The aroma of Cajun butter sauce was beginning to perate the water.
And to every rperson who slled it was curious in wonder.
It was a strange phenonon. Unlike air, where scents wafted on the breeze, underwater slls hit the taste buds first. The water inside the cavernous kitchen began to taste spicy.
It tasted of paprika, cayenne, garlic, and sothing distinctly magical that made the saliva glands of every rman and rmaid in the room go into overdrive.
They didn’t know what Paprika, cayenne, garlic slled like, but it was very foreign to them.
"It tingles," Pyra whispered, waving her hands near the iron cauldron to keep the heat steady. "My tongue feels... awake."
"That’s the flavor kicking in," Roxy grinned, holding a massive ladle like a scepter. "Just wait until we drop the corn. The sweetness balances the heat."
She turned to the pile of ingredients, ready to give the order to load the pot. The servants were watching her with a mix of terror and hunger, their skepticism lting away with every spicy particle that drifted through the current.
Roxy opened her mouth to speak—
"So," a voice cut through the water, sharp and cold as a jagged piece of coral. "A stranger walks into the Royal Larder, throws mud in the water, and now everyone is quick to listen to her?"
The temperature in the room seed to drop ten degrees. The servants flinched, imdiately bowing their heads and scattering to the edges of the room.
Roxy froze, her ladle hovering mid-water. She closed her eyes and let out a long, dramatic sigh that sent a stream of bubbles toward the ceiling.
Great, she thought. Another one. Always very cliche to appear.
"It never ends," Roxy muttered to herself. "I just want to have a seafood treat. Is that too much to ask?"
She rolled her eyes so hard it hurt, then slowly turned to Nimue at her side without turning around.
"Nimue," Roxy whispered out of the corner of her mouth. "Who is it this ti? Please tell it’s not another ex-boyfriend."
"Worse," Nimue hissed, swimming closer to Roxy’s side. "It’s Kaia. The General of the Iron-Scale Legion."
Roxy looked at the newcor.
Kaia was impressive. There was no other word for it.
She was a warrior-class rmaid, built for violence. Her tail was a dark, tallic guntal grey, scarred from a hundred battles. Her upper body was muscular, draped in armor made of shark leather and black pearls.
Her hair was cropped short, a severe white bob that frad a face that was beautiful in a terrifying, angular way.
And she looked pissed.
More like a siren ready to eat soone.
Kaia swam into the center of the room, her powerful tail flicking as she glared at the servants, then at the cauldron, and finally fixed her gaze on the back of Roxy’s head.
"I heard the King brought a pet," Kaia sneered, her voice dripping with disdain. "I heard he married a soft thing from the Surface to please his mother. I spent ten cycles courting Caspian. Ten cycles fighting his wars, guarding his flank, bleeding for his throne. And he passes over for... what?"
She swam closer, her hand resting on the hilt of a bone dagger at her waist.
"So pale, weak creature who probably can’t even hunt her own—"
Roxy turned fully around.
Kaia stopped.
The insults died in her throat. Her mouth, which had been curled into a sneer, went slack.
The General of the Iron-Scale Legion, a woman who had stared down Krakens and slaughtered Leviathans, looked like she had just been hit in the face with a pan.
She stared at Roxy.
She stared at her skin. It was impossibly smooth. There were no scales on her arms, no rough patches, no gills slashing across her neck. Just creamy, unbroken, glowing skin that looked as soft as a sea anemone’s petals.
She stared at the hair. It wasn’t like rmaid hair, which was often thick and waxy to withstand the salt. Roxy’s hair was a cloud of fine, black silk, floating in the current with a hypnotic grace.
And the face. To a rmaid, accustod to sharp teeth and predatory eyes, Roxy’s features were shockingly delicate. Her eyes were round and soft. Her nose was small. Her lips were full and pink.
She looked alien. She looked fragile. She looked... divine.
"What..." Kaia breathed, her voice losing all its warrior edge.
Roxy crossed her arms over her clam-shell bra, raising an eyebrow. "You were saying? Sothing about being weak?"
Kaia didn’t answer. She drifted forward, drawn by an invisible magnetic force.
The anger in her eyes evaporated, replaced by a dilated, obsessive wonder. It was the look a dragon might give a particularly rare gemstone, or a child might give a unicorn.
Think of when Zarek saw her for the first ti.
She swam right past Nimue, ignoring the Princess entirely.
"Kaia!" Nimue barked, trying to step in between them. "Back off! She is the Queen! Do not start a feud here!"
Kaia didn’t even hear her. She swam around Nimue as if she were a piece of furniture.
She reached Roxy and began to circle.
Kaia moved slowly, her guntal tail brushing against the floor as she swam a tight orbit around Roxy. Her eyes raked over every inch of Roxy’s form, dissecting her, marveling at her.
"No gills," Kaia whispered to herself, swimming behind Roxy to inspect her neck. "How does she breathe?"
She ca around to the front again. She looked at Roxy’s hands, small, soft, devoid of webbing or claws.
"So smooth," Kaia murmured, drifting closer until she was invading Roxy’s personal space. "But warm."
Roxy leaned back, clutching her ladle defensively. This was not the reaction she had expected.
She was ready for a fight or a duel. She was not ready for... whatever this was.
"Okay," Roxy said, holding up a hand. "Personal space. You’re in my bubble."
"Kaia!" Nimue snapped again, looking exasperated. "Stop being weird! You’re staring at her like she’s a snack!"
"Not a snack," Kaia corrected, her voice husky. "A prize."
She looked at Roxy’s pink tail. To Kaia, the contrast between the alien upper body and the familiar tail was the ultimate aesthetic perfection. It was the best of both worlds.
Kaia had spent ten years chasing Caspian because he was the strongest male. He was the Apex.
But looking at Roxy, Kaia realized she had been chasing the wrong kind of power. Caspian was strength. Roxy was beauty. Rare, impossible, other-worldly beauty.
The aggression drained out of Kaia’s posture. Her shoulders slumped. Her fins flattened in submission.
She stopped circling. She hovered directly in front of Roxy, eye-level.
Roxy blinked very confused as she stared down at Kaia.
Kaia leaned in. Her face was inches from Roxy’s. Roxy could see the gold flecks in the General’s grey eyes.
Roxy pulled back, recoiling slightly. "Look, lady, I don’t know what your history is with Caspian, but—"
"Caspian is a fool," Kaia interrupted, her voice intense and breathless.
She reached out, hesitantly, and brushed a fingertip against Roxy’s arm. When she felt the softness of the skin, a shiver ran through the warrior’s body.
She looked up into Roxy’s eyes, her expression shifting from awe to absolute, terrifying devotion.
"I have commanded armies," Kaia whispered, the words bubbling out with fervent sincerity. "I have conquered trenches. I have never bowed to anyone but the Matriarch."
She dropped her hand to her chest, right over her heart.
"But for you..."
Kaia lowered her head, exposing her neck in a gesture of ultimate vulnerability.
"I am willing to serve you forever."
User Comments
0 comments from readers