I let out a sound that was halfway between a laugh and a sob. “They’re all so beautiful!”
“Girls, this is your Aunt Meela.”
Aunt Meela.The words were like honey.
I’d never really liked kids, but knowing I was related to these ones was an entirely different feeling. I opened my arms and was met with an enthusiastic and giggly group hug.
“This is Clio, Sedna, Halie, Pasithea, and”—Nilus put his hands on the eldest’s shoulders—“Little Meela.”
Her irises were the same colour as mine, her hair the same shade. She was about the age I’d been when I’d lost Nilus. My eyes burned with fresh tears.
“The next will be here in a few months,” said Ephyra. She cupped a hand over her belly, which protruded so little I hadn’t noticed.
“I’m an auntie,” I said thickly. “My parents—oh, god, my parents!Ourparents! I have to tell them.”
I turned southwards as if I could return to give them the news right then. Then something occurred to me and I spun back to Nilus.
“You never came to us. You’ve been alive all this time.”
His smile faltered. “No one would have understood.”
I frowned. “That’s not true. I would have, Nilus.”
It felt strange to say his name after so long. My eyes swelled again with tears that wouldn’t spill properly.
He pulled me into another hug.
I squeezed my eyes shut. “I can’t believe I’m hugging you again.”
All the affection I’d ever felt for Nilus raced through my veins, filling my heart so much I thought it would explode. It was as though the last ten years had not been robbed of him. Memories repressed from grief flashed through my mind: days exploring the forest, jumping in the ravine, climbing trees to get the juiciest apples, hiding inside hollow stumps, making forts out of branches, staying up late and sneaking outside to watch the stars.
Whatever was happening outside Kori Maru—whoever was being attacked or imprisoned—felt insignificant. So what if the Reinas weren’t going after Adaro yet? We could stay here with everyone and help them with their coup. I didn’t need to rush. Not when Nilus was here. Not when I finally felt, for the first time in so long, like everything was right in the world.
CHAPTER EIGHT - Lysi
Ruby, Emerald, and Amethyst
I didn’t bother Meela with what was happening a short distance away. While she and Nilus talked, the others who’d returned from the acoustic channel whispered urgently. Panic rippled through them as if a cannon had plunged through the water.
I hovered closer to listen.
“... retaliation,” said a mermaid. “Right over Utopia.”
The word “iron” carried through the crowd in whispers.
Dione’s eyes bloomed red. “How many casualties?”
“At least a hundred,” said a bearded merman. “Sounded like there were supposed to be enough explosives to wipe out the city, but Adaro got there in time to stop most of them.”
My pulse quickened. This meant humans had tried to wage war against Adaro—and failed.
“What exactly did the message say?” said Dione. “Is he planning anything?”
The volume of the conversation dropped. I made to push closer, but a hand closed around my arm. I spun to find Galene.
“We need to leave Dione to her council.”
I glanced back desperately, unable to hear the conversation. The crowd pressed closer, everyone eager to know what was going on.
