At Soren’s pronouncement, the angry, confused, hurt mer warriors turned and looked at Elyssa.

Oh god.

How could she make up for her misunderstanding? All this time she’d been treating the Life Tree like a tree when instead she should have been thinking of it as part of Kadir. Like, his skin part, or his beating heart. Which could somehow beat outside his chest. And she had the power to bring it back to life?

The metaphor was as hard to wrap her mind around as the actual example of real life.

But she did understand that right now was her crossroads moment. Kadir was so injured he could barely stand her to touch him. He tensed whenever she came near and did not seek her gaze. He did not draw her into his arms. That was the cost of saving her from the needlefish.

If staying inside the castle would bring back his attention, she would give up the newfound freedom she’d enjoyed in the ocean.

But if she could do something else — something that actually seemed more useful than lying around the castle alone — she wanted to try.

“Um, I’ll do anything. What can I do?”

Adviser Creo growled in hot frustration. “Stop forcing your wishes on a fragile bride!”

Soren growled. “That ‘fragile bride’ swam on her own power across the open ocean.”

Adviser Creo’s face turned white. His hands trembled. He snarled from a place deep within his chest. “How dare you force your king’s female to swim at the pace of warriors—”

“She paced us fine.” Soren ignored him and gestured for her to swim forward. “How will you heal the Life Tree?”

How? She was asking him how. If she said the wrong thing, wouldn’t they kick her out forever?

But they were all staring.

She spoke her best ideas. “I’ll tend to it. Zoan can show me. My houseplants always did well. Although I did once kill a rose bush, but that was an honest misunderstanding. Grafting went wrong.”

No response.

Probably talking about what she killed wasn’t the right plan.

“I could also, um, I could sing to it. Plants like songs. Oh, but so do people! Because the Life Tree is a person too. I’m sure there have been studies like that.”

Actually, yeah, she could definitely tend to the Life Tree with Zoan and chant. She’d focus her mind powers and bring it back to life. Why not? She would do this.

Kadir lightened. He stroked her cheek, calm. “Very well. You will sing to the Life Tree.”

Thank goodness. This whole disaster could become another bullet point in Aya’s report of crazy mistakes Elyssa survived.

“Singing?” The adviser harrumphed. “Absurd. The Life Tree requires silence. ”

Kadir’s lips curled. “How do you know this, Adviser?”

“Perhaps he sang badly to his,” Zoan said quietly to the stone-faced Nilun.

“How dare you.” The adviser shook his fist at Zoan. The mer’s eyes gleamed. “The Life Tree is a temple. I do not profane it with noise.”

“Good. Then you will give my queen no competition.” Kadir forestalled the fight between adviser and injured warrior and gestured for all to swim to the Life Tree.

Elyssa’s stomach dropped. “Right now?”

The warriors moved en masse for the exit.

Kadir stroked his knuckles across her cheek. “Your song will deepen your connection to the Life Tree.”

And me.

The last part wasn’t spoken aloud. She heard it inside her head, somehow.

Was she supposed to help Kadir? He struggled and winced to remain upright. Oh, no, Iyen and Balim helped Kadir to swim for the exit, after the rest of the warriors.

Gailen came to her with a smile. “Please swim on your hard-earned fins, Queen Elyssa.”

He encouraged her. She kicked her fins and sped after Kadir.

Outside the castle, Tial saluted and fell into place beside Gailen as her special guards always by her side. Faier met her at the entrance to the Life Tree with a generous, calm expression. She kicked between the thick, granite petals sheltering the Life Tree.

At the inner sanctuary, she stood on the white loam dais beside Kadir on her human feet. Even Soren’s impatient order to the adviser to remain quiet seemed protective and kind.

So. Singing. In public. Wow.

High school choir was about three lifetimes ago. She’d never been a soloist, but she knew how to hit a note. And she used to do karaoke in college. After three drinks, the words on the screen started to blur, but she belted out whatever she could see with gusto.

The warriors formed a circle around her.

What had she done in choir?

Stand tall. Feet shoulder-width apart; don’t lock your knees. If you faint, try not to hit your head on a riser on the way down. Take a deep breath and…

Uh…

Oh.

Hello! What the heck was she thinking? There was no air. She couldn’t exactly launch into show tunes. Her words always vibrated in her chest. Could she even make notes?

Everyone was staring.

Kadir nodded to her. “Begin.”

Her gut clenched. Her palms couldn’t sweat because she was already completely soaked in the water. Her palms weren’t wrinkly, though. Mysticism of being a mermaid - no more prune fingers.

They waited.

Benji suddenly arrived, yapping and warbling. Her tuneless octopus music drowned the whole sanctuary in discord. Some warriors moved to grab her. She dodged them and bee-lined for Elyssa.

Elyssa scooped up the small octopus. It was kind of comical. “Did you come to help me out?”

The octopus simply continued with its awful noise.

Right. She didn’t need to breathe. She just had to vibrate, um, resonantly.

Well, with accompaniment like Benji, nobody could hear whatever she sang anyway. She kissed the top of the orange octopus’s head and psyched herself up.

“Um…uh…” Okay, here went everything. Camp songs, activate! “Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other’s gold.”

The Life Tree glowed steadily and quietly, unchanged.

She sang the second verse of the Girl Scout friendship song, and then she switched to “Row, row, row your boat,” and other classics of the campfire. Ones that she forgot she knew, but which were ingrained in her, a culture fingerprint of her past.

The more she sang, the easier it was to continue. Who cared about everyone listening in? Her vibrations weren’t operatic or anything, and she was accompanied by an octopus set to permanent “yip.” But the performance seemed to satisfy the mer warriors, so maybe she wouldn’t get kicked out today.

Suddenly, Zoan shouted. “A seed!”

Oh, thank goodness. She was out of show tunes and didn’t want to attempt fuzzily-remembered karaoke.

The others gasped and rushed past her. Kadir hovered over the branch. At its tip dangled a white, dumbell-shaped leaf. Oh, no, the leaf was wrapped around a seed. Got it.

“Twin seeds,” Kadir breathed. “Twin seeds!”

Awe spread over the gathering.

“I do not believe it.” The adviser bustled through. “Let me see.”

Kadir guarded it.

The adviser peered over his shoulder. After a long, long pause, he shook his head. His voice was much softer. “I have not seen one in all my years. Truly your Life Tree is blessed.”

“What does it mean?” Elyssa whispered to Gailen, who was nearest.

“Two seeds grow as one,” he replied in a low rumble. “It symbolizes great power. Whoever receives it will certainly have twin young fry, like Zoan and his twin brother, instead of just one, like the rest of us.”

“Zoan has a twin brother?”

“Roa. I did not meet him, but he is also full of teasing and smiles.”

“This twin seed will go to our king,” Ciran said correctly. “Queen Elyssa, you must not give it to anyone.”

“No! I won’t, I promise. That was just a misunderstanding.”

“And do not remove it until it has matured.”

She curled her hands into fists and placed them behind her back. “I won’t touch it. Not even by accident.”

The adviser backed away, turned, and left the Life Tree. His lips pursed. He looked deeply troubled.

Kadir sought her in the crowd. His back was held straighter and his face looked less pained. “You will continue to sing.”

She had done it. He looked better. The Life Tree was connected to him, so if it thrived, then he did also.

He smiled as though she finally got it.

Her chest throbbed.

He was so beautiful. Intense, thoughtful, visionary. Even now, with all of his injuries, she wanted to be alone with him. Wrap her arms and legs around his silver-tattooed torso, kiss his hard face, throw back her head as he sank his length into her hot feminine core. Give over to the ecstasy of his embrace.

But they were surrounded by warriors, he was injured, and they were on a desperate timeline to find more Sea Opals. And then, more brides.

She would help him. No matter what.