and then—” He made a noise of surprise.
Bex’s feet dangled as long fins. Unlike Dannika’s brief stretch, they extended all the way.
She’d done it.
Meg exclaimed. “How did you do that?”
Bex shrugged. “I thought maybe I could do it some time ago. This time, I didn’t stop myself.”
“Amazing…”
Ciran pressed his hands to his chest. “From the same place, channel your power.”
“Anywhere?” Bex asked.
“Just point your hands in a direction. Ah.” He kicked to the side. “Allow me to stay out of your way.”
Bex eyed the nearest stalagmite. Then she lifted her hands. Her fingers glowed.
A band of white zapped out and struck the stalagmite. The rock cracked.
Holy moly.
The tenor of the ocean changed, with sea life speeding up their music and fleeing from the incredible power.
“Very good.” Ciran beamed at Bex. “You have excellent control and power.”
Bex formed her hands in fists and looked at the other women. “When do we go to Lusca?”
Meg shared a rueful glance with Angie and then Dannika. “Sorry, Bex. We’ll work harder, won’t we, guys?”
“You will improve faster by increasing your resonance.” Ciran kicked to the ledge. “I will collect the warriors.”
He kicked and disappeared.
Excitement buzzed in the water.
Dannika squeezed her Sea Opal and focused her energy on it. Her toes tingled. Things were going well.
Maybe they could find their powers right now. They could leave the island, get Val medical help, and she could warn Hazel about the sabotage.
They would work together and get off this island. Because the women had the power, and their loving warriors believed in them.
Chapter Twenty-One
“The women have no power,” Konomelu said to Ciran when he interrupted the conference with Itime in an isolated area of the coral. “Angie resists. Dannika cannot perform under combat conditions. Meg cannot even enter the ocean.”
Itime nodded.
“We cannot rely on them,” Konomelu said. “They may use their powers in a calm lagoon. But we must storm a city.”
“Bex already showed great power,” Ciran argued. “She pushed out great energy and broke a rock.”
“Bex has no warrior to protect her,” Konomelu said.
“Once the other queens have developed their powers, they will shield her.”
“We were both impressed with Dannika’s demonstration. But today, we also witnessed its failure. Our brides are not warriors. Distractions, loss of concentration in battle—we struggle with training our young fry in these shallow waters. How can we train a bride in a power we cannot even understand?”
“Dannika will improve with practice,” Ciran insisted. “And yes, Bex leaves her back unguarded, but once we ensure her protection, she will be unstoppable.”
Itime raised one finger. “Are you willing to stake Bex’s life on this?”
Because if their brides went out into the ocean and their powers failed, the warriors would of course protect their brides.
Who would protect Bex?
Over on the reef, the trainees were conducting familiar shallow-water exercises. Nuno, Hadali, and Tulu supervised the younger warriors.
Their bare skin stood out.
A warrior’s first tattoos were for simple accomplishments such as swimming around the limits of the city’s territory alone. Patrols swept the territory clear in advance, but there was always a small element of danger. Next would come joining the hunts for deep ocean fish, crafting weapons from the deep sea beds, and expertise in fighting.
But Nuno, Hadali, and Tulu couldn’t even receive their very first tattoo because they had never swum the length of a city’s territory.
They could not.
Because they were stuck in this shallow island reef.
And out beyond the coral lattice floated the patrolling warriors who would never let them escape. Not unless they forced their way to freedom.
“Without a warrior to protect Bex, it is too dangerous to take her into the open ocean,” Konomelu said gravely.
“You cannot enter Lusca without the queens,” Ciran said.
“We must. And, we have figured out a way to do so.” Konomelu puffed his chest. “I am no Undine, but even I can strategize.”
Ciran raised a brow. “Your description of Lusca is a typical mer city.”
“Listen and learn, Undine. I mean, Atlantean.”
Konomelu pointed out various features of the reef, asking him to pretend that a certain coral spire was the Life Tree and another spire was the king’s castle. Those rocks were the prisons beneath the city, and this serpentine crevice represented the trench.
“All we must do is slip past the patrols. The king stations city guards here, here, here-here, and here-here-here-here.”
“And here.” Itime pointed out yet another spot.
That was more guards than Atlantis and Undine. “That is quite a few guards for a ‘typical’ mer city.”
“They rotate frequently based on the mood of the king. Anyway.