Page 45 of Fate and Flame
“I’m not really interested in your sloppy seconds anyway.”
Lichen turned to face the queen and grunted.
She waved her hand through the air.“Yes, yes. Carry on.”
“The only court Autus didn’t seem interested in was the sea. I tried to make Tolero see that, but he was so blind and disconnected. Then, when his mate showed up, he pushed me even further to the side.”
“I mean, obviously. Did you think you were prettier or something?”
A few chuckles from the crowd had him turning red as he continued. “When Queen Morwena approached me with an offer I couldn’t refuse—”
“Let me guess, she said she’d fix that receding hairline? No, wait, she promised to make you her little sea baby. No, a bigger penis?”
“If you do not stop interrupting me, I’ll have you gagged.”
“Too late, I’m already gagging. Also, I don’t care. You hid in the Flame Court for years and years, poisoned the queen, got stuck with the prince, tried to have me captured in the forest and again with the banshee, which is why it didn’t attack me, and then finally you got your jollies off, completing the final betrayal, poisoning the king. Good story. We done now?”
He stood with his jaw open. He’d probably practiced his little monologue in front of the mirror, and I’d just ruined it for him.
“Not sorry.” I shrugged and smiled in his direction.
He faced Morwena again, fuming.
“Shame we cannot keep her here. I believe she would be quite entertaining.” Morwena dipped her head, and several guards swam forward, grabbed my arms, and dragged me through the castle until the final traces of light faded away and the sea became a black chasm of danger.
A single light illuminated the end of a long hallway, and I was thrown into a pitch-black room. I held my hands up, hoping to find a way to break free of the cuffs, but I couldn’t see a thing. My fae senses were on high alert as my neck crawled—the tingling sensation that meant something ominous lurked in the darkness, watching me. I was blind though. Staying close to the door was the safest thing I could do. I didn’t want to get lost in the depths of the ocean if I had been thrown into a magical endless dungeon.
Time was completely irrelevant here.
Eventually, the door opened, and a tiny glowing female slipped inside. My eyes, adjusting to the light, went instantly to the exit, and she quickly pulled it shut. She, too, wore chains around her wrists, though she carried a tray. The glow from her small frame wasn’t enough to give detail to my prison.
“Hello,” she said in a high-pitched voice. “I’ve brought you some dinner if you’re hungry.”
“I’m not,” I snapped.
“I promise it’s nothing bad. And I’ve brought a second helping of the kelp if you’d like.”
“As if I would trust anyone from the sea.”
“Oh,” she said, her glow dampening. “I’m sorry. I meant to be helpful. I’ll just leave it here then, in case you’d like it later.”
She looked into the depths behind me, shuddered, and slipped back out, taking the light with her. I slammed my hands on the door, but it didn’t have a handle and didn’t budge. I bent to the area where the tray was left, sniffed the food, and nearly vomited. Maybe nothing bad for a sea being. Definitely bad for me. Living below water with the earring the mermaid had forced upon me was so similar to being on land. The water pulled at the ends of my hair, but everything felt normal. There were still smells. There was no need to force myself to stay on the floor of the castle. It was not at all what I’d expected, and had I been here under any other circumstances, I imagined I could even enjoy it: this different world within my own.
Sitting on the soft sands of the seafloor, I examined the bleakness around me. If I were alone in this room, or whatever this prison was, I had to believe the water would be still, but it moved, and not fluidly. It jerked sometimes and tossed me around others. I was unquestionably not alone. I leaned my head back and closed my eyes, picturing Fen. I sat there for hours upon silent hours. By now he’d know I was missing, and I could only imagine the fury. Especially if his father really was poisoned. He’d watched his mother die, and now his father could die from the same coward’s weapon. Not at my own hands though, so my fate had changed, it seemed. Which wasn’t supposed to be possible.
Again, the door opened, and the lighted sea faerie slipped in as quickly as she had the last time.“Good morning.” Her trill voice matched her smile.
“It’s morning already?”
“It is. I’ve brought you something different to try. Apparently, your kind like your fish cooked.”
“Cooked, not soggy.”
“I’ve wrapped it in seaweed to try to help.”
“Why are you being kind to me?” I asked, reaching for her tray this time.
“You are not the only prisoner here. I am also.” She held up her chains and rattled them, though there was no sound.
