“Yes,” I confirmed. “You’re already aware of the situationwe’re in, we were hoping you two could offer an alternative perspective—help us see anything we might be missing.”
“From what I understand, you are doing everything we would do in this situation,” Alon said, leaning forward and bracing his elbows on the table.
I felt some of the tension leaving my body at his confirmation that I wasn’t completely off base with how I was leading my people in this situation.
“Just like you, we don’t want war, I don’t think anyone ever does, but we know sometimes that’s the only option,” Ceto continued.
“If it does come down to war, Ceto and I are happy to offer the support of our army we have gathered in our court.”
“Thank you,” Luka said. “But there is one more thing you need to know before we seal any sort of agreement,” Luka added. “Sensitive information we don’t want to reveal to everyone yet.”
Concern flickered across the kings faces. “Go on,” Alon encouraged.
“I’m sure you’ve heard about the Blood King’s death?” I asked carefully.
Sadness flitted across both of their faces as they avoided Luka’s gaze. “Yes, we were sorry to hear of the late king’s passing, our deepest condolences to you both,” Alon said.
“Thank you,” Luka responded, “But there is more.”
“King Arlo didn’t die in his sleep, he was murdered.” The kings leaned forward in unison. “His head was sent to the Star Court palace in a box.”
“By who?” Ceto’s voice was almost a whisper.
“My uncle, Lorenzo.”
“And Adreona, the head of the Panateia,” I finished. “They’re working together, Lorenzo has claimed the Blood Crown and named Adreona as his consort.”
Ceto swore while Alon stared at us, his gaze unwavering. “So war might be closer than we anticipated.”
I nodded solemnly.
“We’ll take you down to Thalassa tomorrow if you can stay until then and introduce you to our army. I’d like for you to address them before we start preparing them for battle,” Alon declared.
“Thalassa, as in the underwater city Thalassa?” Kara breathed, her eyes wide with wonder.
“Yes, the underwater city,” Alon confirmed.
We’d heard stories of the underwater city, the place where many water-shifting fae decided to live beneath the sea. Kara had been obsessed with it since she was a child.
“I’ll send a message down once we’re done here, alerting them to our visit. We can go right away in the morning.”
I jumped at the sound of Nico clapping his hands excitedly. “I can’t believe we get to go to the underwater court!”
Kara squealed, “Do you think we’ll see a mermaid?”
“Fucking children,” Luce mumbled.
We all stood at the edge of the cliff where the railing surrounding the balcony stopped, allowing anyone to free-fall into the sea if they made one wrong step.
We were all dressed in the clothes Alon and Ceto had sent to our rooms this morning, similar to my leathers, but lighter, molding to our bodies with straps crisscrossing over the thighs where I could strap my weapons. The suit had a zipper that ran from below my belly button to my neck. I left mine unzipped slightly at the top, the fabric far more restricting than I liked when zipped fully.
The kings claimed the suits were made of water-resistant material that wouldn’t weigh us down underwater.
“Remember, stay with us, don’t wander off by yourselvesdown there, it’s easy to get lost,” Alon continued with his instructions.
“And not all creatures are friendly.” Ceto’s braids were tied back in a large bun at the nape of his neck, he and Alon both wore the same light blue suits as the rest of us, with the Aquatic Court seal on the chest, a golden wave with a trident through it.
We all nodded. “Alright.” Alon dipped his chin. “If you’re ready, shields up.” Those of us with air used our magic to create a sphere of air around our heads that would allow us to breathe and talk underwater. Luce created a shield around Nico since he was the only one of us without air magic.
