fingers with her own hands. She refuses to look at me. She’s staring
at the tank of jellyfish. They bloom and glow like shimmering ghosts
across the water.
“I’m glad you’re here,” I tell her.
“Tristan.” She touches my face. Her hands are so cold. I’m not
ready to talk about what I’ve just seen, and whatever is on her mind,
she isn’t going to tell me. We stand in the quiet blue darkness of the
aquatic house. “I-”
I take a step back to give her some space. I can’t have her trying
to kiss me again. Not now. Not here. Not ever. I need her strong and I
need her present. “What is it?”
“We should find your friends.”
I lead us through the tiny maze of giant tanks. The fish follow us
with their open mouths pressed against the glass until I push on the
double doors out onto the main road that divides the aquarium houses.
True to Frederik’s word, the Thorne Hill Alliance is here. I feel like
I’m at the Vanishing Cove all over again. In the middle of the plaza,
weapons are being exchanged.
I scan the crowds but don’t see the faces I’m looking for.
“Tristan!” Thalia shouts from above. She’s on the observation
deck, waving us over.
We race up the flight of steps, under the canopy. Layla stands
beside Thalia. They’re sweating and out of breath, holding swords in
each hand. I’m filled with a need to drop everything and pick her up
in my arms. But the thunder and rain break against the barrier, and
all I can do is squeeze her hand.
Frederik and Marty are conferring with Rachel. She’s got a bigger
crossbow. They’re pointing at the gray line of the horizon. A thick
fog is settling over the shore.
When they see me, they stop. Rachel’s bow vanishes to smoke.
With my scepter in hand, I stand before my friends. They’re
staring and searching. They can see that I don’t have the trident and
I don’t have Kurt.
“It’s almost sunset,” I say.
“What happened, man?” Marty takes off his cap and scratches his
head. “Where’s your new pitchfork?”
“Where’s my brother?” Thalia asks.
My mouth is full of saliva. I turn to the side and spit.
“Frederik,” I say, “fill me in.”
Frederik hesitates, taking stock of the tension I’m giving off in
waves. “I have a group of valkyries who will stay behind, led by
Rachel. The first line is on the beach right now-vampires and
werewolves. They won’t go in the water so we know they’ll make sure
nothing gets past.”
“Good.” I’m nodding too hard. “Good.”
“What about other mermen?” Frederik asks. “The other champion?”
I level my turquoise eyes to his black ones. “Adaro isn’t fighting
with us.”
“I see.”
“When it comes to merrows, you have to cut off their heads or stab
their hearts. Otherwise, they won’t die.”
“I’m familiar with the method.” Frederik flashes a yellow smile,
then turns to whisper something to Rachel. She smiles at me, and the
action is so bizarre that, in that moment, I realize she thinks I’m a
dead man.
“In case of a retreat-” Frederik begins.
“Way to put a damper on such a sunny day, Freddy,” Marty says.
“It is my duty to be prepared,” Frederik responds coolly. “If we
must retreat, we return here. The reef house has a floor latch that
leads down to our tunnels and back out onto the boardwalk.”
“Good.” I’m still nodding too hard. “Good.”
“ Tristan ,” Thalia says forcefully. “Where is my brother?”
“He’s still down there,” I say, turning away from her and
readjusting the harness across my chest. “In the Second Circle.”
Marty mutters darkly. “I told you guys.”
“Did something happen?” Layla asks.
“Did the oracle not have the trident?” Gwen asks.
“Tristan,” Frederik says. “The others are dividing weapons if
you’d like to further arm yourself.”
“I’ve got weapons,” I say.
But Frederik grabs my arm and gives me a push in the direction of
the steps. “Just in case.”
I realize he’s giving me a way out and I take it. I can’t be the
one to break the news to Thalia. How will she take it? Surely,
nothing’s changed between them. They’re still siblings. They still
grew up together. It shouldn’t matter.
I head toward the weapons and immediately recognize a face.
“Penny,” I say, surprised. “What are you doing here?”
She’s holding a sword in her hand.
“Do you know how to use that?”
“I’m not just a waitress,” she says, pointing it at my heart.
“What about Jesse?” I say. “And the others?”
“The landlocked are free to make their own choices.” She motions
to a small group of people I saw at the meeting. There isn’t anything
threatening about them. Their skin is slightly green and blue. One
hacks at the air, grasping a steel club with webbed hands. “That is
the one thing that binds us. I want to show my son that he has the
freedom to do anything he wants.”
“Where is Timmy?”
She holds the blade to her eyes so she can see her own reflection.
“With his father.”
“What happened?” Layla runs up to us. “Where’s Kurt? How did you
and Gwen get here?”
My thoughts are racing, trampling over each other. I place my
hands on her shoulders and look right into her eyes. “Kurt is still
with the oracle.”
I pause for effect.
Her eyes widen. “You mean with her?”
I nod. “I’m sure he’ll find us.”
“And she didn’t have the trident?”
“She did.”
“Then where is it?”
I can’t breathe. Something is happening to me, weaving its way
through my thoughts. Kurt is my uncle. Kurt is the son of the king.
Kurt has the Trident of the Seas. Wind and rain whip against our
invisible force field. The giant birds’ song is a terrible wail
pounding against my temples.
I try to shut it out, but I realize it’s not the birds. Someone is
screaming.
“It’s starting,” I say.
The guard I passed at the entrance marches up to me. “It’s a girl.
She came alone.”
“We’ll go check it out,” I say. “The rest of you stay here.”
I follow the guard back through the reef house.
Marty marches alongside me. “I was getting claustrophobic in
there.”
Under the arc of the aquarium where the boardwalk meets cement,
Sarabell pounds wet fists against our shield.
“Let me in,” she cries.
“So you can kill me?” I point my dagger at her.
“ No, Lord Sea .” She shakes her head wildly. Her black curls are
matted to her face. “No, Lord Sea. I wouldn’t-Adaro-Adaro-” Her cries
are hysterical. She tries to stand but falls back down.
I turn around but her scream rips through me. I fight against my
own reason. But with the encroaching darkness, can I really leave her
out there alone?
“Adaro is what, Sarabell?”
Her eyes are red, tears mixing with rain. “Adaro is dead.”
A fire explodes in the distance where Adaro’s ship was hidden.
Hundreds of voices scream in the darkness. The shadow of our first
line of defense is a wall cutting across the sand. They’re standing,
waiting.
Sarabell presses her hand on the invisible wall. “Please, she’s
going to kill me too.”
I keep my dagger level to her face. “Tell me what happened.”
She cries and looks back at the dark horizon. “Please…”
“Let her pass,” Marty says. The avians rustle their feathers, and
a breeze blows in as the invisible fortress opens.
I pick Sarabell up off the ground. Her legs give out. I kneel to