Mermaid Academy

by Cameron Drake

  But I was only supposed to eat in the Royal kitchen, and I knew without a doubt that Dane would be there. I couldn’t face him. I hoped I wouldn’t have to.

  Well, not until my second class of the day, anyway.

  I exhaled, convinced that my mirror image had gone elsewhere. Annaruth said there was some sort of proximity safeguard in place. It all sounded very complicated to me.

  “You look better,” Rip said with a wry grin as he slid onto the bench beside me. Starla took a seat on my other side as students started to settle.

  “Better?”

  “You were a little stressed out,” he said mildly.

  “Frazzled,” Starla agreed. I glanced from one to the other and sighed dramatically, but I was smiling. Having friends who told me the truth was a gift. Lila had been like that, too, commiserating when things went wrong but letting me know when I was part of the problem I was complaining about.

  Or the whole problem, once or twice.

  I frowned, realizing I hadn’t seen Lila since right after the Trials. I had no idea how she was. My stepmother was out of favor with the Royals because of me. Had she taken that out on my sweet friend?

  I made a note on my scroll to ask Annaruth about it.

  In the end, I didn’t have to worry about an awkward encounter with the Prince. He swam in just after the professor and took a spot near the door. I had to try not to look at him. And I was pretty sure he wasn’t looking at me.

  But when the class was over, he waited for me by the door. Just like he always did. Without a word, he started swimming down the hallway.

  I took a deep breath and swam beside him.

  Magical transformation was next.

  “Are you ready?”

  I nodded, feeling less confident than I looked. Or hoped I looked. The swim to the small classroom had been quietly awkward. But once the class began, Jonquar put us through our paces. And then he made his announcement.

  Today, we were attempting to transform into two-leggers.

  “I’ll wait to create the air bubble. Begin at will!”

  For the first time, Dane and I looked at each other without remembering that horrible conversation. I nodded. He nodded back. We were about to do something dangerous. It was also the reason we were here.

  I closed my eyes and imagined legs. I felt a ripple go through my body. I felt my fins wither and become part my scales, which were smoothing out. I felt my tail begin to divide.

  It was, quite frankly, horrifying.

  I’d felt it before, of course. I’d felt it in the Trials. It had been terrifying, but it had happened so fast. I hadn’t had time to think about it or dread it.

  But this time, I was in control. I wanted this. And as unpleasant as it was to feel your flesh change, it didn’t hurt. It was just really weird. We didn’t just change our appearance with magic. We changed our very cells.

  I forced myself to continue until I was sure I had legs. I wiggled them experimentally.

  Uh-huh. They were there. I opened my eyes and looked down. Two pale appendages floated below my uniform. Just like my arms. But longer.

  I glanced at Dane, and he had done it as well. He had a hand over his nose and mouth. I frowned at him. What in water was he doing?

  An air bubble appeared around us both as we fell to the seabed. Dane took a great heaving gasp of air. And I . . . didn’t.

  “Lungs! Don’t forget to transform your lungs!”

  I gasped, my body searching for water and not air. I was reverse drowning until Dane shoved me out of the bubble, breaking the seal and flooding it with water.

  I felt my gills working overtime as I watched Dane transform back to his Mer shape. I still had my legs. I was glad, if only because I wanted to kick something!

  “Sorry!” I said, feeling like a jerk for cutting his transformation short. “You can go again. I’ll sit this one out.”

  I plopped down, folding my legs.

  Huh, these things were kind of handy.

  “You both need to practice walking. Perhaps a half-transformation is best for now. But Tri, you must learn to create lungs!”

  I nodded and watched as Dane grew legs a couple of times. He grimaced each time as if he also found it uncomfortable. I should have been ignoring him, but I couldn’t.

  He was really good at magic, and I was impressed.

  As for my pasty legs, I stretched them this way and that, staring at them. Of course, my legs have freckles too, I thought sourly.

  “That’s enough for today,” Jonquar said a little while later. “Ah, Marcum, just in time.”

  I smiled tentatively at Marcum. He’d been an ally in the Trials, but we hadn’t spoken much since then. I knew he was very powerful and that his abilities were beyond rare.

  “Tri, its good to see you. In person,” he added with a chuckle.

  “What do you . . .” I trailed off, realizing he must have seen through the wraiths’ performances. Or, did he mean premonitions?

  He just shook his head, murmuring, “Not now.” Dane cleared his throat and I said goodbye, rolling my scroll and swimming hastily for the arched doorway. I was as jumpy as a teeger (I had learned in Human History and Etiquette that teegers were large cats and that cats were jumpy).

  “Where are you going?” Dane said from beside me. I was swimming fast, faster than I should inside the Academy hallways. But not too fast for him.

  “I need . . .” I stopped and stared at him. No one was around. “I need some . . . open space. Or something,” I finished lamely. “Rip showed me a place.”

  “Let’s go.”

  I nodded, and we took the less populated corridors toward the center of the Palace. In the great hall, we looked around. When no one was looking, we swam straight up. I folded myself into the alcove, my tail dangling over the edge.

  “Better?”

  “Yes,” I sighed. I needed to clear my mind. But we also had to talk.

  “So, no lunch?” Dane cocked an eyebrow. “Batte will be hurt.”

  I shook my head.

  “That feeling . . . with the legs. I think I lost my appetite.”

  “It’s like pulling the claw meat from the lobster,” he agreed.

  “Yes, except we are the lobster.” I stared down at the ornate mosaic floor. You could see patterns from up here that weren’t visible from below. I squinted, really seeing it for the first time.

  “Is that . . . a rose?”

  Dane looked down and nodded.

  “Yes, the stem is wrapped in seaweed.”

  I frowned, momentarily distracted by the revelation. We had just learned about flowers in Human History and Etiquette. I’d seen them in paintings but nothing on this scale. They were fascinating to me. They weren’t squishy like seaweed. They weren’t edible, or very few of them were. They were just . . . pretty.

  And apparently, they wouldn’t exist without bees, another animal humans were spraying out of existence with their pesticides and lawn fertilizers.

  Stupid two-leggers.

  “That’s odd.”

  “You know, you’re right. It is odd. But they are everywhere, if you know where to look.”

  “Really? Why a rose? Were your ancestors fascinated by two-leggers?”

  He shook his head.

  “I don’t know. But I know who to ask. We’ll go after Combat.”

  “Okay.” I chewed my lip and exhaled. “I know it’s not your fault.”

  I felt him go very still.

  “Thank you,” he said quietly. “I was so disgusted by the way they were talking about you.”

  “It’s only going to get worse. Unless we just avoid each other completely.”

  He stiffened beside me, then relaxed. I stared at our tails, dangling off the alcove side by side.

  “That’s not what I want, Tri.”

  “Well, me neither! You are one of my best friends! It’s not fair. But I think making me look like your . . . I don’t know what . . . well, that didn’t help at all!”

&nbs
p; He looked at me, the muscle in his jaw ticking. He ran his hands through his hair in exasperation.

  “So, we do what we want. I don’t want to live in fear, Tri.”

  “I don’t know what I want!” I burst out, a little too loudly.

  We stared at each other, both of us breathing a little hard.

  “I know that,” he said carefully. “I just meant . . .”

  “How did this get so mixed up?” I moaned, resting my face in my hands. “I just wanted to be a Spark.”

  “Is that all?” Dane said dryly. It wasn’t a question. I looked at him for a split second before I started laughing. Dane looked a little bit alarmed. But then he was laughing too.

  “Come on, we have time to grab something before Combat if we hurry.”

  I nodded and we sped for the Royal kitchen. We hadn’t really settled anything, but somehow, I felt lighter. No matter what, we were friends. The rest of it would sort itself out.

  I hoped it would, anyway. For the moment, we had enough to worry about with mysterious cloaked traitors and missing fathers and, you know, hopefully staying alive through finals.

  So, not much.

  Chapter 19

  I rolled and dodged as a spear was hurtled at me from across the room. I glared at Juno as he hoisted another one, aiming for me once again. Why does it always have to be me, Juno? I thought as I dove once again. He had quickly established himself as the most dominant of all the combat trainees. The others followed him slavishly, especially Jaynelle. But I refused to cower in fear just because he was bigger and meaner than any other Mer in the Academy!

  I glanced at Starla. She gave me a worried look. It was obvious to everyone here that most of the spears were headed for me. Not that it was anything new. I was sure the others on my side of the arena were enjoying the break from actually training. I alone bobbed and weaved like a school of fish on the run. Naturally, the General did nothing to dissuade Juno and his crew from going after me, class after class. Only my friends were unhappy about it. We were taking turns evading and attacking. Right now, I was evading, but not all that well.

  The spear tips were blunted, but they still hurt!

  I knew because I’d already been grazed twice. A few students had been less fortunate and were now in the infirmary. Our team was getting canned, like tuna. Rip and Dane were on the other side, both of them trying to aim anywhere but at me, which I had to say, I appreciated.

  The General blew into a conch, signifying the end of the class. And the hostilities. For now, at least.

  Tomorrow is another day for Juno to try and kill me, I thought with an exhausted sigh.

  Except Juno threw one last spear. I heard a piercing scream as the navy blue-haired Mer a few feet behind me suffered a direct hit. I turned to see blood streaming into the water as a gash opened in the Mer’s abdomen, right where our skin transitioned to scales. That was a particularly vulnerable spot for a Mer. Our scales afforded us some protection from superficial wounds. But our skin was a different matter.

  I paled, realizing that she was in trouble. That she wasn’t merely injured. She might die.

  I swam to her quickly, reaching out and applying pressure. I closed my eyes, wondering if my magic could do something useful like stop the bleeding. Or at least heat up enough to cauterize the wound.

  Dane and Rip were by my side quickly. Starla swam to the floor to collect the spear where it lay, blood coloring the water around it.

  Without a word, she showed it to Dane and Rip. I barely noticed. I was staring into the Mer’s eyes, frantically trying to stop the light from fading from them. Thank Triton, the Medics arrived and gently pulled me away.

  My friends waited with me as the large training room emptied. Most of the students had left, and the few of us who remained were a safe distance from the General and the Medics.

  “She’s not going to die, Tri. You saved her,” Starla said reassuringly. I realized I didn’t even known the Mer’s name. She was not in any of my classes except for General Assembly or Combat.

  She could be anyone. She’d just happened to be floating too close to me. I closed my eyes, not even having the energy to tell myself that it wasn’t my fault.

  Because it was.

  It felt like it was.

  “That spear was meant for you. It was not tipped,” Rip said tightly.

  “Juno is being questioned, but I’m sure he’ll get off with a slap on the wrist,” Dane added. His face was pale. I was sure mine was too.

  “Who handed it to him?” Rip asked.

  I looked at Starla, then back at the others.

  “Did any of you see?”

  They shook their heads. I swallowed.

  “I thought it was over. I thought . . . it’s my fault.”

  “Tri . . .”

  “Don’t.” I shook them off, unwilling to be comforted. “I’m going to stay with her. Do any of you know her name?”

  “Nema, I think? I have no clue what program she is in, though,” Starla said with a shrug.

  “Maybe she’s a spy,” Rip mused. “In training, I mean.”

  I nodded sadly.

  “You guys go. I’m staying.”

  “I’ll stay too,” Dane offered.

  “You don’t have to.”

  “I want to,” he said in definitive tone that told me not to argue. “And anyway, we have someplace to be, remember?”

  The roses . . . I did remember. I nodded to Dane and swam back to watch the Medics working on Nema. They ignored me for the most part as they checked her over. The girl was knocked out, unconscious, most likely to keep her from feeling the pain as they buzzed around her, checking for any internal wounds.

  As they moved around, I saw something that shocked me.

  Her skin was already healed.

  Did I do . . . that? I wondered in disbelief.

  I’d thought I felt something . . . her skin closing up under my hands . . . but everything had happened so fast I couldn’t be sure. If it had been me, I had a gift I had not even known about. A potent one.

  “It’s like it never happened,” I heard one of them say. They gave me an odd look, holding up the piece of her dress that had been viciously ripped open. They had cut it away to find . . . nothing. “The wound never even existed.”

  I blinked. True healing magic was very rare. Annaruth had it. And the Medics had a touch, augmented with devices and gadgets spelled by far more powerful Mers. But apparently, I had it too.

  I wondered idly if it worked on myself.

  Annaruth swept in as if I had summoned her. She gave me a warning look and then clapped her hands to gain the Medics’ attention. They bowed to her. I belatedly gave her a small curtsy which made her roll her eyes.

  “Tell no one of this.” She stared the Medics into submission. They nodded and promised not to tell. When she looked at me, I promised the same.

  Well, how in Triton had she heard what had happened so fast?

  “How long will she be out?” I asked, not caring that I was overstepping my place. I wanted to know.

  “It will be hours yet,” Annaruth said. “I’ll have you summoned.”

  I felt some of the tension go out of my shoulders. Nema would live. I nodded and Dane and followed me from the training room.

  Chapter 20

  “Are you okay?”

  I shrugged, not answering. I was not okay, but what good would it do to bring Dane down too? I followed the Prince deeper and deeper into the cool, dark passageway, stopping outside a very old, very ornately carved door. We were in a quiet, out of the way section of the Royal wing on one of the uppermost levels. I glanced around. I’d never been here before.

  Dane ran his finger along the crack between the two doors, and it opened. He gave me a sheepish look.

  “Royals only,” he said. “And guests, of course.”

  I nodded, not at all concerned. I didn’t aspire to be Royal, no matter what everybody thought. And all thoughts pretty much flew out of my head as we swam forw
ard.

  Royal Library was an understatement.

  I stared around in wonder. The library might be on an upper floor, but once inside, it extended downward. All the way to the lowest level of the castle, by the look of it.

  Every inch of the walls was covered in books. Not scrolls. Actual books. I had never seen so many two-legger books in one place. They were stored in gorgeously carved wooden bookshelves inset into the walls, each with an arched top that connected gracefully to the next. Between and slightly in front of each was a upright container, equally ornate and carved from the same dark wood. These contained scrolls.

  “Wow.”

  “Yeah,” Dane agreed. “It’s pretty cool.”

  “Pretty cool?” a voice said from below, sounding somewhat offended. I smiled as an older Mer appeared beyond the bannister in front of us, swimming up from somewhere below us. His eyebrows were bushy and he had a mustache. His white hair looked like it had been cut short and then allowed to grow just a little bit too long. He wore some sort of formal jacket I’d never seen before. In fact, it looked distinctly human on him, minus the tail, of course.

  He was the oldest Mer I’d ever seen.

  He was adorable.

  “Your Highness,” he said with a cheerful bow. He turned to me and his eyes sparkled as he took my hand, turning it over. “And this must be Katriana Spark.”

  He patted the back of my hand.

  “I am Mungovian. And it is a pleasure indeed to make your acquaintance.”

  “Don’t be so formal, Mungo. Call her Tri,” Dane said, taking the old Mer’s hand in a hearty shake before pulling him in for a hug. “And call me Dane, for Triton’s sake!”

  “Please, Your Highness, decorum is of the utmost importance,” Mungo protested, but he looked pleased as he adjusted his jacket. “Now, I have tea and cookies ready, if you would follow me.”

  My stomach rumbled at his words. I hadn’t had much to eat since breakfast, just a quick crab and oyster meat roll that Batte foisted on us as we swam through on the way to afternoon classes. It had been remarkably tasty, though.