I glanced at him again, feeling a crack in my heart when I took in his physical perfection. “Who will you marry?” Not sure why I asked when I didn’t really want to know.
“Who I marry doesn’t really matter, Ava. The main thing is that I need to return and fix my throne as soon as possible. Without my throne intact, I have no power whatsoever,” he said quietly. “Maybe Moria or Cleena. Either of them would be perfect. Though frankly, I suspect that my greatest love of all will always be myself. And can you blame me, changeling—”
I whirled, interrupting him when I pressed my hand to his chest. “Not Moria. She hates you. She blames you for killing her sister.”
“I did kill her sister.”
“Why?”
“Her name was Milisandia, and I buried her in the Temple of Ostara.” He took a deep breath. “It was an accident that I have regretted every day since. I haven’t been able to tell anyone until now. Only my sister knew.” His sorrowful blue eyes searched mine. “I killed her, Ava.”
I stared at him, my heart twisting. I wasn’t sure he’d understood that Moria was unhinged and dangerous. She’d murdered Alice, for fuck’s sake. “Torin, I don’t think she believes it was an accident.”
His eyes flashed, and he held a finger to his lips. His gaze went to something over my shoulder. “I can smell another Unseelie.”
I inhaled deeply, breathing in a new forest scent. Under the loam and moss and almond-scented mushrooms, a briny scent floated on the wind. As I concentrated, a distant song carried through the forest. Here, the river’s flow had grown gentler, more of a burbling than a rush. In the quiet of the night, the forest life around me seemed to have a faint hum to it, like soft woodland music.
I turned back to the path. A faint blue glow beamed between ruined stone vaults further down the river.
The song seemed to call to me, luring me closer. I took the lead as Torin hung back, his footfalls nearly imperceptible. We kept hidden behind the cover of dense ruddy foliage, and I peered through it at the blue light.
I spied the source: large, glowing blue fireflies that floated through the air above a murmuring stream. And there, resting her arms on the river bank, was an Unseelie woman. Her shimmering white hair draped over bare bronze shoulders. She wore a small cap made of bright red feathers and a sheer green veil over her face. She didn’t look particularly vicious.
As I craned my neck, I caught sight of iridescent scales that glittered over her shoulder blades.
I turned to Torin, and he whispered, “A merrow. Not dangerous, I think. She can’t leave the water.”
I inhaled deeply, trying to pick out the scent of any other creatures. I didn’t smell anything.
The merrow had started singing again, a quiet, beautiful song that harmonized with the intoxicating melody of life around us.
With a deep inhalation, I pushed through the foliage, the slick leaves brushing gently against my skin. The merrow turned to look at me and fell silent. She cocked her head, curiosity shining in her violet eyes.
I smiled hesitantly. “Hello.”
She sniffed the air, and she spoke in a lilting, unfamiliar tongue.
“Sorry, I don’t understand.”
She sniffed again. “Cromm. Isavell.” She smiled. “Mab.”
She seemed friendly enough. I smiled back and touched my chest. “Ava. Mab…that’s the queen? Sorry, is your name Isavell?”
She smiled at me, eyes shining. “Isavell.”
Gods, I felt like an idiot. I looked like an Unseelie, but I didn’t speak one word of the language.
Isavell, if that was her name, giggled. She raised herself from the water, showing off a silvery sleeveless dress that clung to her body, damp with river water. She really looked enchanting. Maybe the Unseelie weren’t demonic at all. Maybe they’d been demonized by their enemies over the centuries, but they were actually very sweet.
I wondered if Torin had decided I was safe by now.
I was trying to decide what to say next when Isavell pointed at a flowering tree. I took a tentative step closer, and she smiled at me encouragingly. Little purple berries grew between the flowers. When I pointed at them and raised my eyebrows, Isavell nodded.
Maybe she wanted a snack?
I gathered a handful of berries and brought them over to her, crouching down at the edge of the river. She put one in her mouth, smiling at me. Then she gestured. She wanted to feed me one? Something more intimate than I was used to with strangers, but maybe this was how the Unseelie made friends.
It didn’t seem like a Court of Sorrows.