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“Maybe we can ignore the Kraken and hope the beast forgets?” Rainn said hopefully.
“I doubt it.” I sighed. “He’s been in my dreams. Reminding me of our bargain.”
“And you want to give the Kraken the High Throne, Princess?” Clearly, Rainn thought I was addled.
I narrowed my eyes. “The Kraken wants his other eye. The only material in this whole lake that feels similar is the High Throne.”
“The High Throne is big.” Rainn’s brow furrowed with concern. “You are small.”
“You wouldn’t help me carry it?” I crossed my arms over my chest.
“My back would hurt.” Rain mumbled, pouting.
“Notice how that wasn’t a no?” Tor’s eyes sparkled with mirth.
“If we go to Cruinn…” I paused, licking my lips. “You might not like the person I have to be. The role I have to play.”
“We all play our parts. Every one of us.” Rainn said. “Why do you think Tor never smiles?”
Tor glared at him. “Do you recognize those undine?”
“No?” I shrugged. “The Esteemed Undine Court is made up of hundreds of Sidhe. I didn’t spend much time in the ballroom, dining hall, or any places Fae tended to gather. She’s young. Likely reached her majority the year before I should have. Though the two Troid Sidhe might look like the threat, Finula is the most dangerous of the lot. She is an Órán Sidhe.”
“She can compell with her voice?” Tor squinted.
I nodded. “Just so.”
“We should rescue Shay from his hosting duties.” Rainn sighed. “Or, at the very least, eat him out of house and home before we make the journey to Cruinn.”
“The Mer-King’s procession left the village in the early hours.” Finula glanced at us as we entered the dining tent but continued speaking. “We extended the invitation to Cruinn for all creeds of the lake. Whatever horrors the deep holds, King Irvine’s death has unleashed them. We must put aside our squabbles for the good of the lake.”
Shay sat back, hiding a smile as he lifted his cup of wine to his lips. “A well-rehearsed speech.” He noted. “Did the Mer-King believe Cruinn’s missive?”
Finula met his eyes with a hard stare. “King Cormac wished to visit Cruinn for his own reasons.”
Rainn, Tor, and I had been saved seats at the end of the table. It seemed that every elder fae in the village had welcomed themselves to breakfast with the chieftain and his guests.
I hadn’t thought much of Finula, but she seemed to hold her own despite receiving a dozen death stares.
“I will come to Cruinn in exchange for immunity for any and all actions taken by the nymphs of the Twilight Lake to defend their home during the turmoil.” Shay put his cup down, his stare unerring. I could only imagine how many colors flitted through his gaze. “And the nymphs require payment for their services to the High Throne, should we aid in finding any monsters the undine has let loose on the lake.”
Finula’s cheeks turned puce, and the two troid Sídhe guards shifted uncomfortably.
“The Kelpies require the same conditions.” Tor tilted his head. “I speak as their King.”
Rainn held up his hands. “The selkies will not leave the Skala Beach, now or ever. They will not help with this endeavor.”
Finula acted as if Rainn had not spoken. “I will present your terms to the Queen.”
Shay tapped the table. “I thought that no woman could possibly hold the High Throne. That their ‘delicate minds’ are more susceptible to the madness of its power.”
Finula gulped. “I understand that Liam Cruinn is the heir, and he is recovering. His mother is overseeing court matters until he is healthy.”
It went without saying that Cormac Illfinn was responsible for Liam’s ill health.
Elaine, my uncle’s wife, seemed determined to get every ruler from every creed of the lake to Cruinn.
Either the undine were frightened, or there was something much more nefarious afoot.
