turned into a vibrant coral reef screen saver. The barren rock was covered in a thick mat of coral teeming with colorful reef fish and busy crustaceans. The castles of the mer looked like a forest of gigantic bull kelp surrounding a single glowing flower.
No, not flower. A beautiful glowing tree radiating peace and light.
A strange yearning filled her.
If she could only reach that flower—the Life Tree—and bathe in its light, all her questions would be answered, all her ills would be cured, and she would be complete.
But Gailen followed the other warriors to the massive cement anchors in front of the city. Cables like thick metal sequoias stretched up the infinite distance to the surface. They clanked. A submersible was attached to one of the cables, and it made a mechanical hum that interrupted the peace. Bubbles drifted up, super-compressed at these depths.
She’d never looked upon a piece of machinery and felt unease, but going back into that tiny space after the infinity of the ocean made her throat tighten.
Gailen stroked her soothingly.
But he also led her to a group of warriors right beside the submersible.
A warrior with a broad jaw and a permanent frown stared at them in shock. “Warrior Gailen, you have returned.”
He threw back his shoulders. “Lieutenant Diras, this is Starr. She is my soul mate.”
“Welcome, bride Starr. You have survived an incredible journey through the ocean. And all alone. It is a miracle you have survived.”
Gailen stiffened, but said nothing.
How unfair.
“I wasn’t alone,” she vibrated. “I had Gailen.”
“Yes.” The lieutenant’s frown deepened. “I meant without the usual escort. An impressive feat, Gailen. Queen Elyssa was right to choose you for the search party.”
Gailen’s shoulders relaxed. “Starr needs to see Queen Elyssa right away. We are eager to marry.”
“Queen Elyssa is not here. The fighting has begun.” Lieutenant Diras compressed his lips. “The All-Council army finally clashed with our warriors guarding the platform. Queen Elyssa arrived in time to heal the injured, so we suffered no deaths, but it is only the beginning. The leaders of the All-Council are coming.”
“They are?” Gailen’s vibrations took on a tinge of awe. “It is confirmed?”
“It is. They discovered the news before we heard it: enough kings have sent direct representatives to the platform opening ceremony to forge a new covenant.”
“A covenant without the All-Council,” Gailen murmured.
Lieutenant Diras nodded. “A covenant created on the mer-human platform surrounded by sacred brides and protected by queens.”
“Protected from the mer,” Starr vibrated. “Queen powers don’t work above the water, and I’m proof that you have a security problem.”
“Yes, which is why there is no time for a marriage ceremony. You must surface and secure the platform now.” He motioned to the other warriors, and they brought over a harness. “The future of the mer depends on it.”
No time…
Her yearnings twisted into a sharp, almost physical ache.
She didn’t want to leave this behind. She didn’t want to return to the surface with its allergens and dangers and enclosed spaces.
If only she could go to the Life Tree, everything would be okay…
But that wasn’t to be.
Starr drew back into herself. Unfilled wants, aimless cravings, going without…these were familiar sensations. She knew how to deal with them. Just shut herself away from the longing. Close herself off from the possibilities, from the pain. Put herself into a small white room, shut the door, turn the key. Sherlock had a mind palace? Starr had an isolation chamber, and inside it, she was free of bothersome desires.
Although suddenly, that no longer seemed very free…
Enough.
“Okay.” She reached for the harness.
“And Gailen will remain in Atlantis to prepare for the coming kings.”
Seven
“I understand,” Starr said coldly as she put on the harness.
“I do not,” Gailen protested. “Starr cannot go to the platform unprotected.”
“Of course she will not rise unprotected.” Lieutenant Diras motioned to the bright star of a queen leaving the city behind him. “Queen Hazel will surface with you and drive off any dangers.”
Everyone seemed satisfied with that answer.
How could this be acceptable?
Gailen pushed. “But what about on the platform? Our enemies already attacked Starr once.”
Lieutenant Diras rubbed his forehead. “King Kadir agreed that human enemies will face human justice, not mer justice.”
“Until they are captured, we cannot leave Starr without protection.”
“The humans will protect their own.”
“Starr is not a human anymore. She is my bride.”
She floated in her harness, distant and subdued.
Lieutenant Diras looked at Starr. “Do you wish for mer protection? Or assistance in your work?”
She shrugged. “My work is pretty self-contained. But I don’t want to