Page 123 of Cruel Tides

“But before we talk business, child, there is a minor matter we must first attend to.” Her voice dropped, hitting a dramatic note I wasn’t ready for. “Yoursilence.”

She slapped the object on the top of the table—a silver dagger.

My throat constricted, a lump forming as I took in the weapon’s sharp, honed edges.

“Puppet,” Queen Sagari shrilled, ice forming over the word as she tossed the dagger toward the sea wizard with a flick of a tentacle. He stood still, letting it ricochet off the wall above the couch beside him with a dull clank before he retrieved it.

The sea wizard straightened, squaring his shoulders. Then he stepped up to me, dagger in hand. I could barely think—barely move. His face was a hard plaster mask, completely unreadable. He looked every bit the threat I’d wondered him to be.

Queen Sagari’s laughter boiled over the roar of the hot tub. “Look at you, trembling like a stalk. My puppet is perfectly tame.”

Tame?The sea wizard was unpredictable chaos and riddles. The complete opposite of tame.

I clenched my bag, taking backward steps until my back pressed against the doors, hating how my fingers shook. Was I really going to have to fight him? The sea wizard, with his imposing height and dark magic, againstme?I wasn’t even sure if my weapon would be useful.

“Now, don’t be dramatic,” the queen said, tentacles curving as she eased down into a chair behind her desk. “It’s just a prick, child. One insignificant drop of blood. You won’t even miss it.”

“My blood?” I squeaked, and with apop, the queen was seated, propping two thick legs up on her desk. That friendly smile was far gone, replaced with something sinister. Bordering predatory.

“Yes, yes. One drop to ensure your silence. Can’t let the merfolk know we’re hiding right under their noses, now, can we?”

So Barren’s sister hadn’t known the sea wizard was going to take me, after all. My stomach tightened—then there was no way of Barren finding out where I was or even that I’d been taken. “You want my blood?” I asked again. “You mean you’re… not going to kill me?”

“Kill you?” The queen howled a brittle laugh. “You’re worth so much more to me alive, dear child.”

I wasn’t sure I liked the sound of that. “I don’t understand. Your Rook…” I let the name slip without thinking it through, and the queen shifted, throwing her legs down to the floor.

“Ah, my Rook. You must forgive me, child. I put little thought into those I put in charge.” She held up a sharp finger, her crown knocking around its cage of knots as she shook her head. “A flaw of mine, I recognize, but I judge the men I surround myself with on a strict set of qualities that do not always account for intelligence.” Then she shrugged, tossing some scraggly strands of wet hair that had fallen from her bun back behind her shoulder. “You understand.”

I struggled to hold back a gag. I wasn’t sure what quality she’d seen in the Rook worth keeping nearby.

“So, you’re saying you didn’t abduct me for revenge?” I asked, eyeing the sea wizard for answers. Although he held out the dagger, his face was a cold, blank canvas. I narrowed my eyes.

All of his personality seemed to be missing, leaving him a vacant shell of the powerful man that had wrapped his arms around my back, whisking me into the shadows.

No wonder everyone called him the queen’s shadow puppet—he was playing the part well.

“Now, a drop of your blood, please,” Queen Sagari crooned. “A simple spell to keep our presence hidden. It’s just good business, you see.”

My hands clenched. “And if I refuse?”

“Then I cannot let you leave. But that would make this business transaction quite messy. Trust me, dear child, we do not want that.”

The sea wizard’s sudden, probing voice startled me. “Your finger.” He held a hand out to me, the dagger in the other.

Only moments ago, he’d blamed me for playing into their hands, but when I searched his eyes for a hint of what he expected me to do, his expression remained neutral.

“I—” Now I was really panicking.

“Ah, my puppet scares you. Adorable.” The queen rose to her feet. When her pawns came up beside her for support, she shooed them away. “There’s nothing to fear. As I said, he is perfectly tame.”

Queen Sagari came around her desk with a cautious gait, the wood creaking under her weight as she leaned against it for support. “My authority over him is absolute, you see. He cannot do a single thing against my command.”

“A common belief among royals,” I said bitterly, thinking of Barren’s sister and her need for control. I lifted my chin. “They can’t stand to think that those underneath them have minds and wills of their own.”

“Ah—but this is different.” Queen Sagari clapped her hands, and a quake worked through the sea wizard’s body. “It seems a demonstration is in order.”

His lips parted, letting slip a shuddering gasp for breath.

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