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I glanced down at the blood on my hands and swirling in the water.
Perlnaut blood. Family blood.
I sank to the cell floor. And cried. All my muscles were weakened; I could barely lift myself up. Now that the adrenaline of the fight had worn off, my stomach cramped with spasms of hunger. Acai had kept me teetering on the threshold of starvation. I lay there, too tired to look for food. I could fill my stomach later, if I survived.
I reached for my brother’s body, slipping the diadem and cuffs from his head and wrists, and then placing them on my own. The energy of the L’even pearls began to mend my weakness, but they did nothing to heal the agony of having lost my brother. Or the guilt of what I’d done.
Perlnauts were nonviolent beings. I’d gone against the nature of my kind. Just like my twin brother had in his greed for power. Were we not the same? Twins in every way. How could I face Lorcan and the other members of my kingdom knowing what I was?
I pressed my hands to my head, collapsed in on myself, and closed my eyes.
The lightest pressure feathered across my shoulder. I lifted my head, to a human face set with green-gold eyes. Tendrils of red hair swirled from above me. My chest shook with emotion.
Weakness and my brother’s death had been so overwhelming that I’d forgotten about the one who’d saved me.
“Hazel,” I said. “But how?”
I knew she couldn’t answer me, but it was evident she’d learned to use the power of the L’even pearls to remain underwater for long enough to find and free me, which had allowed me to defeat Acai. My heart swelled at the thought that she’d been able to distinguish me from my brother, but the feeling soon faded as I examined the state of her well-being.
I sensed energy wrapped within the clam shell pendant she wore, but it was fading. I pressed my fingertips to Hazel’s wrist. Her pulse was sluggish. She was fading, as well.
“You’re weak,” I said. “You must return to the surface, immediately.”
She shook her head and wrapped her arms around me, holding on as if she had no intention of letting go.
“You’ve been underwater for too long. It’s not good for your lungs or your skin.”
Still, she would not release her grip. Her whole body trembled. I knew she couldn’t stay like this for much longer.
I pressed my wrist cuff to her lips, encouraging her to draw in and absorb energy from the pearls. She sighed, releasing tiny bubbles into the water, before closing her eyes. At the same time, her hold on me loosened, enough to rearrange her so she fit comfortably in my arms.
I kicked my tail fin off the floor, and propelled us upward, and then forward into the tunnel, toward the lake’s surface. Navigating the water with the mass of Hazel was awkward at first. She was not heavy, but her body had buoyancy, a tendency to float, that was different from my kind.
As we neared the lake’s edge, I lifted her head above the water, cradling it in my hand until she took a series of breaths. With her eyes still closed, I set her on dry land and stood watch until she settled into a deep sleep.
***
WHILE HAZEL SLEPT, I went to the kitchen to eat, and then sought out Lorcan. I found him sitting in the library, with a stack of tablets at his side. I reported what had happened, as well as Hazel’s part in it.
“Your majesty!” he said gripping my shoulders with both hands. “I knew something was wrong.”
He also knew that I had killed. I lowered my gaze, awaiting my reprimand.
“I apologize for not having done something sooner,” he continued. “Acai was most convincing. Something didn’t feel right—I wasn’t able to make the connections quickly enough. And yet your human friend was able to rescue you, saving both our ruler and our kingdom.”
I raised my brows and lifted my head. “Saved our kingdom?”
“While you and Hazel were gathering information on the issue of the L’even pearls’ ownership, I’ve been conducting research of my own.”
He grasped a tablet from the top of the stack and shook it at me. “Acai was determined to make Hazel his queen. However, under Perlnaut law, half of the L’even pearl pieces rightfully belong to her no matter who becomes queen.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Please, let me explain.” He looked into my eyes and smiled, melting away the anxiety that had crept up along my back and shoulders. “Hazel’s hand in Acai’s defeat means she shares the throne with you, regardless of whether you are mated.”
“She harmed no one,” I said. “It was all my doing.”
“No, Prince Kai, it wasn’t. From what you’ve told me, Acai’s death happened while Hazel was in the process of rescuing you. He harmed and weakened you, and then threatened you both. You defeated him out of protection for her. You and Hazel may not be mated, but you share a special bond.”
He lowered his voice. “The L’even pearl pieces, while they may have originated from this lake and its inhabitants, must be equally shared by Hazel and you.”
***
MY MIND SPUN WITH THE new information as I swam to the surface. I poked my head above the water. Hazel was in the same place I’d left her. She’d shifted slightly, her arm now draped over her eyes. I smiled. Hazel was safe, and I was beginning to accept Lorcan’s counseling—that she and I had protected each other from Acai’s intentions and actions of harm.
A gentle breeze passed along my skin. The air carried a single ficus leaf that twirled as it descended, landing upon Hazel’s cheek. She stirred, her hand brushing the leaf from her face.
Her eyes widened when she saw me. I winced as she took in my emaciated form and frowned.
“Kai?”
I nodded.
“I feel like I woke up from a dream, but my body aches as if everything in it actually happened.” She rubbed her eyes, and then sucked in a breath. “Impostor-Kai, I mean Acai, was your brother. And now he’s...”
Seemingly unable to complete her thought aloud, she dipped her head under the water.
“Yes, Acai is dead,” I said.
She frowned, her tears melting into the water.
I placed my hand across the curve of her cheek. “By finding and freeing me, you assisted in his defeat. Half the kingdom and its claims on the L’even pearls are now yours.”