“How did you find this place?”
“Promise you won’t tell?”
I nodded, biting into my lunch. I was starving. Nothing could get in the way of me stuffing my face with the delicious seaweed wrapped crabmeat that had been on the menu for the day. Not even my curiosity.
Rip smiled apologetically and shrugged.
“My dad told me.”
“Ohh . . . you really do have the inside scoop.”
“This is where he used to go when the pressure got too much. Which, by his account, was a lot. And it’s worse now. The stakes are even higher with the increasing pollution and warming waters.”
I was perched on a ledge high above the main hall to the Palace. Mers came and went far below. But up here, it was peaceful and quiet. Dimly lit from a stained glass window above, it was near the very top of the Palace. There were many similar alcoves, I noticed, looking around the elongated dome.
“What is it for?”
“They used to hold meetings here. Public announcements, that sort of thing. The Royal family and some of the nobility got the higher seats.”
“Aren’t all of these balconies sort of a security risk?” I asked before taking another bite. I was already thinking about my second wrap and wishing I’d gotten a third.
He shook his head.
“All the entrances and exits to the Palace are spelled. Not only are those with bad intentions kept out, but there is a log of everyone’s comings and goings.”
“Oh,” I said, my eyes wide. “So every time I swim outside to check on the weather or visit Beazil, it goes into a magical scroll?”
He nodded, giving me a glance.
“Yes. Why?”
“Because that explains a lot,” I said flatly. Dane knew when I was coming and going. No wonder he’d tracked me down so easily.
But if he was willing to do all that just to talk to me, why cut me off completely now?
Because you were a big ol’ meanie, that’s why.
I sighed and bit into my food. I had eaten the first wrap and was nearly done with the second one. I sighed again, suddenly forlorn.
Rip laughed and handed me a spare wrap. He’d brought five.
“Here, I brought extra.” He winked. “Just in case I ran into you.”
“You are a genius and a very kind Mer.”
“Sure, Tri. Anytime,” he said, laughing at me and my legendary appetite.
We finished our lunch and headed back to the classrooms on the other side of the Palace.
Rip and I swam into the enormous training room. It was larger than the Royal ballroom but lacking decoration. It was almost an arena, though not as large as the arena we’d started and completed the Trials in. There were no benches in this part of the Academy, only racks of weapons and what looked like an obstacle course set up in the center of the chamber. A dangerous looking obstacle course.
Sharp spikes, huge boulders that looked ready to topple, and a swinging blade over the exit to a tunnel, it was like a miniature version of some of what we’d faced in the Trials.
Great. Just what I needed today. Actual physical danger.
I shrugged, figuring that part of serving the Royals did mean facing danger, probably on a daily basis. I swam to join the group of waiting students. I noticed that Dane didn’t even look at me, though I was pretty sure he’d seen me swim in with Rip. Either that or something else was making the muscle in his jaw tick ominously.
And now Dane has yet another reason to hate me, I thought with a sigh. I noticed the pretty Mer with blue hair was watching him from nearby.
Of course, I had bigger fish to catch.
The threat of death and dismemberment was just the perfect way to end our first day at the Academy. We had other classes tomorrow during the morning, but the second half of each day was dedicated to combat and conditioning. Mostly combat, I was gathering from the looks of things.
Magical combat would be on alternating days.
I looked around the group, not knowing many of them. We had combat with all the other prospects. All except Marcum, I noticed as I searched for him. But all the Soldiers in training were here. That meant Juno and Jaynelle were here. Along with a whole lot of other scary Mers that I’d done my best to avoid during the Trials.
Starla waved but she was already surrounded by her new friends. Only Dane was alone, although I could see Mers trying to catch his attention, mostly female.
He stared straight ahead, looking supremely aggravated.
I hoped that wasn’t entirely my fault.
“Looks like we are on our own, again.”
I shook my head, indicating a few preening females nearby.
“You have admirers.”
He chuckled. “That’s not the same thing. Besides, you have as many admirers as I have.” He leaned in closer. “And in much higher places.”
I shushed him and snuck a look at Dane. He looked away quickly, but Rip was right. Dane had been watching me. Whether it was in admiration or annoyance remained to be seen.
Probably a bit of both.
That was me. The irritating and occasionally appealing thorn in his side. I sighed.
A massive Mer swam into the room like a barge. He was grizzled-looking for a Mer but incredibly strong. Scars lined his body.
“I’m General Candar.”
We all straightened our shoulders. I don’t think anyone else was really aware of what they were doing, but I noticed. We were mirroring the General’s body language.
He was the most imposing Mer I had ever seen. Including my stepmother. Including the Queen.
“The Trials are not over,” he announced in a thunderous voice. “That was simply the beginning. From here on out, you belong to me. You may have classes in the morning, but most of your training will happen here.”
“There will be no special treatment.” He stared at me and Rip and my heart started to thud in my chest. His gaze flicked toward Dane. “For anyone. I don’t care who your parents are. Or were,” he added, his eyes back on me.
“Triton,” I breathed under my breath. Rip gave a slight nod. “We’re in for it,” he murmured so softly I could barely hear it.
“We will start with something easy,” he said with a feral smile. “A race. The last one to finish twenty laps is out of the Academy. Grab your sticks!”
Holy Triton, the General did not mess around.
We were up and swimming like a typhoon, grabbing sticks and awaiting further instructions.
“The perimeter of the room is the track. Hold your sticks at the ready. Do NOT change the position. If you lower your weapon, you will be disqualified. Oh, and one last thing . . .”
He caught my eyes and held them.
“The only reason to move your weapon is to attack. This is every Mer for themselves, just like the Trials. There will be no helping each other. Doing so will get you immediately disqualified and removed from the Academy.”
My eyes slid to Starla. She shook her head at me. She didn’t want me to help her. Especially not if it meant disqualification.
“Now, swim!”
We took off en masse, swimming in the direction the General had indicated. It seemed simple enough. Swim fast enough to stay away from would-be attackers. Only I hadn’t counted on the sticks. Holding them at the ready meant that they stuck out on either side. So you could swim straight ahead, knocking other Mers out of your way and getting hit yourself, or you could bob and weave to avoid hitting or getting struck.
Of course, that slowed you down.
But if I could stay in front . . . I could avoid hurting anyone or being hurt, but only until I passed them on the next round, I realized with a sinking feeling. With twenty laps to finish the race, there was no way we could avoid each other, even if I won by ten laps.
I ground my teeth, speeding ahead of the group in a burst of speed. Not surprisingly, Dane, Rip, and I were leading the pack by at least half a lap. We were almost even, the three of us giving each other a wide berth.
Dane pulled ahead as we approached the pack from behind. It was intimidating to say the least. Over a hundred Mers swimming in tightly packed formation. Most of them Soldier candidates. Most of them vicious and very, very strong.
That’s when I saw her.
Starla was at the bottom at the very back. She was falling behind. And she looked injured. There was a wall of mean-looking Mers in front of her and a few others.
Triton, not already!
Starla was one of the youngest Mers to participate in the Trials, let alone make it through. She was fast but still so small. I knew she would grow big enough before we left the Academy and started our service. But that’s only if she made it that far.
Well, I couldn’t help her outright, but I could knock some of those Mers out of her way. Surely, the General couldn’t fault me for attacking. That’s what he had asked for, after all.
I barreled my way ahead, picking up even more speed. Then I started to dive. The bullies blocking Starla and the youngest Mers were down there. I am going to knock them on their tailfins, I thought with a snarl. I slowed down, diving twenty feet as I tried to decide where to break through the ranks.
Then I felt it. Someone was keeping up with me with the same purpose in mind. I was either out of practice or not the fastest swimmer, as I had previously thought.
I glanced to the side.
Dane was right beside me.
I glanced to the other side.
Rip swam there, nearly at my speed.
They were flanking me. They must have gleaned my intentions and decided to help. I worried for a moment about the General and then brushed it off.
He couldn’t disqualify all of us for working together. Could he?
There was absolutely no hiding that we were coordinating our efforts to disrupt the strategies used by some of the less friendly Mers. ‘Less friendly’ was an understatement.
They were vicious. Cruel. And they had targeted my friend.
I braced as we swam over Starla and the others’ bodies and slammed into the wall of Mers. I noticed that Rip and Dane moved in toward me at the last second and extended their arms forward, taking the brunt of the impact.
Huh. Chivalry is not dead, I mused as I knocked Mers this way and that. I ignored the sticks as I swam through, taking hit after hit. There was no way to avoid them.
Or to avoid clocking Mers in my path with my own weapon.
I flinched as my rod struck an unsuspecting Juno in the back of his thick skull. Then I was through and in the midst of the throng of Mers. Here, everyone was just swimming at their best speed, without fighting. I wove through the rest of the class and then rose up again, pulling ahead as I started my third lap.
I really, really hope I don’t have to do that again, I thought with a sigh. I was out in front again. Dane and Rip were not far behind me. I made another lap, catching up again quickly. This time, I stayed well above the pack. They were starting to spread out, but thankfully, there was still clear water above them.
Another two laps and I’d left Dane and Rip behind nearly halfway around the oval-shaped chamber. I was approaching the pack again when I noticed that some of the bigger Mers had risen to block my path.
Juno, I cursed mentally. Why must it always be you?
I dipped down to avoid them but was rewarded with a sharp stick to my back. I faltered, crying out in agony. I hadn’t realized how pointy the sticks were when someone was deliberately poking you with one. I tried to swim past them but my speed was greatly diminished. I took another jab, and then another. I knew I was injured at this point. I wasn’t sure how bad it was.
Keep swimming, Tri. Don’t stop. Don’t let them defeat you.
I felt them crowd me and braced myself for more pain. Just then, a strong current washed over me. I looked up to see Dane attacking Juno and his friends singlehandedly. The race went on below us. But above . . . it was the Trials all over again.
I floated gently, giving my tail a few kicks. I was in a daze, stupefied from the ferocity of the attack.
“Swim, Tri! Move!”
I shook myself as another blow landed across my shoulders. It had come from nowhere. Had Dane spoken? I looked around to see that Rip was now fighting off other Mers. Mers I hadn’t seen approach from below.
I kicked my fins feebly. And again. And again.
I was swimming. It was a sad semblance of my normal speed. I was probably the slowest Mer there. It didn’t help that I kept glancing back to see if Dane and Rip were okay.
They are, I thought ruefully as they extricated themselves and swam toward me. Rip gave me an alarmed look as he passed.
Dane didn’t even glance at me.
I swam around the track, barely keeping up with the rest of my classmates. Of course, I was safer if I stayed behind them. And technically, I was at least three or four laps closer to twenty laps. I had lost count, though. I thought I had swum seven or eight . . . which meant thirteen more laps to go.
I forced myself to pay attention, to ignore the pain that wracked my body with each flip of my tail. I had to finish. I had to be smart.
I wouldn’t make it through another attack.
Rip swam alongside for a moment as he passed, asking if I was all right. I lied and said yes and that he shouldn’t swim so slowly. He stared at me for a moment before taking off again.
Dane continued to ignore me, which barely registered. The pain was increasing by the moment. I wondered if they had actually ripped my scales, but I was afraid to look down at myself.
Twelve laps.
Eleven.
Ten.
I kept swimming, slowly losing speed. But I didn’t stop.
Normally, this length of race would have been easy for me. Now I was struggling to finish.
Nine laps to go.
Eight.
I got sideswiped by another Mer as they passed me. The herd was gaining on me, now only two laps behind. Thankfully, the rest of the Mers were starting to flag.
Seven laps.
Six.
Five.
Four.
As I got closer to the end, I started having trouble swimming in a straight line. My fins were definitely drooping. As a result, I accidentally bobbed into fighting sticks more than once. I was only on my next to last lap as the herd started to pass me.
Dane and Rip had finished long before and were watching from the sidelines. I caught their eyes as I swam around the bend to begin my last lap. I saw the look of worry on both their faces. They knew what I was just coming to realize.
There was a chance I could lose.
There was a chance I could be sent home.
I dug deep and put on a burst of speed. It only kept me from being passed. It wasn’t nearly enough to get me to the front of the pack. I was losing focus again when I saw Starla was swimming beside me. I heard her murmur, “You can do it, Tri. Don’t give up.”
So I didn’t.
There was no fanfare as I passed the General, ending the race. I had finished somewhere in the middle, which was more than I had hoped for as the race progressed. Mers dropped their sticks, groaning and clutching their arms.
I looked down and saw I still had a death grip on mine. I swam meanderingly toward the rack and dropped my stick into it. Then I slid slowly to the ground, just managing to get out of the way as other Mers did the same.
My eyes were closed as I tried to catch my equilibrium again. No such luck. A shadow passed over me.
I opened my eyes to see Dane hovering above me. He grabbed my arm and lifted me up and away from the packed sand floor.
“I’m taking you to the medic,” he growled.
“I’m fine.”
“You’re bleeding.”
“No. I just need to . . . lie down for a little while.” My eyes drifted shut again.
“No, you don’t,” he said. He was still mad at me. Apparently, even getting my fins handed to me isn’t enough to garner any sympathy, I grumbled to myself. He shook me slightly. “Wake up, Tri.”
I opened my eyes and gasped at the pink cloud around me. I was bleeding. Quite a bit, apparently.
“Okay. I guess I am bleeding.”
“You really are an idiot sometimes.”
I smiled at him stupidly. I hadn’t lost the race. That was all I cared about.
And I was inordinately happy that Dane was talking to me again.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Shut up.”
Starla swam closer and helped Dane guide me toward the entry.
“You will not leave until you are dismissed. That goes for you as well, Your Highness.”
The class as a whole stilled as we slowly turned. I wondered what Dane would do. I wondered what he should do.
“She needs a medic.”
“No exceptions. You will be dismissed when class is over, not before.”
Dane said nothing, but I could feel the rage coming off him. Rip swam closer to float beside us. I guess he was showing solidarity or something.
“Yes, General,” he offered, as if he was speaking for all of us.
Apparently, it was enough for the General.
He swam back and forth in front of us.
“That was pitiful. You won’t last a minute in the open water. We will perform this drill daily until you are capable of staying alive.”
He sneered at me.
“And uninjured.”
I resisted the urge to salute him. I felt drunk. And I was getting woozier by the minute.
“Felard. Swim forward.”
A young male Mer swam out of the ranks and waited.
“You finished last. You are dismissed.”
“Now, now, I don’t think that is necessary.”
We all turned to see Annaruth swim in, looking stunningly gorgeous in a ‘practical’ looking gown of green and gold. The train only dragged behind her for several feet instead of the usual eight or ten. The gown was practical for her, but she was still the most elegant Mer I’d ever seen in my life.
“Lady Annaruth, Priestess,” he said with a stiff bow.
“You can’t dismiss someone every day, General, darling. Or kill them off. We have special plans for Katriana Spark.”
The General cast a scowl in my direction, but he was almost purring when he turned back to Annaruth. He practically melted under her presence. I’d never seen anything like it.
“As you wish, Lady.”
She waved her hand.
“Dismiss them now.”
“You are dismissed, class.”
He watched her intently as she swam directly to me. There was something familiar about the look in his eyes. I gave her a lopsided grin as she clucked her tongue and waved her hand over me. My pain disappeared instantly but I still felt extremely weak.
“I’m going to have to give you a protection spell. I’m afraid you are already being targeted,” she said in a low voice. “And it’s only going to get worse.”
Dane made a sound of pure fury.
“This is happening because of me.”
“Not now, Prince Pollux. We will speak in my chambers after we see to her wounds. Bring Katriana Spark to the Care Chamber, please.”
I drifted along as Rip and Dane each took an arm, turning me toward the door. I saw the General watching Annaruth with an expression of exasperation and complete devotion. That’s when I realized where I had seen that look before.
It was exactly the way Dane looked at me.