Attendants escorted them into the great hall and separated them. Essa, being of higher rank in Nereus’s Court, was led to the far left side of the chamber and seated. Kai and Nazrin would join the long line and await their turns.
She opened her mind again so that Nazrin heard the conversations. He responded with a frustrated growl at not being able to be beside her. She smiled despite herself and peered down the long hall to the figures resting on the enormous thrones, stifling a gasp. Her father wasn’t what she’d expected.
He was gigantic. If she sat in the palm of his hand, she wouldn’t fill it. Nereus’s tail and hair matched the silver-blue chiton he wore. His beard flowed down his chest and his eyes shone a misty blue-grey.
Her heart froze, then pumped with vigor, while her unsteady breaths failed to keep pace. She’d never witnessed anything quite like him. Before his formidable presence, her small form seemed insignificant. Her life was but a tiny flicker in Nereus’s existence. She’d live and die in one blink of his eye. Truly, he was as ancient as time itself. A formidable enemy against Apollo, if he did indeed side with Hades in the War.
She shuddered as she envisioned Zeus or Poseidon. Although Nereus was older, they were more powerful. Lord Nereus was considered a lesser god. She scoffed. Nothing appeared lesser about him.
To his right posed his consort, Doris. The regal lady perused Essa with cool disdain. Essa was the result of Nereus’s infidelity with Helene. No warm welcome awaited her from this woman. Doris didn’t seem capable of exhibiting warmth anyway. Purple and gold adorned her from head to fin. Even her hair flowed a vibrant violet, as did her tail. Enough jewels to fill the royal treasury weighed Doris down, though she struggled to maintain an upright posture. The resultant grimace on her face was accentuated by a garish blend of purples, blues, and pinks.
Next to her reclined several normal-sized ladies, like miniatures of their mother, painted in the shades of the rainbow. The Nereids. Fifty daughters born to Nereus and Doris. They too were thousands of years old. Her half-sisters appraised her with the same disdain as their mother. Essa fought back a mournful ache in her chest.
A servant beckoned her with a sweep of his arm. The time to approach her father had arrived. Against her nature, she bowed before him. She hadn’t ventured this far to be imprisoned or executed. After all, he was a god, and she visited his Court.
“Come closer, little one.” His booming voice resounded off the walls. Essa lifted her head and floated toward him. Lord Nereus lowered his hand for her to climb onto it. Uncertain, she considered disobeying him, yet a wave of encouragement from Nazrin combined with her curiosity. She swam to him and kneeled. Nereus hoisted her into the air, his ancient scrutiny sweeping across her.
He spoke, his tone softening, “She doth remind Us of her mother, doth she not? Even to the defiance in her eyes.” Nereus chuckled, glancing at Doris as though expecting his mate to find humor in his reminiscence. Her expression didn’t change, as if it had been chiseled into that glower. “We doth remember thy mother with fondness, child.”
Essa frowned at the kindness in his voice and rubbed the amulet between her fingers. Had he loved her mother? Had her mother loved him?
“Show Us the amulet. Many years have passed since We hath gazed upon its glorious power.” With his other hand, he tapped Essa on the head. A sharp pain struck her mind at Nereus’s invasion. She was unable to move or breathe as he searched through her. Finally, the Old Man of the Sea released her, murmuring to himself.
***
Nazrin hesitated before approaching Lord Nereus. He’d been raised in his father’s palace in Thrace and had bargained with the Lord of the Underworld.
The sea god didn’t frighten him, but the information Nereus carried did.
Soon, Kai would be the transgressor and Essa’s wrath would be directed toward him.
Nazrin would be her hero. Right.
He swam to Lord Nereus. The Sea King joined Hades’s cause, likely because he assumed Poseidon would fight on the opposing side, as he had in the Trojan War. In recompense for his pledge of Essa and her powers, Nereus had much to gain from Hades’s victory. From Poseidon’s fall.
Lord Nazrin, son of Zephyrus, welcome to Our Court, Nereus spoke into his mind. We send Our regards to thy father. Nazrin inclined his head. You have been given the task of training Our daughter. We perceive her loyalties are not yet where they should be.
Nazrin flashed his gaze to Essa, before lowering his head. Pray pardon, Lord Nereus. She’s still being trained.
The god waved a regal hand. Very well. Continue then.
He bowed once more and masked his grin. Perfect. No secrets revealed.
“Welcome, trusted servant Kai, of the House of Triton,” Lord Nereus’s thunderous voice boomed in Essa’s mind, allowing Nazrin to hear as well. “You have performed well and have fulfilled Our requirements. We are pleased. That which your family requested shall be granted. You have Our permission to proceed with the fulfillment of the blood betrothal.”
Essa’s brow creased and her lips pressed tight in confusion. Yes, my mate. Your trust in Kai was misplaced. He sent a smirk of satisfaction at Kai, who knelt before the Sea King, the blood draining from his face.
Still, what did he expect, venturing here with Essa? Nazrin scoffed.
Nazrin? She lifted her face to him, but the myrman was quick to grab her and drag her away.
He followed them at a distance, watching as Kai bade her into an empty chamber. Standing outside the door, he slipped into the myrman’s mind with the stealth of his raptor half.
“Essa, please allow me to explain.”
“Explain what?”
“I didn’t wish to tell you like this, but sometimes these gods,” he lowered his voice, “they find amusement in our mortal struggles. Please don’t be angry with me. I had as little choice in this as you, yet I couldn’t be happier. Darling, you’re beyond my wildest dreams of perfection.”
Even as the male spoke those words, he sensed the myrman didn’t believe them himself. Nazrin’s talons elongated. She was his dream of perfection, not Kai’s.
“You were unaware,” he continued, his words rushing together, “so I decided to give you time to accept it on your own. Eventually, we’d be together. Such things are meant to be, after all.”
“Kai, stop. What are you talking about?”
“Our blood betrothal, of course.”
Silence.
“Essa, please.” His voice lowered. “It’s a great honor to align my family with yours. My parents—”
An instant later, Essa raced out the door, smacking straight into his chest. He steadied her, but relief didn’t shine from her eyes.
You. She sobbed. You knew. She wrenched from his grasp.
Nazrin opened his mind to call after her, but thought better of it. She required a moment alone, to conclude it was Kai who’d betrayed her, not him.
After all, he was the male who would rescue her from this nightmarish fate.
***
Essa raced through the corridors, burrowing herself in the great maze of the palace. She came to a halt in the middle of a garden, collapsing on the floor beside an underwater fountain, and flung her arms over its edge, her head buried in her hands.
A blood betrothal. No, anything but that. She grimaced, recalling how, as a lonely young girl, she dreamt of such things. Fantasizing some male would be destined for her, would fill the emptiness. She’d romanticized it.
Her own blood betrothal was the antithesis of romantic to her.
Her mind spun, her insides quivering.
She was trapped.
Long ago, her people devised a way to prevent headstrong young men and women from ruining the carefully planned alliances of their parents. Instead of promising their children to one another, they perfected the art of matchmaking. Once the allegiance was set, the two families brought the infants together. An enchantress used a special dagger to spill a drop of blood from each, which she collected in a goblet. The blood mixed, and each of the infants was made to drink. A powerful incantation sealed the ceremony.
When they grew older, the two would be brought together. They’d fall in love. Many of them would never become aware of the arrangement. They’d assume it was fate, and everyone would be content.
How wrong they were. The two halves of her heart wrenched between Nazrin and Kai finally tore. Her fate was sealed.
She had no choice but to assume the position of Apollo’s Pythia. If she didn’t, she’d have to marry Kai.
Either way, she’d relinquish Nazrin.
A betrothal explained so many things—why she’d been drawn to Kai despite the intensity of her affection for Nazrin.
And Kai’s scars. Her stomach churned. Was it possible he’d had no more choice in this than she? Had his family tortured him to ensure his cooperation? What would it mean for him when she refused? Essa wrapped her arms around her middle and wished she could offer him the shelter of her hand in marriage. Kai was a worthy male. He’d stood by while she’d explored her attraction to Nazrin, the entire time certain she’d be his.
Understanding eluded her. She wasn’t supposed to be able to experience desire for anyone other than Kai. He ought to be overcome with passion for her. Yet neither of them performed as the enchantment guaranteed.
Not a single doubt in her heart, she loved Nazrin. The realization sent bitter tears flowing down her cheeks.
Nazrin had known, before her father made the announcement. No emotion penetrated the impregnable mask of his face, not shock or indignation.
Cassandra was right. His declarations of her being his mate, of them bonding, they were all lies. Now, her aunt’s parting warning haunted her. He’s immortal. You’re not. Wind Borne bond their life forces together. Like must bond with like.
A tiny spark of hope inside her chest had yearned for Cassandra’s words to be proven false. They hadn’t, and now the spark snuffed out.
If Nazrin loved her, wouldn’t he have drawn his sword and leapt into the air, claiming she was his and challenging Kai to a duel to the death? Wasn’t that what bonded males did?
How could she battle an enchantment stronger than the tides themselves, when Nazrin wouldn’t fight at her side?
Awareness struck her, wrenching her heart from her chest. Nazrin doesn’t love me. Nor did he care whose wife she became.
He’d never intended to bond with her.
The ocean absorbed her tears, muffling the shattering of her heart.
Suddenly, the fountain in front of her shimmered. Essa lifted her head. A dark shadow formed inside the fall of water.
How odd.
She focused harder, and the shadow shifted into a figure. A woman. She stepped forward and lowered her hood, revealing dark green depths.
Essa gasped and extended her fingers toward the woman. My mother? No. As she peered closer, she perceived the differences. This woman was younger than her mother would be. Her hair was not as dark, more brown than black, and her eyes had flecks of amber in them.
Cassandra.
A Portal? Impossible.
Yet here it stood, shimmering in front of her.
“Essa, my dear niece. It’s time for you to return. The Tide approaches.”
She bit her lip. The Tide? Oh, no. Aedre had warned her… “Yes. I’ll come home.” Desperation warred with prudence inside her chest, but the approach of the Tide left her no choice. If she remained here, they could make her breed with Kai. At least, males weren’t permitted in Apollo’s temple. She’d be safe there.
Here, these males treated her no better than a pawn in their game and she refused to fall into their calculating plans for her future. Instead, she would trust the only family she had.
Essa swam through the Portal and spilled out onto the other side. Slick stone rested beneath her, the walls of a cavern surrounding her. No, a temple. She executed the morphos into human form and, using her powers, swept the water from her sea clothes. A cloak of deep blue dropped around her shoulders.
She glanced up, staggering onto her feet. This was indeed Apollo’s temple. A giant marble statue of the sun god occupied the ledge above a glistening pool. Torchlight flickered through the temple. Smoky, sweet tendrils drifted upward from the incense that burned in the four corners.
What irony, to worship a sun god where the sun’s rays didn’t fall.
Essa treaded in a circle, noting the familiar surroundings, until she halted before Cassandra.
“Welcome home, my child.”
Caution pulsed inside her veins. Was this her home? Did she belong here? Suddenly, the turmoil overwhelmed her and she collapsed into her aunt’s arms. “I am blood betrothed.”
“Ah, poor thing.” Cassandra placed a hand on Essa’s shoulder and gave an awkward pat. “It’s awful, how they seized your will when you were a mere babe.”
She raised her head. “Why didn’t you tell me?
Her aunt stiffened. “I had wished to spare you from this terrible truth.”
“What terrible truth?”
“Your mother cast you into the sea.” Cassandra brushed aside a stray strand of her hair. “After she birthed you.”
Essa gasped in horror. “What?”
“Yes, a kind of madness overcame her. At first, I feared you’d perished, for how could you survive beneath the waters? A few years later, Apollo spotted you, alive and well, a Water Borne. He bade me rescue you from your father’s harsh grasp. Nereus would seek to exploit your powers.”
A violent shudder shook her body, weakening her legs. She seized one trembling breath and another. Her father had arranged the blood betrothal, she suspected, because Kai’s family had requested it. The Nereids were too old to be desirable, but many families would have vied for the hand of a new, powerful offspring like Essa. Kai’s had won.
The betrothal explained Kai’s persistent courtship of her, regardless of his lack of affection. He’d mentioned his family, and though she discerned little of Court politics, she didn’t doubt the pressure from his loved ones spurred his actions. She grimaced. Or the torture.
This was yet another reason why Nazrin would never be her mate, would never bond with her. Essa sniffed back tears. “Tell me more about my mother.” She opened her cloak and rubbed the amulet’s chain between her fingers.
“As the Pythia, she hid much, even from me. Although, when she began wearing that,” she pointed to Essa’s amulet, “of course I knew something was amiss. Such a trinket had to be a lover’s gift. I suspected he was a god, but I assumed it was Apollo. Though it never occurred to me to wonder why he would defile his own priestess.”
“How did she die?” Essa whispered the words, which echoed through the cavern.
“The Pythia is forbidden children. The villagers discovered your mother’s transgression and attacked the temple. They ransacked it, burning the temple to the ground. She took her own life, after she threw you to the sea.”
Essa covered her mouth with her hand. The woman from Nazrin’s vision hadn’t seemed callous or mad.
Cassandra continued, “Afterward, Apollo appointed me the new Pythia and I assumed my sister’s place. We moved the temple to this location, where none have found it unbidden since.”
A strong hand clamped on her shoulder. “Come now, child. Let us speak no more of the past. The future is upon us. Soon, you’ll take my place as Apollo’s Pythia, as is your right.” Cassandra gripped Essa’s chin in her hands and murmured in approval. “Our bloodline is strong. We’re one of the few capable of true prophecy. Not like those imposters, who require a vapor to induce their trances, to produce their visions. Our blood is pure.” She straightened her spine in pride. “A life of servitude is rewarding in so many ways. Celibacy is a blessing, not a punishment. You will see. It’s freeing.” She tipped her head back and sighed, an expression of pure contentment on her upturned face.
Nothing could convince me to relinquish Nazrin. Essa scowled at the errant longing.
“You do still wish for the appointment, do you not?” Sharp green orbs assessed her.
“I-I,” she stuttered, unable to find the words. What she wanted, she couldn’t have.
“Tell me, after everything I revealed, why do you cling to this male? He’s your enemy.”
She stiffened. “What if he isn’t?”
“Where, then, is he?” Cassandra snorted. “This male you would place above a fulfilling life of devotion?”
Not here, her heart screamed, but she kept her lips pressed firm.
Her aunt smirked. “He has forsaken you, just as I warned you he would.”
Essa fisted her hands at her sides and steeled her resolve. “Yes, you were right.”