“Sit with me,” Sidra ordered, entering the first step. I wondered if she’d peel her gown off. Naiads were nothing if not unbothered by nudity. But she kept it on, wading down the stairs and sitting on one side. I followed, leaving my gown on as well, ignoring an eerie feeling that skittered between my shoulders. Never would I have imagined myself sharing a pool in the Juile Queen’s private quarters.
I drifted in, eyes following the floor of the water where it dipped into a tunnel that led somewhere unknown.
“So I can leave in a hurry, if we are ever threatened,” Sidra explained, her gaze trailing the direction of mine. “Though I would never abandon my home to my enemy. I would drown under their thumb before I would ever willingly leave.”
“Why not block it off?” I asked, sinking into the luxurious warmth of the water. The salt kissed my skin, and I sat on the rim of the pool, gazing back at the Queen. And froze.
Hanging from Sidra’s neck, its shape suddenly clear as the wet gown plastered itself to her body, was something shaped very much like a stone prism I knew.
“I use the exit every day,” Sidra answered, still studying the tunnel. “I am a Steward of the Sea. I tend to the ocean life, from the smallest plankton to the largest whale. That is what Naiadsare meant to do, what I spent so many years training you for. You care for your home, and your home cares for you. The more of a bond you build, the stronger your power will grow.”
Raising a hand from the water, she reached a palm to me, as though inviting me to study the lines and ridges of her hand. “Other Naiads have lost the ways of our ancestors. They’ve grown so lustful for power, they forget it can be built from the smallest of actions. A foundation for every drop of Theia they could ever hope to absorb. Every Naiad is born with a love for such things, you yourself should know. But love needs direction. Cultivation. Room to grow and bloom. Many colonies ignore it. Theycorda-cruor, thinking that the bond of another will strengthen every skill they could hope to achieve. And in doing so, cut their potential short.”
“Did youcordae?” I asked, remembering Selena’s story of how rarelyVideres corda-cruoras I fought the urge to look at the stone. I hadn’t seen it in seven months, but I still remembered its weight in my hand, its warmth against my skin.
Sidra inclined her head. “I do not see what business it is of yours, child.”
Mihaunadamn me for a fool. Had I offended her? I glanced up to find her examining me.
She smirked. “I did. To a Naiad born in these waters.”
“Born inthesewaters?”
She nodded.
“To who?” I asked, wondering which of the Naiad women outside held the tether to the queen.
Sidra merely watched me, leaning elegantly against the wall of the pool, the contours of her neck and spine a grand and haughty curve.
“Tell me how you came to leave the island,” she commanded. “And perhaps I will share what you ask.”
“Your Naiads killed six sailors throughout my life.” I mirrored Sidra’s graceful arc into the side of the water. “And because of that, my uncle attacked me, and I killed him.” My belly gave a small lurch. “I was arrested for your crimes.”
“Who arrested you?” Sidra cut in.
I exhaled, slow and steady. “If you know my blood is tainted, then you know the one who tainted it.”
Tilting her head, Sidra slid forward, drawing her face near mine and sending ripples of quiet water over the water’s surface. “Show it to me.”
My muscles tensed. “Show what to you?”
“Your vow.”
Soft water plashed against my frame. I shook my head. “I signed it months ago. I don’t remember what it says exactly. I could barely read the words when I signed it.”
“Read the words?” Sidra’s brows pinched. “Every blood vow you make is within you. The promise lives in your body. The object you signed means nothing. Ask yourbloodto show you.”
“How?”
Sidra’s eyes carved into mine as if rooting for lies hidden in my gaze. “Draw your blood and ask.”
“What with?” I glanced about for a blade, but there was nothing on the bare floor but the green spiky plants.
Sidra gave no indication either way. Our bodies still closer than I would have liked, the Queen blocked the stairway out of the pool. My eyes fell to my hands. Pinching the pad of my thumb between my teeth, I bit down until I felt the painful sting of split skin. Three drops ran down my wrist, hitting the water and diluting into pink mist over the surface.
Sidra grasped my hand, firmly guiding the cut thumb down my opposite forearm as Selena had done to herself when I’d had demanded to know if she wascordaedto Thaan.
“Call to your vows,” Sidra said, watching the jagged red line.
