“My dad is always going on about the Siren being the greatest clan, but what makes us so different? We’re all mer. If a mer is in trouble, being the greatest mer means nothing if you don’t use your power to help.” And that was it. No more explanation. Sam pulled himself up on the ledge and walked away.
Leo followed and nodded to his friend’s back. That was what made Sam perfect to be the next leader, even if he couldn’t see it. No one cared more for the Siren and the mer in the ocean than his friend. When he turned eighteen and defected with Leo, the mer world was going to miss their best chance at the leader they always deserved. Part of Leo felt guilty for their plans to leave, but then again, there were more reasons to leave than stay.
2
Sam nodded to his friend as he left Leo to climb the rock stairs to where his father was waiting. He would have gladly stayed in the lower level of the structure with Leo, but he didn’t get a choice. His father’s booming command in his mind was still humming. Sam hated that his father could enter his head any time he wanted to look around or tell him what to do. And with his father being the king, Sam didn’t get the option to say no.
The meeting place of the mer was a magically made rock that for the time being was almost completely covered by the ocean water. The very top layer was above the water, and the layer below where Leo waited was getting clear as the tides lowered. Sam had been shown images from his father so that he would know his way around. Eight steps would lead Sam to his waiting father.
Sam didn’t know what to expect, but he kept his surprise hidden as he made it to the top of the rock. More than a dozen leaders and their seconds-in-command were seated around a rather large throne where Sam’s father sat. He hadn’t been allowed to see the meeting the last time. The king’s eyes were fixed on Sam as he walked up the last step, and Sam didn’t have to look down to know his father’s proud blue fin was on display. Then again, everyone else that was a leader of their clan also had their fins out. At the bottom of each chair was an indent that held water for them to sit in. And that was a good thing. Mer tended, in general, to get testy out of water.
King Longray nodded to his son, and all the eyes of the people gathered turned to stare at Sam. The feeling of being on display got old after the first hundred times, so Sam didn’t acknowledge the eyes on him. Striding across the rocky surface to his father, he moved to stand behind the man as the other seconds were already in their places behind their leader. Sam would play his part because he was being forced to, and he just kept counting down the days until he could get out of the mer world.
One chair remained empty, and as the leaders of the mer world sat around staring at each other silently, Sam wondered who was missing. Discreetly he looked from fin to fin, and tried to remember which clan should be there. It wasn’t like Sam routinely left the Siren waters, so he didn’t have time to interact with the other clans much, but he did know what colors meant which clans.
The second most powerful mer, the red-finned Lara clan was there. Their leader’s beady green eyes never left King Longray. She openly stared at the king and Sam had a feeling her studious look was only hiding her real feelings of dislike. The yellow Undine clan was also there, but as much as Sam didn’t want to be there, it was evident that neither did the Undine. The orange-finned Mavkas clan and the gray-haired Lobast leaders were there as well, each gazing off to the ocean around them. He tried to remember which ones to check off the list. As he got to the last leader, he was sure there could be at least four different mer clans left, but not all of them got the invitation to sit on the council meeting each decade.
Sam turned to the last man to walk up the stairs. His face seemed familiar, but Sam was certain he had never spoken to him before. Obviously, the man recognized Sam, too. However, he said nothing as he took the last seat without a second behind him. His brown, furry tail appeared as he touched the water, and Sam finally knew who the man was. It was the mer he had handed over the child he’d saved from the ocean deep not even an hour ago. The last leader didn’t say anything but nodded to Sam like he understood what Sam was thinking.
‘I brought you here to study the leaders, but the Selkie is no concern for us,’ Sam’s father chided him in his mind.
Sam didn’t reply. He tried his best not to ever talk to his father mentally. He didn’t want to encourage the king to keep prying in his mind. Sam had secrets he was more than happy to keep from the old man. If the king knew Sam planned to leave the Siren after he turned eighteen, he would be in trouble. If the king knew Leo was going with him, Leo would be killed for insubordination. Those facts had to be locked deep in Sam’s mind at all times.
‘I’m concerned with the Lara and Mavkas. Keep your eyes on those two,’ Longray ordered Sam.
It was going to be a long meeting, and Sam was sure he didn’t want to be there. Too bad that was his life. He was always forced to be where he didn’t want to be. Sam couldn’t wait to leave the Siren. He would be free to live his own life and make his own choices. It wasn’t going to be too hard to cut most of the ties to the Siren since Sam actually didn’t like too many of them. They were a power-hungry group who told more falsehoods than truths. He would miss his mother, but her choice to bind herself to the king made it impossible for him to ask her to come with. Sam would rather take his chances with the rest of the night human world than stick around, listening to the mer argue about matters as they were now. Yes, Sam was ready to start a new life.
People milled about as they waited for the meeting to end. Leo kept to himself at the edge of the water, lapping against the odd giant rock that was their meeting place. It really was just a rock in the ocean. He knew it was magic, but it was still strange. The water was now low enough that he couldn’t touch it with his feet or his much longer fin, but he stayed there anyway.
Leo was bored waiting, but there was nothing he could do. No one would speak to him, even if he could get them to meet his eyes when he looked around. The rest of the clans feared the Siren so much that they only agreed to meet if there was less than five Siren attending, and it seemed like the king felt three was an even better number. With the king and Sam above, there were no other Siren for Leo to talk with. He was all alone as all the other clans huddled together, obviously scared of him.
After what seemed like forever, Leo felt his king coming down the stairs with Sam right behind him. Rising, Leo bowed to the older man that looked like he was only in his forties. Everyone around Leo did the same. King Longray was the king of all the mer, not just Leo’s Siren clan, and everyone feared him. Longray had the power to make anyone who was there do what he wanted, which was more power than one person should have.
Leo kept his eyes down as the king looked at him. He really didn’t need to spill his secret with Sam right about now. Quickly, he did his best to think just about their swim to the rock. Yes, that would be boring enough if the king came searching through his mind.
Sam followed his father down the steps to the people silently staring at him now. Sam didn’t look around, but focused on his father. Leo smirked as he watched his friend. Sam hated when everyone stared at him.
King Longray didn’t even glance at the people around him as he walked over to another staircase. Leo wasn’t sure how or who built the rock they were in, but he was positive it wasn’t normal. What rocks had staircases? And he had no idea where this one led. The water had only just receded enough to see the staircase, let alone go down, but if the king was doing it, then so was everyone else.
Sam nodded for Leo to follow once he finally looked his way, and Leo was happy to oblige him. It had been dull sitting for hours as he waited. Leo was ready for some company.
Longray led all the mer down the stairs. By the time he reached the bottom step, Leo was close enough to see Longray hop over the clear floor at the last step. From his angle, Leo couldn’t see if it was actually a step or a hole in the stone. Leo was wondering if he would have to do the same when Sam deliberately stepped on it. If Sam said
it was safe to walk, Leo wasn’t about to try the jump the king just made. The whole surface of the rock seemed to be slick. Following Sam’s lead, Leo stepped on the clear area. It was surprisingly solid as he continued to trail behind his friend.
“Don’t stray too far,” the king warned his son.
Sam gave him a curt nod before walking ten feet away from his father. Leo joined Sam on the edge of the stone. The water that was slowly dropping was still up on all sides of the stone but not entering the cave-like place they were now standing. Sam turned to watch the people enter behind them.
“Care to explain?” Leo asked in hushed tones. Sam shook his head no and nodded with his chin to the staircase.
People filed into the cavernous space that was at least the size of their lunchroom at school. Leo wasn’t sure what was going on, so he just stood silently beside his friend. One by one, people stepped on the clear space at the end of the stairs and continued into the room. As they stood and watched, Leo noticed that a string quartet appeared from what seemed like nowhere and was softly playing music. It was turning into a party with the guests arriving. King Longray had greeted someone and was now talking, but Sam continued to stare at the staircase. Leo was just going to look away when it happened.
A mer with unusually bright orange hair stepped on the same spot everyone else had, but instead of a solid surface, he was sucked right down into the water. Leo stared in shock. He had stepped there, and it was a solid surface.
“Anyone hostile to this meeting is removed,” Sam said quietly. “It was obvious from all the fighting above, but no one would kick him out until he failed that step. That’s mer politics for you.”
Leo nodded. He wasn’t too interested in politics and had no training like Sam. He was happy his job was to just sit around and wait, and was looking forward to getting back home. He needed more time to practice before they recorded. Hopefully, the one day and night would be all they needed to stay for and they could be on their way back to land and the recording studio.
By the time the last mer filed in from the staircase, they had lost no more of the attending mer, and the room was almost filled. People milled about as waitresses handed out drinks. Leo was sure the place was empty when they came down, but it was like a party had already been planned. Leo simply stood and watched everything in the same silence he had above, but this time at least he wasn’t alone. Sam was silent as normal, and Leo was used to his serious friend. It was more than likely that Sam was just biding his time to leave as much as Leo was.
“Friends, in honor of our fruitful gathering, a thought has just come to me,” Longray said, and the room quieted immediately. All eyes turned to the king. “I think we need to grow this friendship of the clans. The only way we stay strong against the night humans and the hunters that wish to eradicate us is to be united, and not just once every decade. I think today was a good step to cementing those friendships … well, most of us at least.”
The king chuckled at the mer who had been pulled beneath to the ocean. Leo wasn’t sure if it was deadly or not, but neither he nor Sam wanted to find out.
“I propose that we send our seconds to each other’s homes to spend a week learning more about each other. They can, of course, bring a friend, so that they don’t feel too alone.”
And just like that, Leo found out quickly where he fit into the equation. He wanted to see if Sam knew what was going on, but Sam was still staring at his father. It wasn’t a look of love.
“While we have a common cause, we are still different,” the king continued. He was making a grand speech, and Leo was very surprised. King Longray was one of the most ruthless rulers the mer had ever known. He wasn’t one for spreading peace. Leo’s shock was mirrored in everyone’s face except Sam’s.
“Every leader should throw their family stone in to this shell. We will pull out a stone for each leader, so it’s completely random.” Longray held up a shell shaped like a bowl. A girl beside him took the shell and walked around the room. She collected a small stone that each leader had been wearing. She returned to Longray’s side, and he motioned for her to take the first stone.
One by one, Longray divided up the people who had attended the meeting to go home with new leaders. Sam’s face was tense the whole time, while his father was cheerfully talking and congratulating each person that got to see a new clan. Leo could read much more into his friend, but there was nowhere to go and have a quiet conversation about what was going on.
Sam stared at his father, who was talking friendly with the leader of the Mavkas clan. Both King Longray and the green-haired Mavkas leader were smiling and laughing at something King Longray said. Gritting his teeth, Sam turned from the two men.
“I take it there’s more to this than he said?” Leo guessed. Sam appeared to be more than a little mad.
With a brief nod, Sam took off toward the staircase. Leo followed his friend up; not to the middle level, but all the way to the top where Leo hadn’t been invited before. Sam turned around abruptly, and Leo almost ran into him.
“My father thinks there’s something going on with several of the clans. He’s always paranoid that the clans will disobey him. He wants us to investigate the Mavkas clan. He suspects they are planning something. And if we do what he wants, he’ll forgive our plans of ditching the Siren.”
Leo froze in shock. Sam and he had talked extensively about what it meant to defect from the Siren. They would be completely alone. Not only would they be outlaws in the night human world, but in the Siren world, too. The mer needed to stay a secret and hidden in the ocean. If the night humans knew how many were still alive, they would come for them all. The price for leaving the Merworld was death.
‘How?’ Leo wanted to ask, but he knew better. They only had less than a year to go and had been planning their escape for years. Of course, the king knew. The Siren king could enter anyone’s head any time he wanted. One small moment of thinking about it was all it would take for him to latch onto the thought and know their intentions. Leo had done his best to never think about leaving when he was home on the Siren island. They had agreed that the only place safe to think and talk about their escape was on the mainland.
“So this isn’t a discussion of what to do next. We only have one option,” Leo finally said, knowing exactly now what was hanging on the line.
“We have to find out what they are planning, or we can be sure that there will be no planning our own futures.”
Leo nodded to Sam’s ominous words. Why did things have to get complicated? Leo was wishing Sam had chosen Mark to come with after all. At least then he wouldn’t know that his life was hanging on the line.
Zia felt the Siren arrive before she could see them. Actually, since she had been told to stay out of sight until called upon, she wasn’t really allowed to see them. She had been stuck in the Mavkas home for years and was used to the orange fins that swam around in the ocean waters, but to see a Siren was a wish come true.
Now she waited in the only room in the entire place that had real furniture. It was so much like living on land that Zia was sure the Mavkas leader had probably lived on the surface at some point, even though he refused to let the Mavkas do so. Zia had found it strange. Yes, over a hundred years ago—before the night human wars that banished the mer from existing—green hair would have been thought strange, but with all the changes in the world, they could easily go to land. In fact, there was the invention of hair dye that could make blending in easy, but the Mavkas mer people didn’t question their leader on it. They were content to be on the bottom of the ocean forever.
“You’re right,” Min said as he entered his office where Zia was waiting. His oldest son was right behind him. Zia glared at the younger version of his father. She had nothing but disdain for him.
“If we could catch Sam, we’d be set. The Mavkas would never have to bow to the Siren again. Sure, he’s beneath his father right now, but give him five or ten years, and Sam will be stronger than Longray,” Lan t
old his father.
Zia changed her face back to neutral as he moved enough to see her.
They both seemed to ignore Zia as she waited there. That was typical. Zia couldn’t remember how she fell for Lan in the first place. His beady, dark brown eyes were set too far back in his head, making him look like he was always scowling, and his dark green hair appeared almost black. Had she still been on land, Zia would have pictured him as a great bad guy to cast for a movie or a TV show.
Min shared those characteristics with his son, but his eyes were slightly large, making his appearance softer than Lan’s. However, Zia had found out the hard way that even though he didn’t look like the bad guy, Min was as dangerous as his son.
“We probably should work on a backup plan, too,” Lan continued to talk. “I’m sure Cate won’t mind chasing after Sam, but we need to try to capture his friend also.”
Min grinned. “And that’s just what Zia will be doing.” When Min turned his dark eyes to her, Zia tried not to flinch or back down from his stare. She might have to follow his orders, but she didn’t have to like it.
Zia held the older man’s eyes and didn’t blink. It was typical mer fashion to try to test the power and strength of another. While she couldn’t openly defy him since she had the same orange tail as her leader, she could challenge him every step of the way.
“Dearest Zia,” Min said with fake sweetness, “you are ordered to try to win over the Siren that comes with Sam. Make him want to bind to you however you must, and we will add another Siren to our army.”
Zia let a glare slip out. She would do everything in her power to not do that. He could order her to behave a certain way, he could order her to sing and entertain the Mavkas as they had their dinner, but he didn’t have enough power in him to make her fall in love with someone. And she wasn’t going to bind herself to anyone she didn’t love. She already knew where that got people.
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