Page 113 of Mermaid's Song (Dark Sea Academy 1)

Chapter 29

My heart leaps into my throat. “Dad!”

“He can’t hear you, dummy.”

Bash shoves his aunt. “Don’t talk to her that way.”

“Because she’s your girlfriend?” Coral snarls.

“And your princess.”

“She’s not my princess, just like her father isn’t my king.”

He pushes her against the building. “If you want that immunity, you’d better change your tone! She is your princess, and her father is your king.”

“She already granted it to me.” She rolls her eyes like a defiant kid.

“How do we get in here?” I look around, not seeing an entrance.

She pulls away from Bash. “You’ll never know! He’s going to die in there!” Then she races away.

Bash and I both charge after her. I toss him the sword, then he knocks her down and presses the blade between her eyes.

“Immunity!”

“I never promised you anything,” he says.

“Help!” She looks at me.

I hover over her. “You want my help?”

“You swore I’d have immunity.”

“From execution, not retribution.”

“Okay, okay. I’ll show you where the entrance is.”

“Finally.” Bash removes the sword from her head and yanks her up. “Hurry.”

She brushes off her shirt then glares at both of us before turning to the shed. “The entrance is at the base of a stump around back. You have to go down a tunnel which leads to the inside.”

“You’ve got to be kidding!” I turn to Bash. “This has to be a trap.”

Bash shrugs. “That’s why she’s going in first.” He turns to her. “Where’s the stump? If it turns out you’re lying about anything, you’re going to join Uncle Shane.”

“You’ve already made that abundantly clear. This way.” She leads us around to the other side of the shed, where three stumps are arranged in a triangle.

“Which one?” Bash glares at her.

“Let go of me.”

“If you run, you’re dead.”

“I fully understand.”

They stare each other down before he lets go of her, shoving her toward the stumps. She regains her balance and stops in front of the farthest one.

I point my trident at her. “Open it.”

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