In the passing weeks, we traveled around Acewood, unearthing means to defeat our foes. Enlisting allies, forming agreements, signing contracts. Preparing.

It was a difficult tour, restrictive because we could only stay in cottages outside of cities, or underground, where no one would find us. And the strenuous nature of it all wasn't much helped by my two companions who got on my nerves or one reason or another.

Jack annoyed me simply by existing; but Luned's constant demands to stop at the ocean and river and take a swim in her mermaid form were grating my nerves.

I knew what she was doing; she was networking, gathering followers, sending messages to her mother. All things she needed to do, of course. But that didn't mean I accepted seeing her as a monstrous fish-tailed creature every day. Alluring as she was in her human form, I was growing sick of her mermaid transformation, almost more than I was sick of Jack's existence.

But I kept my mouth shut. It was in our best interests to get along—pretend to get along—and move forward with our plans.

Our current plan led us to a remote isle in the Spade Island area. Farther out than the castle, it was tiny, but we managed. A one-room shack had been housing us for a few days while Luned did her mermaid business. The whole isle was cloaked by magic, and enhanced by a few of my own spells, to ensure our presence couldn't be felt by anyone in the vicinity. From there, we kept watch over the remaining citizens of Spade Island and waited for the coast to be clear enough for us to venture to the castle.

Luned swore to me she had some ingredients there that'd be beneficial to me; items I'd need for ultimate battle power when the time came.

"You're sure you left them there?" I asked her, as we sat on a dock at the edge of the water, scanning the horizon.

Jack had a pair of special lenses that allowed him to see far ahead, and I used my magic to zoom in, detect anything amiss. Luned had enhanced hearing thanks to her mermaid magic, and she squinted as she listened to everyone coming and going from the main island. Few inhabitants remained; many had fled after the news of her betrayal.

News we were all shocked that that damned Gwenore had dared to release to the entire realm.

But our issues with Gwenore would wait. I didn't like this objective, this waiting game. Nor did I like the idea of venturing into Luned's former castle. I had no doubt our enemies would expect her to be there, or nearby. Being nearby now was enough of a risk, and even Jack agreed with me, by some miracle.

But Luned wouldn't have it. She insisted her ingredients were essential to our plots and we'd fail if we didn't obtain them.

"Is it me, or is there a certain jingle in the air?" Luned paced on the sand behind Jack and me, not wanting to get her feet wet. The second her skin came into contact with salt water, she'd transform. And I'd begged her to refrain from doing so in front of me, if at all possible.

The only reason I tolerated her in that form was because she sucked my cock with such thrilled skill, and it gave me a sense of pure dominance over her. Otherwise, I preferred forgetting she had any mermaid in her at all.

"Jingle?" Jack moved his lengthy lenses—he called them binoculars, something he'd discovered during his field trip in the foreign prince's dimension—and paused. He leaned forward. "Oh, shit. Otho," he nudged me, "are you seeing this?"

I'd been focused on the Triplets—the islands once ruled by a baron who'd recently succumbed to some accident or other. More than once I'd been told there were some amazing natural resources there; plants with hypnotic abilities or tendencies to render those in the vicinity mad.

Perfect weapons to use against my fellow mages when the time came.

I reluctantly swept my gaze over to where Jack was pointing and immobilized at the sight.

There, on the beach, in plain sight as if their lives weren't in danger with every breath they took...were Gwenore and Ysac. They were huddled over a plank of wood, tying it together with thick rope; trying to craft a boat of some kind, perhaps?

I almost snorted in laughter at the innocence, the naivety of them. To be so obvious, thinking they'd be safe venturing on the waters that once belonged to Luned?

Fools. But that might work in our favor.

"Betrayer," I hissed, realizing the jingle Luned referred to was the jester's bells.

He hadn't even thought to carefully disguise himself as he left the secure confines of Acewood Castle.

And her? Barely covered up with a worn-down cloak, a shabby piece of cloth concealing her recognizable navy-tinted curls?

"Out in the open, like that?" Jack handed his binoculars to Luned, sneering. "Is it a trap? That's too easy. It's like they're nagging us."

"Oh, that bitch," said Luned, seeing at last what we referred to. "What is she doing here? Why is she out of the castle?"

Much as it ate me on the inside not to lunge across the stretch of water right away and plunge my claws into Gwenore's neck, I knew better.

"It might indeed be a trap," I said to Jack, keeping my focus on the two enemies on the beach. They were talking, but I couldn't decipher what they said. "Though they shouldn't know we're here. My love?" I turned to Luned, fighting not to peer up her skirts and salivate at her hidden treasures. "Can you hear anything they're saying?"

"No," she said with a grunt, returning the binoculars to Jack. "All I hear are those stupid bells."

A tactic?

Was Ysac smart enough to don his habitual jester outfit in a means to confound us?

It wasn't entirely impossible, and yet...the little snake had turned on me. He used to feed me information, anything I desired, and suddenly he ran in the other direction, tail between his legs.

All because of that darned prince who had Ysac's cock in the palm of his hand.

We could have used someone like Ysac. Someone so stealthy, and who'd keep Jack occupied so he wouldn't get on my nerves all the time.

"Well," I stood from the sand and brushed off my magenta trousers, "in any case, it's nothing to worry about." I waved, displaying the magical barrier that protected us. "They can't see us. And neither of them has magic, so they can't sense us, either."

"Then why are they here?" Luned's pacing grew more frantic, her icy tresses wild in her wake. Her eyes were wild, too, which was typically a turn-on for me. But as she was now, on the verge of transforming into a mermaid out of spite, I kept my distance.

"Investigating, I bet," said Jack, squinting through the lenses. "I can't make out what they're saying either, and I'm usually a good lip-reader."

Luned gasped, covering her mouth with her hands. "They're going to raid the castle."

I frowned, concentrating on said castle. "Darling," I said, reaching a hand for hers. "It's impenetrable. The spells we left over the place won't allow them inside."

"But the ingredients," she said in a low hiss, her gaze fixed on the sand, as if not seeing me, not feeling me. "If they find them first, they'll..."

"Do what?" I groaned. "Again, neither of them is magical. They'd have no idea what's worth anything in the castle. Please, my love, trust me. Nothing is going to happen today."

Luned gritted her teeth, her eyes now rimming with red. I backed away, feet in the water; never had I seen her load up with such rage, so fast.

"She's here for me." Luned let out a growl that, under other circumstances, I'd have found incredibly arousing. "They may not detect us, but Gwenore is witty. Bitch that she is, she's intuitive. She'll smell me, give it time. And she'll swim all the way up to me to sever my head from my neck."

"Not while I'm around," I said, grabbing her hand and setting it against my racing heart. "I will never let her lay a finger on you, do you hear me?"

"But," she sniffled, "the ultimate battle...the final fight...it has to be between her and I, right?"

I nodded. "But you're stronger. She may be witty and intuitive, like you said, but she lacks your strength, your energy. And must I repeat that she has no magic?" I pressed her palm harder to my chest. "She can't win. It's impossible."

Luned ripped her hand away. "I need to speak with her."

Jack squeaked as he hopped to his feet. "Huh?"

I gawked at her as if she'd just thrown up a school of fish. "Have you lost your mind? I said she'd lose against you but she'll still try to kill you, Luned."

She snickered at me, shoving me aside as she stormed up the bank to the small bench where we'd left our travel gear. "I'm not going to her, goodness. I meant I need to speak with her, as in send her a message."

"To say what?" I glared at her, unsure what in the world was going through her head. Many said she was the less sane of the sisters, but I'd always seen her as the smartest. Was she about to prove me wrong? "Yoohoo, I'm over here, on this hidden island, come get me!"

She glared right back. "Otho, please don't condescend me."

Normally she was docile and didn't prick at my insults. But today she was livid, beyond anything I'd ever seen in her before. To see Gwenore so close, so tempting, must have riled her up more than she'd expected.

"My message will be a warning," she said, pulling out a scroll and a quill she always had on her person. For someone who habitually delivered her messages under-water, she'd come prepared to give messages by any means possible. "Summon me a bottle," she said, snapping at me.

I caught Jack side-glancing at me with a near sneer of satisfaction, but I ignored him. I disliked when Luned took on such a tone with me, but I could only heed her request. While I was the most powerful one, she was the one with the royal blood.

She was my ticket to the throne.

I confectioned a glass bottle that wouldn't be weathered by travel through water, and sprinkled a bit of extra magic on it, for good measure. A few things she wouldn't know about; no one would. Undetectable traces. A tincture here, a dab of poisonous herbs here.

I handed it to her once she'd finished scribbling her note.

"Is it a threat?" Jack came to stand beside me, and I resisted the urge to kick him away. He was too focused on Luned to sense my disdain. "Because if it's not, I don't see what you'd have to say to her."

Again, I hated to agree with him, but it appeared the pea-brained, horny mercenary had some wits about him after all. Perhaps I was mistaken.

"It's a threat," said Luned, allowing us both to expel a breath of relief. "I want her to know she's not safe out here. That we're always watching, always plotting."

"That," I cleared my throat, fighting the heat spreading up my neck and cheeks, "is unwise, my beloved."

Her eyebrows elevated. "Threatening my enemy sister is unwise, you say?"

"It might reveal our location," said Jack, confidence in his voice as he took one step forward.

I wasn't sure what prompted me to do it, but I extended my arm to prevent him from getting any closer. The reminder of Luned's eyes earlier—red and angry—told me Jack wouldn't be spared from her rage if he got too close.

I didn't want him around, but if Luned came to and realized she'd harmed her dear idiot of a friend, she'd become even more chaotic.

It was best to placate her and deal with the consequences later.

"It won't reveal our location," she said, eyeing us as she slipped the rolled-up parchment into the bottle. "Because I have methods to guarantee our location remains a secret."

I flinched, knowing what she referred to; what method she planned to employ.

It revolted me, and more so when I watched her waddle up to the water and dip her toes.

She has a friend in the water who will provide this message is brought to the right person at the right time.

Immediately, her legs transformed to shiny scales. She plunged into the shallow liquid, shielding the rest of her ungodly, monstrous body from me.

I mouthed a thank you that she'd opted not to show me her true form, knowing how it disgusted me. Still, once she was halfway to the protective barrier, she twisted around and blew me a kiss.

I grimaced, but hoped she thought I was smiling.

The mermaids were a means to an end. Once we had them where we wanted them, once we got what we needed, I'd fashion a spell to rid her of the disease. Forever.

My queen wouldn't be the first mermaid to sit the Acewood throne. If I had it my way, I'd dig out that figment of her and erase it from existence.

♥♦♣♠