Ice Crypt (Mermaids of Eriana Kwai Book 2) (26 page)

A shudder ran through me.

He didn’t seem to be harmed. Not a puff of blood.

I sank back down, mouth agape. A veil of dread fell over the three of us.

This couldn’t be happening.

Spio and the brothers didn’t know. They would be well on their way to getting the commander.

“Where is Ismenus?” said Adaro.

Someone swam closer.

“He’s over here, sir,” said Katus.

“Injured?”

“He’s … it’s just his tail, sir.”

Somewhere near the cliff, someone moaned.

“Leiagore!” said Ladon. “She’s here, sir.”

A pause while Adaro went to check.

“Repulsive. Put an end to it.”

“Yes, sir,” said Ladon.

The sound of Ladon’s blade driving through flesh carried across the silence. Leiagore didn’t scream.

“Where is Ephyra?” said Adaro.

Beside me, Coho’s heartbeat quickened. I placed a hand on his shoulder.

“I’ll find her,” said Katus.

“Please do. If she is alive, I have a few things to ask her. Namely, why she chose to have me detour past this mine the very day it was due to explode.”

Rage pulsed from him, palpable even from this distance.

Ripples spread as Katus and Ladon separated.

Numb shock turned to terror. We had nowhere to go. If we moved, they’d feel it. Even if we fled too quickly for them to give chase, they’d see us, and we would be hunted down later for treason.

None of us dared to poke a head up to see what was happening. We curled inside the small cave, barely fitting, keeping as still as the rocks. I tried to push a sense of hope onto Coho, but his despair clouded over me.

The current stirred closer as one of the guys searched the area.

They were going to find us. We had to get away from here.

A shout erupted. I started, sinking deeper into the cave. But it wasn’t directed at us. A scream. More shouts, clashing weapons. The current churned.

I glanced to the guys on either side of me. What was going on?

Coho made as though to check, but I grabbed his arm.

“Who are you?” bellowed Adaro.

Silence.

“Answer him!” shouted Katus.

Ripples erupted as he struck someone.

“We are acting in the name of the queen!” said a merman, in that odd dialect.

“The queen,” said Adaro quietly. “Are you referring to
the
queen
who has not bothered to show up to rule her kingdom?”

The water churned. Several merpeople were struggling. After a moment, it stopped. Someone grunted.

“Now,” said Adaro. “Who sent you?”

“No one. We are defending Queen Evagore’s rightful kingdom—”

“Who is your leader?”

“No one—”

A thump. Someone grunted in pain.

With each passing heartbeat, urgency pressed in on me. We had to catch up to Spio, Pontus, and Junior. We couldn’t let the commander mobilise the troops. What would happen when Adaro found out his army had been ordered to go home the moment after he was presumed dead? He would know there were traitors in his own army.

Adding to my panic, my lungs gave a spasm. I had to get air immediately, or I would pass out. I closed my eyes, trying to slow my pulse.

Adaro paused in his questioning at the same moment I felt ripples coming from the cliff edge.

“Ephyra!” said Ladon.

“Your Majesty,” she said. “I cannot tell you how relieved I am—”

“Yikes,” said Katus.

“Only a bit of blood,” said Ephyra. “The important thing is that His Majesty is alive.”

Coho tensed.

“We’ve caught the traitors who made the attempt on his life,” said Ladon.

A pause.

“Of course,” said Ephyra. “You are the allied council from the Moonless City.”

“Are they?” said Adaro, in a tone laced with venom.

“We are acting—” said one, but Ephyra cut across him.

“Your Majesty, this group gave me false information. They advised me to take this current in the interest of your safety.”

“She is a liar!” said a mermaid.

“Silence!”

Ephyra’s rage must have come from fear. She was treading over iron with this story. Still, the emotion was convincing, seeming to draw from the attempt on her king’s life.

“It is enough that you have made an act of treason,” she said. “Do not make this worse by lying to His Majesty’s face.”

“This fish
is not my king.”

Another thump.

“You know treason is punishable by death, scum?” said Ephyra.

Adaro said with finality, “Thank you Ephyra.”

For a few heartbeats, everyone fell silent. Fear carried towards us from the captured merpeople. I saw in my mind’s eye the snarl curling Adaro’s lips and the yellowed fangs beneath.

“Kill them,” said Adaro.

A scream. Tails beating on rocks, scrambling to get away.

We seized the opportunity. In unison, Coho, Nobeard, and I pushed from our hiding place.

We darted along the bottom, weaving between rocks and debris. I swiped my hands through the sand, stirring up a cloud to mask us from view.

With luck, the chaos of the fight would hide our presence.

We fled as fast as we could. We dove over the cliff and hugged close to the edge. Nobody called after us. Nobody seemed to follow. We kept going. We stayed at top speed long after we’d lost their sound and feel.

A sharp pain stabbed in my chest. I grunted, slowing abruptly.

My head spun.

Air
.

I was going to pass out.

The guys must have felt it, because a hand wrapped around either arm, and we shot for the surface.

When we broke, the breath I wheezed in was agony. I coughed, nearly retching, sure I’d passed out for a moment and inhaled seawater. Tears sprung in my eyes.

The guys weren’t doing well, either. Nobeard coughed forcefully enough to bring up phlegm, and Coho floated belly up like a dead fish, breathing rapidly.

I did the same, keeping my ears below the surface to listen for threats. I stared blindly upwards, breathing meditatively.

Not a cloud flecked the blue sky.

The sting all over my body subsided. The burn at my waist faded to a dull ache.

We needed to keep going. We had to catch up with the others before they reached the commander.

Soon
, I thought.
Just a few more breaths.

No one spoke. I waited for my pulse to slow.

My thoughts drifted back to the group of merpeople—now undoubtedly dead.

Echoing my thoughts, Nobeard said, “Who were they?”

His voice was weak, briny.

“They weren’t from anywhere close to home,” I said. “Looked like the Moonless City.”

“Didn’t get a look at them,” said Nobeard.

“You heard their accents, though?” I said.

“Maybe they really were the allied council,” said Coho. “Maybe Ephyra wasn’t lying.”

“What were they doing there?” said Nobeard.

“Trying to kill Adaro,” said Coho. “And they almost did.”

“We almost did, too,” I said. “We might have succeeded if they didn’t get in the way.”

“It wasn’t their fault,” said Nobeard. “It was that cod, Axius. If we’d detonated the mine sooner—”

“Then we might have killed Ephyra along with him,” said Coho fiercely.

Nobeard said nothing.

“We should get moving,” I said.

Coho grunted and rolled over.

We dove, finding a current at a dark, more hidden layer.

Only then did it fully dawn on me that we had not been caught. Adaro and his two remaining guards had no idea of our involvement.

“This is good,” I said.

They turned to me, mouths agape.

“Did you hit your head?” said Nobeard.

“She did,” said Coho.

Nobeard pulled me towards him and grabbed my head, checking for an injury.

“No, really,” I said, pushing away. “That group took the blame. We can try again, and this time, we know we aren’t alone.”

“We aren’t the only ones trying to assassinate the king,” said Coho.

“Exactly.”

That group had come from a place where others wanted him dead, too—a kingdom whose queen had disappeared.

We travelled in silence then, conserving breath so we could swim at top speed. I spent the whole time dreading what would happen if we didn’t catch up to Spio and the brothers. Would the commander announce Adaro’s death? Or did he plan to mobilise the army and tell them why later?

After another breach and still no sign of the others, I wondered aloud whether they were in an alternate current and we’d overtaken them.

Coho and Nobeard didn’t have an answer.

Maybe the others were swimming just as quickly.

Eventually, the current changed. We slowed, feeling it out. Something huge waited ahead. A pod of whales?

No. The movement was too precise for whales, too controlled for a large school of fish.

It was merpeople. An army of them.

They’d drawn to a halt.

The three of us exchanged a glance.

There was no way that could be our own army. The guys would have had to make it back at the speed of sound.

But as we drew nearer, I heard the commander’s voice, deep and distorted at this range.

“… didn’t send the message, who did?”

“It’s not possible,” whispered Coho.

He pushed faster. I streaked after him.

I wanted to shout to the commander to turn around immediately, but held my tongue. That wouldn’t be wise with the army and officers so close.

Shapes materialised. The commander faced Pontus, Junior, and Spio. Whatever they were discussing, it prickled me with worry, even from afar.

“Sir,” said Pontus, “when you got that message, we weren’t even at the Moonless City yet. Think about it.”

They turned as we arrived. Spio held my gaze for a moment. He was trying to communicate something, but the surrounding panic buried it.

The soldiers waited a few fathoms away, obedient and dead silent.

We didn’t have time to fret about them overhearing.

I pushed myself nose-to-nose with the commander and said in a low voice, “The king is on his way.”

“Adaro—the king—coming? I don’t understand.”

Pontus grabbed my arm. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, the king is alive and well and on his way here,” I hissed.

A terrible moment passed between our group, dread thickening like a layer of scum.

“Where is Strymon?” said the commander.

“Don’t worry about Strymon,” I said. “You have to turn the army around before Adaro gets here.”

“I require my officers for that,” said the commander shortly.

“Yes, sir,” I said, remembering my place.

The commander turned to the army. Those closest to us had picked up on our strained mood and stared openly.

“Turn around,” said the commander. “Pass the message along. Tell the officers to come forwards.”

They obeyed.

“What happened?” said the commander.

“That’s something I’d like to know,” said Pontus.

We told the commander about the explosion and the rebel group.

“He executed them for mutiny,” said Nobeard.

The commander shook his head. “This does not explain why Officer Strymon told me—”

“Oh, but it does,” said Strymon. “You confirmed every suspicion I had.”

We turned to find him approaching, a wide grin splitting his square face.

“The king will be interested to see what you have done since—ah, just in time.”

He turned his gaze past us. His mood brightened further.

“Good evening, Your Majesty!”

No.

I sank back as Adaro came into view.

Crimson eyes blazing, his fury was so thick it sent a chill down my spine.

“Bring me the commander!” he shouted.

The commander froze. He stared at Adaro with his jaw unhinged, aura paling like someone about to pass out.

Katus, Ladon, and Ephyra flanked the king. As I’d guessed, Adaro looked no more dishevelled than usual, hair matted and little care put into anything other than the crown on his head. Katus and Ladon had grimaces etched on their faces and scars across their bodies from iron shards. Katus carried his longblade awkwardly with his unbroken arm.

Ephyra bore a long gash on her tail. It had stopped bleeding, but the black scarring was distinct against her perfect figure.

My heart sank. She would have a permanent iron scar, like me.

Behind me, Coho’s distress was palpable. He wanted to go to her. But the rage pulsing from the merman between them acted as a wall.

“Explain why you have moved my troops,” said Adaro.

The commander opened and closed his mouth, wordless.

“Are you aware, Commander, that an attempt was just made on my life?”

Even Strymon didn’t know this much. A bubble escaped his lips.

Behind us, the army had been giving the approaching king their rapt attention. Mumbles broke out at his words.

“Yes,” said Adaro, lip curling. “And then I arrive here, in the middle of the open, to find that you have mobilised my army.”

“I—sir, I had heard that you were dead—I did not know—I thought, without a king, we should—”

“You received a message saying I was dead?” said Adaro, dangerously quiet.

Strymon whirled. His eyes raked over our group. A mixture of terror and fury flowed from him.

The commander spluttered.

“Your Majesty,” said Strymon. “If I may. I suspected the commander was involved in a malicious plot.”

Adaro made to interrupt him, but grew silent at the officer’s accusation.

“The commander dispatched soldiers on a suspicious mission this morning,” said Strymon. “Shortly thereafter, I told him we received a cryptic message from the group that said the mission was complete. The commander confirmed my suspicions when he reacted immediately by mobilising the troops.”

Adaro turned back to the commander. “
Is - that - so?
”

Rage tore through me. I wanted to rip Strymon to shreds. Spio must have felt it, because he grabbed me by the arm.

The commander had no defense. No one dared speak.

Panic filled me. A tunnel seemed to close around my ears.

Spio’s hand tightened on my arm.