“We’ve agreed not to see each other. He’s going to ask for a transfer.”
“Yet here I find you in the middle of the hallway where anyone could see you, with barely air between you.”
Evan nodded. “It wasn’t like that, Declan.”
“What was it like? Wait, let me guess: you were saying goodbye for the final time?”
“Yes,” she agreed.
“How many final goodbyes does this make for you?”
Evan’s cheeked reddened. “A few.”
Declan nodded. “I’m not trying to be hard on you, Princess. I’m trying to help.”
“I know. I didn’t mean for this to happen again.”
Declan patted her hand and said, “I know, Princess. No one ever does.”
“What do you mean?”
“You think you’re the first royal to fall in love with someone they shouldn’t?” he asked with a smile.
They took a few steps before Evan said, “Mother makes it sound as if marrying below my station is shameful.”
Declan nodded. “Your mother is trying to protect you.”
“I don’t see how deciding who I can love is protecting me.”
“She’s been through that pain. I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but your parents each loved someone else before they married.”
“Really?” Evan asked.
“I don’t know your father’s story firsthand and I won’t repeat rumors, but your mother,” Declan chuckled, “well, she was in love with a guard.”
“My mother?” Evan asked, stopping in the middle of the hall. “Are you sure?”
Declan nodded. “It was before she met your father. She wasn’t always royalty, you know.”
“She was from a family of minor nobles.”
“They were poor, Evannia. The only thing noble about them was their name and their clean bloodline. Astraea was the third child, free to marry for love while her older brothers’ marriages were arranged for profit. Or so she thought.”
“What changed?”
“Her oldest brother, Caspian, ran from his wedding and went to land. Her other brother went in search of him. Neither returned.”
“That’s awful,” Evan said. She thought of the pain she felt at not knowing what became of her sister. Perhaps this was the reason her mother refused to speak of her landed child.
“After that, the family’s only hope was Rae’s successful marriage to a nobleman. A guard wasn’t good enough.”
“Rae?” Evan asked, raising her brows.
Declan blushed. His voice was so soft Evan almost didn’t hear him say, “It’s been a long time since I called her that.”
“Wait,” Evan said. “You and my mother?”
He nodded. “She was my entire world.”
“But she married my father.”
Declan nodded. “I was heartbroken. She never kept it a secret to me as to why she did it. I knew she loved me, but she would do anything to help her family.”
“You loved her, but you let her marry someone else?”
“I couldn’t stop her. And though I couldn’t be her husband, I could still serve her. I could still love her, in my own way.”
“She doesn’t want me to get involved with anyone because she knows how much it hurts if it doesn’t work out,” Evan said.
“She doesn’t want you to have to choose between duty to your family or duty to your heart.”
They walked in silence for a moment before Evan asked, “Declan, is she why you never married? Are you still in love with her?”
“Yes,” he said without hesitation.
“Does she feel the same?”
He winced. “I don’t know, Princess. But I choose to believe she does.”
“Declan, that’s so sad.”
“Don’t feel bad for me. I could’ve walked away at any time. But I chose to stand by her side, keep her safe, and protect her children as if they were my own.”
Evan looked over and she could see the love in his eyes—the love of a father. After a moment she said, “There’s one thing I don’t understand.”
“What’s that, Princess?”
“If mother understands what it means to love someone not meant for her, why did she banish the boy who was in love with Celia?”
“She didn’t. Your uncle, Arturo, sent the boy away.”
“But she told Celia—”
“I know,” Declan said, nodding his head. “Your mother was furious with Arturo for that. She sent me in secret to find the boy. I brought him here to work in the Protean kitchen. I visited him earlier. He’s done well here.”
“Celia went to land because of what happened to that boy. If mom had told the truth—”
Declan cut her off, saying, “Your mother regrets that decision every day of her life. But telling the truth would’ve exposed what she’d done to protect Mariet.”
“Better to send her daughter away?”
Before he could answer, they heard footsteps running up behind them. Declan pushed Evan behind him, blocking her from view. She leaned over his shoulder and got a glimpse of Rafe as he slowed and tried to catch his breath to speak.
“What is it, boy?” Declan asked, his tone suddenly gruff.
“Sirens,” Rafe gasped. He bent down and put his hands on his knees, just as a trident sailed over his head.
“Get her to the carriage,” Declan commanded. “Don’t stop for anything.”
Rafe grabbed Evan’s hand and pulled her down the hall. Evan looked back as Declan drew his spear and stood his ground. Just as Rafe turned the corner, a trident hit Declan in the chest. He fell to the ground as a dozen figures swarmed him, and Evan lost sight of him amidst the mob.
“No!” Evan said, her voice hitching in her throat. She pulled from Rafe’s grasp, stepping towards Declan.
Rafe’s arms encircled her waist and he hoisted her over his shoulder. She pounded her fists against his back, but he kept running, turning corner after corner, winding his way through the hallways of the palace.
“Put me down,” she yelled, railing against him.
“Can’t,” he panted, but she could feel him slowing down as he tired.
“But Declan,” she sobbed. “We have to go back for him.”
Rafe pushed through the swinging door ahead. He stopped just inside the room, turning back to see if anyone followed.
“Princess Evannia?”
She raised her head, meeting eyes with a man wearing an apron covered in stains. He was in his late twenties, chubby, with a short brown ponytail pulled away from his full cheeks.
“Chef Mariet?” she asked. She could feel waves of fondness and loyalty pouring from the man. He was a Triton and she was his princess.
Rafe said, “Sorry to break up your reunion, but the Princess is being pursued by Sirens. Can you get us out of here?”
Mariet’s face drained of color. He took a deep breath as if to steel his resolve. “Yes. Come with me.”
They followed him through the kitchen to a door hidden behind crates. Mariet slid the crates out of the way and pushed against the old door.
“Take this passage all the way down to the delivery dock.”
“How close is that to the royal dock?” Rafe asked.
“Your carriage should be two flights up and down the corridor.”
Rafe grabbed Evan’s hand and pulled her down the passage.
“Thank you,” she called to Mariet.
He closed the kitchen door, leaving them in darkness. She stumbled and Rafe said, “Take off those stupid shoes, Ev. We need to move faster.”
Evan kicked off the shoes; the well-worn stones were cold beneath her feet. The passage stopped at another door, ragged as the last. It creaked open and Rafe peeked out. The dock appeared empty. They tiptoed from their hiding spot and moved to the stairwell. As they reached it, a door on the opposite side of the dock burst open and a dozen Protean guards filed out.
“They can help us,” Evan said, a smile spreading over her fac
e.
One of the guards pointed towards her and they all started for the stairs. Rafe said, “I don’t think they’re coming to help.”
He pulled her through the door and up the stairs. As they emerged from the stairwell, Rafe plowed into someone, knocking them over and tumbling down with them.
Evan felt relief wash over her at the sight of Judas. A friend.
“Are you alright, Princess?” he asked as he got to his feet. Rafe moved between them and Judas asked, “What do you think you’re doing, guard?”
Evan interrupted. “There are Sirens in the palace.”
Judas looked between Evan and Rafe, saying, “How can I help?”
“Declan needs us,” Evan said, replaying his fall in her head and trying to figure out a way to return to help him.
“He wants you to be safe,” Rafe said. Turning to Judas he said, “I need to sound an alarm before it’s too late. Can you get her to your carriage? Hers may be compromised.”
“Consider it done,” Judas said.
He grabbed Evan’s hand and took off, pulling her behind him. She turned to glance back at Rafe, but he was already gone.
The royal dock was at the end of the hall, but Judas pulled her into a room instead. Evan’s skin prickled, her nerves on edge. Judas, though, seemed strangely calm.
“Take off your clothes.”
Evan’s hands instinctively covered her chest. “What? Why?”
“Evan, time is limited. We need to leave the palace and you can’t swim in that dress.”
“Can’t we just hide until the guards take care of them?”
“What if the guards can’t take care of them?”
His words hit her, knocking her breath away. “You can’t mean that.”
He said, “I don’t know how many Sirens are here or why they’re after you. But our best chance is to get out of the castle. Now take off that damn dress.”
He turned his back to her and began removing his suit. She watched, shocked as much by the sight of his body as she was by the trouble they were in. Trying to ease her anxiety she asked, “Do you have friends in Protea who can hide us?”
“We aren’t staying in the city,” he said. “We’re leaving the water.”
As Judas took her hand and guided her into the pool, Evannia’s mind raced with all the reasons she shouldn’t go with him. When her sister disappeared, she had promised herself she would never break her mother’s heart like that. She owed too much to her family and her people to abandon them, no matter what was happening.
But the Sirens wanted her for something, and though she didn’t know what, she was certain she had to escape. There was no way around it: Evan was going to land.
Ten
When Evan’s head rose above the choppy waves, her eyes met with a sight she’d never seen before. She squinted at the rising sun; the sky above was cast in vibrant pinks and oranges, their reflections echoed in the water below.
“Let’s go,” Judas said, his voice weary but firm. “We need to get out of sight before we’re seen.”
Evan flicked her eyes to him for a moment before pointing at the sun and saying, “But look. It’s so...” she trailed off, unable to find a word big enough to describe it.
Judas raised his brows. “You’ve never seen a sunrise?”
Evan shook her head. She’d spent nineteen years with her head below water. But now, watching the sunrise on her first day out of the ocean, she knew there was magic in this human world.
After a few minutes, Judas touched her shoulder to draw her attention, before heading towards shore. Evan’s legs felt strange walking on the sand, heavy after their swim. The tiny flecks of seashells and grit clung to her feet. Judas led her under a long stretch of wood planks going out into the sea.
Evan watched an old man walking overhead. He was carrying a bucket and a thin metal rod. She whispered, “What’s he doing?”
Judas looked up. “Fishing. This thing is called a pier. Humans use them to walk out into the ocean without getting wet.”
“But why wouldn’t they—”
“Evan,” Judas said, cutting her off. “I know this is a new place, and you’re going to have questions, but right now I need to figure out a plan.”
“Sorry,” she said. She took a deep breath, her chest aching as she sucked in air that felt too thin. “So what do we do?”
A voice above them said, “Start by thanking Poseidon that I’m the one who found you.”
Evan shivered at the stranger’s words, but Judas smiled and said, “Caspian, good to see you.”
“Sidewalk,” Caspian said.
Judas took Evan’s hand and pulled her behind him. They met Caspian on a gray slab that looked similar to the material in the castle’s hallways. Lining the walkway were trees; Evan had read about them, but never would’ve guessed they’d be so tall. They were massive compared to what grew in the water gardens.
Judas and Caspian kept a quick pace while Evan scurried behind them, her eyes searching the strange landscape for anything familiar. When she could, Evan stole glances of Caspian’s face. Something about his green eyes were familiar. She felt herself shrink every time he looked at her.
Within fifteen minutes of leaving the sea, Evan’s legs felt like they were made of jelly. She dared not complain. She was being rescued from Sirens, after all. Sore legs were the least of her worries.
They walked beside streets still resting in shadow, untouched by the new day. There were metal beasts lining the streets, smaller versions of the royal carriage made for only a few passengers. Evan couldn’t fathom how they moved without water.
They passed a building with a cage covering the doors. There were moving pictures on boxes in the window. Evan wanted to know more about them, but when she turned to ask, she realized Judas and Caspian were too far ahead. She rushed to catch up, reaching them as they stopped in front of a tall building with dirty windows, sandwiched between more of the same.
Caspian led them into a tiny metal box with a dozen buttons on a panel by the door. Caspian pressed a button and Evan pushed herself against the wall as the ground moved beneath them.
“What’s happening?” she gasped.
“It’s lifting us to the floor where we want to go,” Judas said. “It’s called an elevator.”
“Why not use stairs?” she asked.
When the elevator stopped, Evan jumped out. Caspian’s cheeks dimpled when he laughed at her, and she got a vague sense of familiarity from him. He ushered them down the hall and into a small apartment.
“You know where everything is,” Caspian said, waving his hand in the air.
“Thank you,” Judas said. He led Evan down the hall, opened a door, and showed her the bathroom.
“Towels are in the closet there,” Judas said. “Go ahead and take a shower while I rummage for some clothes for you.”
Evan looked at him, her brows knitted together in confusion. “What’s a shower?”
Judas smiled. “Sorry, I forget that you don’t know how this stuff works.”
Judas stepped past her and pushed open a glass door. He pointed to a knob and instructed her on its use, explaining that it was like a bath but without the servants heating water for you. Once Judas left, Evan undressed and showered, letting the hot water soothe her aches and anxiety.
When she was dry, she wrapped the towel around her hair and put on the robe hanging on the back of the door. She could hear Judas and Caspian talking in the other room, their voices strained. As she walked down the hallway towards them, she heard Caspian say, “She still doesn’t know I’m alive?”
“No, and I’m sorry. I didn’t get a moment alone with her.”
Caspian looked up as Evan entered the room. He pointed back down the hall and said, “Clothes are in the bedroom.”
“I’ll show you,” Judas said. He led her into a bedroom at the end of the corridor where a plain green shirt, underclothes, and heavy blue pants waited on the bed.
“Those are called je
ans,” he said. “Humans pretty much live in them.”
She rubbed the material between her fingers. “They don’t feel comfortable.” Judas turned to leave, but Evan said, “Wait, please.”
“Yes?”
“What happens now? Are we safe? Who is that man?”
Judas forced a thin smile. “We’re safe, for now. Caspian is a friend, but it’s not my place to explain who he is.”
“What does that mean?”
Judas sighed. “You’ll find out soon enough, just not from me.”
Evan pursed her lips, but let the subject drop. Instead she asked, “You trust him?”
Judas nodded. “With my life. Caspian has rescued hundreds of Mer, myself included.”
After dressing in the strange human clothes, Evan joined Judas on the couch in main room. She asked, “Where’s Caspian?”
“He went back to the beach,” Judas said.
“To look for Mer?”
“And Sirens.”
Evan sucked air between her teeth. “Do you think they followed us?”
“I don’t know,” he said, turning to face her. “But Caspian said they’ve been coming to shore more often over the last few months.”
“For what?”
He shrugged. “There are a lot of things I don’t understand yet, which is why I need to ask you something.”
Evan felt a shiver run down her spine. “Of course. Ask away.”
“Do you have any clue as to why the Sirens are after you?”
“No,” she said. “None.”
“I need you to really think about this, Evan. The smallest detail could help.”
She took a breath, thinking over the last few days. “I don’t know. I mean, my Thrice Day is coming soon. And there was the whole thing about me marrying Calix.”
Judas raised his brows. “You’re going to marry that beast?”
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “My mother wants me to, but there’s no way I will. Especially not after what I saw...” She trailed off, her mind replaying the last two days. “There was a Siren in the Protean castle.”
Judas looked at her like she was crazy. “Uh, yeah, I know. That’s why we’re here.”
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