to me.”
“Why? It’s her decision.” I shrug. “You’re not her
decision-maker.”
“I’m her brother!” He starts walking away, then turns back.
“You’ll understand soon.”
“You’re being a dick.”
“I’m being a dick? My sister turns to you for help.”
If he’s going to get all puffy-chested, then so will I. He’s got
an inch, maybe two with the height of his hair. For the first time, I
notice a triangle of freckles on his shoulder and the fat vein on his
throat when he’s pissed off, because Captain Cool-and-Collected never
gets pissed off this way.
“Look,” I lower my voice. “You and Thalia have a lot more to talk
about than her decision to become human. Don’t you see? All she wants
is a family, and she’s not going to have any of it-nothing-if we let
Nieve win.”
He doesn’t argue. We walk side by side until we reach the
boardwalk gazebo. I make a right into it and face the horizon. The
storm is still out there, building slowly. I can feel the change in
the wind, cold and hard for a summer night.
When Kurt grabs me, I think he’s going to punch me.
Instead, he pulls me down on the floor and presses his finger to
his mouth. He whispers, “It’s Adaro.”
The footsteps clamor onto the boardwalk. Sarabell’s and Adaro’s
voices intermingle in their bickering.
“We should leave this shore at once,” Sarabell says.
“I gave Tristan my word,” Adaro says. “I told him he could count
on my guard to help protect his shores.”
“No, no, no.” She takes his face in her hands. “Don’t you see? You
already have the center staff. All we have to do is return to Toliss
and let the sea witch destroy him.”
He pulls out of her grasp. “What then?” He leans on the railing.
If he took three steps to the left, he’d see us. “Then she’ll just
come after me.”
“You heard him tonight.” Sarabell gets in his face. “He would
allow those vile creatures back into our court. He believes he’s
already king!”
“There’s still an oracle here, Sarabell. The oracle told me in my
dreams that I would find what I’m looking for on this shore. I won’t
listen to you. Not after you led us to a dead end with that elder.”
“Whatever the old man told Tristan led him to an oracle. For all
the good it did them-they let the trident get away.” She smacks his
shoulder and jabs an accusing finger in his face. “Don’t blame me,
when you brought the combat fire to threaten him.”
Greg. They killed Greg. I twitch to stand up but Kurt puts a firm
hand on my shoulder.
“It was an accident,” Adaro shouts. “He wouldn’t come out of his
house, and I dropped the vial.”
“Perhaps-” Sarabell paces around her cousin. Her dress is a wild
thing around his body, like a wraith encircling him. “Perhaps this is
what the oracle meant.”
She doesn’t elaborate, making Adaro give her his undivided
attention. “What do you mean?”
“There is a piece of the trident on this shore. She didn’t say
you’d find an oracle . She said you’d find what you’re looking for .
And you’re looking for a piece of the trident. The scepter.”
Kurt and I look at each other. Sarabell takes a step back and
leans against the gazebo. All she has to do is turn around, and there
we are. Would they screw the championship rules and try to kill me
now?
“That doesn’t sound right.”
“Don’t be white-bellied, Adaro.” She flicks her hair to the side.
“When you both make it to Toliss, you’ll have to kill each other.
That’s how the championship ends. You’re letting your feelings for the
mutt cloud your vision. He isn’t your friend. If he had the chance,
he’d do the same to you.”
Would I? I was just starting to like Adaro. If we survive Nieve.
If we go to Toliss. One of us has to die.
“You won’t even have to kill him,” Sarabell says.
“I won’t?”
She shakes her head. “The silver witch will take care of that. You
heard that barnacle Jesse. Pledge your allegiance to her.”
“Sara-!”
“Not truly, of course. Once you’ve got the quartz piece, you can
destroy her. Then there will be one trident piece left and you will be
king.”
She has it all worked out.
Note: The key to success is a crazy cousin.
“I don’t think the silver witch works that way,” Adaro says
darkly.
“Come.” She holds out her hands to him, a mother calling to her
child. “You need rest. Tomorrow will be a very long day. You heard
Jesse. The silver witch will be here by nightfall.”
They jump the railing and land on the sand. Adaro holds out his
arm and she takes it. When they reach the water, I sit up.
“What a sea bitch,” I say.
“They killed Greg.”
“They’re going to kill me.” I stand and dust sand off my shorts.
“Well, there’s a very long line. They’ll just have to get in it.”
We leave the boardwalk and head back home. Before we get back in
the elevator, Kurt says, “You have to be ready.”
“For what?” I press number 14. “There are so many things to be
ready for. My premature death. The sea witch and her merrows. Jesse
and his new magic tricks, the zombie apocalypse-”
“No, Tristan. You have to be ready to kill Adaro before he can
kill you.”
And I say, “Yes. I know.”
My sleep is black. The first true sleep I’ve had in weeks.
Then the nightmares are back. All screams and melting faces. I
wake up choking, like there are hands around my throat, and a shock
runs through me, telling me to wake up.
I lie in my bed with my arms spread out. The ceiling fan spins. My
bedside clock glows red numbers. My room smells like sweat and salt
water, and there are clothes everywhere. Thursday morning.
Behind my closed door, I can hear voices in that loud whispering
everyone thinks is so secretive, but it’s the same as yelling. I get
dressed and go to kitchen Command Central to see what the hell they’re
all doing.
My heart jumps to my throat as they shout, “Surprise!”
“Jesus, you guys.”
My parents, Kurt, Thalia, and Layla are huddled around a very blue
birthday cake. The sugar hits my nose first. It’s better than a
caffeine rush. I look at the calendar and realize it’s June 24.
Thursday. Someone’s already crossed off last night, and I want to take
the marker and fill the whole square in black.
“Are you seriously telling me you forgot it’s your birthday?”
Layla comes around and kisses me right on the mouth. In front of
everyone.
“I seriously did.” I stick a finger in the icing and let the sugar
coat my tongue. My whole mouth explodes from the sensitivity of not
having eaten anything yesterday.
“Your mother wanted to have a huge party-” Dad starts.
“But with everything that’s going on,” Mom says, “we figure
something smaller would do.”
“Cake for breakfast,” I say, hugging my mother for as long as I
can, “is the best birthday present ever.”
Mom lights seventeen candles. I’m seventeen, and I’ve aged a
thousand years in the last two weeks. Call me Rip Mer Winkle.
Kurt eyes the frosting with a mixture of amusement and temptation.
I can tell that all of last night’s information is prominent in his
thoughts, but we decided to keep it between the two of us. “We don’t
celebrate birthdays on Toliss.”
“Sure we do,” Mom says. “At least, I did after seeing humans on a
beach. I tried to get my father to make me a cake once. But the cooks
came up with kelp pancakes and king crab claws as decorations.”