Page 34 of Midnightsong
It was all his fault.
Aqilus and Serapha would never have died, and Cyrus would not have been caught and now infirm, had he not been involved with a human.
He headed for the royal cemeteries.
Serapha and Aqilus’ final resting places were side by side, dressed in their royal jewels and crowns. Like Ning, Angie’s mother, they looked peaceful.
Kaden rested a hand over the glass coffin holding his father. He remembered how a group of humans had tossed the dead mer back into the sea tidesdays after his father was killed, to the mercy of the tides and predators. Sentinel patrols had gathered as many as they could, wrestled some from sharks’ jaws and returned them to their homes, and thank the Goddess Aqilus was among them. “Mother, Father, I’m sorry. Cyrus is still infirm, and when she thinks nobody is looking, Adrielle weeps her salt-tears for him.” He bowed his head, dullness pulsing in his chest. “This was my fault and I’ll make it right. I’ll avenge the both of you.”
He bowed his head to the two of them and moved to the king and queen’s inner courts, a cove where they held meetings and gatherings away from the public eye. The rock and coral furniture, smooth walls for writing on and sparse smattering of chairs made of unblemished rock, were draped with crimson-and-gold coverings. Glass and gold sculptures of various yu species and depictions of mer playing, reading, and dancing were pinned to the walls, giving the space a more genial feel. The empty hammock swayed with the currents.
The sculptures, trinkets, and daily care items were carefully stashed away into their proper places, not even the corner of a trinket out of place. The work of Saeryn’s new palace keepers, no doubt. A brief shimmer drew his gaze to the opposite end of the room, invisible fingers squeezing his heart, and he forced down the swell of emotion threatening to rise.
The impeccable glass sculpture of their family still stood proud against the closest rock face. The king and queen had had it crafted shortly after Kaden was born. Aqilus and Serapha pressed close together, Serapha holding a child Cyrus’ hand, and Aqilus cradling a newborn Kaden.
Unable to bear the memories any longer, Kaden departed the coves.
His arms and tail weighed heavily as he left and he drew his arms closer to his body.
The sadness and sensations of feeling lost cloaked him like a giant youyu’s tentacles drawing him to his death.
Fourteen
Angie
Angie sat on a landing overthe aquarium’s main tank, her booties donned and legs dangling into the thousands of gallons of saltwater below her feet. She slipped her flippers on and zipped up her wetsuit from the back. The first weekend of February was here, and she was on tank cleaning duty to cover for her coworker, Jace.
It had taken her a minute to remember all the components of her diving getup. Before today, it had been two years since she’d worn it.
Beneath her feet, stingrays, small sharks, fish, and turtles swam in circles, darting in and out of the artificial coral reefs made of resin and glass.
She adjusted her BCD, dropped weights into its pockets, and tightened her grip around her vacuum, a PVC tube on a pool hose, connected to a pool pump. In her other hand, she held a scrubber.
Most of all, she had forgotten how heavy the oxygen tank was on her back, and she grunted as she turned around to lower herself into the water.
Her coworker had already fed the smaller, slower fish, so Angie had to vacuum up excess fish poo and uneaten food, scrub down the walls, rocks, and fixtures, and the tank’s acrylic.
She checked her watch to make sure she would remain on schedule and descended into the temperate waters. It was much warmer than she was used to and she let herself sink to the bottom, exhaling a stream of bubbles that sailed over her head.
Almost two hours later, Angie was scrubbing off the last of the artificial corals near the tank’s bottom and, after shaking out her arms, prepared to make her ascent.
A flash of bright color zipped past her peripheral vision, scattering a school of burgundy rockfish, and she stopped.
What happened? Was there a new predator introduced into the tank recently?
She sucked in hard, swallowing a blast of cold, dry air, and she gagged. A young mermaid floated before her, only moving with the water’s currents, glittering viridian eyes boring into her. Her translucent tail was held rigid, as was the set of her shoulders.
Intricate patterns swirled around and lined her arms and slim waist. An unarmed sentinel, but not one she recognized, despite her trips to the Central Queendom’s palace.
The sentinel cocked her head, turquoise wide and unblinking like a fish. A quick glance at her neck showed her tendons tense, and her face was pallid.
She was afraid of Angie.
What was she doing here? How did she get here?Whendid she get here? Why didn’t anyone tell her there was a mermaid in the aquarium?
About to talk to her, Angie stopped. She didn’t have mer magic and her words would come out in bubbly garbles.
There had to be another way, and she waved at the mermaid, pointing toward the surface.
