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It took a considerable amount of arguing before Paul and Griffin gave in, but in spite of all that had passed since they’d left the triple kingdoms, they were still a patrol squad, and August was still their leader. He overruled their objections just as firmly as he rejected Merletta’s attempts to convince him and Eloise to stay on the relative safety of the island. And in truth, she was so relieved to have the support, she didn’t try too hard to dissuade the couple.
A few hours after her declaration, Merletta found herself swimming away from the island, August and Eloise on either side of her.
“Should we go the long way?” Eloise asked.
Merletta shook her head. “I’m not trying to hide anymore, and we all know this might be my last time doing this. I’m going to enter the triple kingdoms through my home waters.”
“Tilssted it is,” August agreed gravely.
As soon as they approached the barrier, it was immediately clear that things were not well with the triple kingdoms. Instead of the regularly rotating patrols Merletta had expected, the boundary was lined with guards in apparently permanent positions, spaced far enough apart to just be within hailing distance of one another. Most telling of all was that their scanning eyes turned inward as often as outward.
Clearly the border was now officially closed.
Merletta gripped Griffin’s spear in her hand. She’d lost her own weapon in her hasty flight from Wyvern Islands, but the guard hadn’t hesitated to give her his in preparation for her treacherous journey. It looked like she’d need it sooner than she’d thought.
Luck was with them, however. A guard had spotted the trio, and Merletta was just sizing him and his nearest companions up—deciding whether she, August, and Eloise could break through their defense before back-up was summoned—when August called a bold greeting.
The guard’s eyes widened, and he almost dropped his weapon. “August? I thought you were dead!”
“Skulssted guards,” said Eloise, sounding as relieved as Merletta felt.
“I’m not so easy to kill,” August said, his voice grim.
The guard’s eyes had passed on to Merletta, and he drew in a sharp intake of water. Clearly he recognized her.
“Is there a problem?” August asked mildly.
“She’s a wanted criminal,” the guard said, swimming forward a stroke. “We thought she’d perished in the ocean—I’ll need to take her straight to—”
“Just like I perished in the ocean?” August’s voice was dry. “Merletta is no more a criminal than I am. Her only offense is attempting to expose corruption.”
The guard stared between them, his hand tightening and loosening on the shaft of his spear as he clearly debated what to do. The nearest of his fellows swam toward them, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.
“Afternoon,” August greeted the newcomer pleasantly.
“August?” The second guard was clearly just as rattled by August’s appearance as the first had been.
“Of course,” August said calmly. “I’d love to stay and catch up, but we have somewhere to be. We’ll just be on our way.”
“No one comes in or out,” said the first guard, exchanging an uncertain look with his companion.”
“I trained both of you myself,” August said, lifting his spear. “I’d hate to accidentally kill either one of you in a pointless and unnecessary fight.” When they still hesitated, he scowled. “Have I been given a demotion I’m not aware of? I was under the impression that I’d been hailed as something of a hero. So unless either of you has risen drastically in rank since we last spoke…”
With a final shared look, the guards shifted aside, allowing the trio entry. Merletta and her companions swam quickly through the kelp farms, emerging much too soon into open water. Merletta let out a strangled cry at the sight before her.
The once idly waving fronds of kelp were gone. So much of the farms had been cleared for habitation, and she could see the signs of building work everywhere. But that wasn’t what horrified her. The sounds of conflict assailed her from all sides. The builders were being protected by armed guards, their work hampered by crowds of angry merpeople. Even as she watched, one merman darted past a distracted guard and seized a builder from behind, raising a stone to strike.
The merman was swarmed by guards, and after a quick tussle, he was dragged away southward, to what destination, Merletta didn’t know. This action did nothing to calm the rest of the crowd, who continued to hurl both insults and stones toward the builders. As she watched, the guards started beating the more intrepid protesters with the blunt ends of their spears, forcing them back further from the building work.
“Stop!” Merletta cried, propelling herself forward. “What’s going on?”
One of the guards turned to her, angry words on his lips. But he paused, clearly confused at her escort.
“We’re not going to let them take our homes and our livelihoods without a fight, that’s what’s going on!” roared an onlooker. An answering shout passed through the crowd, and chaos broke out again.
“Merletta?”
The astonished voice brought a lull to those nearest to them. Merletta’s eyes sought the speaker, settling on a familiar form.
