women didn’t get powers. They were for healthy, generous, friendly women with whole souls.
Starr balanced one of the two stools before the damp control panel. There were way more gauges than she knew what to do with, but the call button had blinked regularly until she’d pushed it.
Beep beep beep…beep beep beep…
On a rack beneath the controls, she’d found a soggy instruction booklet. She’d carefully peeled the pages apart and squinted in the dim red lightbulb. When power is interrupted, you must reboot the system. To reboot, remove the power supply cable from the terminal, wait two minutes, and reconnect it.
Ah, the holy grail of IT solutions. Turn it off and on again.
She’d found the power supply cable neatly labeled and did as instructed. How long were two minutes? She counted the seconds.
Strange thumps sounded outside the submersible.
Her heart spiked. “—fifty-nine, two minutes.” She plugged in the power.
Nothing happened.
No, wait. Lights blinked on, first in one area, then another.
She rested her palms on the wet counter. This submersible was so stuffy. Her nose clogged and the air felt too heavy to breathe.
Normally, she would retreat into herself to endure physical discomforts, but she couldn’t do that now. All her senses felt more acute.
Something bounced off the outside of the submersible, causing a metallic echo.
Had the army arrived? Were they trying to break in?
What if they did break in? Or what if they broke off the handle and she got stuck in here and Gailen could never get her out?
Her heart spiked higher and higher.
She tried to channel something. Anything. But she was in the air, not the water, so she couldn’t channel the soothing Life Tree.
Yes, come on, she could envision it. She was nervous and alone, but this submersible was solid iron. She would be fine. And after she summoned help, real help, she could rejoin Gailen.
The call button blinked.
She pressed it.
“…Hello?” An older man’s voice crackled on the line. “…one there?”
She jolted in her seat. All her nerve endings were flayed raw. “This is Starr in Atlantis.”
“…arr? This is Mr. Shaw, Lucy Shaw’s father. I’ve been trying to reach you for hours. Is Lucy there?”
“No, she’s gone to the surface.”
“…ood.”
“No, it’s not good! We need her to come back right now. It’s a trap. The All-Council tricked us into sending everyone to the surface to protect the brides, and they doubled back around to invade the city. I’m here on my own, and I can’t summon any powers. We need everyone to come back right now.”
“…arr? This is Dannika.”
Her shoulders lowered. “Hi, Dannika. You arrived, huh?”
“…did. What’s this about a trap?”
“The All-Council made us believe that they were positioning warriors at the surface to attack you. But we were fooled. They’re all here, and anyway, they’d never really murder their sacred brides.”
“…ctually, our boats are surrounded. General Giru warned us not to enter the water. He looks so sick at heart, I honestly believe him.”
Her throat tightened. The air was so stuffy. “It wasn’t a trick?”
“…haps…I once told you, Starr, that we would overcome any obstacle. But we’ve been stuck on these boats for hours obeying the orders of madmen. Now Atlantis is under attack? I see that I need to revisit my resolve.”
But if there were warriors on the surface poised to murder them, they would be diving into great danger. “No, Dannika, wait!”
The submersible jolted, throwing Starr off the stool.
The power cut out. Everything went dark, even the red light overhead.
Her eyes adjusted, and she could see.
Mermaid powers let her see in the dark.
Something was terribly wrong.
And she’d possibly made it worse.
The submersible shook. Water seeped in from hidden cracks behind the machines, soaking the terminal. The power supply made a loud buzz and popped.
That wouldn’t be turning on again.
The submersible tilted.
Starr slid under the now-dead terminal. More water cascaded down on her, lifting her off the ground.
And then she entered a slow free-fall, tumbling over and over in the splashing water, and landed with an abrupt stillness on the ceiling of the submersible. The water sloshed, filling up the last of the interior as the air finished escaping.
She sucked in water.
Shift.
The transition was easier than going the other way. Less puking. She kicked to the portal exit, which was now above her, and rotated the metal submarine handle. It turned, unlatching, and she pushed the door.
It didn’t open.
She wedged her toes against the side wall and pushed.
It was like pushing into a rock.
Was she buried?
Her heart rate spiked faster and faster. Her hands trembled. The