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The jerk.
I had planned on stopping by the refugee tents to visit Liam and Mahina—she had been working there every day—but found myself coasting up to the castle instead. It turned out the person I most wanted to see right now was Hailana. She knew more about this thing between Kona and Sabyn than she had told me, and I wanted answers.
She was in her chambers with her secretary, drafting some kind of letter to the other clans. Asking for solidarity against Tiamat was my guess, but then, I’d been wrong before. About a lot of things.
She looked up as I entered the room. Tempest, come in.
I can check back later, if I’m interrupting something.
No, not at all. She nodded to her secretary, who hustled out of the room with the large chalkboard she was using to take dictation. Later, the notes would be transcribed onto a special seaweed paper that held up for years against the harsh salt water of the ocean.
I’ve been waiting for you. She waved her hand, beckoned me closer.
I approached warily, ready to bolt at the first sign that she was going to try that whole squeezing my heart thing again. But she seemed calm, almost happy. Although her fingers trembled a little as she reached for her bottle of passion fruit iced tea, and again I was reminded of just how old she was. And just what was expected of me when she finally died.
Sabyn tells me you’ve been doing very well in training. She beamed at me. Which is saying something, as he’s not prone to giving compliments.
Yeah, well, I think he might be exaggerating. I took a seat in the chair across from her desk—it was a little lower than Hailana’s, to ensure that her visitors were never taller than she was.
Oh, I don’t know. I watched you out there myself yesterday. You looked very good. She paused. Although, I admit, I was hoping for a little more.
More? I asked, confused. You mean, more energy?
Perhaps. Although, to be honest, I was thinking along the lines of another talent. She eyed me closely. I know you can call storms, bring down lightning. And that you wield energy in quite a powerful manner.
Isn’t that enough?
Of course, except … She sighed. Your mother could do so much more.
As I sat there, waiting for her to get to the point, I got the distinct feeling she was playing me, in the exact same way Sabyn liked to play Kona. But even knowing that, I fell for it, leaning forward in my chair like an eager puppy dog. She was just that good.
Thoughts of what I had seen in the cave, of what my mother had done, filled my head. My stomach pitched and rolled and for a second I thought I was going to be sick again, despite my empty stomach. I told myself to ignore it, to let the image go. I had to if I hoped to hold my own against Hailana.
You know, she continued, usually the more time passes after a mermaid’s seventeenth birthday, the more powers she gets. That you had so much power so quickly made me think that you were going to have a lot of surprises in store for us.
She quirked one perfectly shaped eyebrow and I couldn’t help it. I thought of the electricity thing I’d done with Tiamat’s goons.
Of Kona explaining how rare that kind of magic was.
Of the voice deep inside myself that had warned me not to tell Hailana.
Did Hailana somehow know about it? Had I slipped up in practice, used it without realizing? I racked my brain, tried to think of every move I’d made, but nothing came to mind. I didn’t remember wielding electricity against Sabyn or anyone else he’d brought in to train with us. Except …
Except that nearly every time Sabyn touched me, we both lit up like the Electric Light Parade my mother used to drag us to see at Disneyland every summer. I’d thought it was a training thing, something that wasn’t all that unusual. But what if it was the giveaway? Was that bizarre reaction between us what had tipped off Sabyn and, in turn, Hailana?
I fought the urge to scream in frustration. I hated this. Hated not knowing all the things I should, all the bits and pieces that went into life down here. On land, it wasn’t easy—especially with all the mermaid stuff that had grown almost impossible to hide—but at least up there I understood what was expected of me. What I needed to do to keep myself safe and sane. Down below, it was a whole different story, and I kept feeling like I was a couple of scenes behind the pack.
I studied Hailana, tried to gauge what she was getting at. If she were fishing and I didn’t react to it, maybe she would let the subject drop. I hoped so, because everything inside me said that if she knew of my most recent talent, how easily I had killed those men, that I would find myself following even more closely in my mother’s footsteps.
I didn’t want to do that, couldn’t do that. For seven years I’d sworn I wouldn’t be like my mother, wouldn’t make the same choices she had. And yet, here I was, in her city, with her queen, living her life—or as close to it as Hailana could get me. Again I thought of those people I’d seen my mother kill remorselessly, again I shoved the memory away.
Tried to focus instead on the problem at hand.
I didn’t know what to do, didn’t have a clue what to say to her. I needed Kona, who knew so much more about this life than I did. I had questions for him, needed answers, but he was so wrapped up in protecting me from the perceived threat of Sabyn that he’d forgotten the ways in which I really needed him.
Tempest? Are you listening to me? Hailana’s voice, much sharper than it had been before, dragged me back to the present. From the impatient look on her face she’d been talking for quite some time, while I’d been drifting in la-la-land, trying to make some sense of the world that was slowly crumbling around me.
Sorry, Hailana. It’s been a rough couple of days. Sabyn’s a tough trainer.
That’s why he’s good for you. Jared wasn’t pushing you, and that isn’t going to do us any good. When Tiamat comes back for you, she’s going to come with everything she’s got.
I know. It was pretty hard to forget, what with everyone reminding me of that fact every time I turned around.
There was a long silence as the merQueen waited for me to say what I had come to say. But it was harder than I thought to just blurt it out now that I was in front of her. Looking down, I traced patterns on Hailana’s desk as I tried to get my thoughts in order.
Are you okay, Tempest? she finally asked.
Yeah, of course. I was just … I looked up into her narrowed gaze and knew that it was now or never. If I didn’t ask her my questions soon, I never would. Did you choose Sabyn on purpose? Because you knew it would upset Kona?
Mmmmm, now we get to the heart of the matter. Is the selkie prince threatened by such a strong, handsome merman spending so much time with you?
The selkie prince, I repeated, is upset because he doesn’t like Sabyn. But I think you know that. I watched her carefully, trying to catch any flicker in her expression. She didn’t so much as blink.
Is he still beating that drum? she asked. It was an accident—Annalise fell and injured herself severely—with Tiamat’s help. Sabyn tried to save her, but he couldn’t. Everyone knows that but Kona.
I was reeling a little bit at the knowledge of how Kona’s sister had died, but I wouldn’t give Hailana the satisfaction of seeing he’d never shared the details with me.
So you knew about Sabyn’s history with Kona, how Kona felt about him, and you decided to have me train with him anyway? I asked, just to clarify things. I already knew it was true, even before she answered. Hailana did what she wanted, when she wanted to do it, and to hell with anyone else’s feelings.
