Chapter 31
Thirty-One
Kaden
Black trenches, Saeryn valued his input. Kaden sat in their council meeting a tidesweek later. They were nearing the end of the meeting and he had gotten one chance to speak half a concern, only to be talked over by his uncle.
His tail tensed around his pillar, muscles throbbing and pulsing with the pressure.
“Any other concerns before we adjourn?” Alasdair asked.
There was his chance.
“I wanted to discuss our strategies for retaliating against the humans.” He raised his voice, his words vibrating with the currents.
“Please, go on.” Darya beckoned to him.
The weight of Saeryn’s gaze was a boulder crushing his spine, but he went on. “I think we should seek answers—”
“I don’t believe that’s wise,” Saeryn spoke up. Before Kaden could continue to speak his thoughts aloud, his uncle cut him off again. “The landwalkers will not seek to negotiate with us. They are hunting us down, on top of the grievous crime they committed against our late, regal queen.”
“Uncle, I would like to–” Kaden’s jaw ached from clenching his teeth.
“That will be everything for today. Thank you, noble counsel, for your time.”
“If His Highness wishes to express his concerns, please allow him to continue.” Darya glared at Saeryn.
Kaden had it with this meeting. What was the point?
For all he knew, he might as well be as invisible as a microalga.
But all eyes were on him, and he rubbed his forehead.
“I think we should seek answers from the humans instead of attacking them. We’re not blameless.
We’ve also captured and killed divers and people at the shore, both here, and in Haiping. ”
“King Saeryn, would you consider seeking answers from the humans?” Oryma asked.
Saeryn forced a smile, the skin around his eyes perfectly smooth even as his lips curved upward. “I will consider it.”
“How will we go about it?” Kaden asked. Saeryn sounded like he was done with answering, but Kaden would be damned if he didn’t get his uncle to speak of a plan, rather than make vague statements.
“We capture a few. Get them to talk.” Saeryn’s tone was nonchalant.
“And release them afterward?” Kaden pressed. “I could also contact them. Let them know we’d like to talk to them.”
“Yes, we’ll release them. And concerning you, there’s no need. Allow me to take care of this.”
Kaden had nothing more to say.
“If there is nothing else?” Allie eyed Saeryn and Kaden, and the other councilors. When there was no response, she put her slate down. “Then the meeting is adjourned.”
As they made their way out one at a time, Kaden swam after his uncle, who stayed ahead of him at warp speed. Normally, he could gain on him, but keeping his condition in mind, he lagged behind. “Uncle, wait a moment!”
“Not now, Kaden. I have to meet with our sentinels.” He tossed Kaden a cursory glance over his shoulder.
The patient, empathetic Saeryn from a tidesweek ago was gone, and Kaden’s gaze clouded, body heat rising at the king’s hot and cold behavior.
This was the third time in a tidesweek Saeryn had rushed off to a military meeting, never once inviting Kaden as his supposed high advisor.
He was tired of waiting for Saeryn to invite him to where he could make the most difference and appeal directly to their sentinels and their Shangjiangs.
It was his only hope. The council tended to stay neutral and on the monarch’s side by default.
But if the majority of a queendom’s Shangjiangs collectively dissented the monarch’s command, the council would reconsider the king or queen’s orders.
“Uncle!” he called again, and this time, Saeryn slowed down, still several tailspans away from him.
“What is it? You’ll forgive my abruptness. The meeting went later than I anticipated.” He stared at Kaden, as though it was his fault for lengthening their meeting. “I do not wish to be late.”
“Am I not supposed to go with you to these meetings? Mother and Father took their high advisor to every single one.”
“I promise next time I will have you along.” Saeryn stopped long enough for Kaden to catch up to him. “But you look so down. It might help you to take a swim and clear your head, and we will reconvene after my meeting. I’ll let you know what we discussed and will hold nothing back.”
Kaden didn’t feel like going for an aimless swim, but Saeryn darted off again, leaving him alone. But he could stop by the cavern where the relocated mer families were and check on them.
He hadn’t made it a quarter of a seamile before two human-shaped shadows, one larger one and one smaller one, came into view, and he stopped swimming.
What in the treacherous deep were divers doing here? How did they find the palace? Did they have mer magic?
They were moving closer, and faced him head on, holding spearguns.
In the deep, Kaden could only see their masks, the rest of them hidden in the dark behind them, and he braced himself.
They hadn’t fired yet, nor had they raised their spearguns.
Time slowed and the currents whirled around him in a blur.
He inched toward one side, heart ramming against his ribcage, and he struggled to maintain his composure.
His best option was to try to lose them, wear them out, or scatter them enough so he could take them one on one.
He could outswim humans, even if he couldn’t exert himself the way he normally could.
“How did you get here?” Kaden hissed. If they had the mer magic, they would be able to speak. But then again, they were fully masked, rebreathers and all.
No reply.
In unison, they raised their spearguns, and Kaden darted beneath them. The cold metal of one spear grazed his shoulder and thank the Goddess it wasn’t enough to draw blood. Reflexes kicking in, Kaden pumped his tail and kept his body in a straight line, propelling upward and out of their reach.
He made for the direction of the palace. Whether he would make it there was another story, but the closer he was, the better off he would be.
A look behind him revealed they were hot on his tail, the fervent swirling of the currents behind them. The smaller human was in sight. Their chase took them past a rock wall full of spiky haidans and bony, studded haixings.
How was this possible? How much magic had they extracted from the captured mer, and how were they able to keep pace with him? Even Angie, with mer magic and experience swimming and diving, couldn’t keep up with a mer.
The larger human was lagging, and this was Kaden’s chance to take one of them out.
Kaden propelled toward the seafloor, before charging upward into the smaller human, rounding his shoulders and tucking his chin to lessen the impact on his head and neck. His shoulder met with the diver’s stomach, and he kept his momentum.
He forced his tail to move faster, faster, faster until he drove the diver’s back into the haidan and haixing filled wall. The animals flew off the rock wall and scattered, rolling and spinning away into the waves.
The diver dropped their spear, which disappeared into the depths with the sea creatures.
The larger human was approaching fast. Kaden grabbed the smaller diver’s shoulders and whirled them around, so Kaden’s back was to the now-smooth rock. He wedged himself between two protruding pieces of rock to keep himself in place.
The larger diver raced for him, speargun pointed at him and fired again, the spear quickening toward Kaden’s head.
He prayed for Sanyue to forgive him.
He never wanted to cause a death. But it was him or the diver.
Kaden clutched the underside of the smaller diver’s neck and pushed up so they blocked Kaden’s head and torso.
The spear wedged itself into the smaller diver’s skull. Blood bloomed and the diver went limp.
Still, there was no reprieve for Kaden. A massive current pummeled his side, ripping him from his hiding place and sending him flying backward like he was being sucked into a black hole. He cursed in his head. Behind him, a roughshod, jagged piece of rock was approaching much too fast.
How in the trenches did the other diver send a current at him? Had this human learned to utilize their newfound magic in a way not even Kaden knew of?
When he was inches from smashing headfirst into a sharp edge, he twisted his torso and tail, so he was straight and belly-down again. His shoulder banged against the knifelike edge, sending waves of pain radiating from his shoulder to his chest and down his arms.
Could he use magic like they did? He shook his head. The mere thought of using his magic addled him, and he needed all the energy he could get.
He was unarmed, and there was another diver still chasing him.
They were propelling to him like a jianyu swimming at top speed. Kaden swam over their head, prepared to arc behind them and strike at them from behind. Hopefully from there, he could get enough of a grip to incapacitate them.
Kaden gritted his teeth and jerked himself upward so he was over the diver’s head, and he charged at their back.
He hadn’t counted on the diver’s speargun being pointed upward.
As Kaden arced with a backward flip, a spear cut through the seas, catching and ripping through Kaden’s dorsal fin.
The loss of balance was immediate and Kaden rotated with the currents.
He turned and twisted his upper body and made a grab for the spear that sailed past him.
Kaden couldn’t hang on much longer. His constant sprinting fatigued him, his gills opening and closing faster, his tail, arms, and abdomen tightening each time he tried to move.
The diver was gone. And Kaden looked for them. He couldn’t risk them tracking him down and killing him when he wasn’t expecting it.
A sharp pain burst in his side as the tip point of a spear pierced his skin.
Saltwater flooded his open wound. The pain was instant and burning, and Kaden’s arm and oblique muscles tensed and contracted. If the sea didn’t take his tears away, they would be streaming down his face.
Kaden’s teeth were chattering, bearing with the pain as the lance burrowed into his skin.
A rush of adrenaline fired through him, and Kaden swung his spear around.
Mustering up the last of his energy reserves, he charged headfirst at the diver as another spear struck his other side.
He fought to stop his scream from the spear tip tearing through his skin and muscles on its way out.
Gathering his final iota of strength, he held fast to the spear and torpedoed upward.
He had no more energy to outswim them, and he was still unarmed.
Incapacitating the diver would be his only option.
Kaden stopped short, facing the diver. As expected, they didn’t slow down, and when they were close enough, he swept his tail upward, bringing his body below the diver before they could shoot him again.
He held the spear in front of him and when the diver was close, the spear sliced through their diving suit at the abdomen.
It didn’t reach their skin, and he let the spear go, grabbing the diver’s legs and yanking them downward.
After a jolt of surprise, the diver lost their grip on their speargun and fought, jerking their shoulders, but Kaden gripped hard, maintaining control.
He moved one hand over the other, pulling the diver down to his level, and using his tail to control the diver’s legs, wrapped one arm around their shoulders and chest, and one around their neck.
He squeezed, his biceps and forearm muscles contracting against the diver’s tensed neck. Harder and harder, until the diver fell limp.
The pulse in his jugular still beat, telling Kaden he was alive.
He would wake up, eventually.
His sides contracted, reminding him he was quickly bleeding out. The adrenaline faded, leaving Kaden’s wounds throbbing and burning and his head growing light.
He had to go. He was dying. His own hand flying to the deep wounds in both his sides, he resumed his path toward the palace.
His front and sides of his abdominal region pulsated and throbbed, and he was leaving a trail of blood in his wake. Predatory hushas drifted over his head, following his scent, and he could only hope they went for the dead diver first.
Bright flashes exploded in his vision and his head grew light. He kept moving, even if he wanted nothing more than to quit and go limp.
The palace came into view and he pushed himself forward. The infirmary. He needed to go to the infirmary.
The ambient sounds around him grew duller and his heartbeat sounded in his ears.
His arms, abdominal, and back were sore, his movements weaker and weaker. With his slashed, useless dorsal fin, he fought constantly to stay balanced and maintain his forward swimming momentum.
Kaden’s consciousness was leaving him, and his pulse rang loud, and desperate.
His mind spun and spun like a raging maelstrom.
He reached the infirmary entrance and one final thought entered his mind.
Angie. He still held onto hope she would contact him. She wouldn’t know what happened and may never reach him again.
He sent a silent message to Angie to forgive him. That he would wait for her. He would always wait for her.
A husha’s heterocercal tail and triangular fin appeared in his peripheral vision.
His consciousness drifted into the great dark beyond.
The sea’s icy embrace enveloped him in a comforting caress and he let himself give in.