CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE - Lysi
Nereid Secrets
Several others lunged for the longblade on the floor in a scuffle. I squeezed through the crowd and shot towards the gap in the rocks, determined to finish this before lives could be lost.
“Don’t let them get to Evagore,” shouted Guenevere.
I cursed. They knew, then, why we were here.
The tunnel was short and pitch black. I followed it into a massive cavern, too big to feel how far it reached. Above the surface, the smooth walls converged in a dome. A hole at the apex let in a beam of daylight. The only other light was a soft blue glow cast by tiny bioluminescent creatures. They brightened at the wave of activity.
Where were the prison cells? This would take searching.
Dione’s army and the Nereid guards swarmed in behind me. Based on numbers, Dione and her army would get to Evagore before I did. I had to find Dione.
A merman blasted up to me, sending a whirl of bubbles in my face.
“Where’s Meela?”
I dropped my fists. “Nilus!”
His eyes were wide, aura clouded in panic. “Why isn’t she with you?”
“She’s taking the serpent to find humans,” I said, stomach knotting.
“Serpent? How—she killed him?”
“Yes.” I hesitated. She had to have done it. It was the only outcome I would accept. I repeated it more firmly. “Yes. She did. We split up so—”
Fingers closed around my tail. I screeched, whirling. My fist made contact with the mermaid’s temple at the same moment as Nilus punched her in the stomach. She toppled away, dazed. Nilus pulled me closer to the rock wall.
“Where is she now?”
“East. She told me to meet her at Eriana Kwai.”
“Eriana Kwai,” he breathed.
“I have to bring the queen—”
He was gone.
I had half a mind to call after him, to tell him not to try and chase her, but I had more pressing matters. Dione was shoving through the crowd a short distance away, scanning the cavern. I raced over and grabbed her arm.
“We have to meet Meela at Eriana Kwai with Queen Evagore.”
She looked at me sharply. “The queen needs to secure her throne in Utopia.”
“I know, but first we need to make a peace pact with humans.”
From the black tunnel, her army continued flooding into the cavern. The Nereid guards fought to stop them, but they were outnumbered. Weapons and fists collided everywhere I looked.
“Queen Evagore has spent years imprisoned,” said Dione. “She will not be in a state to go make bargains with humans.”
“Dione, the humans are stalking the serpent, waiting for the moment to drop an explosive. They’ve already tried some kind of sound explosion below the surface. If we don’t negotiate something as soon as—”
Two bodies somersaulted into us in a storm of bubbles. One hooked an arm around the other’s neck. They stopped brawling. It was Galene, holding a guard in a chokehold.
“Lysithea’s right, Dione.”
Dione looked affronted. “If you understood the state of the Pacific Kingdom as I do, then you would know Her Majesty needs to go directly to Utopia.”
“I understand plenty, which is why I know the bigger risk is from above. We need to take the humans seriously.”
Dione scowled. “I trust Her Majesty will do what she must to restore peace. This is her decision, not yours. Excuse me.”
Before I could say more, she left, continuing to search the cavern.
I turned to Galene. What did this mean? Maybe Dione hadn’t agreed, but she hadn’t disagreed, either. A decision this big was up to the queen.
Galene grimaced. “I’m here if you need me, sugarkelp.”
She took off, dragging her victim with her. A corral was forming in the centre of the room. Dione’s army surrounded a group of disarmed Nereid guards. Though this hadn’t gone according to plan, I was grateful to have Utopia as my ally. Our bigger numbers were proving favourable.
I cast my senses around the cavern, wondering where all the cells were. Maybe there were tunnels or secret passages leading to the inmates.
A faint presence overhead caught my attention. Something in the way the current broke as it swirled around the dome was suspicious. It would make sense to put the cells near the surface, wouldn’t it?
I was about to rise when someone slammed into me, knocking me so hard that spots erupted in my vision.
I righted myself, teeth bared. For a moment, I saw no one. Then fingers closed around my upper arm. Too close, I felt the rush of a swinging mace. I caught a glimpse of brunette hair—and a merman jetted out of nowhere and tackled her. They rolled away. Their struggle stopped with the merman locking an arm around the mermaid’s neck and snatching her weapon.
“Thanks,” I said, the word escaping as a bubble.
“Let go of me,” shouted Guenevere, voice strained as the merman squeezed her throat.
I did a double-take of my saviour. I’d seen him before—fought him, let him escape. He’d been on the South Pacific battlefront and a reluctant part of Adaro’s guard.
“Anthias?”
“Hi!”
“You made it back!”
Guenevere thrashed beneath his arm, roaring. He squeezed tighter.
“Sort of. I was in the Aleutian Trench. I got to Utopia as everyone was leaving after the coup.”
“The Aleutian Trench? I thought a soldier like you would get sent back to the battlefront.”
Anthias’ forehead wrinkled. “Battlef—Lysi, I abandoned my post protecting the king.”
I grimaced. Right. Treason.
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I was hiding with a former human and his wife and kids. They were supposed to be sent down to the labour camp. Anyway, you here for the queen?”
At the word queen, Guenevere struggled harder in Anthias’ grip.
“Which cell is she in?” I asked her, pointing to the dome’s perimeter.
In answer, she blew in my face.
“All right,” I said, “Anthias, help me search …”
My chest tightened. A feeling like homesickness overcame me. Deeper than homesickness, this was an overwhelming ache.
I whirled, heart pounding. They were here, both of them. The cavern was too dark to distinguish faces. Everyone’s auras blended together.
They must have come with the coup at Utopia. Unless—
“Oh, no,” I whispered. Were they in one of the prison cells? Because of me?
A group sped over to us. It was Galene and the three young mermen from Kori Maru.
“There’s gorgeousness that needs rescuing,” said Creon. “You look like you’ve got a plan.”
I looked around, mind hazy. I couldn’t think of anything but that feeling squeezing my heart. If I felt them, that meant they must have felt me. Were they out here searching for me, or were they stuck somewhere waiting to be rescued?
I shook my head and, with great effort, pulled my attention back. I had to stay focused. This was too important.
“A plan,” I said, taking in what had suddenly become my team. “Right. I think there are cells near the surface. One of them should have the queen.”
They all looked up.
“She’s definitely here?” said Creon.
I looked at Guenevere’s fierce, desperate face.
“Positive. Spread out—”
Dione rushed to a stop beside us. “What are you all doing?”
“We’re helping Lysithea find Evagore,” said Creon. “She’s in one of the cells up top.”
Dione glared at me.
I scanned the cavern. My pulse had reached a peak, pounding in my ears. They were so close. Where were they?
Dione addressed the others. “Spread out. Trace the walls. Anthias, bring that one over here with the rest.”
“Yes, ma’am,” said Anthias.
I grabbed his arm. “Wait. Keep her with us. I want her to tell us where Evagore is.”
Anthias glanced between me and Dione.
“I’m not telling you anything,” said Guenevere, her voice strained under Anthias’ arm.
“See?” said Dione. “Now put her—”
“Force it out of her,” I said. “We’re wasting time. Creon, take your friends over there and search the far wall.”
“Do not tell my soldiers what to—” said Dione.
“Aye aye!” said Creon, speeding off.
Dione looked at me furiously. I shrugged and hurried away. I smelled blood. We had to get out of here before anyone was killed—if it hadn’t happened already.
I hit the wall two-handed and pushed along it, feeling for anything odd in the stone.
Around the cavern, the army was slowly disarming the guards and pushing them inwards, circling them like a baitball.
Ephyra flashed by. She was searching the crowd instead of fighting. I wondered if Nilus had told her he was going to find Meela, or if he’d left without saying goodbye.
Such a jumble of activity met my senses that it was hard to feel for any halls leading to the prison cells. I kept sliding my hands along the stone.
But there was that presence squeezing my heart. Instinct told me to search for them, more strongly than the logic telling me to find Queen Evagore.
Stay focused, I told myself. You can find them later.
“Lysi.”
My chest constricted. That voice. I hadn’t heard it in so, so long.
I turned, and there she was, blurry through the whirl of activity. She stared at me with an expression of mingled shock and elation.
“Mom!”
The word came as a sob. I shot towards her and threw myself into her arms before she could say anything more. I buried my face in her hair—the exact shade as mine.
I wanted to say so many things, but no words would come.
“Hi, babygirl.”
The sound of her voice reduced me to tears.
A second pair of arms wrapped around me, large and strong. I turned around to hug my father.
For several years that felt like a lifetime, I’d been a soldier, a warrior, a fugitive. Beneath all of that, I’d forgotten what it was like to be a kid. I wasn’t old enough for any of this. At eighteen, I’d fought more battles than anyone should have ever had to face. In my parents’ embrace, my body seemed to shrink into a kid’s again.
“What are you doing here?” said my mother.
I pulled away fractionally. “Same thing as Dione and all of you.”
“Dione?” said my father.
“The leader of the South Pacific group.”
“The lead—you know her?”
I nodded.
My mother smoothed back my hair, studying my face with a pinched brow. “You’re wanted for treason. We nearly died of shock when we heard.”
“They didn’t question you about me?”
“They tried. We’ve been living in hiding in the kelp forest behind Clymene’s place. You remember her?”
I opened and closed my mouth. My parents had been in hiding, after all. Of course they had. It was their only option. They would have been tortured or killed the moment I’d failed to assassinate the king.
“When I sensed you, I thought you were imprisoned here,” I said thickly. “Because of me.”
“You never need to worry about us, babygirl,” said my father. “We’ve been safe and hidden. When we heard the news, we were more worried about you.”
I’d known my decisions would have wide impact, yet, somehow, all of this—my parents in hiding, their friend Clymene risking her freedom and possibly her family’s—made everything more real. Everyone I loved was in danger. Everyone they associated with was at risk. I had to keep them all safe. The way to do that was to make sure Adaro and his kingdom broke beyond repair.
“We only came out of hiding yesterday,” said my mother. “We had to go to Utopia to see the rumour for ourselves. Can you believe all of this?”
The sounds of the fight pounded in my ears. There was too much to tell my parents, and no time. I hadn’t seen them since training. The entire world had changed since then. They didn’t even know about Meela, or the serpent, or why I was wanted for treason.
“We heard from your brother,” said my father. “He’s on his way home.”
I squeaked. “Really?”
My eyes burned with emotion. For years, I had stopped myself hoping that someday my family might be reunited. The prospect seemed too impossible.
“They were met by Medusa’s army,” said my mother. “They surrendered.”
My brother was alive. I was so absorbed in the idea of seeing him again that her words nearly passed by me.
“Wait, Medusa decided to fight?”
My mother’s eyebrows shot up.
“I’ll explain later,” I said, looking around for the others.
Anthias, Galene, Creon and his friends were still skimming the walls in their search.
“How long has she been on the move?” I said.
“A few days,” said my father. “A lot of Adaro’s armies have surrendered under her.”
So Medusa had listened to Meela and me. She was fighting back.
“But how did she get to the South Pacific so fast? When we talked to her …” I counted backwards on my fingers, trying to figure out how she travelled the length of the Atlantic so quickly.
“Talked to her?” shouted my father. “What do you mean—?”
“Never mind. Are you sure she’s in the South Pacific? Where did you hear this?”
“Her army came through the canal,” said my mother. “Adaro wasn’t expecting her to hit his armies from the middle, so his defenses were weak.”
“The canal? You mean the Panama Canal?”
My mother nodded. “She negotiated with the humans. They allowed her passage.”
I let out a bark of laughter. Adaro would be fuming to know she’d beat him because of an alliance with humans.
“Lysi!” Creon waved me over.
I glanced from the crowd to my parents, desperately wanting to spend more time with them. I wanted to tell them everything—and especially about Meela. I wanted to know what they had been doing, and exactly what my brother had said. But this was not the time.
“I have to go.”
They nodded.
My mother motioned to the corral of guards forming in the middle. “Us, too.”
The fight was still going, the taste of blood in the water. I hoped we hadn’t lost lives. We had higher numbers, but the guards were armed and able to fend off several at once.
My father pulled me into another hug and whispered, “We’re proud of you, babygirl.”
I bit the inside of my cheek so I wouldn’t start sobbing again.
They let me go, just like that. They trusted that I’d survived this long, and that I would continue to do the right thing.
I thought of Meela, wherever she was. She, too, had proven her abilities countless times. She’d made it this far. It was my turn to stop worrying. If I truly loved her, I had to trust her. I had to let her live, and make her own choices, and learn from her mistakes.
I darted over to Creon. “What’d you find?”
Before he could say anything, I heard a hoarse voice. “What’s happening?” it said.
I snapped my attention to the wall. The voice had come from beyond the rock.
I tuned out the chaos, and a gap revealed itself in the wall. It was narrow, no more than a hand’s width, too dark to see through. I pressed my palm to it, feeling what was on the other side.
The way the water swirled told me the cell was circular, with smooth walls and no room for comfort. A lone merman was inside. He was weak, his aura pale.
“The others are checking for more gaps in the wall,” said Creon. “We must be getting close because that commander mermaid is getting desperate.”
“Well done,” I said. “Can we get him out of here?”
Creon and I felt around the gap. A boulder blocked the cell entrance. It was wide, roughly rectangular. We pushed, but it didn’t budge. We would need a team to move this.
“We’ll come back,” I whispered, throat tightening with guilt. The truth was, Evagore was our priority. We had no time to free the prisoners one-by-one.
“No!” said the merman inside. “Get me out of here. Please.”
I backed away, deflating. We had to stay focused. I motioned for Creon to follow.
The merman rushed at the gap. He pressed his face against it, shouting after us. “Wait! I can help if you let me out!”
A few lengths ahead, Anthias dragged Guenevere around the cavern, still keeping her in a headlock.
“Are we close?” he said, to no response.
The other young mermen had crossed the dome to search the far wall. Dione and Galene had disappeared somewhere ahead. We needed more help.
There was a flash of darkness and a huge splash. Something erupted at the surface. Screams broke out. Everyone scattered. I instinctively threw my arms over my head, my mind leaping from human explosives, to the dome caving in, to a crashing meteor.
There was a mass scramble to get away from the object, and—
“Cannonbaaall!”
A lanky merman uncurled himself from the eruption of bubbles. His hair was wilder than ever, like he’d escaped a windstorm.
“Spio?!”
I looked from him to the top of the dome, where the sliver of daylight had grown wider. Pieces crumbled from the edges and rained down on us.
Spio turned at the sound of my voice, face brightening, and said, “Proof.”
In his hand was a black, opaque crown. Locks of black hair clung to it, severed at the ends. I gaped. I’d spent my life looking at that crown—and not once had I seen it detached from its owner’s head.
My throat constricted. Of everything this orphaned crown represented, one victory rose above all: Meela had succeeded. She was alive, and she had the serpent under her control.
“Now we have what we need to rally everyone,” said Spio slowly, misreading my expression as confusion.
“Brilliant,” I said, voice strangled.
He shoved the crown into his bag and glanced around. “I thought the plan was to talk to them quietly.”
“Everyone from Kori Maru and Utopia showed up.”
Spio nodded, taking in the carnage with an air of mild interest. “Huh.”
“We’re trying to find Evagore. There are prison cells in the walls.”
“Challenge accepted.”
He took off.
I cast my senses around the cavern to check on the others. They were still running fingers along the walls, feeling for gaps.
A mermaid called out from the next cell.
“My name is Medea,” she said. “Please, I am not a criminal. I was South Pacific government. I never did wrong.”
“I believe you. We’re going to get you out of here soon. Do you know where the queen is?”
She hesitated. “No. But I can help you search.”
Guilt pressed on me again. I had to leave her. Time was too tight.
If I knew anything about Adaro, none of these prisoners were here because they were dangerous criminals. They were all innocent, stuck here for being enemies of the crown.
“I’m sorry,” I said. I continued to the next cell, ignoring her pleas.
In the centre, the fight was subsiding. The guards were clustered tightly together, surrounded by the army and as helpless as a baitball. Their weapons were ours.
Spio appeared next to me with what must have been the largest mace he could find. The end looked like a barrel.
He motioned across the way. “I think they found something interesting.”
Dione, Galene, Creon, and the others from Kori Maru were gathered by the wall.
I ground my teeth. Why hadn’t they called me over?
Dione, I thought. That’s why.
Spio and I rushed over to join them.
“What do you want?” said the prisoner faintly from the back of the cell—a female.
“We are here to help,” said Dione. “What’s your name?”
When the occupant didn’t respond, Creon said, “You can trust us.”
More silence.
“Queen Evagore?” said Dione to the gap in the wall.
“Why do you need her?” repeated the prisoner.
The group of us traded uncertain glances. Was it her? Maybe she was sceptical about what would happen if she revealed her identity. Then again, maybe she was another mermaid who suspected that saying she was the queen would grant her freedom.
“I think it is her,” said Dione to her council. “I know her aura.”
“Well, are we getting her out, or what?” said Spio, moving closer to the boulder.
“Of course,” said Dione, snapping. “I’m formulating a plan.”
“Run it by me,” said Spio. “I’ll tell you if it sucks or not.”
She glared at him.
“Come on,” I said. “Let’s start pushing.”
“No!” said Guenevere, renewing her struggle in Anthias’ grip. “Stop them! Someone!”
But none of her guards were free to help her.
Energised by her panic, the group of us moved in to push the boulder. I found a spot between the wall and Galene. We pushed and pulled, using the wall and floor for leverage.
“Find a rhythm,” said Creon. “Heave! Heave! Heave!”
It worked. A gap opened into the cell.
Closest to it, I slid an arm through and reached for the mermaid. “Grab my hand.”
She stirred at the back of the cave.
Please be Evagore. Please let the queen be alive and well.
If this was her, the true queen of the Pacific, our plan would be in motion. The Pacific Kingdom could start anew. What would it be like to live under a monarch not driven by hatred or fear of humans? Would our world become as rich and as free as the one Meela and I had seen in the Atlantic?
The boulder gave a loud rumble.
“It’s slipping!” said Anthias.
Before I grasped what was happening, the rock smashed against me. I cried out, pinned to the wall, the air shoved from my lungs.
All of them began to shout at once.
“Grab it! Pull it back!”
The crushing feeling grew more painful as my ribcage compressed. I whimpered. It felt as though my bones were about to shatter.
I’d been too focused on getting to the prisoner. I’d caught no warning signs from the slipping boulder.
I groaned, trying to wriggle free. I couldn’t die like this—not when, for the first time ever, I’d felt hope for a life free from King Adaro.
Creon tried to shout everyone back into the rhythm. There was too much panic.
Then Anthias and Spio appeared above and below me, wedging themselves between wall and boulder.
“We’ve got you, Lysi,” said Spio, his words calm and reassuring. “Everyone, heave!”
They picked up Creon’s rhythm. I shoved against the wall, trying to help.
Guenevere’s sour face appeared through the group. She rubbed her throat. Anthias had let her go to help free me.
Our gazes met. Contemplation passed behind her eyes. Whatever action she took next would define her and the world she would live in.
She looked to my friends, and then to me. She made her decision. She extended her hands and slammed into the boulder next to Galene, helping them push.
Together, they eased the boulder away.
The moment the crushing weight was off my chest, instinct told me to rise for air. I ignored it and reached for the prisoner.
She took my hand.
I pulled her from the cell, dragging her frail, wilted form as lightly as if she were a string of kelp.
Everyone grew still as we squeezed into the open. She was a southern mermaid.
My friends let the boulder go. It slammed back into the wall with an echoing boom.
The noise and current ricocheted through the cavern. We hovered, staring, until it faded. Creon and the others straightened like soldiers at attention.
Dione broke the pressing silence.
“Your Majesty.”