his crystal glass with an amber liquid. “I wouldn’t want to be in your position, cousin.”

Darcy scowls at her untouched plate.

“No one is getting sacrificed on my watch.” She picks up a pronged utensil and points it around the table. “I am the head huntress of this household, and I will handle it, but I need everyone here to promise they won’t speak of it until I’ve gathered more information. Is that clear?”

A chorus of ayes fills the room, and Darcy stabs a green vegetable. “Now, can we please eat in peace?”

I’m not sure how we’re supposed to eat after that discussion, but my stomach growls despite my unease. Thankfully, the noise goes unnoticed as James tells a story about a duck walking into a pub that sends his children into a giggling fit.

I keep one ear on the conversation while observing how everyone handles their plates. If I’d married a woman my father picked for me, I would have had a team to guide me on everything.

As it stands, I have a single outlaw faerie watching over me.

Zephyr’s energy trickles down to my wrists as I try to decipher my place setting, their light shimmering subtly at my fingertips whenever I reach for the correct utensil.

I think I’d feel more comfortable if they were here in person. They’d be able to match James’ banter and fill in the lulls when I have to collect my thoughts in the common language.

Human words don’t come naturally to me despite decades of lessons. It takes time to find the right mouth shapes and resonance.

Stingers prick behind my eyes as the loss of my Ocean Voice hits me out of nowhere. Moisture wells, obscuring my vision.

Tears. Those are new for me.

Fortunately, everyone is too preoccupied with their meals to see me dabbing the corners of my eyes with a napkin.

“I know it’s overwhelming, but you didn’t eat the lunch the maids brought to your room,” Zephyr says as I push my fish fillet around my plate. All of the raw flavor has been cooked out of it, turning the meat into white flakes. I can’t even tell what kind it is. “You’ll get sick if you go too long without food. Take a bite of something.”

I give up on the fish and gravitate towards a beige ball at the edge of my dish. Bread, I think.

I’ve never tried it, but it’s the only other item I can identify, so I pick it up and sink my teeth in.

As a Mer-Princess, I’ve never relied solely on hunting to feed myself. I’ve always had access to delicacies imported from the fae realm, and many of my suitors have attempted to delight me with chocolates and hard candies.

If any of them had wanted to impress me, they should have brought bread. I hold a piece in my mouth, appreciating the warm, fluffy texture.

After a few bites, my stomach feels better, and my head becomes clearer. I’m able to finish dinner with the gentle weight of Zephyr’s presence at the nape of my neck.

“Should we take a stroll now?” Darcy asks as the maids start clearing plates from the table. I take her arm, eager to get away from the mermaid bones swimming along the wall. She places her hand over mine, and I couldn’t care less where she’s taking me as long as we’re together, but I’m pleased when we wind up in a small courtyard on the north side of the castle.

Thin trees sprout along the walls, their sparse golden leaves clinging to scraggly branches.

I tip my head back to the overcast sky, and a fissure splits my heart in half as the cloud cover parts around the full moon. I should be on another island right now, luring a deplorable man down to the Altar of the Undine.

Darcy moves behind me and grasps my upper arms. “It’s a beautiful night, isn’t it?”

I feel the threat of tears again and blink them away, focusing on the warmth of her chest at my back. One day, this will be enough.

“Yes. It is.”

“What James said about my need for a wife is true,” she starts, spinning me around to a seat on a wooden bench. “But I wish he hadn’t brought it up so casually. I wanted to talk to you about it first.”

Could it really be this easy to achieve our vow of love, sealed in blood? “I’m listening.”

She sits on the far end of the bench, leaning on the iron armrest. “My family has a duty to strengthen our house by choosing partners who are capable of learning our ways and keeping our secrets.”

I try to envision her tutoring me on all of her family’s ways, but all I can see are skeletons swimming along the dining room wall. “Why do you think I could be a worthy partner?”

“Because my family loves the story of how we met, and the other noble houses will too.” She stomps on an insect, squashing it with her boot. “They’ll all see it as a sign that our pairing is blessed by the sea.”