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“It’s a pity I can’t feel how wet you are.” He grinned wickedly. “Spread your legs.”
Chapter Seven
The last time I’d visited the nymph village, I had been a captive, avoiding the Whispering Pass on the way to Tarsainn.
There was no change in the air to mark the territory the Mer claimed, though the Whispering Pass was visible from the shore—and waterfall below the surface, raining silt and debris into a sinkhole. The Whispering Pass was surrounded by fissures that formed a labyrinth under the surface. Before it had caved in, it had been filled with the dead, suspended in their corpses, and unable to go back to the Tuatha Dé Danann. My uncle had woven collars around the dead and had taken Cormac captive, even from hundreds of miles away.
I’d never gotten a chance to ask Irvine why. To what end?
Snow peppered the ground as the terrain changed from dense forest licking the shore to hills overlooking the lake.
Nymphs were not water-faring fae by nature; instead, they were elementals. Shay could breathe underwater, as his father before him, but his bloodline was at risk of dying out. The nymphs had made their home on the twilight lake for whatever reason, and they wanted the ability to water-breathe to flourish in their future generations.
When I traveled to the Dark Sea, Shay Mac Eoin had not chased me. He had not welcomed me or given me sanctuary. I remembered him only as one of the males who had kidnapped me, lumped into the same category as Cormac Illfinn, who had stabbed me in the back.
Still, Shay Mac Eoin was a friend and ally of my two mates, and I did not wish to stay at the Skala beach without Rainn or the Reeds without Tor. I might have been their Shíorghrá, but I was still undine. An enemy to all other creeds of the lake.
We followed the single trail of smoke leaking into the sky once the gairid path spat us out by the Whispering Pass. It wasn’t long before the scent of cooking meat and the happy chatter of voices hinted that we were growing closer to the nymph village.
The nymph village was a world away from Cruinn and the luxury the undine enjoyed.
Though I’d only ever seen the city and the surrounding areas of Cruinn from my castle window, the houses were made of stones. Adorned with shells, glowing algae, and whatever treasures the inhabitant could find. Undine were born with adornments, from pearls to gemstones, embedded in their skin. It was why fae often called us gilded, just as the sirens were. Adornments were a status symbol, and homes were built to last and passed down from generation to generation.
The nymph village was a collection of huts and tents. Wooden supports and treated leather, as well as other fabrics that I didn’t recognize. It looked like it could be packed up at a moment's notice.
Horses tied in a line on the edge of the village, happily eating hay from a long trough. The children played in the water, naked as the day they were born, as they splashed on the shore.
A boat drifted further out, with its captain using a single stick to steer. A seabird with a beak as large as my head perched on the end.
Nymphs fed on sexual energy, and their openness about their bodies was something I struggled to get used to. The undine were prim and proper, often using fabric as a status symbol the same way they used their adornments. It seemed that with Nymphs, the less clothing, the better. Even the older ladies had their breasts and hips covered but little else as they washed clothes in view of the playing children.
The atmosphere had changed in the few months since we had stopped at the village before heading onto Tarsainn. Whether it was because the Whispering Pass nearby was no longer leaking its poisonous magic into the surrounding lake or because of Shay Mac Eoin’s nuptials, it was hard to tell.
Rainn made sure to adjust my selkie-coat cape, though there was no mistaking what it was, as he staked his claim in front of the nymphs.
I stifled a giggle at the idea that I would be searching for another mate. Especially when I stood next to both Tor and Rainn.
We had barely cleared the first row of huts before heads popped out of houses, and our arrival was noted. The younger and more virile nymphs, each carrying a different weapon, began to circle us like sharks. Keeping their distance as they followed us through the camp.
Rainn, Tor, and I walked three abreast down the single-worn path to the bonfire at the center of the village. Benches surrounded the raging blaze, and we took a seat as the empty benches began to fill with the sentries. A woman opposite us watched from across the fire. Palming a blade.
The nymphs were on edge at our presence, much more than they had been last time.
It didn’t take long for our arrival to spread through the camp, but no one said a word as we waited by the fire.
Had we arrived too early? Or too late?
I felt like vinegar, souring a pail of milk. I shifted in my seat, drawing my cape tightly around my shoulders, though the heat from the fire was enough. Rainn saw my unease and wrapped his arm around my shoulders, kissing my forehead before pulling me against his chest and holding me.
I relaxed just a bit.
Finally, one of the elderly females moved away from the group, shuffling toward us. I recognized her, though her name escaped me. She had been the one to push Ilra toward Shay, encouraging the union. No doubt the older fae was happy she had gotten her wish.
I’d never thought much about immortality, but it seemed the nymphs had shorter lifespans than the other lake creeds. The only elderly Mer I had met was Cormac’s grandmother, and I had felt the glamour she had used to appear older and harmless. The nymphs didn’t use glamour, but their sun-marked skin still showed wrinkles and age spots.
“Here for the wedding?” The white-haired woman hobbled up to us, accepting a walking stick from one of the sentries that had rushed to her aid. “A few days early, but early is better than late. Shay will be happy you’ve come.” Her eyes darted to mine, and she took a few moments to study me, unabashed, as she looked me up and down. “I remember you, the undine princess. Did you decide that being caught wasn’t so bad, huh?” She let out a dirty chuckle.
My cheeks pinked, and I looked away. I wasn’t ashamed of my relationship, but I didn’t like to think of those days before the dark sea. Of the blood of my kin and the actions of war. Rainn, Tor, and I were tied together, and our bonds were only just becoming real to me. I didn’t like that our relationships were open to scrutiny.
