good. If I was lucky, I could be above ground by tonight.
I went back to the throne room with Feenaly. Rio and Levent already there, waiting for me. The maid dashed off as the males approached, assuming a post by the door.
If the half-blood had been deeply upset by the discussion with his aunt last night, he did not show it. He gave me a huge smile. The kin simply nodded in greeting.
“Are you ready for this, m’lady?” the redhead asked kindly.
“As I’ll ever be. What about you? What do you think about this whole temple thing?”
“Me?” he blinked. “I’m all for it. After all, it’s what’s keeping that guard over there from impaling us on a stick.” He gestured over his shoulder. “To be perfectly honest, m’lady, I’m lucky we brought you along.”
I smiled weakly. “You two would have been toast.”
“Brutally murdered toast,” he corrected.
The half-blood and I smiled. It felt good to laugh about this now, even though it was not actually funny at all. The kin seemed to be ignoring us even though he was staring straight at Rio’s kneecaps.
Another maid rushed in, leaning in toward Feenaly and whispered in her ear.
“Ah!” Feenaly exclaimed. “The ceremony is about to begin. We will be meeting His Highness at the door to the temple. Please follow me!”
We did as she instructed, trailing behind the mermaid as she dashed down the stairs and through the gardens. Through an archway I could see a crowd of merfolk in hushed chatter.
As we grew closer, the crowd split to make a path, but the staring walls of merfolk were not exactly compelling me to walk forward. I felt my face turn an unpleasant color.
“We’re right beside you, m’lady,” the half-blood whispered in my ear.
I took a deep breath. Setting one hoof in front of the other, I tried to keep my eyes straight ahead. We were headed across a wide bridge toward the side of the dome that made Eigiollys’ sky. Only when Rio murmured quietly in awe did I follow his gaze and fully examine the portion of the stone dome before me.
This section of the wall was different from the rest – ornately decorated while the rest were smooth stone. This was it – this entire section of the wall was the