“You would do that?” she asked warily.
“For a price.”
Again, I waited while she assessed. Her chin came up so that she was looking down her nose at me. “Name your price.”
“Make me a full-fledged water fae.”
Priscilla barked out a laugh.
My heart thudded hard against my ribs.
“I’m serious,” I said, and her laughter stopped. “Take my humanity. I’ll testify to the council about what happened tonight. You’ll have your eyewitness.”
“You would give up all ties to the human world so easily?”
“I’ve never been human anyway. Not in the ways that matter. Besides, I’ve done all I can there. Lived as best I could. My future is in Nerida.”
“Your mother was a water fae, then.”
I nodded. “She died years ago, but her people are still there.”
“You’ll testify to the council,” she said. “Then I’ll change you.”
“No.” I shook my head. “I did what you asked earlier. With the princess. I think you know I’m trustworthy. You’ll change me now. Tonight.”
She huffed. “Your impatience is so human.”
I bared my teeth in a menacing smile. “Then cure me.”
“It’s dangerous,” she said. “Not everyone survives such a change.”
“I’m strong.”
“It’ll take a lot of magic.”
“You’re powerful.”
She didn’t argue, and I knew my flattery had worked.
“Very well, halfling, but if the change kills you, don’t come crying to me in the afterlife.”
“You have my word.” My heart pounded against my ribs so loudly I was afraid she would hear it over the music.
She pushed away from the bar, waving for me to follow. “Come with me to one of the privacy pods. We’ll need room to work away from prying eyes.”
I let her lead the way, anticipation tingling in my veins.
Chapter Ten
Breck
The pain started long before the change was evident. Priscilla was right; it hurt like a mother. I held back a scream, and Priscilla took that as a green light to continue. She muttered words I didn’t understand and lifted her arms, gathering more of her power.
Magic coursed through me, hot and sharp, until my legs were gone, and I nearly faceplanted against the mattress in the privacy cube we’d claimed. I stared down at the fish tail protruding from my waist, my jaw hanging wide at the sight of my scales.
The pain started anew, this time emanating from my chest as my soul began to change to that of a water fae. I splayed my hands over the bed, gritting my teeth against the driving torture. Blood dripped from my nose onto the leather mattress.
Black dots danced around the edges of my vision.
Priscilla’s strange mutterings grew louder.
Rushing in my ears drowned it all out. Water filled my lungs despite the dry room. My tail flapped frantically against the agony and the lack of oxygen. Slowly, the water began to filter, and I knew the change was finally beginning to take hold inside me.
I gritted my teeth and waited, writhing as the last of the magic wound through my veins and settled in my chest. Something about it felt right. Like I’d been meant for this all along.
When the last dregs of my humanity left me, I knew I’d finally found myself. After a lifetime of feeling “other,” I was finally me.
Priscilla watched the whole thing with a growing sense of interest that left a prickle along my spine. When the magic faded, she stared down at my scaly tail with a gleam lighting her dark eyes.
“Your survival speaks volumes, halfling. We’ll make a fine team once I’m on the throne.”
I’d suspected as much, but hearing her say the words so confidently boiled my blood. I hadn’t come looking for Aqua tonight, but now that I’d found her, I wasn’t going to let some power-hungry sea hag ruin her life or steal her kingdom.
“The throne doesn’t belong to you,” I growled, “And I’ll be damned if I help you get it.”
Priscilla’s eyes narrowed. Magic crackled along the edges of her skin, but I knew she couldn’t hurt me. Not here.
“We had a deal,” she said, her eyes glowing green with fury.
“And I intend to honor it. I’ll gladly tell the council the princess spent time with me tonight though I don’t think it’s any of their business what their princess does with another full-blooded water fae, do you?”
Priscilla’s face flushed crimson.
“You double-crossing little halfling piece of—”
Magic shot out of her hands and fell harmlessly against my chest.
“You can’t kill another guest of The Monster Ball,” I said, reciting the number one rule of tonight’s gathering.
Priscilla seethed, but then slowly, her mouth curved into a cruel smile.
“There may be punishment worse than death for you.” She turned for the door. “I wonder what your princess will say when she finds out you betrayed her and then ran right back to me for another alliance.”
“That’s not what happened, and you know it.”
“What I know and what the princess knows have never been the same thing.”
Growling, I jumped up and tumbled off the bed before remembering my sea tail. Shit, maybe I hadn’t thought this through after all.
Priscilla snorted and then slipped out.
Chapter Eleven
Aqua
By the time I got my emotions under control, I knew it was almost time for the finale. I was torn between wanting this night to be over and never wanting to face tomorrow. Even so, I refused to miss the final display. The fireworks were always my favorite part of the party.
I didn’t see Breck as I left the bathroom and headed for the stairs that led to the roof. Though, to be fair, I’d hidden in the ladies’ room for the past hour at least.
All around me, guests were in various states of drunken enjoyment. I passed a pixie trying to climb onto the bar. Her friend held both of her wrists and insisted they go to the dance floor instead.
A hand closed around my elbow, and I jerked free, looking up into a pair of glittering red eyes.
“Lost, little mermaid?”
“Just passing through,” I said.
“I’d be happy to escort you wherever it is you’re going.”
“I’m fine on my own, thank you.”
He reached up and adjusted my tiara. “A princess shouldn’t go anywhere unescorted.”
My hand shot out, gripping him around the throat hard enough that his face flushed. “A princess should never be touched without permission either.”
He croaked out an apology, and I let him go, walking off before he could say another word. My heart pounded dully against my chest as my own words stabbed at me.
I wasn’t going to be a princess for much longer.
Not after Priscilla got done with me.
I’d been so stupid to ignore her presence here tonight. And now, I’d pay for it with my crown. I’d failed my parents and my brother. Their legacy was shattered.
Blindly, I crossed the warehouse and climbed the stairs to the upper floors. The music’s bass pulsed through the metal stairs and into my feet. Multi-colored lights continued to flash around me.