Is this all we’ll ever be? A scandalous secret? A forbidden complication?
Pain clogs my throat. I swerve away, relieved by the distraction as a flurry of activity resumes, Faeries casting glances my way but keeping their distance. Though unlike with me, they regard Lotus with esteem.
Somewhere, a horn blows. And we’re off.
The vessels set sail. Faeries chant, their song filtering through the environment. We leave the river proper behind and shave through the water, coasting into the widest tunnel.
And into the outer reaches of The Deep.
I install myself in a corner and brace my forearms on the ship’s rim, the wind combing through the intricate bun. I peek over the edge where merfolk spear through the depth alongside sharks and dolphins.
“What do you think, Lotus?” I whisper to the snake. “Terrifying or enchanting?”
Lotus curls into my bicep, his head bumping my shoulder. I chuckle, fear and anticipation clashing. I’m on a Fae ship, sailing through an underground world.
We cruise through passages, canals, and plummet down slopes.
I marvel at the scene. The lanterns burn. The teal orbs glisten. The aquamarine surface tosses strands of light across the craggy ceilings. The fauna leap beside the hulls.
The smell of wine—crushed white grapes, plums, and citrus. The sensation of humidity soaking through my bodice.
The hot weight of his attention from across the ship. In my periphery, I sense him inhaling my scent and listening to the rustle of my skirt. The other signals he used to read might be out of reach now, but others aren’t.
It’s no different from being watched. In fact, it’s more intense. It forces him to penetrate deeper, to slither beneath my clothes and skin, in order to see me.
We pass waterfalls and rapids and secluded grottos. The fragrance of damp foliage and water florals permeate the balmy eventide air.
I shiver in awareness, a bead of condensation drizzling down my spine.
“Look up,” a deep voice says from inches behind me.
On the surface of the river, the water lord’s shadow bleeds with mine. His breath stalks between my shoulder blades, and my nipples toughen from that Fae accent.
Beside me, Elixir leans casually against the ship while I look up, gazing high, high, high into a crater. Beyond, a ring of white blazes in a fathomless sky littered with teal, gold, and white stars. The vision resembles the base of a circlet or crown, a globe missing its center, or an iris surrounding a pupil.
“The Middle Moon,” Elixir intones. “The one night when the moon’s center goes dark, as it did millennia ago when the fauna first appeared in this wild.”
“It’s surreal,” I say. “Beautiful.”
“Yes.”
That voice is directed toward me, furious and ravenous. I can’t say anything. The Faeries make enough noise for us, cheering at the sight as we drift past the open firmament.
“You are wearing the clothes I sent you?” he rasps, referring to the fleeting caress of my skirt earlier.
“I’m wearing them,” I confirm. “The outfit is lovely. It fits as if it were made for me.”
“It was. In The Solitary Mountain, my brother Cerulean is well acquainted with an expert tailor. The Fae wove ripples from the lily pond for the suit, along with mer scales for the skirt. I did not foresee this race, but a garment from the pond shall enable you to bond with any body of water and pass through it like a fish.”
“It was made from the lily pond?”
He lowers his voice. “I wanted you to feel that place. I wanted you to feel it holding you.”
His accent is equal parts desire and uncertainty, as if unsure whether he’s explaining himself correctly. But I understand. He’s explaining himself so well, I feel his response swirling around my knees. I’m wearing the lily pond, where are we gave ourselves to each other.
We wheel to face one another, my breathing shallow, and his deep. The proximity stunts my intakes and his outtakes.
Elixir’s black eyebrows crinkle, plagued by a sudden thought. “I wish I could see you in this outfit. I should like to trace it, peel it from your body, and bear your exquisite tits while you moan. If we were alone, I would take you against the prow of this ship, while the water rages beneath.”