Evermore (28 page)

I slipped into the current through the Northern exit in the palace and pulled the robe tight to conceal my face. Discontented murmurings of the large mass gathered floated over from the square. Curiosity to see what was happening made me pump my tail and swim closer just for a quick look.

Desirée hovered before five thrones, all empty except the one occupied by Girra. Below them, Jack was chained by his neck to a pillar in the middle of the square, surrounded by guards. Several hundred mers gathered just beyond, watching her.

I scanned the crowd for Galadriel. Did she get out of the infirmary okay? Maggie whimpered, hovering not too far away from Jack, held back by the guard. Tatiana, probably still locked up in her room, wasn’t with her.

“What do you have to say for yourself?” Desirée bellowed.

Jack held his head low and said nothing. Was he not going to defend himself? I knew, after my chat with my mother, whatever he could have said wouldn’t matter. Desirée had already made up her mind. We’d have to rescue him from Bone Island with Sissy and Hans’ help, and then run as a family, which meant I needed to get out of here before she caught me.

“Eirion, Poseidon rest his soul, is dead as a result of your malfeasance and so is my daughter and your son!” Desirée continued.

My tail flared to make me stop. I swiveled around. Why would Desirée blatantly lie to him? Jack’s shoulders convulsed anyway. Had no one told him our deaths were faked?

I swam closer, hoping to get his attention, hoping he was acting. Galadriel should have told him our plan and not left him in such a tortured state. He might do something drastic like take his life, something I’d contemplated myself.

“We must not let this happen again,” she commanded. “We were the safest when we had a king on the throne.”

The mer murmured, some agreeing and some disagreeing. A chant broke out.

“King! King! King!”

The hair prickled on my neck. If it weren’t for Alaster ruining my wedding, they’d be chanting something totally different today. He’d set this up, knowing how the mer would react, and put his son in the right place to claim the throne when the opportunity presented itself.

A merling’s sudden wail made my milk let down. I put my arm over my breasts to stop the ache. My heart twisted painfully as I scanned the crowd for the source. Who would bring a child to a trial?

Then I saw them. Garnet and Colin arrived and sat behind Desirée. A dark-haired merling wiggled in her arms, and although her face was red with embarrassment while trying to console the crying boy, jealousy settled in anyway. Why was it that they’d get their happily ever after? What had I done to deserve such heartache? My tears bled into the water. My life had been torn from me, and I hated everything the mer stood for. They were a cruel and crooked race I no longer wished to be a part of. I’d rescue Fin, get Jack from Bone Island, then we’d leave and never return, damn their stupid laws. Damn my birth mother.

The baby’s wail made me kick harder. Even the merlings hated it here. I had to leave before I completely lost it.

“He’s not dead!” I heard a familiar voice say.

I flared my fin to stop and turned. Had someone finally gotten the guts to say something?

All the blood drained from my face when Alaster floated above the square, tugging Fin’s lifeless body upward by his shirt collar.

“I’ve found your traitor, selling his blood for money! They both deserve Bone Island!”

“NO!” I screamed and pumped my tail to get closer.

“She’s alive!” the mer began to say. “Ashlyn is alive!”

Desirée turned, blue eyes flashing. She put her hand to her mouth in concern.

“See?” I yelled, flipping the hood off my head. “Alaster
is
alive. He was behind selling our blood and kidnapping me, and I can prove it!”

Desirée puffed out her chest. “That cannot be true.”

The mers murmured more. The merling’s continued shrieks added to the tension.

“It is!” I yelled, but beyond my word, I really had no proof.

“She lies, your majesty,” Alaster said while bowing. “I found them, trying to pass themselves off as dead. I was able to get Fin and fix the situation, but Ash got away.”

Your majesty? What?

Desirée dipped her head. “Though it pains me to say it, guards, arrest my daughter. For faking her death and exposing our secret to humans.”

“What?” I backpedaled.

How could she still defend this known criminal over her own flesh and blood? But at this point, even if no one believed me, I had to stand up for Fin’s family, for myself.

“Please! Natatorians, listen to me! Alaster was the one who killed Eirion so he could abduct me from my wedding to make it look like the humans knew our secret. He set Jack and Fin up to take the fall, all to scare you into thinking you need a king! Do you think it’s a coincidence his son is in line to take the throne? That his secret promising to Garnet and the timely birth of their son are merely a fluke?”

The crowd began to stir, uneasy. Several guards left their post next to Jack and surrounded me. Maggie, free to swim to Jack, put her arms around him and tried to undo the chains that bound him.

I swam above the crowd to keep my distance from the guards. The merling’s wails heightened and pierced the water, so loud people were putting their hands over their ears.

Then Garnet yelped, and the child stopped. “Ouch! He cut me!”

Before I knew it, the merling had escaped and was making a beeline for me. Black ink trailed behind his head, fading in the current, revealing bright red hair.

“Get that child!” Desirée demanded.

I sucked in a gasp as he came closer, my body breaking out in goosebumps. He stopped before me, eyeing me with blue eyes framed with dark lashes — Fin’s eyes.

I couldn’t breathe. “Joey?” I asked.

He let out a happy cry, darted forward and clung to my neck. My arms wrapped around him, pressing him to my bosom, the tears flowing free, my heart unfurling. Joey let out a soft coo of relief. He was alive!

Then my vitriol began to boil. Alaster had stolen my child and let me believe that he’d died. And after everything, my mother was trying to trick the mer again — all for the throne!

Pointing to Desirée, my eyes filled with hate. “You stole my son!”

“What?” She puffed out her chest. “That is Garnet and Colin’s merling! Give him back.”

“Are you kidding me? Only a merling torn from his mother’s breast would behave this way and you know it!” my voice bellowed. “You’re the one who should be arrested.”

“Ash is the rightful heir,” one of the mers cried out.

I swallowed hard. Heir? To the throne? That was the last thing I wanted. Freedom on land was what I craved, unencumbered and away from this madness. But the guards, confused what to do, bumped into each other, some heading for me and others changing direction and returning to Desirée.

“This is not true!” she shrieked. “That’s Garnet’s child! She is the rightful heir to the throne.” She backpedaled in the current. “Get your son, Garnet!”

“Let her have the brat!” Garnet snipped and swam off from the square toward the palace.

“Wait, Garnet?” Desirée cried, reaching for her though she was too far away to catch.

The crowd began to mumble louder, waving their fists in the air for answers.

“Desirée’s heir has produced a son!” one cried.

“Who does the merling belong to?” another yelled.

“Ashlyn and Fin can take the throne!”

“We need a king!” a group chanted.

Though it was clear to the mer Desirée had committed treason, I didn’t want the throne.

“Stand up to her,” a nearby girl said to me.

My chin jerked upward, and I held onto my son, my body trembling. Why wasn’t Fin waking up? “Desirée, you’ve committed treason. Not once but twice.”

Desirée laughed. “I have not. I watched Garnet give birth to that child and he belongs to her. If anyone has committed treason, it is you and Fin, for exposing our secrets!”

“No, Mother. You have overstepped your authority as Chancellor Pro-Tem, and as a voting citizen of Natatoria, I motion that you be stripped of your title.”

“Aye,” Badger said.

“Aye,” the crowd said in unison, their voices growing louder.

“Royalty has no say here,” I continued. “The Council is in charge, the ones the mers elected. By their voice, you’ve been stripped of your title as Chancellor Pro-tem, and you will be tried in court for kidnapping my son, along with…” I pointed to where Alaster had been hovering, finding he’d disappeared. Panic spread through me. We couldn’t lose him again. “Where is he?”

“Aye, get yer mangy arse back over here.” Badger pressed a trident to Alaster’s back. A wall of mers with weapons stood behind him. “Whatcha wanting me to do with him, My Queen,” he said to me.

My eyes widened at the moniker. Did he not just hear what I’d just said?

Alaster raised his hands. “I didn’t do anything. The Heltons are the ones at fault!”

“You took me, then stole my newborn and made me believe he was dead!” I seethed.

“I did not!” he defended, incredulously. “This is all lies! And that is
my
grandson you’re holding! Give him back!”

The mer murmured, still wavering in who to believe.

I shook my head, trying to focus on my surroundings. The tails of mers flipped above me as I lay prostrate on the stones lining the square, the water charged with anger and fear. My father was chained to a block a few feet ahead of me.

Alaster swam directly above me, the son of a bass, and Badger had a trident pressed into his back.

I swam upward. “What’s going on?” I asked Badger.

“Fin!” Ash cried out.

My glance swung wide to find her, my vision finally clearing. I swam forward, fighting the searing pain in my head from the ink. Then I saw him, a redheaded merling clinging to her chest. I blinked again. This couldn’t be. Our son had died.

“He’s alive?”

Ash smiled hugely, biting her lip and nodding as she swam forward.

Yes? What in Hades had happened? I swam toward her when Desirée charged forward. “It doesn’t matter! When Merric died, while you were planning your wedding, the people voted me Chancellor and requested I revive the laws that have always protected us. I’m here to announce that I will assume the throne as Queen because I have taken a mate!” she shouted. “As decreed by the fact, my daughters are mated!”

The crowd burst into a cacophony of questions.

“Can she do that?” the mer asked. “I thought it had to be her son?”

“Yes, she can!” another shouted. “Any heir will do!”

“Who’s her mate?” they asked collectively.

“Alaster is my mate!” She pointed to him. “Unhand him! Unhand the King!”

Alaster? What the hell? The blood drained from my face as the guard shifted positions, surrounding Badger and the mers next to him, freeing Alaster.

He gave me a smug smile. “I always win.”

“Aye, stand down men,” Badger said when his men started to struggle.

“No!” I yelled. “We must fight!”

I charged the closest guard, just to be punched in the gut and pulled into a chokehold.

“Desirée, this is ludicrous!” Jack barked. “This isn’t how we do things!”

“Silence him!” Desirée commanded, pointing to Jack.

I glanced over at Ash, giving her a pleading look. Helpless, I couldn’t do anything to stop them. She was the one who needed to stand up to her mother and take her birthright.

Instead, she glared at Desirée and her decisions leading to this point all made sense. She and Alaster had used any means possible to regain power, even by betraying our family. And we’d given her the perfect setup by the fact we were distracted with the wedding. Did she have something to do with Merric’s death, too? The betrayal was evident on Ash’s face, stabbing me in the heart.

“Arrest them and bring me the child,” she seethed.

My hackles rose. Why did she want our child?

Ash held tight onto our son. “I am the rightful Queen! Arrest Desirée and Alaster for treason against Natatoria!”

The guards didn’t listen to her, instead grabbing her hands and putting them behind her back. She opened her mouth when one slapped his palm over her face. The guard holding me swam me forward.

Ash glanced over at me, but I could barely stay lucid. Fear we wouldn’t survive this roiled through me. Weakened beyond words, I still fought to get free.

Desirée glared at my son as he clung to my wife, his tiny body pressed tightly against her.

“He is not your son,” Desirée said, voice hard.

“Like hell he isn’t,” I mumbled

Her lip sneared upward and she leaned in. “You should have remained dead.”

Ash’s shoulders slunk down, and her countenance fell. This was the only thing she’d craved — a mother’s love.

My heart seized for her.

You don’t need it. Rise above this. You have love. You don’t need her approval,
I tried to say, but couldn’t.

Desirée charged, grabbing ahold of my son. The merling screamed, thrashing his tail around, nicking her arm with the sharp edge. Ash fought back, smacking her tail against Desirée and the wall of guards behind her.

“Hold her still!” Desirée barked.

The guards stiffened and pressed forward.

“Ash,” I groaned, completely helpless. “Help her.”

Would no one stop this madness? Where were the rebels? Could the mer not see this power grab for what is was and do something to stop it? Or were they so paralyzed by the law, they couldn’t act of their own accord for what was right. So desperate for a leader.

In a last ditch effort to stay connected to Ash, Joey grabbed onto her necklace and yanked. Black ink flooded into the current, making the babe’s eyelids heavy.

Octopus ink.

Then the guards started dropping around me like flies, and I quickly joined them.