Chapter 19
Fear of a princess:
When darkness comes from above, it is truly frightening.
It wants to consume you. It tries its hardest.
And if you are too slow, it bites.
Istared at the rounded, glass opening before me with the cold ocean but a touch away. Having changed into my swimwear in the same bathroom as before, I now waited for my father and King Athon to come outside. The other rulers stood beside me at the delay. And my anxiety reached new levels knowing I would be in that freezing cold water once more.
Glancing at the Gorgon King, I asked quietly, “Do you have any tricks that you use to keep yourself warm in the ocean?”
King Elon brushed his long, shamrock green braids over his right shoulder. “I keep my breathing as normal as possible. It’s not perfect but it does help.”
“Hm.” I nodded slowly and turned my stare back to the water, dropping my hand to the knife sheathed on my thigh to rest easy in its presence. “I shall endeavor to try that. Hopefully, this will not take too long.”
He snorted softly. “Plan for the worst, Princess Trixie.”
My sigh was heavy. “I suppose that is right.”
Finally, King Athon and King Traevon exited the building, shouldering their satchels. They weren’t blood covered so that was good.
Queen Alora griped, “What took you so long?”
My soul mate patted his muscled stomach, looking nowhere near me. “Bowel issues.”
“It must have been that salmon we ate last night.” Queen Mikko crinkled her nose. “I thought it tasted off.”
“My cook is superb. The salmon was perfect,” the Merfolk Queen growled. Her eyes… They turned solid yellow as she used her royal aurapower. The color was like the most perfect lemon. The Queen of Merfolk turned to the opening into the ocean and muttered, “And if you couldn’t see that they were lying, you need to pay better attention.”
I blinked as she stepped out into the deep blue. “Well…I guess we should follow.” Fisting my hands, I pushed through the water in her wake.
Instantly, my body clenched at the freeze.
I shook my limbs the best I could through the water, attempting to warm up my muscles. Only once all the rulers were floating in the ocean around me, did the pain settle into a sense of normalcy.
We followed the Merfolk Queen closely, swimming in a cluster behind her. We headed due south, away from Cosimian Trench. Fortunately, away from the edge of the realm, too.
As I swam, I watched as an eel slithered below us.
Quite honestly, it was disgusting. But it did slice through the water with an ease that I could appreciate right now. Swimming with a satchel strapped across my back was rather cumbersome.
King Traevon swam closer to me and poked me with a finger. Then he pointed to the right, signifying I should look there.
I squinted…and saw an old shipwreck. My eyes widened in wonder. There was a gigantic hole in the stern with the wood around it in chunks. And the mast was broken in half, but still attached. The broken end waved slowly back and forth with the current. And the yellow fish seemed to love the wreck, the bulk of the vessel flooded with an ethereal light.
Another shark found us. Or, mayhap, the same one.
Either way, it swam away quickly.
Queen Alora wasnotin the mood for bullshit.
Chill bit at my fingers and toes. There was no helping it.
But, I did try to keep my breathing as regulated as possible, while I scoured the ocean floor with a greedy gaze.
After twenty minutes of swimming, the Queen of Merfolk stopped and twisted around to face us. She held a finger up to her mouth and whispered, “It is sleeping.”
