Page 100 of Between Fear and Favor

“Old Telemern?” Surprise colored the guard’s tone. I didn’t allow myself to sigh in relief, remembering the name from Foxglove. If he was a friend to her, perhaps he’d be a friend to me.

“Aye. You’re Marlow’s boy, aren’t you?” His voice reminded me of my father, and I hoped there wasn’t much more the two men had in common.

“Yes. I-I don’t think I’ve ever seen you like this.”

“I’ll admit, it’s rare. You ever feel like stretching your legs when you’re in this form too long?”

I wished I could see the two of them, but I couldn’t risk popping my head out.

The guard chuckled, and his voice sounded farther away when he spoke. “I haven’t earned my pendant yet, so I’m not even sure what that feels like.”

“How old are you?”

“Next year will be my seventy-fifth year,” he said, and my eyes bulged. I’d have guessed he was in his twenties, but I supposed I was a bad judge. Mairin was four centuries old, and she didn’t look much older than me.

“Ah, then she’ll probably gift it to you soon enough. Too long of a wait, I think.”

“Well, the Queen, I mean, she—you still haven’t earned yours back, have you?” The guard’s voice grew sharp.

“No, I doubt I’ll see land ever again. But she knows best, I suppose. Still, though. Legs ought to be a right from birth.”

At this, the guard snapped, “I think it’s time you go rest.”

“I will as soon as I’m done, boy.”

“Make it quick.”

“When you live this long, you’ll learn these old bones can’t move much faster.”

There was silence for a moment, and I wondered if the guard left. Just as I was about to peek over the ledge, Old Telemern spoke once more.

“Don’t you have other people to worry about? I’ll bet Smokkar is terrorizing someone as we speak.”

“You didn’t hear? He’s dead. Surprised it took her this long, if I’m honest.”

A shiver crept up my spine. Estri had killed Smokkar. I didn’t hold any affection for him, and I thought his motivations had likely been nefarious, but it was still shocking to think of the Sea Queen killing someone I’d spoken with. Her child, no less.

“Huh,” the shifter grunted, but offered no opinion on the matter.

“Go on, old man.”

I hoped Old Telemern wouldn’t argue with the guard again. The sooner the guard left, the sooner I could ask my questions. And once I got my questions answered, I’d make my way to Mairin. If Smokkar, someone who seemed to hold questionable morals just like his mother, had grown out of favor with the Sea Queen, it was only a matter of time before she grew tired of me.

Whatever I did, however I left, I’d have to figure out a way to bring as many seaborn with me who wanted to leave. Foxglove’s timid smile appeared in my mind, and my heart ached over what I knew had been done to her. A life outside of the water couldn’t have been worse than being held hostage by Estri. Could it?

Above me, the giant mass I’d mistaken for a rock swam through the window. Old Telemern had shifted back into his sea creature form, and I slowly turned on the ground. I didn’t dare stand, not wanting to be seen if the guard still lingered.

There weren’t any moonpearls on the walls, and yet there was a faint blue glow to my surroundings. The turtle shifter’s home didn’t have any furniture or any of the limited comforts my own chamber did. It was just a cave. As my eyes adjusted, I realized the ceiling was covered in what might have been algae—and it was glowing. Not nearly as strong as the moonpearls, the faint light cast everything in a bluish-green haze. I blinked, watching as the enormous sea turtle disappeared into a hole in the ground.

I didn’t call after him, fearful the guard might hear me, but I pushed off the wall to follow. Despite his cumbersome size, Old Telemern moved far faster than I did. I wished, not for the first time, that my body wasn’t so awkward as I dove after him. Surprisingly, the water grew warmer the deeper I went, which wasn’t what I’d expected.

The algae didn’t grow along the hole, but it wasn’t as deep as I’d imagined. When he settled at the bottom, I could still make him out. Large, his body was mostly a dark grey, perhaps even black, but there were white speckles all over it. He looked spectacularly similar to a rock, and it was no wonder I’d been confused as he laid still outside the spire. Long ridges ran down his back from the front of his shell toward his tail, and more white spots littered those ridges than anywhere else. But his shell didn’t look hard—it appeared smooth, and I wondered if it would be soft.

Perhaps like leather, I realized. The reason Fox had called him a leatherback. I should have noticed the different texture beneath my feet.

Spinning, he used his fins to burrow into the sand. He was enormous, his length shocking. From the tip of his nose to the end of his tail, he was almost two of me. There wasn’t much room in this small pit, so I backed against the wall as I slid farther down. His eyes alone were each the size of my palm. As he settled, he turned those haunting orbs onto me. Completely black, even the shine of the algae didn’t seem to penetrate their depth.

With his size and the way he spoke to the guard—not to mention his name—he must have been ancient. I wondered how long he’d been here, unable to leave without a pendant.

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