I studied the girls carefully, doing my best to seem amazed. Valaine carried herself with a confidence that suggested she was used to getting her way, which I suppose made sense if she was Isadora’s sister. Her auburn hair was in a high ponytail, tied off with a ribbon that seemed one slip from falling altogether. Tritetia, despite being older, was clearly the more shy one, likely only opening up when it was her and Valaine. She must have not noticed me when they ran by us in the garden, but now I could see the faint shimmer of opalescent scales along her arms. I couldn’t smell the salty scent anymore, but I now had no doubt who it belonged to.

  “Her arms are shiny,” I pointed out, keeping up my act. If Tritetia was a half breed like me, then my eyes wouldn’t work on her, and I didn’t want to risk her telling someone about what I could. “It’s really pretty.”

  “Yeah! Tritetia’s from Aehorus and she plays with me when her mom comes to visit!” Valaine beamed and I blinked, trying to recall anything I knew about Aehorus. It was one of the kingdoms outside the Naeran Empire, that much I was sure of but I didn’t know much more than that. Considering the first thought I had was the sea, I could guess that Aehorus was off the coast, and Tritetia herself was part sea beast.

  “You live on the ocean?” I asked, glancing at Tritetia. The girl still hadn’t met my gaze, but she gave a small nod, shifting her weight slightly. The shimmer of scales along her arms caught the dim torchlight, making them gleam like pearls beneath the surface of the sea. “I’ve never seen it.”

  “Really? It’s so pretty and blue and there's so much water!” Valaine explained, speaking before Tritetia could even try, and I let her words wash over me as she continued going on about what the ocean was like. It was somewhat amusing to see how enthusiastic she was, how oblivious she seemed to the weight of the world outside her own experiences.

  “Does that mean you’ve never seen a ship either?” Valaine gasped suddenly, her green eyes widening as she clapped her hands together. I shook my head, letting my lips curl up slightly. Valaine looked genuinely heartbroken for me, as if my lack of exposure to the sea was the worst possible fate a person could endure. She whirled to Tritetia, grabbing her by the shoulders. “Tritetia, we have to take him to Aehorus! He has to see the sea!”

  Tritetia, to my mild surprise, didn’t immediately push Valaine away. Instead, she simply nodded, keeping her gaze down and refusing to look at me. Valaine beamed, quickly turning back to me with her bright expression.

  “Where are you from? I saw you earlier in the garden with Galene and that other lady.”

  “Me and my mother are from Polec,” I answered, my voice carefully neutral as I watched for their reactions. Valaine just tilted her head, frowning slightly in thought, but Tritetia simply remained still.

  “Oh! That’s way south, right? Near the really cold part?” Valaine asked, wrinkling her nose as if the mere thought of a freezing climate was enough to bother her. “I’ve never been there, but my tutor says it’s all snow and ice and sad little villages.”

  I forced a laugh, letting myself play along with her childish energy. “It’s not all sad. But it is really cold.”

  “Oh, so do you like the cold?”

  “I dunno. It doesn’t bother me.”

  “I hate the cold! You have to put on so much clothing just to feel warm and it’s hard to play! Snow’s okay, I guess, especially when Isa and Cas play with me,” Valaine pouted, crossing her arms as if the mere memory of winter was enough to make her shiver. “But it's nothing like the sea! The sea is warm and nice, except during storms. And the waves are fun! You can float and swim and see fish and everything!”

  I hummed in response, letting her ramble, but my mind was already elsewhere. Valaine wasn’t very useful as s source of information, although I suppose she had lead me to a better spot to eavesdrop from. For some reason, the room made it easier to overhear what was happening in the room next to us, and I made a mental note to remember my way back to this room for future use.

  “So?”

  “Hmm?” I answered, confused when I felt Valaine tug on my sleeve again. She was pouting as she looked up at me, clearly disappointed that I hadn’t been listening.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  “I asked if you would play with me and Tritetia next time! Tag is more fun with more people,” she repeated, her expression hopeful, like she had already decided I would agree. I blinked at her, caught off guard by her insistence, but I forced myself to grin, hoping I looked excited.

  “Yeah! I can’t wait!”

  Valaine chuckled, apparently satisfied with my answer, but Tritetia still hadn’t said a word. Her silence was unsettling, especially since she was actively avoiding looking at me. I knew my charm wouldn’t work on her, but I had no way of knowing what she was thinking or what she might have already figured out about me. Considering how easily I had realized she wasn’t human, I couldn’t help but worry she had been able to figure the same about me.

  Before I could decide whether to push for more information, a voice echoed down the corridor.

  “Princess Valaine? Princess Tritetia?”

  They were both princesses?

  “Darn!” Valaine gasped dramatically, her hands flying to her mouth as if she had just been caught stealing from the royal treasury. She turned to us with a comically serious expression. “If they find us in the eavesdropping room again, we’ll be in so much trouble.”

  I merely started trying to understand what she meant. Isadora had a room specifically for eavesdropping in her palace? Why? Tritetia shifted uncomfortably, but Valaine was already moving.

  “I’ll distract them!” she whispered conspiratorially, puffing out her chest with determination. “You two stay here. I’ll lead them away!”

  I opened my mouth to protest but before I could say a word, Valaine was already gone, dashing out the door with the boundless energy of someone who had never known real consequences. As soon as she ran out, the maid exclaimed, and I could hear as she took off after Valaine, her hurried footsteps fading down the corridor. The room fell into silence, the only sound the faint murmur of voices from the meeting beyond the wall. I glanced at Tritetia, expecting her to keep avoiding my gaze, but to my surprise, she was already staring at me.

  Her eyes were a striking shade of teal, more blue than her green hair, their depths unfathomable in the dim light. I blinked, thrown off by the intensity of her gaze as they gleamed like gems and I couldn’t stop my own eyes from switching to gold in response. The scent of saltwater hit me again, stronger this time, as if the ocean itself had momentarily filled the room. It was subtle, but it was there, and something about it made the hair on my arms rise.

  “You love your mother,” she said suddenly, her voice soft but eerily certain. It wasn’t a question and I stiffened at her tone. The casual way she said it unsettled me, like she was stating a fact rather than making an observation.

  “Of course I–”

  “You’ll become a monster when she dies,” Tritetia repeated, and I dropped my act completely, not bothering to hide my glare. She flinched slightly as my expression changed, but she didn’t look away. She continued to meet my gaze, and I could feel the weight of her words settle heavily in my chest. There was no malice in her tone, no accusation—just quiet certainty, as if she had already seen it happen. As if she knew what lay ahead of me. My hands curled into fists at my sides, my breath coming out sharper than I intended.

  “What did you just say?” My voice was low, steady, but I could hear the barely restrained anger behind it.

  Tritetia didn’t back down, but she didn’t push forward, either. She simply held my gaze, those eerily knowing eyes watching me with a quiet understanding I didn’t want. “When your mother dies, you’ll destroy everything.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “You talk like it’s already happened,” she pointed out and I scoffed.

  “And you talk like her death is set in stone,” I shot back, taking a step toward her as she took a step back. A flash of fear rippled across her expression, but she quickly hid it as she straightened her back, steadying herself.

  “It’s not set in stone,” she admitted, her voice quieter now, but still firm. “But it will happen unless you stop it.”

  “And how do you know that?”

  “Some of my people can see the future. I can’t see it clearly, but I see bits and pieces sometimes,” Tritetia hesitated, her fingers twitching at her sides. For the first time, she looked uncertain, as if she was weighing whether or not to trust me. “I saw your mother dying when I ran by her earlier, and I saw you…”

  “As a dragon,” I finished, moving until I stood in front of her. There was only a few inches between us, and the smell of the sea was overwhelming this close to her. Despite her fear, Tritetia continued to meet my gaze a look of determination mixed with hesitation. She was afraid of me, but she had still chosen to speak to me. That meant she needed something.

  Tritetia swallowed, her fingers curling against the fabric of her dress. “I can help you save her.”

  “For?” I demanded.

  Tritetia finally looked away, her fingers tightening around the fabric of her dress. When she looked back up at me, the first thing I noticed were the tears in her eyes.

  And then I saw the anger.

  “I’ll help you save your mother,” Tritetia repeated, her voice stronger this time, her teal eyes burning with something desperate, something raw.

  “But you have to help me save mine.”