Page 34 of Taken By the Storm King

“If you had this all along, why not offer it sooner?” I blurted.

His gaze dropped momentarily. “Because it creates a deep bond. The pearl doesn’t just translate words---it conveys cultural memory, context, secrets. To give it to an outsider...” He exhaled slowly. “It’s not done lightly. It requires absolute trust. From both sides.”

I studied his face. “What changed?”

“Everything.” His eyes met mine again. “When the Mersai attacked you, I realized keeping you separate from our language was keeping you vulnerable. And I realized I trusted you with not just my words, but with everything they might reveal.”

My heart pounded in my chest. “How does it work?”

“It connects to your mind.” He hesitated. “It’s intimate in a different way than what we just shared.”

The thought sent a thrill through me, though I wasn’t entirely sure why. “Will it hurt?”

“No.” He unfastened the clasp. “May I?”

I nodded, turning so he could place it around my neck. His fingers brushed my skin as he fastened the chain, and I felt a jolt at the contact that had nothing to do with the pearl.

The pendant settled against my skin, cool at first, then warming rapidly. Within seconds, a tingling sensation spread from my chest up through my neck, branching out behind my ears and into my skull. Not painful, but strange---like the fizzing of carbonated water inside my head.

Thalassar spoke, but not in Standard. The fluid, musical language I’d heard him use with his people flowed from his lips.

To my shock, I caught fragments of meaning---“how” and “feel” and something about “connection.”

“I understood part of that,” I said, wonder in my voice.

He smiled. “The pearl remembers our language. It will feed it to you slowly, building connections in your mind with what you already know.”

“Say something else.”

He spoke again, this time more slowly, and I caught more words---“pearl,” “stronger,” “time,” “wear.”

“It gets stronger the longer I wear it?” I guessed.

Thalassar nodded, looking pleased. “Exactly. By tomorrow, you’ll understand simple conversations. In a few days, much more.”

I touched the pearl, feeling it warm under my fingertips. “Can I speak it too?”

“Try.”

I recalled a greeting I’d heard Maris use. The sounds felt strange on my tongue, but I mimicked them as best I could. As I spoke, the pearl glowed faintly against my skin.

Thalassar’s eyes widened. “That was... nearly perfect.”

Pride surged through me. “The pearl helps, doesn’t it? I can feel it... suggesting the right sounds somehow.”

“Yes. It works both ways.” He touched the pearl, his fingers brushing against my collarbone. “It’s responding to you strongly. That’s unusual for a first bonding.”

“Is that good?”

“It’s... interesting.” His expression turned serious. “Lucy, about the attack. I believe you were targeted specifically.”

I frowned. “Why would they target me?” As he began to respond in his language, I caught fragments again---“outsider” and “danger” among them.

“They fear what you represent,” he continued in Standard. “Change. Unknown variables.”

“But why risk attacking inside your palace? That seems desperate.”

Thalassar’s jaw tightened. “It was unprecedented. Which is why I’m concerned there might be sympathizers within my court.”

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