loss of the platform echoes it, we are different now, and we will work together to save our race.”
“You are no different. There is a reason I told you that you must have a meeting place before the brides descended.” Sirak sneered at the nervous archivist. “Tell them the whole truth, Ulio. They must understand why this is no victory, but our race’s final collapse.”
The archivist licked his lips and cleared his throat. He glanced apologetically at King Kadir.
But even his silence was damaging.
Second Lieutenant Ciran murmured to King Kadir, “We should descend. The All-Council head sows confusion and lies. The dignitaries have already endured too much.”
“I still hope to bring the All-Council army to our side,” King Kadir vibrated back, equally quiet. “If he retains them, he may grow his power again, and there is no telling how much harm they will cause.”
“If the army is not convinced by now, no words will ever convince them.”
King Kadir’s gaze traveled over Queen Nora, who had been mortally wounded, General Giru, who was stretching his shoulder with a wince, and the brides who had been held hostage by a male fully willing to have them killed. A muscle flexed in his jaw, and then he nodded with regret.
Raising his arms, he vibrated, “You are welcome to join us any time. Atlantis is open to any mer who would be our allies.” And then he turned and led their allies to the best current to descend.
Sirak vibrated with a deep smirk. “Look. He runs from the answer. Do not follow such a coward.”
Anger crackled up Gailen’s back.
King Kadir and the others seemed unaffected. They would say to ignore the taunts. They weren’t true, and everyone was eager to descend. They had better things to do.
“Hey.” Starr craned her neck to meet his eyes. “You okay? You seem angry.”
He started to reassure her…but why? Starr wasn’t asking because she needed reassurance. She was asking because she wanted to know him. His feelings, his longings, his dreams.
And he was angry. So what was he going to do about it?
“Do you mind if we stay here a little longer?” he asked wheeling around and weaving back through the crowd.
She grinned and flexed her glowing fingertips. “No problem. I’ve got all the time in the world.”
“The so-called king rules over a pile of lies,” Sirak ranted, having successfully recaptured his army. “He runs because he fears the truth I would reveal to him.”
“I do not,” Gailen vibrated at them, and the allies retreating behind him slowed and turned back to watch. “I do not fear the truth. Reveal it to me.”
Sirak sneered at him. “Who are you, then? A brash young warrior? You do not even look like a first lieutenant.”
“I am the hero of Atlantis.” Gailen grinned.
Sirak snorted. “Hero.”
But the other queens and allies returning to surround Gailen did not laugh.
He sobered. “You do not know what horrors you wish to unearth, young ‘hero.’”
“If humans or mer committed a terrible crime, we cannot turn back the ocean tide, but we can atone. And we can act more wisely in our future.”
His lips peeled back in a grin. “Precisely. Ulio, tell them about ancient Atlantis. The Great Catastrophe that drove us into the oceans, and why only the ancient covenant—the unchanging ancient covenant—can save us now.”
Archivist Ulio looked at Gailen with what seemed to be an apology.
It practically made Sirak salivate. “Tell them.”
Archivist Ulio licked his lips. “As you all know, once there were as many females born to our race as there were males. It is a quirk of biology that a feedback loop with a city’s Life Tree creates an imbalance that, if unchecked, leads to—”
“The Great Catastrophe,” Sirak reminded him. “Ulio.”
“Yes.” He frowned. “Atlantis was once ruled by many queens, as it is today, and also multiple kings, which is different to—”
“Ulio.”
“They must understand the context.” Archivist Ulio grimaced. “The most powerful queen of Atlantis ascended to claim her human husband. That was tradition at the time. But when they met, he refused her.”
“Because humans cannot see souls,” Sirak said.
“Well, be that as it may, the Atlantis queen lashed out, and the human king retaliated. They sparked a battle that spilled into a war. The Atlanteans lowered their city beneath the waves, and a great many humans drowned that day.”
“For which they have craved revenge ever since,” Sirak said. “Through the ages, hatred has prevailed. And it was all caused by one blind king who rejected his proper mate.”
But that was wrong.
No, that