Page 3 of A Kingdom Restored

“It’s all right,” Andre assured her with a wry smile. “I know I can’t go. We all have our part to play here in the Center.” His expression grew more serious. “Plus, if there’s danger coming for us, the last thing I would do is abandon my family to it while I swam away.”

“That’s a very real possibility, though,” Emil said thoughtfully. His eyes were again on Sage. “We could try to establish a safe base somewhere outside the triple kingdoms. I assume we’d be harder to find without the magical barrier calling the dragons to us.”

Sage was nodding thoughtfully, but she suddenly seemed to realize Emil’s eyes were on her. “I suppose you’d be part of this group fleeing to the safe base, would you?” she asked innocently.

“Me?” Emil looked startled. “Of course not. I’m going to stay here and try to help find a way to save the whole triple kingdoms.”

“Well,” Sage said, her voice a little too sweet, “then I doubt there’s much point in a safe base. Since everyone in this room is equally determined to stay and help, and no one outside it is likely to believe us about the need to flee elsewhere.”

Emil lowered his voice, his tone growing urgent. “Sage, there’s nothing wrong with choosing to be safe.”

“I’m not swimming away like a frightened fish, Emil.”

Sage’s tone was final, and Emil didn’t respond. It was clear to Merletta that what she’d just witnessed was the continuation of an earlier discussion, one that would likely be resurrected again in the future.

“Well,” she said into the slightly awkward silence. “Obviously I wish we could all flee to safety, but I can’t really see any course that’s free of risk from here. And I for one won’t be going anywhere while the rest of my civilization is at risk of death because of me.”

She looked around at them all. “I’ll be going to Vazula as often as I can, to see Tish, and to find out whether the others have discovered anything useful. But to be honest, I don’t expect that’ll be all that often. Otherwise, for the moment I think we just need to wait for August and Eloise to come back.” She nodded at Emil. “And for the results of your search, of course.”

The group nodded, sobered and silent. The sight of their grim but determined faces tugged at Merletta’s heart. She appreciated their presence enormously. But she was under no illusions—they had no more solutions than she did.

* * *

Merletta left Sage’s tiny record holder room for the trainee barracks that evening. It was a little surreal, on entering the bustling, noisy mermaids’ room, to remember her first days in the program. Then, it had been just her, Sage, and Ileana, the former trainee who’d failed third year and become a guard. And who, in spite of hating Merletta since the moment they met, had recently announced that shewantedinon Merletta’s supposed uprising.

Merletta pushed the thought to the side. She still had no idea what to do with Ileana’s offer, and she had bigger problems at the moment.

At any rate, the barracks were a different place, now. Merletta had been told more than once that she was responsible for the sudden influx of aspiring trainees, having given the program a certain buzz. Whether that was true, she didn’t know. But the fact that there were now a dozen mermaids in the female barracks—most of them first or second years—and as many in the male barracks suggested that something had changed.

Merletta was the only fourth year trainee, however, and Lorraine was the only third year among the mermaids, having just returned from break after passing her own test. Andre’s test was nearly upon him, but Merletta didn’t doubt that he’d pass and join Lorraine in third year. He’d shown no sign of struggling to keep up, the way both Ileana and Jacobi had before their failures. It was strange to think he’d then be the most senior merman in the program.

Of course, there was also Indigo in the mermaid barracks. She was still in first year, studying for her upcoming second year test. Merletta had expected hostility from Andre’s pale-haired cousin, given Indigo had seemed so shameless in acknowledging to Andre that she’d been spying on Merletta at the direction of a senior Center guard. Merletta knew that Andre had barely spoken to his cousin in months as a result.

But Indigo showed no sign of anger or resentment. Her eyes darted quickly over when Merletta entered the room, then quickly away. She looked troubled, if anything.

Merletta made no attempt to grapple with the mystery. She had enough unanswered questions in her own life. She felt no need to delve into Indigo’s.

If it was strange to move back into the barracks, it was even stranger swimming into class the following morning. Wivell’s cool greeting gave no recognition to their last real conversation, in which he’d lamented her chosen course. He’d told Merletta that her defiance was a waste of one of the most promising minds he’d seen in a generation.

He’d even said that he truly believed she could have risen all the way to Record Master one day, if she’d beenmore teachable. It was a startling statement from a senior merman within the program, someone whom others might even consider in line for the position in the future. It was impossible to imagine anyone like Wivell ever taking Merletta on to train as their replacement. She’d concluded that his words had been meant to sting rather than being sincere. After all, succeeding in the program and proving herself had been her dearest ambition when she’d joined, and she’d made no secret of it. Somehow, none of that seemed important anymore, little as Wivell might realize it.

Soon enough, Merletta had been given some basic memory refreshing exercises to complete, peeling off from the gaggle of first and second years to work with Andre and Lorraine. It wasn’t especially interesting or challenging, a fact Lorraine had clearly also noted. Merletta ignored her regular grumbling.

During her history classes, Ibsen literally never looked at Merletta, let alone spoke to her. There was absolutely no question of him actually teaching her anything. His offense at her continued presence in the program was clear in the tilt of his head and the stiffness of his speech. She didn’t let it bother her. The only real reason for being here now was the access it gave her. She had no expectation of lasting long enough to take her fourth year test, let alone pass it.

As always, her training days with Agner at the end of the week were a much-needed release. On the first morning, the instructor set all the other trainees to their tasks, then pulled Merletta aside, where they could watch the first years’ clumsy warm up exercises but not be overheard.

“Merletta,” he said with a smile. “Welcome back.” His voice was as jovial as ever, just as if they weren’t in the midst of the tensest crisis the triple kingdoms had seen in generations. And that was without even taking the dragons into account.

“I’m glad you decided to return early,” Agner went on. “It’s boring without you around. Never so when you’re here, though.” He chuckled, then leaned close and gave her a wink. “I have to keep an eye out for you, after all, now that we’re co-conspirators.”

Merletta couldn’t help smiling at this reference to Agner’s role in authorizing the exemption that allowed her to sit her third year test in spite of missing months of classes.

“I never guessed you had such a rebellious streak, Instructor,” she said lightly.

He chuckled again. “It’s not called rebellion when you’re in a position of power. If you can just keep your head down a little more, Merletta, you can find that out for yourself soon enough.”

“I’ve never been good at keeping my head down,” Merletta told him frankly. “It’s usually so far up it breaks the surface.”

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