TheVidereof Venusia tilted his head. “He hoped you wouldcordaeand then murder me?”
“Eventually,” I said. “Or simply lead you to a place where you could be murdered.”
Heharrumpheda chuckle, flicking his eyes to the members of his Naiad colony. They sneered back in turn. Selena’s heart thumped in her chest, wild and desperate. My own pulse lurched fiercely in my veins, loud enough I thought my ears might erupt. But I kept my gaze on Aegir.
He tapped his fingertips against his own arm. “And what do you want?”
I let myself smile. The words were more for Selena than me, though she didn’t know it. But I let myself relish them anyway. They passed from my tongue into the mist and brine, hovering in the salty air as spray peppered our sides.
Swallowing Thaan’s blood freed my vows only for a day. So I let myself taste every syllable, let my lungs savor each release of wind, the freedom of speech as decadent to me as the first drop of rain after a ten-year drought.
“I want you to help me kill Thaan.”
8
Selena
Deep under the Venus sea, the Naiads escorted us through their colony as guests, though we hadn’t been granted an option otherwise.
I tugged my borrowed silverbyssusdress, straightening the Venusian silk over my hips. Normally, I’d have walked the winding corridors of their home with fervid enthusiasm. It had been years since I’d last seen the spikyaeroplants that furnished Naiad colonies with oxygen; the bioluminescent water fed the plants with ultraviolet rays. I would have loved to meander the colony nest, a giant shell on the sea floor, spiraled with spikes and a soft-hued pink lining the entrance. The markings carved into the walls were the same as the black tattoos Aegir wore, swirls and lines like cresting waves.
But as I trailed Cebrinne and Pheolix to what would likely become my final days, I found I could do little more than stare daggers into the back of my sister’s moon-forsaken head.
We'd never agreed to go off-script with Venusia.
Vouri, Aegir’s younger sister, led us through the nest. Like her brother, braids wove her chestnut hair intricately along her crown and down her back, one side of her head shaved. She shared his green eyes as well, sharp and cold, tempestuous as a forest night. Something about her reminded me of Cebrinne, a hard determination that stirred in her depths.
I’d usually find it endearing. But not today.
“The females will share this room,” she said, stopping at an open door made of wide shell. “The gnat can sleep across the hall.” I studied the chiseled symbols that lined the top of the doorway. Ancient Naiad text that locked an outsider’s bloodinsidethe room until a colony member invited them out.
They’d labeled us guests with their mouths. But the waiting room called me something else.
Prisoner.
“I’m not staying in the same room as her,” I spat. I’d spent the last hour fantasizing about all the lethally edged words I’d say to my twin the moment we were left alone, but suddenly fire leapt from my throat at the mere thought of sharing anything with her. The way she’d callously tossed our cover story at Aegir’s feet…
Naiads weren’t often allowed to live when they trespassed into a rival colony’s waters without permission. She sentenced us to death the moment she admitted she belonged to Thaan.
Cebrinne turned around, brows raised in surprise.
I seethed as our eyes met. “I’d rather stay with the gnat.”
Vouri ignored my venom, though interest tugged her gaze between Cebrinne and me. She swept her arm toward Pheolix’s room, gesturing for me to enter.
“Senna,” Cebrinne called in a voice that accused me of overreaction, watching me disappear inside. I stepped around the fluorescent pool of water in the center of the room, sitting on a bench constructed of smooth shell instead. Crossed one knee over the other, laced my arms over my chest, and flared my vision into the nearest wall with enough heat to combust it.
“You do realize this room won’t hold me in any more than your water-call could hurt me?” Pheolix asked Vouri from outside. An exasperated sigh followed, and the soft ruffle of Cebrinne’s silver silk dress betrayed her steps as she padded into her room.
Vouri waited for a beat before answering, “Yes. That’s why we have Sindri guarding your rooms. He’s the fastest knife-thrower in the colony, and his blades have been tipped in the ash of shield weed. If you’d like to try your luck against him, by all means, be our guest.”
I’d seen the tall, quiet Naiad following us. Long braids fell down his back, as black as a moonless night. One side of his head shaved as well, tattooed patterns blurred by the short regrowth of his roots.
“Hello, Sindri,” Pheolix said casually, as though Vouri hadn’t just threatened his life. “Maybe we can chat about form later. Do you prefer blade-heavy or handle-heavy knives? I like handle-heavy myself, something about holding a sharp edge between my fingers and flinging it toward a face—mmm.” He clicked his tongue appreciatively. “Warms my blood in the morning.”
Silence weighted with stagnant impatience trailed his words, then Vouri called through my door, “Are you certain you don’t want to stay in the other room?”
I didn’t answer. The sound of Pheolix’s moon-born voice made me want to boil my damn ears off, but the sight of Cebrinne conjured more violent thoughts in my mind, and the idea of being trapped in a room with her threw a blazing fire up my throat. I rolled it away with a stretch between my shoulders.
