Page 5 of Depths
The man’s eyes went wide, but he swam over and handed me the shell.
I took a deep breath to calm the nerves that were tangling up my stomach in knots. Then I spoke into the shell so that my voice was amplified. “Good afternoon. I appreciate those of you who came out today to protest. Unfortunately, this is not the proper forum for protests. I will hear grievances in the throne room each Tuesday and Thursday. Assassination attempts should also be completed on those days, because otherwise, my schedule is quite full.”
That earned a chuckle as I’d hoped.
I glanced sideways to see Sahar stifling a smile before I continued, my voice a million times brighter and lighter than it had been just moments before. “As you may have noticed, I’ve got a lot of rebuilding to do since the battle with the undead army. And there’s also the small matter of your fellow countrymen who have set out here to compete for my hand. I do ask that you restrain from any attempts to kill me that might inadvertently harm these poor gents. They are only guilty of making the poor decision to test their wit, will, strength, and heart with the possibility of public humiliation at being the first to be sent home. They certainly don’t deserve a worse fate than that.”
That earned me another chuckle.
Part of me wanted to keep going, but another part cautioned me to stop while I was ahead. I always listened to that cautious voice. My sister, Bloss, didn’t. Sometimes I wondered if she even had one.
“Thank you all for coming.” I handed the shell back to the stunned herald and patted his shoulder. The scales on the side of his neck changed from yellow to orange as I did. Was that a blush? I made a mental note to ask Sahar later.
Sahar smiled and gave me a tiny, nearly imperceptible nod of approval.
I tried not to collapse as my wings stopped hovering and my feet touched down on the glass again. I was exhausted but relieved I’d fooled the throng below. My smile turned real when my heart ratcheted up and began pumping normally again. Just a little longer. I needed it to hold on just a little longer.
The orchestra began a new song, this time about a mer and a maiden fair. The stain one of my maids had painted on my lips, a deep red like precious coral, curved upward in a smile as contestants began to weave through the crowd, each carrying the banner of his house on a pole, the flags swaying in the current. To me, each pole looked as ominous as a jousting lance. It signaled impending doom. I was locked into choosing men who were power-hungry and had little to nothing in common with me because I’d been raised by heathens who breathed air instead of water. I felt like a player in a traveling troupe, set up on stage, enacting a role. And while I was used to putting on a happy face at court, I’d grown up in Evaness with the illusion that as a second daughter, I would get a more romantic marriage than this.
Hopefully, there will be one kind soul among them.
To my left, Felipe took a small step closer once the crowd had diverted their attention from me to the orchestra and the parade of men. He cleared his throat quietly.
I tried to ignore him, but my guard wouldn’t be ignored when he didn’t want to be. He was overbearingly obnoxious in that way, sure of himself and his protective responsibilities.
His feet edged closer to mine again. My guard was merman by birth but had taken potions in order to have legs whenever he was near me—for my own comfort, I was told, though I’d tried to insist he forgo them—and he liked to walk less than a foot away from me, like a shadow. His presence was subtle most of the time; he’d perfected the art of remaining visible and invisible at the same time. His sword always gleamed threateningly, polished to a bright shine, but his face was always an impassive mask of calm. The nobles hardly took notice of him as he purposely made himself easy to forget … unless he wanted to be noticed. Like now.
He cleared his throat, and I had to stop myself from glancing over. The merman was twice my age with a dull scruff on his chin and temples that was prematurely grey, but in a way that was somehow incredibly attractive. He was big and burly as guards should be, his biceps nearly as large as my entire face. But more important than his brawn was his mind. He was quick and observant, perhaps more than I liked, I hadn’t decided yet. Felipe’s mixed hair, the black and blue strands streaked through with grey, was always slicked back but curled at the base of his neck.
He reached out, careful to keep his arm below the railing of the balcony and the eyes of the crowd, to steady me. His fingers wrapped around the bare skin of my forearm, and my skin practically sizzled at his touch.
How unfair. He was warm despite the cold current, and I instantly grew jealous of the soldier’s leather and tortoise-shell armor.
“Are you okay?” my guard asked softly.
I fought the urge to look up at his face and meet the chocolate eyes that I knew would be devouring me, tasting each tiny expression I made and finding the truth. He couldn’t know the truth. No one outside my circle could. I grew quite warm in my fury at myself.Dammit, Avia. Do better.I hadn’t fooled him. He’d noticed my weakness.
I chose not to acknowledge him, hoping the brush off would save me from awkward conversations later. Instead, I gazed out over the crowd that I was supposed to rule and pulled my arm away, raising it.
I gave a little wave, hand cupped and wrist twisting delicately, just as a queen should.
Queen.
I was queen of the sea. That reality still sunk me like a stone whenever I thought of it.
Sahar spoke through her teeth once more, as was her talent during public events. Despite my teasing, she’d refused to get herself a small puppet and become my court entertainer. “Are you ready for the next part of this fishing expedition?” She used the term wryly; for the sea people it was a dark-humored term.
“Not at all,” I told her.
“Come on, you can do it, Your Majesty. Think of that damned gargoyle who scared the ink out of Tina this morning. I’ve never heard you laugh so hard. Bring up that joy and transform it into excitement here before you speak with all these dullards,” she coached.
Her mention did set an instant smile on my face. Pony had bounded into my bedroom this morning—my sister’s pet gargoyle had no restraint—and scared the living daylights out of my poor squi-maid, a girl who was half squid. Tina had ruined my morning dress and filled the entire dressing room with ink before collapsing into tears. She’d been overwrought about destroying my gown and had tried to fire herself at least a dozen times before I told Sahar to reassign her because she clearly needed to be away from me.
“Big smile, just like you’re posing for a portrait.” Sahar gave me a huge toothy grin.
“Portraits take hours,” I retorted.
“So will this,” Sahar rebuked me. “You wanted a tournament. Now we’re going to be invaded by bubble-butted males who’ll constantly try to bite each other because of mating aggression.”
