The moment I woke up my stomach was rolling in knots. The servants had rushed into my room before dawn dragging me out of my comforters and pushing me toward my bathing room. I tripped in my stupor and three pairs of hands caught and undressed me swiftly.

“Lift your leg milady,” Rina said. I did as I was told and was carefully maneuvered into my tub. They scrubbed my back, rinsed and combed my hair thoroughly, and then trimmed my nails.

They dried then dressed me in robes that would be sturdy enough for travel. They left my hair loose to cascade down my back in curls as white as clouds. I had hoped that during the night that my hair would become black again, but was disappointed to see that was not so.

I joined Vael, Aur and my father in a private room for breakfast. We adults ate our fish and fruit in silence while Aur nodded over his plate. When breakfast was done we went to the entrance of the Hold followed closely by our personal guards.

Already the other lords and nobles that were visiting us were gathered with their own entourage. I saw Lady Ai and Lord Green standing farthest away from the others and for a moment I wondered why. Lord Green’s hand was gripping her humerus gently and seemed to be watching his surroundings as he whispered something to her.

She laughed and placed a hand on his shoulder before joining her husband. Lord Green returned to his wife who glared at Lady Ai viciously

I knew something would have to be done about Lord Green and Lady Ai, but was I to be the one to do it?

Several of the ladies left their groups and approached me with wide smiles. None of their faces were painted as it would wash away in the water. “Oh, there she is,” Lady Sto said taking me by the arm and leading me deep into her group. “Isn’t her hair wonderful? I wish my hair was half as stunning,” she said patting her graying pate. “Since we need to pass through Middle Hold to get to Meridia, I thought it would be nice to have you and Lord Cadfael join our group since we will be hosting you along the way.”

I gave her a weak smile. “I think we would be honored Lady Sto, though I don’t know how Lord Cadfael would react.”

“Oh pish, Syr is already living in Meridia. In fact she’s being courted by a bright politician boy,” Lady Sto said waving her hand as if to clear bad air. “Hopefully she’s not picky about him and I can finally get some grandchildren.”

“Oh Sto, she’s still young. Let her experience life before she pushes out a squaller.”

Lady Sto sniffed. “You don’t have to be so crass Tita.”

Lady Tita, Lady Sto’s older sister, giggled.

I sighed. Were these women obsessed with the wombs of their kin? I wondered if my mother would have been the same if she were alive now.

Vael joined me among the women and took my arm. “Ladies I’m sure that we can continue this conversation during our travel?”

The women covered their smiles with hands and fans and fluttered their lashes. I stopped my eyes mid roll and instead focused my attention on Aur who was waiting patiently next to Bran. The boy looked just at nervous as I felt. He met my eyes then ran toward me and held on to my skirts.

“Lords and Ladies, preparations for our travels are complete. If you would follow me to the carriages,” Vael said in his commanding voice. All attention turned to him and his mask of coldness. The younger ladies flinched away, but the older ones smiled knowingly. I noticed some of the lords looked envious of him.

Vael turned on his heel with Aur and me in tow and descended the stairs. Outside the hold were Waterfolk carriages built from waterproofed wood. The quartermaster and his hands had hitched the hold’s personal school of tamed mako shark to the carriages. Their teeth looked fearsome, but none had ever bitten Waterfolk like its larger cousin.

Aur pinched me in fear as he gripped my side tightly. I smoothed back his hair and shushed him. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck rise and I looked behind me to see Lady Ai glaring at me. Instinctively I gripped Aur tighter and her eyes darkened even more.

“Aur, do you want to travel with your mother?” I sang softly.

“Can I?” he asked

Vael appeared sad as he looked down at his son. “That’s fine,” he sang. My side felt cold as Aur joined his mother and step-father. I felt my eyes burning, but no tears left my eyes. Vael kissed the top of my head. “Don’t worry,” he sang lowly to me. “He will come back when he’s ready.”

I turned my face into his shoulder. Was I becoming more attached to Aur? I didn’t want to interfere with his relationship with his mother, but I was couldn’t stop myself for caring about the little boy. I wanted to see him grow, laugh and turn into a fine lord like his father.

Vael helped me into the carriage and then Lady Sto and Lady Tita. Lady Tita’s youngest son, 15 year old Tiber also climbed into the carriage followed by Vael and my father. The carriage had been built to seat six comfortably and was sturdy enough to face the strongest ocean currents. Vael tapped on the wall just above his head and the carriage began to move.

I looked through the port hole at the back of the carriage and watched as the other carriages fell in line behind our own. Vael’s hold grew smaller and smaller until it faded away into the watery blue.

After two days of travel we reached the border between Middle Hold and North Hold. I had never been this far south and the landscape looked unfamiliar to me with more coral beds and porous rocks. The sea ran deeper here and the light from above was muted by the depths of salt water. My Waterfolk eyes were well adapted to the weak light and I could see just as well as in North Hold.

The water was cooler in Middle Hold from less sunlight that penetrated the water. I stayed close to Vael as I shivered from the change in water temperature. I had been told that I would adapt quickly to the change as Middle Hold was only a few degrees cooler.

Lady Sto leaned over the gap between us in our carriage as we passed the marker defining the border between North and Middle Hold. “We can stop in Gravelstone for the night. We have a nice expanse there left over from the flood. My Ray thought it would be a lovely idea to renovate it for visiting lords and ladies. In fact the Illustrious and Illustria stayed with us briefly and loved our rock garden,” she sang to me.

Vael shifted beside me and his jaw tensed. “It’s a well-designed garden,” he sang stiffly.

“Syr and Lord Cadfael loved to stay there between-”

“Hush Sto, can’t you see that you’re making his new bride uncomfortable?” Lady Tita cut in.

I gave Lady Tita a weak smile. I knew that talk of Syr was hurting Vael more than it did me. I wondered for a moment if he were given the chance, would he choose one of them over me. How much did I matter? I would be a third wife under the scrutiny of my predecessors. I knew Ai hated me, did Syr?

I took my father’s hand and squeezed it. He leaned in close and sang lowly into my ear. “Sol, it will be alright. I’m certain Lord Cadfael loves you.” I smiled. My father knew me well.

The Gravelstone manor was a sunken stone house, a remnant of when our people used to live on land before the flood. I could see where the old structure ended and the new structure began based on the type of stone used to build the walls and pathways

Lady Sto’s head maid of the manor greeted us warmly with two guards in tow. She was a plumper older woman with deep smile lines around her eyes and mouth. As she greeted us her smile was wide and she bobbed her head in a quick bow. “My Lady! It’s wonderful to see you back so soon. Has your trip been good?”

“Of course, Antonia. These people will be our guests for the night. We are traveling to Meridia for the Festive with the Illustrious and Illustria.”

“Oh my, all of you? The Illustrious is being generous this year,” Antonia said putting her fingers to her lips.

“Quite,” Lady Sto said. “Additionally Lord Cadfael and his bride-to-be and father-in-law are our special guests this evening. Make sure that their stay is comfortable.”

Antonia’s eyes widened and she stared first at Vael then at me by his side. Her color deepened in a flush making her round head seem like an olive. “Don’t worry Madam, I will take care of everything,” Antonia said then quickly swam away barking orders at two servants that had opened the manor’s doors wide at our approach.

Under Antonia’s direction everyone and their luggage were unloaded and placed into comfortable rooms. My father and I ended up in a suite with adjoining bedrooms and Vael was placed directly across the hall from us. After my father and I were settled I went to Vael’s room and knocked on his door, but he did not answer. I wondered where he could have gone.

“Sol, do you want to explore the mansion?” My father asked me.

“Sure, Papa,” I said as I felt my spirits drop. Maybe Vael wanted time to himself?

My father and I swam throughout the mansion, familiarizing ourselves with its two story lay out. We found that we weren’t the only ones wandering the mansion and greeted the lords and ladies that we met.

Bored of the inside we made our way to the rear courtyard and through a set of stone arches into the Gravelstone rock garden. Marble statues, reliefs carved into marble walls, and large ornamental pieces fill the 5,000 square foot garden. As we swam through the garden I could see why Vael would enjoy it. There were depictions of fierce battles between armies carved into one wall and across from that scenes of extreme intimacy between lovers. The statues were of Landwalker men and women in various poses, sometimes in pairs or groups. I adored one of a women sitting on a bench with a book in her right hand while her lover leaned over as if to kiss her while he held her left hand away from her body.

“I wonder how long it took to perfect such talent,” I sang to my father as he looked at a maiden.

“A whole life-time,” he replied. “Not all of these were done by one person.”

“I wish I could have met them.”

“Really, and what would you say to a Landwalker?”

I shrugged. “Teach me?” My father laughed and I smiled.

We heard the dull sound of clanging bells and made our way back into the mansion. A servant greeted us at the door and directed us toward the dining room. Vael was already seated with Ai on his right side and Aur on his left. Lord Gidean was directly across from his wife. I hesitated at the door until a server took me by the elbow and placed me across from Vael with my father on my right.

Lady Ai flashed me a smug smile and I saw her hand dip below the table. Vael stiffened and my mood darkened. How dare she touch him after all of the pain she put him through? I folded my hands into my lap and forced my face to remain neutral when I greeted her.

The dining room began to fill quickly with other guests and they were seated according to a pre-planned seating arrangement. The last ones to enter the room were Lady Sto and her nephew young Lord Tiber.

“Guests, I welcome you to Gravelstone manor. Please enjoy the foods that have been prepared. We even have juice filled gelled fruits from Star Hold,” Lady Sto sang. She clapped her hands once and the servers brought the food to the table.

Lord Gidean leaned toward me. “We never had the chance to speak to each other,” he sang. “Please tell me, who is Sol?”

“I am a simple farmer’s daughter. Nothing more,” I replied stiffly. Lord Gidean laughed and it sounded beautifully musical. My breath caught for a moment, but I recovered.

“Your hair says that you’re more than just a simple farmer’s daughter. Saving Landwalkers, living among them, killing an attacker, being blessed by the Gentle God; I’d say those are the actions of a warrior’s daughter.”

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. Why was Lord Gidean talking to me? What could he possibly want? I looked across the table. Lady Ai wasn’t paying us any attention. Instead she had engaged Vael in a conversation that, by the looks of it, he had no desire to be in. I looked back at Lord Gidean and felt the hairs rise on the back of my neck as I saw that he was watching my every move.

“What was it like among Landwalkers?” he asked. I stuffed some jellied fruit into my mouth to give myself time to think. My mind went blank for a moment as the sweetness of the delicacy coated my tongue. I bit down and bitter juice squirted out complementing the sweetness of the dessert.

“Mmmm…” I murmured.

“Do you like it? It’s an old and fiercely guarded recipe from Star Hold. The lord of Star Hold sends out samples as gifts. I even hear that our Prince has his own chef that prepares it for him,” Lord Gidean said. I ate a few more of the dark round balls then began to eat my fish.

“Lord Gidean, life for the Landwalkers is similar to ours. They have farmers, artists, priests and warriors. If we weren’t fighting, we’d probably get along well.”

“Maybe that’s why you were chosen,” Lord Gidean said before touching my hair. I slapped his hand away. He only smiled as I frowned. “You are one of the few people I have met that thinks that the Landwalkers and we can be amiable. You are also the only one that is still alive.”

A chill slid down my spine. “Is that a threat?”

“It’s a fact. You at least have a god on your side.”

“And I’m to assume that you’re not?”

“If that is what you wish, but I think that our relationship is better as allies than enemies.” He looked at his wife and sighed. “She’s jealous of you…”

I stiffened. Lady Ai was jealous of me? That woman had beauty and the luck to be born into a noble family. How could she be jealous of me, a farmer’s daughter?

“I’m sure you’re mistaken. She hates me.”

“How sure are you of that?” he arched an eyebrow. I gave him my sweetest smile.

“Very.”

“Enough to bet on it?”

I laughed. Was he toying with me? “What could I possibly have that you want?” He leaned in close and my face flushed with heat when he whispered into my ear.

“Influence.”

I pulled away carefully hoping that he wouldn’t notice my fear. “Heh… What do you have that I could want?”

“Why don’t you think on it? We have plenty of time,” Lord Gidean said then turned to the lord beside him.

After dinner concluded I went up to the roof of the manor. I didn’t realize I had been followed until a pair of arms wrapped themselves around my waist and a familiar musk met my nose. I turned my face into Vael’s shoulder and sighed. “How are you?” he asked me.

“Isn’t it my duty to ask you questions?”

He kissed the top of my head. “Maybe, but tonight it’s my turn.”

I traced designs on his forearms with my fingers and felt him shiver beneath them. “In truth, I’m scared. Lord Gidean said he wants to be friends.”

“Did he?”

“Yes, it’s terrifying!”

“My cousin is by no means Ai. He and I have had a friendly rivalry since we were children. We even fought over the right to marry her.”

“And you won.”

“And I won, for a time, but he plays the long game. He has a deeper connection and affection for Ai than I ever had. I was just too stupid back then to realize it.” Vael began to rock me in his arms.

“So he really does love her despite everything she’s done to him and you?”

“I would never doubt that, but that doesn’t make him a bad person.”

“I see. What about you? Are you a good person?” Vael pulled away and turned me around to face him. He stared deeply into my eyes for several moments.

“I’ve never felt like a good person. I suppose that is for others to decide.”

“Perhaps,” I sang lowly. I brought his right hand to my lips and kissed his palm. A hiss escaped his lips and he pulled me back into him until our bodies were flush.

“Sol,” he whispered. “You don’t know how strong of a hold that you have over me.”

Feeling a rebellious streak I pulled his head to me and licked his earlobe. He stiffened then pulled away sharply. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard. “We have to be careful,” he sang thickly. “Remember why we’re on this journey.”

I sighed. Not only had Lady Ai ruined our wedding plans, now she was ruining our intimacy. I balled my hands into fists then relaxed them. “Yes,” I said cowed. He reached out and held my chin.

“I love you.”

“I love you too,” I replied.

“Are you going to bed yet?”

“No, I want to stay here for a while longer.” He nodded and released my chin. We said good night and he left the roof. I stayed there staring out into the water until the moonlight filtered down from overhead. Feeling sullen and exhausted I made my way back to my room. I knocked on my father’s door before peeking in; he was already asleep.

I settled down into my own bed and closed my eyes.

I didn’t know how long I had been asleep when I opened my eyes. The room was too dark to see by Waterfolk standards. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck raise in apprehension. I left the bed and held my hand out blindly as I made my way toward the window of my bedroom. I drew open the thick curtains and my room filled with blue moonlight.

My eyes panned the room slowly. Even though I could not see anything I could not shake the feeling that I was being watched. My heart continued to race in my chest as I circled the bed and checked the lock on my bedroom door. The bolt was still firmly in place. I went to my father’s door, unbolted it and peered in. I heard his gentle breathing and sighed with relief. I re-bolted the door, turned around and then froze in fear.

My body felt chilled as I stared at the man. Quicker than I could track he raised his hand and brought it down sharply on my head.