Page 40 of Whispers Beneath the Deep
And he wanted me to take him out on a tour of Eramaea, I thought, bewildered, as I pulled out a dress from the closet. It was bright yellow. I didn’t even know anything about the city. It was as foreign to me as his own kingdom was. In all my life I’d never been out of Lagoona until the day Captain Saber had recruited me.
I yanked the dress over my head and smoothed it down my tail. I didn’t notice much about it except it was a tuft of material, and long sheer sleeves. Running my fingers through my hair, pulling it behind my neck in a chignon.
I took a look at myself in the mirror. I supposed I looked decent, though not entirely royal. It was… simple. No jewelry adorned my neck or ears, my wrists were bare, and I’d never felt less like a royal than I did at that moment.
It’s not like it mattered one way or another. I wasn’t making a difference pretending to be her, nor would I make a difference pretending to be myself.
After everything appeared to be tucked into place, I took a deep, calming breath and went to the door.
Prince Kai was no longer on the other side of the rooms. One of his advisors was there, and a group of my own guards and his.
“We’re to escort you to the stables.” Kai’s advisor bowed to me. It was still bewildering that mer bowed, when everyone here was likely higher ranked than I was.
They led me down to the stables where Prince Kai was smoothing down the mane of a hippocampus tethered to a shell carriage.
He was staggeringly beautiful, and a little out of place next to the fuchsia hippocampus. Red robes flowed from his body, embroidered with a gold and black dragon as well as a pattern of flowers. A black sash was tied tightly around his waist. There was a theme to his clothing that breathed elegance and power.
“Ready, Princess?”
He was looking at me with intent. Gone was the blush from his cheeks. In his eyes, there was a glow, so brief it seemed I’d imagined it. He gave me a smile that was both warm and cold, yet innately his own.
“Of course.” A smile is what I gave, hoping he couldn’t see the nervous quiver in my lower lip.
His gaze went there for the briefest of seconds. Thankfully, he didn’t comment on it. Instead, he took my hand, bent over it, and pressed a kiss to my knuckles. Immediately, a feeling I’d grown accustomed to surfaced. Of nerves and a fluttering in my stomach and my heart.
“After you.” He helped me onto the carriage, an enormous shell that closed off at the top in a curve. I would have preferred an open carriage, but didn’t argue as I sat in the soft cushioning. Kai settled in beside me, and at the snap of a whip, the two hippocampi took off at a steady swim.
My eyes stayed on the flicking of their long, serpentine tails. The beasts still unnerved me.
Kai pulled my attention back to him easily enough. “Where would you like to go?”
His question made my fingers tighten in my lap. I knew nothing of Eramaea. Nothing except that brief tour I’d been given by the Black Blade. Was it wrong, somehow, to take Kai to a place that could easily be deemed mine and Elias’?
I didn’t have a choice.
I stuck my head from the carriage space window and gave the brisk command to the driver. He snapped the reins as I pulled my head back in.
The rest of the way was spent in companionable silence. Words were on the tip of his tongue. I caught him looking at me with yearning, though it was obvious he was unsure on how to bring up a conversation.
Finally, he spoke, but his voice was solemn. “I heard you were inquiring on marriage contracts. More specifically,ourmarriage contract…”
Freezing, I tried to steady my sudden labored breathing. Gods. This was why I hadn’t wanted his guards trailing after me. What had they told him? Probably everything. I could only hope that he didn’t want to go to war because of my desperate inquiries.
“Princess?”
I couldn’t bring myself to look at him. My hands were clasped tightly in my lap, my back rigid straight. My heart jumped, and jumped.
“Do you wish to break our marriage contract?” he asked coolly, darkly, and in his voice I heard the traces of the dragon. An entity separate from the prince, yet wholly himself. Something dangerous that lived within him, that I’d caught glimpses of in passing.
Instead of answering, I looked out the window and saw we were in the same park I’d been at with Elias a few days ago.
“You can stop here, please!” I ordered the driver quickly. He pulled the beasts to a halt. I didn’t want to wait for Kai to hand me down, but he beat me to it, opening the door and swimming down. Instead of offering me his hand, though, he reached up in the floating carriage and grabbed me around the waist. He lifted me down easily. I had to hold on to his shoulders for extra support, in case my fin gave out and I fell.
When we were both steady near the ground, I found I could scarcely move. We stayed like that, hands on waist and shoulders. I could feel the water leaving my lungs, along with any traces of courage I might’ve had left. He was looking at me with that gleam of danger in his eyes. Still he didn’t let go. Almost as if he was awaiting my answer and wouldn’t release me until I gave it.
An answer Icouldn’tgive him with honesty. I couldn’t tell him why I was really interested in the marriage contract, not without divulging every little thing. Who I was, and why I was here.
I let out the slowest of breaths. “I don’t wish to end our marriage contract.”
