Breakwater

by Catherine Jones Payne

  I looked at Alexander, my mouth open. I didn’t know what to say. Finally, I managed, “And your condition is?”

  She stared at the tablets in my hand. “That you and Cleo handle this quietly with the king. I’ve brought you proof as a show of good faith. The fins of my husband’s business endeavors must be trimmed, but I’d like to avoid another scandal. And I want him protected from public shame or expulsion. Swear to me that you’ll try to keep this quiet, and the evidence is yours.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “Why don’t you bring it to the king yourself?”

  She held my gaze. “Which one of us has more leverage with the king right now?”

  “You could come with me.”

  She shook her head. “I told you that I’m trying to keep this quiet. If you and I are seen together, rumors will swirl in the canals.”

  I floundered. “Or use your influence on Felix to get him to stop? I mean, you’re his wife.”

  She hesitated and then lowered her cloak to her shoulders. She leaned forward, and the bioluminary light revealed a swollen gray bruise on her cheek. She whispered, “I’ve tried.”

  Quillpricks ran down my spine. Like father, like son.

  Alexander shot upward. “Do you need help?”

  She shook her head. “I’m fine.”

  “No, you’re not,” he said.

  She tightened her jaw. “Leave it.”

  I threaded my fingers together. “How do I know this isn’t another one of your schemes?” Something nagged at the back of my mind. What Benjamin had told me before the trial. “You . . . you’re with the anti-monarchists. You met with Andronicus.”

  She shrugged. “I doubt I could prove my sincerity, but I’ve humiliated myself to give you a chance to stop the slaving, so I dearly hope my efforts don’t go to waste. As far as the anti-monarchists go . . . ” She paused and gazed at the wall. “Believe me or don’t, but I’m on no one’s side. That said, I believe it’s good to have friends everywhere when the future’s uncertain.”

  I hesitated. “The naiads are leaving the city. The trafficking will stop on its own.”

  Yvonna’s eyes lit up.

  “Most of them,” said Alexander. “But not everyone. And if I were Felix, there’s someone in particular I’d want gone.”

  I looked at him, and my whole body stilled. “Pippa.”

  He tilted his head. “She really sounded like she was thinking of staying. And she’ll always be a threat to him. He can’t act against her right away—too suspicious. But give it enough time . . . ”

  I clutched the tablets to my chest with my left hand and reached out my right and grasped Yvonna’s forearm. “I swear that I’ll try my best to keep this quiet. Though if it comes down to saving a naiad or shielding your husband, I’ll save the naiad every time. The trafficking will end, and we’ll get back the girls who have already been sold.”

  We squeezed each other’s forearms to seal the oath.

  “Very well.” She released my arm and rose from the hammock chair, pulling her cloak back around her face.

  I floated toward the door alongside her. “Tides keep you safe. Are you sure you don’t need help?”

  She opened the door. “Despite everything he’s done, I love my husband. Worry about your naiad friends; I’ll worry about my marriage.” With another glance up and down the canal, she swam away.

  “I’ll treat you like a child if you insist on acting like one,” Mother said, her hands on her hips.

  “I’m of age. And I’ve grown up a lot these last few weeks. You said so yourself. Besides, if I was old enough to make a decision about marrying and then breaking things off with Tor, I’m old enough to make a decision about starting a new life with Alexander. I know Alexander a lot better than I ever knew Tor.” And I haven’t even broached the conversation about Yvonna and the tablets yet. I groaned.

  Alexander floated at my side, not saying anything. He knew my mother well enough to know it wouldn’t do either of us any good.

  “With all due respect to Alexander,” Mother said, “and whether or not he’s a good match for you, you cannot leave Thessalonike right now.”

  “Why not?” I folded my arms across my chest and looked her in the eye.

  “For the greater good.”

  “That’s what the king said when he tried to pressure me to marry Tor.”

  Mother glanced at the coral floor. “I’ve sheltered you from a lot of the politics in this city. I always wanted you to feel secure. But, as you said, you’ve grown up a lot recently.”

  A tendril of dread curled in my stomach. “What?”

  “It’s a dangerous time for the nobility, especially for those of us who are closely aligned with the king. The king is growing paranoid. Protests in the canals have swelled.”

  I wondered if she was talking about Andronicus.

  “Alexander, could you give us a few minutes?” she asked.

  I clutched his hand tighter. “Anything you want to say to me, you can say in front of Alexander. We’re getting married.”

  Mother rolled her eyes and shot a biting look at Alexander.

  He untangled his fingers from mine and gave me an apologetic look. “I’ll be back soon.”

  I sighed and crossed my arms over my chest as he slipped out of the house and into the canal.

  “What?” I demanded, facing Mother.

  “The king is anticipating a major coup attempt, perhaps in the next year. He’s making preparations to ensure the Guard halt it decisively.”

  I felt sure all the color had drained from my face. “What are you talking about? That—that can’t be. We haven’t had a coup for centuries. Not since the days of Queen Jade.”

  “King Stephanos is not as strong a leader as his mother or grandfather were,” she said. “And when poor Elias eventually takes the throne, I can only imagine how quickly the dynasty will dissolve.”

  I blinked. “Elias isn’t clever, to be sure, but are things really as bad as all that?”

  “I’m afraid so.” She crossed to the open window and stared out at the bustling canal. “As you know, our family is inextricably intertwined with the monarchy. If things stay as they are, when it falls, we’ll be dragged down to the depths with it. Perhaps literally.”

  I sank into one of the hammocks at the dining room table. “Why are you telling me all this?”

  Her gills pulsed. “I don’t think the king’s motives were all bad when he asked you to marry Tor.”

  “There’s no—”

  She held up her hand. “Calm yourself. I’m not saying he had the right to ask it of you. In part, I do believe he wanted to protect you as best he could by marrying you off to a powerful family in the city that is not wholly aligned with him.

  “Tor’s family is unlikely to be hurt in a revolution. In fact, they stand a good chance of emerging from the violence more powerful than before. But, at the same time, many of the king’s motivations were selfish. Now that Elias has eloped with a fisher’s daughter, the king only has a single child with which to make a suitable match with a good family. So, I think he decided to use you as a surrogate princess. If you are a member of Felix’s family, Felix is less likely to support a revolt. And Felix is one of the most influential nobles in the hierarchy.”

  Realization dawned on me. “Cassian works for the king.”

  “Who?” Mother asked.

  “Cassian. That merman who attacked Aunt Junia and me in city center.”

  Mother rubbed the back of her neck. “I’m afraid he does. Another detail the king didn’t see fit to inform me of until afterward.”

  “He’s trying to blackmail Felix,” I said. “He’s not actually interested in stopping Felix from kidnapping naiads. He just wants to be able to threaten Felix into compliance.” I felt a rush of relief that I hadn’t handed over the tablet.

  “What are you talking about?” Mother asked.

  “Felix is selling naiads to overlanders. I-I have evidence.”

  Her eyebrows k
nitted together. “Well, the king told me that Cassian had accosted you by mistake. I see that he and I may have much to discuss.” Her voice had grown icy.

  I would not want to be the king in that conversation. I almost laughed.

  She shook her head. “If you leave with the naiads and your new fiancé, after everything that’s happened . . . I know that you and Alexander didn’t rekindle your romance until after the murder, but will the public believe that?”

  I thought of the way Kora’s face had flushed when she’d rushed to tell me of Lady Penelope’s affair with the ambassador.

  “No,” I whispered. “They live for scandal.”

  “Where do you think that will leave your brother?”

  I tightened my lips.

  “Your Aunt Junia and I are both getting older. But Benjamin? The best hope for both of you is that you’ll each marry into a family whose tide is rising, not ebbing. And do you think there’s any chance of that for Benjamin if you disappear with Alexander so soon after Tor’s trial?”

  I didn’t know what to say.

  The stern lines around her eyes softened. “I’m sorry. It’s unfair that you have to make this kind of decision. Perhaps I’m as bad as the king.”

  But it’s true. I knew it deep in my being.

  “No,” I murmured. “You’re just trying to protect Benjamin as best as you can.”

  “And if you stay . . . ” She trailed off.

  “I can’t marry Alexander.”

  “Well, maybe someday,” she said. “In three or four years, perhaps. It would be better if you waited until Benjamin’s had a chance to make a good match, though. If you’re insistent on marrying Alexander, the pressure of finding powerful allies falls to Benjamin, and how many families will want their daughters tied to us if you’ve married a laborer?”

  Rubbing the back of my neck, I murmured, “Our value is measured by our proximity to the king. If the monarchy begins to crack . . . ”

  She nodded. “As the king grows weaker, our family’s name becomes less valuable. If the king is ousted, or if he dies and Elias takes the throne and cannot manage the city, what benefit will a match with us give to another family?”

  “But if I’m still single and flirting at parties, and it seems like an engagement with Philip or Damian may be forthcoming, it’s easier for Benjamin to make a match.”

  “It’s an unfair situation,” said Mother, “but you see how much pressure it puts on Benjamin if you’ve eliminated the hope of a good connection for yourself.”

  My throat tightened. “That would be a lot for anyone.”

  “Yes. It would be.”

  I buried my face in my hands.

  Mother floated behind me and rubbed my shoulders. “Did you never wonder why I discouraged Alexander when the two of you were in school? You know the politicking and ostentation displayed by so many of the nobles disgusts me. I’ve never personally disliked the boy.”

  “I get it,” I said. “You’ve always known it might come to this.”

  We fell silent for a few minutes.

  I pulled my head back up. “What if we all go with the naiads? Start over in Marbella, or somewhere new?”

  Mother’s face remained impassive. “Aunt Junia couldn’t make the journey. It’s dangerous, and with her fatigue . . . the physicians say it’s enervia. It won’t kill her, but she’s not going to get better, either.”

  I looked down at the floor.

  “She wouldn’t be able to swim that far, let alone fight the currents,” Mother said.

  My heart plummeted to my stomach. “Perhaps I could fake my death and sneak away at night.”

  Mother raised her eyebrows. “Listen to yourself.”

  I stared at my hands.

  “You’re right, Jade. You’re of age. It’s your choice. But you need to take stock of the lives you’re impacting before you make decisions you can’t reverse.”

  The door opened, and Benjamin floated in, clutching his bag tightly to his chest. His eyes were wide. “Have you heard?” he asked, darting toward me.

  “About the naiad restrictions?”

  He nodded.

  I sighed. “I’m afraid I have.”

  “It’s not fair!” He dropped his bag. “Why do mer hate the naiads so much?”

  I didn’t have the energy to explain the messy, complicated history, so I just said, “There are a lot of reasons. But I think it all started because mer were afraid of the naiads’ magic. Water-casting is powerful.”

  He crossed his arms over his chest. “Well, that’s stupid. If we’re afraid of the naiads taking over our city, shouldn’t we treat them well so they’re our friends?”

  If only the world were so simple. But I didn’t have the heart to say that to him. Instead, I said, “It looks like the naiads are going to leave the city even though they haven’t been banished.”

  He stiffened. “You can’t be serious.”

  “I heard it from Tryphaena herself.”

  He shook his head.

  “It’s better this way,” I said. “How were they supposed to stay with so many mer against them? More naiads would’ve gotten hurt.”

  He pulled away from me. “Still—”

  “I know. I know. I hate it, too.” More than you know.

  “When will they leave?”

  “I don’t know.” I ran both my hands through my hair. “Soon, I think. I’m sure it will take them a few days to gather themselves.”

  “Where will they go?” he asked. “Back to the rivers?”

  “Maybe,” I said. “Or Marbella, if they can get there.”

  He nodded. “Julius’s father is a merchant who travels between Thessalonike and Marbella. He says there are some naiads there. Cecaelias and kelpies, too. But I don’t know about that. I’m not sure kelpies really exist.” He clasped his hands together. “I hope they’ll be alright.”

  “We’ll all be alright,” I said.

  His face froze. “You’re going with them, aren’t you? You and Alexander?”

  I closed my eyes. “No. Now go get changed. School wraps are depths uncomfortable.”

  “Are you okay?”

  “I just need a moment with Mother.”

  “You know I can hear everything from my room.”

  “Don’t eavesdrop this time.” I put my hand on his arm. “Please.”

  He took in my serious expression and nodded. “Just this once. I’ll be down in a minute.” He darted up the corridor.

  I turned and met Mother’s intense gaze. “I’ll stay,” I whispered, pushing myself up from the table. “For his sake. Let me go find Alexander and tell him.”

  She grasped my shoulder. “That’s a very selfless and brave choice.”

  “He’s my baby brother.” I squeezed her hand. “And we’ve got to stick together.”

  I slipped out of the house before Benjamin came back down.

  “Hey.” Alexander swam toward me. He’d been loitering three doorways away. “Are you okay?”

  My chin quivered. “No.”

  His jaw tightened. “What happened? What did she say to you?”

  My voice wavered as I told him about the conversation, but I managed to keep my sobs at bay.

  “I see,” he said when I finished. “So what you’re saying is, you want me to stay here—but I can’t be with you—in hopes that we can marry in several years?”

  I looked down. “I’ll understand if you can’t stay.”

  He ran a hand through his hair. “Can you guarantee me that we can get married if I stay here and wait for you?”

  I swallowed. “I—I hope so. I want to. But . . . ”

  “But what?”

  “Depths, Alexander.” My gills pulsed. “I love you.”

  He pulled me into his chest. “I love you, too. Always.”

  “It’s just . . . ” I put a hand over my mouth to still a sob as I backed out of his embrace. “If things go as badly as Mother expects them to . . . I won’t let Benjamin or Aunt Junia get hurt
by refusing to marry someone who can shield them. I can’t. I can’t do that.”

  He scoffed. “So you’ll protect the king at whatever cost.”

  I wrapped my arms around myself to try to quiet the webbed-foot dragon raging in my chest. “The king has nothing to do with this.” I hiccupped. “He can sink under the weight of his own beard for all I care.”

  Alexander said nothing.

  “But my family. I’ve made them very unpopular as of late. If I have to fix that by committing myself to someone I don’t love, I will.”

  He grabbed my hand. “If your father were alive—”

  An eerie calm washed over me, like a double-strength puffer fish tincture had washed over my gills. “It wouldn’t make a difference. Mother’s social status was higher than his when they married. It’s her influence that catapulted us to prominence.”

  “It might not make a difference to your circumstances, but he wouldn’t let you do this to yourself.”

  I shook my head. “You’re wrong. My father died trying to protect naiads he didn’t even know.”

  He pulled me close to his chest and caressed my hair. “I have nothing but you to stay for, Jade. But I will.” He dropped a kiss on the top of my head.

  My stomach roiled, and I panicked again. “But what if you wait for me just to watch me marry someone else?”

  “Maybe you won’t have to. I mean, Yvonna literally handed you blackmail on Felix. Surely we could use that somehow, to . . . ”

  “To what?” I threw out my hands. “It’s not just Felix we’re fighting. It’s the anti-monarchists and a big chunk of the nobles, and who knows how many mer my mother’s angered over the years.”

  Cold certainty plunged through my chest like a sinking ship. I can’t do this to him.

  “No,” I whispered. “I love you too much to put you through four years of waiting and then force you to watch me marry someone else.”

  He let me go and floated backward to look me in the eye. “You’re sure that’s where it ends?” he asked, his voice strangled.

  “Yeah,” I whispered, forcing back a sob. “Sure enough.”

  His gills flared, and he closed his eyes. “Well, then.”

  “I’m so sorry,” I murmured.

  He reached out to pull me close and kissed me on the forehead. “I’m sorry, too. But if I’m just going to lose you again, we may as well make a clean break.” He held me. “And I’ll need to get away from the memories.”