Chapter Two
Past the vivid pink and blood-red coral forest and over the cliff, Serena descends into her kingdom, The Deep. Moonlight shimmering along the ocean surface fades and the water grows colder. Serena sends out a series of high frequency clicks, then stops to listen for their echo. It is mating season for the sixgill shark, and they can get aggressive. The sound comes back to her. No sharks, just a large school of salmon closer to the cliff.
Another series of clicks and buzzes leads Serena to a group of her kind—a dozen Undine maidens that make up her caste. Their scaled bodies of burgundy, bright orange, deep red, and plenty of yellows and greens are as plentiful and diverse as the corals overhanging the sea cliffs.
The maidens wait in formation; two columns of six. Without their thirteenth caste mate, they look almost flawless. The group has been together since they began school, and each year the thirteen maidens move from one caste to the next. This will be their last year of school, as most have already reached their eighteenth birthday. Soon, they will enter The Choosing and be given a permanent position in Society.
Zayla, the Caste Master, swims up and down the column, her bioluminescent hair streaming out in all directions—an agitated mess. Serena takes a deep breath and emerges from the shadows—steeling herself for Zayla’s inevitable wrath. Zayla rushes forward in an efficient streamline of scales and fins, stopping just in front of Serena. The deep blue strands of Zayla's braided hair slick back tight against her skull under her own will. Scowling, the corner of her lips turn down in disapproval.
Motioning the entire column forward, Zayla blocks Serena until everyone else has gone forcing her to stay in the rear for the swim home.
Serena moves forward only after the rest of the Undine pass. Most stay within their cliques, bumping into each other in the currents. They laugh, scooping up jellyfish and flinging the stinging tentacles toward one another. Cordelia, one of the more popular caste mates, sends a jellyfish to her friend, Simone. Simone laughs, her scales flashing in bright red as she dodges the creature avoiding a stinging jolt.
Serena is forced to zigzag around the tentacles as the group moves forward. Her shoulders and arms are already scarred with faint white lines from not evading some of the jellyfish during her years in the back of the formation.
Despite the obvious hazards, the back of the line isn’t so bad; there are no eyes on her. If Zayla were more astute, she would dole out a real punishment like sentencing Serena to join one of the cliques clustered in groups in the Great Hall, chattering about the upcoming Choosing, or carrying on about which male Undine in the King's Guard is worth a pairing.
The entire journey home Serena works to block out the hyper, overactive vibe of her peers, instead concentrating on the world around her. The ecosystem is far more welcoming than the Undine ever were toward Serena. It does not avert its eyes whenever she walks into the room. It doesn't stop mid-conversation when Serena is near, only to resume in hushed tones once she turns her back. Though these actions were never explained nor justified to Serena, she has long since accepted her fate as an outcast, choosing instead to focus on the world that surrounds Society.
She turns her head as she swims, emitting a series of whistles and clicks. The vibrations ruffle the scales of those ahead of her. Some glance back, annoyed, but most have learned to ignore her by now. The sounds return to Serena, and the underwater world shifts from blurry, darkened forms into sharp, focused shapes.
Rockfish loiter in and out of the kelp forest along the shore while the plants move, occasionally allowing shafts of moonlight to pierce deeper into the ocean. Where the bottom shallows out and rock changes to powdery white sand, candy-striped shrimp dart among sea anemones, immune to their sting. A brown and yellow decorated warbonnet peers out with large eyes from behind pink coral. The eel-like fish retreats as the caste column passes.
The caste moves around the northern edge of Vancouver Island, Canada and into the unrelenting Pacific currents of the strait between the mainland and the islands.
Serena's caste approaches the inconspicuous caves they call home. The currents keep most scuba diving Ungainlies away, but as they grow bolder in their underwater expeditions, the Undine have been forced into subtlety. The pillars that once stood outside the caves, along with other obvious signs of inhabitance has since come crashing down or has been chipped away.
The columned line separates—each maiden drifting off to their families as the lessons conclude for the day. Only Zayla remains, gesturing for Serena to join her.
Serena bites her lip. Punishment for her adventure today will go beyond what Zayla can administer as a Caste Master. The King's Second will have to get involved. Serena sighs. This wasn't her first unauthorized trip to The Dry, but it is certainly the first time she's been caught.
After the briefest hesitation—all that Serena dares to give— she follows Zayla's golden tail flippers.
They wind through the corridors of the rocky seabed, small holes serving as windows lining the passageway. Serena never understood it. A hole in the rock, just to stare at more rock. At the age of sixteen, when orphans are allowed to leave the orphanage for their own quarters, Serena insisted that hers be an outlying cave, as far as possible from the mainstream of the rest of the Undine. It is deemed dangerous—the location is too far from the majority of Undine to be considered secure, but the worst Serena has to endure are curious eels or squids. Besides, this far out she isn't under the constant reminder that the whole of Society prefers to avoid her. Better to save everyone the trouble.
Zayla and Serena reach the center of the underwater mountain and angle their fins to travel up. The pressure in Serena’s chest decreases, just as it does before she surfaces near a beach. It is deceptive; there is no escape to the surface from inside the mountain.
The highest portion of the inner mountain is not underwater during low tide and, judging from the position of the moon when she left the surface, the tide has just begun to recede. The king will have left, retiring for the night. It is said he sustained an injury so great he is unable to take his human, the Ungainly, form. He cannot walk away from the throne, he must wait until the tide comes in to carry him away. Always refusing to be carried by the King's Guard, his reign over the Great Hall is regulated with the tide.
Serena watches as Zayla's scales sink into the smooth skin of her legs, which reveal themselves as she uncrosses them. Zayla kicks the rest of the way to the surface, Serena moving aside to dodge the fizzy bubbles amidst clumsy feet.
Zayla surfaces first, her hair losing its glow. She leaves enough scales above her skin to cover herself from knee to neck. More scales equal more formality, and the pair are about to enter the King's Court. Here, everyone is almost fully scaled. Glittering, diamond-shaped armored plates reach up to their chins—and in some cases, even cover the sides of their faces.
One by one, the scales below Serena’s knees quickly retract, copying Zayla's dress, as is customary when following a superior. The receding scales leave behind small trickles of watery blood on her legs. The maidens cross wet sand, then hard rock. The narrow entrance, chipped open by Society's ancestors several thousand years ago, leads them to the Great Hall; there are no doors here.
Unable to speak underwater, Serena expects a mouthful from her Caste Master as soon as they emerged from the deep into their caves. But Zayla continues to stride straight toward the Great Hall, eyes forward. Her silence is far more disconcerting than a lecture.
Walking under the arches of the cave, the Undine maiden's eyes adjust to what little light the shimmering minerals give off above them.
Zayla looks up and falters. Her hesitant steps almost cause Serena to walk straight into her back. Serena peers around Zayla's shoulders to find herself under the scrutinizing eyes of King Merrick.
The king's eyes flit from Serena to Zayla, who tenses for a brief second, then curtsies. Serena remains still. Behind the king stands Nerin, her hand resting on top of the throne chair. S
he holds the official title of King's Second and has been by his side since before Serena was born.
She bends to whisper into the king's ear. Both their eyes dart to Serena, scanning the fresh crisscrossed cuts on her legs. It is evidence of her jaunt in The Dry.
"Curtsy to the king!" Zayla hisses.
The king holds up his hand. His voice booms through the cave. "She is not in the wrong, Zayla. We are not holding formal court."
Zayla's back goes erect at the rebuke. Drops of salty water fall from the stalactites above; the hollow echo of the drops hitting water at the back of the cavern punctuate his point. Not even the King's Guard is present, and the only council member here is Zayla herself. Serena has been coming to the Great Hall her entire life, and she has not once seen it so empty. When every Undine is summoned, ninety-seven members of Society in all, they have to stand shoulder to shoulder in order to fit.
Crossing her arms, Serena rubs her own shoulders, then looks tentatively at the king.
"What brings our youngest Undine and her Caste Master here at this hour?" he asks.
Serena notices the dark circles under his eyes. It is a stark contrast to the pale skin on the rest of his face. She wonders if he has chosen to stay in his chair for more than just this moon.
Zayla clears her throat. "I wish to speak with Nerin, regarding the excursion with my caste."
Adjusting in his throne, the king looks at Zayla. His large tail fins drape over the chair and rest on the rocky ground, waiting for her to continue.
Zayla pulls her shoulders back, glancing at Serena. Her hesitation is costing her; every moment spent constructing an accusation in her head decreases the impact of the story.
Serena steps forward, partly blocking Zayla. "On our trip to The Dry, I disobeyed orders to stay with the caste and engaged with a werewolf."
Nerin's mouth drops open, and the king bangs his fist against his armrest. "A werewolf?"
They both turn to Zayla.
"Did you miscalculate the moons?" the king asks.
Zayla is forced to step to the side to be seen. "I most certainly did not," She says, pressing her lips together.
Serena has to stifle a smile at Zayla's wide eyes. Because the moon regulates Undine life, such an accusation is a low blow to Society's only teacher.
"Besides," says Zayla. "I cross-checked with Evandre."
The king and Nerin exchange a glance. Certainly the Head Scientist couldn't be wrong.
"But for whatever reason, the wolf was there," continues Zayla. "I saw it with my own eyes. And Serena taunted him! She brought him straight to the group. I had to recede, leading the rest of the girls to safety."
The king's eyes snap to Zayla. "You left one of your students—one in the Temporal Caste, no less—to the claws of a werewolf?"
Temporal Caste. Serena wants to groan out loud at the phrase. Her entire life, this is what Serena and her classmates are to Society. The Temporal Caste: the final graduating class. They are the youngest Undine and none have been born since. The excursion was almost cancelled because the risk of losing one of the remaining generation was too great.
Zayla stumbles over an excuse. "I had…had to get the rest of the girls to safety. Away from The Dry and past the breaking waves, down to the coral."
Nerin finally steps forward. "Since when do werewolves go past the breakers? You should have sent those girls on and helped the one that actually needed you!"
Serena raises her hand.
Nerin's mouth snaps shut as they all turn their attention to her.
"This werewolf did go past the breakers," she says.
"He did?" The king leans forward, cheeks flushing.
"Yes, well, only because I threw him there. He didn't go willingly…" Serena trails off. The king's sharp blue eyes bore into her.
Before she can speak again, Zayla does. "I motion for a trial."
The words act as a shockwave, thundering through Serena's chest, blossoming heat up to her cheeks.
Zayla takes a step forward. She says it again, speaking louder. "A trial for Serena Moon-Shadow."
Serena shivers as her full name echoes across the cavern. It sounds odd, foreign almost. There are no other Moon-Shadows in Society. She is an orphan; the Moon-Shadow name is hardly ever spoken.
"Charges?" asks the king.
"Absconding."
The charges roar through Serena's head. Absconding; leaving the borders of Society without permission and interfering where the Undine do not belong. The crime puts all of Society at risk, and it is punishable by death in the most extreme cases.
Nerin gives a nervous laugh and licks her lips. "I hardly think—"
"I have proof of other instances," interrupts Zayla.
Serena watches the king lean back in his chair. His fingers stroke the end of his bronze armrest. The metal is etched with designs from the ancients. The same drawings, only on a much grander scale, once graced the pillars outside their caves. Swirling designs and short phrases in the ancient language depict a bustling empire of Undine life. Now the only evidence of such life rests underneath the heavy arms of the king.
No one speaks while he thinks, and it gives Serena the chance to get her own pulse under control. She slows her ragged breathing down, keeping it in time to the echoes of dripping water.
The king comes to a decision. "Charges must be announced during Assembly. In two moons, we hold another. You can bring the motion then—if you still feel you must." His words are short and clipped as he glares at Zayla.
She shrinks back. "Yes…my king." She curtsies, keeping shaking hands clasped behind her back.
Eyes wide, Serena remains still. Despite the blood thundering through her veins, she can't bring herself to move. Absconding. The accusation is a betrayal by her own Caste Master, the woman who has taught her since she was a young calfling.
The king waves his hand, and Zayla turns to leave. When Serena doesn't follow, Zayla puts a hand on her arm and pulls. The Caste Master's touch burns. Serena yanks her arm free, making it clear she can see herself out of the Great Hall.
"Zayla…" calls Nerin, interrupting the escalating exchange. "Serena is not to return to her caste for the time being. As you are the accuser, it would be a conflict of interest."
Zayla nods, her eyes flitting over Serena. Serena pauses a second longer, forcing herself to look away from Zayla. Instead, she looks at the king. His forehead is creased, and Serena can't tell if it is from anger or worry. His fingers no longer stroke the armrest, but he grips it tight, his knuckles white. Turning, Serena follows Zayla out the door.