Fourteen
“Are you guys ready for this?” Alex asked the next morning.
She, Jordan, Bear and D.C. were standing in the Library’s corridor of doors where Sir Camden had told her to go when she was ready to visit the ‘old kingdoms’ of Medora—or the ‘yonderlands’, as he’d also referred to them, though she would never repeat that word aloud.
“Is that a trick question?” Jordan asked, bouncing on his feet.
It was nice to see him so animated after everything he’d been through, but still…
“This isn’t meant to be fun, Jordan,” D.C. said with mild but still clear reproof. “What we’re doing is important.”
“I’m aware of that,” Jordan returned, no less excited. “But can you honestly tell me you’re not looking forward to this? Just a little bit?”
Bear jumped in and added, “It’s not every day that humans set foot in Nialas.”
“That’s because we value life,” D.C. pointed out. “And I hear drowning is one of the worst ways to go.”
D.C.’s concerns were valid. Nialas was the Flips’ capital city and part of the Undersea Islands. By definition alone, ‘undersea’ implied enough cause for alarm—that being because the home of the Flips was, indeed, underwater.
But Alex also knew from her Species Distinction class, as well as her refresher meeting with the teachers earlier in the week, that the Flips were capable of breathing in both atmospheric and aquatic conditions. Despite being more amphibious than humanoid, they needed oxygen to survive. Kind of like whales, or at least that’s how she compared them in her mind. Because of that, their underwater municipalities were pressurised and contained, like massive air bubble cities deep in the ocean.
“Don’t be such a princess,” Bear said with a teasing grin, nudging D.C. in the ribs. “Your parents have travelled to Nialas, haven’t they? They clearly survived the trip. We’re going to be fine.”
“It’s still not meant to be fun,” she repeated, grumbling slightly—most likely from the ‘princess’ dig.
“Then we’ll do our best to act mature and avoid asking if they have a waterslide theme park we can visit while we’re down there,” Jordan promised, somehow managing to keep a straight face. “As hard as that will be.”
D.C. pursed her lips and, from way too much outsider experience over the last few days, Alex knew that if she didn’t intervene, Jordan would take that as an invitation to kiss his girlfriend, so she quickly said, “I guess this means we’re good to go, right?”
“Right,” Bear said.
“Right!” Jordan agreed.
“… Right,” came D.C.’s less eager but still willing response.
Alex nodded and did what only she could by calling out to the Library and asking, “Can you please show us the way to Nialas?”
As Sir Camden had promised, the corridor had only a few doorways in it this time, considerably less than when she had been wandering it with the knight, so Alex was able to see when a door clicked open only a few feet along from where they stood.
“I guess that’s our stop,” Alex said, walking forward. Only, when she arrived and was close enough to see through the doorway, she realised they might have a problem.
“So,” Jordan said, peering over her shoulder. “Anyone bring a snorkel?”
Alex stared through the barrier separating the corridor from the outside, seeing nothing but deep, dark water. Intrigued, she moved her hand over the threshold only to have her fingers come back dripping wet.
“Let’s try this again,” she murmured, taking a step backwards. Louder, she called out to the Library again, “It’s nice to see you have a sense of humour, but how about a doorway so that we can reach Nialas? Preferably without having to grow flippers and gills first.”
Alex could have sworn she heard a quiet chuckle echo in her ears as another doorway opened a few more feet away. This one, Alex was relieved to discover, led to somewhere above ground.
“I know that place,” D.C. said as she looked ahead of Alex. “It’s the harbour at Tryllin. We could have just used a Bubbledoor if we’d known that’s where we have to go.”
Alex squinted through the door and, sure enough, she recognised the seaside boardwalk the two of them had walked along just a few months ago, the day after D.C.’s seventeenth birthday.
“Either way, no drowning for us,” Bear said with a satisfied nod.
“Not yet, anyway,” Jordan said, his tone way too cheerful given the subject matter.
Hoping she wouldn’t regret bringing friends along with her—and so far, the verdict was still out on that one—Alex stepped into the bright Tryllin sunshine. The moment they were all through the doorway and shielding against the sudden glare, a new voice spoke up.
“I was beginning to wonder if you would ever arrive.”
Whirling around, Alex was beyond shocked to see Jeera leaning casually against the harbour railing.
“Um…” Alex mumbled, having no idea what to say. “Hey?”
“This is so not good,” D.C. whispered, attempting to hide her royal self behind Jordan.
Alex feared her roommate just might be right.
“So, uh, what are you doing here, Jeera?” she asked when the Warden didn’t respond to her hesitant greeting.
“I could ask you the same question, Alex, but we both already know the answer to that.”
Alex decided to drop the act. “I know I was told to stand down, to just wait and see what Aven does. But I’m sorry, Jeera, I can’t do that. And if you try to stop me…”
She trailed off, not knowing how to finish her sentence. While she was confident she could take Jeera in a fight, that didn’t mean she wanted to.
“I’m not here to stop you,” Jeera said, pushing off from the railing. “I’m here to help you.”
That brought Alex up short. Until another new voice filled the air, increasing her surprise tenfold.
“You know, when you have a family member in the ISDS, it kind of makes sense to get in touch with them if you plan on meeting with any of the other races. Especially when that person is currently on assignment as a human ambassador for the Flips.”
Alex’s head whipped sideways to see Bear’s brother moving towards them with powerful strides, his light brown hair ruffling in the breeze.
“Blake!” Bear cried, his face paling. “What are—I mean—Uh—” He stopped and then tried again. “You didn’t tell Mum about this, did you?”
“Are you serious?” Blake asked. “She would have grounded you for life.”
Bear waited, and then said, “That’s a no, right?”
Shaking his head—whether in amusement or exasperation, Alex wasn’t sure—Blake moved to Jeera’s side.
“Can someone please tell me what’s going on here?” Alex asked.
“I spoke with Kaiden last night,” Jeera said.
Alex froze, fearing what might come out of her mouth next. But she needn’t have worried.
“I don’t usually let people know what my gift is, for the obvious reasons which I believe you now have some understanding of,” Jeera said, and Alex knew she meant Lena and her long-distance nullifying ability. “While my brother had an uncharacteristic moment of sharing, I’m glad you know, since that’ll make it easier for you to accept when I say I had a feeling you’d be coming out here today.”
Jeera’s words were evasive, yet also telling enough to reveal her intuition had clued her in to Alex’s plans.
“The problem is, as of three days ago, the Flips closed their borders to uninvited visitors,” Jeera continued. “The only humans who are allowed access to the Undersea Islands right now are those who have gone through the official channels to orchestrate a meeting.”
“People like me,” Blake jumped in, “who have a legitimate excuse for actually being there. You know, since it’s my job to liaise with the other races.”
Alex could have kicked herself. Blake’s work with the Inter-Species Diplomatic Service meant he should have been one of the first people she’d consulted for advice on the other races, but she’d never once considered asking anyone other than her teachers. She realised now how shortsighted she’d been, how unprepared she truly was.
With a pointed look, Blake’s next words mirrored Alex’s thoughts as he said, “You really should have come to me, since I’m guessing you have no idea what you’re doing.”
“We know a bit,” Jordan defended. “Just not… all the bits.”
“Like the bit about the closed borders,” D.C. mumbled, still huddling behind Jordan, for all the good it did her.
Jeera sighed. “I’m not going to drag you back to your parents, Princess. You don’t have to hide.”
D.C. looked torn between wanting to trust the Warden and questioning whether she could. She also flicked worried eyes towards Blake, but he didn’t react to the royal title, showing that he already knew her identity. Hesitantly, she stepped out from Jordan’s shadow and, true to her word, Jeera didn’t pounce.
Instead, the Warden turned back to Alex and said, “Once I realised you were coming today, I asked Blake to make a few holo-calls. He’s organised a meeting with the Clan—the leaders of the Flips—claiming that a delegation of humans have something urgent to report.”
“I’m probably going to lose my job for this,” Blake said, aiming a not-so-happy look towards Bear, as if it were solely his brother’s fault, even if only by association. “Or at least be put on suspension until I can prove it was for a good cause.” His gaze softened considerably as he looked at Jeera, wrapping an arm around her waist. “You’re lucky I think you’re worth the trouble I’m going to face once I get back.”
When Jeera smiled brightly and pushed up to kiss him lightly on the lips, Alex, while surprised by this unknown development, still struggled to resist melting at the sweetness of the moment.
Bear, on the other hand, made a strangled-sounding noise, revealing that he had also missed the memo about Blake and Jeera being… well, Blake and Jeera.
Hearing the sound, Blake turned to his brother with a half grin. “You need to check in with me more often, little bro.”
“I saw you two weeks ago!” Bear spluttered. He waved a hand between the two of them. “How long has this been going on?”
Blake looked thoughtfully at Jeera and answered, “A few months, give or take. But we’ve been keeping it under the radar. I didn’t say anything when we were home for Kaldoras because I didn’t want to risk Mum or Gammy overhearing. Can you imagine?”
Bear’s shoulders relaxed and a hint of a smile touched his lips. “Mum would’ve started designing the wedding dress.”
“And Gammy would have begun experimenting with cake recipes,” Blake said.
Jordan smacked his lips together. “Mmm. Wedding cake made by Gammy. I’m happy to volunteer as a taste tester. Anytime, day or night.”
Jeera, Alex noticed, looked partly amused and partly terrified at the unanticipated marriage talk. Considering she’d only been with Blake for a few months, Alex didn’t blame her and decided to intervene before the Ronnigan boys and Jordan made the young Warden run for the hills.
“So this meeting that you may or may not lose your job over,” Alex said, redirecting the conversation. “When is it?”
Blake pulled his ComTCD from his jeans and checked the time. “I told them we’d be finished with them before lunch. Flips are notorious for napping in the afternoon, so the sooner we go, the more time we’ll have and the better their attention spans will be.”
“Plus, the sooner you get out of here, the less chance there’ll be of someone trying to stop you,” Jeera put in. “Advisor Jaxon’s on a war path against you, Alex. He’s determined that you’re just telling tall tales to get attention, and he’s warned both the increased military scouts and the Wardens to keep an eye out for you.”
Frustrated, Alex had nothing she could say in response that would be anywhere near appropriate to verbalise in public.
“Fortunately, Commander Nisha has more sway over them than Jaxon does,” Jeera said, her blue eyes twinkling. “And my aunt seems to like you, Alex. Which means, should you be recognised, your spotter just might be willing to turn the other way.”
Alex felt her own smile grow. “Is that what you’re doing, Jeera? Turning the other way?”
Jeera laughed. “Goodness, no. I’m actively disobeying direct orders by helping you. I’m also breaking about a thousand secrecy regulations by bringing Blake into the fold.” She tilted her head and finished, “And, of course, exploiting him in the process.”
“Then why…?” Alex trailed off, but she didn’t have to finish her question for Jeera to understand.
“Drock spoke with you, didn’t he?” When Alex nodded, Jeera continued, “He offered you assistance in his way, now I’m doing the same for you in mine. I’m sure he would have mentioned that our hands are tied, politically. But even the king and queen wish we could do more.” Jeera gestured to Blake. “This is me doing more.”
“Technically, it’s me doing more,” Blake said dryly.
“And you’ll receive my gratitude for it,” Jeera told him sweetly, before pointedly finishing, “later.”
Grinning at her and ignoring Bear’s gagging sound, Blake looked back at Alex and said, “I presume you know what you’re going to say once we get there?”
Alex decided not to admit that she had no idea and intended on winging it. “Sure.”
He nodded once and pressed a kiss to Jeera’s temple before releasing her. “Right, then. Let’s signal our transport.”
Intrigued, Alex watched as he pulled what looked like a glowing piece of coral from his leather jacket and tossed it over the railing and into the ocean.
“No one can know I had anything to do with this, so I need to go before your escort arrives,” Jeera said, looking to where the coral had submerged. She then turned serious eyes to Alex and whispered, “Good luck,” before she threw a Bubbler vial to the ground and stepped through it.
Seconds later, the water started bubbling. Great, heaving gasps of air rippled across the ocean until a vessel rose up from the deep. About the size of a large car, it was spherical in shape and fully transparent, like a glass dome bobbing to the surface. Upon closer inspection, Alex could see the bottom surface was flat, making her liken it to a human-sized snow globe.
In the centre of the vessel stood a female Flip, her luminescent green skin splashed with bright orange tribal markings. She was covered just enough to be considered decent, with clothes made entirely from seaweed, shells, coral and other oceanic matter, including what looked like live starfish attached to her webbed hands and feet.
“Ambassador Blake,” the Flip said in a timid voice, a foreign but not unpleasant lilt to her tone. “Is your delegation ready for passage?”
“Yes, thank you, Glyn,” Blake said as he fiddled with a latch on the railing that Alex hadn’t noticed before, revealing a small gate that swung inwards.
As he did so, the Flip—Glyn—bent down and ran her fingers along the vessel’s floor, and a moment later, the transparent dome over the top dissipated, leaving only the base she was standing on. With the upper barrier now gone, Blake moved through the gate and jumped down onto the invisible platform beside her, balancing his weight when it rocked slightly in the water.
“The first step’s the hardest,” he called up to them. “But this thing”—he stomped his foot on the bottom of the globe—“is as solid as a rock, so don’t be afraid.”
Alex’s frequent use of the invisible Valispath meant she wasn’t the least bit daunted at the thought of dropping barely a few feet down onto the glass-like vessel, and she did so without hesitation. Her friends followed her lead without needing more coaxing, since they too had travelled on the Eternal Path, if not as much as she had.
Blake seemed disappointed by their lack of fear, almost as if he’d been hoping for more of a dramatic reaction. Alex had to hide her smile at the thought of him experiencing the Valispath for himself and thus realising why they weren’t fazed by the sea transport.
“Is everyone ready?” Glyn asked in her timid, accented voice.
“My companions have never travelled by Airlock before,” Blake said, “and no matter how many times I make the journey, it never sits well with me. Can we trouble you for some aegon before we depart?”
Glyn tugged what looked like a strand of seaweed from her already minimalistic skirt, handing it to Blake.
“Cheers,” he said, tossing her a winning smile, to which the poor Flip appeared flustered in response and hurried to drop down and press her hand against the floor of the globe again. Instantly, the sheen of the transparent dome rematerialised over their heads, and the vessel began its descent into the water at an incredible speed.
“Chew on this,” Blake said, shredding the aegon into five pieces and handing them to Alex and her friends, keeping one for himself. “It’ll help stave off any pressure sickness.”
Alex looked dubiously at the slimy, brownish offering, not at all thrilled by the idea of putting the foreign weed in her mouth.
“The Undersea Islands are deep on the ocean floor,” Blake explained, reading her hesitation. “The cities themselves are protected by compression fields, but the journey there and back is swift enough to be taxing on the human body.” He nodded encouragingly towards the weed in her hand. “Take it, or I can guarantee you’ll experience what feels like the worst migraine imaginable once we resurface.”
Trusting him, Alex placed the aegon in her mouth, gagging at the salty flavour. She could manage barely three chews before she had to swallow the rest of it whole, but at least the deed was done.
Satisfied, Blake gave a chin jerk, gesturing for her to follow his gaze, and she did so, her eyes widening as she realised just how rapidly they were moving underwater.
Their glass-like vessel offered a crystal clear view, but since the surface was now impossibly far above them thanks to their unprecedented speed, there wasn’t much to see with such little light filtering so deep into the water. But that didn’t mean there was nothing to see, especially when they reached the ocean floor and continued along it in a stream of movement.
Flashes of sea creatures in all sizes flew past Alex’s vision, from tiny luminescent fish to large, sharp-toothed beasts she didn’t want to know the names of, let alone encounter outside of the Airlock vessel. Underwater landmarks came and went, along with large caverns rising up from and descending into the ocean floor. There were coral reefs and gaping chasms and even a long-abandoned wreck of some ginormous vessel. It was like a whole new world, and Alex was mesmerised by it.
Finally, their transport began to slow from what felt like warp speed to something much more appropriate for sightseeing as they approached a ledge in the sea shelf. When the drop-off area spanned out in front of them, all Alex could do was gape at the vision before her.
Resting on the lowered ocean floor were what looked like hundreds, maybe thousands of glass domes, all like upside-down goldfish bowls. They ranged in size from being large enough to fit a house, to large enough to fit the entire campus of Akarnae. And Alex could see this, because inside each of the spheres were softly illuminated buildings, sometimes just one or two, sometimes a whole spread of them in various shapes and sizes. All of these spheres were connected to a massive central dome by transparent, interlinking bridge-tunnels—a central dome their Airlock vessel was heading directly towards.
Flashes of architecture whirled by Alex’s vision as they sailed through the underwater city, allowing her to compare the buildings to something that might have been found in Ancient Greece; pillars and arches and enough splendour for her to liken what she was seeing as the Medoran equivalent of the mythical Atlantis.
It was, in a word, breathtaking.
“Welcome to Nialas,” Blake said, breaking into her reverie. “The capital of the Undersea Islands.”