“I’m from Eriana Kwai. I’m a former human.”
“You are no longer human. Why do you still include yourself among them?”
“Eriana is my blood,” I said. “The history, the gods, they’re still a part of me.”
Lysi looked between Dione and me, her apprehension so thick I wondered if she was about to jump to my defense.
But Dione nodded. “So the serpent can destroy anything but cannot be destroyed. What else do you know?”
She spoke in casual tones as though we were discussing weather patterns instead of an apocalyptic creature.
“I only learned about the serpent in the last month—I mean tidecycle. The legend was hidden for centuries.”
“How did Adaro gain control?”
There it was. If I told them Adaro had killed Dani, I’d be revealing that the only way to control the serpent was to vanquish its present master. If I lied, would Dione feel it the same way I’d felt that mermaid’s dishonesty at the raft last night?
I chose my words carefully.
“As a descendant of Eriana, I was able to awaken the serpent with my blood. The rest of the legend was hidden from me, and I didn’t know she would fall under someone else’s control after I awoke her. The legend said the one to bear Eriana’s mark would become her master.”
I let the implication hang, not looking at Lysi.
“Adaro is bound to the serpent through your blood sacrifice, then,” said Dione. “Did the sacrifice take you from your human form? Is that why you are now a mermaid?”
I nodded.
Dione considered, absently tracing a hand over the table.
I was startled by a deep voice when the merman with dreadlocks spoke. “If the blood sacrifice did not die, but became a mermaid, perhaps this tie between the king and the serpent is not as strong as it ought to be.”
Lysi twisted her mouth. “He was able to send it after me easily. Plus, he’s ransacking the entire coast with it. I don’t think there’s a weakness here.”
“If serpent and master are bound by blood,” said Dione, “what happens to the serpent if its master is killed?”
My heart jumped, but the reaction was covered by Creon, who said, “It might break free from all control and go on a rampage, or avenge its master.”
“Or,” said Dione, “it might also die.”
There was a pause. I had to take control of this conversation before they got any closer to the truth. How could I get their help while guaranteeing the serpent would end up in my hands, and not Dione’s, or someone else’s? My stomach churned. This group had no reason to let such an inexperienced mermaid carry out the deed. I had to convince them I was their only option.
“The problem,” said Lysi, picking up the silence, “is that Adaro isn’t easy to kill. We tried using iron, we tried blowing him up. That’s why we need your help—”
Dione raised a hand, silencing Lysi. “Our priority is not to kill Adaro.”
The words hung like a thick fog.Not kill?Had I heard her correctly?
“What?” I said.
“Sorry, but what do you mean?” said Lysi.
“Para la reina,” said Creon, as though this explained everything.
“Everything we do is for the queen,” said Dione, voice rising. “We are trying to find her, to free her from Adaro’s imprisonment, to return her to her throne. She is the rightful ruler of the Pacific, not Adaro. Stopping him will come only after we have found the queen.”
I dropped my gaze to the engraved table, taking in all of the attack sites. Another gemstone would surely be added in the next day or two. What were Lysi and I doing here if their goal wasn’t to kill Adaro? I didn’t care about finding Queen Evagore—not when Adaro was in the middle of destroying every coastal city he could get to.
“But I saw a group of you try and kill him at the mine!” said Lysi.
