“Not much,” Francois admitted. “But I’m happy to answer your questions as best I can.”
Althea took that as an invitation to launch into a series of rapid questions in sign language. King Francois answered her in sign language, taking his time as he tried to remember details.
Across the table, Madame Isla signed with Collette and Bernadine, asking them about the finer points of using silverware. Zoe tossed her golden ball into the air, capturing the conversations so that Queen Gallerus could see them later.
Leonardo and Lenora chatted with Elaine, describing their library and planning the details of her visit. Lady Annabelle fluttered her eyelashes at Leonardo, trying and failing to catch his notice.
Kathelin kept her attention on Fiora and Gustave. She winked when she noticed Fiora’s questioning gaze. The mermaid looked even happier than usual. Fiora smiled at her aunt and twisted the pearl ring around her finger.
Gustave bent over and kissed her cheek, and for the first time in her life, Fiora felt that she belonged. She had two families now, and both loved her. Gustave loved her enough to step away from his country and join her in the strange place she occupied between sea and land. They would make their own way together.
It seemed that even when you were part of two worlds, both could feel like home.
Epilogue
“Gustave, she won’t be happy to see me.”
Fiora signed so the servant leading them wouldn’t overhear. Walking through the halls of the Aeonian castle brought back unpleasant memories of the Princess Test. Her desperate attempts to win Alaric and get Lina disqualified.
Her humiliation when she had won and still not been chosen.
Fiora took a deep breath and gritted her teeth. She regretted everything about that time, but the experience had led her to Gustave. She didn’t regret that.
And if Lina had answers, then Fiora needed to face her.
“I’m sure it will be fine.”
“What will we do if they kick us out?”
Gustave raised an eyebrow.
“What exactly happened between you and Lina at the Princess Test?”
The servant looked back at them. Fiora glared and gestured for him to keep walking.
She didn’t exactly expect them to kick her out. She wouldn’t let them when so much hung in the balance.
But she wouldn’t be surprised if they tried.
The servant led them to a door that Fiora recognized as the way to the throne room. It was closed.
“It seems that Princess Evangelina is already in council. If you’ll wait here, the footman will open the door and fetch you when she is finished.”
Fiora nodded, and the servant hurried away. Gustave waited patiently, leaning against the wall and studying the ceiling.
“I think those tiles were in a different pattern the last time I was here.”
Fiora glanced up at the ceiling, but didn’t comment. She had been too focused on Alaric when she was here to notice the ceiling.
She clasped her hands together. Then unclasped them and paced in front of the door, trying to burn off the nervous energy coursing through her veins.
They shouldn’t keep her waiting.
To be fair, they didn’t know she was waiting.
Or maybe they did. Maybe Lina had decided not to see Fiora. Maybe she meant to send her away just like her father had.
“Fiora, look at me.”
Fiora looked. Gustave’s eyes were as warm and steady as always. He took her hands and smiled.
“It will be fine.”
He sounded so sure that she almost believed him. Fiora studied his face, basking in the affection in his expression. She fought the urge to glance at her pearl ring to confirm that he still loved her. She didn’t need magical confirmation of Gustave’s feelings now.
Muffled voices on the other side of the door interrupted the moment. Fiora stared at the doorknob, suddenly very tempted to eavesdrop. Gustave met her gaze, and Fiora knew he was having similar thoughts.
He was just too polite to do anything about them.
“Keep watch.”
Gustave stepped back so he could watch the hallway for anyone coming their way. Fiora leaned her ear against the door.
“I just want to make sure you understand the serious nature of this mission,” Prince Alaric said. “We have heard reports of dark magic in Eldria, but Prince Darian has not answered any of my letters regarding the matter. I’m sending you to investigate, but there will be serious consequences if you’re discovered.”
Fiora raised an eyebrow and signed a translation for Gustave. He looked intrigued. Apparently they weren’t the only ones to notice something strange happening in Eldria.
“Investigate? We’re simply sneaking away to see the mountain scenery and spend some time together.”
That was Princess Carina, and Fiora could practically hear the smirk in her voice.
But who was going with her?
“Honestly, brother. You don’t think we can handle a simple intelligence-gathering mission to a neighboring kingdom? You’re talking to Santelle’s greatest spy and the man who is her equal in cleverness.”
Apparently Prince Stefan, the second oldest prince, had been chosen as backup on the mission.
Interesting. He had seemed quite useless at the Princess Test. As had Carina.
Fiora realized Gustave was waiting and quickly summarized the conversation for him. She kept her ear pressed against the door so she didn’t miss any additional comments.
“Carina and Stefan are in there?”
Now Gustave was the one who looked nervous. He eyed the hallway as if he was considering making a run for it.
Fiora was too busy laughing at his expression to notice the approaching footsteps on the other side of the door. It opened, and Fiora fell inside, sprawling onto Queen Marta. The queen caught her and helped her regain her balance.
“Oh! Hello, dear.”
Fiora smoothed her dress and stepped back. The Aeonian queen looked just as Fiora remembered from the Princess Test. Short and stout with frizzy brown hair and a friendly face. More goat herder than queen, even after years on the throne.
“Queen Marta, please forgive us,” Gustave said. “We were told to wait here until your council finished.”
He bowed low. Marta smiled at him.
“Oh, hello, Your Majesty. I’m sorry you were kept waiting. We didn’t receive word that you were planning to visit.”
“Well, we didn’t exactly plan it,” Gustave said.
He paused, seeming unsure how to continue.
“There was a kraken attack in Montaigne, and some unusual magic was used,” Fiora said. “We thought Lina might be able to help us understand it.”
“Oh. Well, in that case, you’d better go in at once.”
Queen Marta gestured towards the hallway that led to the throne room.
“Oh, we can wait until she’s done speaking with Stefan and Carina,” Gustave said. “We wouldn’t want to disturb them.”
Marta raised an eyebrow, as if to remind him that she had just caught Fiora eavesdropping on that very same council.
“Thank you,” Fiora said.
She hurried down the hallway, leaving Gustave and Queen Marta behind to sort through the necessary formalities. She wanted to see whatever was happening in the throne room for herself.
“Just be careful,” Lina said. “You never know-”
Fiora had intended to hide in the shadows and eavesdrop, but the throne room’s ceiling had disappeared, leaving the room more brightly lit than she expected. Sunlight glinted off her red hair as she rounded the corner. Lina scowled.
“What are you doing here?”
Fiora wasn’t quite sure how to answer that question, so she glared instead, her shoulders tense and her head held high.
Lina glared back. The shadow warrior wore an elegant black dress and a headband covered with a multitude of jewels. Her green eyes narrowed with suspicion at Fiora.
P
rince Alaric’s eyes were wide with alarm. He wore a military uniform, which was much less stylish than anything he had worn at the Princess Test, but his long blond hair was still curled and hung loose down his shoulders.
Fiora smirked a little. Thank goodness he hadn’t chosen her as his bride. He was handsome in his way, but she much preferred Gustave.
Prince Stefan looked just as Fiora remembered. Spiky brown hair and a mischievous expression that promised trouble. Princess Carina stood beside him with her hand resting on his shoulder. Her curly blond hair hung loose down her back, and she wore the most ridiculous frilly pink gown Fiora had ever seen.
Carina studied Fiora for a moment, then curtsied and pulled Stefan towards the door.
“We’ll just be going then,” she said.
“Yes, I’m sure you all have a lot to talk about!” Stefan said.
He and Carina sprinted out of the room while Prince Alaric sputtered something about giving them further instructions.
“They weren’t listening anyway,” Lina said. “Warnings to be careful are wasted on those two.”
She glared at Fiora again and put her hand possessively on Alaric’s shoulder.
“I’m here for you, not him,” Fiora said.
Lina and Alaric gaped at her, and Fiora wished she hadn’t said anything at all. In some ways, not having a voice had been rather convenient.
She felt a hand rest supportively against her back and didn’t need to look to know that Gustave had joined her. She leaned against him, wishing that they were back in Montaigne and didn’t have to deal with Lina and magic and everything else in the world.
“King Gustave? This is a pleasant surprise.”
Prince Alaric sounded far more surprised than pleased. Lina relaxed a little.
“It’s good to see you again, King Gustave.”
“It’s just Gustave now, Your Majesty.”
“Oh?”
Both Lina and Alaric looked intrigued.
“A lot has happened,” Fiora said.
Her voice lilted, as it always did when her emotions ran away with her. Gustave wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer.
Lina raised an eyebrow.
“Apparently it has. Should we clear our schedule for the day, Alaric? I have a feeling this will take a while.”
Alaric nodded. Lina fixed her gaze on Fiora, looking more curious than hostile now. Fiora sighed. It was going to be a long day.
“It will be fine,” Gustave signed. “We’ll figure this out together.”
Fiora looked into his calm gray eyes, and suddenly, she believed him. As long as they were together, they could face anything.
She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him. Gustave kissed her back, ignoring the fact that this was definitely not a proper place for such things.
“Maybe I should learn sign language,” Prince Alaric said thoughtfully.
Lina laughed and kissed her husband on the cheek. He pulled her close, and for a moment, both couples forgot their troubles.
Free Short Stories
Curious about Nyssa and Fergal's first meeting? Want to see why Fiora was so upset after her time with Alaric? Join my monthly newsletter to receive two free short stories: The Mermaid’s Flirtation and The Mermaid and the King.
You’ll also receive Gemstones and Gremlins (a prequel to Princess of Shadows), new release announcements, behind the scenes exclusives, and free bonus content not available anywhere else.
Sign up here to get your free books!
Author’s Note
Thank you for reading Princess of Mermaids. If you enjoyed this book and would like more Fairy Tale Adventures, leave me a review to let me know!
If you haven’t read the first two books in the series, check them out to see how everything connects.
Travel back to the Princess Test in Princess of Shadows to see exactly what happened when Fiora tried to win Alaric’s heart.
Or see why Gustave was so reluctant to spend more time with Stefan and Carina. He has quite the misadventure in Princess of Secrets!
About the Author
A.G. Marshall loves fairy tales and has been writing stories since she could hold a pencil. She is a professional pianist and perfected her storytelling by writing college papers about music (which is more similar to magic than you might think).
Want more stories? Find deleted scenes, blog posts, coloring pages, and writing playlists at my website! Sign up for my newsletter while you’re there to get an exclusive short story for free!
www.AngelaGMarshall.com
[email protected]
Acknowledgments
I know this is the part most readers skip, but I can’t go on without saying thank you to some people who helped make this book possible.
Writing is a solitary pursuit, but living isn’t. I have to thank so many people for encouraging me through this book. My mom was always ready to talk writing and stories. She read several extremely rough drafts and assured me that there were good moments there. The rest of my family and friends also provided incredible support and encouragement.
My beta reader team gave great feedback and helped me keep everything consistent with the past few books. A huge thanks to Erika Everest for spotting several potential problems and helping me solve them! My mom and Aunt Cindy provided great insight and encouragement as always.
Thanks to Lucy Tempest for providing accountability through writing sprints and kraken memes. Between dancing Squidward GIFs and white shoes, we made it through.
Thanks to Davis for listening to endless rants about mermaids and the logistics of magic and always telling me I could do it when I started to doubt if I could.
Thanks to Kristin Stecklein for her encouragement and helping me figure out the logistics of mermaid cuisine and cooking underwater.
Thanks to Olivia Ellis for proofreading and catching those last few typos.
Thanks to Alex Taussig for her invaluable health coaching and encouragement. She helped me push myself past my limitations and reach the next level.
Thanks to Jakob Tanner for providing great accountability and encouragement.
And thank you to the design team at Moor Books for the beautiful covers for this series!
I wrote a portion of this novel at the 20Books Edinburgh conference, and I can’t say thank you enough to the organizers for putting so much of their time into making that event happen. Writing in a Scottish castle helped me channel my inner Fiora and power through the rough draft. And meeting all the wonderful writers there gave me inspiration to keep writing long after I left Scotland.
Lastly, thank you to all the wonderful readers who waited patiently for this book and were so wonderful and encouraging throughout the process. You all make this possible.
Princess of Mermaids Page 41