by Starla Night
Someone approached. She opened her eyes.
Zoan grinned cheerfully. His body was tanner than the others, and he was more slender but still well-muscled. She hadn’t come up with a celebrity yet to match. But like Gailen, he seemed to pick up everything she said. “Deep thoughts?”
“Pretty shallow, unfortunately.” She tried to focus, but she was too aware that he was watching. And so was Faier. She gave up with a sigh. “I’m sorry. I’ll figure out how to get Sea Opals and bring more women to meet you in the future. I mean, brides.”
He shrugged. “It is alright if you do not.”
That was surprising. “You don’t want a bride?”
“This was my brother’s dream. I followed him. We are twin seeds.” His easy smile faded. “Roa was lost while storming the prison.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry.” His twin, Roa, had clearly meant the world to Zoan. “It must have been rough when he died.”
“Died?” His eyes twinkled as though he had deliberately misled her, trickster that he was. “No, I said he was lost. Roa is alive. When I am peaceful, I feel him.” Zoan pressed his right hand against his chest. The skin was torn in a serrated half-circle. His mirth faded. “Someday, he will come here and be found.”
“I hope so too.” It had never occurred to her that the warriors here might not want a bride. “Sorry for disturbing your peace and trying to play match-maker. You’re a great guard.”
He waved her apology away. “You are interesting. I enjoy guarding you inside the sanctuary, but it is best that I do not become one of your usual guards. Another could command my loyalty.”
She appreciated his honesty. He was telling her to her face that if Roa showed up, he would take off and strand her. “Thanks for guarding me here.”
“If you are still seeking a third, fourth, and fifth guard, you should know that Gailen and Tial’s pride is more common. Most others feel the same.”
Her heart melted a little. “Really?”
“Yes.” His eyes twinkled.
Wait. Was he making fun of her? Somehow?
“Queen Elyssa.” Gailen saluted using a sign that she would now always think of as “more kiss” from the exit. “I am ready for hunting.”
She grabbed the partially filled samples bag, left Zoan with the Life Tree, and swam down to the ocean floor. Aya requested samples. Aya would get samples.
While they swam, Gailen pointed out their surroundings. “That coral is painful. That one is also painful. Do not touch that one. That one is good eating after you remove the outer covering, which is painful. That one is very painful. You call it Fire Coral, and you can guess why. That one is painful.”
Elyssa sensed a theme. “Is anything not painful?”
“Yes.” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “We cultivate them in the castle. This area is almost a wilderness.”
Huh.
He swam below her. “It is the same pain as to brush-whack.”
“Bush-whack,” she corrected. “Yeah, I guess if you’re bush-whacking through blackberries and thistles, it’s no walk in the park.”
“Do not bush-whack through the coral.”
“I won’t.”
Off in the distance, schools of fish shimmered in the water like colorful leaves. A Moby Dick sperm whale chased after the flocks, thin mouth open in its thick, wedge-shaped head.
Wasn’t this amazing? Aya would love it. Or her parents, or her boss in HR. Who would ever think Elyssa could be here? So deep under the water, seeing sights that no other human had seen before?
Behind her, her fins swooshed like a beautiful, rainbow-pink sail.
She had never been so happy and satisfied in her life.
Her relationship with Kadir had to work out. She had to bridge the distance with the other mer, and with Kadir.
A dark shadow skirted the edge of the current. She felt it like a slime. It made the hairs on her arms rise, and she scratched the uneasiness.
Gailen also raised his head. He scanned the landscape carefully and finally frowned. “Let us go back.”
They returned to the Life Tree. Tension remained in the other mer also; most, but not all, returned Gailen’s cheery more-kiss salute. Some, like Adviser Creo, merely frowned at him and then returned to staring out edgily at the hidden enemies making everyone nervous.
Inside the Life Tree, the shift had changed again. Gailen passed Tial, who handed him some of Elyssa’s earlier samples, such as the conch shell. Gailen put them in the bag. Zoan was buffing the petals forming the curved interior walls, making them shine.
She was starting to get a sense of time passing, at least, and it felt like it was almost time to go to the surface. She rested at the base of the Life Tree. Gailen set the bag beside her. It was sealed tight.
“I will seek your other guards.” He saluted — more kiss — and swam off.
She closed her eyes. The future swirled as a mass of fear and worry. Could Aya convince the board of directors to be satisfied with the samples? Had she found Sea Opals another way? Would the city be attacked in Elyssa’s absence? Even if she were here, could she help?
It felt like the calm before the storm.
She rested her forehead against the trunk and channeled her inner peace. So she could summon it when she needed it. Zen calm in the middle of complete terror.
Zoan’s scraping stopped. His voice rose. “Where is the seed?”
Elyssa lifted her head and opened her eyes.
He dropped the scraper from his lax hand and kicked to the upper branch. The seed’s papery white husk fluttered from his strokes. It was empty.
He looked at her. Panicked. “You have it.”
Her stomach dropped.
She held up her empty hands. He swam around her, staring like it was somehow hidden on her. How? It wasn’t like she had pockets. She swallowed back her own fears. It had to be here. “I’ll help you look.”
They searched the bare branches, the base of the tree, and all around the dais.
“Queen Elyssa, King Kadir has been delayed by—” Gailen stopped as he floated into the sanctuary chamber. “What are you doing?”
“The seed is missing,” she explained tersely, crawling on her knees and moving her hands across the ground in case it had turned invisible and she bumped into it.
“Missing!”
“Could it have fallen and rolled down the petals?” she asked Zoan.
“Impossible.”
“A traitor has taken it,” Gailen growled. “Remain here. I will inform Kadir.” He zoomed out.
“Isn’t he at the old ruin?” Elyssa called after him, but Gailen was already gone.
If so, it would be awhile before Kadir arrived. They were on their own.
“I was here the whole time,” Zoan promised, his gaze glued to the bare white earth. “I will discover this traitor. The seed cannot have disappeared.”
“Who else was here?”
He shook his head. Faier, Pelan, Gailen, Tial. Warriors that had always seemed loyal. Now, the normally cheerful Zoan seethed as though he were going to tear a serrated shark's bite out of the traitor.
Okay. She had to narrow it down. “When was the last time you saw it?”
He straightened and blinked. “Your song!”
Of course! She straightened and sang one solid note.
He began to swim toward the exit in anticipation of catching the traitor red-handed.
Her sealed samples bag began to glow.
She swam to it. He was right behind her. She picked at Gailen’s unfamiliar knots. Zoan pushed her out of the way and tugged the correct ends. The bag fell open. Inside were all the samples, bound in protective seaweed. She sang. One of them very suspiciously began to glow.
He started to reach out and then stopped.
Huh? She picked up the packet and struggled again with the tight binding. Gailen knew how to wrap things securely. She finally got through the top layer. The white glimmer of the seed made her tension ease.
This
was the seed. Wrapped up protectively and put in her samples bag.
“How did it get in here?” she asked.
Zoan was already looking at her. Denial gave way to confusion and then hurt crossed his face.
Wait. He didn’t think — no!
“I didn’t do this,” she said. “The bag was sealed the whole time.”
He frowned down at the bag. “I was here the whole time.”
“You were at the wall. Who was here while your back was turned?”
He stared at her.
So, it did look bad. She’d been resting against the Life Tree with her bag. “The bag was sealed!”
“Then how did the seed get inside?”
“I don’t know.” She stared at the precious white seed. “I opened it to practice with the conch shell.” Had she ever put the conch shell back inside? She’d gotten it out but couldn’t remember putting it away. “Gailen arrived. He carried the bag.” He’d wrapped the samples. But the traitor couldn’t be Gailen. “Other warriors also collected samples for us outside.”
“Who?”
She shook her head. “Lotar, Nilun, you…Tial handed me some. Gailen sealed the bag. I was just resting.”
“And then the seed went missing.” A new hardness tensed his jaw.
“The seed is missing?” Adviser Creo barreled into the sanctuary. His panic narrowed on her. “Who would dare steal the seed?”
Crap.
The adviser had been gunning for her since day one. He thought she was dangerous. He would just love finding out that the seed had gone missing and turned up in her sample bag.
Zoan shoved her hand — and the seed — back into her samples bag. “Stolen? No, adviser, I said the seed was missing. It will soon be found in King Kadir’s hand.”
His tone was light, but his glare was deadly.
The adviser only seemed to hear his light tone. His brows smoothed. “That is why Gailen flew out screaming for Kadir?” His shoulders relaxed. Then, he growled at Zoan. “Speak directly. These word games only cause amusement for you.”
Zoan’s lips formed an unnatural grin. “My amusement is all I need.”
The adviser huffed.
Zoan tied the bag tight and handed it to Elyssa. “Adviser Creo, will you remain here? I must escort Elyssa to her guard.”
“If she stayed in her castle like a proper bride, my intervention would not be necessary,” he grumbled.
“Intervention?” Zoan’s voice began to twinkle like his mischievous eyes, even though his expression was a forced snarl. “Adviser, I did not say—”
Adviser Creo put up his flat palm in dismissal. He had no patience for Zoan’s teasing. “Go.”
Zoan almost pushed her out of the sanctuary. They flew down the tunnel silently and squeezed outside. Tial guarded the entrance. He gripped his old, bent trident worriedly.
At her appearance, he made the more-kiss salute. “Where are we headed?”
“To Kadir.” Zoan kicked in the direction of the old city. “Do not follow us, Tial. A foreigner remains inside, alone with the Life Tree.”
“Foreigner? Inside?” Tial’s eyes widened. “But my duty is to Queen Elyssa.”
“Stay with the tree until I return,” Elyssa told him.
He obeyed, flying into the Life Tree sanctuary, trident clenched.
She and Zoan kicked toward the old ruin. Elyssa carried the samples bag. It was like a blood weight in her arms.
“Foreigner?” she repeated dryly.
“Adviser Creo is not from Atlantis. Besides, it will give us a fast start to meet Kadir and explain what has gone on.”
So Zoan really was taking her all the way to the old ruin. Her guts twinged. “You don’t trust Tial?”
Zoan fixed her with an unnaturally hard gaze. “There is a traitor here. I do not trust anyone at all.”
Chapter Thirty-One
Kadir inspected the hunting fields. He was supposed to be at the old city now, excavating, but a few hours ago, one of his patrols had chased away a raider scout.
Excavations were canceled immediately. The patrols drew tight around the city. His investigation focused on the scout’s hiding place.
“There are forty raiders,” Soren reported grimly, pointing out the patterns of weapon markings on the sharpening stones. “Perhaps twice as many as we are. And they will attack when we are weakest. Missing warriors.”
“What do you advise?”
“Delay Elyssa’s surface visit.”
“For how long?”
“Until the threat subsides.”
Kadir twisted his lips to the side. “I cannot delay forever.”
Soren growled. “Losing her will destroy your city.”
“It is your city, too.”
“She is your bride.”
How interesting that Soren should say that. Kadir also felt more fiercely possessive of Elyssa than he liked. When she told him that she could give him pleasure without any risk of creating a young fry, he had actually cracked inside. A crazy thought entered his head. It would not let him go from its iron fist.
The old covenant demanded a bride stay until she gave birth to a young fry. Some of his warriors, or elders like the adviser, held that traditional view. For them, Kadir could keep Elyssa forever so long as she had no young fry.
He could keep her forever… Like his mother, on the shore, always perfect. Always his.
“My king.” Pelan made a strange gesture. Both hands made a flattened circle and he touched the tips together in front of his chest. “Zoan sights no enemies here.”
“Zoan?” Soren growled. “When did Zoan arrive? He is supposed to be at the Life Tree. Who is guarding the Life Tree?”
Pelan shook his head. “I thought he was on patrols. He is returning to the city now. Should I chase after him?”
“No. We will return soon. Continue your report.”
“Lotar leads the patrol you removed from the old ruin. Will you send them back to excavate?”
“No.” Kadir would leave the ruin undefended. Enemies might already be there, waiting for their usual excavations. Aya would go another month without the final Sea Opals payment. “We fall back to defend the new city. No enemy will penetrate our lines.”
Pelan made the looped-fingers-touching-over-his-chest gesture. Iyen, swimming beside Soren, made the salute back at him. Pelan swam away.
“What is that?” Kadir demanded.
“The salute?” Iyen made it again. “Nilun showed me. The queen wanted a salute that was unique to Atlantis. She created several and the younger warriors chose this.”
Pride lifted his chest. The city was finally coming together. At the center of it, giving hope and encouragement, glowed his queen.
He was wrong to deny her young fry. She would be a wonderful mother. His selfish possessiveness shamed him.
Kadir spoke the words aloud to break the spell over his heart. “Did you know, Iyen, that my queen desires to give Atlantis five young fry sons?”
Iyen blinked.
Soren canted his brow at Kadir skeptically. “Is five even possible?”
“I do not know. Elyssa seemed to think so.”
Soren grunted. “That is a question for Balim, perhaps.”
“What would a city be like with five young fry? From the same parents? That has not happened in a thousand years, I promise you.”
“Not in a recognized city,” Soren agreed.
Iyen simply stared out over the chert fields, the evidence of their enemies before him. He was a soldier. He did not have time for fantasies.
Well, now Kadir had the urge to return to Elyssa quickly and make the most of his new resolution before taking her to the surface for her second monthly check.
“King Kadir!” Gailen flew to him, panicked and trembling. His chest vibrated so hard he could barely speak. “The twin seed has been stolen.”
His gut clenched. While he was outside the city, their enemies attacked.
Soren shouted for the other warriors. Th
ey formed into deadly units and flew behind Kadir.
“Where is Elyssa?” he demanded tightly, chasing Gailen back to the city. “Who is her guard?”
“Tial. She is in the Life Tree sanctuary with Zoan.”
That was impossible. “Pelan reported Zoan was patrolling here with us until moments ago.”
“My king, I left him at the Life Tree to come to you.”
Someone made a mistake.
They reached Tial, flying at the outer edge of the city, and it appeared likely that the warrior who had erred was Gailen.
Tial saluted using the new gesture. “My king!”
The dark feeling in his belly grew. He nearly slammed into Tial, grabbing the mer’s biceps so hard he went rigid. “Where is Elyssa?”
“You did not see her?” He looked over Kadir’s shoulder and kicked, trying to squirm free. “She was going to meet you at the old city.”
His belly dropped for his feet.
“Where is Zoan?” Soren growled.
“He is not with her, either? Then, she is all alone!”
Kadir threw Tial from him and wheeled. Cutting through his own warriors, he sped for the ruins.
Soren shouted. “Wait! Guards—”
“Secure the city!” Kadir flew hard and fast, burning with shaking fury.
Why had he left Elyssa alone? Why now, of all times, did he leave the old ruin unguarded? He could not have predicted she would go there. Her actions made no sense. But still. He should have left his guard!
A steady light glowed near the center of the tower. Tension in his chest eased. She was alive. He redoubled his efforts.
The gargle of the giant cave guardian soon drowned out the near ocean. It was out, acting as a second guard.
Elyssa and Zoan flew slowly over the city. She carried a woven bag, which was glowing, and she was making a single note of sound. Zoan flew below her, searching for something.
“No Sea Opals.” Zoan’s voice competed with the cave guardian’s gargle. “We have reviewed the whole tower. Now can we return to the new city and find King Kadir?”
