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NERYS

It was a meal unlike any other.

Four days after Rowan and I agreed to partner, or marry as he called it… four days of upheaval in the palace, from a new staff to changing rules, such as the need to isolate visiting humans… four days of getting to know Mev and Kael as much as possible amid the chaos… four days planning this night with Rowan. And now, it was done.

After having fetched Aneri, and with very little ceremony, we were partnered. Rowan and I wished to do it before Mev and Kael returned north, and with the excitement of the challenge behind us, a big celebration could wait. Instead, we posted the banns, allowed all of Thalassari to learn of our plans, and said the vows that bound us together for life.

Or more accurately, his life.

For his part, Rowan was even more anxious than I to see it done. There were things, he said, that we could discuss after we were wed. But those would have to wait until after the meal. Aneri insisted, if a large partnering celebration was not going to happen, that she could at least plan and decorate for this meal.

Everyone, old and new, who worked at the palace had been invited. The Tidebreaker fleet, my fellow Stormcallers… The dining hall was filled to capacity with the glow of lanterns crafted from sea glass, casting shimmering reflections on the walls like waves in motion. Long tables were adorned with coral centerpieces and pearl-lined runners, evoking the beauty of the ocean depths brought to life above.

With Rowan beside me and the raised dais empty, we sat with those who had helped make this day possible.

“A toast.” Kael raised his silver goblet high. “To the new Queen of Thalassaria and her mate, a man I am proud to call friend.”

We toasted, not our first, as the final course was finished.

“Not always,” Mev said beside him. “Remember your first meeting?”

Kael gave her a look and explained to Aneri, who was sat beside him. “He came upon us on the road as we traveled to Aetheria.”

“Back to Aetheria,” Mev cut in, earning her a look from her partner. “Sorry. I’m sure I’ll stop busting your ass about our meet-cute one of these days.”

Mev said the strangest things at times, though I was fairly certain of her meaning since I’d heard this story before.

“Anyway,” he continued to Aneri with Marek and Caelum listening, “Mev took to him immediately, being human and all. I may have needed a bit more convincing.”

“A bit?” Rowan said.

Kael shrugged. “I believe we’re missing the point which is that I’m glad for you both.”

“As we all are,” Marek said. “Another round of drinks to celebrate?”

“I would like to speak to you alone,” Rowan said in my ear. I nodded.

“Please continue the celebration without us,” I said as Rowan, now standing, pulled my seat for me. Forgetting I was no longer simply Nerys but the queen, when the entire table stood as I did, the remainder of the meal’s guests doing the same, I vowed to eliminate that silly tradition. “Sit,” I called to the crowd. “And stay. I leave but that does not mean the meal is ended. I wish, this night and every night, for you to come and go as you please.”

“Is it wise,” Aneri asked, “to dispense with too many traditions at once?”

“A good question, although that one seems innocuous enough to alter. But I will think on it after I speak privately with Rowan.”

“You wish to speak to your new partner? Is that so?” Marek laughed, earning a stern glare from Aneri.

“You are incorrigible,” she chastised him.

“You adore me for it.”

Caelum grinned.

“I can assure you that is not the case,” Aneri shot back.

As the two of them continued their disagreement, I bid a good eve to our guests.

“You’ve moved your belongings to our new bedchamber?” I asked as we left the hall.

“I have, but wondered… before we retire,” he said the words with a smile, knowing full well we would be doing anything but, “I thought perhaps we could speak in the Garden of Luminous Tides?”

“Of course,” I said as we walked through the corridor as Aelois followed. As Captain of the Guard, he was never far behind me. “You will need to choose a captain too,” I reminded him, “after the ceremony.”

“Are you surprised at the public sentiment thus far?” Rowan asked.

We had anticipated a mixed reaction to the announcement and had received it, but more Thalassarians had accepted that they would have a human king, once I was officially crowned, than we’d expected.

I thought about the question. “No,” I said finally. “You have been our neighbor for hundreds of years. If it is not time to fully accept Estmere as one of the four clans of Elydor, then when will it be? In five hundred more years? A thousand? Even those among us who value water-wielding above all other skills can recognize the contributions humans have made.”

We reached the cascading vines; I twisted my hand, parting them.

“I should have realized that day,” I said, as Rowan took me into his arms the moment the vines closed behind us, “you were special. To be admitted here. The pelagor. Seren’s ready acceptance of you. This was meant to be, Rowan. You were meant for Thalassaria.”

“I was meant for you,” he said, kissing me, his lips covering mine as we fell into a blissful embrace that I’d have been glad to last forever. Unfortunately, we were here to talk and Rowan seemed intent on doing just that. He broke away, guiding me to the same bench by the water’s edge where we sat the other time.

“But I was also meant for another purpose.”

Rowan took my hand. The change in his demeanor had me angling my body toward him, intent on not missing even a word. This was important, obviously, and Rowan’s countenance said as much.

“I took a vow not to utter these words aloud to anyone without the blood of my ancestors running through them. The only exception being my wife. It is the same vow my parents, and grandparents, and theirs before them took. The vow of The Keepers.”

“The Keepers? What is that?”

“Have you heard of Richard Harrow?”

“The first human to come through the Aetherian Gate?”

Rowan nodded. “As did all humans who entered after him, Richard passed through with his own brand of magic already. He was a seer in his time. A psychic in the modern realm of humans. We call it having the Sight.”

“Richard could see the future.”

“Aye. Pieces of it. Ones that sometimes made little sense, in his realm. As you know, when humans come to Elydor, their innate abilities are enhanced, and it was more so with Richard than any other. He could not simply see fragments of the future, but clear visions. And not just of himself but of all those in Elydor.”

As I understood it, the Sight was more akin to the fragments Rowan mentioned. “How clearly?”

“Enough to identify people and places. To predict events in the future. It was a powerful gift that he quickly realized needed to be kept secret lest his life be endangered. When he died, the ability was passed on to another as it has been every generation since. The Keepers are his ancestors, by blood or marriage, who know of this power. Eventually, this network grew, their secrets encompassing not just The Keeper’s identity but another purpose: to protect the Gate. To advance the humans’ cause. And these past years, to find a way to help King Galfrid open the Gate.”

“And you are one of them? Richard Harrow was your ancestor?”

“Not only one of them,” he said. “I am The Keeper.”

I thought quickly. Not just a human spy with a lineage dating back to the first human who came through the Gate but… one chosen to receive a special ability for a new generation. The Sight, but stronger. “You can see the future?”

Rowan sighed. “Before I came here, on my way from Aetheria, I visited my home in Estmere and learned my grandfather, the former Keeper, was ill. When I told you of my sole ability, to sense emotion, it was the truth. But days after I arrived”—he looked to the pool of water before us, lost in thought—“my grandfather died. I knew only because of the visions I began to receive, my training having prepared me for the possibility, though I will admit I never actually thought it possible to have been chosen.”

When he turned back to me, Rowan’s eyes were glazed. He’d lost his grandfather, a man Rowan thought highly of, one he loved, and he had grieved alone. With a lump forming in my throat, I reached for him. Holding on tight, stroking his hair, I offered my condolences. My sorrow was his.

“What a terrible way to learn of his death,” I murmured into his chest.

When he didn’t respond, I pulled back, wiped the wetness below his eyes with my thumbs and held his face in my hands, as he once did to me.

“I am sorry for your loss. Sorry you were forced to bear it alone. And sorry to have accused you of lying to me.”

“Nerys—”

“We will find a way to honor your grandfather,” I said, holding his gaze.

He swallowed, taking in a deep breath. “I wish I could have told you before.”

Letting go of his face, I took both Rowan’s hands in mine. “Your honor, the vow you took, is one of the things I love most about you. I will never doubt your loyalty to me, not that I had before.”

I wanted to know about his visions. What they were like. What Rowan had seen. But now was not the time. He was a grieving grandson first.

“When you asked if we were possible, I could not see a way. My place, I believed, was in Estmere, furthering the human cause.”

“Is it not still?” Though I did not want to ask the question, afraid of the answer, it seemed to me nothing had changed if he was still The Keeper.

“I met two Keepers in Thalassaria, much to my surprise. First, in The Moonlit Current?—”

“Nerithia.”

He nodded. “I was as surprised as she was. There is a phrase, known only to Keepers. ‘The winds remember the first crossing, and the stone keeps their weight.’ When she said it, I was confused at first as my grandfather had said nothing of her. I learned later he did not know of her, and neither do I know how Nerithia guessed my identity. But she was able to get a message to Estmere, telling them of my status. Later, she received a message back from them which is what guided me to the Deep Archives.”

“Why Seren?”

The corner of Rowan’s lips turned up as if he wished for me to guess.

Seren knew more of Thalassaria’s history than anyone. “Did she know one of your ancestors? Perhaps she had a connection to…”

He continued to smile.

“No. She cannot be.”

“I said the same, at first. It seemed impossible, given her age. Her father was Caius Harrow, one of Richard’s sons and the second Keeper. Apparently, being guardian of the Deep Archives gives her a brand of immortality tied to it.”

“Which is why she never leaves.”

“Precisely. She told me of her father and more of my ancient ancestors than I’d ever known before. They did not always live in Estmere but were more akin to diplomats, seeing their purpose not only as keeping our family’s secrets but of furthering the humans’ cause by living among the people of Elydor, helping to make them see our commonalities. Over time, that purpose was lost. We have been isolated, as your people have, for too long.”

“You can be The Keeper from here?”

“I’d not have thought so, but so often we are stuck thinking the way things are done is the only way forward. I may need to leave, at times, but aye, I aim to both serve as The Keeper, and your husband too.”

“And as the King of Thalassaria.”

“You are the true ruler here. I am but your servant, Nerys.”

His gaze dipped to the deep cut of my gown.

“Is that so?”

“It is.”

I knew where this conversation was heading. But first, I had to be certain Rowan understood how deeply I appreciated his sacrifice. It would have been easier to carry out his duties from Estmere, and it was as likely he would receive resistance from his fellow Keepers, as I had in taking him as a partner.

“Thank you, Rowan.”

He reached up between us, tracing my bottom lip with his finger.

“Thank you for trusting me.” The mischief in his eyes told me what was coming next. “A stranger, come to beg a favor of the queen.”

His hand moved from my lip, Rowan’s deft fingers gentle as he tucked loose strands of hair behind my ear.

“What, pray tell, is the favor you ask of me?”

Rowan moved closer to me. “My queen,” he said, his voice thick with promise. “I ask for use of the Tidal Pearl so that we may reopen the Aetherian Gate once again.”

I pretended to consider his request. “What do you propose to offer me in exchange?”

His smile left no room for interpretation on precisely what my partner was offering.

“I accept.”

Rowan tossed his head back, the sound of his laughter settling on my soul.

“That,” he said, leaning forward with a kiss, “was unexpectedly easy.”