Page 33 of Coral Prince Conundrum
“Seero, why aren’t you laughing?” Daryl’s face falls. “Seero.”
“Daryl…you will, um…” I bite my lip, unsure of how to tell him.
He eyes the creature in my hands, then me. “What…what do you mean? Tell me what you mean.”
I grimace. “Daryl, most of my kingdom is deep underwater. And we do not carry the surface technology known as scuba gear. Instead, anyone who has poor lung capacity must use amphibious jellyfish like Jojo.”
“Use the jelly…” He blinks at me with an adorably confused expression. “But…how would I…?” I hand over Jojo, and Daryl looks deeply uncomfortable with the purple animal in his arms.
I clear my throat. “As my betrothed, the entire royal court, including Mother and Father, want to meet you.” I look away. “For a, um…royal dinner?”
“Royal dinner?!”
“Yes.” I nod and touch his shoulders. “In our main palace, not this tiny surface home.”
He looks up at the building, then back at me. “Tiny surface home, but…” His eyebrows jump. “Oh no. The palace is underwater, isn’t it?”
“Again, I am so sorry to put you through all this,” I reply. “You and Jojo, both.”
“What do you mean us both?” he asks with understandable apprehension. Daryl’s mouth is agape, and he looks down in time to see Jojo lifting up a friendly tendril. I wince, and judging by his expression, Daryl already knows what I am asking him to do. Tonight will make or break our gambit. I am taking Daryl down below, and it will either go well or end in disaster.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Daryl
There was nothing that Seero could have said to adequately prepare me for the Coral Kingdom. Everything here is like something out of a fantasy movie. I knew magic existed in certain kingdoms, like the far-off Desert Kingdom and nearby Icedonia. But seeing water defy physics with my own two eyes is another level of astonishment. Seero already demonstrated his powers, but he never showed me the literal sea dragons and other creatures that ferry about the Corali people.
And that’s nothing to speak of the sheer prince…ness of Seero himself. Massive guards, each riding a giant seahorse, flanked us on the trip to his backup house. We needed them, too, because crowds and paparazzi swarmed us. They seem to love Seero, so at least I feel safe when I’m with him. I am, after all, his fiancé.
Fake fiancé. Of a freaking magical ocean prince. The handsome man himself keeps smiling and doting on me, making me feel just as special as him. The way his dark eyes gazed at me by the tidal pool sent shivers down my spine.
But I am not special. I’m just a barista who happens to be caught up in fake relationship shenanigans, hoping it doesn’t devolve into an international incident.
Which is why I’m here today. I poke at the giant, gelatinous sphere surrounding my head. Jojo, the amphibious jellyfish, has taken a liking to me, according to Seero, and he’s the only thing that stands between me and immediate doom. My head and neck are completely climate-controlled inside this creature?ew?allowing me to visit the underwater palace.
Seero had me change into a dark green shirt and long waistcloth, matching his traditional Corali outfit. He held me as we were ferried hundreds of feet deep underwater by the guards and their sea dragons to the main palace. The Coral Castle?resembling a theme park castle with spiral-conch-shell-styled structures atop each tower?is heavily safeguarded. We passed dozens of sharks and water mystics floating to protect the structure from any intruders.
Not that any other race could come down here without scuba gear. I sit in the chair in the main dining room and poke Jojo around my head, praying he doesn’t decide to quit on me, or worse, eat me.
“Just keep calm,” Seero murmurs. His voice is surprisingly clear despite us being deep underwater. I nod, since my voice can’t carry with the giant jellyfish around my head. The biology of the creature allows my entire body to be climate and pressure controlled. Still, I can see and hear everything. I don’t know the physics behind it, but my body is fine down here, as long as I keep my head inside this creature.How am I going to eat?
King Ero and another woman with a golden crown shaped like coral stand at the head of the table. Lamps containing what appear to be bioluminescent seaweed illuminate the room. Seero sits next to his dad, and his two siblings sit across from us. The rest of the table is occupied by royal viziers and other distinguished guests. They all have gills and are eating, drinking, chatting, and having a good time. The table itself feels like it’s made of solid sea rock. Every two minutes in this kingdom,I learn something new about a world unseen, deep within the ocean. I would love to study here as much as possible. Maybe the handsome man to my left would let me live here indefinitely…?
Shut up, inner desires.This is only temporary.
I look up to see King Ero stand, and we all follow suit. “A toast!” He holds up his goblet, and I do the same, even though I can’t physically drink. “My son has foundang kaluluwa niya!” Everyone cheers and raises their glasses, and I turn to Seero. He avoids my gaze, choosing to stare at the king.
“As Queen Marites Dagat, I welcome you.” The woman wearing the crown, Seero’s mom, looks directly at me. “To our kingdom, and our family.”
“We shall start the wedding planning in a matter of days!” King Ero says. The two royal parents seem genuinely overjoyed that their son is engaged. I thought it would be weird since we’re both guys, but I guess homosexuality isn’t a big deal here. I’ll bet lying to the whole kingdom is treasonous, though.
“Let us enjoy our time together,” Seero remarks. He turns to me, and with a twinkle in his eyes, he says, “Daryl just got here, after all.”
My cheeks warm inside the climate-controlled jellyfish helmet. Despite all the deception, I’m still having a good time just being by his side. Seero makes me feel safe.
“Yes, to our prosperous future,” the queen says. “And our family growing more and more.”
“Very ill! Here, here!” Oroy says from across the way. Priya gives a pinched smile and clinks goblets with her brother. Everyone drinks, and then plates are promptly filled by waiters. I even get my own dish, some sort of fancy seaweed salad, even though they all recognize I can’t eat at the moment.
