“Perhaps they have run into trouble.” Liam offered. “You sent Scylla to the sirens. Perhaps the beast was too hungry to resist.”
Elaine waved his statement away. “The Mer needs a lesson in defiance.”
“A lesson.” Liam echoed.
Elaine nodded staunchly. “Find a steed. We shall ride to Tarsainn.”
Liam tried to swallow around the lump in his throat.
Her lips pulled into a disturbing grin. “It’s time you saw firsthand what it means to rule.”
A shelf of land extended between Cruinn and Tarsainn, though they shared the south of the lake.
Growing up, Liam had heard all sorts of stories.
The caves between the two cities were known as the End of Sorrow. A place where it was easy to get lost, and easier still to perish at the hands of the monstrous eels that made the tunnels their home.
Rumor had it that the caves had been mapped many years before. The information was only available to trusted merchants or members of the inner court.
Before the Frosted Sands, when he had spent more time with the royal guard in the barracks, hoping that he too would become a Troid Sídhe, Liam had joined their patrol.
The openings in the sheer cliff face made the hairs at the back of his neck stand up.
He remembered the feeling well, and it returned full force as they approached the caves.
His mother had brought a single escort. Oisin—one of the Troid Sídhe. A palace guard Liam had once considered a friend. A gossip if there ever was one.
His mother was putting on a show, but he had no idea who the intended audience was.
His mother had chosen bubble-mares for their journey—enchanted horses used to quickly rise to the surface. A quick getaway.
“Oisin, could you go further ahead?” His mother smiled demurely to the guard. “I wish to have a word with my son.”
Oisin dipped his head. “Yes, your majesty.”
His mother stared intently at the caves, as if waiting for something to happen. Her brow furrowed and her lip pursed. She did not break her gaze as she spoke.
“Do you remember the story I told you, about your father?” She said lightly.
“Calder Drip,” Liam answered quickly. The name had never been far from his thoughts since he had learned it as a child. “He died.”
“He was murdered.” Elaine spat. “By The Mad Queen. His body was stolen by her selfishness.”
Liam bit his tongue.
Elaine shook her head, twitching as her face contorted, seemingly in pain. “Elaine tried to kill herself, you know. When she discovered she was with child. She rode all the way to these caves, determined to end her life.”
Elaine? He wondered.Aren’tyou,Elaine?
As if she read his mind, his mother’s dark eyes flicked to his, and he felt his stomach drop. His body seemed to tumble as if falling from a great height, though he couldn’t move a muscle. Her face warped, but his eyes struggled to focus.
He was frightened of his mother.
“Elaine found him in the caves. A lonely shadow. He promised that she would have her revenge against The Mad Queen—Belisama, in mortal flesh—in exchange for her body.” His mother continued. “Balor, of the Tuatha Dé Danann, exiled, needed a vessel. I needed someone to help me raise my army.”
The pronoun shift did not escape Liam’s notice.
“Balor?” He whispered.
