Just for Fins

  “It surely is,” he says, answering my question as his wariness fades into a smile. “Where do I sign?”

  I reach back again, and Peri slips a pen into my hand. I hand it to the king. “Right at the top.”

  With a flourish, he signs the first line under the petition.

  We, the undersigned kings and queens of the Western Atlantic, do hereby indicate our interest in the formation of an interkingdom commission on oceanic environmental concerns and how to address them, with the understanding that this commission will seek to streamline disaster relief and improve trading of essential resources.

  Bostrych, King of Trigonum

  As he hands the pen and the petition back to me, I heave a huge sigh of relief. Now that my nerves are settling, I realize that I’m as famished as my guards. As the wait staff brings out another set of trays—this one with a rainbow display of fresh-caught sushi—I am relieved that this first stop on my royal trip is going so smoothly.

  I give the signed petition to Peri, and she slides it into her bag as she finally takes a seat at the table. She and Tellin both dig into the sushi.

  “Now,” I say to King Bostrych as I place a few pieces of sushi on my own plate, “we know about some of the environmental problems facing your kingdom. Tell me about the rest of them.”

  Chapter 11

  With yet another survey complete and another signature added to my petition, I swim away from my meeting with King Zostero of Desfleurelle feeling confident about my plan. With his pledge of support today and one from Queen Cypraea of Antillenes yesterday, that makes three names on my list, and three surveys full of environmental concerns.

  Antillenes, which is located in the southern Caribbean, is suffering a lot of the same problems as Acropora: warming waters, dying coral, and diminishing food supply. Desfleurelle, on the other hand, is suffering different problems in the Gulf of Mexico, many of which are caused by human drilling operations.

  It’s daunting to think of everything that we need to work on, but at least the rulers are being receptive to cooperation.

  “This is going well,” I say to Tellin. “Don’t you think?”

  When he doesn’t respond, I turn to look at him. He looks lost in thought, like his mind is somewhere else. As I focus on him, the connection of our bond slams me with sadness. The feeling is so strong, I almost start to cry.

  If I hadn’t been so focused on my mission, maybe I would have noticed earlier. But I guess I must have blocked out the connection.

  “Tellin,” I say softly, laying a hand on his shoulder.

  He looks up, startled, and stops swimming.

  I drift to a stop with him, and around us Peri and the guards stop too.

  “What?” He shakes his head. “Sorry, I was . . . thinking.”

  “I can see that,” I say. “And I know you’re thinking about something sad. Want to talk about it?”

  His eyes widen for a second, and then he nods, as if remembering the bond and the reason I can sense the mood of his thoughts.

  “I’m just thinking about home,” he says, shaking his head. “When I left my father, he was . . . not in a good place. He is sick and dying and angry.”

  “That’s understandable,” I say. “I can’t imagine what you’re going through.”

  I don’t remember my mom—at all—so it’s hard to even miss her, really. It’s more like I miss the idea of her. Even that is really hard sometimes.

  But the thought of losing someone I know and care about, of watching him get sicker and weaker, knowing what’s going to happen and that there’s nothing to do about it? Well, it’s no wonder Tellin is sad and distracted.

  “You should go home,” I tell him. “We’re done with the kingdom visits for this weekend. There’s no reason you should swim all the way back to Thalassinia before heading south.”

  “Are you certain?”

  “Absolutely.” I place my hands on his shoulders, sending as much positivity and assurance I can through our bond. “I’ll send you a message when I know where we’re starting next weekend.”

  I sense him wanting to argue, but in the end his emotion wins out. “Okay,” he says. “You’re sure you can get home safe?”

  “Of course.” I gesture at the half-dozen guards in Thalassinian uniforms. “We have half an army to protect us.”

  Tellin grins and pulls me into a grateful hug. “You are a true pearl.”

  I give him a quick squeeze and then shove him away. “Get going,” I say. “You have farther to swim than I do.”

  Tellin waves to his Acroporan guards and starts off in a more southeasterly direction. They will hug the coasts of Cuba and Haiti before rounding the tip of the Dominican Republic and heading due south to the palace. My little parade, on the other hand, just has to swim through the Florida Keys and then northeast to Thalassinia.

  “Come on, guys,” I say to my guards as I take Peri’s hand. “Let’s go home.”

  We haven’t gone fifty yards when someone swims out from behind a large rock formation to our left and blocks the path. The guards quickly tighten around me and Peri in a defensive circle. Each guard draws a Thalassinian dagger, a three-bladed knife that looks like a really sharp, handheld trident, and aims it at the intruder.

  “P-p-princess Waterlily?” the girl stammers.

  Through the wall of mer shoulders, I peer out at the great threat. She’s a small slip of a mergirl, not more than thirteen or fourteen, I would guess. Her long hair, so black it’s almost midnight blue, swirls around her in the current.

  Her hands, clutched over her heart, are shaking in fear.

  “Stop, you’re terrifying her,” I say to the guards. I place my hands on the shoulders of the two directly in front of me and propel myself over their mer-made wall.

  Peri follows close behind.

  “No, Princess,” Captain Frater shouts as I kick myself toward the girl.

  Her tailfin is breathtaking. Scales in iridescent shades ranging from bright green to midnight blue. It looks like a giant peacock feather.

  “I am Princess Waterlily,” I tell her, swimming closer.

  Her wide-eyed gaze stares over my shoulder.

  “My guards are putting their weapons away now,” I say, throwing a meaningful scowl over my shoulder in case they miss the fact that that’s an order.

  I watch until they reluctantly resheathe their blades. Then I turn back to the girl.

  “What’s your name?” I ask.

  “Aurita,” she replies, her voice barely a whisper.

  “It’s very nice to meet you, Aurita,” I say, extending my hand to her.

  She takes my hand and shakes it gingerly, her own hand still shaking. She doesn’t let go.

  I wonder why she’s waiting for me beyond the royal city of Desfleurelle. I don’t want to push her, though. She’s already terrified, and it might scare her off if I start asking questions.

  I just smile and wait for her to talk. Eventually she does.

  “Is it true, Princess,” she asks, “that you live on land?”

  Ah, maybe she is considering a life on land and wants to know what it’s like. I’m more than happy to answer those questions.

  I smile at her. “Yes, I do.”

  “And that you love a human boy?” she asks, almost right on top of my answer.

  “Yes.” My smile grows bigger. Maybe she’s a romantic. Or maybe she has her eye on a human boy of her own. “His name is Quince and—”

  “Princess, he’s in danger,” she blurts.

  “What?” My voice rises to a squeak, and I sense the guards close in behind me at my cry of alarm. Peri floats closer to my side. I try to calm myself enough to find out more. “What do you mean, he’s in danger?”

  Despite the extra precautions of royal guards, being a mer princess is not usually a dangerous job. Not in Thalassinia, anyway. There has never been an assassination attempt in my kingdom, and those in other kingdoms have been few and far between.

  It never once cross
ed my mind that my position might put Quince in danger. I’m not sure I could live with myself if he got hurt because of me.

  “Not just him,” she explains, and my anxiety levels drop a little. “All humans.”

  That’s not much better, but at least it’s not a specific threat against Quince.

  “Please explain, Aurita.” I take the girl’s hands in mine, trying to calm her down. “Why are humans in danger?”

  “My king,” she says, “King Zostero. He is angry at humans for treating the oceans so poorly. He wants revenge for the oil spills and the pollution.”

  “Revenge how?” I ask, not liking the sound of this at all.

  Her eyes, the same blue-green shade as her tailfin, dart around like she’s afraid of being overheard.

  I lower my head close to hers. “You can whisper it to me,” I say softly. “No one else can hear you.”

  I wave Peri away, and she swims back over to the guards.

  With a nod, Aurita stretches up and places her mouth right next to my ear. “He plans sabotage,” she breathes. “He wants to destroy human technology so they can’t destroy our world anymore.”

  I lean back and try to process this accusation. I just left King Zostero’s chamber, where he seemed more than happy to join my efforts to help the mer world recover from its environmental problems. I hadn’t sensed any underlying anger that might indicate his thirst for revenge. Then again, I had been pretty focused on my mission and on giving my speech about cooperation and the strength of a united front.

  I want to question her, but without its looking like I doubt her accusation.

  “Why are you telling me?” I ask. “I mean, why tell anyone? You don’t agree with your king?”

  Not that I agree with him, but I’m pretty sure most of the mer world blames humans—all humans—for the current state of the oceans. While I don’t think the matter of blame is that simple, I also know that we haven’t been polluting our oceans or drilling for oil in the seafloor. I don’t hold humans individually accountable for the problems, but humankind as a whole is definitely the cause of a lot of the mer world’s problems.

  That Aurita is speaking out against her king, and to a foreign royal no less, indicates that something more is going on here.

  “My brother,” she says, her blue-green eyes starting to sparkle, “my half-brother is human. He does not know about me, our mother, or our world, but he works on an oil platform on the northern edge of our kingdom.”

  She bites her lip, like she’s overcome by emotion.

  “The king plans to sabotage the drilling platforms.” She shakes her head. “I am afraid my brother will be hurt or killed when this happens. The king does not care if humans die. He only cares about revenge.”

  From what I’ve heard about offshore drilling platforms, the whole thing is crazy dangerous. If the king sabotages the equipment, it’s entirely possible that someone will die. And it will look like an accident.

  My hands shake and I clench my jaw.

  My first instinct is to turn around and swim back to the palace. I’d like to give King Zostero a piece of my mind about revenge not being the answer and something about guilt by association.

  But that doesn’t seem like the smartest course of action. If Aurita’s accusations are true, he’s already upset and acting on emotion. Now I’m upset, and just as emotional. Bringing the two of us face-to-face right now is probably a recipe for disaster. I don’t want to accidentally put Thalassinia and Desfleurelle at war over something that can be handled more . . . diplomatically.

  “Thank you for telling me this, Aurita,” I say to the girl. “It was very brave of you to come forward.”

  She smiles through her tears. “I knew you were the only one who would understand. You know what it means to care for a human.”

  “I do.” And more than one. I care just as much about Aunt Rachel and Shannen as I do about Quince. And now that Brody is bonded to Doe, he’s pretty much family too. Yes, I’m probably the best merperson to understand this problem.

  “I am going to figure out how to stop this,” I say. “I’m going to talk to my father, the king, and we will find a solution.”

  “Thank you,” she says, and bows her head.

  “I may need to get in touch with you again,” I say. “Where can I send a messenger gull?”

  “To the palace,” she replies.

  “The palace?” I echo, a bad feeling knotting in my stomach.

  “Yes,” she says sadly. “I am King Zostero’s youngest daughter.”

  Then, before I can react, she turns and swims away. I watch as her beautiful peacock tailfin flashes away into the deep.

  Great—this just got even more complicated. I have a feeling Daddy and I are going to have a long discussion about this.

  I swim back over to my guards and exchange a worried look with Peri. As soon as we’re clear of Desfleurelle waters, I’ll tell her what Aurita said. Then, as soon as we get home, I’ll tell Daddy. We’ll figure out what to do.

  At least Quince will be waiting for me when I get there. For the first time, I’m glad he has to go through these tests. Instead of wishing I was home in Seaview, we’ll be sharing some tasty sushi in the palace kitchen. Knowing he’s there will make the journey home go so much faster. My concern for his safety resurfaces, and I’m even more eager to hurry home and wrap my arms around him.

  “Okay, guys,” I say to the guards. “Let’s really go home this time. I’m exhausted, and I think I have a long night ahead of me.”

  Chapter 12

  As I swim into the palace alone—the guards stopped at the gate to give a report to their commander, and Peri headed home—the palace housekeeper, Margarite, greets me at the front door.

  “Welcome, Princess,” she says, giving me a deep bow.

  I want to roll my eyes at the unnecessary ceremony, but I don’t have the energy. I just want to find Quince and sushi and then talk to Daddy about everything I’ve learned so I can sleep for at least ten hours.

  “Hello, Margarite,” I say. “Is Quince waiting for me in the kitchen?”

  Her dark brows pinch into a puzzled expression. “Master Quince? He is not in the palace.”

  “What?” My heart thumps, and a jolt of adrenaline enters my bloodstream. Not even the calming effects of the sea can soften my reaction. “He should be here by now. He— Where is my father?”

  “In his office, Princess,” she says, her eyes filled with sympathy. “I believe he is awaiting your arrival.”

  I don’t wait to hear the rest of whatever she’s saying. I take off as fast as my kicks—and an extra push of current from my new power—can carry me, racing through the halls toward Daddy’s office.

  Quince left Seaview almost two full days ago. Even with his weak swimming skills, he should have gotten here sometime yesterday.

  Images of everything that might have happened to him flash through my mind. Shark attack. Riptide. Ship propeller. Stronger-than-usual Gulf Stream current. He could have been swept all the way to Glacialis by now.

  By the time I swim through Daddy’s door, my vision is blurry and I’m sure my teary eyes are sparkling like flecks of gold. My breath comes in short, fast gasps.

  “Lily,” Daddy says as I enter, “I’ve been—”

  He freezes midsentence when he sees the look on my face.

  “Quince,” I blurt. “He’s supposed to be here. The first test. He’s been swimming for two days. We have to go find him!”

  Daddy darts quickly from behind his desk and wraps me in a tight hug. “Mangrove,” he calls out to his secretary, “call the chief of the guard. We need to send out a search party.”

  “He should be here by now,” I sob against Daddy’s chest. “What if he—what if—”

  “Shh.” Daddy rubs a hand up and down my back. “I’m certain he is fine. He is a strong young man.”

  “But he can’t swim.” I pull back and give Daddy a pleading look. “I mean, just barely. He’s been learning, but st
ill, he only started a few—”

  “We will find him,” Daddy says with such certainty that I want to believe him.

  His assurance calms me enough to start thinking clearly. Daddy’s right, Quince is strong. Between my directions and his compass watch, he had to stay on the right path. Besides, he wasn’t alone.

  “I sent two guards with him,” I say. “They would have protected him if anything came up.”

  Daddy’s face turns stony. Blank. “You sent guards?”

  “Yes,” I explain. “I had more than enough to spare, and I wanted them to watch him. Just in case. Why, is that a problem?”

  He hesitates, thinking, before shaking his head. “It’s fine.” He turns, one arm still around my shoulders, and we start for the door. “Let’s go find Quince.”

  Mangrove returns from alerting the chief of the guard just as we reach the hall. “The search party awaits you at the palace entrance, your highness.”

  “Thank you,” Daddy says as we swim by. “Please find Calliope Ebbsworth as well. She will need to be present when we return.”

  I take off out of the palace faster than I’ve ever swum before. My exhaustion from a weekend of traveling disappears, and all I can think about is getting to Quince. And trying not to think about all the millions of awful things that might have happened.

  My path is clear in my mind. I know Quince will have followed my directions, so I start them in reverse. As I swim northwest out of the city, my guards can barely keep up with me.

  I hear them calling out to me.

  “Princess!”

  “Wait for us!”

  “Don’t swim out of sight.”

  Daddy and his entourage are far behind.

  I ignore them all.

  Kicking harder, I sweep over the suburbs, leaving behind the outer edges of the city. The landscape fades into more natural shapes, those that haven’t been molded by mer hands to form houses and restaurants and grocery stores. Here there are only sea creatures, marine plants, and the rock and sand that they inhabit.

  In my rush to crest the hill that overlooks Thalassinia, I crash into the trio of bodies on the other side.