“What—”
Caspian steps around me to address the crowd. They gaze up at him reverently. “I think the music has gotten a little dull. How about a taste of the deep? I’ve got a grand show planned. You don’t want to miss this.” He inclines his head to the empty seat next to him as he sits.
But I cannot stand another second in his conniving presence. I scramble down the thorn staircase, fleeing the Prince of Thorns and his riddles in the dark.
57
Rosalina
My heart thunders as I make my way down the thorn staircase. I thought Ezryn had been at the bottom of the stairs. Where is he? At Caspian’s words, the dance floor has become even more crowded.
Revelers push forward. Skin slicks against mine as I get pulled into the shuffle. Everyone must be attempting to get a good view of this show. I turn around and stand on my tiptoes, trying to find our willow tree. A sea of crazy-eyed partygoers stands between me and it. Shit.
As the music swells, a deep mechanical rumble echoes through the courtyard. I spin to look. The dance floor splits apart, revealing a gaping rift. Out from the darkness arises a large aquarium.
Its sleek, glassy surface gleams in the flickering jewel-light. Clear water splashes against the edge. Pipes and valves snake across the bottom like veins, pulsing with energy. In the middle of the tank is a creature of stunning beauty: a mermaid.
I gasp, not even caring as drunk and half-dressed fae shove me to get closer. She’s so mesmerizing, with a shimmering tail of powder blue and a mane of pink hair. I step forward, entranced by the gleam of her scales.
But more fae crowd around me until I’m pinned on all sides by bodies. I try to catch a glimpse of the princes, suddenly feeling vulnerable without them nearby. I need to get back to our tree.
A commotion sounds from behind me, and fae offer curses and exclamations. Ezryn shoves through the crowd with the subtlety of a bull in a porcelain shop. His dark armor shimmers with the fuchsia, emerald, and sapphire of the glowing jewels from the tank.
“Get out of my way,” he growls at the fae standing at my back. Then he grabs the fae man by the shoulder and shoves him to the side.
As soon as his cool armor presses against me, I feel relief. His large arms wrap around my body, and I melt into him. “It’s too crowded,” I say.
“I know. I got caught up in the crowd when Caspian announced his show. The shadowfolk obsess over creatures from the realms above. Hold tight to me.” Ezryn takes my hand in his huge, leather one, and shoves through the masses. My hand looks so tiny in his, and I press myself tight to the rough fabric of his cape so we don’t get separated.
For a small moment, I catch Keldarion’s eyes through a gap in the crowd. His features soften when he realizes the Spring Prince is beside me.
Ezryn swears under his breath. “There’s too many of them. We’ll make it back to our tree after the show.”
The mermaid’s tail flicks in a captivating rhythm. “I kind of want to watch.”
Ezryn surveys the courtyard. There are obsidian benches along the edge of the tank, but they’re filled with people lucky enough to get a seat. But that doesn’t deter Ez. He goes up to a skinny fae with dark circles under his eyes sitting on the end of the bench. “Move.”
The fae looks up at him. “Fuck off—”
Ezryn grabs his shirt and drags him off the bench before shoving him into the crowd. No one seems to notice or care. The fae man shoots us a dirty look then fades away into the sea of people.
Ezryn takes a seat on the bench, then places his hands on my hips. I can feel his smooth leather gloves through the ribbons of my skirt, and my breath hitches. “Sit here,” he says huskily. “You’ll have a better view.”
Then he pulls me down onto his lap. I gasp as the shock of his cold armor hits my bare thighs. Damn Marigold and her overzealousness with those scissors; the fabric is so thin, the hardness of his metal cuisse shoots right through me.
“Are you comfortable?” he asks.
You wouldn’t think sitting on steel would be, but he’s holding me with one hand tight around my hips, the other resting on my knee. I feel so safe amid the chaos around us. “Yes. Am I squishing you?”
“Not at all.”
I lean back against him, my head in the crook of his neck, right below his helmet. He smells so freaking good, like walking in the woods right after a rain.
The music halts, and a hush falls over the crowd. The tank rises higher upon a pedestal, so I’m able to see the mermaid clearly.
Her skin is pale, pearlescent white, as if she’s been carved from the purest ivory. There are jewels stuck to her torso and chest, but her breasts are bare.
Her hair is long and flowing, with shades of pale pink and light lavender blending together in a soft pastel hue. And her ears… I’m used to the pointed tips of the fae, but hers have delicate ridges and curves that mimic the shape and movement of a fin. They seem to move independently, twitching as she watches the crowd.
I lean my head against Ez’s helm. “Why is she here? Do you think she’s trapped?”
“Look at her arm.”
She moves her body in a graceful rhythm, but I catch sight of a steel band emblazoned with stars around her forearm. A bargain circle.
“She’s probably upholding her end of a contract with someone from down here,” Ez says. “Whatever she bargained for must have been important.”
For some reason, it makes me sad.
The siren flicks her large tail and ascends to the top of the tank. She grabs onto the side and hoists her torso above the water. The crowd gasps in awe at her every movement. Then she opens her mouth and sings.
The sound is ethereal, mesmerizing. My heart seems to rise and fall with each note. I don’t understand the language, yet the haunting beauty of her words sink into me like an anchor.
“Do you understand her?” I whisper.
Ezryn leans forward, helm resting on my shoulder. “It’s a seafaring language from the Summer Realm. She sings of a lost lover.” His voice takes on a deep rumbling melody in tune with the mermaid, “I met you on the ocean’s edge, beneath the moonlit sky. We danced among the waves that night, our love a lullaby. But then the storm clouds rolled on in and tore us apart. And now I sing this mournful song, with my broken seabound heart.”
“You can speak a language unique to Summer?”
“I speak over ten languages.”
“Oh…” My skin shivers yet heat flips in my belly. I wonder what it would be like to listen to him in one of these beautiful tongues.
The mermaid’s voice carries throughout the entire ballroom, rendering the crowd speechless.
“Oh, my love, my sweetest love,” Ezryn murmurs, “lost to the deep blue sea. I’ll sing this song of longing until you return to me.”
I intake a breath, and my gaze drifts from the beautiful creature in the water to Ezryn. The dark makes his visor even more impenetrably black than usual, but I can sense his gaze on me.
He pulls off his leather gloves and stuffs them into his belt. “It’s hot down here,” he mutters, but then his bare hand returns to its spot on my hip.
“What else is she saying?” I whisper.
His finger traces a circle, slipping between the slits of fabric until they touch my bare skin. “For though the tides may ebb and flow, and the winds may ever blow, my love for you will never fade, like the starlight’s gentle glow.”
I close my eyes and lean my head back, reveling in the warm caress of his voice and the touch of his hand on my skin. It’s too gentle, too teasing, only small circles.