I crossed my arms, glowering. Though I hadn’t spent very much time with Thaan while he took the shape of a bird. Thaan avoided spending long periods of time with anyone except maybe hisOculoses, making the ability to gather little observations, such as a bird’s heartbeat, a challenge.
“They have something to do with Sidra and Thaan.”
“Could you use the stones against her as well?”
I shook my head. “Maybe, but I don’t think she’s as invincible as he is. He’s the way he is because of his deal with Darkness.”
“So the stones were laid by Darkness?”
“No.” I stopped, turning to face him fully. “They’re a curse. Theia made the stones after Sidra sank the island of her favorite humans. Sidra sank the island because Thaan made his deal with Darkness. Thaan made his deal with Darkness because his daughter died, and he couldn’t move past it. Sidra is cursed to the sea, Thaan is cursed to remain on land. If you have any other burning questions, ask them now, before we get any closer to the palace doors.”
Pheolix bit his lip, holding back a smile. “That’s all of them.”
I huffed, turning around. “Good because that’s about all I know. All Theia shared, anyway.”
He patted my arm, eliciting a ripple of annoying warmth to seep into my blood. “That’s all right, heiress. We’re still best friends.”
“We’re not best friends.”
“Well, that’s rude.”
Unbearable.
Unbearable, unbearable, unbearable. I needed to just ignore him. I couldn’t afford to lose my focus, anyway. I had two days to prepare for the Queen’s Starlit Bloom, and I had nothing decided. I’d already commissioned our dresses, but Thaan had mentioned the King, which probably meant I needed to wear something extravagant. I suspected I’d be either a distraction or a lure. Either way, I needed to attract his attention and hold it. Do whatever Thaan wanted me to so I could refocus.
“What happens when Sidra comes to the surface?” Pheolix asked, striking through my thoughts. We’d almost reached the ivy-laced wrought iron doors, the guards well within hearing distance.
“I don’t know. Her lungs burn up and she dies or something.”
“Ah.” He waited before continuing, nodding at the guards as we passed. “They’ll just let anyone through to the towers?”
“We’re inside the grounds, and they know my face. They don’t need to check us unless we’re acting suspicious.”
“So, anyone could just row up to the cliffs—”
“Pheolix, we have other things to worry about besides palace security.” I twisted my hair into a rope. The entire swim back, I’d tried to come up with a reason to give Thaan why Cebrinne and Aegir hadn’t yetcordaed. Thaan had an intention behind their match. He wanted to take Aegir’s colony, but where would that leave Cebrinne if they mated? Where would she weigh on the scale of collateral damage? Would he leave hercordae-less and heartbroken, or would he kill her, too?
I wouldn’t find any answers without Thaan believing they’dcordaed. That’s the step he was waiting for. That’s what would initiate a letter to Oberon in the Rivean Emissary. The switch that would play Thaan into our hand.
“What happens when Thaan goes below?”
I pinched the bridge of my nose, my train of thought obstructed by the question. “What?”
“You said Sidra can’t come above the water. What happens when Thaan goes below?”
I paused. Exhaled and frowned at the floor. My hand dropped from my face, and I glanced at him. He waited, his chin lowered as he watched me through his black hood, his mouth still parted on the last word he’d spoken.
“What?”
“I said, what happens—”
“I heard what you said,” I breathed. “I don’t know. I don’t know what happens. I don’t know.” I turned to pace back a few steps then turned again. “I’ve never seen him enter the sea. He can barely even come close to it. The night he took Paria, he coughed from simply breathing the mist in the air from the sea spray.”
Pheolix leaned an elbow on an iron crenellation, watching me rove. “Well. It would be easy to conduct an experiment.”
I halted to look at him.
“You know.” He flicked his wrist innocently, the wind lifting the ends of his rusty hair. “Spill salt water on him and see what happens.”
