After a lifetime on land, I’d never seen anything move with so much grace. An eagle’s wings couldn’t match the fluid coordination between Lysi’s powerful tail, slim body, and the mane of coppery hair flowing behind her.
Not for the first time, I wondered how it was possible for anyone to be so perfect.
“Then you spiral in,” said Lysi.
I hurried after her with considerably less grace, ignoring the heat blooming in my cheeks. It didn’t help that my brain still tried to separate my tail into two kicking legs. I tried not to let it frustrate me, but I hoped Lysi never watched me as closely as I watched her.
We pushed the herring in a cluster against the water’s surface. They bumped into each other, pushing to the centre and shoving the others to the outside. The effect was a pulsing silver ball that I thought looked quite pretty.
“Now it’s safe to grab them,” said Lysi, catching one easily.
Ripples hit us from behind. We turned to find a pod of Pacific white-sided dolphins approaching.
I swiped two more fish and we surfaced for breath, letting the dolphins take over the meal.
“Would you get out of demon mode?” said Lysi. “You’re scaring me.”
I flashed Lysi my smile of needle-sharp teeth before letting them retract. The pressure released from my eyes as the blood drained, my seaweed skin reverted to its golden brown, and I opened my fingers to watch the webs shrink.
“You transition way too often,” said Lysi.
I shrugged. “I was just thinking about stuff.”
“Adaro is nowhere near us.”
At the mention of his name, my eyes threatened to redden again. “For now.”
Lysi reached for my hand. “And for now, we’re calm. I like it when I can see the green in your eyes, and when your smile doesn’t say,I’m going to decapitate you.”
I grimaced. “As long as I get to decapitate a certain someone.”
Decapitate, or run a spear through, or poison, or suffocate, or set sharks on …
I inhaled deeply—a breath that would last me the next three hours—and dove. I kept hold of Lysi’s hand as we continued along, satisfying myself by considering all the ways I might eliminate King Adaro.
“You know it’s going to be impossible,” said Lysi.
I looked away, wanting to deny it, but she was right. Adaro had the leviathan for his bodyguard, which legend said was indestructible, and he himself was impervious to iron. Together, they made an invincible duo.
The thought was unnerving, but I refused to let it discourage me. I would find a way to break him.
“Whatever plan the Reinas have, I hope it involves the biggest army we’ve ever seen,” said Lysi.
The Reinas.That was what she called this mysterious rebel group because of some code phrase she’d heard. The problem was that we didn’t know where they were, who they were, how many, or what they were truly called. She only knew they’d shown up during an assassination attempt on King Adaro, and then again near Eriana Kwai, where they’d invited her to find and join them.
“As long as they let me do the honours,” I said.
“Sure, of course,” said Lysi, smiling.
She didn’t seem to grasp how important this was to me. Vengeance aside, this was about controlling the Host of Eriana. The serpent’s power was passed by blood; whoever killed its master would gain control. So while I was glad to hear of a movement against Adaro, I was terrified that someone else would get to him first.
“Did the Reinas tell you anything about their plan?” I said, voicing one of the many concerns needling at me.
“There wasn’t time.”
At my silence, she added, “I know they’re from the Moonless City—that’s in the South Pacific—and they were taking a northwestern current when we crossed paths. That’s why I think they’re headed to Utopia.”
I chewed my lip. Adaro probably wasn’t even in Utopia. He was probably on a battlefront somewhere, or the Pacific coastline, or sinking ships he happened upon in the Gulf of Alaska. He could be anywhere.
