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Heath bit his lip. He could see her, without really trying, still sleeping in the cave. She couldn’t be too far. They would still easily be able to intercept her. But as his magic flared to life inside him, other images rose. Other people important to him, who deserved his attention as well.
His father’s face flashed before his mind. The duke had reached the capital. He was arguing with Prince Lachlan, towering above the younger man with cold anger on his face. Lachlan’s features were no less vivid. He was pale, both apology and resistance showing on his features. He was clearly torn between his duty to his crown, and his horror over his father’s actions. He didn’t deserve the duke’s wrath, and he was as powerless as Heath was to fix the tangled mess in which they were all caught.
But someone was missing from this picture. As Heath’s concern touched on another person, so did his sight. Percival was stalking away from the argument, unnoticed by his father. Heath saw him demand the king’s whereabouts from one servant after another. No one answered, everyone scurrying away from the rage in the eyes of the powerful young lord. Uneasy, Heath watched as his brother connected with a city guard, a particular friend of his. The young man told Percival that the king was outside the city, inspecting a royal grain house that had been damaged by a violent spring storm.
Percival hesitated, his eyes darting back toward the anteroom where his father still argued with the crown prince. But as Heath watched, Percival seemed to decide not to involve his father. With his usual recklessness, he plunged out of the castle’s entrance, toward the stable where their father always kept fresh horses.
“We need to head toward the capital,” Heath said, shutting off his internal vision abruptly. “As sick as I am of saying this, I think Percival’s in trouble. Or he’s about to cause trouble. Either way…” His thoughts flew regretfully to Merletta, hiding somewhere in the open ocean. “I think I’m needed more there.”
“Very well,” said Reka.
With a spring, he took to the sky, his talons clutched around Heath’s shoulders.
Chapter Thirty-Two
“Merletta, I don’t think this is a good idea.”
The concern in Eloise’s voice almost brought Merletta to tears, but her resolution remained firm.
“I appreciate you looking out for me,” she told the older mermaid seriously. “But I have to do this. I can’t hide here forever.”
“Forever?” Griffin said, his voice gruff with worry. “You arrived on the island yesterday, Merletta. Surely you can at least give yourself a few days.”
Merletta shook her head. “If I put it off, it will just get harder. I’ve had a good night’s sleep, and plenty to eat. That’s as much as I need.”
“I’m amazed you made it back here, traveling alone,” said August regretfully. “I wish you’d caught up to us.”
“So do I,” Merletta assured him. “But there’s a lot of ocean. I wasn’t sure how to find you.”
“Merletta, you don’t have anything to prove,” Eloise said softly. “You’ve done what you could to expose the Center’s lies. It’s all right for you to choose to live.”
Merletta looked at her helplessly. How could she explain it? They seemed to think she had a death wish, but that wasn’t it at all.
“My friends are still in the triple kingdoms,” she said. “I can’t just swim away and never look back. And I need answers.”
Her thoughts flew to the investigations she’d asked Emil to undertake on Founders’ Day. It felt like a lifetime ago.
“Especially now I know that some of what the Center says is true,” she went on. “I need to understand. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life as a fugitive, trying to survive in the open ocean. And none of you should have to do that, either.”
A shudder ran over Tish’s frame. She was sitting in the shallows, where the water could lap comfortingly over her feet, but at least she was in human form now.
“I don’t want to live here forever,” she said softly. “I want to go back.”
“Have you forgotten that they tried to murder you?” Griffin demanded. He had little patience for the timid mermaid.
But Merletta knew Tish, and she understood. “It’s your home,” she told her friend. “You have every right to be there. You did nothing wrong, and I’m going to make sure everyone knows that.”
“It doesn’t matter how much we know the truth,” Paul burst out, weighing in for the first time. “Those in power will never let the real story come out. You’ll be cast as a traitor and a criminal, and they’ll kill you. And I don’t see how that helps Letitia, or anyone else.”
Merletta shook her head stubbornly. “Things are only as bad as they are because anyone who knows the truth is too afraid to speak up. Well, I’m not afraid. I’d rather die in the Center than spend my life hiding.”
“We can’t talk you out of it, can we?” Eloise asked softly.
Merletta stayed silent. They knew her answer.
“Then we should all go,” Griffin said.
August shook his head sharply. “I’ll go with her. And Eloise, if she wishes to come. But Letitia isn’t a trained guard. You and Paul need to stay with her, for her protection. We don’t know what might come this way, if our re-entry goes badly.”
