Page 19

S he felt ridiculous. Arden tugged again on the dress, but her efforts to fix the garment failed.

It was all wrong. Draping where it should fit and fitting where it should drape, covering her arms but leaving her back bare.

It couldn’t even decide what color it wanted to be—mostly white, but for the pale turquoise at the hem that crept its way upward, fading into nothing but a scattering of blue-green crystals.

It was supposed to be blue. That was the rule, which surely the royal dressmaker knew.

Her fingers ran across the fabric of the dress.

This was not blue. It was white, with a few blue accents.

She would stand out like a beacon on the water if she showed up in this when everyone else was in shades of royal and navy and cerulean.

Mama had read everything she could find about the Blue Ball, had pored over images from past celebrations, had—

Mama . Arden squeezed her eyes shut and turned away from the mocking mirror that told her she looked like a fool. She said a prayer, then another, then breathed a sigh of relief when she heard Storm’s door open into their shared living room.

She charged into it, arms held out. “Look at me! The dressmaker must have sent the wrong gown. The king will kick me out before I take a single step into the ballroom, and then he’ll have to find some other way to trap the royal mer, and then Jade will stay lost that much longer, and—”

“Ar. Relax.” Though he looked none too relaxed himself, Storm’s lips twitched into a smile. “I don’t think Jade’s rescue is really in peril because of a dress.”

Easy for him to say. He was clad in the regal blue tailored tunic and trousers that all the other men would be wearing—though he wore it better than most of them probably would.

Jade would have loved seeing him in it. Arden sighed.

“I should capture this. Save it on a crystal. She’ll want to see you in that outfit. ”

Storm turned away, face toward the glass doors that opened onto a balcony. “She’ll have to see it for herself. Later.”

“She will.” The glass pulled her too. Their suite overlooked the coast, the sound, and beyond it, the Banks—not surprising, given that her father should have been here in these quarters, looking at this view. He would have appreciated getting to gaze out toward his home. What was his to protect.

She’d never felt as powerless as she did right then. No Papa at her side. No Jade laughing and pinning up her hair. No way to right all the wrongs. She could only look out at the sun, still two hours from setting on this summer day, and question the king’s every command.

This wouldn’t help anything. The mer wouldn’t be so easily trapped. They shouldn’t be wasting their time at a ball, they should be out there, scouring the depths, mounting an attack on the Sunken Kingdom, pulling in those spies. Something active. Something real.

But he was the king, and he’d said they should attend the ball, so they were.

At the time, when he’d explained it, it had made sense.

She’d seen his determination, his thoughtful care.

She’d understood, standing before him, why Papa called King Seidon a friend and respected him to the point that he’d be willing to die for him.

Now, out of his presence, all that certainty and trust fizzled into anxiety gurgling her stomach into a mess. Someone had sent up food twice throughout the day for them, but she’d had to force herself to eat it, and it hadn’t settled well.

What if the king expected her to dance? To keep up appearances? Please, Triada, no. Not dancing .

A knock rapped out on their door. “This is Alexei. The king asked me to show you to the ball now.”

Arden’s mouth dried. Through the open window, the music swirled its way into the evening from the grand ballroom in the next wing over. The ball had begun half an hour ago, but King Seidon had sent a message asking them to remain in their suite until he sent someone to escort them down.

She’d kind of hoped he’d forgotten.

“We’re coming,” Storm said, looking to Arden. “Ready?”

“No.” She lifted a hand toward her hair but stopped before touching it. A professional had spent an hour on the intricate braid. She didn’t want to mess it up. Skies knew it had never looked this sleek and shining before, and it likely never would again.

Her cousin smiled and offered his arm. “You look great, Arden.”

She gusted out a hard breath and tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow. “It doesn’t matter. Let’s go save Jade.”

Alexei greeted them with a nod and led them away—though not until after a gaze swept over her that showed some consternation. See? This dress was all wrong, and he knew it as well as she did. He just didn’t say anything out of politeness.

Or a morbid curiosity to see what the king would do when she entered in the wrong color. If she were him, that’s what she’d have been wondering.

The journey—ridiculously long when one considered that they remained within one house for the entirety of it—was far too short.

All too soon the music grew to a level impossible to be ignored, underscored by the thunder of a thousand voices.

Chatting, laughing, whispering, calling.

Alexei stopped them at a door that would presumably open into the ballroom, and Arden peeked through the glass.

Blue. All blue. An ocean of blue. It was a sight stunning enough for her to suck in a breath of appreciation, despite her insecurity. A mosaic of shades, swirling and pulsing like a living piece of art.

But the mosaic’s pulse and swirl showed her what she feared—everyone else in that ballroom looked happy to be there.

They were talking to each other, sipping drinks, laughing, dancing.

She spotted two people standing against a wall looking as awkward as she felt, and both were swept up into a conversation within seconds.

“Hey.” Storm’s hand landed on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “Together. Right?”

She let out a long, slow breath and nodded. He was right. She wouldn’t be alone against the wall either—she’d be with her cousin, one of her best friends in all the world. She glanced at Alexei. “What do we do once we enter?”

The Guard smiled. “His Majesty will be waiting for you. This staircase will deliver you close to the dais.”

She glanced at the room again, searching for said dais this time, rather than at the crowd.

It sprawled against the northern wall, equipped not only with the Tidal Throne—she’d try to study that surreptitiously at some point so she could report to Jade what it looked like—but a semi-circle of other regal looking chairs.

Half of them were occupied with people who appeared to be in their mid-twenties.

They wore crowns on their heads and bored expressions on their faces, and Arden realized with a start that they were the mer royal family.

They must be. She’d never studied them like Jade had, but her sister had spent so much time twirling data crystal images around that Arden couldn’t help but recognize them.

Mariana, the Crown Princess, sat closest to the central throne. In her poker straight position, her gown lay fitted until her lower leg, at which point it flared out to mimic a tail. It was blue edging toward green. Dark and bold and stunning.

Then came Shell, her gown of a similar cut but sparkling with sapphire-colored crystals. On the other side of the throne sat Reg, the only prince in attendance, and beside him the youngest daughter, Coral.

Coral was staring at something with enough attention that Arden traced her gaze. From this angle, she could only make out a stark white tunic against the sea of blue, but that was enough to tell her it must be King Seidon. No one else would show up at the Blue Ball in white.

Well. No one, apparently, but her.

“I think I’m going to be sick,” Arden muttered to Storm, praying Alexei didn’t hear it.

The Guard’s puff of laughter indicated otherwise. “You’ll be fine, my lady.”

She shook her head. Under normal circumstances, she wouldn’t dare to complain to a stranger. But these weren’t normal circumstances, and she felt ready to crawl out of her own skin. “This dress, though…”

“The king selected it from the options the dressmaker sent for his approval.” Alexei lifted his blond brows. “She didn’t tell you that?”

Arden shook her head. And frowned. Why would he have done that?

She didn’t know, but he would have had a reason, and that meant it wasn’t about her at all. It was about the impression she made on the mer. It was about rescuing Jade.

In that case… She squared her shoulders and filled her lungs, lifting her chin. “All right then. Ready whenever it’s time.”

Alexei fixed his attention on the door as well, watching for some signal, presumably.

She spotted it the moment he did. The king shifted, laughing and clapping a man who must be the mer king-consort on the shoulder, turning the cluster of them—Seidon and the consort and the mer queen—all toward the staircase.

Alexei opened the door. “Down you go. And good luck.”

Arden’s left hand was still tucked in Storm’s elbow, but she used her right one to lift her skirt a few inches so she didn’t trip and tumble down the stairs—not the entrance the king would be hoping for, she knew.

Her cousin led her forward and down with the same calm certainty he used whether he was sparring or sailing or sitting at missa.

By the time they reached the bottom, it wasn’t only the mer who were staring at her, worried curiosity in their eyes. Dozens of sets of eyes had fixed their gazes on them.

The king smiled, walked away from the mer without even a word of explanation, and met them at the foot of the stairs. His face wore amusement in its lines, but his eyes were calculating enough that she trusted them. Him.

He held out a hand to her. “My lady. If you would grant me this dance?”