Page 163 of Cruel Tides

37

Abyssal

“You three! Come here,” the vile queen yapped, and although the command wasn’t directed at me, my insides coiled at the sound of her voice. “Our dear princess requires a respite. Escort her to the chamber we’ve readied for her arrival.”

My little captive squirmed, fighting against the insistent push of Queen Sagari’s foul, clawed hands. “Chamber? I—I don’t think…”

“If it’s permissible, I would like to accompany her,” I cut in, well aware I was speaking out of turn.

“Stay put, puppet,” the queen barked, throwing the command over her shoulder. Immediately, my body locked up, leaving me a prisoner beneath my flesh. “I still have words for you.”

The queen handed her granddaughter off to three overly eager pawns, and I could only watch as a mere spectator.

The pawns wrapped around my captive, and I burned the image of each of their faces into my memory. Particularly the one who grabbed her slender wrist with unnecessary force. Ah, yes—and the hapless oaf letting her tail drag. That was an oversight he would soon regret.

“Please, wait! I—” Frightened eyes searched around the pawns to find me, pleading for my intervention, yet bitterness filled me because there was nothing I could do. To me, the crown’s commands were absolute.

Stay put,puppet.

Thanks to the trident living inside me, I was at the mercy of that vile woman’s every whim.

“Do not worry, dear child,” Queen Sagari crooned in farewell as the men led their princess away. “The pawns will attend to your every need.”

As much as I disliked her phrasing, I didn’t dare speak out of turn again.

Ha—it seemed our princess didn’t like that phrasing, either. She let profanities fly, struggling fruitlessly against the pawns. Then I noticed she was still holding the weapon I’d fabricated for her, and my mind raced with the possibilities.

Perhaps she would seek retribution all on her own.

“Aracos.”I mentally called out to my familiar, and it was an instant comfort when his consciousness connected with mine.

His answering voice was as reassuring as my own heartbeat.“Master.”

Good—he was already nearby, hidden under a spell of concealment. Clever creature.

“Keep an eye on our little captive.”

As soon as the thought reached him, there was a shimmy of movement near the rocks above the throne room’s entrance. Magic rippled off his long, whiplike body, undetectable by all those not versed in our unique brand of magic.“Worry not, Master. Aracos will follow.”

Once her granddaughter was out of sight, Queen Sagari turned her attention back to me.

“You forget your place, puppet,” she spat, drifting back over to her throne. Her eyes narrowed, examining me with a critical gaze. “Interrupting your queen, time and again.”

I kept my expression carefully guarded. “My apologies. I only wished to offer my services to the princess.”

“Services?” She scoffed, and the arms of her throne groaned under her immense weight as she sank back into it. Her eyes were heavy with exhaustion when she threw her head back to stretch her neck. “You are nothing but a tool for me to use as I see fit.Remember that.”

“Of course,” I said obediently. I was well aware of my role here as a tool and a puppet. But being under her control hadn’t stopped me from finding ways to act of my own accord. I’d yet to encounter a tide I couldn’t eventually turn in my favor. “Is there something you require of me?”

Her lips distorted into the cruelest of smiles, and I readied my mind for whatever task she was about to assign.

“Actually, there is,” she said, lifting a single clawed nail. “I am amending my earlier command:You shall not hurt the princess unless it is to break her curse. Do whatever is necessary, maim her, inflict pain if you need to. You have one moon cycle to get it done, or I’ll have you cut that disgusting tail of hers off.”

Ah, yes—there it was, the queen’s true nature was finally laid bare. I concentrated deeply, studying every word of the command with great attention.

Curses, by definition, were meant to inflict harm or punishment on an individual, were they not? Considering the spell had served to keep my little captive safe, far from this place until now, who was I to say that it was a curse at all?

Already, I could feel the tension of the magical strings binding me begin to loosen. Yes,that logic was sound enough.

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