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“Really well,” said Merletta brightly. “I got this!” She pulled out her paua shell knife, and displayed it proudly to Heath. “It’s my prize.”
Still beaming, she told him about the practice test. Heath’s eyes widened as she described the various perils she’d faced, but he refrained from expressing his horror with what seemed to be a painful effort. Merletta smiled to herself, appreciating his forbearance, but not minding his protectiveness at all. For a moment she indulged the absurd thought of what it would be like if Heath could come underwater with her, have her back in dangerous situations. But even if that was possible, it would be foolish. Heath would be as out of his depth in her world as she would be in his. She would be the one watching his back.
The whole time she’d been speaking, Rekavidur had watched her unblinkingly, still crouched between the trees. When she’d finished recounting her adventures to Heath, she took a deep breath, telling herself it was ridiculous to be nervous. This was Rekavidur, whom she knew. There was no logic behind the instinct of danger that made her want to flee from him, that reminded her of her fear when she’d first set eyes on him. She turned to face the dragon, smiling in a way that wasn’t quite natural.
“Rekavidur, I know you were interested in what happened to the dragon inhabitants of this island,” she said. She inclined her head toward the parchment now in Heath’s hand. “They’re mentioned in that record. I don’t know if it’s a letter like the one Heath found, or some other kind of account. But it definitely talks about dragons.”
Throughout this speech, Rekavidur continued to watch her in an expressionless way that she found unnerving. But once she was finished, he unbent slightly, showing a faint sign of interest.
“Does it indeed?” He lowered his head toward the parchment, but Heath didn’t unroll it.
“Let’s get out of the jungle,” he said, swatting some kind of tiny flying creature from his face. “There’ll be more space on the beach, then you can have a proper look at it.”
“Very well,” said Reka with dignity. With his usual abruptness, he shot up into the air, somehow dodging the trees.
Heath turned to Merletta with a grin. “Well, that’s him out of the way.”
“What do you mean?” asked Merletta blankly.
Heath hesitated. “He’s been acting strangely,” he said, seeming uncomfortable. “I don’t fully know why, but he…well, he wasn’t sure about returning. I just think we’ll talk more freely without him hanging around.”
Merletta didn’t know what to say. She felt heat rising up her cheeks again at the thought that Heath wanted to be alone with her. It was very inconvenient, this sudden self-consciousness around him. It had all come from her ridiculous daydreams earlier about the fact that they could now inhabit the same world, if they chose.
“How are you, actually?” Heath asked quietly, as they made their slow way through the jungle. “I mean, you’re alive, so that’s a start.”
Merletta chuckled. “I’m more than alive.” She glanced over at him. “But I can’t deny things have been eventful.”
Heath gave a sigh that was half-groan. “Tell me,” he said grimly.
So she told him all about the memorial, and her illness. She told him her suspicions regarding the guards’ deaths. When she couldn’t take his look of anxiety any longer, she changed tack, telling him of Emil’s decision to help her, and the way Freja’s patrol had adopted her into their midst so generously.
“If it wasn’t for Ileana, I would think the guards are the best of us,” she mused. “It might not be a bad life, you know.”
Heath disregarded her comment about the guards. “Well, I’m glad that this Emil is helping you from inside the record holders,” he said, although for some reason, he didn’t look especially glad. “But I’m more interested in your new fame in Tilssted. And in the other cities, by the sound of it.”
Merletta raised an eyebrow, bemused. “Surprising, isn’t it? But why are you so interested in that?” She’d told Heath that detail as an amusing anecdote, nothing more.
“They even followed you back to the Center,” Heath mused, “making sure you were being looked after.” He met her eyes, his expression serious. “They may well have been the ones to save your life, you know, not Emil and Sage.”
“Why would you think that?” Merletta asked in astonishment.
They had made it back to the beach by now, and were sitting in the sand. Rekavidur was stretched out some distance away, studying the parchment Merletta had found. Merletta shifted so she was fully facing Heath, who was looking thoughtfully out to sea.
“You’re too visible,” he said grimly. He turned to look at her again. “It’s exactly the problem King Matlock is having with Percival right now. Percival’s done some things that really should have earned some kind of consequence, like meddling with the wording of his vow at the loyalty ceremony.”
“His what at the what?” Merletta asked, perplexed.
“Oh, I forgot you don’t know about that,” said Heath, quickly filling her in on the incident.
Merletta frowned. “That sounds like he’s heading for trouble for sure,” she agreed. “But what does that have to do with—”
“The point is that the king can’t easily reprimand him,” Heath cut her off. “Because everyone is watching too closely. And although the members of the court are more suspicious of Percival—of all of us—than ever, the rest of the kingdom loves him. They think he’s some kind of hero, and they wouldn’t take kindly to him being punished, especially for something that would seem unimportant to them. They wouldn’t understand the implications of Percival’s subtle defiance. The king would make himself unpopular, and the last thing he wants to do is to create a rift between the crown and the power-wielders that would push the common people to choose a side. In fact,” he added dryly, “the entire purpose of giving me the role I have was to avoid such a rift.”
Heath fell silent for a moment. Then, to Merletta’s surprise, he gave a sudden laugh. “The irony isn’t lost on me,” he muttered.
“It’s lost on me,” Merletta commented, a little disgruntled.
Heath turned to her, his easy smile disarming her instantly. “Sorry. It’s just that I spend most of my time trying to convince Percival not to be so open with his defiance, and his anger over the crown’s attitude toward magic. And here I am, giving you the exact opposite advice.”
