Page 34 of Depths
* * *
The soundof a whale moaning woke me with a start. I bolted upright in my bed, for a moment uncertain where I was and what was happening. I glanced at the window. Outside the castle, the water had lightened from pitch black to a deep turquoise that I knew signified it was morning. Outside, the hum of people moving and chattering drifted up and reminded me of birdsong. That memory made me temporarily nostalgic because I was unlikely to hear birdsong ever again.
The things I took for granted about my old life … even the simplest ones, had begun to resonate.
I heard a shrill whistle, and the entire castle swayed as the giant whale bellowed again, moving closer. That’s when I remembered. Today was the day. The whale was just outside the doors so that we could load up our traveling party with ease. Excitement and trepidation leapt inside my chest as I shoved back my silken sheets. Today we left the safety of my walls in the capital, Palati, and traveled to Reef City for the first competition. We’d even have to make camp for a night, just like a traveling band of musicians. For a princess who’d been stuck in a castle most of her life,thatwas an adventure.
I stretched and sighed, rolling my shoulders to ease their ache before climbing carefully off of my circular mattress and flexing my wings. Despite the fact that I’d hardly slept—knowing Mateo had joined the tournament had left me tossing and turning with a mixture of anticipation, longing, and dread—I felt energized.
I went through my morning ablutions quickly, allowing Gita to help me slide on a red traveling gown. The golden-tailed mermaidoohed andaahed over it, despite the fact that it was still conservative. I agreed. My seamstress had outdone herself, thinking of both beauty and comfort. The dress was made of silk and embroidered with golden angel wing shells, and while it lacked the layers that I would have preferred for riding on a stone gargoyle or sitting on a hard bench inside a shell carriage, I was told extra skirts would only get tangled around my legs if I swam at all in the swift open ocean currents. Unlike Palati, which was buffered by the Systrofi Mountains and Kelp Forest on the east, the path to Reef City was through the plains. There was nothing to stop the currents from shoving wildly out there, which was why a whale and carriage had been chosen to transport us. Well, that and the sheer size of our traveling party.
I sat still as my honey-colored hair was put into a side braid, with bits of pink coral woven into it. A necklace of multi-colored sky breather coins was placed around my neck, and several armbands decorated with more beads shaped from pink coral enclosed my biceps. There were no shoes because I was expected to swim. Okeanos residents didn’t need shoes. But I was used to walking, and it was a hard habit to break. I had no problems inside the glass palace, but outside, well, I’d just have to learn.
I jangled my necklace nervously. “Do you still think this is a good idea? Wearing coins? Quite a few people hate my heritage.”
Gita smiled and pulled my hand from the necklace. “Some do, but others are ready for trade, ready to embrace the world again. Besides, you are what you are.”
When my face had been made up, Gita leaned back and clapped. Her own golden puff of hair—artfully pulled into a giant poof on the top of her head and offset with a silver starfish clip—bobbed as she sighed wistfully. “You look so beautiful, Your Majesty. They’ll all be falling over themselves to get to you.”
“I should hope not. I’m clumsy enough myself. I don’t need husbands who are as clumsy as me.”
She tittered like a young girl at my lame attempt at humor, and swam off to get our things loaded for the journey.
I, on the other hand, cracked my neck and fingers as if preparing for a fight. Then I swam forward. I had hoped to leave the castle and look over the whale and my own carriage before everyone else arrived. But my door swung open before I could touch it, revealing a very smug Declan.
“Whygood morning, little sister,” he declared as he shut the hall door, unable to keep an arrogant grin off his face. The self-satisfied bastard.
I couldn’t even truly be annoyed at him for his interference. I was thrilled that I was going to get to see Mateo later today. And tomorrow. And possibly forever.
I did bite down on my smile, though, when Declan brushed back his blond hair and cupped a hand to his ear dramatically, saying, “Well? I’m not hearing any gratitude.”
I gritted my teeth, but I couldn’t keep the smile away any longer. My mirth betrayed me as I replied, “You might get some thanks if you weren’t so arrogant about it.”
Declan huffed, turned, and marched back to the door, yanking it open. “Felipe,” he called, “come in here a moment, would you?”
My guard entered quietly, taking up his post by the door. His brow furrowed, revealing that scar in his eyebrow I was so curious about. “Yes?”
“Tell me, did she squeal last night when she realized?” Declan asked as he shut the door again, sealing our conversation off from the mer people swimming in the hallway. “Did she cry?”
Felipe’s lips pressed into a thin line. “Actually, she yelled at us and called us idiots.”
Declan waved a hand at him dismissively. “Bah! Spoilsport! That’s not true at all.” Declan turned to wag a finger at me. “I’m not sure what you did to get this guard in your pocket, but keep him there. He’s annoyingly loyal to you.”
I physically restrained myself from glancing over at Felipe in that moment. Instead, I focused on my “oh so superior” brother-in-law. Reserved with everyone else in the world, Declan had always been more playful with me. I was glad it was he who’d come, and suddenly a bit wistful. Because I realized that he wouldn’t stay forever. “Well, I suppose now that your grand scheme is complete, you’ll be returning to Bloss and the others?”
Declan put a dramatic hand to his heart. “Sadly, yes. But one of us will be back periodically to check on you, have no fear.”
“On the contrary, I’ll have quite a bit of fun planning just how I should meddle in your life.” I raised a sarcastic brow, but I didn’t mean it, and a moment later I had swung forward in order to wrap my arms around Declan’s waist. I squeezed him hard. “Thank you,” I whispered into his chest. Of all the people in Evaness, Declan had always seen me. He’d always seen what I needed. Always helped.
His hand came to my hair, and he gently stroked it the way Queen Gela used to when I was but a child. “Always, Avia. We will always be here for you.”
* * *
Three hours later,I was dreading the fact that I had let Sahar talk me out of riding a gargoyle astride. Posey, the only other part-sprite I knew, had gotten to ride my favorite mount, a stone beast I liked to call Harry because he was carved to look like a lion. Of course, Posey could do all sorts of things I couldn’t do. She wasn’t queen, and so she didn’t have to have the same protections.
“I’m also undead,” she’d said, raising a half-rotted brow at me when I’d grumbled about the carriage. “The cold won’t affect me the way it would you.” It was an unfortunate truth. Posey was the half flower sprite that had been part of the undead army that had marched here with my sister and defeated Mayi. She’d stayed on to be part of my guard, and I relied heavily on her, since she was as much an outsider as I was. She’d been gone the past few days, after the ball, coordinating things in Reef City. But she was back to accompany us, her purple petal hair slicked back, her once-even features sagging as rot and decay set in. “You’ll like the carriage. It’s very … girlish.”
That was Posey-speak for gaudy. I’d peered through the crowd and spotted several gleaming white seahorses, their spikes painted silver, pulling an enclosed cream carriage decorated with swirling gold edging around the windows, roof, and doors. The shape had to have been taken from the sky breather kingdoms, for it looked a lot like those from home, just … a bit more ostentatious. The fact that it was surrounded by a dozen guards riding seahorses, tiger sharks, and gargoyles only added to the pageantry. Each guard wore full armor and carried a spear lit with magical orange streaks that danced from the tips like streamers.
