Page 94 of The Princess of Nothing
“I’ll teach you.”
I grinned. “Perhaps I’ll teach you how to be...” I tapped my finger against my chin. “More prince-like.”
He laughed. “I have zero interest in being a prince. I’m not next in line, not even close. I don’t care for politics. Our people have no real power in Berovia. Why would I care how I came across? If I did, do you really think I’d have shown my family up, broken you out of Xenos’s castle, then whisked you away to start a war with Magaelor?”
“With Edgar, not Magaelor,” I stated. “But I suppose not.”
“Don’t try to change me.”
“Now who’s stubborn?” I joked.
“It must have rubbed off.”
I chuckled. He always had a way of keeping everything lighthearted. Sitting and talking with him was as easy as breathing. I snuggled closer to him. “Really, I like you just the way you are. You should know that.”
He squeezed me tighter.
I sighed. “I’m disappointed the mer king didn’t come to shallow waters to see me.”
“I know.” He brushed my hair back and kissed my forehead. “We can always try again.”
Waves crashed in the distance. I feared we didn’t have time. The war was set into motion, and with the news of my false story of Xenos sending pirates to hurt my father and kidnap me, soon more would try to come to Niferum to join me.
Many by ship, like the ones who couldn’t dock, in the distance.
And they’d be sunk.
Cedric was asleep when the evening fell into night. I moved out from under his arm, scraping my skin against the floorboards, and stood. I couldn’t sleep anyway. I was far too anxious.
I creaked open the door and ran out into the bitter night. If I did nothing, my people wouldn’t be able to reach me. The path in the mountains was too treacherous, narrow, and guarded for everyone to come through. Some did, but they were survivors.
I had to ensure safe passage, no matter the cost. I was their queen, and it was time I started acting like it.
I slid across the icy pebbles and steadied myself as I halted. Sucking in deep breaths, I brought my gaze up to the midnight sky. I could really see the stars tonight. They were beautiful, pricks of silver glistening against the darkness.
I brought my fingers down to my chest and fumbled with my blue stone necklace. When I reached the water’s edge, I pulled off my boots and stepped into the iciness, bracing myself for the sharp pains to sweep up my legs.
The muscles in my legs ticked as I held my dress above the water. “Aqugar.” I held the image of him in my mind and his name on my lips as I reached out through the sea with my thoughts. It was a strange sensation, a sense of oneness for a second. Despite the cold, the rest of my body was warming. Perhaps I was just overtired.
After several minutes, I slumped my shoulders. Tossing my black strands over one shoulder, I walked out of the water, dropping the skirt of my dress around my feet. My staff waited against my boots. The bone handle on the ash wood shone out from the black pebbles that made up the beach. I grabbed it and lifted it into the sky. From the end, lightning cracked upward. It was a useless paralyzing spell but was enough to illuminate the dark ocean, which threatened to pull me in with each lap closer.
In the distance, I saw movement. It started as a ripple, but then I swore I saw steel-colored scales. Straining my eyes, I cracked another spell. Yellow flashed the waves, and I saw it. A large tail flipped out of the water, then a set of cold, calculating wide eyes spotted me. Those of a predator. On his head, hair that resembled seaweed dripped down by his ears, which somehow faded into his skull. A crown of coral was latched onto his head, as if it were alive.
“You requested my presence.” His tone was as icy as the ocean he swam in.
“Yes.”
“Have you found them?”
“Not yet,” I said quickly. “I will, but I can’t get them unless I defeat my cousin and become queen of Magaelor again. I know you’ve been pushed out of the waters by Edgar. He’s placed spells shielding the shores. You don’t want that. It’s your home, your territory.”
Waves rippled around his muscular body. “What is it you are asking of me?”
At least he was straight to the point. I appreciated that. “Allow ships to pass through here and dock. I need my men, my army, to arrive safely so I can defeat my cousin and reclaim my throne. If you help me, I will be one step closer to finding the rest of the objects and uniting them. I know where they are. Most of them anyway. Blaise is helping me. Will you help, please?”
“Yes. Your ships may pass through.”
He disappeared under the surface, and with a final splash from his tail, he swam deeper into the black depths. My thank-you was still on my tongue. “I will let them know then.”
