Page 31

31

Claira

I hadn’t slept, not even for a second.

“All right, Aracos. You win.” With a long sigh, I carefully folded up the message I’d finally finished writing to Barren. “You can wait until Hari gets back. But once she’s here and you’re sure I’m nice and safely guarded, then will you take this letter to Cyre?”

My stomach churned as I mentally went over everything I’d included in the letter. Finding the right balance between “sorry for leaving you” and “also, your kingdom is in danger” had been tricky. A well-rested and better-fed version of me might have nailed it. But despite the horribly jumbled mess it ended up being, I knew I had to send it to him.

Barren needed to know what was happening in the Indian Ocean now that Malkeevo’s illusion had faded.

Aracos tilted his head curiously. “To Cyre?” he asked, still hesitant about his role in my plan. He swam closer, brushing up against my arm. “Aracos has not had the pleasure of meeting our princess’s familiar.”

Oh, shoot. They hadn’t actually met yet, had they? “Well, you can’t miss him. He’s hanging out somewhere near the entrance to the Undersea, and he’s a shark, so?—”

“I’ve returned to my post, my lady.” Hari’s voice rang out abruptly, slicing through my instruction at the absolute worst possible moment. With her neck bent, she entered my chamber, her gaze fixed on the floor.

She hadn’t even glanced up to see Aracos before he vanished, a sleek blur sliding right past her.

“Aracos!” I called after him, nearly crumpling my message to Barren in my frustration. He was already gone—probably headed straight to his master.

Traitor. What the heck was I supposed to do now?

My gaze shifted to Hari, and I couldn’t mask my surprise. “Where’s your pike?” My eyebrows furrowed as I covertly slid my message to Barren back onto my desk, hiding it among the other scraps of parchments.

I half-expected one of her tentacles to produce the weapon out of nowhere, but instead, she gave a sullen shrug. “I left it somewhere.”

“You… left it somewhere?”

“Pretty much.”

“Okay?” Clearly, I’d broken her yesterday when I kicked her out of my chamber. “Why don’t you go back and get it?” I suggested, gesturing vaguely at my chamber’s entrance. “The breakfast feast hasn’t come by yet. If the chef shows up, I’ll make sure to distract him until you get back.”

Maybe it was a blessing in disguise that she’d forgotten it. The quickest way I could think of to get the message to Cyre was through Aracos. What were the chances that he’d come back if he saw Hari leaving?

Hari really must have been broken. She seemed totally disinterested in what I was saying, even after I’d mentioned two of her favorite things.

“It doesn’t matter,” she muttered, avoiding my gaze. She dragged herself over to her usual spot next to my chamber’s entrance and leaned back against the rocky wall.

“Doesn’t matter?” I asked, blinking at her. “Well, that’s reassuring.” A guard without a weapon. Then again, Hari’s bulky arms could probably do plenty of damage on their own.

She crossed those muscular arms of hers, staring up at the ceiling. “Yes, it doesn’t matter because my brother is bringing me a new one.”

“Really?” I asked, genuinely surprised. “I didn’t know you had a brother.”

A curt “aye” was her only response. Fine, she was clearly still upset.

“Hari,” I began, and her eyes flicked briefly to mine before drifting back to the ceiling. “I hope we can move past what happened yesterday. I meant what I said, but I also want us to be friends.”

Nothing. She remained silent, her gaze fixed on the stone above like it was the most fascinating thing in the room. I knew for a fact it was the most dreary, uninspiring slab of rock in the entire ocean. However, she apparently found it more interesting than this conversation.

“You’re one of the very few allies I have,” I continued, trying again to connect with her. “You’re the only reason I’ve been able to sleep at all down here. That’s how much I want to trust you. Please, Hari, I would really like it if we could trust each other.”

At last, she let out a heavy sigh. “I know that, my lady. You may think my actions were uncalled for, but I only meant to protect you.”

Not wanting to risk a repeat of yesterday, I left it at that. “I appreciate everything you do for me. And I’m sorry if I put you in a difficult position.” I offered her a small smile, trying to lighten the mood. “Did you get to do anything fun on your time off, at least? Besides, you know, losing your weapon.”

“I paid a visit to the servants’ quarters,” she said, a hint of something almost ominous in her voice. “But afterward, I spent time with my brother.” Her tone lifted as soon as she mentioned him.

Intrigued, I raised an eyebrow. “Your brother, huh? It’s nice of him to bring you a weapon.” I tried to imagine what he would look like—maybe hulking and muscular like Hari, with that same frightening demeanor? Or perhaps he was the complete opposite. Someone she spent her free time lecturing and trying to toughen up.

But then, a random, unsettling thought twisted my stomach.

What if her brother was one of my grandmother’s pawns?

“He’s a knight like I am,” she said proudly, which was an instant relief. “Not for long, though. He’s favored to become the next rook.”

“The next rook? ” I sputtered. Stomach. Twisting. Harder.

The sea wizard had said my grandmother and the current rook had been paramours. If that relationship status came with the title, then that was an unfortunate fate for him.

A shudder ran through me as I forced a sympathetic smile. “And how do you think he feels about that?”

Hari had nothing but pride in her eyes for her brother. “He sees it as an honor, my lady. The greatest of honors.” Without her pike to hold on to, her hands moved expressively with every word. It seemed she was enjoying the opportunity to talk about him. “He’s always been ambitious, even as a spawnling. Some say he’s the most accomplished knight our ranks have ever seen.”

“That does sound impressive.”

A knock at my entryway interrupted us, unlike the usual sharp, impatient one from the chef. This one was purposeful and controlled.

The first thing I saw was the top of a head bowed in respect, dark hair shaved close to the scalp, etched with thin silver scars. Then a face appeared as the man came out of his bow—strong and angular but tired, with deep-set eyes that looked as though they’d seen too much.

“My lady.” His voice emerged with a rough burr, as deep as it was unnerving. But when our gazes met, he smiled. “May I enter?”

“Jagati!” Hari growled, her earlier excitement all but evaporating. “You were supposed to wait until after we’ve eaten to bring me a new pike.”

So, this was Hari’s brother, the rook-to-be?

He was nothing like the current rook, though I supposed there was more than one rook in a game of chess. My grandmother wasn’t actually playing chess with her kingdom, was she?

“Maybe I wanted to sample some of the princess’s famous breakfast feast before you devoured all of it, sister,” Jagati quipped, entering my chamber with the relaxed confidence of someone who was used to teasing his sibling.

Little sister, going by size. If Hari was a battleship, then her brother was a towering cruise ship, complete with all the amenities. Pool decks and water slides and—okay, maybe I was getting a bit carried away, but he was definitely impressive.

He was built large like his sister, but not in the lumbering way one might expect from someone of his stature. Tentacles rolled in behind him, and when he turned to sling a new pike into his sister’s arms, one particular tentacle caught my eye. It was ghostly thin and white, almost translucent against the others. I wasn’t sure why it surprised me that he didn’t try to hide it.

Jagati turned back, grinning when he caught my eye.

Hari scowled at her brother, weighing the weapon he’d given her. Apparently, she’d decided it had come up short. “Bah! This is the best you could find for your own sister?”

“Do not worry, Rini, that pike is sturdy and sharp,” Jagati replied, his teasing smile made roguish by a scar on his top lip, just to the right of his cupid’s bow. “Perfect for any knight who might find herself lounging around royal quarters.”

He eyed my chamber then, scanning the walls and the ceiling. For a second, I worried that Aracos might have missed taking down some of the magical seaweed.

Hari huffed, inspecting the blade of the weapon once more. “Don’t give me that sharkshit. You wish you had a cushy assignment like mine.” Begrudgingly, she slung the pike over her shoulder.

When her brother turned to me fully, I noticed the crooked angle of his nose. “I do, indeed,” he said with a grin. Leaning in, the muscles in his massive neck shifted like armored plates as he introduced himself. “I am Jagati, son of Jagan, bane of kings, and it is an honor to finally meet you.”

Jagati, bane of kings? Huh . Well, he did look like he could put King Eamon in his place if it came to a fight.

Hari rolled her eyes at her brother’s dramatic introduction and gave him a hard nudge with her shoulder. “All those grand titles, and you forgot ‘brother to Harini’?”

One of his back tentacles gave his sister a playful shove in return. “And brother to your most trusted knight, Harini,” he amended softly, the words spoken just for me.

Unsure of the best way to introduce myself, I began with a polite smile. “Well, Jagati, bane of kings, brother to Harini, it’s nice to meet you. I’m… Claira. Just Claira.”

I probably could have given him a list of titles, if I’d cared to. Ex-mermaid, formerly known as Nerida, mighty netter of fish.

Jagati’s smile widened. “Just Claira,” he echoed, rolling my name around on his tongue as if testing its weight. “ Princess Just Claira.”

Ah, right . I’d nearly forgotten about that one.

I cleared my throat, shifting uncomfortably under his gaze. “Yes, well, that’s a title I’m still getting used to.”

His gaze lingered—down my hair and then back to my eyes. His sister was right behind him, so why was he focusing on me?

“I can imagine it must be quite the adjustment,” he said, his voice still resonating with that deep burr, “standing out from those around you.” As he spoke, that thin, spectral tendril of his reached up, gently coiling around a stray strand from my unruly eel’s nest of hair.

I flinched reflexively, not because of the tentacle’s appearance, but because I wasn’t used to being in such close proximity to a stranger, especially one who referred to himself as the bane of kings.

Jagati seemed to notice my discomfort, and, to my relief, he retracted his tentacle and pulled away. At least knights had better manners than pawns.

“Well, I will not keep you,” he said, tilting his chin before turning back to Hari. “Malkeevo was discovered last night, so I am afraid your brother must go and prove his worth.”

My heart squeezed, my mind going back to the neatly folded letter to Barren on my desk.

“You’re joking!” A growl built in Hari’s throat. “They finally found it, and you’re going while I’m stuck here? ”

Hari wanted to go to Malkeevo?

The back of Jagati’s shoulders shook with amusement. “You should be grateful for your cushy assignment, sister. I must admit, I have grown even more envious after seeing it myself.”

As soon as his grinning face glanced back at me, a question burst from my lips. “Do you think the queen would let Hari take me to Malkeevo? I—I want to see it, too.”

If anyone would know, it would be the soon-to-be-rook, right?

“I am afraid I would not know,” he answered carefully, as if it were the oddest question he’d ever been asked.

“Maybe you could ask her?” I suggested, trying to sound casual. I sure as heck didn’t want to ask her myself.

“Jagati, speak with the queen?” Hari burst into a laugh. “Yeah, brother, why don’t you go speak with the queen and ask if she’ll let me take the princess to Malkeevo?”

Jagati shot his sister a mildly annoyed look before turning his attention back to me. “I am honored that you would consider me for delivering such an important question,” he said, his voice rough yet sincere. “But I have never spoken directly to the queen.”

Wait… “But you’re the soon-to-be-rook, aren’t you?” I asked, my confusion clear in my voice.

A flush spread across Jagati’s face. His entire expression changed, that confidence bordering on arrogance melting away as an uncomfortable look settled over every hard angle.

“My grandmother wants to make you her rook, but she hasn’t even spoken to you?”

“I apologize if my sister has said something that has caused this misunderstanding,” he said all too formally. “I am not favored to become her rook, Princess Just Claira.”

The water seemed to thicken around me, dread clawing up the column of my spine. If Jagati wasn’t her rook, then…

“I am favored to be yours.”

Mine?

I was stunned, unsure of what to say or do.

Why was I just finding out about this now? Why hadn’t anyone told me? Hari had clearly known.

Oh god . Had the sea wizard known as well?

“That’s…” My mind reeled, my thoughts a useless jumble.

Jagati watched me closely, studying every aspect of my reaction. “The decision will not be made until after your official welcoming ceremony,” he added, “but as of now, I am the only one being considered for the honor.”

No one else? I could think of only one cecaelia who I would consider if I had to choose at all.

But if Jagati was going to be my rook without my knowledge, my input, or my acceptance, then…

“You will take me to Malkeevo.” The words came out before I’d finished processing them, surprising even myself.

Jagati’s dark eyes, so similar to his sister’s, widened slightly before settling into a determined gleam. “It would be an honor.”