Chapter Six: The Sea Oath
Once they were done eating; they led their mate into her chambers.
Caspian closed the door behind Nadeira's chamber.
He was staring at the door for a little longer until his jaw was able to relax.
"She needs rest," the prince spoke in hush, quieter than usual. "No more talk of betrayal tonight."
Nyxmaris turned on him almost immediately, his pupils turned smaller. "Rest? She spills her heart, her mother poisoned, her life stolen…and you want her to rest?"
"Yes," Caspian answered, unflinching. "Because if we push more, she will break. And we cannot have her broken."
Orrisian leaned against the carved pillar. "You sound like a priest giving sermons. I don't care for sermons. I care that her father breathes while she cries herself to sleep."
Nyxmaris let out a rough laugh. "Breathes? He thrives. And every breath of his mocks her pain. I say we cut it short."
Caspian's stare snapped to them both, his voice sliced through them immediately. "No."
The word hit like a stone dropped into still water.
"No?" Orrisian's brows rose. "You would deny her justice?"
"I would deny war." Caspian's tone hardened. "The sea and land made an oath generations ago. Neither shall spill blood of the other, not by blade, not by poison, not by spell. To break it is to summon war, and war would not just be her father's blood. It would be hers, ours, and thousands more."
Nyxmaris's lips curled in disdain. "So we let treaties bind us while she rots in grief?"
"Do you think I enjoy this?" Caspian's fists clenched. "Do you think I would not drag him under myself? But we are princes of the sea. Our father would not forgive us if we ignite war over one man…no matter how vile."
Orrisian pushed away from the pillar, darkening his skin. "I would risk it."
"And doom her with us?" Caspian's eyes flashed. "Because make no mistake, and her father would not hesitate. The Duke would use her as bait, and when we disobey, the sea will be drenched in fire arrows, the land in storms. You know it as well as I do."
The words settled, heavy, bitter. For a long breath, no one dared to speak again.
Caspian was right, the oath for peace was real…but how could they not do anything when their princess was crying?
Nyxmaris broke it with a low growl. "So what then, Caspian? We smile at her while her father toasts his victory? We play hosts in this marble cage while she dreams of vengeance she cannot have?"
"No." Caspian stepped closer, being even more quieter than before, but iron strong. "We give her something more. We give her safety. We give her time to learn us. And when the time is right…when she is ours…we take her beneath the waters."
Orrisian's gaze narrowed. "Why the secrecy? Why not tell her what we can do now?"
"Because she doesn't trust us yet," Caspian replied simply. "If we speak of dragging her to the depths when her feet only just touched land, she'll run. She'll see it as another cage."
Nyxmaris rolled his head, another grin tugged his lips. "So we feed her comfort until she trusts us. And then we whisk her away under the waves?"
"Not whisk," Caspian corrected, measured. "Guide…and… Protect Nadeira. Let her see the sea is not her prison but her shield. There, her father cannot touch her. His poison cannot reach. His power fades where the tides rule."
"And what of the law?" Orrisian asked, raising his voice now. "What of the treaty, Caspian? If the sea does not kill the land, what then? You sound as though you plan to break it anyway."
A shadow travelled across Caspian's eyes. "There are ways. There are…gaps in the treaty. But not here..."
Nyxmaris stepped forward, blocking Caspian's exit. "What gaps?"
Caspian didn't answer right away. He looked past them, toward the door behind which Nadeira slept. His voice softened, hushing almost like a vow.
"She has been broken by lies. I will not burden her with the weight of our kingdom's laws, nor the blood that stains them. For now, she needs strength. Ours! When the sea calls her, then she will learn."
Orrisian's jaw flinched. "You speak in riddles."
"I speak in caution," Caspian said.
Nyxmaris slammed his fist on the wall, water from a fountain shivered and splashed. "Caution has kept tyrants fat and daughters poisoned!" His voice thundered through the hall. "Her father deserves to choke on his own blood, treaty be damned."
Caspian's eyes snapped like spears. "And what then, Nyx? When his death summons armies? When fire burns ships and arrows pierce waves? Will you watch Nadeira drown in war before she has even tasted peace?"
The violet in Nyxmaris's eyes dimmed, just slightly. He didn't dare to answer.
Caspian pressed on. "We are not land kings with no leash. We are princes. Our kingdom binds us, our father binds us, the oath binds us. Break it, and we all fall."
For a long moment, the hall rang only with the sound of fountains trickling, as if the water itself held its breath.
Finally Orrisian spoke again. "So your plan is patience. Patience while she suffers?"
"My plan," Caspian began slowly, "is survival first. Then vengeance. But vengeance that does not consume her in the fire of two kingdoms."
Nyxmaris let out a low laugh, but it was not humorous at all. "You always were the reasonable one. Always talking of patience, of laws, of oaths. And yet here you are, vowing to take her under when the time comes. You're as reckless as us…you just cloak it prettier."
Caspian's lips curved, not quite a smile. "Perhaps. But I will not cloak it in blood tonight."
Orrisian crossed his arms, and licked his lips. "So we play the waiting game. Give her soft meals, kind words, until she stops seeing us as strangers."
"Yes," Caspian nodded.
"And then?" Nyxmaris pushed.
Caspian's eyes darkened immediately. "And then the sea will do what the land cannot stop."
"Kill her enemies and her?"