She stirred at the back of the cave.
Please be Evagore. Please let the queen be alive and well.
If this was her, the true queen of the Pacific, our plan would be in motion. The Pacific Kingdom could start anew. What would it be like to live under a monarch not driven by hatred or fear of humans? Would our world become as rich and as free as the one Meela and I had seen in the Atlantic?
The boulder gave a loud rumble.
“It’s slipping!” said Anthias.
Before I grasped what was happening, the rock smashed against me. I cried out, pinned to the wall, the air shoved from my lungs.
All of them began to shout at once.
“Grab it! Pull it back!”
The crushing feeling grew more painful as my ribcage compressed. I whimpered. It felt as though my bones were about to shatter.
I’d been too focused on getting to the prisoner. I’d caught no warning signs from the slipping boulder.
I groaned, trying to wriggle free. I couldn’t die like this—not when, for the first time ever, I’d felt hope for a life free from King Adaro.
Creon tried to shout everyone back into the rhythm. There was too much panic.
Then Anthias and Spio appeared above and below me, wedging themselves between wall and boulder.
“We’ve got you, Lysi,” said Spio, his words calm and reassuring. “Everyone, heave!”
They picked up Creon’s rhythm. I shoved against the wall, trying to help.
Guenevere’s sour face appeared through the group. She rubbed her throat. Anthias had let her go to help free me.
Our gazes met. Contemplation passed behind her eyes. Whatever action she took next would define her and the world she would live in.
She looked to my friends, and then to me. She made her decision. She extended her hands and slammed into the boulder next to Galene, helping them push.
Together, they eased the boulder away.
The moment the crushing weight was off my chest, instinct told me to rise for air. I ignored it and reached for the prisoner.
She took my hand.
I pulled her from the cell, dragging her frail, wilted form as lightly as if she were a string of kelp.
Everyone grew still as we squeezed into the open. She was a southern mermaid.
My friends let the boulder go. It slammed back into the wall with an echoingboom.
The noise and current ricocheted through the cavern. We hovered, staring, until it faded. Creon and the others straightened like soldiers at attention.
Dione broke the pressing silence.
“Your Majesty.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX - Meela
A Resounding Hush
I couldn’t explain why I trusted Eriana to guide me towards a mysterious ship when the creature had spent so long trying to kill me.
