Page 52 of The Dark, Dead, Deep

“Why humor me at all?” I flailed my hands, exasperated.

Shay regarded me slowly, and how he looked into my eyes made me feel as if he was peeling my skin away to reveal the soul underneath my scales. “I don’t know,” he admitted. I got the impression that he didn’t like that feeling. “But you have to own it. The moment that you doubt yourself, you invite others to do so as well.”

I gave him a long look. “I take it you never have doubts.”

Shay’s lips twitched. “I’m a nymph; the only thing I have is an erection.”

My nose wrinkled. “Why do I get the impression you are trying to change the subject.”

“Because I am.” His brows raised innocently.

“Okay.” I nodded staunchly. I could appreciate his honesty.

Shay gestured towards the retreating shadows of both Tormalugh and Rainn in the distance in their animal forms. “Come on. We’ve added another day to our journey.”

We headed for the surface until a harsh ledge signaled the end of the deep and the beginning of the land. As the lake bed sloped and the water grew shallow, we pulled ourselves to the surface, feeling the burning sensation of air instead of water.

A moment passed, and then another; as the innate magic washed over me, my gills dissolved into my throat, and my scales folded into pristine skin.

On habit, I pressed my crescent moon freckle, expecting to feel the bump of the pearl in my skin but finding rough skin instead. My fingers came away covered in blood. I had accidentally picked the scab.

My hand folded into a fist, and I tried to recall the face of the guard that had stolen my pearl from me, but I came up empty.

I didn’t know if my memory was faltering because of Tormalugh’s memory charm or the blows to my head. All I knew was that my anger was a boiling ocean without end, with enemies in every direction. I couldn’t trust the undine and the courtiers in Cruinn, and I certainly couldn’t trust the princelings and their guards.

Though my surface experience was limited, I didn’t recognize the shore as our crew padded onto the sand.

The sun had lowered itself over the tree line, shining a blinding light as it set. The air turned cold as the night began to fall.

I glanced at Shay, but the nymph soldiered on ahead towards a break in the trees. He seemed confident about where he was headed, though his braids shifted and chittered as if they couldn’t stay still.

As the waves lashed over my ankles, I watched Tormalugh trot from the water. Though I knew the Kelpie Prince sensed my stare, he ignored me as he followed after Shay.

My stomach twisted, and I didn’t know why.

Tormalugh had spelled me. He had taken my memory, and he had lied to people and said we were to be mated. I wasn’t even aware that full-blooded Sídhe could lie—though I supposed wild-fae might have different rules.

Rainn was last to pull himself from the water. His seal form dragged itself onto the sand with practiced ease. His speckled silver coat shone; he thumped his flippers against the sand once before rolling on his belly. Rainn shifted before my eyes. By the time he faced the darkening sky, he was in his land-form, the silver speckled coat laid at his side as if it was made of velvet.

I studied it for a moment before Rainn snatched it up and folded into itself until it was barely bigger than his palm. He bared his teeth as he chained it to his belt—I wasn’t sure if he was smiling, but if he was, it was more threatening than I had ever expected from the jovial man.

I cleared my throat. “Where are we?” I asked Rainn, unable to meet his eyes. Instead, I focused on his delicate chin on his heart-shaped face.

“Airsir,” Rainn clipped.

“The nymph village?” I frowned. “I thought it was further inland—closer to the Night Court.”

“They fish the lake, or they did before food became scarce.” Rainn pushed his wet hair away from his face. “Not every nymph has enough magic to live under the waves, and the Mac Eoin line withers by the day. If Shay doesn’t marry soon and have children, the nymphs might have to choose another place to call home.”

“Oh.” I glanced towards where the braided man had disappeared through the trees. “Is Shay looking for a bride then?”

“Aye.” Rainn patted his coat, checking it was still attached to his belt. The action clearly born of habit. “Nymphs don’t have the same hierarchy as the other fae, but if they did, he would be the Prince of the Nymphs, to be sure.”

My eyes widened. I had taken to calling them the princelings in my thoughts for Belisama’s sake, but to have my suspicions confirmed only left a sour taste in my mouth.

They were princes.Royalty.

Though I might have shared my name with the king, I was no more royal than the sand on the beach—I had made a pact with myself that I was no longer going to be powerless in the face of my destiny, and yet here I was, shackled to a bunch of princes.

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