Page 38 of The Princesses of Ruin (The Princesses of Ruin #5)

Chapter thirty-five

Jasper

A nxiety pulses through my body like an electric current, leaving me jumpy and on edge. Reina looks at the ga’hanoi stronghold as if it’s a beautiful, wondrous place. I see a looming tower of pain and death.

I hadn’t wanted to tell her about the creature’s vile ways. I hadn’t wanted to scare her, but she doesn’t seem scared. She’s curious. It’s…

Infuriating.

“Our trade with the Nimpoi people is more complicated than that,” Vek’ihr says in response to more of Reina’s questions. I’m not sure what she asked…

The water pushes us through the primary opening of the tallest tower, and Vek’ihr waits at a vertical tunnel. The current pulls the water up the tube, disappearing creatures into the ceiling of magus crystal.

“We are good at hunting their preferred fish. They possess knowledge—like the Fynish language—that we trade for.”

“But you eat them alive?” she asks with a more appropriate level of disgust .

My gaze darts to a figure moving in the corner. They appear to be going about their own business, slipping into another watery tunnel.

“They have willing vessels that offer their flesh. Large portions are not required if we are allowed to feed multiple times.”

Vek’ihr gestures for Reina to approach the tunnel. I hold her back.

“Where does it go?” I ask.

His coloration shifts, but I don’t know what it means. My mother would know what it means…

“It ascends to the Conclave of Currents,” he says.

I swim closer to the opening and brace my other arm on the wall to keep from being pulled in. The water is moving too swiftly for me to get any information back from the other side.

“Jasper.” Reina’s soft voice only puts me further on edge. I can’t guarantee the safety of the space above. I can’t sense the size of the room. It could be something like a reception hall, or it could lead to a prison cell.

“You first,” I tell Vek’ihr.

“As you wish.” His diamond pupils constrict, and he approaches the opening. “Do not resist the water’s flow.”

His body goes limp and he’s sucked into the tunnel. His silhouette tumbles up the tube and into the ceiling, then out of sight.

“You next,” I say to Reina.

I don’t want to go at all, but going last will allow me to ensure she’s not snatched from behind while I’m whisked away. But if it’s a trap up there—

Reina squeezes my shoulder. “Breathe, Jasper. We are royal guests.”

She says it as if the titles alone protect us.

Reina swims forward and my heart plummets into my gut .

“Please,” I say, grabbing her arm.

“Jasper, we must do this,” she says, the kindness in her face waning. “They’re depending on us. Everyone is depending on us.”

I swallow my fear and release her arm. She swims into the opening and I follow behind her quickly. She twirls through the rushing water, pointing her webbed feet to get more speed as she giggles.

Giggles.

She’s having fun.

If only I could make her understand just how serious this is. How dangerous .

I use my magic to keep myself upright, not tumbling around as Reina does. There are several openings I take note of, not that I could get to them easily. The flow of the water is fast and heavy. The openings are only sucking in more, creating an ever-increasing current.

We’re spit out into a massive chamber. I snatch Reina by whatever I can get my hands on. I drag her to my side as I take in the new space.

Wide open. Five visible exits—but all narrow. At least twenty enemies.

The crystal floor and ceiling glimmer with blue, green, and pink, but the walls are covered in living coral. Creatures I recognize well flit about the oasis. Clover fish, soft crabs, and blue clownfish. The biome is rich in abundance.

I snap my attention back to the ga’hanoi in the room. Behind a massive coral structure at the center of the floor sit pillars of light that each opponent floats inside of. Their bodies flash with the colors projecting over the ceiling.

Vek’ihr floats above the coral at the center of the room and illuminates a brilliant orange color. The beams of light dissipate, and the ga’hanoi unfurl, revealing their soft bodies .

I could annihilate them all here and now. Take what we want. End the bloody feud stretching back centuries.

“That would be unwise,” Vek’ihr says.

I glare at the creature. My scent, of course. The tunnel is pouring water over us and pushing Reina’s and my scent into the space.

“This is the Conclave of Currents, our ever-shifting leadership.” He begins pointing to the other ga’hanoi in the room. “The delegate of procreation, the delegate of waste, the delegate of food resources, the delegate of ambassadors…”

On and on he goes, listing each one’s function. I size up every creature he points to, wrapping my magic around them, feeling them out. How dense they are, how big. If I were to strike first, could I survive the initial attack?

“And Jasper of the Opal Isle,” Vek’ihr says, snapping me back to attending the conversation.

“I am honored to be given an audience with the ga’hanoi,” Reina says.

Vek’ihr turns to his people and begins gesticulating with his many limbs, colors, and flashes of light coming from various tentacles and parts of his body.

One conclave member, maybe the delegate of population or some such, flashes brightly in return, moving several tentacles quickly.

“I have told them we will forgo the consumption of food, as it is not as necessary for negotiations as I’d believed. I hope you understand,” Vek’ihr says.

Perhaps all the talk about eating people set him off his appetite—or hers, and he’s doing his best to be considerate. My lip curls at the thought of him being decent.

Reina nods. “I think that’s best, as well. Thank you. ”

Vek’ihr’s eyes swivel as another delegate communicates. “They are grateful for your presence and wish to know what has brought you both here.”

This is squid ink. They all know why we’re here. They all know we need something from them.

What was it Vek’ihr had said? Any alliance to that end…

“Gracious hosts, we’ve come to ask a great favor. From what we know, your people have tamed the great sea serpent…”

The one that destroys her people’s ships if they get too close to the Deep.

“We’ve come to ask your permission to collect a sample of the creature’s bile.”

Vek’ihr gesticulates the message.

Many representatives reply at once, then seem to enter a discussion amongst themselves.

“My apologies, Reina. The delegates are…” He struggles for the word. “Arguing.”

Interesting. A disruption in their political hierarchy could be to our benefit. Or maybe arguing is frequent among them. I hope it serves us, either way.

Another few minutes of flashing lights and flailing limbs result in a slow calm that finally seems to come to a decision. Vek’ihr communicates back to one delegate, who then engages in what appears to be another “argument.”

Vek’ihr’s limbs get snappy and rigid. Irritated.

He turns to us.

“It is with my greatest sorrow, and displeasure, to inform you that the Conclave of Currents does not grant this permission.”

Reina scowls. “Surely there can be negotiation?”

Vek’ihr translates .

Another argument breaks out.

Vek’ihr remains “quiet” while the conclave communicate.

“To capture the serpent and extract bile would be a great undertaking. It would risk many lives.”

“Is it not…domesticated?” Reina asks.

Vek’ihr tries to make a noise like a laugh. It grates down my back, and my spines deploy on instinct. “A house pet , you think it? No. The creature lives in a symbiotic relationship with our colony.”

“How so?” I ask.

What could they possibly give it?

One of the conclave members calls his attention and they speak for a moment.

“I cannot reveal additional information to you. The conclave states if you want the bile, you must offer us what you think is worth fifty of our lives.”

“How could I?” Reina murmurs. “I can’t put a price on a life, let alone so many.”

“You must,” I say.

She looks at me with wide, naive eyes. She was hardened by the court of her kingdom, but not in these kinds of dealings. She’s accustomed to trading secrets and starting rumors, not deciding fates.

I caress her cheek to bring her comfort as I deliver the blow. “This is the way of queens, ohksana’amai.”

The ga’hanoi in the room shift at the sound of my selkie language, of what the word means. They may not be speaking to us, but I feel in my gut that they can all speak.

“You are mated?” one of the others asks in selkie, confirming my suspicion.

Reina turns to them. “Delegate of expeditions, yes. Jasper of the Opal Isle is ohksano’amai. ”

The ga’hanoi flash and wriggle, speaking their language of color and movement. Vek’ihr remains quiet and dark. His silence irks me. If he’s so ready and willing to negotiate for a place back in the light, why doesn’t he enter the discussion?

Finally, the rapid-fire of information slows, and Vek’ihr turns to us.

“The honorable delegates are inquiring if your mating has led to offspring.”

“That’s not their business,” I say, heat flooding my system.

Reina turns, putting herself in front of me. Her face is stern. Angry.

“Control yourself,” she snarls.

Frustration swarms my body. She’s siding with them?

Her hand cups my cheek and her face softens. “Remember where we are.”

My gaze darts around the room of its own accord, taking in the twenty ga’hanoi that we could surely destroy…but then the hundreds or perhaps even thousands in the city below. We might not survive trying to escape. Even if we did, we wouldn’t get what we came for.

I nod. “I’m sorry, my love. I’ll try harder.”

She turns back to the delegates. I focus on the flow of water through the chamber instead of the emotions coursing through me.

“Forgive his reaction. I understand that breeding is likely monitored among your people, delegate of procreation, but it is not a cultural norm for our kind to discuss such things outside of our family units.”

Oh, fucking hells. Of course the bastard in charge of knowing who’s squeezing out clutches would be asking whether she’s pregnant. It’s their sole focus in life to pay attention to that kind of thing. She’s so much better at this than me.

I need to shut my mouth, no matter how much I’d prefer to bite off their limbs and bloody the water.

I need to follow her lead.

I place my hand on her shoulder and give her a gentle squeeze to show I understand how I erred, and that I’m trying to do better. She grips my fingers as she goes on.

“I don’t know if our efforts could produce offspring, but we have been purposefully preventing it through magical and medicinal means.”

“Then, what is the purpose of the efforts? ” Vek’ihr asks, and I’m about two seconds from ripping his legs off.

Reina’s face turns a shade darker. “It’s a cultural thing. It’s for closeness, and…enjoyment.”

Vek’ihr doesn’t seem to know what to do with her answer. He’s dark and still for a long moment until a bright flash from one of the others captures his attention. He turns and relays the information.

Another extended dialogue happens between the ga’hanoi, Vek’ihr becoming more animated with every second. The discussion narrows to one of the delegates and Vek’ihr, little clicks and whines escaping him as he communicates.

The water pulses outward as the delegate inflates, raising all his limbs menacingly.

I pull Reina behind me, but it’s unnecessary.

The ga’hanoi thrusts itself in front of Vek’ihr and looms, an aggressive dark red pulsing through its body.

Vek’ihr holds his ground for only a second before he shrinks in on himself submissively.

“What just happened?” Reina asks in Fynish.

“I don’t know,” I admit .

I wish I’d had more time with my kind. They would’ve taught me about these things.

Vek’ihr turns back to us and the room settles, though the tension is still thick in the water. I can sense the threat of a challenge.

“The Conclave of Currents would like a demonstration of your powers next tide-pulse,” he says, his voice flat and lacking its previous friendliness.

“How will we be demonstrating?” I ask.

Vek’ihr turns to me, his body lightless and rigid.

“A combat demonstration. There are two community members facing the Challenge of the Pact, and the conclave have selected you as their champions.”

The prick of my claws on my palms draws me back into awareness of my body. I loosen my posture and look to Reina. She’s the ambassador here. She knows what she’s doing.

“What are the parameters of the fight?” she asks.

“No holds barred.” Vek’ihr sways, blue light zipping down his body. “To the death.”

Reina scoffs. “You mean to make us your executioners?”

The delegate of procreation lights up, and Vek’ihr speaks. “Your demonstration will prove your worth. It will show your strength. When it is time to subdue the serpent, they must be certain you will be more than fodder in their way.”

It doesn’t escape me that he’s no longer saying “we” or “our.”

Something has shifted…

Reina looks at me, her expression somber. “Is this the way of queens, too?”

I shake my head. “I don’t know.”

Her brow pinches and the muscles in her jaw feather as she looks at each delegate.

“We accept.”