The disgusted look on his face is quickly followed by faster arm strokes and even some kicking. I smile as he catches up to me, and even though I keep pace evenly with him as we cross the city—and even though I know I could beat him with one full-strength kick—I also know that when we get to the palace, he’s going to just beat me by a blade of seagrass.

A few minutes later my prediction proves true. It’s uncanny how I know these things.

Chapter 13

After watching Quince gorge himself on pretty much everything the palace kitchen has to offer—even the sushi—I ask Margarite to escort him to the starfish room. He needs a good night’s sleep after his two-day swim. He might need a good week’s sleep to recover from that.

But knowing that he’s catching up on his rest relaxes me as I swim toward Daddy’s office. I never knew I could care about someone so much without the benefit of a bond to magnify our emotions. I can only imagine how strong our connection would be if we hadn’t severed.

“Knock, knock,” I call out as I swim past the guards stationed at Daddy’s door. It’s late, but I knew he would still be working. Still waiting to hear my report about my royal visits this weekend.

He’s not going to like what he hears.

“Lily,” he says, his handsome face spreading into a warm smile. “I had a feeling you would be by again.”

“Hello, Princess Waterlily.”

I cringe at the sound of Calliope’s voice. It’s nothing personal—her voice isn’t high-pitched or anything—but her presence usually comes with bad news of some sort. Hopefully this visit is just about checking in on Quince’s first test.

“Calliope,” I say, forcing a smile. “How are you tonight?”

“Wonderful,” she replies. “King Whelk was just filling me in on the details of Quince’s adventure. Sounds like it was a bit of a challenge.”

“You could say that.” I throw Daddy an irritated look. “You could also say he almost didn’t make it.”

Calliope’s face falls. “I know it was difficult, but he did pull through in the end.”

“I know,” I say by way of apology. “I’m just really exhausted. Is there anything you need from me right now?”

“No, I don’t think so.” Calliope glances at Daddy, who shakes his head. She turns back to me with a sunny smile. “I think I have everything.”

She gathers up her stuff and swims for the door.

“Thanks, Calliope,” I say.

“Anytime,” she says cheerfully.

When she’s gone, I float into one of the chairs facing his desk.

“You look exhausted, daughter,” he says, his voice soft with concern.

“I am,” I admit, allowing my eyes to drift shut for a moment. “It’s been a long weekend in a lot of ways.”

“Yes,” Daddy says, setting aside the papers on his desk, “and I want to hear all about your travels, but first, how is Quince?”

“Recovering,” I answer, forcing my eyes open. I need to be alert and awake for this discussion. “He’ll be fine. But I can’t believe he had to do that, Daddy. How could you ask him to do something so dangerous?”

His face falls serious. “If I could have found a way around the test, I would have,” he insists. “The law is very specific.”

“He could have died,” I say. “Maybe he wouldn’t have drowned, not since you restored his aqua respire, but any number of things might have happened to him between here and Seaview.”

“I know.” His gentle eyes soften in what looks like genuine hurt. “And I know the pain that would have caused you, but there was no other way.”

I shake my head. I’ve lived in the mer world all my life—even when I’m on land, I’m still part of this world—but I’m starting to realize there are things I will never understand. The ancient laws are among them.

I don’t want to dwell on my anger over something that is done. Quince is safe. I can argue about ancient laws in modern times on another day. Tonight we have bigger problems to address. “We need to talk about my weekend.”

“Yes,” Daddy says. “Tell me about your visits. Were they successful?”

I give him a brief recap of my visits to Trigonum and Antillenes, about the results of my surveys and the agreement each ruler made to be part of a cooperative commission.

“But I learned something important in Desfleurelle,” I say. “As I left the kingdom, I was stopped by Princess Aurita, who told me something terrible.”

Daddy frowns. “What?”

“She said King Zostero is planning to sabotage offshore oil drilling rigs in his kingdom.” I close my eyes at the thought of the potential consequences, the potential losses. “Those rigs are dangerous. If they’re sabotaged—”

“Lily . . .” Daddy trails off, his voice sounding almost sympathetic. “Princess Aurita has a developed a reputation for dramatic stunts. She has become the mergirl who cried shark, I’m afraid.”

“What do you mean?” I ask. “You think she’s lying?”

“Last year, she called a council of kings and queens and falsely claimed an infestation of mer-hungry sharks was devouring her kingdom.” Daddy shakes his head. “King Zostero revoked many of her royal privileges after that.”

I picture the scared girl who stopped me on my way out of the kingdom. I may not always be the best judge of character—I thought I hated Quince for a long time—but nothing about Aurita’s demeanor said she was lying or making things up.