Page 80 of Midnightsong
Kaden burst out laughing, covering his mouth so he wouldn’t spit out what was left of the paste still on his upper palate. Cyrus was laughing too, and the sound warmed Kaden’s heart. It felt like it had been so long since they spent time like this together, reminding Kaden of the time when he found a piece of rotten kelp in his dish when they were children. Cyrus had his head turned, and Kaden switched out his kelp with a fresh piece of Cyrus’. Once Cyrus found out Kaden did it, he spent the night chasing Kaden through the palace to give him a piece of his mind.
“Thanks for that. My stomach is killing me now. Always knew you were fast. You were back then, too.” Cyrus put his hands behind his head and leaned against the wall behind him.
“I may be faster, but you were always the stronger one,” Kaden remarked.
“Ah, that’s why we make a good team. We compensate for each other’s weaknesses,” Cyrus replied.
“And strengths.”
“You’re still averse to taking the throne for yourself?” Cyrus asked.
“I don’t know,” Kaden muttered. “I doubt I would do a good job.”
“Why do you feel that way? You truly have so little belief in your own abilities?” Adrielle asked, stroking Libbi’s hair, who had fallen asleep on the princess’ tail.
Hadrien swam his way to Kaden, and sat on the edge of the hammock, trying to balance himself, fluttering his arms and tail.
Kaden stayed mum. His mother’s and uncle’s teasing when he was younger filled his mind.
“Why can’t you be more like Cyrus? Look how much he’s achieved and how much he’s eager to learn.”His mother.
“Are you sure you want to take on such an ambitious project? It might be better if you start smaller, stick with only this queendom.”His uncle, when, as an adolescent, Kaden excitedly shared with him his ambitions of undertaking to explore and document the deep sea, learning of new species and discovering hidden treasures of not only their queendoms, but also neighboring ones.
Kaden’s chin trembled, and a compulsion to flee struck him at the thought of admitting their comments to Adrielle and Cyrus.
He averted his gaze and stared absently at the rock ceiling. “I, erm, I’ll figure it out and address it.”
“That’s a good idea,” Cyrus remarked.
Adrielle called them, and Kaden gave her his attention. “Marina is here, so I’m going to accompany her to get us something to eat. I’ll return shortly.”
Libbi and Hadrien’s keeper, Marina, took their hands, and Libbi awoke with a small cry of protest. Once Adrielle left with them, Cyrus made ahmphsound. “The twins are growing fast. I would give anything to be out of here and at their sides. One child is energy-draining, and Adrielle has to deal with two, without my help.”
“But you’re able to spend time with them now. And they’re here with you while you recover.” Kaden cocked an eyebrow. “Hopefully it won’t be much longer?”
“I’m unsure.” Cyrus looked toward his lap. “It’s as if I’ve reached a plateau in my recovery. I don’t understand it. Raina and her healers don’t either, but their new medicines are helping.” He motioned to Kaden with his head. “How is your own condition? You haven’t had symptoms lately, have you?”
Kaden shrugged. “Not recently, no. But I’ve also been out for some time.”
“True.”
The two continued their banter until Adrielle swam back in, with a pack slung around the top part of her tail. Kaden knew it held food inside, and his stomach growled.
Thank the Goddess, she had brought enough for both of them. She produced two handfuls of candied, thick kelp from her pack, handing it to both princes. Then, two more handfuls of shiny and crisp pink and white seagrass flowers.
Kaden thanked her and popped the crisp, light petals into his mouth, sating his hunger for now. He laid his head back down on the hammock as Adrielle leaned in to kiss Cyrus and stayed beside him. The two ate kelp and flowers together, their conversation switching to something that lost his interest.
His thoughts turned to Angie. He needed to tell her what happened, as soon as he got hold of his seaflute again. And apologize profusely.I’m sorryneeded to be the first words out of his mouth. So much time had passed since he heard her voice, since he held her in his arms, since he ran his hands through her long, silky hair.
The herbs kicked in then. His head became woozy, his eyelids heavy.
Adrielle and Cyrus’ chatter grew muffled, and Kaden let much-needed sleep overtake him.
Thirty-Four
Angie
Kaden picked up his seaflute afterthe third day of Angie trying to ring him. The relief of hearing his voice turned her knees to jelly, and she collapsed stomach-first onto her bed.
