Page 37 of The Dark Will Rise

“No,” I said, and I meant it. “I know what the throne does. How it feels. Sometimes I thought about escaping, just so my uncle wouldn’t make me sit on that damned chair. I was almost relieved when he told me that he planned for me to marry someone and leave the castle. King Irvine had my whole life planned out. Shipping me off to be an undine courtier’s wife the moment I reached my magical majority.”

Tor remained silent, but I felt his thoughts churning.

“What?” I wondered.

“Why would your uncle send you away from the castle?” Tor pondered, finishing a braid and letting it drop. “If he continued using you to access the High Throne, surely he would need you nearby. Under his thumb.”

“I thought that too,” I admitted, handing over another hairpin. “I never understood why he sent those guards after me. To kill me. Maybe I was a loose end.”

“It certainly wouldn’t have been the first time that King Irvine Cruinn did something heinous for no reason other than cruelty.” Tor sniffed derisively. “If I counted off the horrible things he did using fingers, I’d need to borrow several sets of hands. Not excluding all of the things he did to you.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat, making it difficult to speak. “You’re close with Elsbeth,” I noted, changing the subject. “I had always wished for a sibling.”

Tor finished another braid and began twisting them together to fashion my hair into an elaborate style I would have never been able to accomplish alone.

“She’s my closest friend.” Tor chuckled to himself. “And the biggest pain in my ass. Ever since she changed forms for the first time, she would slip her minders and explore the lake. Listening to conversations she shouldn’t. She’s just as good with a blade as any man but thrice as deadly because they underestimate her.”

“She’s faster than you in her equine form,” I told him.

Tor nudged my shoulder. “Don’t tell her that, I’ll never hear the end of it.” Tor finally finished my hair, carefully sliding the last pin at the nape of my neck.

I twisted to face him. Tor placed his hand on my cheek, tilting my eyes to meet his.

We sat in silence. I closed my eyes as he cupped my cheek, brushing his thumb over the pearl scar under my eye.

There was so much I wanted to say, but at that moment, nothing needed to be said.

Rainn stirred, sitting up and rubbing his stomach. “Do you think they’ll be serving breakfast?” He muttered, not even opening his eyes.

Outside the camp, the air grew still before a shrill horn echoed from the water. My stomach fluttered, and a sense of dread poisoned my blood, making me grow colder with every heartbeat.

Tor’s hand dropped from my face as he stood up. The absence of his touch left me chilled as he walked to the tent door, pulling open the fastening and sticking his head out to look. A moment passed and then another before he came back inside.

It didn’t escape my notice that he grabbed his belt with the knife in its holster.

“The Mer have arrived,” Tor said gravely.

We dressed quickly, feeling the threat of the Mer breathing down our necks.

Though they were at the nymph village for a celebration, the last time I had been face to face with a legion of Mer, I’d been stabbed in the back by their king.

The Mer were responsible for the frosted sands; they killed many younglings who were migrating from Cruinn. The sacred lagoon had been stained with their blood, and though I hadn’t felt kinship with many of the undine my age the way Moira or Liam had, such a loss of life made my heart ache. Lady Bloodtide had tried to kill me. Cormac Illfinn had stabbed me in the back, and I’d felt my life end. I’d felt myself turn to foam.

Every time I had encountered the Mer, I had been left covered in blood and afraid.

I wished I had armor covering every inch of my skin.

Most of the clothing the selkies had gifted me for our journey was in the Skala beach fashion. Shimmering silver, the same tarnished color as Rainn’s hair. The dress gathered at my throat, held by a necklace circling my throat, leaving my arms free.

I should have asked for armor. The thick plated silver that I’d seen the selkie guards wear. I didn’t feel prepared to face any Mer, let alone one of the courtiers sent to wish Shay Mac Eoin well on his wedding day.

The guest village was full of life, with many of the nymphs helping armored Mer bring boxes and food ashore, no doubt gifts for the happy couple.

Though on land, a Mer looked like any other water fae. No tail, scales, or markings to denote them as such, I could sense who belonged to which creed the way I had always been able to. As if they had been claimed by the lake and, by extension, me.

The mer moved stiffly as if they weren’t used to walking on two legs. Often looking down at their feet. All water fae took some time to adjust to walking unless they had spent some time on the land, but Mer seemed to have an especially hard time with it—going from a single tail to two legs.

Rainn, Tor, and I had been the subject of many stares the previous evening, but our presence went ignored as the nymphs scurried about, whispering with glee about their Mer guests. It seemed the nymphs had a closer relationship to the Mer than I had expected. However, I shouldn’t have been surprised based on their proximity to Tarsainn.

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