Miss Molina smiles as she says, “Then you’d better be on your way. The second bell is going to ring soon.”

I nod and start around her, heading for the door. I’m two steps onto the sidewalk when I turn back.

“Can I ask you something?”

She smiles and joins me on the sidewalk. “Of course.”

“So, you remember how I asked you about getting people involved in an organization?” I ask, twisting the kelpaper of Daddy’s scroll in my hands.

Miss Molina nods.

“Well, what if some of the people involved want to do things a different way?” I ask, trying to word this in the most generic, there’s-nothing-weird-about-me, I’m-not-a-mermaid way possible. “What if they want to do something I think is wrong? Or illegal?”

“That sounds very dangerous, Lily,” she says, her tone and her face equally serious. “Maybe those people should not be involved in your organization.”

Like that’s an option.

“What if they have to be?” I ask. “How do you convince people that what they’re doing is wrong?”

“You could go to the police,” she suggests.

I bite my lips so I don’t laugh. There is no such thing as police in the mer world, only royal guards and the judgment of kings and queens. And telling human police is so not an option.

“What if I can’t?” I ask, and from the confused and concerned look on her face, I can tell she’s starting to worry about me. Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe I’m worrying about nothing and Daddy’s note says there’s no truth to Aurita’s claim. “I’ll figure it out,” I say, turning to leave, eager to get inside and read the message. “Thanks anyway.”

“Why are they doing it?” she asks. When I turn back around, she adds, “Do they believe they are doing these things for the right reasons?”

I think about it for a few seconds and then sigh. “Yes, they do.”

“You know, when I was in school, I was involved in a group dedicated to saving the Everglades from tourism and development.” She gives me a small smile. “Some of the other members thought we needed to achieve our ends by any means necessary. Some of them went so far as burning a small cruise boat that took tourists through the swamp.”

“Oh no,” I gasp, covering my mouth with my hand. “Was anyone hurt?”

“Fortunately not,” she says. “But those involved were arrested, and our organization fell apart in the face of the scandal.”

“That’s terrible.”

“The saddest thing was,” she says, “they thought they were doing the right thing. Or at least for the right reasons. Their lives, as well as the life of the tour operator and the relations between the people who make a living from the swamp and the environmentalists who want to preserve it, were irreparably damaged.”

This is exactly what I’m afraid of happening in my world. If there are merfolk determined to sabotage human operations in the seas, then that will affect both worlds in a bad way.

“To this day,” Miss Molina continues, “I regret not doing something to stop them. If you are facing a similar situation, my advice is to find another way for your friends to achieve their end goals. You can’t stop them head-on—I tried that. You need to find an alternative solution.”

That’s what I’m trying to do. I’m trying to get the mer kingdoms to work together instead of taking on these environmental challenges on their own, mer against human.

I guess it’s good to know that I’m doing the right thing. I’m not even sure that anything needs to be done. I might just be overreacting, wanting to believe Aurita because I don’t want to be wrong. I hope that’s the case, because the idea of merfolk fighting humans leaves my stomach in knots.

The bell rings and I’m going to be tardy. Again. At least my art teacher, Mrs. Ferraro, isn’t really strict about that.

“Thanks, Miss Molina,” I say, backing away to the door. “That helps a lot.”

“You’re welcome,” she calls out as I run inside.

My heart pounds as I unroll the scroll, eager to see what Daddy found out.

FROM THE DESK OF
KING WHELK OF THALASSINIA

After discussing the matter with King Zostero, I believe I was correct. Princess Aurita fabricated the tale and there are no such sabotage plans in place.

Sorry.

Daddy

I reread the words three times. This can’t be right. I was so certain that Aurita was telling the truth. So certain.

But Daddy wouldn’t lie—he has no reason to—and I trust his judgment. If he says she was making it up, then she must have been making it up.

I crumple the kelpaper in my fist.

Just because I accept his answer doesn’t mean I like it. I don’t like being wrong, and I don’t like the idea that Aurita totally played me.

As I hurry to my locker, I tell myself I was wrong about Aurita. Everything is going to be fine, and next weekend I’ll do my next round of royal visits to get support for my plan.

Everything is going to work out.

* * *

“I thought your father said there was nothing to the sabotage rumors,” Quince says as he stomps into my kitchen a few mornings later. His biker boots clomp across the floor, rattling my breakfast dishes.

He slams the morning paper down on the table and says, “Explain this.”

Prithi meows at the noise intrusion and dashes from the room.