Page 43 of The Dark, Dead, Deep

“Does your head hurt?” He clasped his hands behind his back after I waved him away.

My smile was tight-lipped. “I’m well, don’t worry. Just tired.”

Tormalugh’s endless eyes narrowed before he nodded, accepting my answer. “I came to get you for the welcome dinner. Elsbeth was very explicit that I should make sure you attend.”

I glanced towards the window. “The welcome dinner is for Elsbeth?”

“And our traveling party. Though we continue onto Tarsainn in the morning.” Tormalugh scratched his neck. “If you expect a boon for freeing my sister, you’re mistaken.”

My brow arched. “Clearly, I anticipated being held captive by a group of enemy soldiers and taken back to the Reeds. This was my plan all along. Whatever should I ask for?” Sarcasm rolled off my tongue. “Perhaps my weight in gold and silver. Or a limitless amount of favors, should I need to muddle the minds of any potential suitors.”

“Do you have many then?”

“Many what?” I frowned.

“Suitors.” The kelpie’s lips twitched, and I got the impression he was making fun of me.

I crossed my arms over my chest. “Too many to count.” I waved my hand dismissively.

“Is that so?” His gaze traveled over my body slowly, and I shifted under his regard. It felt too intimate as he eyed the curve of my hips to the swell of my breasts. I couldn’t tell if he liked what he saw or found it wanting. His impassive mask was flawless and flawlessly frustrating.

Tormalugh blinked, coming back to himself. “Why did you do it?”

“Become a captive?” I put my hand on my hip

He shook his head. “Free my sister.”

I sighed, allowing my palms to face the ceiling as I gestured, exasperated. “I just left the door open. Elsbeth freed herself.”

Tormalugh grunted. “You should dress and come to the meal. You’ll need your strength for the journey tomorrow.”

I closed my eyes, inhaling deeply to center myself before I nodded in agreement. “Promise that someone won’t try to kill me?” I joked.

Tormalugh blinked slowly. “I can’t promise that,” he said, in his no-nonsense way, before leaving me to my thoughts and a basin filled with soap-silt.

Once I had washed and dressed in one of the many outfits in the guest closet, I paced the room before my rumbling stomach decided that I would attend the welcome dinner.

Every kelpie in the Reeds had to know that I was undine. Perhaps they hadn’t seen me for what I was, surrounded by other fae, but in the open, it would be evident from the pearls embedded in my skin and the scales that dusted my arms.

Each fae creed had its own physical markers of webbing and gills and the occasional dusting of scales and, in the case of the merfolk, tails. Only undine had embellishments in their skin. Family markers of our bloodlines. Pearls, gems, scales of gold, or any number of precious things.

I brushed my hands down the front of my borrowed gown, feeling the flimsy thin silk under my shaking fingers. The crimson fabric was skintight save for two long trains that curled around my biceps and floated behind me like two bleeding wrists in the water as they danced on the currents.

I steeled myself and opened the door, immediately being greeted by two kelpie guards that mirrored my pace as I swam down the corridor and towards the banquet hall. I didn’t need direction as I followed the sound of clicking silverware and muffled conversation—amplified by the rock walls and funneled through the cave system of the city.

I didn’t give much thought to the guards, as I was used to that kind of presence from my life back in Cruinn. I realized that Tormalugh must have sent them when I found the Kelpie Prince pacing outside the banquet hall, his entire body taut with tension until his eyes met mine.

“I see you made it here safely.” He sniffed. “You had me worried after you asked for protection.”

I ignored the question in his words as I stretched out my arms, and the two crimson silk trains fluttered at my side. “Here I am,” I said, injecting joy into my voice. “Punctual and unharmed.”

“Punctual?” Tormalugh waved a hand in my direction. “You’re an hour late.” He wore the same outfit as when he came to my room: a dark tunic and thin whale leather that I had seen some other males wearing. A silver circlet, a shock against his black hair, sat on his head.

I crossed my arms over my chest. “I’m surprised there isn’t a groove worn into the stone from your pacing if I am as late as you say.”

Tormalugh scoffed. “At least you’re dressed. ThankBelisama.”

I had nothing to say to that as my brows crept up my forehead. The calm and detached man had gone, and in his place was a nervous nightmare. My eyes narrowed. “Are you okay?” I asked. “You seem rattled.”

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