Linnea nodded, understanding that he wasn’t scolding her. This certainly wasn’t the proper way to speak to women but Halsten was accustomed to pep-talking his male best friend, nota feeble woman with no confidence. However, for some strange reason, it worked for her.
The pair turned toward Gyrial who was still standing at the edge of the water, but there was another figure with him now. An argument had clearly erupted based on the tense postures and waving arms. As she approached the situation with Halsten, Linnea recognized Niklas.
“How could you let her go?! Oh, Queen Else is probably seething from up above!” Niklas shouted as he waved a hand toward the sky. “A siren? You let her change into a siren!”
“You know damn well that no one was going to stop her, Niklas,” Gyrial answered in a booming voice that cut through the storm effortlessly, “and if I couldn’t stop her, the least I could do was be here while it happened to make sure she was okay.”
Niklas pressed his palms to the sides of his head and squeezed his eyes shut as he paced along the murky shoreline.
“Queen Else? As in Asta’s mother?” Halsten asked, startling the arguing pair who hadn’t noticed their approach.
Niklas’s chest heaved in a deep breath. “She knew about all of this. She knew and kept it to herself. And I can guarantee you that the last thing she wanted was for her daughter to be involved in this never ending war.” The young courtier looked pale and unsteady on his feet. “Oooohthis isn’t good. Not good at all.” He turned away from everyone and began mumbling to himself. Linnea could only pick out key words like “doom” and “chaos.”
Linnea wrapped a hand around Niklas’s bicep and gently turned him toward her. “How is it you know? You weren’t even a year old when Queen Else passed away.”
Niklas pushed his glasses up to the bridge of his nose. “Journals. She kept meticulous journals recording any information she discovered about the merspecies and their lives. I found them in the castle archives, tossed aside in a box asif they were trash. I could tell they were important, however, due to their impeccable condition. They are quite informative. Riveting really. Her recording style is something to be envied by—”
Gyrial held up a hand to stop the courtier from rambling. His Spellid mountain accent was strong as he spoke. “I do not care abouthowshe took her notes, Niklas. I care about what they say. Tell me anything that can help bring Asta home safely. Anything to end this war for good.”
Niklas gave a quick nod. “Of course, let me think. There is the lost trident, but no one has seen that for centuries. Rumored to be last seen in a nondescript fae territory somewhere north, but there is no solid proof. Well, erm, there isn’t really solid proof of any of this, I suppose.” He pressed his index finger to his chin. “And there’s a side note that the queen scribbled in a margin. I’m not sure what it truly means but I don’t think you,” Niklas gestured to Linnea, “will like it.”
Linnea’s heartbeat skittered. She had nothing to do with sirens, or finfolk, or any other mythical being out there. If she had any magical powers hiding within her, surely they would have surfaced during years of abuse, triggering some sort of self preservation against her mother.
Halsten placed a gentle hand on Linnea’s lower back and asked the question she couldn’t voice. “What won’t she like?”
“We have to go to Queen Else’s old manor. We have to go to your mother’s home, Linnea.” Niklas wrung his hands, an apologetic look sliding over his face.
Linnea’s blood ran cold. She hadn’t returned to her mother’s manor since her uncle Botmar rescued her years ago and she planned on never returning as long as she lived. Her hands began shaking and she soothed herself by rubbing the smooth scar on one of her wrists. It reminded her that she was free of theshackles she had worn time and time again, both physical and emotional.
Am I strong enough to see her again? To see the rooms I’d been beaten and starved in?I can’t, I can’t, I can’t.
But if she didn’t return to her old home, what would happen to her cousin? A vision of Asta wearing chains on her wrists flashed in Linnea’s mind and she felt her body begin to heat back up. Her cousin could be in danger even as she stood on the beach contemplating. She would not allow it. She would do anything to prevent her cousin from enduring torture similar to that she had experienced herself.
Linnea stood tall as she yelled through the deluge of rain. “When do we leave?”
Chapter 28
Annika swam around the band of warriors, which Asta learned was her usual signal for “we should rest here,” so the princess dropped her pack from her shoulders, watching it drift to the seafloor beside her. She still wasn’t accustomed to the lag of being underwater, which was why she practiced her swordwork every night that they rested. She needed to be ready when her team finally reached Ryktarva to save Kaid. It would have been easier if she’d had the twins with her, but Asta was glad that Liva chose to return to Orntali to continue gathering intel instead. At least her family would have one more warrior to protect them.
“Yeah, yeah,” Revna drawled. “We’re settling down, pup.” She waved a lazy hand toward Annika, who was still frantically zooming circles around the group.
Asta ran through her exercises while Soren sharpened a particularly jagged looking dagger with a rock. “Practice up, Princess,” he said. “We’ll be there tomorrow.”
She froze mid-swing, her arms locking up in a way she had never experienced before. This was what she had always prepared for, but it still felt surreal that she was in this situation.
They had been traveling for a few days now, which Asta was grateful for since it gave them time to learn how to work in unison in the most basic ways so they stood some chance of survival. Asta had learned that Annika was best as a scout with her speed and ability to blend in with other sea animals. Thurs and the other kelpies had terrifyingly long fangs that they, luckily, kept concealed unless they were eating or fighting. Soren had muscle for stronger opponents, but tended to leave his back open, which Asta took a mental note to keep watch of during a fight. Tova—who Asta was still having trouble believing was a massive green sea dragon—seemed to enjoy rounding up her victims before attacking, like a pack of wolves with a flock of sheep.
Somehow during sparring practices, Asta, Soren, and Revna always ended up back-to-back as Tova circled them like a predator herding prey. And lastly, there was Revna. Asta could find no weaknesses with the icy warrior, only pure ferocity. She still got a shiver down her spine whenever she witnessed Revna wield a blade, so hopefully their enemies would do the same.
Humans are above, Princess. Feed. Feed!
Asta still fought the impulse to drink human blood hourly, having complete faith in Queen Arielle’s promise that it would weaken over time. The fish that they had been eating on the journey had suppressed the urge enough to be tolerable, but it wasn’t sustainable forever. Asta would need to feed fromsomethingsoon.
Thurs glided over to Asta, stomping her hooves in the sand a few times and forming a hollow for Asta to lay in like she did every night. Asta laid in the soft sand, resting her head against Thurs, and drifted off to sleep one last time before they rescued Kaid.
“So, that’s not ominous at all,” Asta quipped as she stared at the black, spiky castle. The stone looked like it was made of igneous rock, which would make sense based on the red glowing pit positioned beside the fortress. If Asta weren’t underwater, her palms would definitely be sweaty.
She tapped the stone in front of her multiple times, the tightening in her chest beginning to unfurl. Thurs chuffed and nudged Asta’s hair, the kelpie already attuned to when Asta needed comforting.
