jaw and stared at the altar instead of gazing at the lovely woman who had held him in those hours following his father’s death. With an audience of too many priests in the temple, he didn’t dare to look at her again.
Her smaller hand closed over his shoulder and squeezed. “I’m sorry for your loss, Manu.”
He hid his pain behind his mask. Stoicism was his armor. “Thank you, Princess Kailani. I—”
A silver-haired priest entered the room, yet another ancient relic who had probably served the temple for close to a thousand years. Age creased his face and a silky white beard traveled to his waist. There were few Atlantians who achieved such an age. He probably coughed dust, though he still had a stately bearing, broad shoulders, and the muscle of a mer who did more than read scripture in his free time.
The cleric shuffled by, paused to glance at them, and continued into the next chamber.
“I thank you for the kind words you spoke for my father, Princess.”
“Kai,” she corrected him.
“Princess,” he repeated, voice gentler. “I should take my leave. I have other temples to visit, and far too many prayers to make on Lago’s behalf.”
“I can attend them with you.”
“I appreciate the kind offer, Your Highness, but the path of grief is a walk I must make alone.”
He bowed to her, and then he walked away, lest he give in to the temptation urging him to kiss his future queen. Kai was more than he deserved.
Kai had never felt so helpless as she did while watching Manu leave the temple. He tried to walk with pride, but the pain rolled off of him in palpable waves, like a living and breathing force choking the air from the chamber.
His grief was strangling him, and he had no one to help him through it, because he wouldn’t let anyone assist. One by one, she’d watched his friends approach him, first Commander Loto, then Commander Elpis, and lastly Cosmas.
But no one could break through the impenetrable wall of anguish Manu had erected around himself. He wore his pain like a cloak, and until he was ready to shed its weight, there was nothing any of them could do but give him time and be there to pick him up again.
Wise enough to understand he needed time to accept a loss it had taken her years to subconsciously recognize, Kai went home. There, guards greeted her the moment she came into view on the long walkway, and the enormous stone doors opened to reveal the magnificent palace interior. Chandeliers of precious crystals from deep underwater caverns gleamed in the high vaulted ceilings, and beautiful artwork painted by mers from her grandmother’s dynasty covered the walls.
This beautiful palace was her home, but on this night, she wished to be on land with her mother and little sister. That they lacked even a drop of her blood didn’t concern her. What mattered to Kai most of all was that the woman had taken a lost child into her home, raised her, nurtured her, and cared for her during a time in her life immediately following the loss of her biological parents, shaping Kai into a compassionate being with human emotions. As much as she missed Sunshine, she also missed Sadie, the little sister who came into their household years later.
On the upper level, she reached her personal suite and was greeted by her childhood friend. Amerin met Kai at the door and hugged her tight before she could even step out of her heels.
“How is he?”
“Hurting. Hurting so badly he’s pushing everyone away. Last I saw him, he was on his way to the rest of the temples. He intends to pray at each altar across the city and even those beyond it for his father to have some measure of peace.”
“But?” Amerin prompted.
“We all know there is no peace for anyone infected by the Gloom. Not until we find General Lago and…give him that peace,” she whispered, feeling heartsick. Prayer did no good when the gods no longer listened.
“What an awful mess,” her friend said, sighing.
“Any good news?”
“No good news, but a package did arrive for you from the surface. I brought it up when I came in from the memorial and placed it in your room.”
“Thank you. Could you help me with these beads?”
“Of course.”
The package awaited her on the bedside table. Kai leapt onto the mattress and tore the tape from the top of the box while Amerin climbed on behind