Page 8

Chapter

Six

“ D aphne?” Gwyneth’s voice echoes in the room. She sounds mad, but I can’t see her.

“I can’t see her,” I tell the mirror man.

He frowns and turns around, showing us the back of his bald head. “She is right there.”

“Maybe you need to move?” I try.

Genie huffs a laugh, causing me to scowl at him.

The mirror man spins to face me. “Oh, of course. I apologize.”

He drifts to the left, revealing my sister kneeling on the floor. There are enormous bookcases behind her, suggesting she is in the library, which is good because I have research for her.

Four heads pop into view around her. My knights.

Hart scowls like I peed on his morning sausage.

Malachi gives me a warm but forced smile.

Theo shakes his head like he can’t believe he’s seeing me.

Nash folds his arms and glares. Oh Blazes, I’m not sure whether to run from him or strip naked and demand he let out whatever is haunting him. Probably both. A naked run.

I hold my hand up and wave, because I am a complete weirdo. “Hi.”

Gwyneth points at me. Here we go.

“You are in so much trouble. When you get out of the lake and back here, I am going to tie you down to the chair to ensure you stop making stupid decisions.”

Nash’s lips curl up. “Bed, not chair. And fear not; I’ll make sure she can’t walk.”

Heat flares to life in my belly.

My sister shoots him a look reserved for those she wants to cut down and make beg for freedom.

“You are partly responsible for this mess. Not only did you pull her into the Excalibur legend, but then you left her in your chambers and expected her to wait on the sidelines while Charming tried to force me to marry him.”

“That was a miscalculation,” Nash snaps.

“Your miscalculation has doomed my sister to a life at the bottom of the lake until one of you poopfloofs decides you are worthy. And then she dies.”

“It won’t happen,” Malachi mutters. “None of us would do anything to harm Daphne.”

“Hey,” I shout. “This is the first time I am seeing you since I drowned, and you are spending your time arguing with each other. At least argue with me.”

Their faces fall as they realize what they are doing and refocus their attention on me. “Sorry, Daph,” Theo says. “We have been working to figure out a solution.”

“Great. A few things, though, in case it affects your search. I am not at the bottom of the lake.”

Gwyneth’s eyes lift to take in the room behind me. “You are still underwater.”

I nod. “But I’m in the ocean.”

Nash swipes a hand down his face. “Was the lake not big enough for you?”

“We can scrap the plan to drain the lake,” Hart mutters.

They were going to drain the lake? My heart squeezes.

“Agreed,” Nash says. “So we focus on figuring out if there is a loophole in the narrative.”

“Is there anything you can tell us?” Gwyneth asks me.

“Well, apparently I have to remain here until I deem a knight worthy of the sword. Which, by the way, is a judgy mellow.”

Malachi jerks his head back. “We aren’t judgy mellows.”

“Not you, the sword.”

Nash quirk a brow. “The sword speaks?”

“Not in words. It’s more of a feeling.”

Gwyneth pinches the bridge of her nose. “Apart from judgy swords, do you have anything else to tell us?”

“The king is a little senile, and alternates being a semi hot older daddy and a creepy entitled pervert.”

“What king?” Hart asks.

“Poseidon.”

Stunned silence stretches through the space spanning the ocean.

Gwyneth is the first to get her shit together. No surprise really, given she has been dealing with my chaos for annuses. “You’ve met the Idol Poseidon?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I met a king.”

“Poseidon is an Idol, Daphne,” Nash says. “A dangerous and powerful one.”

I point my index finger at my temple and circle it. “He’s a little cuckoo. Maybe he just thinks he is Poseidon, or he’s playing out the narrative, much like Charming. I’m sure the original dude is more put together.”

Nash shakes his head. “Poseidon is not part of any narrative. He is the overseer of all water fairy tales. There are no potentials waiting to take his place. He is the original, the one and only.”

“This is good,” Gwyneth mumbles. “If he rules the water narrative, then he alone has the power to change it. You must petition him to release you.”

“Already attempted,” I say. “He said no. But I’m going to try again. I’ll wear him down.”

“There’s something about his weapon,” Nash says as he turns and disappears from view. Gwyneth glances over her shoulder, no doubt wrestling with the need to follow him.

“Anything else that might help?” she asks.

“Don’t forget the dead dude,” Genie reminds me.

“Who did you kill, Calamity?” Hart asks with a rise of one eyebrow.

“Nobody yet.” Oops. I hope the ‘yet’ isn’t a premonition. “But in my magical underwater house, there’s a room with a casket and a dead guy inside.”

“Inscription says his name is Merlin,” Genie adds.

I smile at him. “Thanks. Names are a good bit of info.”

“Yes, narrowing down dead guys in the ocean without a name is a little time consuming,” Hart drawls.

I roll my eyes.

“I’ve never heard of him,” Gwyneth mutters with a deep frown. “But if he’s in the Lady of the Lake’s house, surely he is part of your fairy tale?”

Nash leans forward. “Merlin is my father’s advisor. He is part of the King Arthur tale, but I don’t really see his significance to you, or why one of the previous Merlins would be at the bottom of the ocean.”

“I’ll ask Frank,” I say.

The knights scowl. “Who is Frank?” Hart snarls.

I fold my arms. “He’s my guide. Keep your hair on.

He’s a merman, and not my type.” Not when four knights have stolen my heart.

“Also, as far as I can tell, he’s got no—” I make a motion with my hand over my stomach.

“Sausage.” Theo’s nostrils flare, and his eyes flash gold.

“Hey, don’t dragon out in the library. My sister will murder you, and then she will be the worthy knight. ”

Gwyneth shakes her head. “Okay, Lady of the Lake. We have some stuff to work on here. See if you can get any more clues from your guide. Try to stay away from the Idol. No good can come of you being near him.”

“Lady of the Ocean,” I correct.

“Who?” Malachi asks with a quick scan of the room behind me.

“I am the Lady of the Ocean, as that’s where I reside. It’s so much more badass than Lady of the Lake.”

“You can’t just rewrite the narrative, Daphne,” Hart says.

“Why not?”

The mirror man floats in. “My lady fair can do anything she puts her mind to.” Then he floats out. What an epic cheerleader.

They stare at me, but nobody comes up with a valid reason.

Nash reappears at Gwyneth’s side. “Was Poseidon holding any kind of weapon?”

“Nope, just a giant shiny gold fork, which is a complete con. They don’t even have sausage down here. But they eat their own, which is freaky, if you ask me.”

“Focus,” Genie says with a snap of his fingers in front of my face. Right, don’t get distracted by thoughts of giant sausages.

Nash ignores the issue with the ocean’s cuisine. “His giant fork is the trident.”

“Ooh, fancy name for a kitchen utensil,” I observe. The sword’s amusement filters into the room. “If we pair you together, we have a set,” I say. The amusement switches to annoyance.

“Who are you talking to?” Gwyneth asks.

“The sword.”

Theo smirks. “You just paired the weapon of an Idol with a magical sword and made them cutlery?”

“Well, until he stops laughing at my chaos, he doesn’t get my respect.”

Nash and Gwyneth flick through a book on the floor while I wait as they scan the words. Both their heads rise simultaneously, and they stare at each other in shock before turning to face me.

“What is it?” I ask. “If it involves me spending a night in his chambers, I can’t go through with it. He might have that hot dad bod happening, but my heart won’t let it happen.”

Malachi’s eyes soften. “Nobody would ask that of you, Daphne.”

Gwyneth’s wide eyes focus on me. “That trident is the conduit for Idol power.”

“Okay,” I drawl. “The shiny humming-with-power giant fork is magical. I already guessed that.”

“If you can’t get Poseidon to change the narrative, then you’ll have to steal the trident and alter it yourself.”

I flop back onto the bed and groan. “Great. I have so much experience and luck stealing weapons from powerful people.”

“It’s a bad idea,” Malachi agrees. “Plus, I believe if she tries to command an Idol relic, it will kill her.”

“Let’s keep it in mind while we search for a less drastic alternative,” Nash negotiates.

I give a thumbs up.

“Don’t worry, Daphne, we will get you out of there,” Gwyneth says softly.

“How are you holding up?” Theo asks.

“I miss you guys.”

“And we miss you,” Malachi answers.

“And I miss you, Doris,” the mirror man adds with such sincerity.

Don’t cry. It would be pointless in the ocean. My tears would just add to the weight of the water surrounding me.

“If it cheers you up, your sister leveled Charming to his knees,” Nash says.

I jerk upright with a big grin. “Tell me.”

Gwyneth squares her shoulders. “He messed with me and mine. I already warned him. He failed to heed it, and that is on him.”

“Details,” I urge.

Malachi’s lips twitch, and when my sister doesn’t expound, he takes up the challenge.

“It was epic. She marched into the ballroom where Beauty and the Beast were holding court, and verbally tore him to shreds. When he dared to reach out and grab her elbow, she did this impossible move and dropped him on his ass before spinning him onto his stomach and holding his arm hostage behind his back until he pleaded for mercy.”

I burst out laughing, and Genie joins me. That’s my Gwyneth. “Hopefully, Prince Poopfloof will leave you alone now,” I say.

The Stirlings all wear amused expressions, while my sister scowls. Oh no.

“It hasn’t had the desired effect,” she says.

“He licked his injured pride for a turn before demanding Gwyneth join him for a stroll in the gardens,” Hart says.

I point at each of the brothers. “Your mission is to protect my sister’s floof. I didn’t suffer through all of this only for him to have his mini Charming trying to make baby Charmings with my sister.”

Gwyneth groans. “They are already on it. One of them stays with me at all times. It’s infuriating.”

I glare at her. “You will accept their protection for me. I am your poor, drowned sister. It’s the least you can do.”

She rolls her eyes. “Fine.”

Wow. She listened without argument. I need to think of all the things I have tried and failed to negotiate with her over the annuses.

“I want to be the first to die but to be buried on top of you, in case I?—”

“I remember. Because if you come back to life and have to claw your way out, you don’t want to damage my bones.”

“Right. So agree to it.”

“Fine.”

“Most fair Denise, you will make a most glorious corpse,” the mirror man adds.

Good to know.

“Let’s meet again the same time next diurnal,” Nash says. “By then, we will have a plan, or Idols help me, I am coming to get you myself.”

Warmth spreads in my chest. “Good, because no one can tell me where to poop, and I can only hold that for so long.”

“Is it not the same place as where you pee?” Gwyneth asks.

“Nope,” the mirror man says. “Reflections honor, I sincerely hope not.”

“Daphne, what did you do?” Theo says with a grin. “And does your pair of panties hooked around the bedpost have anything to do with it?”

“Why aren’t you wearing panties?” Nash growls.

“It’s not what you think.”

“It sounds like you removed your underwear to pee somewhere you shouldn’t and forgot to put them back on,” Hart drawls.

“Oh. It’s entirely what you think, then.”

“So where did you go?” Theo asks.

I wave my hands in front of my face, making the water swirl. “Sorry, ocean interference on the mirror line. See you next diurnal.”

I dart to the side and out of view, making the genie smirk at me.

I jab my thumb to the side and whisper, “Are they gone?”

“No,” Malachi says with a chuckle.

Ugh. I fold my arms. “I am not discussing this.”

“See you soon, pretty mouse,” Theo says.

I squeeze my eyes closed, ignoring the pain lancing through my chest.

“Stay alive, Calamity,” Hart adds.

Don’t you dare cry.

“Cause chaos,” Malachi says before a loud slap sounds. “Ow.”

“Stay safe. Genie, stay by her side,” Nash orders.

“Love you, Daphne,” my sister whispers. A tear slips past my defenses as silence descends over the room.

“Now they’re gone,” Genie says.

Gone from the mirror, perhaps, but their love still surrounds me.