Page 17 of Secrets Among the Tides
My hands fisted at my sides and my jaw clenched. Anger surged through me, hot and quick. Insubordinate. Sarcastic. What else would she surprise me with? “Be thankful you got any time at all. It’s more than what other selects receive.”
She scoffed and jerked forward, back towards the tent. She moved too quickly, though, and her fins weren’t strong enough to stop her from falling forward. Everything in me reacted quickly. I rushed forward, wrapping my forearm around her stomach and pulling her up before she could hit the ground.
I blinked and realized that I had her pressed tightly against my chest, so tightly that I was sure she could feel the way my heart pounded against her backside. Her hair had fallen from the confines of the hat, from the too abrupt movement, fanning against the back of her neck. I took in the colorful tendrils and felt something rush through my entire body at the sight.
“Let go of me,” she was breathless, shivering in my arms.
The illusion shattered at the sound of her voice, at the careful anger placed there.Fool!How many times did I have to remind myself thatshe wasn’t the Princessbefore my body understood? Slowly, I released my hold on her and took a stroke back.
Maisie loosed an audible breath and straightened, tucking her hair back into her hat. She didn’t turn around, didn’t give me eye contact as she whispered, “Good night, Captain.” When she started forward, I watched her go and disappear back behind the tent flaps. For a moment, the moonlight shone down on the tent and I was gifted with the moving image of her silhouette. I watched as she climbed onto her mat, pulled a blanket over herself and turned. When I blinked, the image was gone.
And with it, the incessant pounding of my traitorous heart.
CHAPTER TEN
Maisie
THE NEXT MORNING, AFTER A QUICK BREAKFASTof a cold and tasteless marsh salad, we packed up camp and headed out. I barely looked at Captain Saber all morning, though I felt his heavy gaze on me. I’d gotten very little sleep the night before, plagued by thoughts and the memory of his arm wrapped around my waist. My ears had filled with the musical rhythm of his heart against my backside, pounding as if he’d been afraid of what would happen to me.
Maybe a part of me wanted to believe that he did care, but I knew when the hair had fallen from my hat, that he’d most likely been imagining the Princess he cared so much about. The thought shouldn’t have stung—not when I’dcomehere to be her—but it did. But then I pushed those emotions away. It’s not like it mattered, anyway. I needed to stop feeling and startthinking, start coming up with a plan that would help save the kingdom from a war.
So when Captain Saber pulled me up on Geronimo and we marched off, I finally found my voice. “Is there anything I should expect from the royal life?” My hands were tight on Geronimo’s reins, and my voice quivered from the fear of the altitude.
“There is a lot to be expected of you, if you disguise yourself as the Princess.” He’d dropped his voice to a very low whisper, his breath tickling my ear.
“Like what?” I whispered back.
“You will need to learn proper royal etiquette. This includes how to address other royals, fine dining, proper speech, how to swim, lessons on politics; you’ll need to study and memorize everyone in the royal family so that you can address them as Princess Odele would. You will need to learn every single aspect of her life to truly become her.”
“That’s—” I broke off on a gulp. “That’s a lot to learn, don’t ya think?”
“Don’tyouthink,” he replied stiffly.
I twisted to raise an eyebrow at him. His face was the perfect picture of annoyance. “What?”
“It’s ‘That’s a lot to learn, don’tyouthink?’ If you are going to pretend toberoyalty, I suggest you start acting like it. Speak in complete and proper sentences and drop the accent.”
My face flamed with embarrassment and rage so I twisted back around, gaze ahead. He had a point, but it still stung. “Don’t worry yourself,” I said, dropping my accent to mimic his own. The words were properly elegant and lilting. “I think I can manage to speak with intellect.”
His whole body tensed. “Don’t do that,” he demanded harshly.
“Do what?”
“Don’t talk like that.”
“I thought you wanted me to be more eloquent?” I fought back an eye roll. The merman was insufferable.
“Yes, but not here. Certainly not now.” His body moved side to side, and I couldn’t see him, but I imagined him looking around to see if anyone had heard me.
“Why not? Isn’t it better I get the practice in as we go along?” I still hadn’t dropped that strange Eramaean accent. I wondered if I used it enough, would it make my throat hurt?
“You proved you can speak with at least a small amount of elegance. Do not draw attention to yourself by overdoing it.”
Tadpole!
“Fine,” I dropped the accent, replacing it with my own once more. “Then what should I practice?”
“Once we stop, we can work on your swimming.”
