A thick column of water seemed to float lazily above us, stretching from the pond up to the roof. The whole place smelled like saltwater and nature, so somehow, the water was coming from the sea.

I could hear a waterfall nearby, and when I looked in that direction, my eyes widened.

The other side of the pond opened into a large but shallow fall. The king must’ve been swimming against the pull of it for both of us, because I couldn’t feel it at all.

“This is where I actually sleep,” Triton explained. “My room in the castle is rarely used. I control the water, so no one comes into the grotto unless I let them. And I don’t let them. Even Rayna and Wesson have never been here.”

“Who’s Wesson?”

“Rayna’s mate.”

I pushed the king’s arms away lightly, though the effort seemed futile. They didn’t budge. “You can let go of me. I can swim to the side on my own.”

“We’re not swimming to the side.” He slung me over his shoulder so I was riding piggy-back. I wrapped my arms around his neck and my legs around his abdomen, and he kicked us across the pond.

Toward the waterfall.

“Tell me you’re not going to—” I started, but didn’t have time to finish.

Because he had already dove off the stone edge of the waterfall, and we were falling rapidly toward a larger lake.

I braced myself for impact, but the landing was smooth. Even though I could breathe underwater the day before, holding my breath when we were submerged still felt natural.

Triton had us back to the surface a moment later, and I panted as I caught my breath. “You have got to stop doing that.”

“Going underwater?” He sounded amused.

“Dragging me underwater after jumping off of things or into things.”

“Noted.” The amusement that lingered in his voice told me he had no intention of following my command.

I took in the building we were headed to while he carried me over. It was also much larger than his room in the castle—and building wasn’t entirely accurate.

The structure was basically a large, wooden canopy built on top of a huge wooden platform that seemed to be floating on the water.

Lounge chairs and couches were spread over the platform, and I noticed a bed tucked away in the far corner, like an afterthought.

More plants grew from pots around the room, seeming unbothered by the fact that there was no sunlight.

But the best part of the space?

Books lined every single wall, packed into shelves without decorations to distract from the true masterpieces. There were even stacks of them on the ground in some places, because Triton had apparently run out of shelves.