grinding sound, as though my insides are shifting.
“Urchin secret,” Blue says. “Cures all.”
“Pound it.” I hold out my fist to him. And he does, pressing his tiny knuckles against mine in a fist bump.
Layla, who’s been pacing the length of the room muttering to herself, shoots me a nasty glare.
“Say it to the whole class, Santos,” I tell her.
She stops mid-step and turns to me with furious watery eyes. “You’re a big, dumb idiot.”
Gwen laughs, patting my knee. “I’ve been saying this since I met him. But you’ve got to admit, he must be doing something right. Since he’s still alive.”
I test the state of my ribs by sitting up. I stretch my arms up toward the ceiling, across my chest, and behind my back. “Oh, that feels so good.”
“I’ve never seen a makara eel before,” Kurt says. “It’s smaller than I thought.”
“Small?” I choke on the last drag of tea. “You call that thing small?”
“Only in comparison to the stories.” He gives his tooth one last polishing stroke and smiles down at it. “Blue, do you think I can make a spear out of this?”
Happy that he’s being addressed, Blue nods. “Oh yes, Master Kurtomathetis. Straight away.” He takes the giant tooth in his hands and rushes away with it.
Layla stops pacing. She sits to the left of me on the bed, giving me her back. “I don’t get how something like that can exist without anyone knowing about it.”
“Think about what you just said.” I take a lock of her hair and run my fingers along it. She bats me away. “No one sees the giant, floating Toliss Island that contains the whole Sea Court, either.”
“That’s different,” Kurt says. “There’s a spell around the island so it appears to be a storm at sea. To keep humans away. The makara and others like it were put away years ago. They caused so much destruction that the king buried them deep in the earth, hoping they would die. That explains their size. They’ve adapted to the constraints of the cave.”
I twist my torso to stretch the soreness out of my rib cage. “So why did one just happen to show up and start snacking on great whites?”
“It’s the king’s power.” Kurt motions at my quartz scepter and Triton’s dagger on the table. “It’s ebbing. The trident is the king’s power. He creates with it. He destroys with it. Now that it’s broken in three pieces, everything will come undone.”
“I don’t get it,” Layla says. “Haven’t there been other kings? Why is this happening now?”
“The line has been unbroken for thousands of years. Our kind is bound to the power of the throne. Which is why, if at the end of the fortnight, the trident is not pieced back together, everything—from the creatures banished in caves beneath the sea, to those banished from court—would be able to return. Even our kind would be able to go on land.”
“We don’t always behave very well among humans,” Thalia says darkly.
“Speak for yourself, guppy,” Gwen says. She’s got her arms crossed like she owns the world. Then the ship heaves. Gwen falls into Kurt, who holds her by her shoulders at arm’s length. Layla falls back against me and I take this moment to put my arms around her. The pitcher of water on the table wobbles but doesn’t tip over.
Thalia throws her hair back, just missing Gwen’s face. “I think I’ll check on the progress. We should be there shortly.” She presses her hand on my shoulder before leaving.
Kurt looks from Layla to me to Gwen, and as though he’d rather face another Macarena eel thing than stay with us, he says, “I’ll join you.”
Gwen tries to pick up my makara tooth, but doesn’t realize how sharp it is, and cuts her finger on its edge. She sucks on the wound.
“Time for an edible seaweed Band-Aid,” Layla says, mock-sweetly.
Gwen shoots a terrible glare at her. I’m expecting her eyes to glow white and sparks to fly from her fingers, but she just stalks out.
Which leaves just Layla and me.
I get off the bed and pour myself a cup of water. It’s cool, slightly salty, and perfect. I drink it eagerly as it trickles over the cup and down my chest.
“Thirsty?” Layla asks.
I set the cup down. “Just a bit.”
I grip the dusty golden hilt of the scepter, trying to remember the power I felt when I was facing the makara.