Page 40 of Depths
My eyes peered past the knot of mermen and spottedher. A hedge witch floated at the very back of the rebels’ formation. She had wild blue-grey hair that was knotted and twisted with spiny pieces of dead white coral that protruded like horns from her head. Her eyes were a milky blue, nearly white. Haunting. Her skin was such a deep blue that if it hadn’t been reflective, I’d have thought it was black.
I realized the mer had painted themselves in order to hide her. Which meant they very much intended to use her. Were using her. As her fingers moved, I understood quite clearly why our spears had no effect.
Sard.
“Where are our mages?” I whispered frantically in Felipe’s ear.
“They’re on the whale, preparing in case they’re needed. They know to stay back until summoned.”
“In case! What do you mean in case? Summon them!” My fingernails dug into his sides, and my heart … I clutched at it when a tugging sensation started inside, and it felt stretched taut, then tighter, tighter. My heart was being pulled on both ends, twisted, wrung out.
Felipe’s brow furrowed as he stared at me. “Mayi would have …”
“I’m not her!” I screeched, both from pain and irritation, unable to hide my wince as flame seared the inside of my ribs. My hand flew to the organ, and I curled inward, instinct bowing my body to protect it.
“Shite.” Understanding crossed his face. An understanding that I wasn’t certain I wanted him to have. But what was done was done. I glanced down as I tried to relax my limbs, trying not to think about what would happen if we didn’t make it out of here—
Suddenly, with awhoosh, we blasted through the ocean at top speed. The only time I’d ever gone this fast was in the claws of a dragon as he’d flown through the sky. The sounds of the rebels’ yells grew lower and lower pitched as we zoomed away.
I glanced back and realized with a start that the whale and carriage were far in the distance. The whale was no larger than my fist, the carriage a speck.
“You have speed magic?” I asked.
He shook his head. “I always keep a swiftness potion on me.”
“But … the others.” I looked over again at the whale, which was thrashing his tail. The tent whipped off of the animal and floated slowly down behind him as he bucked in an attempt to throw off the shark shifters who’d landed on him. A few of them had managed to breach my guards and were stabbing the beast with their tridents.
Behind him, my carriage had been completely flipped upside down. The seahorses arched and charged at random, trying to free themselves from their harnesses as black-painted mer people swarmed the rig. I watched the rebels pry the gold filigree decorations from the doors.
Was that what they were after? Money?
But then, one of the rebels punched Valdez as he tried to swim off. The two started grappling, and I watched Valdez get his arms around the mer’s head before twisting. The rebel drifted limply down, but another swiftly took his place.
Toxic fear shot through me, and my brain sang out,My fault!I had to shove aside that thought because it wasn’t helpful. Useless as I was, magicless as I was, I’d been trained to find a way through chaos, and I needed to do that. Queen Gela had been good for one thing, self-pity was not allowed for her daughters, be they real or kidnapped.
Felipe’s arms tightened around me.
No.I’d turned away a moment ago and that was wrong, it was weak. I tried to channel the stubbornness Bloss always had, the steady mien of Gela’s. I was the queen. And I was not going to stand by and watch while my household and suitors were cut down. They were innocents. And Mateo … the very thought of him getting hurt caused an ache to bloom like an ugly purple bruise. But how could I fight? What could I do? I hadno magic. Frustration lashed at me.
Sard it.I’d do the only thing Icoulddo.Hand myself over.
“Bring me back,” I insisted, swallowing down the jolt of pain that came with talking, because my heart was already at its maximum capacity.
“Majesty.” Felipe shook his head.
My grip on his arm became iron. “Bring. Me. Back. Now.”
“But you’re hur—”
“Doesn’t matter.”
Felipe’s lips pressed into a thin line, and an expression flickered in his eyes, like a shadow beneath the surface of water. I couldn’t tell what it was, that dark intensity in his gaze. It might have been fury at me, but I didn’t care.
Felipe’s hands tightened where they held me, and he dutifully started to swim back toward our party, but slowly, as the potion’s effects had worn off.
I twisted my body and trained my eyes on our group as their hands all raised above their heads in surrender.What the hell are my mages doing? Why aren’t they—
A weak blast of blue lightning zapped from the hands of one of the figures on the whale, streaking out and hitting a shark shifter.
