Page 61 of The Dark Sea Calls

Elsbeth’s eyes widened enough that they were in danger of falling out of their sockets. “Pardon?” the word hitched into a disbelieving squeal. “I thought you said that you came through the cursed silver? The one our father had locked away?”

“Is it cursed?” My chair creaked against the stone as I sat forward, unapologetic in my eavesdropping. “Or is it just a thing he said. Like,that cursed thing?”

Tor rolled his eyes. “I don’t remember. I was young.”

Elsbeth clicked her tongue. “Father said our silver was only meant to work one way. To return home. He gifted three to our allies should we ever need to use them. This was hundreds of years ago. Once King Irvine took the throne, the lake was different. The magic of the silvers didn’t work quite right. Father used to say that the silvers were the gods' tears and that the gods were angry when King Irvine took the High Throne.”

“They didn’t work right?” Rainn glanced at us, finally interested in our conversation instead of his food.

Elsbeth shook her head. “If you don’t know the set destination a silver leads to, often you could walk through one and end up in another world. One without water, air, or magic. Everyone knows that.”

Elsbeth licked her bottom lip, her eyes taking on a salacious glint. “It’s said that Sídhe have gotten lost in the silvers. It’s said that something iseatingthem.”

Tor scoffed. “Tales for children to keep them quiet and to bed on time. No one has been eaten by a silver.” He waved a hand to himself. “Case and point.” Tor opened his mouth to continue before his attention snagged on another Sídhe’s approach.

I recognized the male from my previous visit, but his name escaped me. His dark hair was slicked away from his face, and his hands were knitted together in front of him.

Tormalugh nodded once. “Shade,” he stated. “Good morning.”

Shade dipped his head in greeting. His eyes flicked to mine before resting on Tormalugh. “Welcome back.”

“I wasn’t gone for long.” Tor blinked. “I hope nothing untoward happened in my absence?”

“Save for my wife and her ongoing lament about eating at home when you’re not in attendance at the castle.” Shade chuckled, searching for a chair. One of the servants darted forward and arranged one on the table's edge for him—Shade must have been important if he was allowed to sit at the Royal table. “Tarsainn has sent several missives past the front line to Cruinn.”

“Have you managed to intersect any of them?” Rainn interrupted to ask.

Shade placed his hand on his chest, offended. “Tarsainn are our allies. Why would I intersect their communications?”

Tor held out his hand expectantly. Shade grinned and pulled a small sheet of enchanted vellum from his pocket, thrusting it into Tor’s waiting fingers.

“Shade is my spymaster,” Tor explained as he unfolded the note with a frown.

“I know everything,” Shade added darkly.

Rainn leaned in, his lips widening with a grin. “What color is my underwear?”

Shade scoffed but didn’t answer the question. “The Mer-king announced Maeve Cruinn as his bride and then placed a bounty on her head a few days later.” He avoided glancing my way as he spoke. “I was under the impression that the Undine princess was Shíorghrá to you, Tormalugh, and perhaps, to the others. The Selkie prince and the Nymph?”

I grabbed my wine, draining the cup in one swallow. Suddenly I wanted to be anywhere else but at the royal table, being grilled about marriages, matings, and politics.

“Tarsainn marches on Cruinn, as Cormac told us he would.” Tor frowned down at the note. “It seems that they wish to make an exchange. They won’t attack the city if Maeve is given to Tarsainn.”

“In exchange for what?” Rainn frowned.

“They have an Undine, Liam Cruinn, in their possession.” Tor folded the note and handed it back to Shade.

My heart stopped, and I froze. Confusion bled into grief, finally settling on anger. “Liam Cruinn is King Irvine’s named heir. His stepson.”

“You know him well?” Rainn turned to face me.

I nodded, rubbing my hand over my mouth. “I thought he was dead. That he didn’t survive the Frosted Sands…” My fingers shook. I blinked, unable to clear my vision. I stood up so quickly that my chair fell behind me; suddenly, I couldn’t breathe. The world was closing in on me.

Was Liamalive?

Tor and Rainn looked up at me, still seated, with confusion on their faces.

A moment before, I had been admiring their features. Thinking about our nights together and knitting together their small kindnesses. Allowing my stomach to leap and my heart to flutter every time one of their hands brushed mine, or they looked at me out of the corners of their eyes.

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