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I couldn’t imagine losing the ability to live under the water. Though I could walk on land, every breath felt painful. I could forget the pain, but that didn’t mean it went away. Every step was heavy, and my throat was dry and gummy. Even on the shore, I could feel the call of the water.
Rainn shifted uncomfortably, and Tor finished his wine, placing the empty cup on the table. I knew that both of my mates had also felt her words.
Ilaria cleared her throat. “I can pull the water to me. I hope our offspring will bear Mac Eoin’s gifts.” Her gaze darted from Vidalia to Shay. “I can sense water, even below the ground's surface, deep in the forest.”
Vidalia patted her hand. “My Ilaria shows great promise. Ilra is powerful in her own right, but her strengths tend toward amorous magic.”
I’d made the mistake of taking a sip of my wine, and I choked on the liquid. My eyes burned as I breathed my wine. Tor handed me a napkin, his eyes sparking with mirth.
“Are you excited for your wedding, Ilaria?” Tor’s lips lifted in a crooked smile, flashing the point of a single sharp tooth.
Ilaria beamed brightly, seemingly without enough sense to be scared of the kelpie. “It is the utmost honor to be chosen by the chieftain.”
Shay had been suspiciously silent for most of the conversation, his attention fixed on his plate as he dissected his urchin instead of eating it.
“Ilaria has already received her wedding jewelry,” Ilra said, and bitterness crept into her voice. “We are so very proud of her and excited to raise our standing.”
Ilaria reached up, rubbing the turquoise amulet around her neck, the metal tarnished and old. She smiled brightly, seemingly unaware of her sister’s scorn. “For fertility.”
I turned to Shay, studying him. As if sensing my gaze, his colorful eyes met mine. His face cleared of emotion.
“Shay didn’t intend to marry yet.” Vidalia’s eyes flashed intensely. “But one of the younglings wandered into the water at night. Ilaria parted the waves and walked on the shore with no more effort than holding open a door. No one could deny that she was blessed by the gods.”
“When the gods speak, we listen.” Ilaria nodded, flashing Shay a timid smile.
“Hmm.” Ilra drained her cup and poured another.
Shay held up his cup, making a toast. “When the gods speak, we listen.”
Once every plate had been emptied and the band of daylight disappeared over the horizon, the nymphs began to gather.
The small party around the table grew, and furniture was moved to the side to accommodate more guests.
A group of males arrived, setting up drums in the corner. Wearing only a scrap of leather around their waists, their bodies covered in tattoos that looked like a hundred ant bites. They drank from glass bottles before they began to slap the drums, playing the undulous beat I recognized from the last time at the village.
Like the Órán Sídhe, who could weave suggestions into their song, the nymphs added a layer of magic to their music. The air grew warmer and more welcoming. Curling through the crowd in a sensual whisper, saying, you don’t have to pretend here. No one will judge you. Be at one with your body, and let your guard down.
Tor and Rainn stood on either side of me, our backs to the wall of the hut, as we watched the celebrations underway.
Though Shay’s wedding was only a few days away, every young female seemed to vy for his attention. He was surrounded by a sea of female nymphs, brushing his braids away from his face and touching the front of his leather tunic. Shay tried to escape several times, but the female Sidhe kept pulling him back.
“What do you think of Ilaria?” I asked Tor and Rainn, watching Shay’s fiancée on the other side of the room as she spoke to one of the drummers—her eyes alight with joy as she clapped her hands together.
“More innocent than I expected,” Tor murmured out of the corner of his mouth, no doubt aware of eavesdroppers. “I expected Vidalia to push Ilra onto Shay. She seemed set on the idea when we passed through a few months ago. Perhaps she realized that Ilra had too many sharp edges for our Shay.”
I snorted. “He prefers females he has to protect?”
Rainn bit back a smile. “I thought he preferred males myself. He certainly has the skills of someone that knows their way around a cock.”
I nudged him before my cheeks turned pink, as I remembered watching Rainn with Shay’s lips wrapped around him. “Shay is a nymph.” I pointed out.
Tor cleared his throat. “Ilaria has a pure heart, though I cannot say the same for her sister and grandmother.” Tor had a unique insight into other’s emotional states as a kelpie.
Rainn sighed. “If Shay Mac Eoin wishes to marry, we cannot save the male from such a fate. All of us know the weight of our burdens. He is chieftain, and as Vidalia said, offspring is important to nymphs, especially with their short lifespans.”
“Why is that?” I frowned. “If they are truly children of the gods, why wouldn’t they be immortal? Water fae are children of Belisama, and they do not feel the ravages of time.”
Tor shrugged. “Nymphs are not native to the Aos Sí, as Vidalia said. According to legend, they came from a world of death and despair. A place the fae do not tread since the Autumn King’s sons were enslaved by the demons from this other world.”
