the sea oracles created the trident pieces, they used the blood of
three fierce animals as their core. The hippocampus.”
“Hippo what?”
“Really big sea horse,” Kai whispers to me, “with webbed claws.”
“The kraken,” Arion continues, “whose ink and blood also give us
the ability to walk.”
All four of us have ink tattoos in the shape of a trident between
our shoulder blades. My mom, once a mermaid princess, had one too. Now
that she’s been stripped of her tail, only a white scar remains.
“And the giant turtle.”
I laugh, picturing the baby turtles I got for my seventh birthday.
“How bad can a giant turtle be?”
“Its teeth could bite through rock, its shell covered in spikes
three times taller than you, Master Tristan.”
“All right, so pretty bad.”
“Once they roamed the seas freely. To possess the Giants of the
Sea would be like having thousands of guards at your disposal. The
creatures became coveted by our enemies, so the king sealed them with
a key no one has ever found.”
“And you’re sure the River Clan can help us find the key?”
Brendan mutters indistinctly.
“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” Kai scolds. Because she looks
no older than me, I keep forgetting that she’s Brendan’s aunt.
Brendan wipes his lips with the back of his hand and pats his abs.
“I’m certain they know about the key. We have to convince them to help
us. That’s the challenge.”
“Why wouldn’t they help?” I ask.
“We merkind don’t do anything out of the goodness of our hearts,”
Kai says.
“Everyone wants something,” I say. “I’ll find the thing they
want.”
Arion is going to speak. Then his dark shoulders flex as he
struggles to control the wheel. The ship tilts to the side so far I
almost fall over the starboard. I grab on to a rope and brace myself
as Kai falls into me. Brendan clings onto the rigging like a monkey,
shouting as he hangs over the water, then rocks himself back onto the
ship.
“What was that?” I shout.
“I’ve never lost control over the stern like this,” Arion says,
wrestling to right the ship.
Kai lets go of me and her face scrunches against the sun. “The
binding of the king is almost gone. The last days of the championship
are unstable. Can’t you sense it? Soon, you will be free from your
father’s punishment.”
Arion looks down at his wrist where the black rope has left a
pearly scar where it rubs. A bald patch of scar tissue has formed at
the base of his tail where more black rope winds around his black and
white scales.
When he sees me staring, a sad smile appears on Arion’s severe
face.
“What did he do?” I ask. I never have. Arion has been with me this
whole time. This is the ship that ferries the landlocked from the
shore to Toliss Island. Looking at his face, the new redness on his
tail and around his wrists makes me angry. I should have asked every
time.
“My father fought alongside Nieve when she rebelled against King
Elanos. When she was a princess, there was no one like her. Men wanted
her and feared her at the same time. It was the king who kept away
from the people. Then she became a queen, given to the rebel tribes to
keep the peace.”
“It didn’t work, I guess,” I say.
Arion shakes his head solemnly. “Now she’s a monster. After her
rebellion failed and King Karanos took over, he couldn’t kill his own
blood. He banished her beneath the sea. Those who didn’t surrender
were killed. Those who surrendered were either indentured to the
throne or sent off to the coral cave prisons. Others were stripped of
their tails and left to swim ashore.”
“That’s where the landlocked come from,” I say.
This isn’t exactly news to me. I know that the landlocked of the
court, the banished, are left landside as a punishment. Every time the
court makes a stop on the shore, the landlocked are forced to give
tithes in exchange for the court’s protection.
“You’re still a hero,” Brendan says to Arion. “My father says you
saved his life. That you killed the leader of the dragons, Akos, the
largest dragon in the New World.”
Guilt tastes like bile on my tongue. I don’t understand how my own
family could be responsible for all of this. Now it falls to me to
make it right.
“I’ve always served the crown.” Arion lets the black ropes hoist
him up and away from us so we can’t see his eyes, only hear his voice.
“My father was a lost soul. I know exactly who I am. There is honor in
that.”
“Things will change in the future. I’ll make them change.” I bang
the end of my scepter on the deck. It feels strange to hold, lighter
than usual. Or maybe I’m overthinking what Kai said about everything
being unstable.
Two blue and violet blurs appear in front of us, brandishing more
trays of food.
“Don’t make easy promises, Cousin,” Brendan says as he bites into
a seaweed wrap.
“It isn’t easy.” I push my food away. I can’t eat, not after
Arion’s story.
Still, Blue stands beside his brother. They are carbon copies of
each other, apart from the brilliant inky colors of their skins. Heads
with long, spiked points and big, black eyes. Layla used to say
they’re so ugly they’re cute and kept threatening to take one home as
a pet.
No matter what is happening on the ship, the urchin brothers fix
loose ropes and tears in the sails and keep us fed. I’m not hungry,
but Brendan’s stomach is a black hole. Even on my best days after swim
practice, I couldn’t eat as much as him. Blue tempts Brendan with a
tray of oysters, a grilled fish with a face like a bulldog, and
pickled sea veggies.
I try not to grimace. “I’m good, thanks.”
“Lord Sea must eat!” Blue begs. “Kings must be strong.” He smiles
with his black teeth.
I take another chip and let it melt onto my tongue. It goes down
like a mouth full of seawater. True. Kings must be strong. No
weaknesses. And I have to get rid of mine.
It’s Brendan who says, “Kings must also be terribly attractive. If
that were the case, it’d be me on the throne and not you, Cousin.”
Kai throws her head back and laughs. Arion grins down at us. Even
Vi smiles bashfully. It’s the first time anyone has laughed in a
while, and if it’s at my expense, I’ll let them have it.
Then there’s a wet splash and the sharp whistle of an arrow. Vi’s
face is spotted with black freckles that begin to drip. The smile is
still on his face as he turns to his brother.
My insides feel cold. My ears ring.
I reach out to him-the ship heaves as something crashes into us.
Blue falls to his knees, black blood streaming from the arrow piercing
his forehead.
Vi’s shriek is piercing.
Kai rams into me. Another arrow slices past my ear. The ship tilts
sideways. Dozens of arms reach over the sides of the ship and pull
themselves on board. Armored mermen in half shifts surround us. A
whirlpool spins off in the distance. They must’ve come from there
because there isn’t another ship in sight.
And then there’s Vi, shrieking and grabbing at Blue’s limp,
dissolving body. He holds the golden arrow in his purple fist.
I roll over and try to reach him, but arms pull me back. It’s
Brendan pulling me up. My vision is dizzy and warm; sticky blood
trickles down my spine. I grip my scepter, aiming it outward at the
mermen intruders. I try to concentrate on the scepter’s familiar
humming current, but it isn’t there, like the batteries have run out.