Blood in the Water

by Megan Derr

arrange for your abrupt need to go home. What do you do here in the palace all day?"

  Lana smiled crookedly. "I sing, of course. They think I washed up in a shipwreck and that I was running away from home. My family is very strict, you see, and I'm terrified now that they'll never forgive me my brash behavior."

  He rapped her lightly on the forehead with his knuckle. "Clever. But I'm afraid your family has hunted you down and you must be going home. Father is quite distraught."

  "I know," Lana said softly, her momentary levity falling away. "I'm sorry."

  Kissing her forehead again, he hugged her. "At least you've learned something, huh, jellyfish?"

  She sniffled. "What are you going to do?"

  "Get you home, first. Then I will deal with the sea witch's spell."

  "You can fix it?" she asked, looking up at him the way she had when she was little, like she thought he was the most amazing brother in the ocean. He'd hated it when she'd started to regard him the same as everyone else: warily, never trusting or liking his knives, his magic. The same way he knew they had looked at his mother before she'd fallen ill and died. The way they never looked at his stepmothers and his half-siblings, though he never considered them merely half.

  He mustered a smile for her. "Of course I can fix everything."

  She laughed, relieved and delighted. "She said he must fall in love with me if I wanted to stay on land forever, and that if I failed to do so in three months, then I must kill him if I wanted to live and return to the sea. I knew you'd be able to outsmart her!"

  The smile was harder to maintain, but as exasperating as she could be, he would do anything to keep her looking at him as if he was a wonderful big brother and not merely a frightening half-brother born from the sea witch's daughter. "I'm smarter than everyone, haven't you learned that yet? Now, give me your hand—the one she cut."

  Lana held out her left hand, displaying the long, thin scar that cut diagonally across it starting just below her first finger. Seree reached beneath his jacket and pulled out a knife with a deep blue blade. Cupping her hand in his, ignoring the way she shivered slightly, he slit the scar open anew. As the blood pooled in her palm, he slit his own left hand, riddled with more scars than he could count, and joined their bloody palms.

  He could feel the spell—the curse—placed on her, like swimming into a patch of freezing water in a warm current or into a dark cave only to find too late that someone within had rotted to pieces. Repressing a shudder so as not to alarm her, he began to chant a spell of exchange, still clutching the blue-bladed knife.

  When it was done, the curse struck him like a blow, leaving him momentarily breathless and weak. He released his knife, dropped to the sofa, and curled in on himself as the poisonous magic wove its way through him.

  "Are you okay?" Lana asked tearfully, petting him cautiously, fluttering about.

  "Fine," Seree said. "Just a little out of breath; I haven't taken a curse in a long time."

  She sniffled and hugged him, then picked up his knife with finger and thumb and handed it back. "I don't understand how you can use those awful things. The black one felt all … crawly, in my hands. Like it wanted to get away or something."

  "It's the Blade of Sacrifice," Seree said. "It wants life blood. You're lucky that it did not get the better of you and take what it wanted."

  "It—it can do that?" Lana paled.

  Seree nodded. "The Blades of Magic have a will of their own. They are not mere knives. Pay more attention to your lessons, Lana. You should have already known that."

  He expected her to make a face or roll her eyes, but she only nodded. "I'll listen. I'm rather tired of adventures right now."

  "Good," he said and stood up. "Let us get you back to the—" He broke off as the door opened and someone stepped inside.

  "Lana! They told me a stranger had come to see you, and I had to come at once to make certain …" He trailed off, eyes going wide when he saw Seree.

  Whoever he was, he was beautiful for a human. Small and finely built, skin the color of wet sand with a touch of sun-gold, dark gold hair, and eyes the blue of the deepest parts of the sea. He wore sand-colored breeches and a white linen shirt and nothing else. Seree found it hard to look away.

  "Highness," Lana said, slipping away from Seree to greet the young man. Highness. This was the prince? He was as incongruous as his palace. "I did not mean to disturb you, Highness. I am quite well. This is my eldest brother, Lord Seree Knarian. Seree, this is Prince Aimé LeVaughn."

  Seree bowed. "An honor to make your acquaintance, Highness."

  To his astonishment, Aimé flushed. "Uh—the honor is mine, my lord. Lady Lana always spoke well of you when she said very little at all about the rest of her family. I am glad you have come to see her." Sadness flickered across his face. "Oh, I suppose this means you are going home?"

  "I must, your Highness, I am sorry. Apparently my family is more distraught than I believed about my absence."

  Another sad look, tinged with wistfulness, flickered across Aimé's, face. "Then certainly you should go, Lana. One should always take hold of a chance to be with family." He kissed her cheek and hugged her tightly. "I am glad you washed up on my beach, Lana. You've been like a sister to me. If ever you can visit, please do. I hope you are happy, wherever you go, whatever you do."

  Lana's eyes misted with tears. "Thank you, Highness. I wish all the same to you. If ever I can visit, you will get a letter informing you of such immediately." She kissed his cheek, then slipped back to Seree.

  "Have you gathered your things, Lana?"

  "I will see to it," Seree interjected. "I am seeing my sister off, but I must linger a few days to attend some business matters for my father. I'll see any belongings of hers are packed and shipped off and that I reimburse whomever I need for her care."

  Aimé shook his head. "No reimbursement required, but I do insist you stay as my guest while you are here, my lord. I could do no less for such a dear friend as Lana."

  Seree nodded. He should have been pleased everything was proceeding so smoothly. And until the prince had walked into the room, he would have been. Annoyed with himself, Seree bowed to the prince and said, "You're too kind, Highness. I can only accept such a gracious offer, thank you."

  "It's my pleasure," Aimé said with a smile, cheeks flushing again before he looked away. "I will go and see that a room is readied and, um, attempt to make myself respectable."

  Lana giggled when he had gone and cast Seree a sly look that he did not like to see on her young face. He narrowed his eyes. "What?"

  She rolled her eyes. "Oh, do not pretend not to have noticed."

  "Noticed what? That you were moonsick over a silly boy?"

  "No, urchin," she said, poking him. "The reason that he would never have loved me, even if I had really loved him."

  Seree raised his brows. "Because he still needs a nurse to put him to bed?"

  "Oh, for Deep's sake!" she said, throwing up her hands. "You're such a starfish! The reason he has no interest in sanding me—"

  "Language!" Seree snapped.

  She rolled her eyes and continued as though he had not spoken, "Is because he clearly is more interested in being sanded by someone like you."

  "Language," Seree hissed again. "You're a princess of the Deep! Where in the ten seas did you learn such vulgar language? I will clam you myself if you do not stop this instant!"

  "I learned it by listening to you and the other warriors when I used to sneak into the armory and watch you practice," Lana replied, smiling.

  Seree pinched the bridge of his nose and prayed to the Savior for patience. "I'm not sure the Deep is better off having you back," he finally said and took her arm, all but dragging her out of the palace. She finally twisted free once they were away from it and scowled at him before brushing out her skirts and setting a more sedate pace.

  They made it back to the beach in less than half the time it had taken Seree to find the palace. Lana abruptly threw herself
at him, hugging him tightly. "Thank you for saving me," she whispered, then drew back. "And Aimé. I don't know how you're able to overcome the curse, but I should have known you would. Nobody knows magic better than you, Seree. I'll see you soon!" She kissed his cheek, then stripped of her clothes and waded out until the water was deep enough for her to dive.

  Leaving Seree on the beach, feeling wretched and lost. His plan had been to trade places with his sister, send her home, and then go back to slit the throat of the worthless prince.

  Except the prince was not what he had expected, and his sister had just ruined everything. Why was she so good at that?

  Heaving a long sigh, Seree trudged back up the beach and back to the palace.