The Unkindest Tide (October Daye #13) - Seanan McGuire Page 0,140
through the world like it owed her several favors and she had come to collect. What she wasn’t doing anymore was making any effort whatsoever to dull down the sheer volume of her presence. She had weight in the world. The world was damn well going to acknowledge it.
“Each of you is a guest in my home, a passenger on my ship, sailing on a starless sea,” she said. Her voice was low, even intimate, but it spread to fill every corner of the room, like ink curling through clear water. Her legs shimmered beneath their watery gown, feet unfurling into fins as her lower body transformed into sinuous twinned tails. “Some of you, however, have been rather impolite. Not behavior befitting a guest.”
Her gaze swung to Torin, making it clear to whom she was referring. He cringed but didn’t step away. I would have been impressed by that, if he hadn’t been standing in the middle of a field of heavily armed guards. Trying to run would have been a good way to wind up with a perforated kidney.
“Care to explain?” she asked, leaning forward, resting her elbows on the gentle curves of sinew and scale that had been her knees. “I like it when my hospitality is respected. It makes me feel respected.”
“I . . . I . . .” stammered Torin.
“Yes, you,” she agreed. She looked toward Patrick, and then back to Torin. “Unless a closer member of your family than myself wishes to speak for you, you’ll do all your speaking on your own behalf.”
“People think of my wife as the cruel one, because she wears her edges on the outside,” said Patrick. “I’m supposed to be the gentling influence on her anger. I’m not feeling very gentle right now. Maybe Dianda would speak for her brother, but I have nothing to say for my brother-in-law. He’s the man who tried to break my family. Let him drown.”
“Hmm,” said Amphitrite, attention not wavering. “You haven’t been making many fans here, have you, great-great-grandson? Now’s the time when you tell me why you did what you did, and what you were hoping to accomplish. Maybe you’ll woo me with your words. Maybe I’ll understand why you chose to smash your ship against these shores.”
“The sea witch is moving against you,” blurted Torin.
Amphitrite’s eyebrows rose. “Really?” She turned to the Luidaeg. “Really?”
“If I am, I’m not aware of it,” said the Luidaeg. “I got out of the backstabbing and betrayals business when I lost the ability to lie. It’s hard to plot against people when they know you’ll tell them the truth if they just ask.”
“Hmm.” Amphitrite settled in her seat, eyes once more fixed on Torin. “How, then, is the sea witch moving against me? Be specific. I don’t have all night.”
“She’s planning to restore the Roane.” There was an air of triumph in his voice, like he’d just dropped the mother of all bombshells on us.
“And?” asked Amphitrite. “I knew that. I told her she could use my place as neutral ground. How is she moving against me when she asked me before coming?”
“They died for a reason,” spat Torin.
The Luidaeg was suddenly very still.
“I’d be careful if I were you,” said Amphitrite. “The sea witch doesn’t like it when people imply that her children didn’t deserve to live. Why would you say such a thing?”
“Because it’s true! Lady . . .” Torin dropped abruptly to his knees. It was a bold move for a man whose hands were literally tied. He wouldn’t be able to get back up without assistance. “The Roane spread lies across the water and attracted the eyes of the land. Remember how it was in the days when they swam freely. The land Courts felt entitled to the gifts of prophecy. They sailed into your waters, they attacked our fiefdoms, and for what? For a glimpse of a future that could yet be changed? The Roane died to grant peace to the rest of us. Allow them to stay gone. Allow the waters to stay safe.”
“Who told you this?” asked Amphitrite.
Torin ducked his head. “She bid me not to say.”
The Luidaeg stepped forward, stillness forgotten. “Did she have hair like the deeps during a storm, and skin like sun-bleached bone? Coral lips and seafoam eyes?” When Torin didn’t answer, only shivered, she spat and turned her face toward Amphitrite. “I should have killed her when I had the chance. My own death would have been worth it.”