Chapter 16
DRAYA
Hazel was trembling so hard she was practically vibrating. She’d moved so close to me that I could feel her body heat through the water, and the Queen eyed her up and down before turning to me with a scowl.
“You couldn’t have let her bathe?” She asked, shaking her head. “Or given her something to wear besides a tattered, see-through nightgown?”
Hazel hung her head, and it took me a moment to realize she was likely embarrassed.
I felt bad for her, as I hadn’t put much thought into her appearance or comfort until now.
She’d told me she was cold in that cell, but I knew that her alleged Talassi blood would keep her from succumbing to the elements, as we were able to survive in far lower temperatures than humans.
I supposed I hadn’t thought much past that.
Ensuring her survival was becoming quite the chore.
“Apologies, Your Highness,” I said. “We arrived last night, and my main concern was securing this meeting.”
“Well, I would love an explanation as to why you’ve brought a filthy, malnourished human into our territory. One who’s still breathing, I might add.”
Commander Adri winced next to her, but I held my head and shoulders high and moved both Hazel and me forward.
“This is Hazel Emerson,” I said, garnering an eyebrow raise from the Queen. “I found her nearly three years ago floating in the depths after the ship she was traveling on sank-”
“I was thrown overboard,” she interrupted me.
“She was thrown overboard, then the ship sank,” I corrected, and I thought I saw a glint of amusement in the Queen’s eyes.
“At the time, I wasn’t sure how she’d survived that long in the open ocean, but it felt wrong to leave her, so I brought her to a nearby island until she regained consciousness.
Upon learning her identity, she informed me she was en route to the Akala Asylum, so I offered her safe passage there. ”
“Please, Captain, you're boring me. We’ve already heard this tale,” the Queen drawled, sending a sidelong glance to Commander Adri, whose face remained impassive. “Why is she here now?”
“I believe she may have Talassi blood, Your Highness.”
“Elaborate, please,” she said, still bored. She seemed as if she wanted to make me feel like a fool, and I hated it. Why had I garnered such a soft spot for Hazel? The woman was turning out to be a bit of a pain in my tail.
“I’ve kept an eye on her for years, and she’s displayed evidence of surviving multiple drowning attempts.
She seems to have the ability to call upon storms, and her body heals rapidly when she’s submerged in saltwater.
All of these things point to some form of water magic, only made possible by Talassi heritage. ”
“You’re telling me you believe Lord Emerson is part Talassi?” She asked, incredulous.
“No,” Hazel said, and I pinched her arm to silence her.
“No,” I echoed. “I believe Hazel Emerson is part Talassi, and that she may be the leverage we need to finally gain the upper hand in our relations with him and his fleet.”
Her body tensed, and she was right for it. After all, I was using her.
“Hazel, do you believe you’re part Talassi?” The Queen asked.
“I do not know, Your Majesty.”
“Are you in allyship with your father?” The Queen continued.
“Not at all,” Hazel said, her voice more confident. “He’s an awful man.”
“I’d like to request a healer to test her,” I said, speaking out of turn. “And if she is one of us, she can help us in our search for Prince Inaki.”
“Have you made her aware of the terms of our domain?” Commander Adri said, his first words since we’d entered the throne room.
I shook my head.
“Lovely! Then I have a proposition,” the Queen announced, an unsettling smirk growing on her face.
“If it turns out that you are part Talassi, I’ll offer you a servitude of sorts.
You can stay in our territories, but you’ll be required to give up all information you know about your father.
He captured my son many years ago, and I’ll take any measures necessary to bring him home, dead or alive.
You, my dear, are exactly what I need, but if you refuse to cooperate I will not hesitate to have you… disposed of.”
My jaw ticked as the Queen almost sounded excited by the idea of playing Hazel like a card. But after some thought, I supposed she was right. Despite my odd curiosity and compulsion to keep her alive, Hazel was a useful commodity to have on our side.
“And if I’m not part Talassi?” Hazel asked, interrupting my thoughts.
“Then you’ll be killed,” the Queen said. “And I’ll send you to Emerson in pieces. Your options are limited, my dear. Help us or die.”
Hazel stilled, but she showed no other signs of unease. The woman had been ready to end her life only days ago, she clearly did not fear death.
“Deal,” she said. “I have no love for that man. In fact, I’d like nothing more than to facilitate his downfall.”
“That settles it, and our time here is done,” the Queen said, shifting in her throne to say something silently to Commander Adri.
“You may bring her to a dry guest room, and we’ll send the healer in tomorrow,” he said, turning back to us.
“And you’re now responsible for her,” the Queen said.
“What?!” I exclaimed. I was a warrior, not a babysitter!
“You brought her into our city, she’s your responsibility. If you are so sure she’ll be useful, help her prove it to us.”
“Thank you for your time, Your Highness,” I said, trying to hide my irritation as I nudged Hazel to bow her head at the same time as me. We said nothing else as we exited the throne room.
Most of the Talassian Capital was connected in some way, and we moved through the Queen’s manor to a wing devoid of water, both too absorbed by our own thoughts to speak.
While I preferred to spend most of my time in my Talassi form, not all of us felt the same.
Half-human Talassi needed to spend time in their human forms in order to keep their systems functioning, and some full-blooded Talassi simply enjoyed being dry.
Parts of the City were built for this, and we used a mix of magic and infrastructure to keep the water out of those areas.
I shifted into my human form as we entered the dry wing.
The floor and walls were made of the same volcanic rock as the rest of the city, but cracks and openings in the ceiling allowed light to pass through.
We had built sea-glass into the rocks as a sort of window to the ocean above, and it was an eerie, yet beautiful sight.
Hazel shivered as the air hit her skin, and I reminded myself to get her a set of clothes from the infirmary.
“This is fascinating,” she said, allowing me to guide her into a room halfway down the long hallway.
Inside was a hammock-style bed made of strung netting topped with a quilt and two pillows.
Across from the bed was a small table and a chair, a dresser built from a large piece of driftwood, and an opening to the washroom.
She’d have privacy to bathe, at least, which I was certain she’d be grateful for.
“Some of us enjoy spending more time dry than others,” I said. “There are residents of the city who choose to keep their entire homes free of water, though I am not particularly fond of my human form.”
“I like your human form,” she said, her voice trailing off. I wondered if she’d meant to say it out loud.
“Why?” I asked, unable to stop myself.
“You frighten me in your Talassi form,” she said, then quickly frowned. “Not a lot, but a little.”
“Good,” I said. “I’ll be back with some clothes for you, there should be towels and amenities in the washroom should you want to bathe.”
She nodded as I untied her hands, examining the room until I left. I tracked down a half-human healer in the infirmary who gave me a dry set of linen clothes for her, which I left atop the table in her room alongside a cup and pouch of fresh water.
She was bathing when I returned, completely oblivious to my presence.
Why she’d want to bathe after spending the last few days in the water was beyond me, but I couldn’t even begin to understand human needs.
I was more concerned with her utterly nonexistent set of survival skills, and decided I’d need to teach her to be more aware of her surroundings if she had any intention of staying alive.
As of right now, I was the only person in this city with even a mild interest in her safety.
I kept my movements quiet as I padded across her room to peek through the open doorway.
The bath itself was a circular pool on the ground, filled with freshwater and kept clean by a mixture of magic and plumbing.
Hazel wasn’t in the water — instead she sat on the edge, her bare back turned towards me and her long pale locks swept over one shoulder.
Her nightgown left little to my imagination, and I winced at my oversight. I spent as little time as possible in my human form, and in truth, I’d forgotten how awkward humans were about the naked body. But seeing her before me, so small and vulnerable, made me second-guess my judgements.
For a split second, I wanted to consume her. I wanted to rush into the washroom and pull her under the water, sinking my teeth into her flesh and claiming her as my own. I longed to dig my claws into her skin, to feel every inch of her against my body and hear her cry out my name.
I shook the thoughts away, well aware they were far too inappropriate for our situation. It wasn’t uncommon for Talassi to lay with humans, but she wasn’t someone I should be interested in fornicating with.
And she deserved privacy after the last few days we’d had, so I left her to her own devices and slipped out of her room, making a metal note to tell her she shouldn’t sit with her back to the door anymore. Must I teach this woman everything?