Ballad of Blood

by Amy Sumida

  Tell laughed. That's what happens when you take a breathing potion instead of accepting my kiss. The magic changes water into air for you, but the air still has to leave your body.

  I guess I was too overwhelmed to notice it before, I said.

  Tell, Janae, and Danyon shared a look which seemed to say; Air-breathers.

  Family quarters are down this passage, Danyon waved a hand toward a hallway on his left; giving us a tour as we ventured further into the castle. And single fairies are housed to the right.

  I peered down the left corridor and saw a little girl peering back at me from around a doorway. I waggled my fingers at her, and she giggled as she emerged fully to wave excitedly back at me. The lower half of her body was composed of pearly-pink tentacles that pushed her up in a bouncing motion and then curled beneath her as she floated back down. A nictitating membrane drew across her round eyes briefly, and I smiled brighter to hide my surprise.

  Then a pair of slim arms scooped her up, and the little girl hugged a woman whom I assume was her mother. The woman moved gracefully forward on her strong tentacles and bowed to me as her daughter nestled closer and wove her tiny fingers through her mothers long, indigo curls. Suddenly, they were the most beautiful fairies I'd ever seen; the Madonna and Child of the sea. My admiration must have shown because the woman smiled warmly at me and moved forward with her daughter to join the entourage we were accumulating.

  They are lovely, aren't they? Danyon asked; reminding me that these fairies could read my thoughts.

  Your entire kingdom is breathtaking, I said and then laughed. Literally.

  Torin moved up beside me and took my hand. He nodded his head to the right with a soft smile.

  King Torin says that the Fintria remind him of your relatives, Tell relayed.

  The Fintria? I asked as I followed Torin's gaze.

  Up ahead of us was what appeared to be the hub of the castle; numerous corridors connected by a giant, circular space. This room was dome-shaped; the pale walls curving in toward the top until the crimson and black coral branches of the outer walls took over. The coral bowed across the ceiling to twirl together in a basket weave that held the bobbing fairy lights in while giving a glimpse of the ocean beyond. Tiny fishes swam in and out of the branches while larger critters floated outside.

  My neck craned up as we stepped into the room. Sea fairies bustled through passages below while others socialized above. But socializing wasn't done while standing still. Underwater, you had to move constantly or be carried away by a current that I suspected was partially formed by the number of fairies moving about. Kind of a vicious circle, I suppose. Anyway, the Water Fey tread water gracefully—with rippling fins and waving limbs—looking more like they were dancing than mingling.

  Among the colorful members of the Coral Court were sea fairies who appeared to have wings. Sheer, luminous fins swept off their slender shoulders in dramatic arches; undulating hypnotically in and out as feathered wings would. In addition to that, they had delicate fins that fanned out from their wrists and ankles like feathers. The fairies themselves were very human in appearance, but they spun above us in dipping movements like birds in the sky.

  Fintria, I repeated the name as I squeezed Torin's hand.

  I smiled up at Torin and nodded in agreement, and he leaned down to kiss my cheek.

  He calls them sirens beneath the sea, Tell said. Quite charming; I shall tell the Fintria he said so.

  Not as pretty as the Linatta, if you ask me, Danyon motioned his head back to the tentacled mother and child. But don't tell anyone I said that.

  I laughed. I think you confided in the wrong person. I seem to be an open book for the Water Fey to read.

  There are techniques for blocking your mind from unwanted visitors, Danyon said. I'd be happy to teach you.

  That would have sounded like a come-on from most fairies, but from Danyon, it felt completely innocent.

  I'd like that, I said immediately.

  All right. He eased me to the side of the domed room.

  What? Now? I asked in surprise.

  Why not? Danyon grinned at me. Do you have somewhere you need to be?

  No; I suppose not. I grinned back.

  Tell had moved the rest of our party to the side with us and seemed to be explaining the situation to my consorts. The water fey who had been following us already knew what we were about and went to socialize while we worked.

  This won't take long, Danyon promised. You're a jewel queen; you work with magic every day. This is simply another type of magic. Another way of thinking.

  Okay.

  Instead of thinking outwardly, you need to think inwardly, he said.

  I stared at him blankly.

  When you spend most of your time communicating through speech, you tend to project your thoughts, Danyon explained. You are thinking out; pushing your energy toward people with your words. It is the same with telepathy; you push your thoughts toward someone. You may not be telepathic yourself, but you can direct your mind's energy toward someone who is. And conversely, you can withdraw it. Do you understand?

  I think so.

  I considered it; the brainwaves of thought and how they were just another type of magic. It was my magic, and so I should be able to control it.

  Try it now, and I shall also try to listen to your thoughts.

  Okay. I thought about how serene Danyon's eyes were and how they must be hiding fascinating secrets.

  Thank you. You'd be surprised how many secrets I've managed to stow away.

  Well, I guess that didn't work. I smirked.

  Not yet, but it was harder for me to read you that time, he said. And that was only your first try. You have the concept; now just work on the technique.

  Okay; maybe I'll have it down before the next time I visit.

  You mean; when you return the Girdle? Danyon smiled mischievously at me.

  Does that mean you'll lend it? I asked hopefully.

  It depends on how well your song is received. He winked at me. This is not a monarchy; I am one of many leaders who guide our people. We were never like our Lesser Fey cousins on land, with their Strengths to rule them.

  After what happened with the Strengths, it appears that you have the right of it.

  Indeed, Danyon agreed. So, you will have many fairies to sway, Queen Elaria. Are you ready to sing?

  Always.

  Chapter Thirty

  Lord Danyon led us through a maze of passages, and we collected fairies along the way. By the time we reached the amphitheater, we had hundreds of sea fey swimming behind us. Danyon had told me that this amphitheater was the only place in the Coral Court that could fit all of the Sea Fey together. They used it mainly for meetings of the Sea Community, but it was also the perfect place for a performance.

  The entrance let us out on the bottom level of the amphitheater. An incredible mosaic depicting fairy sea creatures was laid into the glass floor, but nothing else adorned the arena. The fairies behind us flowed in and upward, and when I followed their progress, I realized that we were standing in a giant nautilus shell. The floor swept up into a platform that continued around the shell in one, long, uninterrupted spiral. Just above this platform, another, narrower shelf stuck out to serve as a bench. Both bench and ledge were made out of the same pale material that most of the castle walls were formed from. According to Danyon, the material was a type of cement made with sand and pulverized shells. The shell-cement seating spiraled around the amphitheater all the way to the top—where it opened to the sea. Not only were fairies filling the seats, but they were also gathering above us. It was swimming room only.

  Do you need to prepare? Tell asked me.

  No; I'm ready.

  And so am I, Kyanite added.

  Tell nodded and stood silently for awhile; watching everyone settle into their seats. When the Sea Folk had found their places, Tell broadcasted his voice out to all of them.

  Queen Elaria has come to give us the gift of her s
ong, Tell declared. Our first ally in the Jewel Courts and our first visiting monarch; this alone is cause for celebration. But today, Her Majesty will bring the music of land into the sea. Let's make her and her consorts feel at home here, beneath the surface, and show them that water has its own ways of expressing sound.

  A vibration and echoing resonance rolled over me as the Water Fey gave me their form of applause. When the sonic pulses died down, Tell squeezed my shoulder and smiled brightly.

  I'll be right over there with your consorts. He waved toward the closest section of seating. You may speak to the Sea Fey if you like; they're all listening.

  I nodded to Tell and waited for him to take his seat beside Danyon, Janae, and my consorts. Then I looked up and around me with an excited grin.

  Thank you for welcoming my loved ones and me here, I said. I'm honored to be your first ally on land and eager to sing to my first submerged audience.

  Smiles spread over the faces of the Sea Folk, and a wave of happy energy pulsed out at me. It would be the strangest performance I'd ever done, but also the most thrilling. This had never been done before; not by any spellsinger in all of history. In fact, I was making history.

  This song came to me when I first arrived, and the more I think about it, the more appropriate it seems. I hope it makes you as happy as it always makes me.

  The quirky whine of a guitar filled the amphitheater, and water fey jaws dropped. One chord and they were mesmerized; staring around each other in shock at the strength and clarity of Kyanite's music. But then the guitar shifted into a ska-like beat, and they began to move against the current. The lighthearted music was catchy and irresistible; even to these magical people. They were leaping out of their seats to dance to my music before I sang a single word.

  And then I projected my voice out into the water.

  The resounding vibration of joy and delight that washed over me from all sides set my body to waving like seaweed. But I grinned through it; loving every second of their enthusiasm. As I sang the whimsical lyrics, full of ocean-related analogies, the sea came to roaring life around me.

  “Leaders of the Undersea World” by Odds seemed to be a song about the band itself. How they were a big fish in a little pond; checking out mermaids and swimming in deep water with killer whales. But there was a lovely underlying message; that it didn't matter how small your world was, as long as you ruled it. The important thing was to make it your own; claim whatever piece of planet you could in whatever way you could. It didn't have to be as a monarch; you could leave your mark through art, influence, or love. In doing so, you feel almost immortal; a piece of you will continue on after you're gone. I shared that unapologetically proud joy among the Water Fey, and they compounded it with their delight.

  I had never sung to a more appreciative audience, and their excitement buoyed mine. I waved them down to join me, and the entire courtyard—as well as the space above it—filled with dancing sea fairies.

  It was far too amazing to stop. So, after the song ended, I began another, and another. I sang for hours and danced with my consorts in the twisting currents created by hundreds of frolicking sea fairies. A part of me wished that I could stay beneath the waves forever.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  The Water Fey have agreed to lend you the Golden Girdle, Danyon declared.

  You're not even going to ask me why I need it? I asked in surprise.

  We were lounging on the swirling bench while food was being distributed among the happily exhausted fairies. It had been a long afternoon that had crept into the night, and Declan said we only had a couple of hours left on our potions. We needed to head back to the surface soon.

  You need it to protect yourself against a goddess who may be using dark magic, Danyon said.

  I really need to work on that whole inward-thinking thing. I grimaced.

  The honesty is charming, Danyon noted. Even if it's not on purpose.

  Aren't the Water Fey worried that I might grow too powerful? I mused in my mind, but of course, Danyon heard it.

  I hardly think you'll go the route of Queen Farina, Danyon said. She began as a selfish woman, and I believe that all tyrants had such seeds within them from the start. No amount of power can blacken a pure heart.

  I hope you're right, I said sincerely. I nearly crossed the line once.

  Yes; I know about your battle with the Relic; both inside you and out, Danyon surprised me by saying. But that wasn't mere power; that was a magical force—an object imbued with the might of a collective. You are the only person in all the realms who was capable of wielding the Witch Relic. One person out of millions, Queen Elaria. The power it offered you must have been astronomical, and yet, you resisted. The fact that you faltered is not relevant; the way you came through the test is.

  I only made it through because of Torin. I glanced at Torin, and he smiled at me as if he knew exactly what I was thinking. I loved him more than the power.

  And now you have four times the amount of love that you had then, Danyon said with a smirk. As long as you keep allowing your heart to influence your decisions, you will be fine, Your Majesty. If there's one thing I have faith in, it's love.

  I appreciate your encouragement, but I don't know if I believe in love in that way. I frowned as I thought about Gage and the death curse. Love can save, but it can also destroy. It's not always the beautiful emotion people paint it to be. I think it depends on who you love, and how you love them. But in that respect, I'm lucky. I glanced at my consorts. When my strength fails, they lend me theirs; they keep our love beautiful.

  Then let's protect that beautiful love, shall we? Danyon floated up to his feet. Come with me, Queen Elaria.

  I got up, and so did my men, but Danyon waved them back down.

  I'm sorry, but I'm only willing to take one jewel monarch into the Coral Cavern, he said.

  Tell's eyes went wide, and then he motioned to my consorts. They nodded to me and resumed their seats as Danyon offered me his hand. When I took it, he shifted his legs back into a tail. The loincloth slipped up to his waist and became a belt.

  Forgive the familiarity, Danyon said as he pulled me in against his chest.

  Danyon tightened his arms around me as he swam us out of the amphitheater and back into the castle. He navigated the corridors at high speed; swerving around the fairies who milled about. I held on tighter and thought to myself that his cavern was safe from me; there was no way I'd remember how to get back there.

  I admit that is partially the reason for our speed, Danyon said in an amused tone. But also, we need to get you back to the surface before your potions expire.

  Or we will expire, I joked.

  You have a dark humor, Your Majesty, he noted.

  I've learned to laugh through the hard patches life throws at me. Perhaps it comes out as dark, but it makes me feel better.

  Then I approve. If we cannot find the light, we shall laugh in our darkness.

  It sounds better when you say it.

  Eloquence comes with age, he said graciously.

  Then Danyon descended suddenly, and the shimmer of a ward coasted over my skin. I lifted my head to see woven walls of red coral shooting by us. There was no black within the weave—only the crimson coral—and soon, the red lightened to pink. Then, even that faded until we came to a stop within a pure white room of solid coral. There were no seams or branches; this room had been carved out of a single piece.

  I stared around me in wonder at the shelves that were also carved out of the coral. They held hundreds of objects that had the weight of history about them and the feel of magic seeping from them. My eyes were drawn to one item in particular; perhaps because it was so simple and stark against the shine of the other treasures. It was a black orb about the size of my palm. I was standing before it, and I couldn't recall moving. My hand lifted and reached for it, but then another hand swept in and grabbed my wrist tightly. I looked up in surprise at Danyon's shocked face.

  Queen Elaria, plea
se do not touch the other items in this room, Danyon said sternly. Especially not this one.

  What is it? I asked.

  It's the darkness we spoke of. He moved me away from the sphere. And it seems to like you.

  How odd. I found myself looking back at the black orb again. I didn't realize that I had an affinity for the dark.

  Elaria! Kyanite growled in my mind. Do not look at it again.

  I flinched, and Danyon grimaced.

  My apologies, Your Majesty, Danyon said. Had I known that the Dark desired you, I would never have brought you within its reach.

  Did you not see the memory of it in her mind? Kyanite chided Danyon. That was not just the Relic calling to her.

  I didn't realize, Danyon fumbled for words.

  Fetch the Girdle and get us out of here! Kyanite snapped.

  Kyanite! I snapped back. Danyon doesn't deserve that. You finally get to speak to other fairies, and you use that chance to be rude!

  No, Your Majesty, Danyon said as he picked up a statue of a gold snake; its head lifted high and hissing. Kyanite is right; I should have remembered what we held here. Not all treasure is gold.

  Danyon touched the tip of the snake's nose to the pulse in my throat, and the gold warmed. A glimmer spread over the snake, and it came to life within Danyon's hands. I jerked a little in surprise as the snake undulated onto my shoulder and around my neck. A surge of magic rushed over me, and I shivered through the power as the snake slithered down my cleavage, beneath my swimsuit, and then wrapped itself around my waist. Once it was settled, I felt it flatten into a wide belt. I laid my hands over it; expecting it to be solid, but it felt flexible. It was as comfortable as a second layer of skin; except this layer had the power to protect me far better than the first.

  It cannot be taken from you now, Danyon said as he scooped me up and immediately started swimming up the shaft of coral. You must be the one to remove it.