Ice Kingdom

by Tiana Warner

  Such a jumble of activity met my senses that it was hard to feel for any halls leading to the prison cells. I kept sliding my hands along the stone.

  But there was that presence squeezing my heart. Instinct told me to search for them, more strongly than the logic telling me to find Queen Evagore.

  Stay focused, I told myself. You can find them later.

  “Lysi.”

  My chest constricted. That voice. I hadn’t heard it in so, so long.

  I turned, and there she was, blurry through the whirl of activity. She stared at me with an expression of mingled shock and elation.

  “Mom!”

  The word came as a sob. I shot towards her and threw myself into her arms before she could say anything more. I buried my face in her hair—the exact shade as mine.

  I wanted to say so many things, but no words would come.

  “Hi, babygirl.”

  The sound of her voice reduced me to tears.

  A second pair of arms wrapped around me, large and strong. I turned around to hug my father.

  For several years that felt like a lifetime, I’d been a soldier, a warrior, a fugitive. Beneath all of that, I’d forgotten what it was like to be a kid. I wasn’t old enough for any of this. At eighteen, I’d fought more battles than anyone should have ever had to face. In my parents’ embrace, my body seemed to shrink into a kid’s again.

  “What are you doing here?” said my mother.

  I pulled away fractionally. “Same thing as Dione and all of you.”

  “Dione?” said my father.

  “The leader of the South Pacific group.”

  “The lead—you know her?”

  I nodded.

  My mother smoothed back my hair, studying my face with a pinched brow. “You’re wanted for treason. We nearly died of shock when we heard.”

  “They didn’t question you about me?”

  “They tried. We’ve been living in hiding in the kelp forest behind Clymene’s place. You remember her?”

  I opened and closed my mouth. My parents had been in hiding, after all. Of course they had. It was their only option. They would have been tortured or killed the moment I’d failed to assassinate the king.

  “When I sensed you, I thought you were imprisoned here,” I said thickly. “Because of me.”

  “You never need to worry about us, babygirl,” said my father. “We’ve been safe and hidden. When we heard the news, we were more worried about you.”

  I’d known my decisions would have wide impact, yet, somehow, all of this—my parents in hiding, their friend Clymene risking her freedom and possibly her family’s—made everything more real. Everyone I loved was in danger. Everyone they associated with was at risk. I had to keep them all safe. The way to do that was to make sure Adaro and his kingdom broke beyond repair.

  “We only came out of hiding yesterday,” said my mother. “We had to go to Utopia to see the rumour for ourselves. Can you believe all of this?”

  The sounds of the fight pounded in my ears. There was too much to tell my parents, and no time. I hadn’t seen them since training. The entire world had changed since then. They didn’t even know about Meela, or the serpent, or why I was wanted for treason.

  “We heard from your brother,” said my father. “He’s on his way home.”

  I squeaked. “Really?”

  My eyes burned with emotion. For years, I had stopped myself hoping that someday my family might be reunited. The prospect seemed too impossible.

  “They were met by Medusa’s army,” said my mother. “They surrendered.”

  My brother was alive. I was so absorbed in the idea of seeing him again that her words nearly passed by me.

  “Wait, Medusa decided to fight?”

  My mother’s eyebrows shot up.

  “I’ll explain later,” I said, looking around for the others.

  Anthias, Galene, Creon and his friends were still skimming the walls in their search.

  “How long has she been on the move?” I said.

  “A few days,” said my father. “A lot of Adaro’s armies have surrendered under her.”

  So Medusa had listened to Meela and me. She was fighting back.

  “But how did she get to the South Pacific so fast? When we talked to her …” I counted backwards on my fingers, trying to figure out how she travelled the length of the Atlantic so quickly.

  “Talked to her?” shouted my father. “What do you mean—?”

  “Never mind. Are you sure she’s in the South Pacific? Where did you hear this?”

  “Her army came through the canal,” said my mother. “Adaro wasn’t expecting her to hit his armies from the middle, so his defenses were weak.”

  “The canal? You mean the Panama Canal?”

  My mother nodded. “She negotiated with the humans. They allowed her passage.”

  I let out a bark of laughter. Adaro would be fuming to know she’d beat him because of an alliance with humans.

  “Lysi!” Creon waved me over.

  I glanced from the crowd to my parents, desperately wanting to spend more time with them. I wanted to tell them everything—and especially about Meela. I wanted to know what they had been doing, and exactly what my brother had said. But this was not the time.

  “I have to go.”

  They nodded.

  My mother motioned to the corral of guards forming in the middle. “Us, too.”

  The fight was still going, the taste of blood in the water. I hoped we hadn’t lost lives. We had higher numbers, but the guards were armed and able to fend off several at once.

  My father pulled me into another hug and whispered, “We’re proud of you, babygirl.”

  I bit the inside of my cheek so I wouldn’t start sobbing again.

  They let me go, just like that. They trusted that I’d survived this long, and that I would continue to do the right thing.

  I thought of Meela, wherever she was. She, too, had proven her abilities countless times. She’d made it this far. It was my turn to stop worrying. If I truly loved her, I had to trust her. I had to let her live, and make her own choices, and learn from her mistakes.

  I darted over to Creon. “What’d you find?”

  Before he could say anything, I heard a hoarse voice. “What’s happening?” it said.

  I snapped my attention to the wall. The voice had come from beyond the rock.

  I tuned out the chaos, and a gap revealed itself in the wall. It was narrow, no more than a hand’s width, too dark to see through. I pressed my palm to it, feeling what was on the other side.

  The way the water swirled told me the cell was circular, with smooth walls and no room for comfort. A lone merman was inside. He was weak, his aura pale.

  “The others are checking for more gaps in the wall,” said Creon. “We must be getting close because that commander mermaid is getting desperate.”

  “Well done,” I said. “Can we get him out of here?”

  Creon and I felt around the gap. A boulder blocked the cell entrance. It was wide, roughly rectangular. We pushed, but it didn’t budge. We would need a team to move this.

  “We’ll come back,” I whispered, throat tightening with guilt. The truth was, Evagore was our priority. We had no time to free the prisoners one-by-one.

  “No!” said the merman inside. “Get me out of here. Please.”

  I backed away, deflating. We had to stay focused. I motioned for Creon to follow.

  The merman rushed at the gap. He pressed his face against it, shouting after us. “Wait! I can help if you let me out!”

  A few lengths ahead, Anthias dragged Guenevere around the cavern, still keeping her in a headlock.

  “Are we close?” he said, to no response.

  The other young mermen had crossed the dome to search the far wall. Dione and Galene had disappeared somewhere ahead. We needed more help.

  There was a flash of darkness and a huge
splash. Something erupted at the surface. Screams broke out. Everyone scattered. I instinctively threw my arms over my head, my mind leaping from human explosives, to the dome caving in, to a crashing meteor.

  There was a mass scramble to get away from the object, and—

  “Cannonbaaall!”

  A lanky merman uncurled himself from the eruption of bubbles. His hair was wilder than ever, like he’d escaped a windstorm.

  “Spio?!”

  I looked from him to the top of the dome, where the sliver of daylight had grown wider. Pieces crumbled from the edges and rained down on us.

  Spio turned at the sound of my voice, face brightening, and said, “Proof.”

  In his hand was a black, opaque crown. Locks of black hair clung to it, severed at the ends. I gaped. I’d spent my life looking at that crown—and not once had I seen it detached from its owner’s head.

  My throat constricted. Of everything this orphaned crown represented, one victory rose above all: Meela had succeeded. She was alive, and she had the serpent under her control.

  “Now we have what we need to rally everyone,” said Spio slowly, misreading my expression as confusion.

  “Brilliant,” I said, voice strangled.

  He shoved the crown into his bag and glanced around. “I thought the plan was to talk to them quietly.”

  “Everyone from Kori Maru and Utopia showed up.”

  Spio nodded, taking in the carnage with an air of mild interest. “Huh.”

  “We’re trying to find Evagore. There are prison cells in the walls.”

  “Challenge accepted.”

  He took off.

  I cast my senses around the cavern to check on the others. They were still running fingers along the walls, feeling for gaps.

  A mermaid called out from the next cell.

  “My name is Medea,” she said. “Please, I am not a criminal. I was South Pacific government. I never did wrong.”

  “I believe you. We’re going to get you out of here soon. Do you know where the queen is?”

  She hesitated. “No. But I can help you search.”

  Guilt pressed on me again. I had to leave her. Time was too tight.

  If I knew anything about Adaro, none of these prisoners were here because they were dangerous criminals. They were all innocent, stuck here for being enemies of the crown.

  “I’m sorry,” I said. I continued to the next cell, ignoring her pleas.

  In the centre, the fight was subsiding. The guards were clustered tightly together, surrounded by the army and as helpless as a baitball. Their weapons were ours.

  Spio appeared next to me with what must have been the largest mace he could find. The end looked like a barrel.

  He motioned across the way. “I think they found something interesting.”

  Dione, Galene, Creon, and the others from Kori Maru were gathered by the wall.

  I ground my teeth. Why hadn’t they called me over?

  Dione, I thought. That’s why.

  Spio and I rushed over to join them.

  “What do you want?” said the prisoner faintly from the back of the cell—a female.

  “We are here to help,” said Dione. “What’s your name?”

  When the occupant didn’t respond, Creon said, “You can trust us.”

  More silence.

  “Queen Evagore?” said Dione to the gap in the wall.

  “Why do you need her?” repeated the prisoner.

  The group of us traded uncertain glances. Was it her? Maybe she was sceptical about what would happen if she revealed her identity. Then again, maybe she was another mermaid who suspected that saying she was the queen would grant her freedom.

  “I think it is her,” said Dione to her council. “I know her aura.”

  “Well, are we getting her out, or what?” said Spio, moving closer to the boulder.

  “Of course,” said Dione, snapping. “I’m formulating a plan.”

  “Run it by me,” said Spio. “I’ll tell you if it sucks or not.”

  She glared at him.

  “Come on,” I said. “Let’s start pushing.”

  “No!” said Guenevere, renewing her struggle in Anthias’ grip. “Stop them! Someone!”

  But none of her guards were free to help her.

  Energised by her panic, the group of us moved in to push the boulder. I found a spot between the wall and Galene. We pushed and pulled, using the wall and floor for leverage.

  “Find a rhythm,” said Creon. “Heave! Heave! Heave!”

  It worked. A gap opened into the cell.

  Closest to it, I slid an arm through and reached for the mermaid. “Grab my hand.”

  She stirred at the back of the cave.

  Please be Evagore. Please let the queen be alive and well.

  If this was her, the true queen of the Pacific, our plan would be in motion. The Pacific Kingdom could start anew. What would it be like to live under a monarch not driven by hatred or fear of humans? Would our world become as rich and as free as the one Meela and I had seen in the Atlantic?

  The boulder gave a loud rumble.

  “It’s slipping!” said Anthias.

  Before I grasped what was happening, the rock smashed against me. I cried out, pinned to the wall, the air shoved from my lungs.

  All of them began to shout at once.

  “Grab it! Pull it back!”

  The crushing feeling grew more painful as my ribcage compressed. I whimpered. It felt as though my bones were about to shatter.

  I’d been too focused on getting to the prisoner. I’d caught no warning signs from the slipping boulder.

  I groaned, trying to wriggle free. I couldn’t die like this—not when, for the first time ever, I’d felt hope for a life free from King Adaro.

  Creon tried to shout everyone back into the rhythm. There was too much panic.

  Then Anthias and Spio appeared above and below me, wedging themselves between wall and boulder.

  “We’ve got you, Lysi,” said Spio, his words calm and reassuring. “Everyone, heave!”

  They picked up Creon’s rhythm. I shoved against the wall, trying to help.

  Guenevere’s sour face appeared through the group. She rubbed her throat. Anthias had let her go to help free me.

  Our gazes met. Contemplation passed behind her eyes. Whatever action she took next would define her and the world she would live in.

  She looked to my friends, and then to me. She made her decision. She extended her hands and slammed into the boulder next to Galene, helping them push.

  Together, they eased the boulder away.

  The moment the crushing weight was off my chest, instinct told me to rise for air. I ignored it and reached for the prisoner.

  She took my hand.

  I pulled her from the cell, dragging her frail, wilted form as lightly as if she were a string of kelp.

  Everyone grew still as we squeezed into the open. She was a southern mermaid.

  My friends let the boulder go. It slammed back into the wall with an echoing boom.

  The noise and current ricocheted through the cavern. We hovered, staring, until it faded. Creon and the others straightened like soldiers at attention.

  Dione broke the pressing silence.

  “Your Majesty.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX - Meela

  A Resounding Hush

  I couldn’t explain why I trusted Eriana to guide me towards a mysterious ship when the creature had spent so long trying to kill me.

  But now, she was a part of me, an extension of my mind and body. As definitively as I could trust my survival instincts, I could trust her to keep me safe.

  With senses more powerful than my own, she found a ship floating a few leagues away and led me towards it.

  We encountered nothing along the way—presumably because any creature that felt us coming fled as fast as possible.

  The closer we drew to the sh
ip, the more nervous I became. I contemplated what I would say. How was I supposed to convince these people to listen to me?

  I considered my options. As a mermaid, I could lure them. I could threaten them with the serpent. But I didn’t want to use force. They had to agree to peace on their own volition.

  We stopped at the ship’s bow. The materials stung my skin and coated my tongue in something thick and bitter. The sight of its broad hull, so unnatural among the blues and greens, sent a chill through me.

  Abruptly, pain stabbed through my body. Every cell vibrated. I moaned, raising my hands to my ears. It was that noise again. But how? The serpent had destroyed the ship.

  Hadn’t she? I couldn’t think, couldn’t remember. That terrible pain filled my head, paralysing me. I grew dizzy from the pressure of it against my ears.

  Eriana shook her head, releasing blasts of air from her nostrils in agitation.

  I barely heard her speaking to me.

  It is from inside the ship. Should I break it?

  No, I thought. Don’t attack. Let me talk to them.

  I summoned her closer. Her eyes narrowed and her head lowered, reminding me of a cowering dog. I climbed onto one of her great heads. Shielding myself with the mane of horns, I asked her to rise from the water.

  We broke the surface and a different explosion of sound met my ears. It took me a moment to understand what was happening. They were firing machine guns at us. Bullets ricocheted off the serpent’s scales. She didn’t offer so much as a groan of protest, and soon, the bullets stopped.

  My ears rang in the silence.

  “I am not here to hurt you,” I said in English, uncomfortably aware of my accent. “Please, lower your weapons so we can speak.”

  My words were met with silence. I leaned around the mane of horns enough to see their faces. A crew of about twenty Americans stood on the deck, aiming at the serpent. They were faint with terror, several of them visibly trembling.

  “I am Metlaa Gaela, Daughter of Kasai. I come from Eriana Kwai, and so does this serpent.”

  The crew followed my voice and caught sight of me atop the serpent. I must have appeared small and insignificant compared to her. They glanced to each other, still looking frightened.

  “I’m here on behalf of merpeople. We wish to negotiate with you to end this war. Please, turn off that noise.”