Of course, if Kye had never come to Leihani, I might be dead. If not by my uncle, then by the rest of the island.
I forced out an exhale. “What happens when a Naiad breaks a blood promise?”
“To break a blood vow would violate the promise made by your body,” she said. “Naiads don’t lie. Not on our blood.”
“So, I’d just die?”
“Yes.” She paused, holding the door open with one hand. “I’ll be back this evening. We’ll go together to the Venus Sea. Get some sleep between breakfast and your appointment with the tailor if you can.”
Selena started to leave, but then she paused and turned to smile softly at me. “I hope you’re feeling well. Naiads weren’t made for ships.”
Then she was gone, leaving me to stare at the door.
I’d expected Selena to be someone like Thaan, or even Nori or Olinne. Someone arrogant, imperious, cryptic. Instead, I almost liked her.
At the very least, the Naiad put me at ease. There was something lulling in the richness of her voice, the focus in her gaze, the patience and respect in her explanations. Like I was an equal, someone whose thoughts and emotions carried valuable weight.
The feeling sent a ripple of doubt into my chest.
I might’ve liked Selena, but I refused to blindly believe in her. I’d been taken from my home, held against my will, and forced into an agreement that, according to my contract, could kill me.
Selena might help me transition. She might set appointments for me, might buy me a closet full of gowns and shoes. But she was still one of Thaan’s Naiads.
They could dress it up however they wanted—it didn’t change that I was a pawn in their game. Kind as Selena seemed, she was still complicit in a plot that held me captive.
I wouldn’t be bought or won over with gifts. I didn’t trust any of them.
27
“Ready to go?” Selena asked.
I nodded, pretending as though my stomach hadn’t tied in ribbons. I’d tried to nap earlier, as Selena had suggested. But just like my last night spent on the islands, sleep had been hard to find.
Selena waited for me to enter the coach first. Hands braced on either side, I ambled in, ignoring the feeling of curious eyes at my back. Since arriving, I hadn’t spoken to a single person besides Selena and the royal tailor—and technically the coward who had brought me—but the palace residents seemed to know why I was there. Gossip must travel faster here than in Leihani, because they’d circled me like vultures looking for a meal as I’d descended the main stairs and wandered outside.
I was grateful when the driver slammed the door shut.
It was my second time in a coach, though I’d barely paid attention the night before. I sat in the back seat, facing the horses, mesmerized as I watched their ears flick like little birds that twitched their heads in all directions, investigating every noise and current of air.
Just before the coach turned onto the main road, canopied by a thicket of pine, Selena turned in her seat, sliding the little window open.
“Pike, could you pull over please?”
She shut it smoothly before he could respond, though I’m not sure he would have anyway. The coach wheels rolled and bobbed to a stop. Selena lifted a brow at me. “We’ll need to sing to him before we can go to the beach.”
“Sing to him?”
“So he doesn’t remember taking us.”
The carriage lifted as he slid off his bench in the front, making his way toward the door to see what we needed.
“You’re going to do it,” she added.
“Me?” I breathed, utterly bewildered.
“Before he has a chance to speak.”
“What do I—”
