Page 40 of The Dark, Dead, Deep

Cormac bared his teeth. “I live to excite you, sweetheart.” His voice dripped with sarcasm.

“I would enjoy using a knife to skim every scale from your tail,” I retorted, looking down my nose at him.

“Two legs,” Cormac snarled.

“Fish bum,” I bit back.

“Children,” Shay crooned. “Behave.”

I turned away, tilting my nose in the air. “He started it.”

Shay and Tor snorted in unison.

Cormac’s high cheekbones were dusted pink, though I suspected it was due to anger. “We’ll be at the Reeds soon enough,” he snapped his crimson tail and propelled himself in front of us. “Do keep up.”

I recognized the feel of the water from my time on the High Throne—when I would expand my consciousness to the edges of the Twilight Lake and report back to my uncle.

It was strange to be in the familiar waters in bodyandmind. I had been conditioned to expect headaches and nose bleeds whenever I looked beyond Cruinn. The absence of pain was jarring, though I recognized the barren stretches of open water that had been abandoned where battles had been fought and lost.

We skimmed the front line, passing the edge of the war front. The water was heavy with death, but still because of the ceasefire for the migration.

The Reeds were deeper than any other part of the lake. I had heard whispers that the kelpie rarely left their city, hidden on the lake’s edge. The water had carved a lip in the cliff’s edge, and a wall of reeds hung over, giving the city its name and concealing the kelpie territory.

As we dove deeper, I had no idea what to expect. My eyes struggled to adjust for a moment as darkness swallowed us.

Tor seemed to know where he was going, and several other kelpie darted forward to fence in the other soldiers. The only sign of their presence was the shine of their eyes glowing in the water—their coats too dark to see.

I caught a glimpse of faelight, flickering as the wall of black reeds shifted in the water.

The soldiers made no move to cut through the flora but waited for the strands to part, revealing a shining city carved into the rock.

Tor and the other kelpie ushered us to a runway at the city’s base. The sheer expansive size of the kelpie territory was all the more intimidating.

I had not spent much time in the city of Cruinn, though the palace was located in the very center. My entire world was one building, separate from the rest of the undine by a bridge and a moat of darkness.

I couldn’t even imagine what it would be like to grow up in a city of lights. Just as the thought flitted across my mind, a young female on two legs burst from the doors at the end of the runway. Swimming as fast as her form could carry her, her dark curly hair streaming behind like an ominous cloud, though all of her teeth were bared in a smile that was as bright as the city lights.

“Tor!” the young female cried as she raced towards me. It took a moment to realize that she was heading for Tormalugh. I tried to dismount, but his coat held me to his back.

The young female kelpie could have been my age, though it was challenging to gauge maturity when the Sídhe were immortal.

Tor whinnied, startled as the female fae threw her hands around his neck. He immediately began to shift. One moment I was on his back, and the next, I was thrown to the floor as the dark-haired kelpie clasped the young woman to his chest.

“Elsbeth.” Tor frowned. “How?”

A twinge of jealousy struck my chest like a switch. The kelpie named Elsbeth pulled back and scanned the crowd, gasping when her eyes met mine. “You brought her! Oh, Tormalugh! You brought her.” Excitement filled her dark eyes and made them sparkle like a starry night.

“Elsbeth—” Tor stepped in front of her, but the young kelpie darted around him and raced toward me.

I tensed, unsure what to expect, as Elsbeth threw her arms around me.

“You freed me,” Elsbeth whispered as she buried her head in my hair. “I was certain the undine could kill or keep me as a slave. I owe you my life.”

It took a moment for my mind to catch up as I lifted my hands and patted her back. “You’re the kelpie from the stables,” I said numbly.

Elsbeth squeezed me once before letting go. “Princess Elsbeth Dorcha of the Shadowhock clan.” She bowed her head. “Naturally, you’ve met my brother, Tormalugh.”

Chapter 8

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