Page 1 of A Kingdom Restored

Chapter One

Merletta drew in a slow steadying pull of cold water, letting a shudder run over her. She knew it was foolish to be nervous—these were her friends. But the news she had to tell them this time was enough to turn the closest ally into an enemy.

“It will be all right, Merletta.” Sage’s gentle voice just sent guilt shooting though Merletta. Her friend knew what was coming, and she hadn’t leveled a single reproach.

A quiet knock sounded on the door, and Sage hastened to let the visitor in. It was Emil.

He shot a quick look around Sage’s small living space, his brow furrowed slightly. “It’s a bit irregular, you know, inviting Andre and me in here.”

Sage actually rolled her eyes. “Everything we do is irregular, Emil. Don’t be so stiff.”

Merletta gave an incredulous chuckle at her friend’s bluntness. Even more surprising was that Emil didn’t look offended. In fact, unless Merletta was mistaken, there was even a hint of amusement in the long-suffering look he threw toward Sage.

Well, at least that was progressing reasonably well.

Merletta’s stomach felt suddenly hollow. Not that it would matter if they were all about to be wiped from the ocean.

“Sorry I’m late.” Andre’s cheerful voice announced his arrival, as he swam through the doorway behind Emil.

The older merman frowned slightly. “Keep your voice down, Andre.”

“All right, all right,” Andre said soothingly. “Keep your scales on. So what are we here for?”

They all looked expectantly at Merletta, who struggled for a moment to find words. When she’d joined the program—a reviled outsider—she’d truly never expected friends like these. Seeing how their friendships had not only continued but grown closer in the months of her unplanned absence in Valoria warmed her heart. How could she tell them what she’d brought on them all?

“Just say it, Merletta,” Sage advised her. “You’ll feel better when it’s out.”

Merletta nodded, her throat tight. “You’re right. Emil and Andre, as you may know, I’m starting my studies again tomorrow, even though it’s only been two weeks since my test. The instructors agreed to let me waive my extra weeks of break.”

“That’s probably the first time anyone’s ever requested that,” Andre chuckled.

Merletta gave a perfunctory smile. “Anyway, I’ll have to move back into the trainees’ barracks, and I expect to be closely watched. My best guess is that’s why the instructors are eager to see me back in classes. The point is, it may not be so easy to speak privately together like this. Meaning it’s time—well past time, really—for me to tell you something.”

“If the straight-shooting Merletta is struggling this much to get it out, it must be bad,” Andre said in light-hearted dismay.

“It is bad,” Merletta told him. “Worse than you can imagine. I told you I spent some months on land with Heath, in his kingdom.” A shudder passed over her. “What I didn’t tell you is that I went to Rekavidur’s dragon colony while I was there. Which was a terrible mistake.”

Emil had gone still in the water, his gaze sharp on her. “Why?”

Merletta forced herself to meet his eyes. “The dragons have a legend from their history about fish who were warped into some kind of magical sea monsters. They say it happened when they received magic from dragons who wanted to relinquish their core magic so as to…well, kill themselves.” She gestured between herself and her friends. “The dragons believe that’s what we are—descendants of those warped creatures. Heath and I—and his dragon friend, Reka—don’t think that’s true. I’m fairly certain our origins aren’t what the Center has taught us, but the dragons’ tale doesn’t make sense either.”

“I hope you’re right,” Andre said. “I don’t like the idea that we’re descended from some kind of suicidal dragon frenzy.”

“Neither do I,” Merletta agreed. “But unfortunately, it matters very little whether I’m right. The point is, the dragons believe that’s where we came from. And they, well…” She hesitated, but there was no gentle way to say it. “They have a law regarding such creatures—abominations, they call them. And that law is—”

“To destroy them.” There was no emotion in Emil’s guess. He spoke the words calmly, albeit a little grimly.

Merletta nodded. “I’m afraid so,” she whispered. “They don’t know where the triple kingdoms are yet, but they’re determined to find us, and wipe us all out.”

Andre’s eyes were wide with horror, and even Sage, who’d already known, had gone pale at this reminder of what was at stake. Merletta saw Emil’s eyes flick to Sage, clearly taking in her lack of surprise, before returning to Merletta.

“I’m so sorry,” Merletta told them. “It’s my fault. I had no idea about those old legends, and neither did Heath. Even Rekavidur didn’t know them when we first met, which is why he had no particular reaction to my mermaid form. Based on my experience of Rekavidur, I never took the warnings about dragons seriously. If I hadn’t approached the dragons in their colony, they may never have figured out that I had a tail, and put it all together.”

“It’s not your fault, Merletta,” Sage contradicted softly. “If the Center hadn’t been actively promoting lies in almost every other area, you wouldn’t have disbelieved them about dragons. How were you to know it was the one thing they were truthful about?”

“Not entirely truthful,” Merletta said. “Reka insists that dragons aren’t aggressive by nature. Usually they would live and let live. Just not with…abominations. He also insists that although they might kill us to satisfy their laws, they would never eat us, any more than they’d eat a human.”

“What can we do?” Emil’s calm voice seemed to help center them all in the midst of the terrifying revelation.

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