Page 38 of A Kingdom Restored

But he had no other option. Merletta had said two days, and dragons didn’t work to human schedules. He was well aware that even if the dragons took Reka’s new information seriously—a possibility which was already painfully slim—there was no way anything would change quickly enough to prevent Merletta from placing herself at the mercy of the Center’s Record Master.

And with nothing to do to help her, he was left without anything to distract him from the question he least wanted to grapple with—what was he going to do about the secrets he’d sworn to keep, but which might now be condemning Percival to execution?

Chapter Twelve

Merletta glanced at her friends’ grim faces as the central spire loomed large before them.

“You know, it’s really not too late to—”

“Enough, Merletta,” said Emil disapprovingly. “We need to keep focus, and going through all this again will just be a distraction. We’ve all decided to come with you. Show us the courtesy of respecting our decision.”

Merletta fell silent, recognizing the uselessness of arguing. Emil had made his position clear, and Sage and Andre were no less determined. Whatever the outcome of this meeting, they were all in it together.

Given she’d expected more power plays, Merletta was pleasantly surprised that they were not kept waiting. As soon as they approached the opening at which she’d made the appointment a week before, a mermaid swam out from a side door and curtly instructed them to follow her.

They all swam straight upward through the center of the spire. Center employees bustled past in all directions, and Merletta caught glimpses through many doorways into various workshops, offices, and storage areas. It would all have been fascinating once, but now she couldn’t muster interest in any of it.

She’d been struggling to focus on anything that past week. Even the life-altering revelations about the family she’d come from had paled in significance compared with the looming meeting with the Record Master. Perhaps it was because she’d decided not to claim her birth position and the privileges that came with it.

Or perhaps it was because the Record Master’s attempt to rattle her by delaying their meeting had worked perfectly.

Either way, she’d felt like a luminescent jellyfish trapped in a lantern cage all week. She’d had no doubt that once she made her mysterious appointment she would be watched very closely. She hadn’t been anywhere but classes, training, the barracks and the dining hall all week. The only exception was her foray into the restricted records room with Sage a couple days before. Not that the trip had yielded anything of much value.

They’d ascended more than halfway up the interior of the spire when their guide directed them through an open doorway to one side. As they floated around the edges of the small room, the mermaid fixed Merletta’s friends with a glare.

“The appointment, I believe, is with Trainee Merletta,” she said.

“We’re here to give our support to Merletta’s testimony,” Emil replied, before Merletta could speak.

The mermaid was unimpressed. “And you are?”

“My name is Emil, of the Skulssted family Waveracer,” he said. “I’m a record holder.”

“As am I,” Sage chimed in. “My name is Sage, of the Skulssted family Clearfoam.”

“And I’m Andre,” Andre added. “Of the Skulssted Seawatch family. I’m a trainee in the program.”

The mermaid’s eyes lingered on each of them in turn, her expression still disapproving. But it seemed the decision about their inclusion was above her authority, because she just turned away, swimming swiftly up and through an opening in the ceiling above them.

“Seawatch is an interesting name,” Merletta commented to Andre as they waited. “I noted it on your family record, but never asked you about it.”

Andre nodded. “My father claims that the family have served as guards for as many generations as we know of. And that’s why our name is a guardian type name.” He wrinkled his nose ruefully. “He likes to bring it up regularly, as his not very subtle protest that I’ve chosen to pursue the record holder role instead of the noble path of a guard.”

“Not always so noble,” Merletta muttered. She still felt disillusioned over the realization that Denton’s kindness in educating her had been motivated by his guilt over abetting in the murder of her parents, and then abandoning her to the charity home in the first place.

“Are you thinking of the guards who attacked August’s patrol?” Andre asked, frowning. “They’re Center guards, not Skulssted guards like my father and his line.”

“No, I wasn’t thinking of that,” Merletta said quickly. She flicked her thumb against the scales of her tail in a compulsive gesture. “All the formal introductions just made me think of…” She swallowed, then the words tumbled out in a rush. “I found out who my family is. Where I came from, I mean, before the charity home. I even met my uncle.”

Emil had gone still, his gaze piercing as he waited for her to continue. The other two looked stunned and, in Sage’s case, excited.

“Who are they?” she asked.

“I come from the El family of Hemssted,” Merletta said. “They’re a fairly influential family, with a decent amount of wealth, from what I saw. My mother was from the Mer family, also from Hemssted, but they seem to have faded out of existence. I can’t prove it for any official purpose, of course, but the head of the family, Elfin, was convinced enough by all the circumstances that he offered me the protection and recognition of the family name.”

“Merletta, that’s amazing,” Sage said. “I can’t believe you hadn’t told me! Now you can—”

“I told him thank you, but no thank you,” Merletta cut her off. “In a clamshell.”

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