army.
No, this couldn’t be allowed.
Starr fidgeted. “Gailen.”
He raised his vibration. “Wait!”
“Gailen.” Lieutenant Diras’s eyes flashed, and he lowered the flat staff of his trident to push them back. “Do not intervene in the matters of kings.”
“But the brides are coming.”
“To what? The platform was destroyed.”
“I know, but— Stop!”
The dignitaries had reached the All-Council head, and the first one reached out to pledge.
“No, you cannot!” Gailen pushed against Lieutenant Diras’s trident. He had been held back and constrained by the lieutenant in too many other less critical places, and with Starr’s confidence affirming him, he raised his vibrations to project across the whole shelter. “Do not leave. The platform does not matter. You must stay! The future of the mer depends upon the new covenant.”
The first dignitary slowed, surprised by his shout.
King Kadir frowned. “The platform does not matter?”
“The brides do not care about it.”
Everyone focused on him. An uncomfortable heat burned his ears and prickled his armpits, and bumps rose on his skin.
“So you have to stay,” Gailen vibrated lamely.
“The platform was our meeting place, and now you say the brides do not care?” King Kadir repeated.
“Yes! Exactly.”
“But you and Starr could not stop its destruction.”
“Yes, but it does not matter.”
“Who is this young fry?” Sirak rumbled. “This chaotic loss of discipline allows any warrior to have an opinion on matters he cannot understand. Your plot has gone down in flames. It is over. Admit defeat so you may yet survive.”
“It is not over unless you leave,” Gailen insisted.
The dignitaries floated uncertainly. The seething mass of the All-Council army surrounded them. A deadly muttering grew louder, like the growl of an approaching tidal wave. And he wasn’t convincing anyone.
King Kadir held up a quieting hand. “Gailen. What are you trying to say?”
“He’s trying to say that you guys are giving up way too fast.” Starr floated to face the dignitaries utterly calm, utterly brilliant. “The platform doesn’t matter because the brides are coming anyway.”
Nineteen
King Kadir blinked. “What?”
“The brides are coming anyway!” Gailen vibrated as loudly as he could, echoing across the shelter.
Lieutenant Diras lowered his trident and floated back in shock.
King Kadir frowned more deeply. “The brides are coming anyway? How do you know?”
“Queen Dannika told Starr on the human cell phone,” Gailen vibrated. His heart thudded all out of rhythm.
King Kadir fixed on Starr.
As did the queens, the delegates, and all the warriors.
Her soul remained steady, and she did not seem bothered by the attention. “They’ve waited too long for this reunion, and they’re resolute. Nothing will make them turn away.”
King Kadir’s face broke out in a smile, and his soul blazed. “Then we will not disappoint them. This reunion has been delayed too long.”
“Madness. Utter madness.” The All-Council head tried to grab the hand of the first dignitary.
He jerked back.
The army surged forward.
The dignitaries kicked back beneath the shelter of the brightening shield.
“Lies.” The All-Council head glared through the impenetrable white shelter at Gailen and Starr, then focused on the dignitaries. “They have nowhere to meet you. Their land is on fire.”
The huge oil rig shrieked and crashed into the water. The wave disturbed the All-Council army, forcing the closest warriors to regroup and making the rest scramble and struggle to remain in formation. Even Sirak had to maneuver around his closest warriors.
But the force flowed around the shield, not touching anyone within its shelter.
King Kadir focused with new radiance. “That does not matter. The brides are coming. They are resolute? Atlantis is also resolute. Our new covenant may be forged in the ashes of the past, but it will hold true on the waves of the future.”
His regal vibrations set a new tone of hope. The others swallowed and straightened. Even Gailen felt a lump in his throat.
“And then what?” Sirak adjusted his ornate sheaths and smoothed his yellow hair. “Humans are creatures of air and land. They cannot dwell in the water too long.”
“They’re determined to overcome any obstacle,” Starr vibrated, and because of the stillness of the water, her unexpressive tone carried.
Sirak pinched his lips. “They may visit you one time, but that is not a future. It is a visit. You cannot risk your cities, your race, for one visit.” He paced in front of the shelter, gesticulating for the dignitaries. “When you defy the All-Council, you lose our protection. We stopped the intercity wars. We hunted the honorless exiles and grasping raiders. We assembled an army to stop the horrors of the deep when they arise. And when you defy the ancient covenant,