Son of a Mermaid (13 page)

Kae’s eyes narrowed as she stared at him, trying to see any difference. If the things she’d been told about him were correct… “Is that true, Shea? You were in the water?”

He looked sheepish as he nodded. “It was no big deal. I fell off the dock.”

“Did anything strange happen?”

“Yeah,” Hailey interrupted again, taking off her dark glasses and speaking slowly as if she thought Kae was brain damaged. “He. Almost. Drowned. Luckily I pulled him out of the water.”

Shea’s brows furrowed as he glared at Hailey. “You also pulled me
into
the water,” he said. “After I told you I couldn’t swim…”

Kae put her hand on his arm to reclaim his attention. “What did your grandmother say?”

His eyes went wide. “Are you kidding me? She’d kill me if she knew…”

“You didn’t tell her?”

He shook his head.

“I think you should,” Kae said. “She…needs to know.”

Hailey laughed. “Obviously, you’ve never met the woman. Nice lady, awesome cook, but I wouldn’t want her mad at me.”

Kae’s eyes didn’t leave Shea’s. “She won’t be mad. But she needs to know.” She wished she’d been there when he fell. Been there to see whether his mermaid blood would kick in to save him, as it had when her own father first fell into the ocean as a boy. She reached out to brush the hair blowing across Shea’s face, and froze as her fingers touched his neck.
Gills.

Shea flinched away, taking a quick step backward.

“I… I need to go,” Kae stuttered.

He stared into her face for a long moment, as if memorizing it. “I’ll miss you.”

She felt a thrill run through her, before Hailey began to snort with laughter, making Shea flinched. “The girl lives in our neighborhood, Shea. It’s not like you’ll never see her again. Give me a break,” Hailey said, shaking her head.

“I don’t think you understand,” Kae said, frowning at Hailey.

The girl glared back at her. “Oh, I understand just fine,” Hailey snapped, narrowing her eyes at Kae.

Shea placed a hand on Kae’s arm. “Can’t we all be friends?”

“No.” She turned and walked south down the beach, away from the other two, angry with herself for losing her temper with the jelly-brained drylander girl. She resisted the temptation to look back to find out if Shea was following.

Shea, who definitely had mermaid blood swimming through his veins.

Thoughts whirled through her head as she stomped down the beach, hands clenched by her sides. Finally she reached a rocky outcropping and came to a stop. She turned slowly, hoping to find him close behind her.

She was alone.

He chose to stay with the other girl.

Maybe he’s not really the Princess’s son,
she thought.
Maybe he really is merely a drylander. Except for those gills…

She swallowed the bitter taste in her mouth and turned to scan the waves. Her eyes found Lailani and the baby seal, their heads barely visible on the undulating surface. She raised an arm to catch their attention and walked straight into the ocean, ready to go home.

“Kae, wait!”

She turned to see him running toward her. Crossing her arms over her stomach, she hugged herself as she watched him approach, his strong body moving fluidly along the sand. “What do you want?” Her voice came out sharper than she wanted.

He planted his feet in the sand right in front of her, hands at his sides. “I don’t want you to be angry with me. I… I thought we were friends.” He reached into his pocket and brought out the black stone. It sparkled in the bright sunlight, exuding raw magic. “Here, take this back. I shouldn’t have teased you by keeping it.” He held it out to her.

Kae looked at the stone, then up into Shea’s face. She saw in his eyes the same kind of uncertainty she felt within herself, and felt a lump of emotion rise in her throat. If he was truly the son of the Princess, there was so much he needed to learn. And quickly. With gentle fingers she cupped his hand, closing it around the
transmutare
stone. “You keep this one,” she said, her voice soft. “You may need it.”

His unwavering gaze never left her face. “I don’t know what I did to make you angry, but I’m sorry. I don’t want to fight with you.”

She squeezed his hand between her own, hoping the simple gesture would convey her feelings. The magic of the stone pulsed through their hands and she saw his eyes widen with surprise as he looked down at his hands.
He can feel the magic!

“What was that?” His voice didn’t sound scared, but curious. “Did the stone do that?”

She nodded. “I think it’s because of who you are. I can’t explain it all now,” she whispered. “My friend is waiting for me.”

He nodded his head slowly. “When will I see you again?”

“Soon,” she promised, taking a step away from him. “I’ll find you again soon.” She walked into the curling waves, diving straight into the next big one as it crashed down onto the shore. She swam underwater as fast as she could, her legs pumping together as one, until she reached the spot where Lailani and the baby seal hovered near the surface, their heads now underwater watching Kae’s approach.

The other mermaid seemed impressed. “Who knew you were so full of adventure! So, who’s the cute drylander?” Lailani teased, poking Kae’s side as she swam closer. Kae had her
transmutare
in hand and was chanting the words to change back. “And what’s with the big shirt with the strange animal on it?”

Kae looked down at her front as the tiny bubbles dissipated to reveal her bright tail, and the oversized green cloth billowing in the water. She’d completely forgotten she was still wearing Shea’s shirt. Even underwater, the yellow writing and picture seemed very bright. “John Deere,” she read out loud.

“Is that the drylander’s name?” Lailani smiled. “I like it!”

Kae opened her mouth to correct her friend, but stopped. There was no harm in misleading Lailani for now. Instead, she wriggled out of the oversized shirt and let it fall to the ocean’s floor. The baby seal followed the floating cloth, grabbing it with his teeth. “My father would have my scales if I went home wearing drylander clothing! Can you imagine if I swam into the castle’s kitchen dressed that way?”

Lailani laughed. “Speaking of the kitchen, we’d best find some moon jellies and be off, or Cook will have both our tails.” Kae nodded her agreement. They swam south toward the castle, Lailani keeping up a steady stream of questions and comments about the drylanders on the beach. Kae answered when she needed to, but her mind was spinning too much to concentrate on what her friend was saying. She needed to find answers of her own. And fast.

At the castle, preparations were well underway for the Solstice celebration. Kae’s jellyfish hunting trip with Lailani seemed like a distant memory even though it had only been a few days before. She now spent almost all of her time serving the Princess, which at the moment meant a lot of hovering at the edges of chambers, waiting to be needed. This had never been the case in the past. Usually, Princess Brynn enjoyed spending time alone and only called on her servants when she needed a task completed or wanted Kira’s companionship. Since the peace treaty and engagement had been negotiated, a pair of Adluo soldiers constantly guarded Brynn, which made the Princess uncomfortable. She’d requested that either Kae or Kira stay with her at all times. Much of the hovering and waiting fell to Kae.

She desperately wished she could tell the Princess what she knew about Shea, but there was never a good time. The guards were always there. It didn’t seem prudent to try to talk about anything in front of the Adluos, when the Princess had gone to such lengths to conceal Shea’s very existence. Kae felt utterly frustrated by the situation.

The Princess also seemed to be chaffing under the weight of the constant attention. “You may as well get used to it,” Princess Winona sniffed, shooing some small silver fish out of her path. “As Queen you should never swim anywhere alone.” The royal entourage was making their way down a corridor to the Great Hall. A luncheon buffet was being served for the Solstice guests who’d already started to arrive, and the King had sent word for his daughter to join him in welcoming the visiting dignitaries.

“You know I like to swim by myself,” Brynn argued. “My marriage should not alter my personal habits.”

Winona
let out a snort of laughter. “Should not alter your personal habits?” She wiped one hand across her forehead, tucking a stray hair back into place under her jeweled tiara. “My dear girl, life in the Atlantic Ocean is about to change completely, your life most of all.”

“But young Theo already sits upon the Southern throne, with Demyan as his Regent,” Brynn reminded her aunt. “Neither of them is replacing my father nor ruling the Atlantic.”

“Things change,” the older princess snapped. Kae heard the ice in her every word. “You know what they say: it is best to flow along with the tide, rather than be swept ashore.”

Following in their wake, Kae stared at the two princesses ahead of her. She hoped her face did not reveal the dread she suddenly felt in her heart. Her mind reeled at the old mermaid’s words.
What could she mean?
Kae wondered. Her mind whirled with possibilities. None of them were good.

The marriage between the clans had been arranged to end the bloodshed. Kae’s father had tried to explain the intricacies of the political maneuvering to his daughter. Promising some portion of the southern Atlantic along with Princess Brynn’s hand in marriage seemed a reasonable compromise in return for a peace treaty between the Adluos and the Aequoreans.

Kae wasn’t so sure that was all Demyan wanted. She was pretty sure the six-year-old king had no desire to get married. And she had no idea as to what Princess Winona might be scheming to achieve.

As the group entered the Great Hall, they saw a handful of Aequorean and Adluo advisors accompanied the King at the round table. Kae spotted a large, dark-eyed merman seated at the King’s right, a thin gold crown upon his dark head. His skin was slightly olive, and she could see that his tail was dark green, with not a fleck of gold shining among his scales.

The Prince looked young next to the elderly King, but she knew a merman’s looks could be deceiving. He could be the same age as she, or he could be over one hundred years old. Still, he looked too young to have done all of the terrible things he was rumored to have done.

King Koios arose as the entourage entered the Great Hall. “Ah, here she is. Brynneliana, my darling daughter.” He gestured to the crowned merman at his table. “The prince has arrived early, with word from your cousin Theo.”

The Prince’s laughter rumbled through the water, causing shivers to run down the length of Kae’s tail. The Southern Prince rose, and swam to where Brynn had stopped short. “Prince Demyan, at your service, my lady. I must say, you are even more beautiful than was described to me, Brynneliana, like a delicate sea flower.”

His voice was low and scratchy, causing the back of Kae’s neck to prickle as she watched him take Brynn’s small hand with his larger one, bending to brush his thin lips against her skin. Kae imagined it took all of Brynn’s royal training to resist yanking her fingers from that grasp, for despite the circle of gold on his head the merman seemed more sinister than sincere.

Kae took in the prince’s dark eyes, his overly muscular forearms and his scales the color of dying seaweed. She swallowed the bile rising in her throat, as her princess said formally, “It’s good to finally meet you as well, my Prince. I have heard much about you.”

The Prince narrowed his eyes as if to decipher a hidden meaning in those simple words. His face relaxed just as quickly, giving nothing away as he replied, “You can’t believe every story swept northward on the current, the same way we in the Southern Court try to ignore those rumors that drift southward about you, my dearest Princess.”

Keeping her hand gripped within his own, Demyan turned and gestured with his other arm toward the table. “Join us for our midday meal, won’t you? It’s just been served, and I’m famished after my long journey.”

“But my entourage,” said Brynn, trying unsuccessfully to extricate herself from his grasp. “I see there’s not enough room at the table for all of us.”

Kae quickly glanced around the King’s table. Lord Marcus and Lady Tatiana were the only two she recognized, minor lords from the part of the Southern Atlantic now closest to the edge of the advancing Adluo armies. Lord Marcus was young and unmarried, probably hoping to find a suitable wife at the Solstice gathering. Perhaps from among the Adluo delegation, to further bind the clans.

Kae remembered hearing that Lady Tatiana lost her husband when the lands near to her own had been attacked. Her husband, one of the King’s own cousins, was slain while battling Demyan’s forces. She now ruled alone, and seemed happy enough sharing a meal with her husband’s killer.
How can she forgive so easily?
Kae wondered.
The nuances of politics escape me.

“Nonsense, my dear child,” King Koios said to his daughter, a smile on his face. “We’re discussing your engagement party and the plans for the winter wedding.” He patted the stone seat next to his own. “Of course you and my dear sister should join us and share your thoughts on these important matters. Your servants can attend you from a distance, if need be.”

“No doubt you are correct, father,” Brynn conceded, bowing her head as the Prince released his grasp. She took her place beside her father, and Winona took a seat on the far side of the round table. At a nod from Demyan, the two Adluo guards stationed themselves at the entrance to the Great Hall. Kae alone was left not knowing where she should be. Slowly, she swam backwards until she was hovering next to the wall of the chamber, seemingly forgotten by the royal gathering.

“As we were saying, Prince Demyan,” the King continued, patting his daughter’s hand. “The Solstice celebration will be an excellent time to publicly announce the peace we have negotiated between the Adluo and Aequorean clans, as well as Theo’s engagement to my daughter. I have personally invited royalty from each of the world’s oceans, as well as the High Chancellor from Atlantis.”

“I look forward to the celebration,” Demyan said. Kae noticed that the Prince’s black eyes had not left Brynn’s face, and she shivered at the dark intensity she saw there. “In truth, good Sire, you must excuse my boldness. I did not expect to find your daughter so utterly captivating. My heart beats in a most unfamiliar way.”

Brynn’s cheeks turned bright red. “Such talk is quite improper, I’m sure,” she said stiffly, shaking her head. “I plan to honor the commitments of my father, for the sake of both our clans, and marry our cousin Theo. I hope you will be able to stay on in the Adluo court, perhaps return to your role with the army, now that your services as Regent will no longer be required?”

The Prince scowled in response, and Kae felt her heart beat quickly with fear. When a kitchen server patted Kae’s arm, she startled, her hand flying to cover her mouth before she could cry out and embarrass herself. Kae glanced at the other mermaid, recognizing her as one of her mother’s friends.

The older servant nodded her head toward the double doors leading into the kitchen and in a low voice said, “You should come into the kitchen and grab some food while you can. The Princess won’t be needing you for a while. The King has ordered a seven-course luncheon, they’ll be at it for hours.”

Kae nodded, and followed the mermaid to the kitchen. As the double door pushed open, the cacophony of smells and sounds that usually filled the castle’s busy kitchen assaulted her senses. In addition to the regular mayhem, several of the Adluo guards lounged along one wall eating their midday meal. Despite the swords hanging at their sides, the soldiers were joking and flirting with the Aequorean mermaids as if it were a garden party. The soldiers seemed unconcerned by the constant flurry of servants swimming in and out, and Kae wondered if they were paying attention at all or simply happy to have plentiful food. She’d heard starvation was not uncommon in the Southern Ocean.

Relaxing a bit, she glanced around to see if either of her parents were nearby. She wanted to share her suspicions, but she could find neither Kira nor Lybio in the massive kitchen. Kae wondered if she should risk swimming back to their cottage on the chance that one of them might be home.

And what would I say to them? That there’s a plot hatching to dethrone the King? What proof do I have?
She could tell the southern Atlantic alone wasn’t enough for the dark-eyed, dark-hearted prince. And he didn’t seem to like the idea of the Princess sending him back to the army barracks, either. Kae suspected he had bigger plans for himself. Did the King realize the dangers posed by this Adluo merman?

Somehow, she had to warn her father. She had to warn the King! But who would believe her? She was merely a young mermaid who’d never been out of the Atlantic. Never been outside of the royal courts to see how the world really worked. She would be dismissed and laughed at for imagining such a far-fetched tale.

“What is wrong with this servant girl?” One of the Adluo soldiers was suddenly hovering over her, peering intently into her face. “She looks awfully pale.”

“Kae, are you all right?” one of the other mermaids asked gently. Kae saw it was Mariella herself asking, the Mermaid-in-Charge of kitchen operations. Her tall white hat loomed over Kae’s smaller body.

Kae seized the opportunity being handed her. “I’m sorry, Mariella. My stomach does not feel so well. But I must go back into the Great Hall, to attend the Princess.” She sighed heavily, scrunching her forehead as if the thought pained her.

“Nonsense. You are in no shape to serve anyone. Go to your chambers and rest,” Mariella ordered. “One of my helpers can fill your place at the Princess’s side.” She glanced around the kitchen. “Lailani? Please attend to the Princess Brynneliana at once.”

The girl bowed at the waist, and swam out through the double doors.

“Now you,” Mariella said, turning her attention back to Kae. “Straight to your cottage. I will let your mother know where you are.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Kae said, bowing her head. “Thank you, ma’am.” She swam out the kitchen’s back door, but instead of turning toward the cottages, she swam toward the shoreline of Windmill Point. She needed to warn Shea. The Solstice was only a day away, and he still didn’t know anything about what was really going on under the ocean’s surface. Prince Demyan was hatching some sort of plot, she was sure of it.

And if the Atlantic King was in danger from the Adluo Prince, then so was his grandson.