“Then why would he choose to live near a lake, for pity’s sake?”
“Because he was still a sea dragon,” John said softly. “And no sea dragon could bear to live without at least the sight of water. What it must have cost him, to gaze upon it every day, yet still keep his exile…”
“But why?” Neridia realized she was yelling, and tried to get herself back under control. “If, if what you’re saying is true, and he really was…why?”
“Why did he leave the sea? Why did he abandon the Pearl Throne, his duties and responsibilities, without a word of warning, not even to the Order of the First Water, his sworn guardians? I have long pondered that mystery, without a glimmer of insight.” John rubbed his hand across his face, mouth tightening into a grim, heartsick line. “But now…now, I think I am beginning to understand his mind.”
“My mom,” Neridia whispered, as the answer struck her too. “He loved her so, so much. When she passed away, a few months before he did, it was like part of him had died too. I think she must have been his mate.”
John nodded, slowly. “And he could not both rule the sea and serve his mate. No human may enter sunken Atlantis, and the Emperor can only rarely leave our city.”
“So he gave up his title, and the sea. He picked her.” John stiffened, and Neridia belatedly realized how he must have taken her words as an accusation. “No, I didn’t mean—I was just wondering how he could do that. I thought honor was everything to a sea dragon.”
“It is.” John’s tight shoulders eased down a little. “But the Emperor was not a Knight, bound by vows of chastity as I am. What would be dishonorable for me would not have been for him. I have no doubt that your father kept his honor, even though he gave up his Throne.”
Neridia found that she was holding her pearl, as she so often did for comfort. For most of her life, it had rested in the hollow of her father’s throat, gleaming against his slate-dark skin. He’d given it to her a few days before he’d died, and until yesterday it had never left her throat in all the four years since. Yet now, its familiar smooth surface seemed suddenly new and foreign.
Did he bring this with him? Is it a sea dragon treasure, a royal treasure? Did it have some special meaning?
When she’d first put it on, he’d looked at her so strangely. As though underneath his shining pride had been a deep, fathomless sadness…
“What I do not yet understand,” John said, frowning, “is why he never told you of your heritage. You are the Heir to the Pearl Throne. Even if he never intended to return, he should have been preparing you to take your rightful place. Why did he not?”
He sounded genuinely baffled. Neridia stared at him, unable to believe that he’d failed to see the blindingly obvious.
“John, I’m human.” She held out her arms, displaying her ordinary, utterly un-dragonlike self. “Even if I am half-sea dragon, I’m no shifter. My father must have been able to tell that.”
He looked at her as if she’d just announced she was a small purple rabbit. “Of course you are a sea dragon, Your Majesty.”
“No, I’m not! I think I should know! And for pity’s sake, stop calling me that!”
He shook his head stubbornly, charms chiming together in his long hair. “When we first met, when I first knew you to be my mate, I was absolutely convinced that you were of my kind. It was not until you fled that I began to doubt. Now, it is obvious that my first impression was indeed correct. I was merely fooled for a time by the misleading reflections on the surface, and did not see through to the true currents beneath.”
Neridia pressed her fists to her forehead. It was all too much. “I didn’t even know sea dragons existed until yesterday.”
“You have been kept in a dark vault, like a hidden treasure.” John rose to his feet at last, holding out his hand to her. His fingers trembled, ever so slightly. “But no longer. Come, Your Majesty. It is time to take your true form.”
Chapter 11
What if she’s right? John’s inner human asked uneasily. It was pacing in his mind, back and forth like a caged beast. What if she is just human?
John ignored the creature’s whispers as he led Neridia down to the waterside. It was a human trait to fret about the future, imagining the worst case so vividly that it crippled them from acting in the present. Sea dragons were unhampered by such weakness. A sea dragon saw what was so, and acted upon it, without hesitation or self-doubt.
Of course his mate was a sea dragon. What else could she be? Honor and strength shone from her like the very moon above.
No wonder I could not resist her. No wonder she draws me so strongly. My true self recognized her, even through weak human eyes.
He looked around, assessing the surroundings with professional scrutiny. Until Neridia—no, he must stop thinking of her in such familiar terms. Until Her Imperial Majesty could be provided with an appropriate retinue, he had sole responsibility for her safety.
“May I have your permission to ask a question, Your Majesty?”
Her Imperial Majesty glared at him. “Are you really going to keep calling me that?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” She had not given him permission. He kept his back very straight, gaze fixed somewhere over her left shoulder, and waited.
The wind blew. Insects sang in the plants edging the loch.
The Empress sighed, holding up her hands in surrender. “Now I know why Griff called you the most stubborn man he’d ever met. Okay, fine. What did you want to ask?”