Dark Depths Page 26

Nathan was silent, unwilling to speculate. He had more information than they did, but they did not need to know it. This thought, however, made him feel guilty. They had shared things with him, and yet it would be foolish to return it for Treasure’s sake. He battled with himself for a moment, but relented.

  “I found out some things recently,” Nathan decided to offer. “From what I’ve heard, sirens attack nymphs. They seek them out when they’re above the water, aiming to protect humans. If they attacked the wedding, they must have sensed the threat of a sea nymph.”

  “Then why did they not show at the coronation when the Mistress rose?” Sophia asked.

  “Not enough time?” he suggested.

  Or perhaps they are hunting for a certain one. His heart began to race as he thought of it.

  “At any rate, we’ve run out of time,” Gideon said. “Tomorrow, the army will be prepared to meet the nymphs on the shores. I suppose what happens next is up to Ellister. Best get yourself ready.”

  Gideon descended into the cellar, leaving them alone in the near empty tavern. Nathan looked down at Sophia, whose mouth and eyes were not as steely as usual, but held a bit of worry. He could see it now. He’d come to know her well.

  “What will you do?” he asked her. “When the morning comes, what will you do?”

  “I will fight,” she said, her resolve returning. “I have to. I’ve been waiting a long time for this.”

  Nathan felt that the thing he had left to fight for had nothing to do with this war. He had no personal vendetta, no loyalty to this kingdom. What was left that gave his life meaning? Was it the purpose he was seeking?

  “What will you do?” she returned.

  Nathan could not say. He had no passion for any of this. He suspected he would sleep the night away and see what tomorrow brought.

  Let her stab you in the heart.

  He shook his head.

  “I’m prepared to die tomorrow,” Sophia said. “If that’s what happens, I’m not afraid of it. But I will take as many nymphs as I can. It will not be in vain.”

  Nathan tried to imagine himself fighting alongside her, but he felt very little emotion for any thought of that. Would fighting this war give his life meaning? He wished he had a solid purpose like she did, but he did not.

  “Nathan, I know you feel conflicted,” she spoke up, and he met her eyes. “I want you to know that I have come to like you more than I thought I would. I care about you, and I suppose I would like it if you were content to see this through with us. I...”

  She seemed suddenly antsy and unsure of herself. Before he could decide what she was thinking, she put a hand on the back of his neck and kissed his mouth, meshing her warm lips with his. Despite what she said she felt for him, he felt very little for it. There was no spark. He felt as anyone being kissed out of true affection: flattered—and a bit saddened. As she had expressed, he had come to like her more than he had expected to as well, but it was not enough.

  She pulled her lips from his, stepping back, and when Nathan looked into her brown eyes, he saw the same thing he had seen when Treasure had looked at him, even before he had let himself feel the same for her. Real feelings were there in that gaze—feelings of love that were true.

  “You should forget about the palace and Ellister. Just stay here with me. Tomorrow, we can go forward together.”

  She took his hand, and Nathan wondered what had happened between them, but for now, he felt entirely unprepared. He felt respect for her, but not love, no. He had no energy left. No emotion left to give. No one would ever be Treasure.

  “I’m sorry,” he told her, “but I’m in love with someone else.”

  He could see disappointment in her face, but she was understanding—if not embarrassed.

  “I didn’t know,” Sophia said, lowering her eyes.

  “It’s alright,” he said. “I never mentioned her. I thought I could leave her behind, but the truth is that everything I have done, I have done for her. That’s how it must remain.”

  Nathan withdrew his hand from her grip and turned, willing to leave it at that. There was nothing to hash out—no apologies to be made. Just the truth now.

  “It’s Ellister’s bride, isn’t it?” Sophia spoke up after him. “That’s why you’ve done all this. That’s why you’ve been so depressed recently. It was the wedding.”

  He’d always known that she was a clever girl, but if she saw through to further truths about Treasure, she didn’t mention it. As far as this was concerned, however, he had no more reason to deny it.

  “Yes,” he revealed.

  “Then I guess you are loyal to something after all,” she mused. Then, awkwardly: “I hope you find what you’re after.”

  “You too,” he said, but he already knew that what she wanted was revenge. Perhaps they were both fighting in the dark.

  Nathan turned his back on Sophia and anything that might have been between them, leaving her to contemplate her own choices.

  3

  The hour was late when Ellister retired to his chamber. He did not even care to meet his bride in her suite to consummate their marriage. He could not be bothered with that tonight. It seemed that no amount of relief could erase the day.

  The wedding had been more trouble than he’d ever imagined it could be. Each time he tried to show his confidence, he was slapped in the face by those things over which he thought he had authority. He had promised that he would take control of the seas, but he had not been able to do anything at all.

  He was not sure what he had seen today, but the creatures that had come out of the sky were not the sort of nymphs he had been focusing on. Nathan had said something about sirens. He should have been listening instead of glowering. Now the kingdom had something else to fear. It was one more thorn in his side. Still, he knew that even now, certain things were taking place. Troops were assembling along the shore as night was falling. There would be no chances taken.

  His pride had kept him from addressing the people this afternoon. His original plan to evacuate the city had been crushed beneath the weight of today’s events. He’d not been content to blame the wedding fiasco on the nymphs or the destructive sirens. That was another failure that he did not care to admit.

  He knew in the back of his mind that they must have come for Amelia, as Nathan had said, but he’d not listened to that either. It would explain much—her fear, her refusal to go outside—but he would rather blame her than blame himself, and so he could not look at her just now. Perhaps once this was over, but tonight, he was content to be angry.

  All of that was bearing on his mind. He needed rest to sort things out. He would attempt sleep, and then tomorrow…

  “Jou look weary.”

  His eyes rose to the voice, his attention caught. It was not that someone was in his chamber, but the sound of the voice that had stolen his senses. A lovely ebony-skinned woman was standing there, wearing a dress of shells and pearls that complimented her lovely form. The shells clicked together as she approached him, but her silver eyes stayed on his.

  He knew her. She was the one he had been waiting for.

  “Bliss…”

  He had been so young when he had first met her, but he had never forgotten her. He had waited his entire life for her to come back to him. No woman had ever been able to compare. He had wanted her—had made up for her with those nymphs in the chamber room, but none had ever been quite enough. Amelia had come close to his heart, but even she was not Bliss.

  Thaddeus wanted to fall to his knees in front of her, but she had come forward and touched his face instead.

  “Did jou not believe me when I said dat I would return to jou one day?” she asked, her beautiful lips smiling at him. Her face was just as he remembered. She had not changed at all.

  “I waited,” he gasped.

  “Jou married another.”

  “Obligation,” he was quick to say. “She means nothing.”

  In that moment, she did not. Just before, he might have claimed
to have loved Amelia, but now she was nothing. She could be cast aside just as easily as anyone else if it meant that Bliss would be his.

  “I believe jou,” she said, her voice rolling over him like honey—a sweetness, but with it, a sting. “I know where jour heart rests.”

  Thaddeus felt tears coming into his eyes. For all that had happened, he had not broken, and now that he stood before her, he felt like a boy again. He wanted to cry in her bosom just like the child he had been when she’d delivered him from death. But he hadn’t cried then, and he wouldn’t do it now.

  “When I rescued jou all d’oes years ago, jou made me a promise. Do jou remember?”

  “Yes,” he breathed. “I have tried my best to do what you asked. I have tried to fight for you. Everything I have done has been for you.”

  “Shh, my love. I’m here wit jou now.”

  She kissed his lips, his face, his neck. Her touch was exhilarating, and he was so much more entranced by her than he had ever been by Amelia. She had an allure that he could not resist. He gave in. The salty taste of her mouth was just as he’d imagined it; the smell of her skin, exquisite. She was all he had ever wanted, and now, on this eve of war, she was finally his.

  She was only sweet for a moment, however; as if he knew what to expect. With a forceful hand, she push him back onto the bed. He let himself fall, unaccustomed to dominance, but willing to let her have control.

  Bliss stripped off the dress of shells and pearls, tossing it to the floor, where it collapsed in a clattering tangle. She waved her hands in the air, and his clothes were ripped apart, cast aside as if they were an annoyance to her. Thaddeus stared, wide-eyed and fully aroused, his head too bloodless to acknowledge confusion. But where had this sorcery come from?

  “Bliss…” he gasped, but not in protest, only amazement.

  “Hush,” she said, climbing up to straddle his body. Her thighs clenched his torso and she leaned over him, the tendrils of her hair casting shadows over his face. “Don’t speak.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Skin Deep

  1

  Nathan stared at the ceiling, thinking about his life and everything it had been—thinking about death. Would it find him tomorrow when a great number of nymphs showed their faces to the surface world and ripped skin from bone? When Treasure had rescued him from the bloody sea, perhaps it had only been delaying the inevitable. Death may well have been the only true freedom, as he had thought that night when he’d parted from the Blood-Red Siren forever, only to awaken the next morning, renewed.

  But perhaps—just perhaps—his death would come sooner than the morning. He had not forgotten what Bliss had told him. If he wanted what was best for Treasure, he had to let her kill him, to stab him in the heart. His blood would let her return to the sea.

  Why not? His heart had already been murdered. It was numb by now, cold and steeped in rigor. It would not feel a thing.

  Free, he thought. I’m free, just like I always wanted.

  In the stillness, he laughed quietly to himself.

  2

  Bliss opened her eyes to such a feeling of dryness on her skin that she almost panicked. It had been a long time since she had felt a loss of control, but she regained it quickly, remembering where she was and what had brought her here.

  Her body was wrapped in the sheets of the king’s bed, legs and all. She had fallen asleep for a while, but the night was still and blue-black beyond the windows. This was not the first time she had awoken to the open air. She had spent time near the surface where the sun lived, though she had never dared to walk on land herself. She might never have tried if Treasure had not gone first, but she felt that this had been a good choice on her part. The sirens were not a fear of hers. She would find her way around them. She was out of the way of war and with the human king at her disposal. Not only was it a good strategic position, but one she’d found unexpected pleasure in.

  She had to admit, having legs was quite exhilarating. They brought potential for so many experiences and pleasures. She’d had more than one of those just hours before. After looking through Treasure’s eyes, she had been quite curious for the experience, and now she was left with a raw ache and a tinge of desire that still lingered.

  Turning to the man who was lying beside her, she examined Ellister’s sleeping face. He truly was a beautiful human. She saw a hint of the child when she looked at him, but he had grown into a man, with chiseled features and a growth of hair along his jaw. Perhaps this was a glimmer of what Treasure saw when she looked at Nathan. What was this feeling? Satisfaction, or something else entirely?

  Carefully, so she would not disturb him, Bliss slid out of bed.

  She disregarded her dress of shells and reached for the only other item she had brought with her—a dagger with a bone handle. One never knew when a defense would be needed, and she did not know this world as well as the other. If she was to creep silently through it, she needed to be prepared.

  Wrapping herself in a silky dressing gown that may have been the king’s own, she tucked the dagger away and paced around the room, quietly admiring his palace. She liked the way her bare feet padded softly against the polished floor. Bliss took great pride in the idea that she had gotten herself here—how one well-timed event in the past had made her a fixture in the eyes of this human. She had been a captive and had escaped that fate—more than once. She had survived. She was a champion, and she would see the day when the Mistress and her hideous kin were considered imperfect. For now, however, it was not quite dawn.

  Bliss hadn’t been able to explore to her heart’s content after Nathan had escorted her here. She had needed rest after exhausting her power, and had found a place in a corner to do so, out of sight, disturbing nothing. She had dosed for a while, only to awaken at the king’s return. She had been more drained than she’d thought, for she’d fallen asleep again afterward. She felt better now, stronger, ready to face the day.

  Beyond the windows, war was brewing, if it had not already started just beyond the walls. The Mistress had said three days, but Bliss knew that the nymphs worked best under the cover of darkness. Bliss felt she had set it up well enough to let fate play out without her direct influence, and in the end, the least she could hope for was that the Mistress’s army was weakened enough that they could be finished—or that the wicked nymph herself could be destroyed. Bliss believed she could be happy with that simple thing.

  Until the day broke, she would enjoy her time in the human palace, take it all in, and please herself with the knowledge that she was experiencing something that the Mistress would not.

  Within the chamber, there was a door that was sealed with an iron lock, but that was no worry for one such as herself. With a twist of her wrist, the lock fell free, and she pushed open the door into the adjoining room.

  Before her was a lovely scene, a painted room with a rippling pool. A cascade flowed into it, and tall windows let in soft moonlight. As she looked around, she wondered if this had been created as a tribute to her. If she had influenced him as he claimed, then perhaps she had been his muse. She’d never thought about it like that until now, only believing that she had planted an important seed in his mind years ago, not that he had thought of her and admired her memory for the whole of his life. This thought made her smile. She knelt down and touched the water, immersing her hand, feeling its story.

  With that touch, a pulse shot through her body, and her foolish eyes were opened. She saw the young king’s secret, saw the finned sisters who serviced him. They were still here, in fact. Bliss looked into the water to see two pairs of gleaming eyes staring at her from a cove in the back of the pool, fearful in her presence, and a tremor of anger coursed through her.

  Had this young king misunderstood everything that she had wanted? Even though he had been a child, could he have misinterpreted her intent? He had instead become perverse, some twisted version of what she had hoped.

  This enraged her in more ways than one, and that surge of e
motion took hold. She could accept the fact that he had married Treasure—that he even had feelings for her. She was a sweet, beautiful thing with no vile intentions. But this betrayal… This was more than she could forgive.

  Bliss strode back into the bed chamber where he was sleeping, his naked body wrapped up in the silks. Perhaps he was the most beautiful beast she had ever seen, but a monster was still a monster.

  “Wake up, king,” she growled.

  Ellister stirred, opening his blue eyes to look up at her. In that moment, he looked so innocent—a perfect being that could do no wrong.

  “Bliss,” he said, a smile touching his mouth. “You’re really here. I thought I had dreamed it.”

  This did not rouse any softness in her.

  “I saw jour chamber,” she said, and paused a moment to let that sink in—until she saw the fear in his eyes. “Jou keep my sisters dere? Jou collect dem dere?”

  This seemed to shake him awake. His eyes filled with panic and denial.

  “It’s not what you think,” he insisted, reaching for her, but she stepped out of his grasp.

  “Don’ try to lie to me, boy,” she hissed. “I can see right through jou. I know what jou’ve done. Dere are no secrets from my eyes.”

  “It means nothing,” he said finally, grasping for his clothes, pathetic and scrambling. He was no longer regal but had been taken by surprise, caught in the act.

  “Jou keep dem captive here!”

  “I was keeping them safe,” he insisted, but her eyes were opened, and he could not change her mind.

  “And so jou thought jou would keep dem as slaves of jour own?”

  “Bliss, please,” he begged. “That’s not what I—”

  “Jou disgust me,” she sneered at him. To think that she had come here toying with the notion that she would find love—some inkling of the thing that she had seen between Treasure and her human, and yet this was what she had found. “After all I did for jou back den, jou misunderstood completely.”

  “Bliss,” he tried again. “I’ve only ever loved you. I’ve only ever thought of you—waited for you. I only wanted them because I wanted you!”