Page 9 of Secrets Among the Tides
I had asked myself the same question for days. She wanted for nothing, she’d had it all and now she was gone. It couldn’t be a kidnapping. The culprits would have sent word by now, demanding a ransom. Another possibility was that it had been Kappur and they were biding their time, waiting for the perfect moment to announce it. After all, Thalassar would never think to attack Kappur if they had the Princess.
“I do not know,” I confessed again. “But she is gone and her absence is being noticed by the courtiers. The Queen and King have lied and told them that the Princess is ill and is to be confined to her rooms. That lie cannot go on forever.”
The waitress nodded. Finally, she was catching up with the conversation. “Yes, I can see how that would be problematic.”
I nodded. “Yes. But if she has gone,ifshe has run away then our enemies will see it as Thalassar’s weakness. They may attack while we are weak, while we are frantically searching for her return. The kingdom cannot afford such a loss.”
She nodded in understanding, though there was a crease between her brows. I wasn’t exactly sure what she was thinking in that moment and a part of me itched to ask, but the larger part of me did not care what she thought or felt. Because all I needed was for her to agree to my plan.
“So you agree that saving lives is important? That we need to stop this bloodshed?”
“Of course.”
“Then you agree to come with me to the palace?”
She started to nod then froze. “What?” she stammered and placed her palm against her chest, as if she meant to steady the beating there. “Why would I go to the palace?”
I fought to keep my patience in place. “You are a perfect likeness to the Princess,” I explained slowly. “You are the temporary solution to the problem until we find her again.”
“W—what are you saying?”
“I’m saying that I need you to come with me to the capital. I need you to disguise yourself as the Princess.”
CHAPTER FOUR
Maisie
HE WAS CRAZY. HE HAD TO BE.Or there must have been something wrong with his eyes because there was no way that I, an orphaned backwater mer, could look like royalty. Crazier yet, he wanted me to disguise myself as her, parade around the palace in silks and jewels to avoid an attack on the royals?
I took a deep breath. “No,” I stated firmly.
He blinked, as if he hadn’t quite heard me correctly. “No?”
“No. I won’t do it. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to my shift.” I tried swimming away, leaving this whole crazy mess behind me and get back to my reality. But as I tried to get away he was there, pulling me by the arm, whirling me to face him once more. His grip was tight and his gaze was angry.
“Youmustdo it.” He gritted his teeth, eyes blazing furiously. “Lives are at stake.”
I pushed down the panic before it could rise again and slowly let my fingers drift towards my belt, reaching for the knife there. “Royallives,” I spat as my hand tightened around the hilt. “Mer who do not care about me or anyone else in Lagoona.” I brought the blade up quickly but the captain was faster, or he’d seen it coming. I felt pain explode through my arm and I yelped, dropping the knife and taking a stroke back. “Ow!” I pierced him with an accusatory glare.
He didn’t even flinch. “You must do right by your kingdom and the crown,” he lectured in irritating tones.
I glared at him. “Why should I? The crown hasn’t done me any favors besides kill off my friends. You say you want to save lives, Captain? Then start by ending the war. I don’t care about some stuck up Princess who shunned her duties.”
I knew I’d said the wrong thing the moment his entire posture stiffened and his hands fisted at his sides. I saw the workings of his jaw, the veins at his temples strain against his skin. “Never speak ill of Princess Odele, waitress. It may be the last thing you ever do.”
A chill shivered down the length of my spine, all the way to my tailfin. But still, I stood my ground. I’d not let this soldier intimidate me. “The crown hasn’t done me any favors,” I repeated unkindly, rubbing the pain in my arm.
“If you do this for them, if you replace the Princess for however long they need, until we canfindher, the crown will be in your debt.”
Pausing, I looked at him with wide eyes. The crown in my debt? That sounded like…an insane notion. That a freshwater mer, anobodyfrom Lagoona could be of use to the royal family, and that they could give her something in return. It was insanity and yet, I gave pause, imagining myself in the palace. Imagining myself in the softest of silks, in the richest of jewels, swimming through palace gardens, wearing a crown and sitting on a coral throne. The fantasy played so vividly in my mind in that moment, an image that I could surely reach out and touch…if I dared.
No. I shook the image off. I couldn’t parade around in another’s skin while the mer of Lagoona suffered in poverty and fear. I would not sit on riches and pose for paintings and taking turns around the garden with the Prince instead of actually getting involved and making a difference…
I paused, breath catching. But…if I did this, if I pretended tobeher, could I? Could I be involved? Could I make a difference?
“The Selection—”
“You will be exempt from it,” he interrupted. “However, as we cannot tell anyone the true reason for you leaving, we will have to lie and say you’ve been selected.”
