Page 133 of In Rising Tides

“I’m not allowed to leave my room,” she ground out.

He studied her face a moment longer, and she made sure to hold her scowl as long as it took to sell her point.

“I didn’t realize your confinement would bring such ill effects,” he said at last, easing his grip on her.

Lyra slumped back into the shell and wrapped her tail around herself.

She brushed out the length of her auburn hair with her talons and gave him her best fake smile.

“Of course. Who would have ever thought being confined to their room for long periods of time would bring anything other than pure bliss.”

Drystan didn’t meet her eyes. “I thought it would keep you safe. I didn’t realize?—”

“I don’t care to hear your thoughts on the matter,” Lyra snapped.

Drystan rolled his eyes and swam towards her door. “Then get ready. Fang and Angler will see you to the council chambers when you’re presentable.”

Lyra lay her head against her pillow.

“Get up,” he ordered. “You don’t want me tracking you down.”

Lyra waited until she heard her door shut before sliding out of bed and floating towards her vanity. She froze when she caught a glimpse of herself in the polished mirror.

Dark shadows smudged beneath her eyes, and her cheeks were gaunt. She looked like a ghost.

There was a commotion outside her door, and Lyra whirled just as Thalassa swept inside.

“Oh, good, you’re up!” Thalassa beamed at her.

Fang was reaching for Thalassa, the scar on his face twisting with his frown. “You can’t?—”

Thalassa slammed the door in his face.

Lyra stared, bewildered. “What is going on?”

Thalassa zoomed across Lyra’s room, coming to a quick stop in front of her. “I have excellent news!” She gripped Lyra’s hand in both of hers. “Cora came to stay in the palace and brought a book her mother had kept hidden. Well, her great-grandmother had kept hidden.”

Lyra scowled at the tightness with which Thalassa gripped her and slowly extracted her hand from her sister’s.

“I have to get ready,” she said, facing the mirror once more. “If Drystan has to come escort me, I’m sure he’ll bring the collar.”

Thalassa’s jaw dropped open before she snapped it shut and clutched Lyra by the shoulders.

“You’re not listening to me. I think Cora’s book can decode the one Nerida is trying to read to solve your bargain.”

Lyra froze, her hairbrush held aloft in front of her.

It was the first bit of good news she’d received in so long. Her eyes fluttered closed with her forced breath as she staunched her excitement.

It was too soon for any kind of excitement when it could all be ripped away at a moment’s notice.

“Have you read it?” Lyra asked.

She brushed her hair back in long strokes, unsnarling the tangles that her fitful sleep had brought.

Thalassa shook her head. “No?—”

Lyra’s shoulders dropped.