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Nelsin then puts the fruit salad on the table by us. “You two and your human appetites. Doesn’t it get annoying?” I feel that the question is addressed to me, rather than to Marlak.
I shrug. “Well, I like to eat, so I don’t mind having to do it often.”
“Makes sense.” Nelsin nods. “I’ll leave you two alone, then.”
“Stay,” I blurt. “Keep us company.”
The fae knight looks at Marlak, then at me. “Another time.”
Was Nelsin ordered to leave? Great. Who’s the one trying to make sure to spend time alone with me?
“Where are we going?” I ask, my voice flat, as I put some fruit salad on my plate.
“This requires a lot of trust on my part, but I want the river nymphs to protect you, so I’ll have to introduce you to their queen.”
Queen. As in Queen’s River? But as far as I know, nymphs are a kind of fae. “Aren’t they part of the Crystal Court?” I take a spoon of the fruit salad, and enjoy the contrast of the soft pieces of fruit with the crunchy nuts.
He shakes his head. “They’re independent, and not fae, despite what fae royalty believe. But they’re good at hiding, and much more powerful and numerous than most people think.” He taps his fingers on the table, then stares at me. “If you let this secret into the wrong hands, you’ll lose their protection, and might lose your life.”
The sweet taste of peaches turns bitter for a moment. “What if someone were to imprison me, interrogate me, invade my mind?”
“They wouldn’t be looking for something they have no idea exists, and nobody can invade minds.”
“You can.”
“I’m the only one.” He takes a sip of his milk. “You’ll meet their queen, and I’ll present you as my wife.”
“Will she know…” I’m not sure how to ask this. “Should I pretend…”
“She’ll know everything. But let her see you, mark you with her protection. It could make a difference.”
I take a sip of my milk too, then I decide to ask a question. “Why the effort? Isn’t it easier to let me die?”
He raises an eyebrow. “Oh, definitely.”
Asshole.
He shrugs. “But what if instead of killing, they decide to interrogate you, or maybe you decide to help them and reveal my secrets? I can’t have that, can I?”
I roll my eyes. “What secrets? What secrets of yours do I even know?”
He leans back in his chair, running a hand over his black curls, no rings on his hands. “You tell me.”
Why does he have to look so good? I close my eyes and shake my head.
Marlak takes me to a rocky edge of the island. I’m still wearing my ugly dress, and he’s wearing pants and a sleeveless leather top, displaying his muscled arms, scars, and tattoos.
“Can you swim?”
“Yes.” I still recall being taken to a lake as a child, still recall the cold water, my difficulty to float, and Otavio there, yelling at me to relax—as if it was easy. Eventually, I think I learned some of it, or at least enough not to drown too easily. “I mean, a little.”
“Hold my hand and trust me down there, all right? I will kneel to the queen, but you can just bow.”
He sits on a rock, jumps into the water, without taking off any of his clothes, then reaches out a hand to me. I lean over and jump, but the water is cold, and I can’t feel the bottom. For a second it scares me, and I find myself wrapping my arms around him, but then we’re underwater, sinking, and I sense something changing around my head.
“An air bubble,” he says. “It won’t last long, but it’s enough for now.”
I’m still holding my breath, and he laughs.
