A Thousand Salt Kisses Later (Book 2 of Salt Kiss series)

Playing With Fire

"Don't go too crazy, they're quite strong," she advised, resting her arms on my lap and looking up at me fondly. "But what's the verdict?"

"I like it," I said decisively. I wasn't lying, it was all very nice. Light but tasty.

Nephys giggled, "Good, they are called 'Camuls,' after the god of skies. We got tons of Camuls into The Jewel for the big..." she said before trailing off, as my contented expression quickly collapsed. I knew what she was going to say. She rested her head in her arms. "Sorry," she said, and we sat in silence for a while.

"So, does he really love her?" I asked eventually.

She looked up at me and sighed. "Do you want the truth or something sugar-coated?" she asked.

"That doesn't sound good," I said forlornly.

"Well?" said Nephys.

"Obviously I want something sugar-coated but I suppose you'd better tell me the truth," I said, stuffing two more capsules into my mouth.

"Well, I don't know if he loves her," said Nephys, "But there is certainly something there."

"Hmmm?" I pressed.

"I don't know," said Nephys, "I have only ever seen him fall for two maids, you and now... this."

I frowned. So far, it sounds like he definitely loves her.

"But, it's not the same kind of love Crystal, it's different with her than with you," Nephys continued. She appeared a bit flustered.

"How?" I cried.

"Well... I see that he's very excited by her... He's attracted to her there's no doubt about it. I think he's fascinated by her, even..."

I felt like someone was punching me in the chest with every word. Excited, attracted, fascinated. Eugh. Eugh. Eugh.

"But darling, with you it was more of a tender kind of love, he really cared for you. He cared for you deeply. And he was very attracted to you too, don't get me wrong; he thought you were just the most beautiful, loveliest thing he'd ever seen. When you went your separate ways, he was really rather depressed afterwards, for quite a long time."

"But then he met her?" I asked, popping another capsule into my mouth and gulping it down.

"It was Ri's idea, of course," said Nephys. "They are from the Black Seas, and even worse, from a very powerful kingdom; The Timsah Kingdom. There are masses of precious treasures there, you see, and it is also an ancient spiritual hot spot. Ri had been out there last year, looking for the blood relative of this shaman so that Llyr and I could finally get divorced. He came to know The King on his travels; he invited Ri to stay with them."

"Is that her father?" I asked.

"Yes," said Nephys with a shudder. "They got quite well acquainted. It was as though overnight, Ri suddenly developed this desire to unite the great mer kingdoms and form some kind of empire. It is a very unpopular idea, might I add, everybody here loves the way things are."

"Well, the crowds seemed to go crazy for the whole thing," I protested, thinking of the masses cheering on their new princess.

"Well, I can assure you there is quite a movement building against the whole thing, but yes, people do like a bit of a party down here," said Nephys swiping her hand dismissively. "And everybody adores Llyr. A lot of people will support him regardless of the cause; they trust him, and they know his heart's always been in the right place."

"Hmm," I said, trying to ignore the stings of sorrow Nephys's last words brought about. "So how did Ri actually get this thing to happen?"

"Well, he just started pestering Llyr relentlessly when he came back from his trip, telling him he was going to marry this Princess Kara."