In Deeper Waters F.T. Lukens (acx book reading txt) 📖

times when he would sleep for days, wouldn’t eat, and wouldn’t smile. When those times came along, he complained that his body ached and that his thoughts wouldn’t quiet. He would wrap thick shirts and cloaks over his hunched shoulders and shuffle along the corridors, servants trailing behind him to ensure his safety. And around the colder months, when the days were darker, Kest often struggled. He had been hit hardest when their father died, and Tal hated that he might be a cause of one of Kest’s spells.

“Kest is the smartest of us. He is a great scholar and loves to read books. I… I always felt closer to him. We share magic, where the others do not. And he was there for me when I didn’t understand what was happening to me.”

Athlen’s smile tempered. “He sounds like a good man.”

“He is.” Tal snapped a stick in half and tossed it into the flames. “The youngest of us is Corrie. She’s a spitfire.”

“What does that mean?”

“Hotheaded. Um… feisty. She talks back to her tutors and to our mother—the queen. None of the rest of us dare. But Corrie”—Tal shrugged—“she does what she wants. We all let her get away with it too, because she’s the youngest. She never knew our father. He died a few months before she was born.”

“She doesn’t sound like you at all.”

“No, but sometimes I envy her, I think. As do the others.”

“Why?”

“She gets to be carefree. She’s not an heir or a commander of the navy or the royal shifter-scholar or the one with…” Tal curled his fingers.

“Magic,” Athlen supplied.

“Yes. With magic.”

Athlen crawled closer and propped himself next to Tal on the tree trunk. His knee banged into Tal’s thigh. “I like your magic. It’s beautiful. And nothing like I’ve ever seen. Even the sea witch… her magic is borne of the water. She was able to gift me with legs, but only because I’m a creature of the sea.” Athlen nudged his shoulder into Tal’s. “We don’t really have fire in the ocean, you know. We can float just below the surface and feel the sun, which we were strictly forbidden from doing in case we were seen.”

The corner of Tal’s mouth curled up in a smile. “Which means you did it, didn’t you?”

“Of course. All the time. The only other way to feel heat was to find a vent in the seafloor.” An expression of sorrow flickered over Athlen’s face, but it was fleeting. Tal’s stomach dropped in sympathy all the same. “But it’s nothing like this.” Athlen held his hand over the flames, and his eyelids fluttered close. A dreamy smile stole over his features. “I like it on my skin.”

“Is that why you like me?” Tal asked with a laugh. “Because of the heat?”

“Maybe.” Athlen’s smile grew, and he opened his eyes to give Tal a coy look. “Or because you’re a prince.”

Tal huffed. “You don’t care about that.”

“No, I don’t. I think it has to do with how you stepped in to save me, twice, when you didn’t have to.”

“I snapped a fetter and kept a merchant from taking advantage of you.”

“And you didn’t have to,” Athlen said with a firm nod. “You could’ve left me chained up, but you intervened because you didn’t like the way I had been treated. And you saw me in trouble in the market, and you bought the items I needed.”

Tal bit his lip and lifted his good shoulder. “What of it? You saved me from drowning, remember? Death and fire and a stab wound trump chains and some baubles.”

“Don’t discount yourself. You saved me,” Athlen said with finality. He scooted closer. “But if you must know, it helps that you’re nice to look at.”

Tal laughed, his unease melting away. He knocked his shoulder into Athlen’s. “You’re nice to look at too.”

“Of course I am. I’m a merman.” He winked.

Tal licked his lips. He darted in and pressed a kiss to Athlen’s dimpled cheek.

Athlen’s mouth curled into a smile. He leaned in with intent, mouth open, eyes hooded. Tal prepared for a kiss, his blood aflame, his stomach fluttering, and he closed his eyes and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Face scrunched, Tal opened one eye to find Athlen grimacing and clutching his leg, swallowing a gasp.

“Athlen? What’s wrong?”

Fingers digging into his muscles, Athlen rubbed vigorously, features twisted with pain. “I guess,” he said, voice a strangled sound, “that I’m not used to being on my legs this long.”

“They hurt?”

Athlen nodded, then gasped as he stretched both legs out in front of him and pointed his odd toes. He squeezed his eyes shut and gripped his thighs.

“Do you need me to—”

“I’m fine,” he said after a moment. “I’m fine.” He shuddered. “I’m fine.”

“Repeating it doesn’t make it true.”

Athlen rolled his eyes. “It was a cramp. I’ll be okay.”

“Drink water.” Tal slapped the canteen to Athlen’s chest. After training, the knights would ply Tal with water and fruit, saying it helped with soreness. Tal didn’t have fruit. But he could supply water. Water. Maybe Athlen needed it in more ways than one. “Do we need to find you a stream? Or a lake? For you to stretch your fins?”

Athlen took a few gulps and considered the proposal. He set the canteen aside, then he kneaded his leg above his knee. “No.” He shook his head. “No. I’m sore from the horse. That’s all.”

“You’ll tell me if you need anything. That’s not a request.”

“Is that an order from Prince Taliesin?” His mouth quirked up. “I hate to remind you, but I’m not one of your subjects.”

“It’s not an order. It’s a…” Tal trailed off, then crossed his arms. “Fine. It’s an order, but it’s me taking care of you. You took care of me in the cove, let me take care of you now.”

Athlen twitched, and his hands went to his calf. He squeezed the muscle, his mouth flattening as he stifled a groan, lines of pain crinkling around his eyes. He bowed forward, his back heaving with