We don’t free Niku or the Mer the next day. Instead, Hilley accompanies me to the lawyer’s office, where I sign the paperwork to take over Oceanica. It’s a mountain—even more than the stack I had to sign for the foundation—and after that, there wasn’t time to take the boat out. Instead, I call Serge to meet Jen and me at Oceanica.
I expect to see Maddy, like usual, but Maddy’s dead, and everyone else looks at me as if I’m as dangerous as the Mer. But when we enter the door to the holding tanks and the dank humidity greets me, it feels like home. The tanks look so much smaller now that I haven’t been here every day, and I place my hand on the glass of Erie’s tank for a moment as memories course through me.
Next, I go to Niku. He looks a bit more alert than the last time I saw him, and he swims to the edge of the tank. “Hey, buddy. We’re getting you out of here tomorrow, ’kay? Erie’s already back home.”
Neek nods that he understands, since I can’t hear him if I’m not in the water.
“Let’s go see who’s left.”
As we walk into Clair’s room, the first thing I see is her bright red hair. Her red eyes narrow when she sees me. “Hello, Clair,” I say to her, then turn to the blue-haired Mer in the tank with her. “Huron.”
Huron looks like shit—he’s so thin, I can’t believe he’s still alive. His expression is . . . well, expressionless. There’s no life in his eyes. I can’t believe he hasn’t foamed yet.
They don’t know English, but I speak to them anyway. “You’re going home tomorrow. Erie’s already there waiting for you, so just hang on for one more day, okay?”
At Erie’s name, Clair’s eyes narrow further, but Huron doesn’t react at all. I’m not sure he’s going to make it back to the Seadom, but if the shock of switching tanks doesn’t kill him, at least he’ll die in the ocean, and not in this gray room.
“Where’s Radon?” Jen asks. I was so focused on Clair and Huron, I didn’t even realize the orange-haired merman was gone.
“K killed him,” Sergio says. “He became aggressive to Argon when they stopped performing, and she ripped his gills out.”
“Damn,” Jen says, but I’m not surprised. To be honest, releasing Clair is probably a horrible idea, but hopefully, Erie will be able to temper her aggressiveness.
“We’ll be back for you tomorrow,” I say to the pair and turn away. “Let’s go see the others.”
No one else has died since Oceanica shut down, which leaves us with seven Mer to release. Three days of trips, and it’ll be done. We head upstairs to Delmara’s office—my office now—and I grab my old badge so I can get into Oceanica without Serge’s help. I give Jen her old badge, too.
“All right, I’m going to take the boat out to fill up. I’ll need the transport tank and the cranes ready in the morning.”
Serge looks at Jen, who shakes her head. “I’m not an employee—I’m going with Finn.”
“Ugh, fine,” Sergio says. “You really suck as a boss, you know that?”
I laugh. “Yeah, I’m not manager material. But hey, if you want a promotion after this, I’d be happy to let you fire everyone.”
“Gee, thanks. That sure would boost my resume, though.”
“Done. Congratulations on the promotion to manager. Now, make sure my shit is ready in the morning. We’re getting Niku and K out first.”
Serge frowns. “You really think that’s a good idea? She’s not exactly . . . forgiving.”
“She’s a fucking princess, dude. You want to stop the attacks? Giving back the rest of the royal family will do that.”
“Okay, okay.” He holds his hands up in surrender. “Good point. God, I wish you hadn’t discovered quite so much about them.”
Me, too.
I spend the evening pouring over my dad’s Gulf maps, finding a good place to drop them off. I need something far enough away from humans that Clair and Huron will be safe, but close enough that we don’t have to spend a night on the ocean again.
I settle on a spot just west of the Dry Tortugas—north of where we dropped Erie, and only three hours out. From what Erie said, it should be closer to the Seadom than where we left her, and people don’t usually go that far out. Perfect.
We wake up early and get the transport tank into Niku’s room. I explain how it works, and he dips his nose in a nod.
“How are we going to explain it to Clair and Huron?” Jen says.
That’s a really good question. I was planning to show them by getting into it myself, but it would be a hundred times easier to use their own language. “We could let Niku explain it. Open the tube to the practice tank—we’ll get all three from there.”
I explain the new plan to Niku before moving the transport tank and crane to the practice room. When all three are together, Clair looks from Niku to the platform, where the electroshocker hangs on the wall.
“No one’s going to shock you for speaking now, Clair. I promise.”
She looks at Niku again—he must be translating—and her eyes narrow before she finally speaks in a whisper, then glances at the electroshocker again. When no one moves toward it, they have a short conversation. From there, it’s fairly smooth. Clair and Huron get into the transport just fine, and don’t try to attack us at any point. I can’t believe that, in the end, it’s going to be this easy to free the rest of the Mer.
“Time to head out?” Jen says.
“Actually, I’m going to take Serge on the first trip. We still have some things to work out, and I think, when he sees the reaction of the Mer to the open ocean, he’ll realize that this is the right thing to do.”
Jen smiles, then kisses me. “You’re a good person, Finnegan Jarvis.”
“You’re the only one who thinks so.”
Her smile softens. “Erie thinks so, too.”
I finally smile, because that’s true. She did.
Jen gives me another brief kiss. “Be careful, okay?”
I chuckle a little and push a piece of red hair behind her ear. “I’m not getting into the water with Clair. I’ll be fine.”
Once we’re clear of the island, Serge crosses his arms, leaning against the helm. “You and Jen getting back together?”
Are we? I think Jen wants to, but I’m heading into my senior year of college. Do I want to be dating someone who lied to me? Do I want to be dating anyone at all right now? At least Jen understands my relationship with Erie, and doesn’t think it’s weird or gross.
“I don’t know,” I answer honestly. “I don’t know what the fuck I want right now. My life was so perfectly planned out before Erie . . .”
The mangrove islands disappear behind us before either of us speaks again.
“I hope she was worth it.” Serge’s voice is soft. Not accusatory, just . . . sad.
“You met her.”
“Yeah, but I wouldn’t have traded Erie’s freedom for my aunt’s life.”
I look at him, but he’s staring at the water. I stare at the water, too, and I know that I wouldn’t bring Aunt D back if it meant that Erie wasted away and foamed in that gray tank. Sergio and I will never agree on this.
Apparently, our friendship is another thing I’m willing to lose for Erie’s freedom.