Page 91 of Midnightsong
Kaden waited until they went quiet and made his presence known. “Smooth tides to you, noble counsel.”
The five mer turned to face him. “Prince Kaden.” Darya bowed her head, the rest of the mer following, and Kaden did the same. “What brings you here?”
Kaden’s heart crawled to his throat. How was he to start off this conversation? The words left his mouth before he could stop them. “What do I need to do to take the throne from Saeryn?”
“You gave it up on your own accord,” Allie replied. “There’s nothing we can do. From here, it is his bloodline that will succeed the throne upon his death or abdication.”
Kaden gritted his teeth. “He’s destroying our queendom.”
“On the contrary, we, and the citizens, believe he is acting in the queendom’s best interest.” Alasdair’s tailfins tapped on the smooth ground.
“So, there’s nothing we can do,” Kaden echoed Allie.
Allie and Alasdair looked at each other, then to Darya. “There are four conditions in which a monarch may be removed,” Alasdair said.
“What are they?” Kaden laser focused on the merman, who swam to the back shelves full of stone slates, and exchanged his with another.
“If the monarch is too ill to lead, physically or mentally, that is one reason,” Alasdair began.
Saeryn was neither.
“Two, if the monarch fails to follow our deity, Sanyue. If they do not believe in Her, or do not embody Her teachings of fair and just treatment for all. Or, if they are found not to be acting in the best interest of their subjects.”
The second one was contentious, but according to the council, it was clear Saeryn was acting in their queendom’s “best interest”.
“Three, if the monarch does not produce a suitable female heir.”
Kaden squirmed. The last one had to be something he could get his uncle on.
“Finally, if the monarch is proven to have committed a crime.”
That could be it. Kaden nodded at them and placed a hand to his heart as a show of respect.
“Will you be joining us at our next meeting?” Darya asked before Kaden took his leave.
Another nod from Kaden, and he left the council’s chambers. Did Saeryn commit a crime? He had to find out; it was his last chance before Saeryn made a decision that could cost them their queendom, their seas. If he hadn’t already.
He swam westward until he exited the palace’s middle layer and made his way to the seafloor level where their sentries and sentinels trained. The rectangular chamber was an empty space, where sentinels sparred with one another and moving targets in one half. The other half was reserved for sentries where they trained on alertness, observation skills, signals, and building their own physical fitness and resilience.
Kaden swam over their heads and descended behind a group of sentries floating about, resting and chattering amongst themselves, their trainer at the head. “Sorry to disturb you in your time of training.”
The sentries and their trainer stopped their chatter, giving him their attention. Some bowed, others exchanged nervous glances with each other, but Kaden wasn’t going to let the latter’s reaction deter him. Not anymore. “I have a favor to ask. And will repay you accordingly for your time and effort.”
“What’s that?” the trainer asked.
“I need some information on our king’s background. His past, and if he has ever done anything suspicious.” It pained Kaden to have to ask. He thought he knew Saeryn and grieved the uncle he thought he had.
“You wish us to go against His Majesty?” the trainer dropped her voice to a furious whisper. “Do you know what would happen to us if he found out? And hewillfind out.”
“I only ask you to investigate his records in the archives. Nothing more. If anyone from the court asks, you are only seeking information to–” Kaden was not a good liar, and he racked his brain quickly for a plausible excuse. “T-to contribute to a project about his family tree and his life that will be used to teach future generations.” He flinched at the waver in his voice. “And if you are caught, you can pin it on me, and I will take full responsibility and deny your involvement.”
The sentries commiserated amongst each other, their susurration filling his ears. Kaden waited, rubbing his arms and looking around, incessantly flicking the distal part of his tail, anything to make the time go by quicker. If they said no, he didn’t know what he would do. He couldn’t be digging around in Saeryn’s history and looking for evidence of wrongdoing before his own physical and mental energy ran out, or before Saeryn attacked the humans again.
The chatter of other sentries behind him lowered into a dull roar.
“Okay, we will do it,” one sentry finally replied. “We will have information back to you by the turn of the tide.”
“I appreciate your time.” Kaden put a hand to his heart, and all the sentries and their trainer returned the gesture.
