We chose not to enter Luned's castle, still wary of traps.

Instead, we rode into town, searching for a means to get on the water and chase down that damn dolphin. And figure out where the mermaid kingdom's entrance was. From what the old man had said, desertion was likely for many inhabitants.

And he was right. Three quarters of the lively shops were closed, and all house shutters slammed shut. Little life lingered in the streets, allowing us to hear the crashing of the waves over the rocks and the chirping of seagulls overhead.

Everyone had fled. Without Luned to tyrannize her people, no one had any reason to stay. And the few individuals we did see were skittish, refusing to speak with us despite our disguises. A handful recognized Ysac, and by default identified me, and hurried into their homes so fast we barely had a chance to say a word. Another handful sneered and spat at our feet.

One elderly lady consented to loan us her fishing boat—which was in truth a few slabs of wood mounted together with no edges to stop one from falling. Three silver coins later, Ysac and I made a few repairs to said shabby boat, then began paddling towards the rocky alcoves beneath the castle.

"This is absurd," said Ysac, as he used the paddles to push us farther out. One of Luned's private beaches loomed straight ahead of us, but we'd have to navigate around a cluster of clumpy rocks to get there. "We're not making any progress. She could send a tidal wave to knock us over in a heartbeat. That is, if this thing doesn't sink before we even reach the coves."

I rolled my eyes. "Stop your pessimism and row."

I cupped a hand over my forehead, trying to visualize the caverns below my half-sister's castle. I'd never visited them; Luned let no one down there, which should have prompted my suspicion years ago. When Ysac claimed he'd seen them, I prodded him with inquiries until I was red in the face and he hid under his horse, wary I'd clobber him.

"They're caves of precious, shimmering gems, and she goes there to think. Or for physical pleasures." Ysac had turned the scarlet color of a hart-fruit at that last part, implying he'd partaken in such physical pleasures. I never doubted he slept with at least two of my sisters, but to get confirmation of it brought bile to my mouth.

Luned, the half-mermaid monster? Yes, she was beautiful, had the curves of a goddess, eyes that could make one do anything she asked, and a siren's voice that hypnotized. But she was evil. A bad-blooded bitch who betrayed our entire family and slept with the mage who plotted our father's murder and conspired with the knave who did the deed.

"It's not pessimism if it's true, Majesty." Ysac huffed, blowing his humid honey locks out of his face, showing his sun-kissed cheeks. He shoved the paddle into the water and pushed, every inch of his toned body bulging and pulsating. "We're chasing a dolphin who only responds to Luned, and who won't hesitate to chomp our noses off if we push too far. I'm telling you; we should have thought about this."

He was persistently pessimistic. Few would know this about him; everyone saw him as the joyful jester with jingling bells on his hat and shoes. The musical man jamming to his lute or guitar, spreading sappy sayings and cracking jokes and entertaining.

But Father trained him as a warrior, and that was the real Ysac. The one who preferred tactics, planning, going into situations prepared. This was not prepared, and I knew it ate him on the inside.

Yet he was the only one I trusted to keep me safe.

Some of my guards knew about Otho's turncoat ways; they disappeared moments after he did. And I assumed others were aware of Father's plots, and if they weren't pleased with them, they itched to revolt. Which was something Jack permitted them to do.

How many men in my staff could I trust? How many stayed to spy on me at Otho or Luned's request?

I felt safer on this boat about to crumble under our weight and send us soaring to the bottom of the ocean.

"Yes, well, we're here now, and I want to investigate as much as possible. I must find her. Or find out more about her." I stared into the wondrous waters, awed at the multi-color fish fluttering beneath us. The farther we moved from Spade Island, the deeper the sea. I swallowed at the memory of my first time learning to swim, and how much I loathed it. "Perhaps we can seek clues on the way there. Examine any suspicious cracks in those rocks coming up, steer us as close as conceivable."

Ysac scoffed. "They're rocks, they'll have plenty of cracks." He blew out another weighty breath. "We'll have a better chance in the alcoves."

"And those are accessible through secret doors? Stairs into the water?" I peered ahead again; we were about halfway to the caves. "Did she ever disappear while you visited with her?"

"I was only there with her on a few occasions, Majesty," he said, his voice so low I struggled to hear it over the waves lapping against our embarkation. "I didn't have the opportunity to search the place. We were a bit busy. I had a lot to drink. Those cocktails her bartenders create are deadly—"

"Fine, so you were too occupied undressing her to notice if she did anything treacherous, I get it." I spun to snarl at him; he straightened up, no longer paddling. "You were my father's man, through and through. So how did you meet with her? Why did you do such horrid things with her?"

He squinted at me. "Did you ever assume he wanted me there?"

"What?" I crossed my arms as a bracing breeze broke through my cloak and unfastened it. Chills crept up my legs, crawling to my core. It wasn't that cold when we left the shore, but my teeth clattered. "Father told you to come here?"

"He wanted Jack and I to check on his daughters. After he dispatched each of you to your castles, your new homes. You refused to see me, remember? I came anyway, your guards knew me and let me in, on your father's orders. Astrida, Tilda, and Luned were more welcoming."

"Oh yes," I snorted, "especially Astrida and Luned."

"Majesty!" He took off his hat and used it to fan himself as droplets of sweat streaked down his cheekbones. "They were princesses! I was charged with looking over them, and yes, they seduced me in the process. So what? If I refused their advances, they'd kick me out!"

"So you succumbed to them out of pressure?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing; Ysac, the fickle and flirtatious joker, was coerced into sleeping with my sisters?

"No...no." He flinched and resumed rowing. "I wanted them. It was never forced. I wanted fun." He averted his gaze. "Working for your father was strenuous, despite my admiration for him. And Jack...tedious, that one. Exhausting to be around. Constantly complaining, implying how much he hated the king. It was excruciating some days. Your sisters saw my stress and offered relaxation."

I understood that, though my idea of relaxation wasn't a colorful cocktail in an underground cave submerged with salt water. Nor would I consider rolling around in the sheets with someone as a way to unwind. If anything, that would wake more anxiety in me. It had in the past, the few times I'd allowed any man near me.

I tried my hardest to hide my grimace. "Fine. But..." My shoulders slumped forward as Ysac paddled faster and the boat lurched to life. "If you were supposed to be watching, spying, why didn't you pay better attention? If Luned took you to those caves—"

"I told you; I was drunk. Unaware I should have been investigating mermaid claims. Those were rumors, and your father didn't confirm them." He winced, his chest caving in as he sucked in a deep whiff of the salty air. "If I'd known of her conspiracies, her afflictions, I'd have resisted her."

I nodded, too nauseous to open my mouth. I couldn't tell if my sudden sickness was due to imagining that despicable woman kissing Ysac, or because the boat rocked back and forth so much, I had difficulty keeping my balance.

"But Majesty, I doubt the entrance to her underwater kingdom is below the castle." We swished past the first collection of rocks; as I inspected, I found nothing but seaweed and seashells. "It wouldn't surprise me if she used some sort of teleportation. A magic trick she learned from Otho. It would be too easy for her to simply saunter down a set of stairs and enter a new realm. As you said before, she's complicated."

"Are you saying the mermaid dimension isn't here, in Efura?" I bit my lip as I gazed at the nearing coves, my stomach clenching as I pictured myself navigating through them.

"I'm saying it's not that simple." He leaned his forehead against the oar. "We're going to need to go underwater. To swim. Like the dolphins do."

"Ah," I let out a disheartened chuckle, "that's what you meant by tracking dolphins. Not this raft, not the coves, not the castle, but actually getting in the water to follow them?"

He shrugged. "Yes. And as you and I aren't sea-creatures, we'd need a method to breathe underwater. If we'd stayed in Acewood and waited, we might have been able to obtain such a thing from Ossenna. She can concoct potions like that, you know this."

My fists clenched against my will. He was, again, correct; and I hated it. "What are you suggesting, then?"

He slipped his hat back on. "You acted too irrationally. We should return to Acewood, strategize, speak with Ossenna and Sym and use the materials at our disposal there to locate Luned. Coming out here, we've made ourselves vulnerable. She's not stupid. She's aware we came in blind with no clue of what we're doing. I guarantee she sees us, somehow, right now."

"But how?" I wasn't clear on mermaid powers, but I doubted they included the option to see all, like some mages were able to. Mermaids weren't mages.

Before I had the chance to reply, something jumped onto our raft. I screamed and leapt up so high my feet slipped out from under me when I landed, and I collapsed to my knees.

Ysac gasped, pointing the paddle at our intruder in some means of defense. He lowered it when we both realized what our surprise arrival was.

Not a person, not a creature of the waters, but a green-tinted glass bottle, standing upright, a weave of weeds and coral wrapped around it.

"What is that?" I angled forward to better view it.

Ysac poked at it with the end of his paddle. "A bottle?"

I narrowed my eyes and noticed something inside the bottle: a rolled parchment. "A message in a bottle."

As I reached for it, Ysac slapped my hand away. "No, let me touch it first. Those plants could be poisoned."

I gulped down the terrible taste tinting my tongue and watched as Ysac touched the thing once, twice, three times, then drew it closer to him. He sniffed at it, squeezed it, held it back to squint at it. The cork came out easily, and he shook the letter out, unfolding it.

He read in silence, at first; then, spotting my impatient expression, he cleared his throat.

"It's from Luned," he said, and I could have sworn his cheeks turned as green as the bottle. "She asks that we stop searching for her."

I extended my palm. "Give it to me." He obliged, and I blinked as I sighted her handwriting. The curved letters and the ominous carnelian ink and the seashell embroidered stationary.

My dearest Gwenore (and Ysac)

I advise that you cease your search for me. You'll never find me, and the longer you look, the closer you come to death. You won't survive on that flotation device. A tidal wave might make its way to you.

Love,
Queen Luned.

"Love?" I choked on the insults invading my mind as I glared at her signature. "Queen? She dares?"

"Gwenore, look." Ysac reached over and grabbed my wrist, using his other hand to point towards something on the horizon.

I followed his gaze and saw it.

A sleek, slate-gray creature with a long muzzle, half of its body hovering above the water. Its glowing, glaring yellow eyes fixated us as if saying, "you've been warned." It nodded once, then launched itself up, flipped, and plunged into the ocean's depths.

"Was that him? Roro?" I shivered, scrunching the letter in my hand.

Ysac gripped the paddle and maneuvered us towards the shore. "It was, and I'd take that as a bad omen, Majesty. We should go home."

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