Once we're dry and clothed in the silky robes, Sky leads the way from the bathing chamber through an arched doorway and into a long, broad hallway with a high ceiling and a red carpet lining the floor. One wall is of white marble, but the other is almost entirely of glass, and gives a view of the blue depths beyond. The strange marriage of fairytale palace and grand aquarium leaves me speechless with awe and stops me in my tracks, and for a moment I merely stand, dumbstruck, as Sky keeps walking.

Coralesque chandeliers hang from the ceiling, emitting a warm, pinkish-gold glow, while outside the windows, which are too large and thin to be mere glass at this depth, marine animals swim or drift in and out of sight among faint vertical beams of blue light. Schools of colorful fish, clouds of jellies, the lone shark or ray; and below these, gardens of corals and anemones.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Sky asks, having come to stand at my side.

I can only nod as my brain struggles to comprehend how an entire palace could be made airtight and withstand the pressure of the sea.

"It's magic," Sky says, apparently reading my mind. "Magic is woven into this place at... well, you might say at the molecular level. It's in the stones, and in the cracks between the stones, and in the very dust itself."

"And it never... fails?" I ask, suddenly very conscious of the weight of water above my head.

"Not while Circe's heir sits upon the throne. One reason my mother turned herself into a statue, if you recall. The magic is in the blood of her lineage. As long as the bloodline remains unbroken, Thassos will endure.

I frown. "That's quite the responsibility. I suppose there's a lot of pressure to, er, continue that line, then."

Sky rests his hand on my lower back, soothing away my worries with the warmth of his touch. "Certainly; but I'm not concerned. I've got seven sisters."

"Speaking of..." Finally tearing my eyes away from the mesmerism of the sea, I look up and down the palatial hallway. "Where is everyone? Shouldn't our arrival have set off some alarms, or something?"

Sky shrugs and fingers his amulet. "It isn't as if we arrived in the usual fashion, but you are right; I would have expected my return to have caused more excitement. Still, this will be more fun; once we're properly dressed, we can present ourselves to the royal court and give my sisters a surprise. Come — my chambers are nearby. Let's see if the servants have been doing their job.

"You have servants?" I ask as I follow him down the hallway to a large door decorated with an ornate motif of shells.

"Well, yes, of course. Someone has to keep the place in good order," he says, opening the door to reveal another long, though less grand and windowless, hallway and holding it for me as I pass through. "Does the idea bother you?"

"It's just occurring to me that I know almost nothing about your society and culture," I say, dodging the question for the moment.

"Well, you shall soon know all you wish to know and more." He grins excitedly and strides down the hall to another, smaller door. The handle looks like gold, and after trying and finding it unlocked, he opens it and ushers me through.

On the other side lies a room that would look at home in the most opulent palaces of antiquity. On a raised platform, an enormous bed draped in purple silks awaits. A wide swath of windows looks out on the sea, bookshelves hug a curved wall, fine rugs carpet the marble floors, and the same softly glowing lights from the hallway shine from sconces and hang from chandeliers. A pair of low settees on which to sit or recline and a small table and chairs are the only furnishings.

Sky leads me past these and around the dais-like platform supporting the bed, to yet another door and a smaller chamber beyond.

"Here we are — my dressing room," he says, indicating the space with a sweep of his hand.

There's a changing screen, a chair, a table, a full length mirror, and an enormous wardrobe. This last Sky throws open with a flourish and begins rummaging within, all the while talking to himself under his breath.

"Let's see... Too fine. Not fine enough. Too scratchy. Too thin. Too fussy. Ah! Here we are. Simple and elegant."

Turning, he holds out a set of underthings, a pair of loose, ivory-colored trousers that resemble sirwal, and what looks a lot like a pale-blue dress.

"What is that?" I ask, eyeing it dubiously.

He laughs. "Come here."

Reluctantly, I approach. He smiles as he unties the belt fastening my robe in place and pushes the silky fabric off my shoulders. The garment slips free and falls to pool about my feet, leaving me naked. Sky gently turns me to face the mirror, but I avert my eyes from my reflection and shiver as I feel his fingers tracing the scars that mar my skin; so much for my hope that they weren't as noticeable as I feared.

"Put these on first," he says, handing me the silken trousers. I obey, and then Sky picks up the blue cloth and wraps it around me, draping it over my shoulders and tucking it in at the waist. "There. All finished."

When I finally dare to look, I catch myself by surprise. The style is something like that of Greek or Roman nobility, but with a shorter line to allow the trousers to show. With bare feet and damp curls falling in a loose semblance of style, I look like something half from the Arabian Nights and half from classical Greece.

"Now you see it, don't you?" Sky asks, his fingers tickling my skin as he adjusts the neckline of my robes.

"See what?" I ask, still a little enchanted by my strange reflection.

"How I see you," he says. "Strong, beautiful, and perfect in every way."

I snort. "Please, I'm no Narcissus. This is just... better than I expected, is all."

"We Mer dislike tight-fitting clothes," he says, dressing himself in the same fashion as he speaks. He chooses dark trousers and a pomegranate-colored robe. "Loose and flowing, like water, is the way to go. In our aquatic forms, of course, we lack the need for human modesty. Be prepared if you see my sisters, by the way; there are no shell-shaped bikinis here, I assure you."

Laughing softly, I turn and look up at him. "I suppose we Wolves are the same, aren't we? Sometimes I forget how it must appear to outsiders."

His hands settle on my waist and he pulls me against him, the green of his eyes flashing to jade with sudden passion. His Adam's apple jumps in his throat as he swallows and his voice comes out a little lower than before.

"My clothes suit you very well," he says, "and yet I can hardly wait to get you out of them again. I swear, once this is settled..." He trails his fingers up the side of my bare arm to my shoulder and bites his lip.

"Are things really so much better under the sea?" I ask, allowing myself a grin.

He quirks a brow at me. "It is certainly wetter."

I push him away. "Come on, Your Royal Horniness. We have things to do before we can do each other."

"Right you are," he says, stepping back a pace and brushing imaginary dust from his clothes. Either the servants he mentioned have, indeed, been doing their jobs, or things are cleaner under the sea, too. "Business before pleasure. This time."He shoots me wink and bows from the waist before extending his arm to me. "Shall we?"

"We shall," I say, and do my best to imitate his bow, which I've only seen people in period dramas do, before linking my arm with his.

And thus, side by side, we exit the dressing room and find ourselves face to face with what appears to be a small army of guards, weapons bristling.