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I knew the moment Odele swam into the royal throne room because the music started, marking the beginning of the ceremony. The guests in attendance floated up to demonstrate their respect for the princess and future leader of Thalassar.
I floated near the dais and thrones of Queen Circe and King Xristo, turning when she arrived. A space had been cleared for Odele to swim through, an aisle decorated in anemones and sea flowers, lava globes in varying colors of blue, pink, and purple.
The room was full of guards and guests. Captain Saber had strategically placed them near every window and exit, as well as near every important mer who had come from other kingdoms for the nuptials. Reporters had been allowed inside where they would broadcast the wedding through every one of the seven kingdoms. My marriage to Odele.
Dread curled in my stomach that I tried very hard to mask.
At the end of the aisle, Odele stopped and bent low, allowing Percival to place a crown on her head, the last crown that marked her as princess of the realm before she ascended the throne.
I barely took her in. I didn’t want to even look at her. The dragon inside roared. This wasn’t my mate, she wasn’t Maisie, and I felt nothing for her. But Maisie was gone. She’d left me alone, abandoned Captain Saber and I to carry on without her. The dragon in me thrashed at this, fighting me every stroke of the way, so hard that I almost let slip my hold on it more than once. It didn’t want Odele. It wanted Maisie. I wanted Maisie. But she was gone, and this was the sacrifice I’d been expected to make this whole time.
I’d just never expected it to hurt so much.
Percival swam down the aisle first, the slug wearing the mixed colors of Thalassar and Draconi to symbolize the union of the two nations. He took his spot on the dais before me and next to the Thalassarin priest, an old merman in older looking robes.
My eyes scanned the crowd assembled. As the wedding had been a hasty thing, there weren’t thousands of guests in attendance, yet there were still quite a few important ones. Three of my sisters had traveled here to witness my wedding. They’d witness instead the end of the happiness I’d found with my mate. If I’d known it was to be such a fleeting thing, I would have never allowed myself to feel.
The thought felt treacherous as soon as it entered my mind, so I shoved it away and focused. Odele was swimming up the aisle now, her gait perfectly practiced, her expression somber, and her eyes downcast. When she finally made her way up to me, I took her hand in my own stiff one, and bowed lightly over it before guiding her to the table perched in between us, Percival and the priest. Atop it sat a marriage contract, with lines to sign our names, ink and quill, as well as my gift to her.
I released her hand and reached for the gift. The Exchange was a tradition dear to Draconi and happened when couples were married. The males gifted the females with a gift, and because I was a royal, mine was rare, beautiful. I only regretted it would be for Odele instead of the mer I’d truly meant it for.
The egg was big, the shell as thick as diamonds and the color of a moonstone. Ridges of scales bumped around it, digging into my palms from the nervous force in which I held it. I turned, and presented Odele with the dragon egg.
“In Draconi, a gift exchange is tradition,” I explained, loud enough for her and the guests assembled to hear. “Among the royals, it is customary...” I placed the dragon egg in her outstretched palms. “When a dragon dies in battle and leaves behind an egg, it is up to us to care for it and nurture it until it hatches and can be released to its own kind. Let this be a symbol of our union, Draconi’s acceptance of Thalassar, and of you, Princess.”
I stared at the egg, at the way her fingers curled beneath its heavy weight. “Thank you,” she whispered softly and turned to set it gently back on the table.
And then the ceremony began.
Music played, our vows were said; she with excellent precision and a soft, confident voice, and me rather stiffly. Strips of cloth in our kingdoms’ colors were wrapped around our joined hands, blessed by the priest and declared legitimate. Once it was done, I bent over the page and signed my name quickly, not allowing my hand to tremble. I handed the quill to her, watched as she dipped it in the vial of ink and bent to sign her name. The large flourish of the O... and I had to look away. I couldn’t bear to see my fate sealed so harshly.
When she finished, the priest blessed us one last time, and the table was moved a few strokes aside.
Now came time for Odele to ascend the throne. She would swim before her stepmother, recite her vows to Thalassar, and then the crown would be placed upon her head, and she’d take her place at the throne.
And our plan would begin.
But before Odele could swim up to continue in the rest of the ceremony, the doors to the royal throne room burst open. The sound was distracting and unplanned. We turned sharply to the noise, to see who would dare interrupt a sacred ceremony. A hush fell across the guests, followed by fevered whisperings.
And with good reason.
Because I recognized the merman floating there at the door. Not only because I’d seen him in conches and painted portraits, but because of those eyes. Rounded orbs as rare and as black as obsidian. Eyes that matched his daughter’s like twin jewels.
King Dorian Knoll Genivus of Kappur.
Shock and outrage rang out through the assembled crowds, others merely whispered disbelief. I was frozen in shock myself as I took in the King of Kappur, as I took in Maisie’s father. He was easily recognizable, though he wore no finery save for the golden crown perched on his brow. He wore a black riding habit, dark tunic and leather jacket, the hemmed ends floating down to his tail, the color of green and copper. His dark eyes contrasted the paleness of his skin and the light hue of his hair. A beard ran along his jaw. Not elaborate and decorated in jewels like King Xristo’s, but a mere shadow forming in haste.
He swam into the royal throne room, flanked by guards both Kappurin and Thalassarin, and found himself an empty seat. His posture was stony, and he stared straight ahead without even twitching a brow.
The queen slowly got up from her throne, her face marked red with obvious fury. Even King Xristo looked taken aback by the arrival of their oldest enemy.
“How dare you show your face in my kingdom,” the queen hissed.
Odele, who had been all too quiet up until now, turned and smiled at her stepmother. “Do not be angry or alarmed. King Dorian is my guest. I invited him.” Shocked whispers broke through the guests; it even rippled through me. Odele turned to those present and smiled widely. “As Prince Kai exchanges the gift of acceptance to Thalassar, I thought I should do the same. As a new reign begins, I bring with it an offering of peace between nations.” She gestured at King Dorian, who was stoic as he stared at her. “A new alliance with Kappur and Thalassar. And...” She clapped her hands, and Captain Saber swam forth, placing a table and a device to play recordings on top of it. When it was settled, he pulled out a conch, chipped and withered with age. My heart began thumping in my chest. “I offer you truth.”
At her words, the captain placed the conch face down on the device and it started. Guests sat forward in their seats, eager and aching with curiosity. I knew what would play before the words even began.
“I, Princess Odessa Malabella Sanitorum, of the mer kingdom of Thalassar, hereby take and accept this mer as my husband, and promise to love and to cherish him, for the rest of my life...”
And then came the answering reply, that shattered everyone into a silence that was eerie.
“And I, Prince Dorian Knoll Genivus, of the mer kingdom of Kappur, hereby take this mer as my wife, and promise to love and to cherish her...”
I watched King Dorian’s reaction. Saw the stony facade slip for but a moment into grievous pain. He’d loved her. He had truly, unconditionally loved her.
“Don’t say that while we’re being recorded!” Laughter flittered from the recording, just before the bubble burst into tiny golden specks.
Everyone was too awestruck to speak.
Until the queen finally broke the silence, “Odele, what have you done?” It was a voice rife with accusation. She turned to the guests, saw them wide-eyed and whispering with each other. “Ignore my daughter, she is filled with nerves and childish fantasies. Captain Saber, please escort the King of Kappur out of our palace so we can continue this ceremony undisturbed.”
“I can assure you, I am not a child filled with fantasies. And neither am I your daughter.” Odele turned to the crowd then, and something in her voice changed, it grew, confident and sure. “It is high time I introduced myself. I am Odalaea Malabella Knoll, daughter of Princess Odessa Malabella and King Dorian Knoll and heir to the throne of Thalassar.”
Chaos erupted.
Everyone began speaking at once, shouting, whispering, the words became a cacophony inside my head. But I paid it no mind. How could I? I was staring so intently at Odele, my eyes narrowing. She turned to me, and for a brief moment, I caught a glimmer of her eyes. Eyes I had refused to look into since the ceremony had started. Had I looked, had I willed myself to see, I would have realized the truth.
Odele wasn’t Odele at all.
It was Maisie.