Page 60 of Oceansong
“I expect only what you’re fully willing to give. If it is enough for you to see the palace and then leave, I will oblige right away, as I’ve said before.” The tip of his tail curled loose around her ankles. A comforting gesture, telling her he would never hold on too tight.
Angie had heard those words from the occasional young man she’d dated in college, but none of them said it with the open sincerity Kaden had. “My culture does not allow us to act any other way. We are only to give ourselves to one another when two, or in some cases, more than two mer have decided to join for life.”
The butterflies in Angie’s stomach settled, and she dropped her shoulders, accepting his answers.
Away from the sanctuaries, the seas were barren of life again. The seafloor’s only companions were scattered rocks and sand and the occasional coral reef, resting still like statues against the constant shifting of the tides.
They moved into an area dotted with sea knolls and guyots, tall and short. Angie twisted her upper body away to avoid a jagged piece of rock wall much too close to her face.
The palace came into view, a golden beacon in the midnight seas, the sudden onslaught of light overwhelming her. Seeing so many mer in one place, though they were far away, was a truly dazzling sight to behold. Kaden led her around its confines.
“Come, stay close to me. I will not let anything happen to you.” A little burst of happiness popped in her, and she pulled him close, pressing their foreheads together. She half-expected to feel his breath on her skin, but it was impossible since he used gills. His lips brushed her skin, and a dulled spark feathered across her forehead. “This is the way to my private quarters. We will pass by the throne room, but keep swimming flush with me and you will not draw the King and Queen’s attention.”
Kaden rested his hand on a makeshift handle on the rock wall, pulling it open and revealing a wide tubular hallway. He pulled the door closed again when they passed through.
The mer-prince stopped when they moved through the hallway and into the next room, circular and empty. Angie looked around, noting nothing of interest, until he tugged at her hand. “You had asked me how we keep foodstuffs and other items dry.” He gently pulled her so she was beside him, looking to the left wall.
It wasn’t a wall. It was a glass pane leading to what looked like a cavern behind it, and what seemed to be hundreds of air bubbles floating about, a hypnotizing sight.
Kaden spoke up again. “Here. We have several rooms like this around the palace. This is one of about twenty drying chambers.”
Angie watched each of them float by, some empty, others with various dried fruits, kelp, and seaweed inside. The bubble sizes ranged from as small as her pinky nail to as large as her head.
“This is amazing,” she murmured, putting both palms on the glass pane.“I guess that answers my question, then. But why have dry food at all?”
“For emergencies or if there’s a scarcity of fresh foods. It also provides easy access to food without having to constantly swim to the surface to harvest the sea fruits and vegetables.”
“Oh, that makes sense. Like how we preserve and can foods.” Another thought came. “How did you keep the nori dry when you gave it to me?”
“A simple matter of guiding bubbles toward the surface. I used a little of my magic to keep the currents moving in the right direction.”
Now, she understood. Angie took one last look at the bubbles before they left the room.
They moved through quiet halls, passing each room with ceilings and windows with vibrant clear, crimson, and cobalt hues. The floors were made of stained glass, depicting rocks, seamounts, sea caves and corals, and various fish species.
Kaden stopped.
“Shouldn’t we keep going?” she whispered.
“This is the princes’ quarters. The servants are on break, and Cyrus is at court. We’ll be alone for a few moments.” He motioned with his head toward the stained-glass ground. “These are the stories of my people.” They continued onward, and he pointed out different pictures to her as they carried on.
The first was of two groups of mer on opposite sides of the mural, facing one another. “This is when my parents traveled to this region and settled here thirty-five tidesyears ago, and the first group of mer that joined them.”
He pointed out a second drawing in the next room, of three regal, elegant merfolk. “This is Iarra, one of the mer Goddesses.” He motioned to a golden beige-skinned mermaid with flowing chestnut hair down to her waist. “Another Goddess and our primary deity in the Pacific queendoms, Sanyue.” The second Goddess’ straight raven hair was swept into a neat updo, her skin pale and nearly translucent. “And this is Aruna.” He pointed to a depiction of a merman with umber-hued skin and wavy jet-black hair. “The mer God. They represent the tidal cycles.”
The third illustration, beside the second, was of mer and humans shaking hands by a shoreline. “This was over three centuries ago, when your people and my people were still cordial and had an alliance.” Kaden shook his head slowly. “The last time we were.”
Angie set her lips in a tight line and bowed her head. “But what happened? Our stories say that you suddenly disappeared.”
Kaden beckoned her to keep following.
“This is what happened.” The fourth drawing he pointed out to her wasof a group of humans standing over dead mer, with muskets, pistols, and swords in hand. “At one time, mer lived in harmony with the humans, and they would give them our magic so they could join us in the seas. But, a large group of humans used that ability against them and besieged them in the seas and at the surface, killing mer by the thousands.” His voice lowered. “There were so few of us left to fight back. The remaining mer decided that humans couldn’t be trusted, and closed their queendoms off from the surface world.”
“Oh, tian.I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.” Angie’s hand moved to cover her mouth. “That’s horrible.”
“It was, yes.” Kaden thinned his lips. “Since then, we’ve learned to use our Goddess-granted ability to manipulate water, and help us in battle with landwalkers. It is our second gift from them. The first being able to give you breath underwater. Let’s keep going.”
The throne room was next, situated to her left when she passed it, and she peeked over Kaden’s shoulder. The thrones, in the shapes of pillars, were carved of pink, white, and orange corals, surrounded by fish who made their homes there. They sat on a bed of trimmed seagrass, and Kaden’s mother and father were upright, their tails wrapped around the pillars. They faced ahead, another mahogany-tailed merman floated beside them.
