Page 252 of Blade of the Nightking

“The very same.” His gaze rose to the glittering surface far above the dome. “Ingenious creatures. They had a remarkable talent for building impossible things. When we finally drove them from Pelaga, we made certain they could never reclaim it. We drowned the city. The valleys, the forests, the mountains—everything. We remade the landscape beneath the sea, and the city became ours.”

I tore my eyes from the view to stare at him.

“You flooded an entire kingdom?”

“The alternatives were considerably less elegant.”

“How could anyone possibly accomplish something like that?”

He clasped his hands behind his back. “If I revealed all of Pelaga's secrets before lunch, I'd have no excuse to keep you a little longer.”

I smiled despite myself. “Who says you need an excuse?”

His grin returned in full force. “Well then,” he leaned closer. “Let us explore my city together.”

Thalassis spent the better part of the morning showing me the palace.

After the observatory, he led me through broad galleries lined with statues, vibrant paintings, and exquisitely carved relics salvaged from the drowned cities of the Vaelorii. Each piece spoke of a people who had once flourished, of a culture rich in beauty, artistry, and history. Unlike Solmire, where the only trace of those who’d come before remained in the architecture, Pelaga displayed the spoils of its conquest without shame.

From there we wandered through music rooms filled with instruments I'd never seen before. Sheets of music lay open across polished stands, the pages covered in an intricate language of lines, dots, and curling symbols. I paused, fascinated. It had never occurred to me that music itself could be written down, preserved for someone else to play centuries later. It was an entirely different kind of literacy, one I hadn't even thought possible.

Finally, he brought me to the palace library.

The moment we crossed the threshold, the air changed. Gone was the heavy humidity that hung throughout the rest of Pelaga. Here it was cool, crisp, and perfectly dry, the shelves protected by unseen magic that kept the sea at bay. Towering bookcases stretched in every direction, their shelves so tightly packed with leather-bound volumes that I scarcely knew where to look.

It was magnificent. And yet my thoughts drifted, unbidden, to the burned library in Noctharis. To the blackened shelves that stood like the bones of some long-dead beast. To the ghosts of all the knowledge that had been forever lost. To a prince cloaked in shadows, bent over a charred desk with an ancient tome in his hands.

This library was everything Noctharis's was not. Bright. Immaculate. Alive.

Yet somehow, I found I missed the ruin.

By midday, we descended to the palace entrance, where an elaborate palanquin awaited us.

Its frame had been carved from bleached driftwood in flowing, wave-like patterns, gauzy blue curtains tied back to reveal cushioned seats within. Four bronze-collared servants waited beside it, each powerfully built, their posture so rigid they might have been statues. The moment Thalassis and I climbed inside, they raised the poles in one smooth, practised motion, and the palanquin glided forward with scarcely a sway. Two guards fell in beside us as we passed through the palace gates and into the streets of Pelaga.

The humidity was oppressive, wrapping itself around me like a heavy blanket. Sweat gathered at the nape of my neck, soon beading across my skin before we'd even gone a block. Thalassis shot me a knowing glance before reaching into a small compartment beside him and producing a small folding fan. He offered it without a word. I accepted it gratefully, snapping it open and stirring the air across my face. The faint breeze helped, but only a little.

I turned my attention to the windows, trying to distract myself from the cloying wetness in the air.

Markets spilled into broad avenues beneath sweeping bridges. Merchants displayed strings of luminous pearls beside intricate shellwork, bolts of brightly dyed cloth, polished coral sculptures, baskets overflowing with fruit, and glittering fish laid upon beds of ice.

The palanquin paused as a great spotted ray lifted from the seabed ahead, sending a cloud of pale sand swirling behind it before gliding soundlessly over the streets and slipping through the magical barrier in the distance.

Thalassis smiled at the awe plain on my face.

“My greatest achievement.” He puffed out his chest as he gestured toward the shimmering bubble surrounding the city. “The barrier’s magic changes the very nature of the water within its bounds. To us, it behaves almost like air. We breathe it. Speak through it. Walk through it easily. Yet the marine life experiences none of those changes. To them, the water remains exactly as it has always been.”

He shifted closer, and his hand came to rest lightly upon my knee.

"The barrier also filters what passes through. Fish and smaller creatures may come and go as they please.” His thumb traced idle circles against my thigh as he continued talking. I resisted the urge to move away. "Anything large enough to threaten Pelaga..." He nodded toward the faint outline of something enormous moving far beyond the barrier. "... finds itself gently encouraged to remain outside."

I made a show of fumbling my fan, letting it slip from my fingers. It clattered to the floor, and Thalassis bent to retrieve it at once. I accepted it with a grateful smile, then smoothed the folds of my dress over my lap before he had the chance to settle his hand there again.

We rounded a corner and emerged into a square packed shoulder to shoulder with Fae.

“What’s happening?” I leaned forward, trying to make sense of the chaos unfolding below.

A young faerie stood upon a raised platform, bronze collar gleaming against the turquoise of her throat, the delicate gills at her neck fluttering rapidly. Beside her, an elegantly dressed Fae called something to the crowd that I couldn't make out over the overlapping voices.