The conversation oddly paused and the smell of freshly cut fish tainted the water.
“Are there any blueberries left over?” Tatiana asked.
“I don’t know.” The annoyance in Shanleigh’s voice angered Jacob and the urge to remind her she spoke to the future Queen rocked him, but he stayed outside the doorway, determined to chew her out later.
“Could you go look?” Tatiana asked, a little more pointed.
“Yes,” Shanleigh quipped.
At the silence, he wondered what the ladies were doing, when he heard Tatiana whisper.
“Azor and his army just left to go to the Pacific Ocean. I’m worried he’s going to find a way to get to Tahoe. I need to warn my family.”
Jacob blinked in shock and then smiled at her resourcefulness.
“Will you help me?” Tatiana asked.
Sandy answered, “Of course. We’ll get them word. Don’t worry.”
Tatiana’s voice returned to a normal level. “Thank you, Sandy, for everything, especially for your kindness to the jailed rebels.”
One of the guards snapped up his head and Jacob realized her mistake—twice she’d shown mercy within earshot of those who gossiped and questioned her loyalty.
“Yes, Princess,” Sandy said before her voice quieted. “A word of advice,” she whispered, “don’t let anyone see your concern for the rebels. You needn’t worry about them. I’ll handle their well-being. Remember, in these hard times, appearances are everything. No one wants you accused of treason.”
Tatiana’s voice faltered. “But I’m royalty.”
“And not above the law and the lies.” Sandy’s voice hardened in warning. “Trust no one,” she said softly.
Their conversation paused for a beat, and then just like that, their chatter changed to the promising ceremony, redecorating the compound, and the like.
After several minutes, Shanleigh finally returned, interrupting them. “I’m so sorry, Princess. I couldn’t find any leftover blueberries. Will these raspberries do?”
Jacob could imagine the state of raspberries underwater, even fresh ones. He fought everything not to barge in and smack Shanleigh across the face for her disrespect.
“Thank you,” Tatiana said sweetly. “Don’t let me keep you from preparing the fish.”
At Tatiana’s sweetness, Jacob’s anger defused. He marveled, even in times of great distress, she remained kind, even to the servants. Sudden rustling at the table alerted Jacob the kitchen chat was over. He glided nonchalantly to the door, pretending he was there the entire time.
“Done already?” Jacob asked with a fake cheeriness.
Tatiana stuck out her tongue playfully.
The two ladies hugged, and Sandy swam to the door. Tatiana hovered a little too closely while Jacob lifted the metal bar, releasing the door. He assumed Tatiana wouldn’t lose control in front of Sandy, but he still positioned himself so Tatiana couldn’t slip away. If only the guards weren’t watching. He could so easily allow her to run, with his help, of course.
Sandy bid a quick goodbye and swam off. Once Jacob locked the iron back in its place, the panic Tatiana had managed to cage spread menacingly across her face. He could imagine her thoughts, especially since her separation from Azor would be for an unknown length of time. Fear swirled an ugly finger around them and Jacob grimaced. He wanted to help her, comfort her. But mostly distract her.
“I’m going to my room,” she said quickly, lifting her chin. “Goodnight.”
He cringed, knowing night was hours away, but she swam away before he could respond. He redirected his anger to the mermaid in the kitchen. Before he paid a visit to the barracks, Shanleigh was going to wish she’d checked her attitude at the door.
8
: : :
Examination
A sweet, gentle voice woke Tatiana from her slumber. She expected to see her mom, but instead looked up into Queen Desiree’s light-blue eyes framed in white-blonde hair. Her body shuddered awake.
“My Queen.” Tatiana sat up with a gasp, wondering if she should bow or what was the proper way to address her.
“Oh, don’t be alarmed, my sweet,” the Queen said with crimson lips. “It’s just me.”
Tatiana’s heart sped to full throttle, alerting her tail to move. Like a bird, she perched on a nearby chair and quizzically looked around the room. Next to the queen, the lithe blond healer who’d drugged Tatiana the morning of the ceremony hovered in the current. Her not-so-innocent gaze studied her and Tatiana wondered what her mother-in-mer was up to.
“Azor mentioned you haven’t been feeling well,” the Queen said.
Tatiana furrowed her brow. “I feel fine, my Queen.”
She smiled weakly, embarrassed they’d found her here instead of in Azor’s bed. She actually wished the healer could mend what was ailing Azor—his inability to bond with her officially.
“Well, that’s good to know, because your sisters have missed seeing you at the palace and are asking why you haven’t come around to visit.”
“They’re not mad?”
“Mad? Oh…” Her words trailed off as she swam to the window, glaring at the sharks in the distance. “This entire situation has become most unfortunate because of the accident. The King is healing slowly and hopefully he’ll feel strong enough to resume taking audience soon and put all the accusations to rest. In the meantime, I’ve asked Azor to remove the sharks so they don’t escape again. I see they’re still here.” Ice laced her voice.
“Is that what he’s doing? Getting rid of the sharks?” Tatiana asked, her voice growing shrill. She absentmindedly rubbed her aching left ear. With her strained relationship with Xirene, she hadn’t had time to ask for another dose.
“No,” she said coldly.
Tatiana kept her eyes downcast, warring with herself about whether to apologize on her father’s behalf or not. Would that only put him in the crosshairs again? No one had outright accused him of blowing up the gate, but the timing was suspicious.
“I have something else to discuss with you,” the Queen continued quickly.
Tatiana kept her head low, her heart pounding, prepared for the worst. The Queen’s surprise visit hadn’t been to check up on her after all. Her worst fears were coming true. Imprisonment for her parents’ sins, perfect timing since Azor wasn’t there.
“My son and I have vastly differing approaches to this problem, and I want to test a theory.”
Tatiana gulped again.
Test a theory? What did that mean?
“I believe your presence at the palace will show a united front after everything. Because I trust you, so should everyone else. A show of support that I’ve forgiven and forgotten, you see. That your union has been blessed and so has your future.” She nodded to her young servant, who swam over with a smile.
“I’m going to check you over,” the girl said in a lilting voice.
“Check me for what?”
“I heard you were hurt from the blast—your ear,” the Queen interrupted.
“Oh,” Tatiana reached up and touched her ear, “yes, it’s still sore.”
The healer’s large bugged-out eyes sent a shiver down Tatiana’s fin. She turned Tatiana’s head to the side with her gloved fingers and peered into her ear. From her apron, she pulled out a weed and shoved the mangled pulp into the sore ear. Twigs poked the delicate skin lining the canal, making her wince. Relief wasn’t as quick or as wonderful as when Xirene had treated her, but the pain lessened nonetheless.
The girl continued, checking Tatiana’s tongue and eyes, then kneading her hands over her ribs, making her giggle. And then, without permission, the girl removed Tatiana’s top and studied her breasts.
“Hey,” Tatiana said with a squeak and covered herself with her arms. “Is this really necessary?”
Tatiana held her hand out for her top she’d handcrafted the night prior. The Queen blew out a breath of water and grimaced, acting as if her servant had merely inspected cantaloupes at a farmers market.
With the Queen’s nod, the healer gave Tatiana her top back.
“We must make sure you haven’t been infected with the Ichthyopthirius multifilis,” the Queen simply stated.
“What? On my breasts?” Tatiana startled at the accusation, knowing the “ick” parasites showed up as white spots on one’s gills first. “I highly doubt it.”
Tatiana quickly fastened the button in the back and eyed the healer suspiciously.
“May I feel your abdomen?” the healer asked with a smile.
Tatiana looked to the Queen in a plea to which she merely gestured with her hand. “Please, let the healer finish.”
Tatiana clenched her fists and lay on the bed. “I promise you, I don’t have the ick.”
Both women remained quiet, intent on studying Tatiana’s body like she was on display at the zoo. The healer’s hands kneaded her scale-covered stomach, pressing all around the area under her bellybutton.
“Hey, that tickles,” Tatiana said, squirming.
The healer gave the Queen an insightful look before motioning that she roll over. “I’m almost finished.”
Tatiana groaned.
“Please cooperate.” The Queen smacked her tail, impatient.
Tatiana rolled over, wishing the exam would end soon, and felt the healer examine her spine, checking each vertebra. The healer pressed into her skin where her tail started and tugged on Tatiana’s scales with a hum. Then with a quick lift of the cloth encircling Tatiana’s hips, the healer squished her fingers into the spot where only her mate should ever touch, releasing her mating scent into the water. Tatiana flipped her tail and slid out from the healer’s probing touch.
“Hey! What are you doing?” She pulled the cloth down to cover her cloaca, angered.
The healer pulled her head back, stunned, and looked to the Queen. “It’s all part of the exam.”
“Please, Tatiana. It’s to know the condition of your female system.” Queen Desiree pulled aside her long white tresses and leaned in. “Aren’t you curious to know if all your parts are functioning properly?”
Parts?
The Queen made her sound more like a starfish than a person. “I’m sure they’re working just fine, thank you.”
“Are they?” Queen Desiree pushed up her brow, giving Tatiana a knowing look. “Now let’s not kid ourselves. If that were true, you wouldn’t be here… alone, would you?”
Tatiana froze in her spot, her mouth agape. Salt in her wounded heart. The reason for the examination settled into focus. Azor must have said she had the ick to get out of why they weren’t celebrating their promisetide. And now, after the examination, the Queen knew full well that wasn’t the case. She blamed Tatiana’s inability to seduce him as the culprit. She felt weak, her fin slowly flattening against the ground.
“Don’t despair. Having a beta-mer as a mother, of course you don’t know these things. You should have come to me sooner. Many have issue when it comes to the act. I’ll set up a private class with the mer matrons. They’ll show you the dance. Then when Azor returns, you’ll feel more confident.” The Queen smiled innocently and patted her arm. “Now, collect your things and come with me to the palace. There is a lot to do.”
Tatiana clamped her mouth shut and tried to wash away the humiliation. The Queen might as well have stamped “frigid” on her forehead, and her cheeks caught flame under her skin. If it wasn’t so embarrassing, she would have confessed to the Queen her failure to please Prince Azor wasn’t because of her lack of trying.
A male cleared his throat in the hall. “Princess?”
Jacob.
At his voice, she really wanted to die. She already knew his displeasure in her appeasing Azor, but did he know, too, that she hadn’t done it yet? Did the entire palace know? Was everyone talking about her supposed
ick
?
She buried her face in her hands.
“Princess?” he asked again. “I’m ready to escort you.”
Tatiana pressed her eyes shut, determined not to let Queen Desiree ruffle her, and reopened them with new resolve. Azor’s obsession with work clearly had prevented him from consummating their union, and the
ick
was a kinder excuse for why they weren’t pregnant yet—so much better than saying he was too busy. Could that be the real reason? The only reason? She groaned at the thought.
But she knew, after their brief tryst yesterday, it wasn’t a matter of desire. Guilt from indulging in pleasure over his duties had prevented him from giving into it. And then snoopy Xirene didn’t help. If she didn’t get his mind off of work, her barren womb would raise suspicions. Most newly promised couples were pregnant within the first week, unless something was physically wrong, or one partner was a beta, which usually made pregnancy difficult to achieve. A week hadn’t passed, well, not yet. Was the entire kingdom counting?
Oh, Poseidon.
If she didn’t look pregnant soon, she’d be labeled defective.
Her eyes rolled back into her head, her stomach churning. No. She’d help Azor get his focus off of work and onto her. Somehow. He’d chosen her after all and she’d make him proud—and soon—before she was doomed to be… replaced.
At the thought of watching another mermaid cling to his arm and bear his shoal, she wanted to vomit.
Sea stars,
she moaned on the inside.
“Princess?” Jacob asked again. “We shouldn’t keep the Queen waiting.”
“Yes,” Tatiana said warily as she swam out of her room with a fake smile and her head held high.
If Sandy was able to get the message to Dorian, Azor wouldn’t find her family and he’d come straight home to Natatoria. Then she’d make him want her—as soon as he returned. Once she became pregnant, she’d flaunt her full belly for the entire kingdom to see, the first being the Queen. Then everyone would be happy, too happy to punish the rebels, too happy for war.
9
: : :
Birds and the Bees
The entourage of merfolk exited out the front doors of the compound in a massive school; the Queen and ten or so of the guards surrounding her in front, while Jacob and Tatiana hung in the back. Jacob’s straight face and alert eyes weren’t typical of his normal self at the compound. Being a secret rebel, she could see how he’d be uncomfortable, but his fearful reaction unnerved her.
“Are you okay, Jacob?” Tatiana asked in a low tone.