Marquis Corbeau whispered to a few servants, checking on last-minute details, then nodded to the footmen to open the doors.
Soft music played as the princesses descended the stairs. Fiora leaned against the railing, trying desperately not to show how much pain she was in as she walked into a candlelit nightmare.
62
Somehow, in the space of an hour, Marquis Corbeau had transformed the already beautiful ballroom into a candlelit dream. The elegant floral arrangements from the gala had been swept away and replaced with cascading bouquets of lilies. A majestic cake and an assortment of matching pastries sat in the corner. Even the musicians had changed clothes to match the new decorations.
Gustave stood with Captain Whist on a white dais etched with golden swirls that matched the gentle curve of the lilies. The captain wore his dress uniform and a hat that was only slightly larger than the standard issue. In spite of the elegant clothing, he looked more somber than usual. Gustave wondered why. Shouldn’t his friend should be happy on such an occasion?
He studied the crowd behind him, searching for answers to the questions that his mind wouldn’t quite let him ask. His grandmother still looked furious. The assembled royal guests looked either excited or confused. A few were missing. Princess Serafina and Elaine were not in the crowd.
Where had they gone?
No matter. What they did was their business.
Except they were here as his guests. What could they possibly be doing that was more important than attending his wedding?
Music began to play, and the candlelight seemed to grow more golden. The doors at the top of the stairs opened, and Gustave forgot everything but Elspeth.
She looked like a dream in the wedding gown that Marquis Corbeau had commissioned. A vision of white and gold that made everything else in his life feel insignificant.
People walked behind her, but Gustave did no more than register that Elspeth wasn’t alone. His bride was all that mattered tonight.
She seemed to float across the floor. She smiled at him, and Gustave’s heart beat faster. By the time she stepped onto the dais and took his hand, he could hardly breathe.
She was perfect. An angel. The thing he had been searching for all his life.
Elspeth’s smile said she felt the same way. At least, Gustave hoped it did. How was it possible that such a perfect woman would love him?
Truly, how was it possible? How had they met? How had Gustave managed to win her heart?
His eyebrows knit together. It was important that he remember. Such things mattered to women. How could he be worthy of Elspeth and make her happy if he couldn’t even remember the first time they met?
Captain Whist began to speak the words of the ceremony. Gustave was distracted for a moment by Elspeth’s attendants adjusting her gown. Collette and Fiora.
Collette’s hair was in disarray, and her gown was wrinkled. What would possibly cause her to come to his wedding in such a state?
Fiora was very pale and refused to look at Gustave. She stared out the window instead, as if she were searching for something.
Gustave followed her gaze, wondering what could be more fascinating than his bride. All he could see through the windows were gardens and the ocean. Elspeth was infinitely more charming than either.
Elspeth cleared her throat, and Gustave quickly looked back to her face. He moved his hands to sign an apology, then remembered that Elspeth didn’t know sign language.
Why had it been his first instinct to sign to her?
“Squawk!”
Gustave flinched as a seagull streaked with black flew into the ballroom. Elspeth shrieked as the bird dove towards her. Gustave stepped in front of his bride to intercept the attack, but the gull swooped up and circled over them instead.
It dropped something, and Princess Fiora let go of Elspeth’s train to catch it. Whatever it was, Fiora looked relieved to see it. She held it in the palm of her hand, studying it for a moment before she slipped it down the front of her dress and picked up Elspeth’s train as if nothing had happened.
The seagull squawked again. The harsh sound cleared Gustave’s head a little, and he blinked at Fiora. Why had she just received a message from a bird?
“Get out of here!”
Marquis Corbeau shooed the bird away from the dais. It flew to the side of the room and landed on the cake. The marquis shrieked with rage and ran after it. The gull hopped off the cake and pecked at an apple tart instead. Finally it grabbed the largest tart on the tray and flew out of the room.
Marquis Corbeau stared mournfully at the ruined cake and pastries. Then he turned and glared at Fiora as if she had somehow caused the chaos.
“Please, may we continue?” Elspeth asked with a soft smile.
Captain Whist looked to Gustave, who nodded. Elspeth hummed softly to herself as the captain asked Gustave to repeat his vows. He did so in a blur, not quite sure what he was saying and hoping he didn’t make a horrible blunder of the ceremony.
And then Elspeth was confessing her love. Promising to cherish him for the rest of their lives. Her voice, though soft, seemed to fill the ballroom. Gustave stared at her in wonder. How had he convinced such perfection to love him? How had he courted her?
No truly, how had he done it? The memories had disappeared in a golden haze. He only knew that somehow he had. The evidence in front of him was overwhelming.
He would ask Elspeth later and hope she wasn’t offended by the question. Maybe the kraken hitting him on the head had made him forget.
That seemed as likely as anything.
“I now pronounce you man and wife, king and queen of Montaigne. May your reign be long and prosperous.”
Why didn’t Captain Whist sound more excited about this announcement? It was good news, wasn’t it? Gustave was fully king now. Montaigne could function as it should.
And they had the perfect queen.
“Perhaps we should skip the reception,” Elspeth said. “That seagull made quite a mess of it.”
It was true. One bird had succeeded in ruining Marquis Corbeau’s perfectly prepared banquet. Gustave laughed.
“Yes, perhaps we should.”
“Gustave, you need to-”
His grandmother was saying something, but Gustave had eyes only for Elspeth. If she wanted to skip the reception and go straight to their honeymoon, he had no objections.
“My sister will come with us to serve as my lady-in-waiting,” Elspeth said.
Gustave looked to Princess Fiora, who still refused to meet his gaze. It was a little strange to bring your sister-in-law along on your honeymoon, but who was he to refuse Elspeth anything?
“Whatever you like. Lead the way to your ship, my bride.”
63
The crowd of guests chased after Gustave and Elspeth as they left the ballroom. They threw rose petals that floated in the sea breeze and scented the air.
Fiora gritted her teeth and quickened her pace to keep up with the procession. If her pain got much worse, turning to sea foam would be a mercy.
They walked through the city until they reached the docks. Sailors and merchants stared at them as they passed. The gala guests’ bright clothes and jewels glittered in the torchlight.
“The king has found a bride!” Marquis Corbeau shouted. “Long live the queen!”
After a few confused moments, the sailors nearest him took up the cheer. It spread through the docks and into the town.
“Long live the queen!”
Their voices filled the night and drowned out the sound of the sea. Fiora breathed deeply, taking in the salt-scented air. She searched the shoreline for signs of the mermaids. Spot had brought a shell from Althea. Hopefully that meant her aunt had found a way to break the enchantment.
But the mermaids couldn’t approach her when the docks were overflowing with wedding guests and sailors. Fiora could either run down the shore to search for them or board Elspeth’s ship.
The shore was likely to stay crowded as everyon
e watched the royal couple sail away. And Fiora wasn’t sure she could make it to the usual meeting place before her feet gave out entirely. So she took a sailor’s hand and let him help her up the gangplank. Then she leaned against the railing and studied the crowd while the sailors prepared to depart.
Dowager Queen Bernadine and Princess Collette were having a frantic discussion with Marchioness Rouge and Elaine. Elaine kept gesturing to the Sea Frog, where Princess Serafina and her crew were also preparing to set sail.
Prince Leonardo and Princess Lenora stood beside Prince Edric and Lady Annabelle. They seemed surprised by this turn of events, but not as shocked as Gustave’s family.
The rest of the guests were cheerful. They had come for a gala and witnessed a royal wedding. What luck!
Fiora sighed and turned her attention to the water. She watched the dark waves lap against the ship and hoped she wasn’t making a huge mistake in sailing away with Elspeth and Gustave. What if the mermaids were waiting for her down the coast, and she missed them?
She checked her ring. The blasted pearl still shone with magic, but the golden streak across it had grown wider.
Fiora looked at the night sky filled with glittering stars. How much longer did she have until sunrise?
“You must be tired,” Elspeth said. “Let me show you to your room?”
Fiora shrugged. The mermaids wouldn’t be able to contact her until the ship was further away from the harbor. Maybe not until everyone else was asleep. So she limped behind Elspeth as her sister led her to a small cabin above the deck.
“Gustave and I are staying in the captain’s cabin across the ship. If you need anything, just ask one of the crew members. We won’t want anyone disturbing us tonight.”
Elspeth winked, and Fiora felt like she might throw up. She suddenly wished she had turned down Elspeth’s offer and stayed in Montaigne. Collette and Bernadine were angry at her deception, but surely they would help if they knew her situation.
At the least they would arrange for someone to help Fiora get to the beach to say goodbye to her family.
“We’ll reach my friend’s house sometime tomorrow,” Elspeth said. “The one who can help you.”
Tomorrow would be too late.
The ship lurched as it moved away from the dock. Fiora tried to sign to Elspeth that she had changed her mind, but her sister had already left and closed the door behind her. Fiora limped across the room and pushed on the handle.
It was locked.
She pounded on the door, but no one paid any attention to the noise. Fiora watched through a knot in the wood as the crew lowered the sails and the ship floated out of the harbor.
Blast it all. She was trapped.
Fiora frowned and pulled Althea’s shell from her dress. She limped over to a porthole and studied the shell’s carvings in the moonlight. The shell didn’t contain any special messages. Just Althea’s signature.
What had her aunt found? Had she summoned Fiora to offer her a cure?
Or to say goodbye?
Fiora slumped into a chair and watched the moonlight glisten on the waves. How had everything gone so very wrong?
She would give anything to be a mermaid again. She might not fit in under the sea, but at least merfolk were honest. They didn’t act like they loved her then toss her aside like garbage.
However complicated their love was, at least it was real.
Tears rolled down Fiora’s cheeks. It was dark now. The sun would rise soon, and she was spending her last few hours of life locked in this room. Her tears felt pathetic, but what else could she do?
“Crying won’t do any good.”
Fiora gasped and leaned her head out the window. Althea, Kathelin, and Zoe floated in the water beneath her.
“You found me!”
Zoe smiled.
“Of course we did! We wouldn’t abandon our sister.”
“Did you win the love of a human man?” Althea asked.
“Someone stole the shell. I won’t be able to transform unless you have the song memorized.”
Althea scowled.
“Leander and Madame Isla know the song by heart, but Madame Isla is back in the summer city and Leander has disappeared. Still, if someone loves you, we will have time to fetch Madame Isla.”
“I didn’t win his love. At least, I don’t think so.”
Fiora pulled off her pearl ring and tossed it down to her aunt. The mermaid studied it with a troubled expression before throwing it back to Fiora.
“I don’t know what that means. But if your voice has not returned, I’m afraid you didn’t win his love.”
Fiora tried to sing but made no sound. Her scowl deepened. So much for her aunts having answers.
“I think it means I was a fool to think anyone would want me.”
“There is still time before sunset,” Zoe said. “Perhaps you can still win his heart.”
“But Gustave married another tonight. My human sister Elspeth.”
Zoe gasped, and Althea’s face grew grim. She shared a look with Kathelin.
“We’ll have to do it, then?” Kathelin said.
“He’s left us no choice. Zoe, stay with Fiora while Kathelin and I complete the enchantment.”
The two sisters dove beneath the waves. Fiora turned to her cousin.
“So you have found a way to heal me?”
Zoe nodded, but didn’t look happy about it. Fiora’s heartbeat quickened.
“Zoe, what’s wrong?”
The serious expression looked out of place on Zoe’s normally cheerful face. The young mermaid shook her head and forced a smile.
“They found a way to save you, Fiora. That’s all that matters.”
Somehow, Fiora doubted it was that simple.
It was never that simple.
A soft duet rippled through the waves as Kathelin and Althea resurfaced. They pulled strands of silver from the air as they sang, weaving them into a long, thin shape. The water glowed white around them as something luminescent rose from the ocean floor. The light grew brighter and combined with the silver until the strands united to form a gleaming pearl dagger.
It hovered in the air for a moment, then fell into the ocean with a splash.
Althea grabbed it before it sank and cut off her hair in one swift motion. The dagger’s light darkened as it absorbed the hair into a liquid that swirled around the surface.
Before Fiora could process what had happened, Kathelin took the dagger and did the same.
Then Zoe cut her hair as well.
“I feel naked,” Zoe whispered.
She looked naked without her long hair wrapped around her like a cloak. The strands reached just past her chin now and waved wildly in the wind.
“What are you doing?” Fiora signed.
“This is forbidden magic, Fiora. It requires that the enchanters use part of themselves to create it.”
Fiora stared at her mermaid family. They had sacrificed their hair to save her. They had created something forbidden to protect her.
And their faces said that the magic didn’t stop there.
Althea held the dagger towards Fiora with grim resolve.
“Fiora, this will allow you to break the curse and return to the sea as a mermaid. It will remove the pain from your feet and restore your voice.”
Fiora reached for the knife, but the porthole was too high. Althea hummed, creating a small geyser of glowing white water that carried the dagger to Fiora’s hand.
She closed her fingers around it. The knife felt cold to the touch and sent a shiver down her spine.
The pain in her feet did not go away. She gave Althea a questioning look, and her aunt met her gaze with an expression as cold as moonlight. Zoe and Kathelin looked down at the water.
“The pearl ring was designed to keep you human by allowing a human to share his soul with you,” Althea said. “Nyssa was convinced the human man loved her and would love her forever. But she was wrong. Human hearts are fickle and untrustworthy. We ca
nnot trust the ring to save you.”
Fiora nodded. Her father had taught her that, and Gustave had confirmed it.
But that fact alone did not explain her aunt’s severe expression.
“You must have a human life to save yourself, Fiora. If he is not willing to give it, then you must take it.”
Fiora flinched. Surely she didn’t mean-
But Althea nodded slowly.
“The human man proved unworthy of your love and unwilling to share his life, but this dagger will let you take it. You must stab King Gustave with the dagger and kill him. It will absorb his life and transfer it to you. You can then use that magic to save yourself and return to the sea.”
Fiora raised her hands to say something, but they were shaking too badly to sign.
Besides, what was there to say?
“I know this is hard,” Althea said. “But the human betrayed you and married another. I will not lose another sister to a human’s infidelity. King Fergal took Nyssa away from us. I will not let King Gustave take you.”
Tears glittered in Althea’s eyes. She hummed softly, and a kraken tentacle pushed her out of the water and up to the porthole. Fiora reached down and clasped her aunt’s hand. The mermaid squeezed tightly as if she might never let go.
“We love you, Fiora,” Kathelin said.
“We will do anything for you,” Zoe added fiercely.
Even forbidden magic. Even murder.
Fiora swallowed.
“You must use the dagger by dawn,” Althea said. “If you don’t, you will turn into sea foam and be lost to us forever.”
Fiora set the dagger on a nearby chair. It gleamed dangerously in the moonlight.
“I’m locked in this room.”
Kathelin sang quietly. A stream of water climbed the ship and crawled across the floor. It crept up the door and filled the lock. Something clicked, and the door opened slightly.
“Wait until everyone has gone to bed,” Kathelin said. “Then we will create a diversion to distract anyone who is still awake.”
“They might stay up late,” Zoe said. “They are celebrating a marriage, after all.”
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