Page 11 of A Kingdom Restored

Merletta grunted as the heavy end of Ileana’s spear thudded into her tail. If she had the chance to transform any time soon, she would find a bruise on her leg, no doubt about it.

“It’s just like old times, really, isn’t it? I’ve missed pummeling you.”

Ileana may have declared her intention to be part of Merletta’s team, but it seemed she still couldn’t resist making the odd snide remark.

Merletta just grunted again, too experienced a fighter now to let a taunt disrupt her focus. She swung her spear at Ileana in a feint, waiting until the other mermaid’s weapon was outstretched before propelling herself up and over the top of Ileana’s head, coming down with her spear extended into Ileana’s back.

“Not bad,” Ileana admitted grudgingly. “You’ve definitely improved since first year.”

Merletta grinned, pulling her spear back as Ileana turned in the water to face her.

“Careful, Ileana. That almost sounded like a compliment. I’d hate to be forced to say thatyou’veimproved as well. You know, in your personality.”

Ileana scowled, but she had no opportunity to respond. Agner was swimming toward them, beaming from ear to ear.

“Excellent bout, ladies! Very good form from both of you.”

He stopped alongside them, grinning from one mermaid to the other. “It does my heart good to see my two favorite trainees going head to head.”

“I’m not a trainee anymore, Instructor,” Ileana reminded him.

“You may be a guard now, Ileana, but your training is far from complete,” he informed her. He looked indulgently between them. “I’ve been looking forward to this day for years. I could see from the start that Merletta was the trainee to challenge you, Ileana. You’re both fighters to your very core, which makes you each other’s absolute best training resource.”

“That’s one way of looking at it,” Ileana said dryly, as Merletta gave him a skeptical look.

Agner chuckled, undeterred by their lack of enthusiasm.

“I know you didn’t get on very well when you were studying together, but the line between bitter rivalry and the type of cooperation that helpfully challenges one another is finer than you realize.”

“If you say so,” Merletta said, unconvinced. She twisted her spear in her hand. “Ileana certainly never gives me a hit for free, that much I’ll acknowledge.”

“I can practically see each of you improve as you fight one another,” Agner agreed. He turned to Ileana, starting in on his favorite topic. “Don’t you think Merletta would make an excellent guard, Ileana? It’s not too late for her to drop out of the program and join our number.”

“No, actually, Instructor,” Ileana said curtly. “I think that would be an anti-climactic end to Merletta’s fascinating career.”

She spoke with an edge of mockery, but Merletta sensed the truth beneath her words. Ileana wasn’t kidding about wanting to see Merletta bring down the Center’s lies. Merletta shook her head slightly as she stowed her weapon against her back, sliding it through the strap of her satchel. If Ileana wasn’t careful, her desire for vengeance would destroy her.

“Off to lunch then, both of you,” Agner said. “But I expect you back afterward, Merletta. I’d like to see you train with the slings for a while.” He looked questioningly at Ileana, who shook her head.

“I’ll be on patrol this afternoon.”

“I went on patrols a lot last year,” Merletta commented to Ileana, as Agner drifted away. “But no one’s offered me that option this year. I suppose it’s because the squad I trained with got disbanded.”

She frowned, still feeling guilty that the squad leader, Freja, had been demoted for helping Merletta. She’d seen the older mermaid around, completing simple training exercises for younger guards, and other tasks well below her experience level. She’d made no attempt to approach Merletta, and Merletta had followed her lead.

She pulled her thoughts from the unpleasant topic, glancing at Ileana. “Where is your squad patrolling?”

“Where do you think?” Ileana asked tartly. “Eighty percent of patrols are in Tilssted now.”

Merletta looked at her, startled. “That many?”

“Of course.” Ileana sounded impatient. “That’s where the fighting is. That’s the reason you’re not allowed to go anymore, of course. They’re not about to send trainees into actual armed conflict. No outsiders go into the city anymore, other than guards.”

“Actual armed conflict?” Merletta repeated. “You mean you’re fighting Tilssted residents when you go on patrol—killingthem?”

“There haven’t been many deaths yet,” Ileana told her, in the tone she might use on an overemotional merchild. “We don’t really need to use that much force to keep them in line, to be honest. They’re poorly organized and generally not armed.”

Merletta narrowed her eyes, unimpressed by the way Ileana was speaking, but the other mermaid had lost interest. With only a grunt of farewell, she swam away toward the dining hall, her pace clearly showing that she didn’t want Merletta to travel with her.

---