“Who will meet us in Shallimar?” I asked, after some time.
“Lieutenant Starlin,” Leffe replied.
That gave me a reason to smile. I knew Starlin well. We’d trained together during a water fae visit to my Fire Star. I trusted him. He was loyal and determined, and, most importantly, he respected the military code.
An hour later, and after few words exchanged between us, my crew and I entered the incredible city of Shallimar. It was built on a thick, grassy platform, encased in a giant glass ball. Staircases and metallic alleyways swirled through and around the buildings, all of them made of glass, as well. The residences had coral panels mounted on the outside, ensuring their owners’ privacy. It added a splash of vibrant color to the glass-and-metal structures that made up Shallimar.
Sunlight barely made it through from the surface. It was filtered by at least fifty feet of water. Artificial lights flickered along the streets, and sweet water fountains gushed at junction corners and in the middle of public squares.
There were at least a thousand water fae living here. It was truly stunning.
“The amount of work that must’ve gone into building this place… I can’t even imagine,” Amelia breathed.
“I could easily live here,” Eva added with a sly smile. “I take it there are plenty of pools, too?”
Leffe laughed lightly. “We are one with the water. But we do need some time away from it, too, hence the bubble cities. We can always just go out through one of the ceiling hatches if we need a swim,” he explained. “Pools are unnecessary with a vast ocean surrounding us, don’t you think?”
“I suppose. I wouldn’t mind a jacuzzi outside on the terrace, if I were to make myself a home here,” Eva replied.
“Looking to buy some real estate in the area?” Varga quipped, slightly amused.
Eva shrugged. “Not a bad idea. I mean, look around you. This is underwater heaven.”
I had to admit, she was right. Shallimar was an extraordinary feat of architecture and engineering, as it allowed the water fae to have an earthly life without abandoning the ocean. Leffe was right. They could always pop out if they wanted to. There were dozens of staircases leading up to the ceiling, where hatches were available, though guarded by soldiers.
I found their presence strange. The water fae couldn’t drown, so why were they guarding the hatches? It wasn’t like anyone was going to just pop them open and kill Shallimar’s inhabitants. So, what was their purpose?
Leffe led us around the city’s edges. Only then did I notice the glass tunnels and the many other smaller bubbles connected to Shallimar. I pointed at them. “What are those?”
“Our barracks,” Leffe said. “Soldiers are stationed outside the city, but within reach. Every unit has its own bubble. There are twenty units in total, per city.”
“That’s a lot of soldiers, if you ask me,” Riza muttered, her eyes wandering around.
The burning sensation returned to the back of my neck. I glanced behind me again, but I couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary. There were plenty of water fae out in the streets. However, none had seemed to even notice us when we came in. The outskirts were mostly empty, and I didn’t spot anyone following us.
Still, my instincts couldn’t be wrong twice.
I slowed down, letting Raphael and Amelia go ahead with Leffe, followed by Eva, Herakles, and Riza. I walked by Varga’s side. “Have you used your True Sight so far?” I asked him, keeping my voice down.
He nodded. “No one’s following or watching us. Is that why you’re asking?”
“Yeah, I’ve got this feeling like we’re being tracked or something.”
“Nope. The woods were clear, too,” Varga said. “Are you okay, Tae?”
How could I possibly answer that without coming undone altogether? The past couple of weeks had been painfully difficult. I’d attended multiple funerals, and I’d spent days trying to find out why these explosions were happening. I’d also had to comfort the other fire fae—our loyal subjects, the people we were meant to protect. In the end, I’d come up empty and frustrated, because I couldn’t get to the truth, and I couldn’t promise my fae nation that I’d protect them.
My heart was aching, and this perpetual feeling that someone was following us didn’t help. Even so, I sucked in a breath and gave my vampire-sentry friend a smile. “I’m fine, Varga.”
He didn’t buy it, that much I knew, since I was an open book to the guy. But he didn’t insist, and I appreciated that about him. He never took more than he was given.
Leffe made a right turn, leading us into one of the smaller glass bubbles through the slim, connecting tunnel. At the very end, Lieutenant Starlin stood tall, hands behind his back and a huge grin crossing his square, devilishly handsome face. He’d broken plenty of hearts with that cleft chin. Even my mom had blushed and giggled like a schoolgirl when she’d first met him. I, for one, had a guy-crush on him—Starlin was an exceptional fighter. He’d demanded the most from me whenever we’d sparred, and he’d never taken my royalty into account when kicking my ass.
“Taeral, is this what it takes to get you to visit?” Starlin’s voice thundered through the glass tunnel. He might’ve come across as intimidating to most. He was an ethereal fae, but he was big and buff and always ready to crack a bone or two.
I went past Leffe and trapped Starlin in a brief bear hug. He tightened his grip, nearly crushing my ribcage, then laughed and stepped back.
“Sorry it took such dire events to come see you,” I said.
He chuckled, then gave me the Royal Guard salute. I nodded, then introduced my colleagues. He measured each of them from head to toe. I could almost hear the wheels turning in his head as he probably wondered how long before he’d take each of them down. He lit up at the sight of Raphael.
“You, I’d have trouble beating,” Starlin observed.
Raphael offered a faint smile. “I get that a lot.” He then pointed a thumb at Herakles. “This one might give you some trouble, too, but if you wiggle a barbecue skewer at him, he’ll go down like a log.”
“Hardy-har-har,” Herakles shot back. “At least I’m fed and energized now, you pompous ass.”
That got a sturdy peal of laughter out of Starlin. “I see you’ve surrounded yourself with some fine people. It’s an honor to have you all here.”
“Starlin here works with GASP,” I said, looking at the others. “He’s a close associate and a good friend of mine. We used to train together.”
“Hah. More like I used to hand his royal ass to him whenever he tried to tackle me,” Starlin replied, then crinkled his nose. “Until he cheated with his vanishing jinni act.”
“Hey! You’re perfectly capable of slipping out of a headlock, too!” I objected, struggling not to laugh.
Leffe watched our exchange with childish interest. Starlin scowled at him.
“You didn’t have them wait for too long, did you?” he asked the soldier fae, who shook his head in response.
