Austin pictured the monster opening its jaws, setting his heart free.
“I’ll go to him.” Austin undressed and stepped into the water, which curled playfully around his calves.
Eli stomped after him in the heavy boots protecting him from the razor-sharp shore. Austin turned to him. “What are you doing?”
“Coming with you?”
“Tristan isn’t here.”
“You can’t bring me? Can’t you like…tell the ocean to carry me?” Eli’s head canted to the side.
Austin considered. His power was curling contently inside, and at a prod, he found it willing enough. Though he’d rather not use his voice, just in case the waves took things too seriously.
“I can pull you along,” Austin said. “I’m just going to say goodbye to the matriarch first.”
Austin dove, stretching his spine, letting his legs become a tail. The matriarch peeked out from beneath her rock and felt for his hands with her tentacles in a friendly hello. She was making curling shapes when he swam up and gestured for Eli to join him.
“Lose the boots,” Austin warned. “They’ll drag you down.”
Austin guided Eli by hand, careful not to go too fast and cause his face to dip underwater. The waves by the Tear were towering, the air thick with fog. The meeting point of two dimensions waved like a flag in a breeze, turning the sea deadly. Austin ordered the ocean to be still as they passed and had to quickly assure Eli he hadn’t meanthimwhen Eli stopped moving all limbs and sank like a rock. By the time Justerra glittered in the distance, Austin’s shoulder was tired from pulling Eli along. He couldn’t help but wonder how Tristan had managed this with the larger Liam in tow. And managed it without complaint.
Austin continued to stare at Justerra, a quiet instinct drawing him towards it. It wasn’t a pull like he felt with Connor, nor an itch in his skin, but a gentle, unobtrusive feeling. If he wanted to find Tristan, Justerra was where he needed to be.
“I think we should get a boat.” Eli’s teeth chattered.
Austin wasn’t cold, but he was far more tired than he liked to be. “Tristan will do it next time.”
“It’s not much better with him!” Eli said. “Except the Tear. That wasfarscarier with Tristan. He made me hold my breath and just swam through it underwater, dragging me along behind. Still, I can’t feel my fingers. Or my toes.”
“We’re almost there.” Austin pressed on, swapping the hand holding Eli again and again as exhaustion crept up his arms. It was hard to say who was more relieved when they reached the nearest dock. Eli scrambled onto dry land with a groan of relief.
“I’m going to go take Inx’s jacket; he’s stationed not far from here. I’ll meet you in the palace? Or the estate? Should I find out whether Tristan is here first?” Eli dripped water everywhere as he stood.
“I’ll find Tristan myself. You can meet me at the estate,” Austin said. “Go warm up.”
He watched to make sure Eli looked okay as he trotted off barefoot into the city and was pleased when, before he’d even reached the corner, two guards appeared wearing the vibrant blue of Tristan’s Troop. Eli went to them, maybe to throw around his new position and steal their shoes.
Austin slipped below the water, appreciating the strict rules about keeping the water clean as he swam the perimeter of the city, following that gentle guide inside him. Below the docks, he found tunnels large enough to fit him leading underground. He eyed them and thought of the pools in Hal’s palace. But there were quite a few of them, and they were very dark.
Something moved at the edge of one of the tunnels. Austin peered into the dark as a large tentacle twisted in greeting. He approached, examining the large octopus stationed in the tunnel entrance. It was pitch black beyond the pool of light brightening the sea creature.
Austin reached out both arms to the octopus, making a beckoning noise. She eyed him warily before slipping into hisarms, and he swam up until his face broke the surface. “Can you show me the way to Hal’s palace?” he asked her. He used a little bit of power—the tiniest amount—and he focused on making it a soft beckon, not a demand.
Austin dove once more and held her, waiting. After a minute, she extended a tentacle towards one of the tunnels on the right. Austin cupped her carefully and swam into it. Inside, it was pitch black, and Austin had to go slowly as many different routes shot off in many directions. His guide faithfully directed him at each crossroads, and soon they were swimming gradually upwards. There were odd pressures at certain points in the tunnels, as if Austin were pushing through an invisible wall that would snap back into place right after he’d gone through it.
Eventually, a square of light appeared directly above, and Austin swam up, breaching the surface. Nobody noticed him when his head emerged into the throne room, though the room was crowded. The queen of Asar and king of Zatic stood hand in hand, both strikingly pale. Nicias stood with his hand clutching empty air where his sword pommel should have been, and past him was Desor, beady eyes glinting.
All looked past Tristan, who stood with his feet planted in the centre of the hall, still and dangerously furious.
Hal lay flattened on the floor, and Kas knelt next to him, clutching Hal’s arm. Hal didn’t even seem to be breathing, a large and pale hand clutching his throat. Adonis’s sneering face looked down on Hal, the muscles in his arm tensed and bunched, as if ready to crush his windpipe at any moment.
But that wasn’t where Tristan was glaring.
Rigid with tension, Austin followed Tristan’s gaze to the throne. In the prince’s chair with an annoyed, stubborn look in his grey eyes sat Connor.
Emotions surged in Austin. Confusion. Fear. Anger.
Hal’s white blossom crown was on the ground at Connor’s feet, the delicate blooms crushed.
