Neria wasn’t sure how long she had been locked up. She lay on the cold marble floor, her back pressed against the side of the bed as she rubbed her thumb over her shell necklace. She still couldn’t see properly. Everything remained a blur of shapes and light, and no matter how many times she blinked, the darkness around the edges of her vision refused to disappear.
She was starting to think this was the punishment for singing the Mad Ballad. The song didn’t killed her but it found another way to make her wish she were dead.
She had been locked up for nearly a week. At least, she thought it had been a week. She had stopped keeping track after the first few days, but she had heard the servants passing her door often enough to know it had been more than a single day.
Nobody came inside.
Neria’s stomach growled loudly, and she frowned then glared down at it to be quiet and spare her some dignity.
But then, she was starving.
What she wouldn’t do for some seaweed-wrapped fish right now.
Her stomach growled again.
"Hush now," she muttered, rubbing it absently.
She sighed and leaned her head against the bed, the cold marble sending a chill through her skin. She had spent too much of her life surrounded by water to understand how people could willingly live somewhere this dry.
It made her throat felt constantly scratchy and her skin uncomfortable. Even breathing had become something she had to think about.
Neria closed her fingers tighter around the shell necklace.
Nerissa would have laughed at her by now.
She could almost hear her sister’s voice teasing her for complaining about food.
The thought made her smile for half a second.
Then the smile disappeared.
Nerissa...
Neria lowered her head, her thumb continuing to trace the smooth shell. Thinking about it, they would have reached the southern waters by now, and knowing Nerissa, she would make sure Neria stayed away from any shipwrecks while the pod got settled.
She wished she could turn back time, just once, just far enough to stop Nerissa from being impaled by that harpoon. Maybe she could have warned them, she could have saved the entire pod.
Maybe...
Tears stung her eyes, slipping down her cheeks before she could stop them. What was she supposed to do now? She had lost her family, her home, her freedom and now her sight. Even the one thing she had thought she could still use against the landwalkers failed miserably. What was she to do?
Knock.
Knock.
Neria’s head snapped toward the door, her heart jumping at the sudden sound. She pushed herself from the floor and began crawling forward, stretching one hand out in front of her so she wouldn’t bump into anything. She hated moving like this. But her current situation wasn’t giving her much of a choice. Every piece of furniture around was now her greatest enemy.
"Nerry?" She recognized the annoying voice of Fiona anywhere.
"Neria, are you okay?" The girl’s voice trembled, and Neria immediately frowned. Was she crying?
"Fiona?" she called, crawling a little closer toward the door.
"Neria..." Fiona’s voice trembled again, this time sounding much closer to tears. "I shouldn’t have left you alone at the ball. Now Master is punishing you."
Neria’s brows furrowed.
Oh.
So that was the story Darian was telling everyone. That she was being punished for wandering too far from Fiona at the ball.
Neria moved closer, reaching her hand out for the door, but her knee struck the corner of a small table. Pain shot through her leg and she immediately grabbed the edge of it to steady herself.
"Ow."
"Neria!"
"I am fine," Neria said, rubbing her knee.
Now that Fiona was closer, she could hear the girl’s tiny sniffles and hiccups. Neria almost laughed at how ridiculous it was for her to be crying when she was the one who had been locked up. Still, there was something about Fiona’s voice that made the room feel a little less suffocating.
"I will talk to Master..." Fiona sniffled, "I will tell him it’s my fault."
"He’s not going to listen..." Neria said more quietly this time. She was sure either he had decided to lock her up here forever or there was something much worse in store for her. Darian had already made it clear what he thought of her, and Neria doubted a few tears from Fiona would change his mind.
"He will... I will make sure he does." Her voice sounded more determined this time, almost as if she had already convinced herself she could somehow change the Grand Duke’s mind.
Neria couldn’t help but find it a little amusing. Fiona seemed genuinely concerned for her. She was a sweet thing, clumsy and all, and probably far too soft-hearted for a place like this.
"Are you hungry?" she suddenly asked.
"Mm... yes."
Of course she was.
Her stomach had been twisting painfully for days for a proper meal"
"I brought you buns," Fiona said, sounding a little more cheerful. "I just... I just don’t know how to give them to you."
Neria frowned. "What do you mean you don’t know how?"
"The guards won’t let me open the door."
Oh.
Of course.
Wait. There were guards behind her door?
Neria glanced toward the blurred outline of the door.
For a moment neither of them spoke. Then Fiona whispered, "I could try to sneak them in."
Despite the ridiculousness, Neria smiled.
"Mm.. okay" she muttered.
"You have to leave now, Fiona." It was a man’s voice this time, probably one of the guards stationed outside her door.
"I have to go..." Fiona’s voice dropped, the sadness returning to it. "But I will find a way to bring you something."
Before Neria could reply, she heard hurried footsteps moving away from the door. They faded down the corridor until she could no longer hear them.
She was gone.
Neria remained where she was, her hand still resting against the door. Then her fingers slowly fell from the wood as she stepped back.
Neria sighed and lowered herself back onto the floor, pulling her knees toward her chest, then she fell asleep.
___
Darian pushed the wooden doors of Neria’s room apart. It had been four days since he had left her locked up in here to think about her actions, though he doubted she had spent much time thinking about anything other than her hatred for him and everyone else in Astravia.
His eyes immediately found her.
She was only a few steps away, curled up on the cold marble floor with her knees pulled toward her chest. Her hair was scattered across her face, hiding most of it from view, and for a moment he simply stood there watching her sleep.
She looked smaller than he remembered. Too small for someone who had managed to leave seven people dead.
For a brief moment, Darian hesitated. Then he reminded himself exactly why he was here.
She had killed seven people.
Seven lives had been lost because of her anger, and five of them had done nothing to deserve it. Whatever sympathy he might have felt for the Calypso’s past had no place in this.
Darian’s expression hardened.
He lifted two fingers and snapped them.
A guard immediately stepped forward carrying a bucket filled with water. Darian didn’t say a word. He merely glanced toward the sleeping mermaid before giving the smallest nod.
The guard understood.
A second later, the bucket was overturned.
The icy water crashed over her without warning.
Neria jolted awake with a gasp, her body scrambling backward on instinct as the cold soaked through her clothes and sent a shiver down her spine. Her hands slipped against the marble as she tried to push herself away from whatever had attacked her.
Her breathes came in short frantic gasps, as she desperately looked around.
Then she heard the footsteps.
She froze.
The room was still a blur, the figures standing before her nothing more than dark shapes against the light. Neria blinked several times, trying to make them clearer, but it did nothing.
"Get up."
Her stomach twisted at the sound of Darian’s voice.
Neria slowly pushed herself onto her knees, water dripping from her hair and down her face. She wiped it away with the back of her hand, though it made little difference to her vision.
"What do you want?" she asked, her voice hoarse.
Darian didn’t answer immediately.
He simply looked at her.
She could feel it even without seeing his expression clearly, that cold stare lingering over her like she was something he was trying to understand.
Darian crouched in front of her, tilting his head slightly as he studied her soaked face. He reached out and pushed aside the wet strands of hair clinging to her cheek. Neria immediately tried to flinch away, but his hand caught her jaw before she could move, his fingers holding her face in place.
"It’s been four days?" he asked, his thumb brushing slowly across her cheek. His voice was deceptively calm, almost gentle if she didn’t know better. "Tell me... Have you learnt your lesson?"
Neria didn’t answer immediately.
His fingers tightened around her jaw as he pulled her closer. "When I ask you a question, you answer. Is that clear?"
She glared at him defiantly yet said nothing.
Darian sighed.
With a dismissive wave of his hand, the collar around her neck suddenly glared to life. Neria’s body jerked violently as the enchantment surged through her, a scream tearing from her throat as she desperately clawed at the metal around her neck. Her fingers slipped against it, unable to find any way to loosen it.
"Ah! Stop!" she cried.
Darian watched her for another moment before finally letting it stop.
Neria collapsed, gasping as she tried to catch her breath.
"Have you learnt your lesson?" he asked again.
"No," she said through gritted teeth.
The collar came to life again, forcing another scream out of her.
"Yes!" Neria cried, her body trembling beneath the surge of magic. "Yes, I learnt my lesson! I shouldn’t have killed them!"
When the punishment finally stopped Neria sagged against the floor, breathing heavily.
Darian’s mouth curved into a small, satisfied smile as he reached out and gave her a patronizing pat on the head.
"See? Was that so hard?"
He rose to his feet and gestured for one of the guards to come closer. The man immediately stepped forward and placed a tray of food on the floor in front of Neria.
She smelled it instantly.
Her head snapped toward the tray and, she moved forward without thinking. Her hand hovered over the food for a moment, searching blindly until her fingers finally found the edge of the plate.
Darian frowned when he noticed it. So she was telling the truth about her sight?
She really couldn’t see.
Neria grabbed the food and began eating almost immediately, barely taking the time to chew before reaching for another piece. Darian watched her silently, his eyes narrowing as she tried to locate everything on the tray by touch.
He pushed the tray slightly closer to her. Neria didn’t acknowledge him. She was too busy eating.
"Now," Darian said calmly, folding his arms across his chest, "let’s talk about those powers."