The Kraken’s Queen (Grym Hollow #3)

16. Allarick

Chapter 16

Allarick

M y meeting room is busy by the time Erin and I make it back to the palace. I had wanted to give Erin a tour of her new home, but it will have to wait now. Delmare looked forlorn while breaking the news earlier. His mood matches the atmosphere of the room. It’s tense with a foreboding cloud hanging over us.

A few of my personal guards are here, along with the merperson and siren advisors. There’s another figure I don’t see as often, sitting at the round, silver table. Nori catches my eye and nods in my direction.

“My sister let you free?” I tease the merman, one of my sister’s crewmembers. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen him with a tail and gills; he usually prefers two legs and the surface. Still, he agrees to be a liaison between my sister and me. How Delmare got him here on such short notice, I’ll never know. The old kraken is just damn good at his job, despite my sister's reservations about him .

“She has a heart, occasionally,” Nori muses.

Doors close behind us as soon as Erin and I swim in. Two jeweled chairs sit together on one side of the table. I lead Erin over to her seat, but she just looks at it and then back at me, confused.

“Uhm…how do I sit?” she whispers, angling her body away from the others in the room. Her cheeks tint red with embarrassment.

I mentally scold myself for not realizing she’s new to this world and doesn’t understand how it works in comparison to her own. “I’ll guide you.” I pull out her chair and move her toward it. My tentacle glides underneath the chair and up to grab Erin. I pull her down, securing her to the chair with my limbs so her body won’t try to float. In time, she’ll learn to sit and move her body in the water.

“Thank you,” she mouths once I take my spot next to her.

Curious expressions meet my gaze before darting over to Erin. She happens to be the most interesting person at the table right now. It has been decades since the last human set foot in the palace. The significance of this moment isn’t lost on me. Humans have always been the strength and magic for their mates. They can start and end wars.

Erin doesn’t know she’s the most powerful person at this table. She’ll see in time.

“Before we get started, I would like to introduce everyone to my betrothed, your future queen, Erin.”

Erin doesn’t wilt under their scrutiny like one would expect. She smiles and addresses everyone in the room, “ It’s nice to meet you all.” Her words are greeted with pleasantries and polite curiosity. Before they can ask any question that will take away from why we’re here, I start the meeting.

“What urgent matters gather us here today? I can assume it has to do with the claims of mesmerizing singing in the deep ocean and more disappearances?” From the corner of my eye, I notice Erin furrow her brow.

“You’d be correct, my king,” the mermaid—Kiera—says. “We have a total of four mermaid disappearances. All the family's stories are the same. Their loved ones were acting unusual, nervous even, and by the end of the day, they were gone.”

“Similar to us,” Bastian, the siren advisor, says. They frown and tap their webbed fingers on the table. “More reports of an unfamiliar song. Sirens aren’t—or rather, shouldn’t be—affected by songs, but three of my sirens have disappeared without a trace.”

“That goes along with what we’ve been hearing above,” Nori interjects. “We’re picking up sound in the North Sea, about two hundred miles from shore.”

“You’ve heard the song?” Bastian leans forward, their silver hair falling over their shoulder. As a nervous habit, they start to twist it.

“Aye, but it was faint above the sea. Still, to a less trained ear, it would have been disastrous. Nothing some cotton in the ear can’t fix, but we have to consider the possibility of the songs growing louder and more powerful,” Nori says.

“Do we know who is making this sound?” Kiera asks the group, and all eyes fall on me .

“A prisoner, right before we executed him, mentioned the awakening of creatures known as the Leviathan,” I say slowly, and I’m promptly interrupted.

“Leviathan? It can’t be! They are locked away in their sea cave and have been for decades, if not centuries!” Kiera argues.

“So were the Nephilim,” Bastian reminds the mermaid. “And they managed to get out. You don’t think their cousins are capable of the same thing? They could be working with the Nephilim.”

“One rules the sea while the other rules the land,” Nori says grimly. “It was assumed by many sea people that the current war raging above the surface would not entirely affect us. That is no longer the case.”

In truth, it never was the case. Danger on the land would eventually trickle down to the seas, but I didn’t expect it to be this way. Foolish of me to think otherwise, but now we have a problem on our hands, and I have no solutions. Yet.

“What course of action are we to take?” Bastian asks the group. They stiffen in their seats. “We have to be proactive.”

Kiera nods. “I agree, we should tell our people?—”

“No,” I interject. “Not yet. We can’t cause mass hysteria.”

“So we leave the people clueless? All while their loved ones go missing?” Kiera sneers. “My king, this isn’t the way.”

“I can see what the king is getting at. We don’t know enough to answer all the questions that will undoubtedly come,” Nori says .

The table erupts in chaos. Bastian and Kiera speak in raised voices to Nori and Delmare. No one has the right answer. Is there a right answer? Not when it comes to war. There are better outcomes, but which one would provide the best outcome to my people? Telling them and potentially risking mass hysteria or leaving them in the dark for now?

The cacophony of voices and my own inner thoughts nearly make me miss the gentle hand on my arm. When I turn, Erin is looking up at me. She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, apprehension on her face as she averts her eyes.

“I’m not sure if my opinion matters here…”

Before she can go on, I gently place my finger under her chin to dip her head back. There’s terror in her eyes, and that breaks my damn heart. She doesn’t need to fear me or anyone at this table. “Your opinion is incredibly important to me. You are free to speak your mind. I value any input you are willing to give.”

Under my touch, Erin softens. The rest of the table is still arguing, paying us little mind. Good. “What do you think, sweet girl? What would be best for our people?”

“Well,” Erin starts. She’s gathering her courage, so I wait patiently until she’s ready. I would wait a lifetime if she needed. After a few seconds, though, she continues, “As someone who has gone through deeply troubling and terrifying experiences, the worst part of it all was the unknown. Never knowing what would happen day to day and whether I’d live through the week. I understand this situation is very different, but if it were me…I would want to know, so I can prepare. I feel like not telling your—ou r—people will create more panic and possibly diminish their trust in you down the road.”

Erin has a unique perspective, one I don’t have because I’ve never been through what she had to endure. She knows pain, suffering, and fear. I know a life of politics, war, and solitude. I’m not so far gone that I can’t consider the wise words of my future queen.

I smile at her, hoping it conveys not only my thankfulness for her words, but the pride I feel, knowing it’s hard to speak her mind freely when placed in new situations. “Thank you, Erin.”

I tear my gaze away from Erin’s shy smile and back to the other members at my table. When I clear my throat, they cease conversation and swivel their attention back to me. “Erin and I have spoken. She’s shown me it will be in our best interest to stress caution to our people. Bastian, Kiera”—I angle my body toward the two—“to the best of your ability, inform the merpeople and sirens about the potential dangers. I will have more guards patrolling the lands. Keep people informed to keep them safe.

“Nori, tell my sister about what we discussed today. Report back on what you find above shore. Those are your orders, and if there are no more questions, you are free to go.”

Nori is the first to leave, bowing to both Erin and me before making his way out. Kiera leaves next, but Bastian lingers behind. “Thank you,” they say once everyone else has left. It takes me a moment to realize they aren’t speaking to me.

Erin seems shocked by the merperson’s words and even more so that they are directed toward her. “Oh, uhm, you're welcome.”

“It will be a pleasure to serve under you, my queen.” With that, Bastian turns toward the door and swims out.

“You survived your first meeting.” I grin once they leave. “I didn’t fare as well as you for my first meeting.”

“You didn’t? I find that hard to believe,” she says, and I shrug.

“I wasn’t always this benevolent and confident ruler.”

Erin rolls her eyes, and the corners of her lips twitch up, barely concealing her smile. “Oh, wise ruler, however did your people deal without you?”

“We call those the Dark Ages.”

She laughs, a genuine, real laugh. I’ve never seen anyone or anything more beautiful than her at this moment. I want to capture this image and save it to look back on forever.

“How are you doing?” I ask after a moment. My question sobers her up quickly.

“This was a lot to take in all at once. I’m not really sure what to think other than Tetria is more beautiful than history books made it out to be,” she says.

“I want to show you more of it.” In truth, I want to show her everything. Want to see her reaction. What she likes. What she would want changed.

“And I want to see all of it, but I’m really tired. I need a break. I’m not sure I can take in anything more,” she says, almost sad.

“Of course. The rest of the tour can wait. Let me show you to our suite. ”

“Our suite?”

I pause, trying to choose my words carefully, so as not to frighten her. I hadn’t considered that she’d be against sharing a room, but it was foolish of me not to. “Well, yes. However, I don’t need to be in it while you are. Let me just show you.”

Erin nods and reaches for me. I let my tentacles drop from securing her down to the chair so she can float next to me.

“Alright, Mr. King. Take me to the bedroom.”

So, I do.