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The thunderous pounding on the door jolted me from a dreamless sleep. It took a moment for the grogginess to clear, for me to get my bearings and remember everything that happened to me the previous night.
Odele was sprawled beside me, occupying most of the space on the bed, keeping me confined to the very edge, where the only things preventing me from toppling to the floor were the soft, balancing brushes of the anemones.
The thundering continued, followed by the voice of Captain Saber. “Princess! Is everything alright?”
I groaned and rubbed my eyes before I was fully awake.
Silt. Captain Saber was at the door. I couldn’t very well open it, could I? Not with Odele here. I didn’t like the idea of keeping secrets from him, but this wasn’t just my own. It was Odele’s too, and we had to decide what to do together, whether or not we could keep her presence a secret.
I glanced down at Odele. She slept with her mouth wide open and hugging at the pillows. It was odd to see her so mussed and vulnerable, but also refreshing to see her look so... normal.
“Odele,” I shook her shoulder. “Wake up.”
She groaned and batted my hand away, turning away from me.
Annoyance flared through me, and the pounding at the door just became more insistent. I reached out and shook her shoulder again. “Odele,” I said a little louder. “Wake up.”
She pushed me away. “What do you want?” she complained, her voice muffled as she buried her face into her pillow. “It’s early. Go sink in the abyss somewhere.”
So we were back to hostility? Gone was last night’s sliver of kindness she’d displayed, and once again she was an arrogant princess. Fine. I shouldn’t have expected otherwise.
“Wake up.” I shook her, hard. She didn’t even stir. I groaned to myself and contemplated my next move. She was a princess, the future ruler of Thalassar, and it was hardly wise for me to do what I was about to do, but I couldn’t help it. I was annoyed, and she needed to wake up. Now.
I pinched her.
She yowled and jumped up, rubbing the tender spot at her side as she turned to glare at me. “What the—Odalaea, you may have been raised in the freshwaters where you had to be up early to milk your catfish, but royals are allowed to sleep in.”
I ignored every offensive word she said and pointed at the door to her room. “Captain Saber is at the door.” The knocking continued.
“So?” She dropped herself back onto the bed, hiked a blanket over her shoulders and turned away. “Who cares? It’s his job to float at the door.”
I sighed with deep annoyance. “Then do you want to answer it?” I almost loathed the idea. If Captain Saber knew she was here, everything that had happened between us would fall apart. He’d escort me home and would be free to live life as though he’d never met me in the first place. The idea sent my heart thundering in my chest.
“Gods, no,” Odele replied. “Let him knock.”
The knocking continued.
I looked from the door to Odele, and she must have felt my gaze heavily on her, because she finally turned and arched a brow. We stared, like we were silently communicating, and I won. She groaned and sat up.
“Fine,” she grumbled. “Open the door. But please, for the love of gods, keep it short. I want to rest.” She got up and swayed—like a drunken mer—over to the bathing room. “And don’t tell him about me,” she called over her shoulder.
I waited until she was in the bathing room, the door closing behind her, before I scrambled to answer the door. Captain Saber floated impatiently on the other side.
“Princess,” he greeted, offering up a bow.
Before, I’d thought nothing of the title I was thrust into. It was just pretend, after all. It didn’t mean anything. But now, as he said it, there was a weight on the word that hadn’t been there before. Something about it was mocking me, a shadow looming over my consciousness. One I didn’t want to acknowledge as truth.
Something I only hoped not to spill in his presence, even if everything inside me begged to confide in someone.