Edward’s eyes widened. “You can?”
“Yes, Drowned boy. For a price, of course.” The woman grinned, and one of her teeth glinted gold.
“Unhand me.” Edward squirmed against Finn’s arms.
“Ignore her. There is no cure for death,” Finn said, but his words were gentle.
We continued past the stores, which stretched for miles, and soon we had been offered an array of things: vials of silver Mer blood, charmscarved from the bones of ancient “gods,” pearls that would grant the wearer all of their dreams, and treasure maps inked on stingray hides.
“Surely some of this has to be real, or they wouldn’t have any trade at all.” I turned to Finn as a toothless man in a turban waved another love potion in my face.
“Yes.” Finn blew a bubbly breath, and his gills flared. “But the question is what you have to give in return.”
“Where is Skye?” Edward asked from Finn’s chest.
I whipped my head around. “She was with us a moment ago.”
Finn shook his head as we scanned the surrounding stalls. “I justknewthis would happen.”
Pháos clicked, flicking his gray tail and snapping his beak.
“There!” I cried as Skye’s turquoise-scaled body slipped into a colorful pavilion and a henna-covered hand closed the door. We pushed past an array of dyed threads hanging from strands of seaweed strung between the stores, and lanterns tinkled in our wake as we followed her into the gypsy tent.
“Would you look at these?” Skye turned to us as we burst through the entrance. She held a beautiful necklace in her hands, its gemstones sparkling even in the gloomy light.
“Don’t touch it,” Finn snarled, dropping Edward in the doorway as he lunged forward, snatching it from Skye’s hand and slamming it onto the counter.
“Jewels blessed by the Kingdom of Thálassa.” The mermaid shopkeeper glided out from the back room clutching an array of brilliant pieces, but they fell from her henna-marked fingers when she saw Finn.
“Your Highness.” She bowed her head.
“Mer from the Kingdom of Thálassa can store fragments of magicin objects, but there is no way to tell if that magic is good or bad,” Finn ground out.
I remembered the jewels belonging to his mother, Abalone, which had sparkled with otherworldly beauty on my neck.
The mermaid peddler woman grinned, her amber eyes glowing. “Oh, these are good magic, sire, only good.”
“Well, we are not going to take that risk.” A muscle ticked in Finn’s jaw. “Come on, Skye.”
“But they’re so beautiful.” She cocked her head to one side.
“Yes, aren’t they? And this one would look stunning on you,” the old mermaid gypsy said, holding up a ruby-red choker with sparkling crystals.
Finn spun toward the woman, his silver breastplate clinking as the shadow of his beastly form flickered across his face. “The Mer of Thálassa very rarely use their artifacts’ magic, so why don’t you put your wares away before I am forced to investigate where you got these?”
Skye let out a small gasp.
“You’ll get used to it. So temperamental, these Mer,” Edward muttered from the doorway.
21
Morgana
Iknew we were nearing the outskirts of Thálassa when the seafloor grew more purposeful. Small Mer mounds adorned sandy dunes, and around these was carefully arranged seaweed. Coral and kelp lined the sandy paths we followed, and here and there, algae-covered sculptures of Mer appeared like beacons to guide us toward the palace.
A shrill clicking rang through the waters, and Pháos reappeared, angling his head in a way that suggested he was distressed.
Finn reached out, running a calming hand along the dolphin’s snout until the clicking eased. “Show me,” he growled.
