Page 29 of Depths
His eyes left me as he peered out at the undulating mass that was just reaching the outskirts of the castle grounds. Felipe cleared his throat before he stated, “The mauve stingers swim and live in groups. Sometimes, the current blows them through.”
I gazed back out at the mass, and now that I knew what it was, it became quite obvious that every little bump and reflective surface was a jelly. There must have been nearly a thousand. And though they were blown by the current, their bulbous bodies not straining to move themselves, the tendrils that dangled curled and released like hands reaching out and retracting, searching for something to latch onto.
“I assume they sting,” I said dryly.
“Yes, you wouldn’t want to be caught up in a bloom,” he responded. “If you did … you wouldn’t come out.”
I watched the colors shift as they moved overhead and the waves changed and my eyes saw them go from a bright pink to a gorgeous purple mass. Such a shame that something so beautiful was so deadly. But that was the way of the world, wasn’t it? Sirens and mer people were bewitching predators. On land, dragons were the gorgeous apex predator. The tiger I’d spotted once on our travels to Lored was a good example of another, with its soft stripes and resemblance to a cuddly oversized house cat. If I examined myself too closely, I qualified as another apex predator. Or perhaps I’d be classified as a parasite, someone who lived off another.
My heart thumped in agreement. Stupid thing.
I turned to Felipe, suddenly ready to look at anything other than jellyfish that turned me philosophical. But the way he stared back made me nervous, like he knew what I was thinking.
“You know, there are many intimidating things about living under the ocean,” he said. “I can only imagine how I’d feel if I suddenly had to live on land.” I swallowed hard when his eyes met mine. “You’re quite brave,” he added.
He’d never know how much those words meant to me. I had to press my lips together to avoid blubbering. I turned instead and stared back out at the jellies, wondering if they found me as strange as I did them. When I had my emotions under control, I glanced quickly at Felipe but back again. “What’s next on my schedule?”
He turned to me, and his posture grew a little stiffer than usual. “Well, Your Majesty, it appears that you—”
“Majesty!” Sahar’s voice cut him off as she hurried down the hallway toward me. She swam so quickly that a few of the round magic lanterns bobbed and clinked against the glass walls, making the light dance. “I need your help!” She was somber as she gave a cursory nod of her head, not bothering with a full bow.
“Yes?” I asked, fluttering my wings and swimming to join her.
“That Watkins fellow you added to the tournament is stirring up trouble.” Sahartsked as she led me up a stairwell that wound around and around, though actually, it had no stairs. Since nearly everyone in the castle swam, the more practical servant walkways that I called stairwells, in my sky breather vocabulary, looked like tubes. They were merely glass tunnels for people to swim through.
Sahar led the way, and my guards and I followed through a maze of intersecting cylinders that boasted a surprising number of servants bustling about their days.
When we had a brief respite from the crowded tubes and some privacy, Sahar muttered, “The situation is contained for now, but I wanted you to see … I really think it’s untenable. His behavior is just … Watkins shouldn’t be here.”
I didn’t have time to ask her anything further, because she reached an opaque glass door and turned the knob, opening it. We came out in a wing of the castle that had been set up for the competitors. While the castle boasted sixteen guest rooms, we’d had to bring in extra beds in order to accommodate all the contestants. They were “bunking” two to a room with a common lounge that I’d had set up with couches, card tables, and billiards in order to keep them entertained. But apparently, billiards weren’t entertaining enough.
My gaze swept across the long room, eyes catching on each of the lovely new “artworks” hanging from the wall. Someone had taken all the cue rods and forced them into the lantern sconces so that they stuck out like flag poles … or fishing poles. Swinging from each pole was a strip of cloth like a rope and a male effigy made out of what looked like pillowcases and seaweed. The eyes of each effigy had been painted with blackXs, very clearly dead men.
Etched into the glass wall on the far side of the room was the phrase: “The Queen Goes Fishing.”
Internally, I cringed at how close to the truth this life-sized diorama might be. While I didn’t plan on killing anyone, I did plan on stealing a man’s freedom … and how far apart were those two things, really? I swallowed hard before I gave a sarcastic smile and turned to look at Sahar, who was studying my expression. “We’ve quite the artist in our ranks, don’t we?”
She didn’t answer my question, merely supplied, “I’ve had a glass worker summoned to erase these etchings. I’ve also delayed the return of the other contestants so they don’t witness this horrid little display, but a few maids are on their way to clean up the mess.”
I nodded, swimming closer to examine one of the dummies. As I did, Watkins emerged from a bedchamber at the far side of the hall, leaning against a doorjamb, his black hair with the shock of white making him easy to recognize. I fluttered my fin-like wings and swam over, setting my feet down in front of him.
Once more, I was overcome by a chill that ran down my spine and pebbled my nipples under my dress. Watkins was a dangerous man. His black eyes roamed my face in amused silence. He was quite proud of his work, quite confident in his ability to goad me. For a second, I grew suspicious about his possible involvement in enchanting Radford. But, in order to pull off something like that, Watkins would have needed to plan. Magic took time. Potions took time. I’d only invited the rebels to the ball just before it started. And besides, if he’d pulled off the Radford enchantment, he and his cronies wouldn’t have gotten such a thrill out of raising my ire.
He’d succeeded at the ball, that was true. But I wouldn’t let him win again. What did he think? Did he believe he’d infuriate me enough to kick him out of the tournament? Or something more? Was he trying to turn the others against me as well?
So many possibilities.
Yes, I’d invited him spur of the moment, in a fit of pique. But I had wanted to ultimately use the opportunity to speak with him. I’d wanted to smooth the waters. Could that be salvaged?
I turned to the nearest effigy and gestured at it. The gruesome thing had a patch sewn onto its chest, a patch representing the rebels’ grievances. Sahar had explained the symbol to me. There was a long shell shaped like a horn, an amplifier. They wanted a voice in the government.
I didn’t necessarily disagree with that, though both Queen Gela and Mayi would have disowned me upon hearing it.
Defacing my castle wasn’t a wonderful start to a conversation, however. It was quite immature. As was his hatred of me. It wasn’t even for me; it was for my station. For my predecessor! A woman I probably hated more than he did. Gah! My ire built, stacked up like bricks, until there was a low wall of fury near my knees. Suddenly, I didn’t care if he liked me. Not one bit. If Watkins wanted to be immature about it … perhaps I needed to speak to him on his own level.
“You seem quite good with a needle.” I gestured up at the dummy’s patch. “Must be all that practice touching your tiny cock.”
Watkins’ expression darkened, and he took a step closer until he loomed over me. While that sent a shiver through me, it wasn’t exactly one of fear. There was a darker thrill there, one I had never experienced before. It was luscious like black silk. It caressed my spine as I stared up into the blackness of his eyes. It only grew stronger the more I fought it, the lure of his gaze more intense. I had to be careful not to let my breath catch.
