Chapter 18 Malec
Malec
Queen Marcella swims off her throne and out of the dome—right toward us. The guard next to me bows deeply before she even arrives, not even flinching until given permission.
I’ve never bowed to anyone.
But I’ve also never been on an official royal diplomatic mission before, so I shoot a quick glance at my aunt to my right. She tilts her head slightly, trying to read my expression.
“Myko, ask my aunt if I’m supposed to bow on these occasions.”
I don’t know why, but even in my own mind, I whisper it—like asking might somehow be a crime. I’m not planning to bow, but I’d at least like to know if I'd be sentenced to death if I don’t.
Bay’s loud and sudden snort nearly makes me lose it. Myko's passed the message right.
I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing. My gills tremble with the effort; it’s barely holding in.
“What’s so funny?” A deep, commanding voice snaps us both back to reality.
I lift my head to meet her above us.
Queen Marcella.
Surprisingly, a soft smile stretches across her pale face.
She’s as white as the ice shielding this city.
Her golden hair is so long it trails past her white-with-orange-stains shimmering tail, wrapping around her like a cape in the water current.
She glows gold—even brighter than the guard to my left.
And there it is.
The mark of Sur-El.
Right under her chin, glowing blue in reaction to my presence.
“The Coral of Life bows to no one.” Myko’s smug snort rumbles in my mind.
From the corner of my eye, I catch the flicker of his violet glow from Bay’s chest.
“Damn right I don’t,” I shoot back at him with a matching edge in my tone.
“We’re just excited to be here,” Bay says as she glides forward in a practiced, almost too-graceful motion when I don’t immediately answer. She’s pulling the diplomatic card she learned from my mom.
Trying to sound formal. Only trying.
The words are civil.
Her tone?
She’s seconds away from breaking out laughing again.
“Remind me why I need you two with me at all times?” I grumble to Myko, forcing a polite smile onto my face in front of the Queen as I nod like I’m in agreement with Bay’s approach.
“To make you miserable,” he answers with a snort—and then goes completely silent.
Message well received: focus on saving Bay from unnecessary embarrassment.
The Queen smiles at Bay, but her attention quickly shifts to me—surprising all of us as she suddenly bows, deeply.
My marks glow even brighter, pulsing with a strange intensity. But I don’t feel hunger or consumed in any of the usual way. This... this feels different.
Warm.
Too warm. But something’s missing. Like a chord struck just slightly off.
She rises again, gliding closer until she’s right in front of me.
“The Great Depthborne,” she says.
There it is again—that name. The one they all whisper, but no one truly explains.
“I’m honored to meet you finally, and I’m grateful you came to our aid. There’s no time to waste—come, I’ll show you everything.” She gestures toward the dome, but when I follow her hand, my gaze lands on an icy entrance tucked beneath it.
A deeper cave.
So this was planned. She expected me. She knew we wouldn’t decline.
I don’t know whether to be annoyed or impressed, but I nod anyway. “Lead the way.”
She bows slightly again. “But we can’t bring a huntress into our power source. She can’t come.”
She points toward Onyx, who flinches. Her wide eyes are fixed on the ocean floor, as if staring at anything else might get her killed. Or blind…
I shift, turning back to meet the Queen’s gaze, my tone sharp. “I won’t leave her out here alone. I don’t trust your guard with her.”
The pink-haired guard huffs—just like Bay does when I make a good point mid-argument and she hates that I’m right.
“I apologize, Great Depthborne. But we can’t let her in, no matter wha—”
“It’s okay,” Bay cuts in, voice steady and decisive. “I’ll stay here with Onyx. You take Myko with you.”
I glance at her, trying to read what she’s thinking. No clue what she’s planning, but I have to admit—it’s smart to bring Myko along. His shield might be the only thing between me and whatever power source they’re hiding.
“I assume you won’t refuse the Guardian then?” I arch a brow at the Queen, my voice laced with challenge.
If my mom were here, she’d slap me in the face with her tail for being this disrespectful. But she’s not. And I’m not about to play the polite card if this Queen thinks she can set rules for me.
The Queen gasps softly, her gills flaring open in surprise. She doesn’t even try to hide it. “The Guardian is here too?” She scans the water around us, searching.
A low heat builds under my skin—the same strange warmth that’s been humming through my marks since I arrived. I stretch my neck, feeling the energy pulse through me as a realization settles deep in my chest.
They all know about the Great Depthborne.
But somehow... they have no idea about Bay.
Or Myko.
“He’s here,” I say, nodding toward Bay. “You can come out any time now,” I add, annoying him right back after that last remark.
What’s even stranger? I never expected them—especially as the one city far enough from any human civilization or other royal pod—to speak human languages the way we do.
The ancient merlanguage was banned long ago—outlawed after it was twisted into dark spells, runes, and corrupted by those who didn’t understand its weight. Even non-Royals misusing it led to disasters.
But I didn’t expect them to speak English this easily. Not this fluently. Not this naturally.
There’s more to this city than anyone’s ever told us. That much is clear now.
After we finish here, we need to head home.
There are too many things I need to ask my mom.
The violet glow surging from Bay’s chest pulses stronger, and in the next blink, Myko coils out of her body. His massive tail spirals around her protectively in one fluid motion.
The guard’s gasp hits instantly, followed by the unmistakable flicker of shock across the Queen’s face.
“Do I want to know what just happened?” she asks dryly, regaining her composure as she shakes her head, still scanning Myko’s body—bottom to top. Her neck tilts further and further back as she tries to take all of him in.
Then she narrows her eyes and points. Not at him, but at Bay. “How is the Guardian connected to a royal?”
There’s no fear in her voice. None. Which is… something. Most merfolk don’t even gaze in Myko’s direction without trembling. But this Queen? She’s watching them like she’s putting together pieces of a puzzle.
Her gaze drops to Bay’s chest. Myko’s mark.
Only now, her tail flicks sharply as she backs away, posture cracking for the first time.
“Y—you’re—”
“Black Blooded?” Bay finishes for her, flashing a sharp smile. “Yes. Yes, I am. Old news.”
She shrugs, not even pretending to soften it.
“Just know I’m not a threat,” she adds with a flick of her tail. “And neither is our precious Great Depthborne here. He’s one too.”
Her already snow-white skin somehow turns even paler as she glances back at me—probably hoping for some kind of approval.
“I really need some answers,” she says, her gills flaring open and shut, trying to steady the storm flickering behind her orange gemstone eyes. “But my daughter comes first. We need to hurry. You and the Guardian only.”
She doesn’t wait for a reply, just turns and swims straight toward the icy entrance she’d called their “power source.”
I glance at Bay and shrug. She rolls her eyes at the Queen’s retreating back, like the same, honestly.
Myko slips from Bay’s side and glides to my side, his massive tail coiling around me like a shield.
“Better safe than sorry.” His words make me chuckle. This family’s really growing on him, as much as he’s growing on us.
I cast one last look over my shoulder at the pink-haired guard. “You’d better make sure nothing happens to them while we’re gone,” I warn, voice cool and sharp. “Or I won’t need another hunt this month. I’ll have a feast right here.”
Myko’s snarl follows my words, deep and guttural as he bears his teeth, making the threat real. The guard flinches. Her hand scrambles for the handle of her spear, gripping it like a lifeline as she nods.
“Let’s finish this,” he says, annoyed as ever. “Bay wouldn’t lose to that sardine even in her sleep.” I hold my breath not to laugh. I trust Bay to handle herself. She didn’t look even remotely worried.
I catch up to the Queen and follow her lead into the cave. The deeper we go, the darker it gets. But the darker it gets, the more small glowing spots scatter across the dome under cave walls like night sky’s stars. Right in the deep.
My own glowing pod marks shine brighter, casting light into the darkness, too. Our combined glow reflects off the walls, and for a second, it feels like we’re swimming through some sort of magical galaxy.
“It’s here.”
The Queen stops beside a dark stone jutting from the ground like a tree base, with roots made of ice.
“What is that?” I ask, stopping beside her. This place is vast enough for Myko to still fully coil around me.
Instead of answering, she brushes her fingers against the stone. Light flares. Blinding for a second. I blink until the glow steadies—and then I see it.
A golden orb at the center. Flickering, pulsing.
“This is our bloodline’s power,” she says, eyes locked on it like it’s her last hope. “Our bloodline holds the power of the sky’s light—the stars. Unlike other Royals, our gifts don’t shift or vary. They pass from generation to generation. Direct. Steady. As long as the light holds.”
“What is she talking about?” I ask Myko, not letting my serious expression crack. “Their powers come from me. Don’t they?”
“They’re tied to the Coral of Life, yes,” he says, tone cautious. “But this bloodline controls light. Guardians of it.”
“My daughter’s missing. And the light—our source—is flickering. She’s hurt. I know you feel it too.”
I nod slowly. I do. The hunger. The imbalance. Something terrible is happening to the missing ones.
“I’m sorry about your daughter,” I say, “but why do you think I can help?”
“Because our powers are connected,” she says quietly. “We can sense each other. That’s how I know… she’s not in any of the oceans.”
My stomach drops. “You mean—”
“Yes.” Her gaze falls. “She can be only on land.”
How did the princess of Sur-El end up hurt on land?
“Here.”
She flicks her hand, and a small orb splits from the main one, drifting into her palm. She closes her hand over it, and her body glows brighter—almost burning—before stabilizing.
“This city is going to blind me if we don’t leave soon,” I mutter.
“You won’t miss much anyway,” Myko snorts.
I’m about to shoot back with a middle-fin when the Queen swims closer and places something into my hand—a golden star-shaped pendant.
“It will shine as long as she’s alive,” she says. “And it will guide you to her. If you listen.”
Listen?
“You know land better than any of us. And you can feel what we do. Can I trust you to bring her home?” Her voice cracks. “I’ll owe you a life debt.”
She bows. Deeply. Doesn’t rise.
Myko grumbles. “What are you waiting for? Breaking her back? Let’s go.”
She’s waiting for my permission.
The Queen of Sur-El.
“I’ll do my best,” I say, resting a hand on her shoulder.
Only then does she rise.
“Thank you." She clasps my hand in both of hers. "Thank you.”
“And now,” Myko huffs, “a few days long swim back home with all this Queen bowing thing getting to your head. The Great Depthborne.”
“Who was the one who said the Coral of Life bows to no one?” I shoot back.
I let go of the Queen’s hand. The pendant warms in my palm.
We’re going home—
But not yet.
The next beat of the hunt is already building. The hunters who didn’t give their own in the first round? They’re still out there. Waiting.
And I need every drop of energy to deal with this mess.
And then there’s the beast.
I follow Queen Marcella as she swims out. “What should we do with Onyx?” I finally ask, remembering the other problem I promised Bay I’d handle. Because clearly, I didn’t have enough on my plate.
“We go to Kolox next—not Aquan,” he says. “I need to see if there’s any risk of him breaking free from the chamber. For now, take her to the hunt. She can wait with your ocean’s hunters’ pod once we get back from land.”
Not perfect.
But it’s a plan.
Sort of.