“She’s the one who murdered the king.” Sofie drills her brilliant green eyes into my face, suddenly a much harder girl than the one I met in hair ribbons and lace. “Though not for our cause.”
“No, she has her own reasons to fear Niklas and his U-boats,” Katrine says, finding her footing. “She’s a mermaid.”
Both Will and Sofie gasp.
I look to Katrine. I don’t ask. I don’t confirm it.
She tips her nose into the air again. “Your magic smells of the sea.”
I expect she’ll ask me how many days I have left. After what happened with Annemette, the remaining witches likely know more about us than before. I should have guessed. Yet they have centuries to go before they know as much about us as we know about them. Our vast knowledge of humankind is the merpeople’s only advantage beyond being made of magic.
“Where’s the other one?” Sofie asks, her eyes combing the curves of my dress, as if I have Alia hidden in the folds.
“My sister is dead.”
I swallow hard and pretend Katrine isn’t watching me, those questions about my exchange thick on her tongue.
“I’m sorry,” Sofie says. “I had a sister once too.” She seems to turn into herself for a moment, and Will puts a hand on her shoulder. “Outright murdered, though no one will ever admit it.” By their lack of reaction, it’s clear Will and Katrine already know what happened to this sister, and I don’t ask. Sofie shakes the memory out of the present. “Did the king’s guard get her?”
“No.” I meet Will’s eyes and hope he’ll keep what he saw to himself. Something tells me he will. Repeating it—or even hearing him repeat it—would be akin to livingthrough it again and I can’t do that now. I don’t know if I ever will be able to. “But the king’s guard is most definitely still after me... and I suppose if you’re here in the dark, they’re after you too.”
Sofie nods. “Yes. I ran out of the room, screaming my story to anyone who’d listen, but when the guards entered and you weren’t there, I had to leave. Even with your beds empty, my story wasn’t sound, since you’d left a note one leaves when they’re departing.” Her eyes darken. “And now we’re all suspected. I had this handled—Niklas was listening to me. Hewas.”
Her face blanches, and I wonder if maybe she felt a little differently about him for those few hours after the wedding than she did that day in the garden. Again, Will seems to feel this with her, his head dipping as he rubs a hand across his brow.
“Now the kingdom will go through with the sale for sure. No king, no heir, no money,” Will says, calm and clear. “Chaos.”
Sofie’s eyes flash to mine. “It was ridiculously stupid to kill him.”
“We had to... she had to...” The witches stare at me, waiting for more. I swallow. “To save her. To go home. But it all went wrong.”
Alia’s singing face hovers against the back of my eyelids as I let the wildfire dim from my arm.
Come away, come away—
The tempest loud
Weaves the shroud
For him who did betray.
Sofie and Will share a look, but Katrine’s eyes tighten on my face in a way that makes me feel completely naked. She sees what I’m not saying, and maybe—just maybe—she might help me go home. No matter what, I must make the days I have left here count. Alia would have demanded it. If the U-boat sale goes through, we are all in danger.
“Yes,” I finally say to Will, careful with the word on my lips. “But if we take advantage of that chaos, we could not only destroy the boats but ensure the whole program is shut down. The boats that are built won’t be sold, and they’ll stop making them.”
“We?”Will asks, a quirk of amusement across his lips.
“If you can handlemy kind,” I say, and Katrine purses her lips. “I’d like to help you finish the job. I came here to save my sister, and I was unable to do that. I’d like the chance to help you with your cause and protect my people. It’s what Alia came here to do.”
A true grin spreads across Will’s face. Sofie doesn’t smile but nods. They both look to Katrine, who finally tips her chin in agreement. Once she does, Sofie rushes in to confirm my thoughts on the program.
“What Runa said is true. We can destroy the current crop, but without any moles in the castle”—she points to herself and Will—“we can’t cut off the construction and sale of more.” Her eyes flash to mine. “What did you have in mind?”
Burning it all to the ground.
“We strike not only the boats, but the supplies, the workspace, the storage. Everything,” I say. “We destroy it all at once and make it impossible to rebuild.”
A guilty look crosses Will’s face. “That would mean taking out the livelihood of half the port.”
