Page 127 of A Kingdom Restored

“Sorry,” he said cheerfully. “I didn’t mean to interrupt. I just heard you talking when I was going past on my hourly run.”

He puffed out his chest a little, and Merletta bit back a grin. Predictably, Andre was absolutely loving his legs, and taking the challenge of not only learning but mastering a new skill very seriously. He was well on his way to being the best on-land fighter of all the merpeople.

Indigo rolled her eyes as her cousin ducked back out. “Speaking of people who’ll be here so often you’ll be sick of them…”

Merletta laughed again. “Not a chance. I’m glad Andre is going to live on Vazula. We’ll need his relentless optimism with all the challenges ahead.” She smiled warmly at the younger mermaid. “And I’m glad you’re staying, too, Indigo.”

“You’re missing something,” Ileana said curtly, casting a critical eye over Merletta’s hair.

She ducked out of the tent, leaving Merletta to send a bemused glance at Sage.

“You know, even though I’m marrying a human, and gaining a title, and living onland, I think the strangest part of all of this is thatIleanais helping me get ready for my wedding!”

Sage choked on her laugh as Ileana reappeared, a string of pearls in her hand.

“You need more of the ocean in the mix,” she said matter-of-factly, draping the string through Merletta’s dark hair with unexpected finesse.

“Thank you,” Merletta said, touched and surprised.

Ileana gave a curt nod, hesitating. Then she spoke in a rush.

“Since we’re talking about who’s living up here and who’s staying underwater…I’ve been wanting to discuss it.”

Merletta swiveled to properly face the other mermaid, her eyebrows raised. “You want to live on Vazula? Even though Emil was willing to give you a position among his guards?”

Ileana nodded. “I know that’s the highest position a guard can occupy down there, but I don’t want to guard the Record Master, even if it is Emil.” She looked incredibly uncomfortable, but she pushed on. “I was willing to give everything to the Center’s cause when they were giving me access, and when they stopped, I was willing to give everything to destroy them. I wanted to bring the old Record Master down, make him pay.”

“Well, you did have a hand in that,” Merletta commented quietly, remembering how Ileana had identified the Record Master to the dragons.

Ileana nodded again. “I’ve been wrestling with it ever since, and I have to acknowledge to myself that I took no pleasure in his death. It didn’t fix anything—it didn’t even take away the anger. I don’t know if it’s because my resentment was against a concept and never a person, or because the problem was in me all the time, not in the Center.” She drew in a tight, angry breath. “In a way, his death was worse than all the rest. It didn’t feel like justice, not when the dragons who did it had just murdered innocent merpeople for no good reason. Then they just flew away, without really even acknowledging their mistake.”

She scowled, and Merletta reflected that the other girl clearly still had plenty of anger to work through.

“I don’t like the idea that power puts you above all accountability,” Ileana continued. “It doesn’t seem right. There’s nothing we can do about the dragons, but I think you’re the best hope I’ve seen of building a world where that isn’t the case. You know better than most what the true cost is when those in charge think they don’t have to answer to anyone.”

Merletta was silent for a moment, overwhelmed by the faith apparently being placed in her. “The dragons aren’t all like that,” she reminded Ileana. “Rekavidur isn’t, and neither is his father. And that means dragons are capable of change.” She smiled ruefully. “It’s just maybe a bigger job than any of us can take on…we’ll have to depend on those dragons who can see sense to bring about change in the others of their kind.”

Ileana shrugged, clearly not placing much stock in the idea.

“It’s not just that I think you can be trusted with power,” she said abruptly.

Merletta frowned, ready to correct the apparent misconception about the level of authority she was likely to have on Vazula, but Ileana barreled on without giving her a chance.

“It’s also that you’ve clearly got something right. Because you’ve suffered more from them than I have—you’ve been targeted so much worse—and not only did you never let it stop you from pursuing your goals, you seem to have managed not to be bitter about it. If I take you as an example, I have to conclude that vengeance isn’t a path forward. It’s a path that leads nowhere, changes nothing. Soyou’rethe one I want to guard, if you’ll let me.”

Merletta stared at the other mermaid, too stunned to find words. A memory raced across her mind, of Ileana’s spear flashing as it sped through the water, piercing Heath with a near fatal strike. But Ileana’s words about vengeance chastened Merletta. She was humbled to think someone had learned from her example without her even knowing it. She didn’t want to betray that trust.

“I’d be glad,” she said quietly.

Ileana let out a long breath. “Thank you,” she said. She hovered for a moment, the silence in the small space absolute, and a little awkward. “I’ll go check that everything’s in hand,” she said, striding out of the tent.

“Tides above,” Sage said blankly, as soon as Ileana was gone.

Merletta gave a fervent nod. “Yes. Precisely.”

Never, when she was a raw and combative new trainee, could she have predicted any of this. Ileana was certainly the last mermaid she would have expected to be assisting her on her wedding day.

She sighed. She would probably have expected it to be Tish. Her heart still ached at her first friend’s absence. Merletta had hoped that once the threat of the dragons was gone—not to mention the prohibitions of the Center—Tish might have been willing to give her legs another chance. But the other girl had no interest in coming near land. She’d sent a message, wishing Merletta all the best for her wedding, but she clearly intended to stay inside the triple kingdoms. She was likely in her shellsmith tower right now, leaning over an intricate task, struggling to meet her quota. She’d chosen a path for her life well before the tumult of the last couple of years, and she had shown no desire to deviate from it since.

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