it,” Meg said.
“Then, the first step is to shift your feet into fins.”
Ciran flexed below the ankle. The middle of his foot unfolded and elongated, stretching the skin tight as his bones shifted to a scuba diver’s fin. His tattoos stretched, still intricate and beautiful, the coffee brown and leaf green patterns always circling each other, never quite touching.
He flexed and his fin returned into a human foot. “Now, you do it.”
“My feet don’t fold that way,” Angie said flatly. “And I wore a tremendous number of heels.”
“No bride has ever failed to transform.”
“I might be the first.”
“Mom.” Meg rolled her eyes. “Don’t be a drama queen.”
Angie flopped her ankles, wiggling with great irritation, as though under protest.
Bex focused. “Show me again.”
Ciran did so, patient as ever. “Partly it is flexing the muscle, and partly it is pushing your soul light to glow. Once you have found your center of power, growing it is a matter of practice. You will conquer any army, destroy any opposition.”
Angie frowned.
Ciran gazed at Dannika. His truth burned into her soul.
I believe in you.
Dannika closed her eyes and believed him.
Her toes tingled.
Was that it?
As soon as she wondered, the tingling dissipated. She opened her eyes. Her toes were the same as before. Hmm.
“You shifted,” Ciran vibrated, and smiled. “Just a small motion. But your belief is your strength.”
Well, his belief was, anyway.
“You shifted?” Meg whirled on her. Little glowing bits stuck to her face, and a cloud of shrimp buzzed around her toes like a subtle beehive. “Oh my God. How?”
“Show me,” Bex said.
“Sure, um…it’s trickier to do it on command…”
“You will develop this ability,” Ciran said. “It is an essential skill of all queens.”
No pressure or anything.
The women awaited her answer.
“I just closed my eyes and thought I could.” Dannika closed her eyes, but the sensations of everyone staring at her killed the magic. “I’ll practice.”
“But you feel it. You feel something,” Meg pressed.
“Yes.”
Everyone tried with renewed determination.
Ciran stopped in front of Angie. “You can never transform when your soul is this dark.”
“Mom.” Meg rounded on her. “You’ve got to try.”
“I am.” She crossed her arms even tighter, then threw them out in a trembling panic. “This warrior stuff isn’t for me. What am I even trying to do? Bend a spoon? Or what, levitate?”
“You already levitate in the water. What is your question about spoons?”
“I just—what, exactly, is the point of all this? What am I supposed to do with these so-called powers?”
“You are supposed to save a warrior and his son,” Ciran said. “And free your family from the Luscan’s reign of terror, bringing peace to this territory and harmony to the ocean.”
She lowered her shoulders, her expression slowly changing to acceptance, and her lips quirked to the side. “Well, when you put it that way, I suppose I could give it another try.”
“There we go, Mom.” Meg squeezed her arm.
She patted her daughter’s hand, then lifted her chin. “What are the three powers again?”
“Pushing, shielding, and healing.”
“And how do I know which one I possess?”
“You possess all of them, but you will have an affinity for one over the others. A natural preference.”
She flexed her fingers. “Pushing? Shielding…Ladies, do you know yours?”
“Pushing,” Bex said.
“I have no idea,” Meg said.
“Healing,” Bex said.
Angie agreed. “Meg, your power is probably healing.”
“Really? Because I could definitely go for shielding myself or pushing those squids away. Oh, Dannika.” She reached out and brushed a finger over the ghostly bruises on Dannika’s abdomen. “Did you have plum liqueur with lunch? I’ll make you a cold wrap with it after dinner. It makes a huge difference. Last year, when Tulu fell out of a tree and broke his leg, I was on twenty-four-hour poultice duty with him, and he was good to fall out of more trees in, like, days.”
Her belly tingled where Meg had touched it, and white sparkles filled the pool. Dannika’s bruises dissipated.
“I think you just healed me with your touch,” Dannika said.
Meg laughed, chest vibrating, and waved her away. “That’s just the plankton. They always sparkle when I’m around.”
Dannika looked at Ciran and pointed to her belly.
He inspected her. “A very strong power.”
Meg argued more but was overruled by the truth.
“Great. So I have healing and squid powers.” Meg flicked here fingers to dislodge the plankton which, for some reason, only stuck to her. “I think pushing or shielding would be more useful.”
“At least you know what you are,” Angie said placidly.
“What happens after fins?” Bex asked Ciran.
“After? First, you must make your fins,