Page 61 of Liar Witch

“What’s wrong with that?” Was his father not in favour with the Empress or something?

“Klaus’s father fled our mother’s harem,” Alexandra explains. “It’s a great shame to a warrior to have a male run from your home. That he ran straight into the arms of her sister…”

“Our aunt was slaughtered for luring him away,” Cassandra continues. “She was a great warrior, and Mother almost died in the duel. They were both so lost to rage that Klaus’s father was caught in the crossfire.”

“Blasted apart by siren song.” Alexandra nods. “They had to scrape him off the ceiling.”

“Oh.” There wasn’t much I could say to that.

That sounded brutal.

“Klaus wasn’t even born at the time, but he lives with the shadow of the events just the same.” Cassandra tugs us left. “This way. You might find something you like closer to the statue.”

The statue turns out to be of the Empress herself, trident held up in a triumphant war cry as her golden likeness rises from the sea like an avenging goddess.

“Stop gawking. Mother hates that statue,” Alexandra mutters, dragging us farther down. “Back to the feast. You have to ignore him and he can’t look at you. That means you need to focus on our mother.”

“Which is exactly what Adella will be doing.” Cassandra groans. “No. That’s not her style. Nilsa, just relax and imagine you’re at a Lunar party.”

I frown. “That sounds like the opposite of what I should be doing.”

“Look, whatever you do, our mother isn’t going to approve of you. You might as well have fun tonight.”

I roll my eyes, but Alexandra just shrugs. “Cassie’s got a point. You’re not sirenae. You’re not noble. You don’t bring shark teeth to add to her crown, or a history of famous battle victories, or even a ship of your own. You might as well just have fun.”

I shrug. “Who cares about that shit? None of it means Klaus will be happy.”

“Exactly!” Cassie grins. “I—for one—would much rather have you as my sister than Adella. Did you see anything you like yet?”

I glance at the stalls, each one filled with glimmering jewels and silks.

“Rumour has it that Adella’s gotten him a chest filled with pearls,” Alexandra smirks. “Enough to fund a small army for years.”

Cassandra sighs. “That and a golden torque studded in diamonds the size of your thumb.”

“Classy,” I mutter.

“It’s a drop in the ocean compared to the dowry of an Empress’s only son.”

“She can keep her fucking money,” I growl. “Both of them can.”

Alexandra raises a brow. “I thought you were an assassin who fucks pirates. Surely treasure is yourthing.”

I don’t bother dignifying that with a response. Instead, I turn towards one of the smaller vendors in the marketplace. Tiny hag stones tinkle against abalone shells in an array of delicate wind chimes that sparkle in the light.

The smooth pebbles remind me of Klaus’s beach, and I can’t help but run my hand through one, disturbing the gentle chiming with a cacophony of discordant sound.

I suddenly have the urge to buy one, just to see what Klaus’s reaction would be like.

Would he make the same connection I did?

My hand lingered over a smaller one, the steel ring at the top carved with trident motifs. It’s small, but the shark teeth interwoven along the strings of the black hag stones and scarlet shells make it intrinsically masculine.

“You’re not seriously—”

“Shh, Lexi,” Cassandra mutters. “She can buy what she likes.”

The knowing gleam in her smile makes me certain she’s already seen all of this.