day. How do I turn it off?”
Great, okay, now they were making progress.
“So, let’s reframe the squidocalypse into help. They’re all just trying so hard, in their little squid ways, to help you. And maybe you can just thank them for caring, like you did the plankton, and calmly tell them to go.”
“Just tell them things are cool? Just…tell them?”
“You have to believe it. You know. Because of the mind-body connection.”
“Right. Cool and calm. Channel my inner Itime.” Meg dropped her hands again. “If I really saved my son…” She shook her head, her black hair waving under the water. “All this time I’ve concentrated on how he almost died while I was watching him, and how Itime should never trust me with any of our kids again. If I actually healed him…”
“You healed him,” Bex said.
“You have always been a very sweet, caring child,” Angie said.
Meg smiled, a little wobbly, and her eyes reddened. “Thanks, you guys. It means a lot. Oh!” She pointed down.
Her toes unfurled into fins.
“It’s happening!” she squealed, and flutter-kicked with her mini fins in a somersault, fists waving. “You guys. You guys! I didn’t even think about it that time. I’m a mermaid superhero. Oh, my God. My heart is overfilling right now. The drama. Oh my God.”
Bex grinned.
Angie smiled, close-mouthed, beaming with pride. But her happiness for her daughter was also tinged with sadness.
Did old fears also hold back Angie?
Angie noticed Dannika’s eye and composed herself. “Yes? Oh, don’t look at me. I’m not the one you should concentrate on.”
“Why not?” Dannika asked.
“Because I told you already, I have no interest in storming any city.” Angie waved her fingers in dismissal. “I don’t know what it’s like to be a warrior, and honestly, I don’t want to know. I have no opinion on how they posture and shout.”
Posture and shout? “That sounds like a strong opinion, actually.”
“Well, it’s not.” Angie kept her pleasant smile in place but pressed her lips together like a crease cut by a knife. “Konomelu keeps us safe, and I make Sanctuary into a pleasant home.”
“Mom, you’re not really happy here.” Meg stopped kicking. “I mean, you joke about skincare, but you also lamented that none of the kids will ever receive my education.”
“Yes, but the solution isn’t more violence. If it were up to me, I would forget this war. People will get hurt, and maybe even killed.” Ange shook her head and backpedaled. “But what do I know? I’ve got no opinion. I’ll stay home.”
The tinkling sounds of the Life Tree punctuated the silence.
“That sounds like a really strong opinion,” Dannika said.
Meg and Bex chuckled. It dispelled the tension.
Angie’s lips curved into a self-deprecating smile. “Oh, I suppose. But it doesn’t matter what I think.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t know.” Angie gazed up at the Life Tree, then shook her head. “I shouldn’t tell you this, but when Prince Ankena took Luk to that echo point, Konomelu and I had a huge argument. I knew they shouldn’t go, or at least not alone. ‘You do not understand,’ Konomelu said. ‘It is one of the tests. A trainee must fight at the side of his father.’ And then they never came back.” She shook her head again and hugged her elbows. “I got so mad.”
“Because they didn’t listen to you?” Dannika asked softly.
“Yes!” She threw up her hands. “And someone did get hurt. I’m sorry, Bex. You think Prince Ankena is still alive. I want him to be alive too, but I don’t think Konomelu will ever forgive himself for not finding him the first time.”
“You don’t think this is one time Konomelu would prefer to be wrong?” Dannika asked.
“Yes, I suppose. Oh.” Angie pressed her hands to her chest. “This can’t be right. I feel worse now than before we started this talk. I’m sorry, ladies. I need to check on the boys and you know that underwater time dilation is tricky. It seems like we just entered the lagoon, but I have a feeling it’s already past dinner.”
What a letdown.
Dannika swam after the other women and they all emerged on the lagoon where Ciran was waiting for her—and it was just dinner time after all.
But worry seeped into her.
Bex was ready to storm Lusca. Meg knew what she had to do to control the animals and her powers, and now she needed to do it. But Angie…
Dannika had less than a week to connect with Angie.
And then they’d find out if it had been worthwhile.
Because this time,