Chapter 13
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
EZRA
The whole day was chaotic. It all started with a knock on my door, and Aulani calling me from the other side.
Ezra, Ezra! Hurry!
I scrambled to get ready, and when I found her in the hallway, pacing, she rushed to me. But she didn’t embrace me. Instead she quickly told me about Cressida.
I felt magic last night, and I hurried to follow it. Cressida said a spell and it takes life from the island, but uses that magic to turn people into frogs.
I gaped. Is she turning people into frogs?
Who knows? Has anyone gone missing?
We’ve since located the missing noblemen and women, I said, then hurried to button my tunic and fix my sleeves. They went into hiding, afraid of what Cressida might do to them because they disagreed with her. I ordered my nearest guards to bring Cressida to the throne room for questioning.
And Ezra. Aulani’s eyes did not have their usual glow to them, the one that said she was happy to see me. Instead, she looked worn down, tired, like something worried her.
Yes? I took her hand and she forced a smile.
Are you going to take me to the sea today?
I promise it. And this time I meant it. I had broken too many promises to her. At that very moment, Ho‘ohuli came bursting in.
“The frogs, your majesty. The hunters went out last night, but they said they’re spreading faster than ever.”
“What do you mean?”
Aulani eyed my counselor with suspicion, and when he nodded to her, she tipped her head, as if studying him.
“You mean to say there are more frogs?” I asked.
Ho‘ohuli looked frantic. “Yes, sir. But people are saying parts of the forest are dying, while others are healing… and it seems the forest closest to the palace is healing. It’s thriving even! But other parts of the island…” He shook his head. “If we don’t do something, our island will die.”
I met Aulani’s eyes and she nodded. We have to help, Ezra. But it seemed like the coral walls in her mind had doubled overnight, and I couldn’t even sense any underlying currents of her feelings.
“People are talking,” Ho‘ohuli added, and turned to the mermaid princess. “They’re wanting you, Miss Aulani, to come to their villages and towns. You’re a miracle to them.”
“No,” I said suddenly and sharply. “I’m taking Aulani to the sea today.” A promise was a promise.
But the birds… She hesitated, even as she said it, and her gaze looked past me, to the distant sea, miles away.
“We’re going to the sea,” I said again, and Ho‘ohuli let out a breath.
“Yes, your majesty.”
Ezra. Aulani squeezed my hand. What about your people?
I’ve already asked enough of you–
The birds? The island? The trees? Not only has Cressida’s magic negatively affected it, but how will you help them get their life back? Their desire? They need something more.
I hesitated. They needed Aulani. But I couldn’t do that.
I can do it, she said. For you.
I shook my head.
This is my decision. Her intense gaze poured through me, and I knew nothing I said would change her mind. It touched me more deeply than she’d ever know.
“Alright, but I’m taking you to the sea,” I reassured her. “Tonight.”
“You can’t go with her,” Ho‘ohuli said. “You’re needed here, your majesty.” He looked sympathetic. “Kalei can go with her to the villages and forests. We’ll have them both back by the banquet tonight.”
Ah yes. Another banquet. What was this one for?
The anniversary of my father’s death. It was to honor him. I took a silent breath. If only father were here. He’d know what to do… about everything: Tavo. The birds. Aulani, even.
Call me if you need anything, I said, and she nodded.
I will.
Just then some guards came running down the hallway. “Your majesty,” they said, out of breath. “Princess Cressida is missing. She was here last night but is nowhere to be found this morning. Her servants and guards won’t answer questions.”
I pursed my lips. One more thing to add to the list.
“Send out a search for her. I want her–and that golden ball–back in this palace by the end of the day.”
“Yes, your majesty.” The guards hurried out.
We’ll keep an eye out for her, Aulani assured me, then left with Ho‘ohuli. I stood there, alone, the garden quiet except for the faint rustle of leaves in the night wind. Usually, she’d turn back and give me that small wave, something to anchor me.
But this time, nothing.
The weight of the palace, the throne, my father’s absence… it pressed down harder than any armor. Every decision, every expectation, every life depended on me… and I was supposed to lead. Should I even try? My thoughts spiraled. I wasn’t ready. Maybe I’d never been ready.
Should I give the throne to Tavo? Let him take control of the island I’d grown to love? Our trees, our songbirds, our traditions… all at risk under his hands, under the foreigners’ hands if he followed their ways.
But what if fighting for it was pointless?
Had I already failed in ways I couldn’t undo?
A tight lump formed in my throat. I shook my head, trying to force the dark thoughts away.
The island needed me. There were endless negotiations to plan, endless decisions to make.
I had to keep moving, had to keep my hands in the soil of my people’s land, even if my heart felt like it was slipping away.
The day dragged on like a snail crossing over a field of dirt. When the banquet finally arrived, I was relieved to see Aulani sitting at my right hand side, as usual. She didn’t say much to my mind, and that worried me.
Things went well today, she said, but she was distant. Her eyes kept scanning the table, looking at Tavo then me, then the food. My brother ate with confidence and gusto, aware of the tension he was causing.
“We’re honoring our father,” I told him before the banquet. “Let’s try to act like we’re friends for his sake. We don’t want to dishonor his legacy.”
Tavo laughed and nodded, but said, “What do you know of legacy, Ezra? All you’re going to do is shatter what our forefathers started…”
But we didn’t speak more because guests began arriving and we greeted them. Tonight there were more family members than nobles, and Kalei’s entire family–including her parents and siblings–were also present.
If there was ever a time I felt more pressure in my place as king, it was now.
Yet, everyone played their parts well. Tavo did not say one thing about politics or his foreign ideologies, but, instead, entertained the table with stories of his life in foreign lands.
He had so many exotic tales, having seen so many things, I began to feel smaller and smaller.
When asked about Cressida, Tavo said things were rocky between them. “And, as you all probably know by now, she’s under arrest for treason.” He shrugged and eyed me. “My brother probably knows more about that. He’s king, after all.”
Want me to splash water on his face? Aulani’s voice piped up in my head and, for a moment, I thought she was back. Back to teasing. Back to making me laugh. Instead, she only looked annoyed.
Maybe later.
The corner of her lip turned up and I was glad to have made her smile, if only a little.
After the dinner, we moved to the dance floor.
“Will you dance with me?” I asked Aulani and she nodded, taking my hand in hers. As we swayed together, it dawned on me…
This is it. Tonight she’d go to the sea.
The old man in the village hadn’t been able to find a way for her to stay.
Nobody had.
So she’d find her realm tonight and call the sea to help her get back to it. I asked her to stay, tried to find a way for her to stay, but… there was nothing we could do. The sea witch’s magic was too powerful. Unbreakable.
She had to go back and marry Prince Ryker, or she would die.
I held her a little closer to me, feeling her warmth, soaking in her salty, coconut beach scent, and wishing things were different. She rested her head against my chest, and I felt it: her longing, unspoken grief.
Our time is up.
And just as I thought that, a pū sounded, ringing loud and clear. Everyone stopped, the music faded, and all eyes turned to see Tavo with the conch shell, standing near the throne. He sat on it, folded his arms, and smiled at me.
“Now that all our family is here, I think it’s about time they knew the truth, don’t you Ezra?”
My blood went cold, though Aulani’s hand in mine was warm.
“What are you talking about?”
Tavo spoke to the people. “Ezra does not have true islander’s blood.
And because he’s not truly one of ours, he plans to do exactly what Cressida did, except in his own manipulative way.
” He leaned forward, loud enough so we all could hear.
“He’s going to close the island to foreign trade, and cut this land off from the outside world.
As it grows stronger with weapons and technology, we grow weaker.
And when we are weak, foreign powers take over us so easily, we have no way to defend ourselves.
Ezra is making us vulnerable. There’s a balance in all things, and he hasn’t found it. ”
My stomach tightened. “That’s not what I’m doing at all, Tavo. You know it. I’m negotiating with foreigners. We’re going to allow them in, just with guidelines and restrictions.”
“If we don’t start trading and moving now,” Tavo interrupted, “they’re going to swoop in and take over.” He was instilling fear in our people, in our family.
“We must honor the ways of our ancestors and respect the ‘aina,” I started, but Tavo was louder. He had always been louder.
“I take my rightful place as king.” Gasps rippled through the crowd.
“You can’t do that.” I shook my head and nodded to my guards, but they hesitated. And that’s when I realized… the room was being flooded with foreigners.
Tavo’s army. My guards, now aware of the situation, remained loyal. They moved towards me, to protect me.
“I knew you’d put up a fight,” Tavo said. “So I’m going to give you a choice, Ezra. Stand down and bow to me as your king, or get locked up with Cressida–once we find her.”
Aulani looked around, at the windows. Don’t bow to him, she said softly, though her mind seemed to be elsewhere, searching for something…
“Don’t do it,” Ho‘ohuli said from the side.
I stood taller. “I am the king of this island, Tavo, and I am pushing for peace–both for our islanders and for the foreigners. You want to eradicate our forests and put our native people on the bottom of the pedestal. I can’t do that.”
“Then that is your choice.” Tavo laughed and stood, nodding to his men. “Take him!” And, just like that, chaos ensued. All the banquet-goers scattered like ants while my guards rushed to me. Tavo’s men came running too, and screaming, shouting, and swords clashing filled the air.
This was not right. This was not how things should be done. I’d always been about the pen over the sword, but could words help me now?
A foreigner grabbed my arm, and I had no way to defend myself that night because I was unarmed. It was a stupid move on my part, but I figured we were honoring our father, the late king, and there would be no need for weapons.
If father saw what was happening now…
Tavo's troops overwhelmed my guards. There were too many of Tavo’s troops flooding in, filling the whole room with their screams and shouts.
And then…
Music… It wasn’t the music of instruments, but of nature. A wind gushed open the side doors, and, with it, a trail of colorful birds came flying in, Pili at the head.
It was a rainbow of colors and chaos.
The birds began attacking the foreigners, and it didn’t take me long to realize that Aulani had summoned them.
“Stop!” I yelled, and the entire room went silent.
The birds flew to the corners and Tavo and his men fled towards the door.
“Stop!” I exclaimed again, chasing after my brother.
“We can work together!” I was breathless.
“You’re my brother–” I began to say, but Tavo just laughed as he wiped sweat from his forehead.
“You were always too soft to rule.” His expression hardened. “I will be king one day, Ezra, and you will see that gentleness does not win battles or kingdoms.”
My stomach tightened.
“Come on!” Tavo and his men ran out. My guards were about to chase them when I raised my hand, halting them.
Why not? Aulani sounded amazed, and even Ho‘ohuli let out a huff.
“This is treason–” he began, but I shook my head and he went silent.
The birds slowly trickled out of the room.
Finally, with Tavo and the foreigners gone, cheers rang out. But it wasn’t for me. It was for Aulani. People rushed around her, showering her with kisses and hugs. They were so grateful, knowing that she had summoned the birds to protect me. To protect the throne.
And that was when I realized… I have to let her go. She had given everything–everything–to help me. And I could not keep her here any moment longer. She deserved to go home, to be with her kind, and to fall in love with the other prince.
I swallowed hard as I watched her, that radiant smile lighting up her face like the sun dancing over the Kaiora cliffs. And for the first time, I realized how painfully human my heart felt… how much it wanted something I could barely reach.
Not just for her. For us. For the life we might have had if the tides had been different.
I was not enough for her—not yet. But I would be… by taking her to the sea and letting her go.