wear the Fangs as you do. She envisioned the ugly brute wearing the pearl encrusted crown of Mervidia and felt a physical revulsion twist her stomach in a knot. I would sooner slit your gills myself than see you taint the Fangs with your touch. Kiva took a moment to flush water in through her neck and out of her torso to settle herself. Anger and the feeling of sickness in the pit of her stomach washed away with the saltwater, as it flowed through her body. Do not let emotion sink you Kiva, she admonished herself. “The blade strikes truer when driven with determination rather than with anger.”
“The octolaide support Queen Beryl’s consort as temporary regent as well,” Thaddeus said calmly, yet with a certainty that was unmistakable. The octolaide representative’s eight long purple head tentacles twitched as he spoke, the motion accentuated by the coral and pearl bands that encircled each one. Normally, they hung down across Thaddeus’ back and shoulders sedately, but something had caused them to spasm, just once and only faintly.
Kiva doubted anyone else had noticed the tic, save Uchenna, who always kept a close eye on the more traditional octolaide. Despite being the head of the most powerful octolaide house, Uchenna of House Chimaera had not been able to secure the racial seat on the Coral Assembly. Being more power hungry than wise, he had earned one of the seats reserved for the three most powerful houses in Mervidia. The distinction was a slight one, but it was one that Uchenna had obviously taken to heart.
Kiva looked at Thaddeus, reviewing the octolaide’s words in her head and adding the image of his tentacles twitching. He had made it a point to mention that Iago was the Queen’s consort and had used the word “temporary” as well. Ah, Thaddeus, she thought. Y ou think that only royal blood should wear the Fangs. You are as much of a traditionalist as Nayan, she realized. No wonder you constantly voted against having a grogstack seat on the Assembly, and not just to spite Uchenna. Kiva once again smirked inwardly. Worry not, my friend. Iago will not sit on the throne long.
All eyes turned to Damaris, the Queen Mother. Despite the best efforts of her ladies-in-waiting, the widow of King Reth looked ghastly. The assassination of her daughter had clearly taken its toll and probably would for some time. As Kiva wondered how she could turn that to her advantage, the former queen spoke quietly. “The ethyrie support Iago,” she murmured and then bowed her head, placing her slender, pale-skinned webbed hands over her face. The deep red fins across her forearms trembled, as she gracefully contained the sobs that threatened to wrack her body.
If that is an act, then I have clearly underestimated Damaris, Kiva thought, though she was almost certain she had not. The Queen Mother, having been married into the Divine Family to inject some new blood into House Lumen, was a formidable merwin. She had been chosen for her clever mind and her strength of will, as well as for her great beauty. However, even she could not weather the death of her daughter, her only child, without succumbing to grief. The Queen Mother’s struggles with producing a royal heir were common knowledge, as was the octolaide kalku Odette being brought to the Royal Palace to assist the wife of King Reth. That the king had taken Odette into his bed and produced a son with the kalku after Odette’s magic coaxed Damaris’ eggs into hatching a single healthy daughter was also a known secret in Mervidia. Though Reth had never officially claimed the child as his own, he had also never denied him either.
After Odette’s fertilized egg had been discovered, Damaris had banished the octolaide from the Royal Palace, and shortly thereafter Odette was wed into House Chimaera. The kalku, despite being thrown out of the king’s bed, was still a powerful kalku and had managed to secure herself an advantageous marriage to the house’s domo,
“The octolaide support Queen Beryl’s consort as temporary regent as well,” Thaddeus said calmly, yet with a certainty that was unmistakable. The octolaide representative’s eight long purple head tentacles twitched as he spoke, the motion accentuated by the coral and pearl bands that encircled each one. Normally, they hung down across Thaddeus’ back and shoulders sedately, but something had caused them to spasm, just once and only faintly.
Kiva doubted anyone else had noticed the tic, save Uchenna, who always kept a close eye on the more traditional octolaide. Despite being the head of the most powerful octolaide house, Uchenna of House Chimaera had not been able to secure the racial seat on the Coral Assembly. Being more power hungry than wise, he had earned one of the seats reserved for the three most powerful houses in Mervidia. The distinction was a slight one, but it was one that Uchenna had obviously taken to heart.
Kiva looked at Thaddeus, reviewing the octolaide’s words in her head and adding the image of his tentacles twitching. He had made it a point to mention that Iago was the Queen’s consort and had used the word “temporary” as well. Ah, Thaddeus, she thought. Y ou think that only royal blood should wear the Fangs. You are as much of a traditionalist as Nayan, she realized. No wonder you constantly voted against having a grogstack seat on the Assembly, and not just to spite Uchenna. Kiva once again smirked inwardly. Worry not, my friend. Iago will not sit on the throne long.
All eyes turned to Damaris, the Queen Mother. Despite the best efforts of her ladies-in-waiting, the widow of King Reth looked ghastly. The assassination of her daughter had clearly taken its toll and probably would for some time. As Kiva wondered how she could turn that to her advantage, the former queen spoke quietly. “The ethyrie support Iago,” she murmured and then bowed her head, placing her slender, pale-skinned webbed hands over her face. The deep red fins across her forearms trembled, as she gracefully contained the sobs that threatened to wrack her body.
If that is an act, then I have clearly underestimated Damaris, Kiva thought, though she was almost certain she had not. The Queen Mother, having been married into the Divine Family to inject some new blood into House Lumen, was a formidable merwin. She had been chosen for her clever mind and her strength of will, as well as for her great beauty. However, even she could not weather the death of her daughter, her only child, without succumbing to grief. The Queen Mother’s struggles with producing a royal heir were common knowledge, as was the octolaide kalku Odette being brought to the Royal Palace to assist the wife of King Reth. That the king had taken Odette into his bed and produced a son with the kalku after Odette’s magic coaxed Damaris’ eggs into hatching a single healthy daughter was also a known secret in Mervidia. Though Reth had never officially claimed the child as his own, he had also never denied him either.
After Odette’s fertilized egg had been discovered, Damaris had banished the octolaide from the Royal Palace, and shortly thereafter Odette was wed into House Chimaera. The kalku, despite being thrown out of the king’s bed, was still a powerful kalku and had managed to secure herself an advantageous marriage to the house’s domo,
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