A certain shifter baker came to mind.Fury burned.
I didn’t even try to stop it. I whapped the back of his head.
Then I snarled, “I amwell awarethat some women cook for their loved ones, believe me, shifter. You do not need to throw that in my face.”
The Gorgon King groaned and rubbed his head with both of his hands, while my father took a step closer to me.
King Athon’s head slowly turned in my direction. “I am going to forgive you for that, since you are overwrought with worry and too exhausted to make sound decisions. But…do not ever hit me again when it is not warranted.” Solid black eyes didn’t blink as he watched my face crumble in mortification. “Take your king’s advice, Princess Trixie. Sleep for a few hours.”
Queen Alora took her seat and nodded in agreement. “A few hours will not hurt. Not with only these two books to read.” She pulled the song tome in front of her. “Rest yourself.”
I bit my fangs into my lower lip and mumbled, “My apologies, King Athon. That was entirely uncalled for.” I sighed and turned to a couch in the study. I was too weary to walk to the room I had been assigned. “I will sleep here, though.”
Stumbling to the couch, I fell face first onto it.
That was the last I remembered. Slumber stole me.
* * *
“Open your eyes, my daughter.”Father poked the tip of my nose.
“Huh?” I slurred and peeked open my right eye. The left side of my face was smashed against the cushion of a couch in the study. I lifted my hand and clumsily swiped at the drool at the edge of my mouth. “What?”
“We have found something. It was in MARIA’S DITTY.” King Traevon grinned smugly. “No one else could figure it out, but I did. She was a gambler.”
Sluggishly, I pushed myself up on my arms and turned to plant my royal ass on the couch. I rubbed over my face in the silent room and asked, “Where is everyone else?”
“They are changing their attire.” Father’s lips twitched. “Yours will do just fine for where we are going.”
“And where is that?” I looked down at my rumpled sweater and black leather pants. “It cannot be any place too impressive, if this is acceptable.”
King Traevon chuckled. “You are right, my daughter. It is a gambling hall.” He waggled his red brows and crossed his arms over his chest. “Queen Alora found it this morning. It is at the utter most end of Cosimian Trench. And its name is…Maria’s.”
“Bloody Fairy, that is a shining clue right there.” I stood stiffly and cracked my neck both ways. “How long was I asleep for?”
“Nine hours. We are on day four now.” Father widened his eyes and cocked his head. “We’re in crunch time, so we’re hopeful this is the right place.”
“I do hope it is.” I picked between my front teeth with my fingernail. “I swear, I cannot get this sand out of my mouth. It is horrible.”
“Next time, keep your mouth closed in the ocean and breathe through your nose.” Father snorted and pressed his hand to my back, ushering us out of the room. “It took me three dreadful times here before I learned that trick.”
“Hm. I do not believe that Queen Mikko knows that yet. We should tell her, since she assisted me with breathing.” I shook my head and ran my fingers through my hair, attempting to straighten it as much as possible. “I need to use the facilities before we leave.”
Father waited until I was done doing my business, and then we met the other royals at the entrance to the helps’ quarters.
I pulled the hood up on my sweater, adjusting it as best I could. It wasn’t as large as my others, but it covered my red hair well enough. I yanked on the front of it and tried to hide my eyes, though that was a losing battle.
None of us was particularly chatty today on the streets, our stress and anticipation too great. We kept our heads down and followed Queen Alora closely, managing to evade any peddlers who tried to stop us. No one looked twice at us, since we were dressed like commoners, merfolk too busy with their own lives.
The farther we traveled, the darker the streets became.
Yellow fish were still above the glass dome, but they were scarcer than at the central location. It cast an ominous cloud over where we were traveling and the locality of where we were now. The sandy streets narrowed even further and fewer merfolk walked by.
Eventually, we began to stick out for simply traveling in such a large number. We stuck close together. There was no hiding that we were there, strangers walking down desolate streets with broken buildings.
I swallowed on a dry throat and glanced around. It was vaguely frightening, the darkness almost complete. But there were still merfolk peeking out a window occasionally, or smoking a caster-spelled cigar on a street corner.
It took two hours for us to arrive at our destination.
