An auburn wreath of hair circled my head as I followed the mermaids and mermen to the castle's front entrance. My energy waned with each stroke that pulled me forward. Perhaps I really wasn't strong enough to make it home today. Frustration burned inside me, along with the fatigued muscles in my arms and legs. Why did this have to happen to me?

Two of the strange half-man half-crab creatures opened the arched double doors of the castle.

"What are those, uh, creatures?" I whispered to Catilli.

"They're Sracceants," Catilli said. "They're half-human, half-crustacean."

I nodded, stunned into silence. Who would have guessed that such strange creatures existed? Then again, who would have guessed that mermaids existed? I stole a glance at them as I entered the castle, forcing my jaw to not gape in awe and my eyes to not linger too long.

A gasp escaped my lips. I floated into a grand foyer, its spacious borders marked by a shining ring of golden flowers. Light sparkled along the sides of the domed ceiling, a bone-white chandelier hanging in the center. Vines crept up the banister of a spiraling alabaster staircase on the left side of the room.

"Whoa," I breathed.

"What do you think?" Lira said.

"It's...stunning." My eyes traced pastel blue swirls that marbled the walls. "Are all homes this extravagant down here?"

"No," Catilli said. "Lira and Nitov live in such a large house because they are part of the Oamaren Monarchy."

Every muscle in my body froze. I shifted my gaze between the mermaid and mermen. Lira's lips wore a smirk, and Nitov's eyes sparkled in the light.

"You two are the prince and princess?" I said.

"Yup," Lira said. "Come on, let's go to the dining room."

I trailed after them. Despite the chill of the water, heat rose in my cheeks. Of course they were Royals. Who else would live in such a fancy home? I should've guessed that they were important.

Now I just hoped my behavior was appropriate for being around a prince and princess.

At the end of a short corridor, another Sracceants stood in front of an open wooden door. Lira and Nitov headed in first and glided to either end of an oval table. Ayil and Catilli took up their spots on either side of Lira.

"Come float by me," Catilli said. She motioned to the empty space between her and Nitov. I joined her as a mermaid entered the room, her gaze trained on the floor and her arms weighed down with an enormous turtle shell. Her tail flickered a dim, gray light, a stark contrast to the brightness from Catilli, Ayil, and the Royals. She placed the green and black shell on the table before slipping back into the shadows.

"Why is her tail so dim?" I asked Catilli in a low voice.

"It's because of the food she eats. Our tails give off more light because we eat certain types of glowfish," Catilli answered. "The lower classes, like the servants, can't afford it. They mostly eat a plant-based diet."

"Oh." I didn't really know what else to say. Part of me felt bad for the servant. "Is she...healthy?"

"Of course. Phytoplankton and cheaper types of fish can supply all of the nutritional needs of a mer-person. We only eat glowfish because we like having bright tails. Other than that, it provides no additional nutrients."

Lira dragged the turtle shell closer to herself. It contained six smaller shells that were set in front of each person at the table. I stared down at the conical dish, the opening packed with green algae.

"What's this?" I asked.

"Oh, it's just some sea water from a nearby hydrothermal vent," Lira said. "We use it as a palate cleanser before we begin our main meal."

The mermaids and mermen raised their shells to their lips, immediately pulled out the algae, and poured the liquid down their throats. My eyes widened.

"The trick is to do it quickly," Lira said, placing her shell on the table. It drifted upward, and Lira nudged it down again. "Some of the water gets lost to the surrounding sea, but if you're fast enough, you can drink most of it. Go ahead, try it."

My gaze returned to my own shell, levitating in the water. I placed a hand on it before it floated away.

"But...isn't it bad for humans to drink salt water?" I blurted out.

Lira raised an eyebrow. "I don't know, is it?"

In hindsight, it made little sense that I asked her. It's not like mer-people knew more about humans than me.

"I—I think so."

Lira shrugged. "Okay. We'll move on to the first course."

She nodded to Nitov, who passed out six peach-colored shells from the central turtle. Pink, white, and orange strips of fish poked over the sides. My empty stomach churned. I should've known that they'd serve raw fish.

"Now, this is what I call a meal." My attention snapped to Ayil as he crammed a palmful of meat into his mouth.

"Agreed," Catilli said between bits of chewed food.

Lira and Nitov didn't speak, as they were already shoveling the meal into their faces. I glanced back at my shell, trying to build up the courage to eat it. I inhaled a deep breath to calm myself, but only sucked in more of the putrid, fishy odor that permeated the entire room.

As I looked at the others, I realized that they were almost done eating, and I hadn't even begun. How much time had elapsed? A minute? How were they done so quickly?

A silent sigh escaped my lungs. I really, really didn't want to eat raw fish. But it would be rude to not even try it. Before I could change my mind, I pinched one piece between my thumb and index fingers and dropped on my tongue. Salt and fish overpowered my taste buds and nostrils.

It's just like sushi. It's just like sushi.

My teeth chewed on the squishy substance. Bile crept its way up my throat, and I tried hard not to gag. For the first time, I was truly grateful for the water, since it hid the tears forming in my eyes.

"That was delightful," Catilli said. In my peripheral, she flipped her shell upside down to get the remnants out.

There's no way I can finish this.

"How's the food, Kiara?" I glanced at Lira. Her elbows rested on the table, head craned towards me.

"Good," I choked out. Bits of fish slid down my throat while something seemed to rise from my stomach. My teeth clenched.

I'm going to vomit.

"You haven't eaten very much. Aren't you hungry?"

"Yeah," I gasped. "I just...eat slowly."

"That's totally okay," Nitov said. "Take all the time you need."

His sparkling blue eyes met mine, his lips curved upward. I forced a smile.

"Thanks."

The remaining bits trickled down my esophagus. I waited a few seconds. It settled in a solid lump in the pit of my stomach, unlikely to revisit the water through my mouth.

I heaved a sigh of relief, sat up straighter, only to find the other four watching me. Each had some sort of folded kelp parcel, along with their empty fish container. My eyes rested on the green package that now accompanied my fish shell. They must have passed those out while I wasn't paying attention.

"What's, uh, this?" I asked. I grabbed it as it edged away from me in the lapping water, my hand closing around slime.

Yuck. My stomach did a somersault in protest.

"That's the second course," Ayil said.

Goodness, how many are there?

I squeaked a nervous chuckle.

"Oh, uh, I'll get to it in a minute."

"Don't worry, we'll wait," Catilli chirped.

I froze. "What do you mean?"

"In Oamer, it is highly insulting to move onto the next course of a meal if someone hasn't finished the previous course," Nitov explained.

"Oh, uh, don't mind me. You can go ahead and start on the second one."

All shook their heads in unison. Blood thrummed in my veins. There was no way I could finish all of this food.

"Really, I don't mind. I'm only going to be able to finish one course, anyway."

Especially if people are staring at me.

"But you need energy for swimming," Catilli protested. "You need to try to eat."

"I'll, uh, try. But you go ahead with your meal. I'll catch up when I can."

The third meal progressed at a snail's pace, comprising five more courses of glowfish, shrimp, seaweed, mixed jellyfish, and another round of seaweed. My abdomen cramped with fury, and my stomach threatened to spill all that I worked so hard to get down.

The last clump of seaweed slithered down my throat. I exhaled.

It's over. It's all over.

A hand slapped my back—hard. Acid climbed up my throat, and I swallowed half-digested chunks to keep them from spewing out.

"There, that wasn't so hard, was it?"

I turned to Catilli. "N-no."

"I can't wait for you to join tomorrow's breakfast."

I forced myself to not moan.

"Are you okay?" Lira asked. "You look ill."

"It's understandable," Nitov said. "She's just had a very traumatic injury."

"Ah, right. You should go home and rest. We'll talk to you more tomorrow."

"It was nice meeting you, Kiara," Ayil said.

I nodded. My head spun from all the voices speaking around me.

"Let's go back to my cave, where you can rest." Catilli's hand gripped my arm and guided me to the exit.