Page 23

23

ROWAN

“There it is.”

We stood in front of a water-smoothed stone house adorned with carvings of waves. Arriving in Maristhera by canal and scapha boats, Nerys and I had avoided another summons by the queen thus far today. But after what she told me last eve, I expected one sooner rather than later.

Last eve.

When everything, and nothing, changed. She’d left late into the night and this morning, when Nerys came to my door, though I’d been tempted to pull her into my bedchamber, I took my cue from her. When she’d asked if I was ready, I’d said simply, “Aye,” and followed her from the palace.

No mention of the night before.

As soon as we’d left the palace walls, Nerys told me what the queen had said. Since then, we had spoken of nothing else but that topic.

Before we could approach the door, it opened.

Aneri was exactly as Nerys had described. Halfway between thaloran and vaelith, her many years on Elydor were etched in fine lines on her face. The kindness in her eyes offset the severeness of her gray hair, pulled back into a tight bun.

“Your friend is inside already,” she said to Nerys. “With luck, this one does not have so high an opinion of himself.”

“Marek adores you,” Nerys said, defending him.

“Not as much as he adores himself. You are the human Marek told me about.”

“I am,” I said, bowing in the Thalassari way. “Sir Rowan of Estmere.”

Nerys hugged her as we walked inside.

“I already like him more,” she said as we made our way through to the sitting room.

Aneri’s home was modest yet inviting. Wide windows let in natural light, casting shimmering reflections from the nearby canal. A polished driftwood table was surrounded by cushioned seats, while shelves displayed hundreds of seashells, weathered books, and vials of liquid. We walked through a kitchen with pearl-inlaid stone counters, the scent of citrus lingering.

She led us into a back courtyard, a fountain centered around water plants in pots and shallow pools creating a tranquil retreat. Aneri’s home was clearly a place of warmth and belonging.

“Your home is lovely,” I said, trying to imagine Nerys outside in this courtyard. She’d told me once that she’d spent many hours practicing water magic on that very fountain.

As Marek did now. He was toying with the water, making it leap and fall with small splashes.

“Thank you.” Aneri eyed Marek warily.

“Caelum will be arriving any moment,” Nerys said. Before she’d even finished, Aneri disappeared back into the house, apparently to fetch him.

“I thought you were exaggerating,” I said to Marek.

“Unfortunately not,” he said, still toying with the water. “She tolerates me but…” He shrugged.

I looked to Nerys for an explanation.

Sighing, she glanced back to the door where there was no sign of Aneri.

“Aneri does not agree with some of his”—she nodded to Marek—“trade ventures.”

“Ahh,” I said, understanding better. “You are a smuggler?”

Marek shot Nerys a look. “I would not call it as such.”

Nerys laughed. “What, then, would you call it?” she asked him.

Marek’s easy grin told me he was unbothered by judgment, even from Nerys. “I’d call it… creative trade negotiations,” he said smoothly with a hint of mischief in his tone.

Nerys arched a brow. “Creative trade negotiations that happen to bypass official routes and involve contraband?”

“Contraband.” Marek tsked. “I prefer to think of it as the redistribution of goods.”

“So.” I crossed my arms. “Smuggling?”

Marek placed a hand over his heart in mock offense. “I am a Thalassari Navarch, not a criminal.”

“Aneri would disagree,” Nerys said, her eyes flicking to the door again before returning to me. When our eyes locked, it brought me immediately back to last eve. Nerys, in my bed with her atop me, the second time we made love. Hair spilling around her, Nerys’s full breasts above me as she moved?—

“Ahh, by the tides. Really Nerys? A human?”

The spell broken, we both turned our attention to Marek.

“I’m jesting, of course,” he said to me. “I actually quite like you.” Uncharacteristically, his smile faded and Marek looked at Nerys. “I like you together.”

“Soon, all will change,” Nerys said in response. It was the same refrain I’d heard from her more than once last eve, as if reminding me of the temporary nature of our relationship. Not that I needed reminding. Just this morn, upon waking, I had another vision. This one, I could not untangle. It was a group of people, none of whom I could make out, sitting on stools in an unfamiliar place. We raised our glasses, toasting, as I was among the group.

These visions came every day now, and they would continue to do so because I was the new Keeper. I had a destiny of my own to fill.

Aneri returned, then, with Caelum. After a shuffle of seats, Caelum wasted no time.

“What did she say?” he asked Nerys.

She explained his question to the others, telling them first of the queen’s summons to the meal and then again last eve.

“It is my belief,” she said, “the queen knows I plan to challenge her. I am uncertain how she learned this since none beyond this courtyard have been informed.”

“The queen is not a stupid woman.” Caelum stretched his legs out in front of him, crossing his arms. “She knows you are more powerful than her. It is the reason she brought you to the palace. To watch, and monitor.”

“If you are more powerful, which I believe you are,” Marek added, “then the Tidal Pearl has been losing its effectiveness for some time.”

“Yet she did not call for the challenge,” I said.

Aneri sighed. “Some give up their rule more willingly than others. And tides have turned in recent years. There has been a growing sentiment that we are too isolated, and it has not made Thalassaria stronger for it. She knows this.”

The explanation was made for me, I realized. That she’d accepted me so readily into this inner circle was surprising. I ignored a pang of guilt for keeping my own secret when I was welcomed into their fold.

“What, precisely, did she say?” Caelum asked.

“She asked how the human emissary had been occupying his time and what more he’d told me of his mission.”

I avoided Nerys’s gaze, not wanting to make the same mistake I did with Marek by unwittingly revealing too much of our relationship.

“Why do you believe she knows?” Marek asked.

This was my least favorite part of the story and one that cemented my dislike for Queen Lirael.

“She said, ‘Keep close watch on him, Nerys. It is your duty. One which you are uniquely qualified for, as your parents were before you. Thalassaria is lucky to have you… as a Stormcaller and diplomat.’”

Aneri’s grey brows furrowed. “That is all?”

Caelum answered her question. “I know the queen, as Nerys does. It was not a compliment but a warning. She was reminding Nerys of her role and not to reach too high above it.”

“That was my belief as well,” Nerys said.

“A subtle warning,” I added, “but one Nerys will not heed.”

“No,” she confirmed. “I am committed to challenging her. And should have done so long ago.”

As I looked at the faces of those around me, those closest to Nerys, who cared the most for her, I made a decision. “There is another reason the queen may be suspicious.”

Nerys’s head snapped in my direction. If Nerys trusted those gathered around us, I would as well.

“I am here on a mission from King Galfrid and his daughter, Princess Mevlida. Since she slipped through the Gate, which, as you know, has been closed for many years, there is renewed hope it might be permanently reopened. To achieve that end, they need the Tidal Pearl. I am here to receive it, or at least promise of its use, when necessary.”

Everyone began speaking at once. I answered their questions, or those I was able to answer. While I did so, Aneri never took her eyes from me. It was as if she could hear what I did not say. See me in a way the others could not.

Did she know Nerys and I had been together, perhaps? She had lived for many, many years and was perceptive in a way I could never fully understand. It was easy, at times, to forget how very different we were. Immortals and humans.

Perhaps I was thinking too much on the matter, but behind her kindness was a wariness too. One I could understand if she suspected there was something between us.

“Do you think the queen believes Nerys will challenge her so that she can give you the Tidal Pearl?” Marek asked. “Is that why you do it?” he added to Nerys, as if an afterthought.

Nerys raised her chin. “I do it because the most powerful among us has a duty to challenge the current ruler. I do it for our people and our future. And aye, I do it for Rowan and King Galfrid and Princess Mevlida, and for all humans, because the Gate should be reopened.”

Her words were like a challenge themselves.

None took it nor disputed her words.

Grateful, knowing already the Gate’s reopening played a part in her decision, something inside me stirred as I looked at Nerys. Knowing she was scared to claim the role of queen and rule a kingdom, as anyone in her position would be, and yet spoke with such assuredness and conviction…

Dammit, Rowan.

I knew better than to fall in love with an immortal. Every human knew better and guarded their hearts against it. And yet, I’d done it anyway.