Page 24 of Secrets Among the Tides
She was wearing the rags of a commoner, a black military jacket over it. Her hair was unkept and slightly tangled behind her back. But what surprised me the most was the respectable bow she was presenting me with.
“Your Majesty, forgive me, I didn’t see ya,” she whispered breathlessly. Her gaze was still lowered and something about her voice, the way she pronounced and spoke the words seemed…off.
“Excuse me?” I asked.
She cleared her throat and straightened to look me in the eyes. “What I mean to say is,” she began so quickly in her Thalassarin accent, that I forgot she’d even sounded odd in the first place. “Forgive me for running into you in such a way. I was in a hurry and didn’t see you as I rounded the corner, your Majesty.”
Your Majesty?I looked her over. Strange. She was acting so strange. “Princess, I was told you were ill. That you required constant bed rest for an indefinite amount of time…”
My advisors fanned out at my sides. I could feel their hands hovering at my sides, ready to pull me away from Princess Odele if she so much as coughed. Ever protective, they were. And ever irritating. I fought back the glare I longed to shoot them and instead stared at her.
Her black eyes swept over my advisors before settling back on me. They were wide, and something about them seemed…different. Fearful, even.
“Iwassick, your Highness,” she whispered, almost a little shyly. “But I can assure you, I am well now.”
“I am glad to hear it.” I was sure she could sense the lie the moment it left my lips. It had been peaceful without her, I had to admit. But we were to be married, and I was shunning my duties and honor. I knew my advisors were taking note on the exchange, eager to report back every detail to my father. Forcing a smile to my face, I reached forward and took her hand.
She tensed as I brought her hand up and bowed over it. Strange, how her hands felt so rough and worn. They had been soft before, I could have sworn it. Still, I brought her knuckles up to my lips and pressed a kiss to them.
“Forgive me, Princess, for not greeting you properly.” I dropped her hand gently, felt my lips burn where I’d touched them to her skin. “I was merely surprised at finally seeing you up and about, is all.”
Her face was flaming as she brought her hand—the one I’d kissed—up to her chest and tightened it into a fist. I noticed her every flicker of movement. I eyed her cautiously. She appeared to be nervous, though I couldn’t quite possibly placewhy.Last time I’d seen her, she’d looked down through her nose at me. She’d been rude and quite bratty, frankly.
“Forgive me if I startled you, your Highness.”
She certainly hadn’t called methat.I narrowed my eyes, wondering if this was some type of joke. If she was mocking me. My lips twisted into a smile. “You may call me Kai. Weareto be married, after all.”
“I—uh—” She took a stroke back and tripped. She righted herself by placing a hand on the wall at her side, palm against a painting there. She gasped, jerking her hand away and turned to look fearfully at it, almost as if she’d been afraid her touch would destroy it.
Odd, indeed.
“Are you sure you’re well, Princess Odele?”
“I think so…” she replied distractedly. I followed to where her gaze lay. Paintings in golden gilded frames of her ancestors. Faces of relatives distant and close, dead and alive. I knew them all by name. I’d been forced to learn everything about my betrothed and her family history before I came to this dreadful kingdom. And she’d taken me on a tour through the halls the day of my arrival, her demeanor rather pompous.
“Princess…”
Her hands went up to the painting, fingers tracing the edges of the face painted there. I wondered if this was some sort of test, somehow? She was always testing me, always questioning me. I pushed down my irritation and swam up close to her side. She tensed briefly before relaxing her posture. Yes, there was something changed about her. She even smelt different, too.
“The late Queen Odette,” I said. In case this was a test. So she’d know I’d paid attention. “Your mother.” As if she didn’t already know. That could be why she’d paused, why she fingered the portrait so tenderly. Because that was her mother in the portrait. A mother she had inherited every feature from.
She dropped her hand and turned abruptly to me. The tentative smile she gifted me with was staggering, and something inside me clenched. She never smiled at me unless it was for telly recordings. I looked around cautiously. Maybe there was a recording somewhere and she was trying to catch me unaware.
“Now that you are up, I suspect we will be seeing more of each other?” I almost dreaded her answer.
“I—uh—I mean—”
“Princess!” Princess Odele jumped and turned to face the Captain of her royal guard. He swam quickly over towards them, his posture ever tight. I watched him carefully as he loomed over the Princess, wearing a tight, angry expression on his face. “What are you doing out of your rooms?” he asked quietly.
I raised my brows at him. Since when had he started questioning her? “Captain Saber,” I said in way of greeting. “What a surprise.”
The captain turned to me, his posture ever stiff. He brought his fist to his chest and gifted me with a slight bow that could have been considered mocking. “Prince Kai,” he greeted. “Forgive me.”
“I hadn’t expected to see you back so soon, Captain.” Unlike when I’d first met him, the captain appeared to be a tad distressed. His uniform jacket wasn’t straightened and his short hair was floating all over the place. I knew my advisors were scrutinizing everything, and I fought to keep that judgmental expression off of my own face.
“It was a speedy Selection,” he replied.
Beside him, the Princess stiffened, her eyes glaring daggers at the captain. Interesting.
