I frowned. “Who?”
My mentor held my gaze with gravity, releasing a soft sigh through her nose. “Cain.”
“Cain?”
Her eyes darted to the rooms beyond her wall, as though the small, bespeckled man would wake at the sound of his name. I held my breath, ears strained for the sound of beating hearts nearby.
“Cain is unlike any Naiad you’ve met or will ever meet,” Selena said, her voice dropping into near silence.
I raised a brow, interested in hearing more. I’d never given Thaan’s assistant very much thought. I’m not even sure I’d thought of him as a Naiad. He’d never triggered myspiculae. But I had little time to stand around and muse about why not. Thaan had sparked a storm within me when he’d exacted a date for me to carry out my blood vow. I wouldn’t let it fade.
I had three days.
She straightened, watching the resolve harden over my features, and sighed. “What do you need from me?”
“Let Kye out. Don’t tell him where I’ve gone. He thinks I took my horse somewhere on the road, but I moved Kolibri to the southern stables. And just so you know, I’ve left him shield weed.”
“Oh, lovely.” She gave a silent laugh, tinged with acid. “You’ve kicked the hornet’s nest and left me to deal with the sting. What shall I tell him, when he asks where you’ve gone?”
I heaved a short breath. “That I’m on a special errand. I’ll be back in three days. I don’t trust what Thaan might do if I’m gone any longer.”
“That would be a quick swim,” she warned, crossing her arms as she walked me to her door. “It takes a ship three days to cover that distance. Sailing only one way.”
“Naiads are the fastest creatures in the sea.”
Her mouth twinged with a hint of smile, though it disappeared just as quickly. “Don’t give yourself decompression sickness. Naiads will recover from the bends faster than humans, but it can still kill you.”
“I know.”
She opened her door without asking how I might know, avoiding making any noise. Then hesitated. “You’re stronger than the average Naiad. I’m not sure that I’ve ever told you that. Most can control enough water to fill a water trough. I’ve seen you manage three times that amount, which means your blood promises the ability to do wonderous, terrible things.”
I raised a brow, wondering her purpose in this line of speech.
“But you are still young, and your control is untested.”
“Meaning?”
Ocean eyes met mine. “Do not underestimate Sidra.”
“I won’t. I promise. I’ll be back in three days.”
Selena gave a final nod. “And if you aren’t?”
I paused for a moment. “Nothing could keep me from returning here as quickly as I can. Nothing at all. Nothing. If I’m not back in three days,” I whispered, draped under the shadow of glass ceiling, “it’s because I’m dead.”
56
Maren
Achill gnawed into my bones as I stepped back outside. Mist hovered in the air of the palace grounds. Easy cover to sneak and hide under as I wove my way past the guards and to the edge of the cliffs. Not that I had to. I was allowed to be here. I just didn’t want to be seen.
I followed the mist through the heather, snatching my skirt from the claws of woody thorns, until I finally stood at the cliff edge where I stared down into the vapor, unable to see the crashing tide. Rocks waited below. The cold of the winter sea waited as well.
A puff of fog manifested from my mouth, quickly dissolving into the night. I unbuttoned my dress, kneeling to strip my boots, untying, unlacing, unbuckling—until I tucked the bundle into the briars and stood naked, gathering a deep breath as I waited for the next wave to hit the cliffs.
Three. Two. One. Jump.
The sea answered as I called to it, building into a powerful surf. One that would cushion my fall over the rocks. I was Naiad before I hit the water. And then I flitted down and south.
