Chapter 20 #2
“No, no, no.” He wiggles a finger. “You complained you were stinky. You didn’t ask me what I thought.
What I understood was that you were feeling uncomfortable, and I made sure you felt better.
Second, when I saw you… What did you expect me to do?
I didn’t know what you wanted, and didn’t want you to feel like you owed me anything just because I came to rescue you.
Regardless, I had to get you far from Zorwal even if you never looked me in the face again.
Third, I didn’t know what Berta was planning.
I had no idea. The only thing I knew was that she was furious at my brother and willing to punish me in his stead.
I couldn’t let her know what I feel for you. ”
My breath stills.
“What do you feel?” My voice comes out as a whisper, dread and hope mixing in my chest.
He takes my hand and guides it to his chest, over his heart, where I feel it thumping against his skin.
“This.”
His thumb brushes the back of my hand as I look into his eyes, that odd coldness gone. I’m still stunned, and then I realize I was an idiot for not seeing it.
“You wanted to protect me?” I ask.
“Obviously. It’s why I went to the castle. I would have gone alone, would have walked all the way just to save you. Knowing you were with Zorwal was indeed worse than being stabbed and almost dying. It hurt more.”
I rest my face on his chest, the feel of his presence enveloping me, washing away all that fear, that uncertainty. He wraps his arms around me and holds me close.
“Tarlia,” he says. “I know we said it was one night, but one night was not enough. I’m not supposed to say I love you because I don’t know you well yet. But what I can say is that I want to love you—if you let me.”
Relief becomes joyful laughter and I look up at him. “I want to love you too.”
He holds me tighter and closes his eyes. I lean in, relishing this moment, feeling his chest moving up and down slowly, my tension washing away. We remain like that for a long moment, in the silence of each other’s companion.
My eyes are misty when I finally look at his face again. He leans down and brushes his lips against mine. A soft, ethereal touch that slowly turns into a kiss.
AZUR
Lidiane’s lost in the ocean, swimming away from me. I try to reach her, but I can’t swim.
A light in the dark waters catches my eye.
It’s Astra, her body shimmering, smiling at me. “Trust your light.”
“Are you dead?” I ask, and she shakes her head.
Renel is fighting ghouls, swinging his sword, and I’m not around to save him. Why am I upset that I can’t save him?
I need to save Lidiane, that’s what I need to do. Save her from her magical poisoning, since we can’t count on the Witch King dying.
My body is cold. Am I dead? Is nothingness all there is, or am I lost?
Something’s pulling me down, over a chair, and there’s something around me, around my head. I want to push it, but cold hands stop me.
I open my eyes and find myself lying on a long chair, with weighted cuffs on my legs and waist.
I’m still underwater. Around my nose and mouth, something made of leather, something… with air.
The Sea King sits by me, his lower body a fish tail.
Exactly the fae I wanted to see.
“What happened?” I ask.
The king tilts his head. “You defeated the kraken, but then almost drowned. There are easier ways to request an audience with me, did you know that?”
“Not really. And it’s an emergency.”
The corners of his eyes tighten. “I should have sensed you earlier. My apologies. What is it?”
“How’s the kraken?”
“Alive. Recovering. Like you, I suppose.”
I look around me and see that we’re in a chamber with walls made of polished stone and a circular door, now closed.
“Are we alone?” I ask.
“Yes. What brought you here?”
I realize I never planned what to say or how to ask him for what I need, so I approach the subject carefully. “That day, when you came to the boat, you were looking for someone from the Sea Court, right?”
“Indeed.” He eyes me carefully.
“I believe she might be someone… you care about.”
His body stiffens at once. “What makes you think that?”
I’m not sure if I should skip all that and ask for the Pearl of Healing straight away, but I don’t think he’d give it to anyone. I need to explain why I think he might want to save Lidiane.
“She’s a sea fae, and was told never to go near the ocean.”
“But she did.”
“I didn’t know that. We were escaping. I was the one who brought her to the sea with no warning. She grew up in the Crystal Court, raised by a seamstress, after her mother was assassinated by the Sea Court. She mingled with the lower fae, stayed far from the shore, and that’s how she survived.”
“What was her mother’s name?”
“She never told me.”
The king frowns.
I continue, “She was on the boat that day. I hid her, but you… sensed her. I believe you know who she is.”
The gills on his neck open and close, as if he was taking a deep breath. “My daughter. I felt the connection. Despite everything, she’s mine.”
My suspicions were right, then. I breathe a sigh of relief in this strange tube, then ask, “And yet you never tried to find her?”
The king closes his eyes and shakes his head, visibly distressed.
“I didn’t know she was mine. Everything led me to believe she was another man’s.
But when I sensed her that day, not only did I recognize her, I realized that my son had been looking for her, probably under his mother’s orders.
They’ve always known.” He lets out a bitter chuckle, then looks at me and frowns.
“How could they know? It’s why I didn’t try to find her after that.
I feared I would endanger her. Even some of the subjects I believed most loyal turned out to be loyal to her. ”
“Your wife?” I’m puzzled. Can he really talk about her like an enemy?
“You sound surprised, young king.”
My entire body tenses. How can he know?
The Sea King chuckles. “No need to hide who you are. Not from me, at least, even if I missed things before, if I couldn’t recognize who surrounded me, couldn’t notice when I had my mind poisoned. Now I know. She killed her.”
“Your wife killed Lidiane’s mother?”
“Lidiane?” He smiles. “That’s my daughter’s name?
Her mother was called Karyanne. I called her Kary.
My love for her was greater than the entire ocean.
When she left, I thought I’d rather die than carry that pain in my heart.
But I was angry too. So angry. I married Selena.
Never had a drop of love for her, and yet, the marriage benefitted her.
She gained power, influence, and I couldn’t bring myself to stop her, since she’s Machiel’s mother. I do love my son, despite everything.”
“As you should.”
He snorts. “I’m not so sure.” He changes his tone, then asks, “Was that why you came? To ask for my daughter’s hand?”
I blink, taken aback. “No.” I realize my reply might have sounded offensive, and add, “Not yet, at least. She needs help, and I thought—correctly, now I see—that you’d be able to help her.”
“What is it?”
I show him my hand. Surprisingly, the white retreated away from the palm. “I’m suffering from magical poisoning. The Witch King stabbed me.”
The king narrows his eyes, his features turning gloomy. “He’s been awakened?”
It’s interesting that he didn’t even assume the Witch King was dead or show any surprise that he returned.
I might ask him some questions later, if I have time.
For now, I get back to my main point. “Yes. And when I transcend, he pulls me, so that’s what he did, and how I ended up in the cave where he was kept prisoner. ”
“How did you escape?”
“Someone transcended me away, but before that, he stabbed me, and gave me magical poisoning. Later, I had to transcend Lidiane, due to an emergency, and now she has the same problem. Her brother might have it too. It’s why I’m here.”
“Brother?” His face is a mix of confusion and anger.
“I transcended Lidiane and her brother. She has magical poisoning, and I believe he does too, unfortunately. It was an—”
“What do you mean brother?” He’s trembling, as is his voice.
“Ferer, her older brother.”
“A brother four years older than her?”
“I’m not sure about his age, but about that, yes.”
The king swims up, away from his seat, and looks away, then turns to me. “You’re sure he’s her brother?”
“It’s what she calls him, and they look alike. They seem to be related by blood, and he’s a half-sea fae with gills and all.”
“No, no, no. He died.” His voice breaks. “He died, and I mourned him every day of my life.”
I feel sad for the king, and even though I don’t know if my words will hurt or soothe him, I have to tell him the truth. “Ferer is alive, but might have magical—”
“Poisoning. Like yours? Sea water will keep it from spreading.”
“I was hoping for the Pearl of Healing.”
“That’s a fairytale. Thankfully, you don’t need a mythical object. Seawater is enough.” He points at me. “For you too.”
“Then how come nobody knows this is the cure?”
“Nobody who?”
I can’t tell him the Nymphs are our allies, but I can imagine that fresh water creatures wouldn’t be aware of what seawater can do. I shrug. “I guess magical poisoning is too rare for the fae to know how to treat it.”
“I’ll give you some special water, with more healing properties, from our golden reef.
It will be enough for you and for my children.
” He sounds pained as he says those last words.
“I will find them. I can see now that this was a conspiracy. Selena’s fault.
I should have reigned her in a long time ago, but I didn’t.
She’ll pay for what she’s done, and once the Sea Court is safe, I’ll make sure my children are brought here and recognized as my heirs. ”
Heirs. It means Ferer is indeed the Sea Court crown prince, and all I can think is how the title would endanger him. “How will you know if the Sea Court is safe?”
“Because I’ll make it so. This is a promise.”