Blood On The Altar

Chapter 2

Kai's obsidian eyes are the focus of my nightmare that night. He's holding my hand as we swim down a long hallway with a door at the end. When we finally reach the end, he opens the door to reveal several rows of pews leading up to an altar. My heart jumps into my throat as I halt inches from the steps.

"W-what is this? Where are we?" I breathe. That's when I notice the dark-haired merman behind us, dressed in all-black. He has a solemn expression on his face as he bows to me.

"Beltmare. This is my home." His voice is cold as he responded. The door at the front of the room suddenly opens, revealing dozens of mermaids and mermen clad in dresses with gold trim and crimson suits. They swim in and head for a pew. Once every pew is full, they all turn their attention to us at the front.

A sob jerked free as I opened my eyes, breathing heavily. It was just a dream, I repeated over and over as I got dressed. However, the words weren't enough to quell my anxiety over possibly seeing him again today.

I was so focused on not having an anxiety attack that I didn't notice the slip of paper in my dresser drawer until I was halfway out the door. When I swam back inside, I slowly sank into the chair beside the dresser.

From where I was sitting, I could see almost every inch of my suite. My four-poster bed was pushed up against the wall, covered in cozy blankets and pillows. A large bookcase that was mostly for show occupied the space beside my bed. Beside that was the door to the bathing room and closet. I also had a sitting room that was adjacent to the closet.

My hands shook as I swam back and grabbed it, scanning the paper. Like the aforementioned letter, it was in a thick, heavy script. But this wasn't from Kai.

Princess, the letter began. While it was generally meant to be harmless, a shiver ran down my spine as I realized who the sender was. Kai's father. I turned my attention back to the letter. When I heard rumors that the king and queen of Aegrem had welcomed a child—a girl—I was ecstatic. A few weeks ago, a mermaid claiming to be your aunt approached me. After she introduced herself, she told me the story of your mother and father—how the orphaned king married a broken queen.

The wording was a slap in the face, but I shook it off and continued reading. I'll admit, I was puzzled at first. But then she came to me with a trade—your hand in marriage to my son in exchange for something called the Loyalty Pendant. Which brings me to the purpose of this letter. Join me and my family for dinner tonight at Beltmare's palace. I would be delighted to get to know the mermaid my son has talked so much about. Yours, King Drake

Confusion and apprehension swirled around inside of me. I vaguely remembered hearing about Beltmare in passing; it was a town right near Pelathas's borders. On the one hand, it could be a trap; on the other hand, it could just as easily be genuine. After warring about it for a few more seconds, I made my decision.

I swam to my closet, pulling on two shirts and a cloak. I'd never paid much attention to the weather above the surface, but today was stormy. If you looked upwards, you could see the sky obscured by black clouds.

Rain pelted the water, making it hard to see past the surface. Apparently, everyone was dressed for the weather; I saw cloaks everywhere as I swam. The cloak I was wearing was purple with a gray trim. My curls were pinned back from my head, secured by a crimson clip.

It took most of the day to reach Beltmare. Twilight gleamed on the surface as I arrived, staining the edges of the buildings. I felt eyes on me, but paid them no heed. The whispers, however, were harder to ignore. "What's she doing here?" "Has the royal family in Aegrem finally noticed we exist?"

Though I kept any trace of emotion off my face, there was no denying that the latter comment stung. Before I had any time to dwell on it, however, I realized I had arrived at the palace. It was built similarly to ours, except they had their royal colours on full display.