Page 60 of The Dark Sea Calls

“Uh-huh,” Tor replied, his tone as dry as Belisama’s Cradle. “I didn’t exactly give her much choice when I told her I was going to find you both. She also might be angry that I came home and didn’t let her know immediately.”

“Elsbeth is an angry female.” Rainn nodded sagely.

I stifled a laugh, hiding my mouth behind my knuckle. “You’re both idiots. And I suppose you both think she’s angry all the time simply because she’s always angry atyou.” I gestured to Tor with a flick of my wrist.

Tor leaned over the side of the bed and grabbed his discarded tunic. “I am a perfectly adequate big brother. I didn’t eat her as a youngling, though I tried many times.”

Rainn and I exchanged a glance.

“Kelpies.” Rainn shrugged as if sayingwhat can you do?

Tor pulled his tunic over his torso before swinging his legs off the side of the bed and picking up his trousers from the floor. “I’ll call for a new dress,” he murmured, his eyes flicking down to my bare chest before he turned away and pulled on the rest of his clothes.

I didn’t know what to expect at breakfast in the main hall.

The Reeds had been more welcoming than I had expected during my previous visit, but I had been with all four of the princelings then, fresh on the heels of rescuing Elsbeth from a life in the Cruinn castle stables.

Tor had asked one of the servants for clothing, and they didn’t disappoint. Cruinn fashions tended towards flowy fabrics highlighting the natural adornments that peppered Undine skin. Kelpies dressed more modestly, the colors dark, and every inch of skin covered from the throat to the heel. The fabric was lightweight, which I hadn't expected, but it held no pattern or embroidery. Undine liked to sparkle; it seemed Kelpies wanted to embody the shadows they lived in.

Rainn and Tor made sure to walk with me, shoulder to shoulder, as we made our way through the palace. As we wove through the Reeds, past the open windows that revealed the lit-up city below and the courtyard that stretched out front to the rippling wall of darkness like an outstretched arm. Dozens of Kelpies passed us, from servers, who tipped their heads and did a slight bow before continuing with their work, to the courtiers who drifted on the currents like specters—stopping, gaping, before discretely following the three of us to the main hall.

The sound of clattering plates and silverware told me we had reached our destination, which was just as well, as my stomach churned with hunger. I needed food more than I feared whatever reaction my presence would garner.

The last time I had been at the Reeds, Tormalugh had made veiled comments about being my mate, which we both knew wasn’t accurate. Undine recognized their Shíorghrá by the glowing markings on their bodies. I wasn’t sure if that was the same for the Kelpies, but it didn’t matter. Tor and I were different creeds; we weren’t destined to have children. Like Rainn and I, the gods would not choose us for one another. Whatever prophecy my mother had spewed in her dying moments was undoubtedly a work of fiction designed to make people believe the impossible.

Everyone knew what happened when two creeds tried to mate outside of their kind. One magic would overpower the other and eat the fetus. The mother rarely survived on the rare occasion that two creeds could cross.

We could fuck as much as we liked. We could spend the rest of our lives together, but we would never be Shíorghrá. That was enough for some people.

Would it be enough for Tormalugh?

Or, had he been protecting me then, the same way that he had protected me back at the Cradle, hiding my presence from my uncle?

Too many thoughts before breakfast.

The doors, as tall as the highest ceiling, stretched thirty feet up as if they had been crafted by giants. Heavy enough that they needed four guards to open them as we approached.

The conversation halted when Tor stepped through the doors, though he showed no sign that he had noticed. We walked down the center of the room through the tables stretching from one end to the other, the throne and the royal table overlooking the entire room, marking our path directly through the masses.

No one left their seats, but no one resumed eating either. The only thing that seemed to move was their eyes, and I felt their gaze on the back of my neck even after I was halfway into the room. Rainn and I followed on Tor’s heels, allowing him to take the lead.

Elsbeth stood up as Tor took the steps and approached the table. Silently, as if by choreographed dance, the servers pulled out his chair and poured him a cup of wine before revealing the silver dome of one of the dishes on the table—no doubt Tor’s favorite.

A moment later, Rainn and I were given chairs on the other side, away from Elsbeth but next to Tor.

The noise in the room returned like a bubble popping, and I felt my relief wash through me.

Tor served himself before he gestured that we should do the same.

No one spoke until we had all finished eating.

Elsbeth scooted closer to her brother. “You left immediately after your coronation. You had half of our people convinced that you would turn yourself to foam on the front lines.”

Tor scoffed. “I told you I was going to see Maeve.”

Elsbeth waved a hand, leaning forward so her brother could hear her hissed words. “You didn’t mention that she was in the Dark Sea,” Elsbeth growled. “How did you return so soon? Even I can’t run fast enough to take the dried river path in less than three days.”

Tor winced. “The cursed silver in the storage room,” he mumbled, turning to his cup and lifting it to his mouth. I had to admit, I kind of liked seeing such a stalwart male wither under his little sisters probing.

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