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“I wouldn’t say that.” Shay returned her smile. “But us nymphs don’t let a little snow keep us from having fun.”
Elaine threw back her head and laughed. “My son could learn a few things from the nymphs. He’s such a bore.”
As if on cue, the door opened, revealing Liam Cruinn, my friend.
I hadn’t seen Liam in months, not since the Frosted Sands, and then a moment at the coral fields by Cormac Illfinn’s side. Liam’s face had once been round and freckled with the same markings as his mother's, but his time in Tarsainn had leeched any fat from his body.
I stood up, rushing toward him. I held out my arms, flinging myself at Liam before he could say another word. His breath exploded from his lungs and gills before his arms tentatively wrapped around my shoulders.
“Maeve…” Liam whispered.
I pulled back an inch, shooting him a trembling smile. “I’m glad you’re not foam,” I told him.
Liam’s brow furrowed as he leaned in, speaking low enough that only I could hear him. “You shouldn’t have come back.”
“What?”
Liam plastered a smile on his face and stepped back, looking over his shoulder at his mother. “Glad to see you’re having fun, mother.”
I moved away, slowly swimming to the table as Elaine swept up Liam and kissed him on both cheeks. “Come, sit. We’re discussing the plans for those pesky monsters.” Elaine seemed to notice my presence the moment I tried to sit down. “Maeve, go get us some more wine.”
“Mother,” Liam chided. “The servants—”
“I’m sure Maeve would relish seeing all her kitchen friends.” Elaine pouted. “After all, she spent most of her time at the castle stealing food and squirreling it away.” She cast a critical eye across my body. I knew I wasn’t fat, but the look in her eye made me squirm just the same.
Shay gave a hearty chuckle, drawing Elaine’s attention away from me. “It must be nice to have someone so willing to do your bidding.” He joked.
“Maeve is many things.” Elaine’s eyes turned devious. “I’d like for her to be useful for once. I’m certain that you all have experience with that. You traveled the lake together, after all.”
My fists clenched, and I knew the moment that she gauged the depth of our connection, she would hurt them. Elaine had never been a threat before, but maybe I just hadn’t been paying attention.
“Maeve had the uncanny ability to add days onto our journey.” Rainn gave a hearty chuckle. “She was too frightened of the Whispering Pass to go through it.”
I knew he was putting distance between us, but it was hard to ignore the scorn in his voice. My carefree selkie was filled with resentment that sounded too real to be entirely false.
Liam shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “Tell me, does the Whispering Pass sound like a thunderstorm?”
“Yes,” Tor said simply, reaching for his drink. It occurred to me that he had been drunk since we had set foot in the castle.
“All that fuss to go onto land, but she can’t walk in a straight line!” Shay interjected with a barked laugh. Fae couldn’t lie, so there must have been a grain of truth.
I stood up and plastered a smile on my face. “I’ll go get more wine,” I murmured.
Elaine waved her hand dismissively, but no one else acknowledged my exit.
I was certain I didn’t take long to return to Elaine’s quarters, but as I maneuvered open the door with a jug of wine in each hand, I noticed the sound of merriment was gone.
The room was dark, save for a single faelight, bobbing in the corner.
I thought I was alone before the chair at the head of the table moved back, and Elaine cast a shadow across the now-empty table. “The males decided to visit the harem. Someone should get some use out of the concubines now that Irvine is foam.”
I reached up, clutching my throat, unable to keep the flash of betrayal from my features before I smoothed my face into a mask.
“All males are the same.” Elaine continued. “But I don’t need to tell you that.”
I placed the jugs on the console table by the door. “I should return to my room if the festivities are over.”
“Stay.” Elaine urged, pushing her wine glass with her pinkie finger. “You can tell me how you killed Charybdis.”
