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NARIA

T he sound of water falling against the cave’s crystal floor matched the frantic pounding of my heart. Steadying my breath, I leaned against the cold rock wall. A puffy wedding gown clung to my skin, the stiff fabric leaving marks around my neck and shoulders. I wanted nothing more than to tear the awful thing off, but at the same time, the thought of having to take it off made my body itch even more – especially considering who would be peeling it from my skin tonight.

“Are you ready?” Lyssandra asked, patting my shoulder. Her long colourful hair had been pinned up in an elaborate bun, similar to mine, while a forest green bridesmaid gown swung around her knees.

“I don’t think I’ll ever be ready,” I said plainly. Beyond this small cave was another, much larger chamber with a huge crashing waterfall and a river running down one side. It’d looked breathtaking a few days ago when Lyssandra had shown it to us as a potential wedding venue. Thousands of blush pink crystals sang from the walls while splashes of amethyst lit up the river, giving it a soft lilac glow.

It’d felt like walking through a dream. But now, that dreamlike chamber was filled with hundreds of whispering faeries. Faeries eager to watch a wedding ceremony between me and a prince I had no feelings for.

“The music’s starting.” Lyssandra jerked her head towards the sound. Smooth strings music waltzed through the walkway leading to the chamber. Instinctively, I backed away.

“I can’t do this.” I picked up my heavy skirts. “Arenn will have to understand. I need more time.” My head whipped around, searching for an escape.

I’d wanted to run from the palace last night, but Arenn hadn’t left my side since our engagement party. Each day he’d gone about his royal duties with his hand around my wrist. And each night he’d slept sprawled out across my chaise lounge while I tossed and turned in my bed.

When I stepped towards the cave exit, the two guards on either side stiffened and adjusted their grip on their weapons.

“No. Stop. You can do this,” Lyssandra hissed, planting her hands on my shoulders. But there was a nervous glint in her eyes – something she wasn’t telling me. Leaning closer, she kept her voice low. “There’s not enough time for me to explain everything right now, and I haven’t had a chance to speak to you alone since I sent the letter.”

“Letter?” My lips parted.

“Just trust me when I say that help is coming.” She gritted her teeth. “I just hope I chose the right side.”

“What are you talking about?” I gasped, but the two guards shoved us forwards before she could reply.

As the smooth music crescendoed, we were forced into the glittering crystal chamber.

In truth, it was even more beautiful than I remembered. Glowing white quartz lights hung from the high ceilings while pink roses wove their thorny stems down the aisle. Hundreds of guests filled the stone benches either side of us, each of them dressed in their finest clothes.

As we walked in time to the music, Lyssandra gripped my arm so tightly it hurt. Though I was grateful for the pain. It gave me something else to focus on rather than the well-dressed faery prince grinning at the end of the aisle.

“My bride,” Arenn greeted me as I stepped onto the flower-covered dais. Lyssandra had scurried off to sit with Elsie and Elara near the front – the three all dressed in matching green gowns. To their left sat the Faery King and Queen, both dabbing tears from their eyes as they watched the dais.

“Prince Arenn,” I greeted him back, struggling to hide the sadness in my voice. A large bouquet of roses rested between my hands, and I fiddled with the stems while the officiant began his speech.

With every word from the old faery man’s lips, I found it harder and harder to breathe.

“… and so now I ask for the rings to be presented so we may bind this couple forever more.”

Queen Amabel blew her nose into her handkerchief, sobbing.

Lifting his palm, Arenn summoned a winding plant from behind the dais. It twisted through the air before unfurling its leaves to reveal an impressive purple bloom. In the centre of its petals were two silver rings. But by the way my stomach dipped, they may as well have been handcuffs.

“Your hand please, human,” Arenn murmured, plucking the smaller ring from the flower.

Breath shaking, I removed my left hand from the safety of the bouquet. But before Arenn could shove the ring onto my finger, a strange rumble echoed through the chamber.

“What was that?” I whispered. Confused murmurs filled the hall.

“Probably just the waterfall,” Arenn brushed me off. Pulling my hand closer, he went to slide on the ring. Only to drop the silver band when a second, much louder rumble made the entire cave shake. As the ring clattered against stone, my breath stilled.

Silence fell over the hall – soon broken by a third, this time ear-splitting, crash.

I glanced at Arenn, who swallowed thickly. I’d barely had time to breathe before a huge snakelike beast burst out from the top of the waterfall and plunged towards the crowds.

Arenn shoved me behind him.

“Don’t leave my side,” he snarled. The beast, at least seventy feet long and seemingly made of water, dove in and out of the screaming crowds, tossing faeries aside and whipping its scaly head around as if searching for something – or someone.

I yelped as it swallowed a faery guard whole, forcing him to drown in its blue shimmering belly. No. Not just blue. A flash of grey swam inside the serpent’s belly too. Before I could make out what it was, at least a dozen angry roars joined the chaos.

I spun my body towards the sound. Twenty furious men and women crawled out from the river, followed by another twenty, and then another. Each one was clad in golden armour decorated with seaweed and shells. But they didn’t look like normal faeries, or even humans. As they crawled up from the river, their long fishtails transformed into two legs.

“Merfolk,” Arenn spat. “How in the divine realm did they find us here?”

Before I could make sense of anything, another horde of furious creatures followed the merfolk out from the river. No. Not creatures. People! People dressed in lightweight armour with various potion bottles and pouches hanging from their belts.

I held back a gasp as one young woman hurled a handful of powder at a faery soldier. It burst into violet flames when it hit the floor, its glow reflecting off her long brown hair as she yelled something about Prince Arenn being a kidnapper and a monster who poisons children.

“Looks like your friends have come for a fight too,” Arenn snarled.

“My friends? I have friends?” I choked. “But you said there wasn’t anyone else who cared about me!”

Ignoring my anger, he dragged me off the dais and into the screaming crowds. I writhed against him, struggling against his hold until another thunderous rumble made us both freeze.

The snakelike beast was staring straight at me, its huge eyes dragging up from my gown to my face.

Without warning, it charged. I didn’t even have time to scream. But just as its wet scales brushed my nose, it whipped to the side and crashed into Arenn instead.

The faery prince yelped, but before I could try and help him, something else crashed into me. When I opened my eyes, I was flying through the air. The grey shape that was inside the beast now had me doubled over its snout. Until we both plunged into the cave’s river.

Lilac water filled my ears. Panicking, I tried to swim up to the surface, ignoring the grey beast that circled around my body.

I was so close. My fingers had just brushed the surface when I was tugged back down again. Before I could scream, a woman’s lips smothered mine.

“Naria!” she yelled, pulling away from me. Somehow her voice was clear through the water. “Naria, look at me!”

She shook me violently, rattling my bones until my eyes were forced open. I gasped at the sight of her. Then gasped again at the realisation that I wasn’t drowning.

Long red hair spilled around her shoulders, floating around her tanned face like a cloud. On her chest, golden armour twinkled in the river’s lilac glow. The most shocking thing was her blue fishtail. With every swish, it kept us below the surface while her hands stayed planted on my shoulders.

“Who are you? How do you know my name?” I spluttered. There were so many questions on my tongue. How was I breathing right now? What did this woman want with me? Was everyone else up there going to die?

“It’s me! Adriana?” the mermaid scoffed. After a moment, her shoulders sagged. “Oh, right. Lukas did say that you might not remember me.”

Lukas? That name again… But then I shook my head. Whoever he was, he didn’t matter now. Wincing, I struggled against her hold, but she held me firm.

“What are you doing?” I demanded.

She chuckled. “We’re rescuing you, silly,”

“Rescuing me?”

“Don’t look so alarmed. This is a good thing! Your heroic husband is up there right now slaughtering all the faery beasts who took you from us.” She grinned while I almost choked. “He’s tasked me with keeping you here until all the killing has been completed. Not my first choice of tasks, but I’ll admit it’s better Sweetie and I keep you company than one of my other sisters.”

My mind was completely scrambled. Somehow, through it all, I managed to ask, “Who’s Sweetie?”

“My shark!” She beamed. When the horse-sized grey beast popped up beside her, flashing a row of sharp teeth, I could’ve sworn I lost ten years of my life.

“What is that thing?” I gasped, backing against the crystal wall of the river.

Sweetie let out an offended sort of growl.

“Oh no, it’s alright, sweetheart.” Adriana nuzzled into his side. “She doesn’t mean it. Princess Naria’s just a little confused right now. The bad faery man got to her.”

Princess? My spine dug against the rock wall. I had to get out of here. This woman was completely unhinged.

“Lukas won’t be long now.” She smiled, turning back to me. “Let’s just give him a few more minutes to finish everyone off.”

“Right,” I laughed nervously. The mermaid spun away to fuss over her creature, checking him for wounds and adjusting what must’ve been his saddle.

“You were so brave up there, Sweetie,” she cooed. I glanced up towards the surface, seeing colours and shapes dart past the rippling water. “You did so good for Mama,” Adriana went on, thoroughly distracted. “You found Naria and brought her here for me.”

Slowly, I pushed away from the wall, swimming as quietly as I could. The shapes grew more defined the higher up I swam.

“Naria?”

I cursed under my breath.

“Where did you—” Springing forward, I dislodged a clump of sand from the wall and kicked wildly up to the surface. I burst up from the river just as the sand clouded the water, blinding my captor enough for me to scramble up to the river’s edge.

But I almost stumbled back into the water at the sight of it all. Most of the faeries had escaped, with those remaining being held captive by merfolk soldiers and a few furious-looking humans. In the centre of the destroyed wedding aisle, Arenn laid across the floor while another man straddled his chest. Over and over again, the young man swung his fists at Arenn’s jaw. Each time I shuddered as an awful crack echoed across the crystal walls.

“I told you I’d kill you, you bastard,” the man snarled, striking Arenn again. “You think you can just take her from me. She’s my wife!” he growled.

Above him, the water dragon painted circles in the ceiling. It watched them both, growling menacingly when Arenn wheezed, “Hardly a fair fight if you have me cuffed in iron.”

“As if you’ve ever played fair.” The man struck the prince across the jaw.

Emotions warred inside of me. Fierce emotions I didn’t understand. When I tried to think what they meant, an awful headache clapped against my skull.

“Naria,” a woman hissed. I glanced down to see Queen Amabel on the floor, angry bruises blooming across her face.

“What’s happening here?” I crouched down to her level.

“You need to give Arenn this.” Holding back a sob, she slipped something small into my palm. “It’s a key he can use for the cuff. Please, just save us all,” she begged.

“Hey!” A merfolk soldier charged towards us.

I leapt back, keeping the small object hidden in my fist.

“Where did you come from?” he barked, but when he raised his trident, a powerful voice made us both freeze.

“If you dare touch her my dragon will tear your limbs from your chest.” The man on top of Arenn stared straight at me. “Naria,” he sighed my name as if it were a prayer. “You weren’t supposed to see me like this.”

“Why are you here?” I demanded, swallowing down tears. “Why are you hurting him?”

The man shook his head, his dark brown hair glinting under the quartz lights. “You don’t understand. This man is evil. He stole you from me then took all your memories, but I’ll find a way to bring them back.” His gaze dropped to Arenn as his voice turned lethal. “I’ll make sure of that.”

“Please stop hurting people.” I drew closer to him. “Just take me if you want, but don’t hurt anyone else.”

The man’s stormy eyes darkened. “The others will all be let go, but not Arenn. Not while I’m still breathing. He can’t be allowed to hurt you again, Naria. And if I leave him now, he’ll only find another way to take you from me.” Desperation clouded his gaze. “Don’t you see? Even this wedding was just another trick. Faery weddings are powerful, forest princess. Even more binding than those stones on your wrist. Had he married you today, your bond would’ve run deeper than it is now. I wouldn’t have been able to dampen your connection to him like I did before.”

“What are you talking about?” I rasped.

“My aunt explained everything,” he went on. “She told me how I used my Gift without knowing to cut your connection with the prince and replace it with our own merfolk bond. That’s how I’ve been able to save you from drowning, to speak to you even when we were miles apart. Just look at your wrist.”

“Ignore him, human. He’s lying,” Arenn groaned from the floor.

Hesitantly, I raised my arm. Arenn had told me the crystals on my wrist represented our engagement, but could never explain why mine were blue and occasionally fizzed like bubbling water. “That can’t be true,” I stammered, but when I glanced back at the man, his gaze was fixed on my closed fist.

“What’s that in your hand?” His voice hardened.

“I…” My fingers opened to reveal a small key – the key to Arenn’s cuff.

“Give that to me, human!” Arenn boomed. “I need that!”

The man struck him across the face again “Enough with the squirming or I’ll try drowning you again,” he growled.

“Give it to him!” Amabel cried out from behind the merfolk soldier. “Save us all!”

“Quiet!” the soldier barked.

The key felt far too heavy in my palm. I should throw it. It’d be so easy to toss it to Prince Arenn and let all this chaos come to an end. But confusion pounded in my head like my heart in my chest. And for some reason, I trusted that stranger more than I trusted my own mind.

Shaking my head, I backed away from the men, ready to throw the key into the river. When, out of nowhere, a red-haired faery snatched it out of my hand and launched it across the chamber.

“Brother!” Elara yelled, before collapsing down to the floor just as merfolk soldiers swarmed her.

Arenn snatched the key with one swift jerk of his wrist.