Page 50 of The Dark, Dead, Deep

I couldn’t afford to warm to them.

There was only one person I could trust, and that was me. Just as it always had been.

When the sun crested the sky, and the lake began to shift its colors, we stopped on the edge of a village. Silent and still, without another soul for miles.

The buildings stood, squat and maintained save for a few broken doors swinging in the currents and litter blocking the paths between the houses.

I had never seen such a small settlement before.

The palace in Cruinn felt like a town unto itself, and the city across the bridge was always bright and busy no matter the hour. Even the Reeds had been filled to the brim with life.

The village wasn’t more than a few hours from the Reeds at a leisurely pace, but it was like a different world—abandoned and lifeless.

“What happened here?” I whispered, pressing the tips of my fingers to my lips.

Shay eyed me curiously, cocking his head to the side. His braids seemed to shift as I drew their attention. He said nothing, though his judgment was so heavy that I felt it press on my shoulders.

Clearly, whatever had happened to the village was something I should have been aware of.

Every moment I was finding out just how sheltered I had been, and I didn’t like it. My ire rose like a conger eel, and my eyes narrowed as I prepared a retort.

Tor cleared his throat, cutting off whatever insult I was preparing. “Your uncle placed a curse on this place.”

“Aren’t the Reeds protected from such a thing?” I frowned.

Tor smiled, but it was sad. “This may be a kelpie settlement, but the protection wanes close to the border. Your uncle cursed this place, for every drop of undine blood spilled in kelpie waters, a drop of iron will poison the blood of those that reside in the village.”

“My uncle is a weaver,” I told them.

“Look at the ground.” Tor gestured to the lake bed and several pieces of broken wire laying in the sand. It must have surrounded the village at some point.

I shuddered. It was just the kind of curse that my uncle liked to favor. The type that harmed someone for defending themselves and making them think twice about resisting.

I couldn’t stop the guilt from choking me.

I didn’t have to ask how my uncle would have known where the magical protections were weaker than others. It was the type of information I had used the High Throne for, though I wasn’t aware of what secrets spilled from my lips when the pain started.

We didn’t stay in the village long, but as I caught a glimpse of a child’s toy in the street as our group continued onto Tarsainn, I couldn’t help but wonder if they had shown me the village on purpose.

Chapter 10

We made our way down from the abandoned village to a chasm between two sheer rock faces. The silt and the sand from above shifted with the current, giving the effect of a waterfall beneath the waves, my hearing stolen by a thunderous rumble as we approached.

The darkness in the chasm filled me with the same feeling as the Abyss surrounding Cruinn. The deep was hungry. It raised every hair and scale on my body. I was on edge, but judging from the lack of reaction from the princelings, or the trained guards that surrounded us, only I could feel the change in the water.

I stopped swimming, causing the person behind me to slam into my back. I would have apologized, but I was too shaken to even consider it.

“Watch where you’re going,” Cormac Illfin cursed, and his tail swished with irritation. “If you think this is the time to escape, be my guest. I’d like to see you outswim a selkie in their seal form.” Cormac crossed his arms over his broad, tattooed chest.

My eyes flicked to the chasm. “We shouldn’t go through there,” I said, unable to lift my voice over a deathbed whisper.

Cormac’s brow creased. “It’s the fastest way to Tarsainn, and we cannot delay any longer.”

I pulled my lip between my teeth.

Cormac rolled his eyes and swam forward, unwilling to talk anymore. I acknowledged that he had saved me back on the Frosted Sands, but I would be dead before I thanked him and placed myself in his debt.

A moment later, Shay took his place.

---