Page 25 of A Kingdom Restored

“Well, thank you,” said Merletta fervently. “How much can you teach me in one morning? Because it’s probably all the education I’ll get this year.”

Emil was once again smiling faintly. “I think we’ll stick to the assigned coursework. I’m to explain to you the basic functions of a record holder.”

“I’ll take what I can get,” Merletta informed him as she followed him into a small study room off the scribes’ hall. But in spite of her words, she jumped in as soon as they were settled, cutting off whatever Emil had been going to teach her.

“How do you think Andre’s doing?”

The older merman gave a shrug, although the tension in his frame belied his apparent unconcern. “We’ll find out soon enough.”

Merletta leaned forward, ready to pursue the topic, but at the last moment she changed her mind. Neither of them knew anything. Talking about it would only make them more nervous for their friend than they already were.

“I went to Hemssted last rest day,” she said abruptly. “I visited the residence of the El family.”

Emil stared at her. “You did? Did you speak to someone?”

She nodded. “The head of the family, I think. He was just going past the door by sheer luck when I arrived.”

“And?” Emil prompted.

Merletta lowered her eyes, staring at her fins as she recounted the gist of her conversation with Elfin.

Emil clucked his tongue thoughtfully. “So you didn’t tell him who you are…or might be. Are you going to?”

“I don’t know,” Merletta said. “It didn’t sound like he had much opinion either of Tilssted or of anyone interested in going outside the barrier. Which is two counts against me.”

“But if you truly are of that family, you’re not really from Tilssted,” Emil pointed out.

Merletta shook her head slowly. She knew it didn’t entirely make sense to Emil—how could it to someone whose birth and upbringing were inextricably intertwined—and she wasn’t sure how to explain it to him. But no matter what she could or couldn’t prove about her birth, she would never cease to be from Tilssted.

And she didn’t want to, she realized with a flash of defiance, picturing again the two groups of trainees. The Center might be eager to push Tilssted out of the program, even to write Tilssted out of the triple kingdoms. But Merletta had no desire to scrub it from her own history.

In defiance of custom, she abandoned the trainees’ table at dinnertime, sitting instead with Emil and Sage, among the junior record holders. None of them said much, and all three glanced upward, as if they could see the sun high above through the stone ceiling. They all knew that in order to pass the test, Andre would have needed to return to the Center by sunset.

Although at this point, Merletta didn’t care much about whether he passed. She would settle for him surviving.

They didn’t have long to wait. Merletta had barely begun to eat when a familiar form burst into the dining hall, crimson tail flicking excitedly.

Sage and Merletta both let out cries of greeting, and even Emil visibly relaxed. There was no need for any of them to ask how Andre had gone. The grin splitting his face was answer enough.

“You did it!” Merletta cried when he’d swum up to them. “Congratulations! We’ve all been beside ourselves!”

He chuckled. “I’m not surprised. You weren’t kidding when you said that test is no joke.” Although, judging by his continued beaming, his good cheer remained unimpaired by the ordeal.

“And now you’re a third year,” said Sage encouragingly. “A senior trainee!”

“I know.” Andre’s chest seemed to inflate a little.

Merletta caught Indigo watching him avidly from the trainees’ table, her own face light with relief, although a hint of sadness was visible as well. A pang went through Merletta at the sight. Whatever her feelings about Indigo’s conduct toward her, she couldn’t help but feel responsible for separating the two cousins.

Still, it wasn’t a moment for gloominess. It was a moment for celebration. Andre left the Center after dinner, returning to his family’s home to commence his month long holiday. But his success lingered behind him, the thought of it bolstering Merletta through the following days of combat training. It helped that in the training yard, she didn’t have to try to focus on complicated etymological rules while her mind was mainly occupied with her parentage. She just had to let her body settle into the familiar rhythms of combat, and try not to let Ileana get in under her guard while she was distracted.

She spent much of the last day of the week debating whether to return to the El family residence on rest day, to speak further with Elfin. She was still undecided at dinnertime, when Andre slipped into the seat next to her.

“What are you doing back here?” she demanded. “You’re supposed to be on your break.” As she took in the expression on his face, her eyes narrowed. “You have news,” she said, the words not a question.

Andre gave a surreptitious nod. “August and Eloise are back.” His voice was barely more than a whisper. “They got word to my father through some back channels.”

“They’re here?” Merletta murmured, trying not to let her expression display her astonishment. “I didn’t think they’d be able to show their faces in the triple kingdoms after disappearing so suspiciously.”

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