Page 53 of The Kraken's Queen

Reallydistracted.

Delmare nods, though he doesn’t look eager to leave my side. “I’ll wait right here with Iris until you return. Danika is right down the hall too. We’ll be fine,” I say to ease his worry.

“Of course. I’ll be right back.” Delmare bows and swims away to the music room, looking back to make sure I don’t move. I can’t help but notice Iris’s eyes on him as he leaves. The way she stares longingly at him fills me with guilt because I’ve been occupying most of their time. As mates, I’m certain they would appreciate alone time.

Just like I would kill to have some alone time with my husband. Sacrifices must be made all around though.

A few moments later, Delmare swims out with the harp Allarick purchased for me on our wedding day and a stool for me to rest on while I play. He sets it up, and I thank him before taking a seat. “Music has a way of healing the soul. Do you think they’ll mind if I play?”

Iris and Delmare share a glance, as if thinking it over. Iris smiles, though it doesn’t reach her eyes. These last few days have done a number on her, and I know she’s tired. “I don’t think they’ll mind at all, my queen. Youoften get an audience when you play. I think it’ll be lovely and maybe even calm some of the restless guppies.”

I survey the room, seeing stressed parents trying to corral their children, merpeople holding their heads as if fighting back a headache, and others chatting, but their body language is too stiff. True fear hasn’t settled upon Tetria, rather a guarded caution. If I can make everyone’s mood just a little brighter, then I’ve accomplished what I wanted to do.

Like always, my eyes close when I pluck the first string. It’s a soft vibrato I let linger before picking back up the note. Music takes hold of me, and my fingers glide effortlessly. James really put a new meaning into starving artist after taking away my music. It felt like a piece of me was missing. A hole in my heart I couldn’t fill no matter how hard I tried.

The commotion around me fades away as each note rings loudly in my ear. I play a song of happiness and hope. I don’t stop at one though; my fingers eagerly pluck away at three more songs, all upbeat and full of hope because that is what we need right now.

When the last note hits, I exhale a deep sigh and sit back in my chair. My hands fall to my sides, and my eyes flicker open. The floor in front of me is suddenly occupied by a handful of children—guppies, as they call them. Merpeople who were once on the opposite side of the room have huddled close, a look of serenity on their faces.

Delmare isn’t next to me anymore, and Iris is hunched over an older kraken who had been sittingalone in the corner, holding his head. He had one of the stronger headaches of the bunch and was slouched over in his chair all morning.

But now the same man stands tall, speaking excitedly to Iris. She nods and says something to the man I can’t hear, then she hugs him. She visits two other merpeople who have all complained of headaches before swimming back to me.

“Are they okay? Do we need to call the healers?” I don’t think I need to, judging by their smiles, but I offer anyway.

“No, my queen. Those three merpeople I spoke with all came in with horrible headaches. You remember? Slouched over in corners. Well, they said as soon as you started playing, their pain went away. Just like that,” Iris says.

“Well, music is said to be healing.” I smile, but Iris doesn’t return it. She’s too busy spewing about others who have made comments of relief.

“And a mother who couldn’t get her newborn to sleep in days finally got the guppy to sleep. The woman was in tears, she was so happy.”

My cheeks flush. Iris’s tone teeters on excitement. I just don’t understand why. She’s happy, but also…suspicious? “Music is a good lullaby.” I shrug, trying to brush off her words.

“There’s more,” a voice booms behind me, and I jump as Delmare reappears. “The siren by the window reported hearing a strange call earlier. The moment the music started, he stopped hearing it.”

“Okay, well, that happens when you play music. Youtend to hear the sound closest to you.” I laugh, trying to lighten the mood, but, in reality, my body is on alert. What are they getting at, and why do I feel like I’m in trouble? “Not to sound rude, but I’m not sure what you are insinuating.”

Delmare and Iris do that thing where they look at each other and seemingly have an entire conversation with just their eyes. Part of me envies them for having such a strong love over the years, they can tell what the other is thinking without asking. Right now though, it’s annoying.

Neither speak up at first, and the tension growing between us only heightens until Iris speaks. “We could be wrong, but we think your music might be healing.”

Now it’s my turn to stare. And stare. “You mean like…metaphorically?” Because she couldn’t possibly mean anything else by it. Right?

Except the way she bites her lip and the way her tail fidgets from side to side speak a different story. “I’m not explaining this well,” she says quickly. “Let’s just wait for King Allarick to arrive so we can tell him what we observed.”

I want to urge her to explain herself, but that’s when I feel something slither around my midsection, pulling me back into a hard chest. Then a voice that stars in all of my dreams asks, “What have I missed?”

Chapter 31

Allarick

“Queen Erin’s music has healing abilities,” Iris blurts out the moment I have Erin wrapped in my embrace. Her body eases, only for a fraction of a second, before growing tense again at Iris’s words.

They are interesting words indeed.

“She doesn’t mean literally—” Erin starts to say but is swiftly interrupted by Iris again.

“No, I mean literally.”

---