Chapter 318

Holding Elva’s hand, I lead us both down the stairs.

As I dropped beneath the surface of the water, I instinctively held my breath. Beside me, Elva hadn’t. She looked around, surprised, and then laughed. Oddly, I could hear her voice clearly, even under the water.

In front of us, Jessica and Veronica were having a full on conversation about the nature of underwater breathing magic.

“Why can’t werewolves live in the merfolk kingdom, with this kind of magic?” Jessica asked.

“The magic won’t last for more than a day, I imagine,” Veronica said. As our local magic expert, she would know, though Jessica likely didn’t understand that.

“Not to mention that werewolf bodies aren’t meant to live underwater,” Julian added.

“That would add complications,” Veronica agreed.

Jessica pouted slightly, somewhat disappointed.

Bridget started walking, ahead of all of us.

I watched them all in awe, still amazed I could hear them as clearly underwater as if they had been standing beside me. Perhaps that magic hadn’t just been to help us breath underwater, but to help us survive there too.

Behind us, Nathan and the camera crew were descending into the water. The cameras were covered in a protective film to keep the salt water from harming the equipment. The crew checked everything over while they were there in the shadows.

Nathan looked over them and all of us. He seemed nervous, likely due to the importance of this event.

The alliance between werewolf and merfolk was a valuable one. Any faux pas here might tarnish that closeness.

Nathan’s eyes landed on me, and I swear I felt him giving me a silent warning. Out of all of us, he must have seen me as the weak link. That seemed unfair, given all that Bridget had done.

Elva tugged at my hand. “Come on, Mommy! I want to see the mermaid palace!”

“Merfolk,” I corrected gently.

Nicholas waited for all of us at the base of the stairs. I was the last one down them, dragged by Elva, who was swimming now, no longer bothering with stairs. I supposed I could have swam as well, but it seemed polite to keep my feet on the floor, as that was what the others were doing.

I fully intended to follow Nicholas and Julian’s lead here. Mark and Nicholas’s guidance had helped save me when facing Merfolk Ambassador Zale at a previous event. I could trust Nicholas not to lead me astray now as well.

I tried to think back on what few merfolk customs I knew. I had learned some at the Academy, but that had been so long ago, I struggled to remember. At the time, I hadn’t thought I would actually use that information so hadn’t made much effort to retain it.

The Merfolk had their own language. I only knew basic phrases. I wondered if they would use their own language here, or still to English for the sake of their visitors.

“Are you alright?” Nicholas asked. He held his arm out for me, and I accepted it.

“It’s a bit unnerving,” I said, “Being able to breathe under the water.”

“You get used to it,” Nicholas said. “Give it a few minutes.”

Elva, meanwhile, continued to tug on my arm. “Let me go, Mommy. I want to swim!”

“It’s alright,” Nicholas said. He squeezed my arm in comfort.

“Just don’t go far,” I said and released Elva’s hand.

She immediately started swimming like a fish. I had no idea how she’d learned to be such a good little swimmer! Was Anna teaching her while I was at work?

Pride brimmed in my heart. My darling daughter was so talented at everything.

The walls and floor of the hallway we were in seemed to be made of stone with some coral and barnacles collected here and there. Warm lights glowed overhead in starfish-shaped chandeliers, illuminating the hallway.

Nicholas led me forward and together with the rest of the group, we made our way to another set of double doors. A mostly-familiar figure stood in front of them.

I gasped. Ambassador Zale!

Yet unlike the last time I had met him, when he had been more human shaped and wearing a tuxedo, now he was even more otherworldly. The biggest change was the lack of human legs. Instead, he had a long and coiling fish tale, covered in scales the same as the blue-green ones on his forehead and nose.

On his torso, covering his chest, shoulders, and arms, was a tight jacket similar in material to my swimsuit. Like my swimsuit, it was covered in various shells, all of which were shiny, colorful, and attractive.

At once, Bridget, Veronica, and Jessica bowed in greeting. But I remembered my last experience with the ambassador. So did Nicholas and Julian. As we approached, we lifted our hands to cover where our gills would have been on either side of our necks, had we been merfolk.

We gave the royal greeting, “My life, my friendship.”

Zale beamed at us all. He mimicked the gesture, lightly covering his own gills. “My life, my friendship.” He lowered his hands away. “What a pleasure to see you again, my friends.”

Bridget cast me a sharp look back over her shoulder. Had she not been warned about the proper greeting? Good. Maybe Nicholas or Julian would have told her, had she not left me on that island.

I did feel bad, however, for not warning Veronica or Jessica, though neither seemed overly upset. Zale’s friendliness extended to them as he cast them a kind smile, so there seemed to be no hard feelings.

Well, for anyone except for Bridget.

“I wanted to be the one to formally greet you before you enter the banquet hall,” Zale said. “Many of the royal family has gathered there, as well as others in the nobility who are anxious to meet you. We have also welcomed some of the well-respected common folk who have well-earned a chance to be here.”

“We are always pleased to spend time with whomever the royal family deems appropriate,” Nicholas said.

Zale turned his kind smile to Nicholas. “I am grateful to you, though do not feel overly pressed to speak with anyone you do not feel comfortable with.” His gaze slipped from Nicholas to the rest of us. “Our customs differ from yours. You do not need to be courteous to those who have not earned it. Remember, honesty is valued about all else.”

Nicholas leaned closer to me, enough to whisper in my ear without drawing attention or being overheard. “That rule applies to all but the royal family. Whatever you do, be kind to them.”

I gave Nicholas a look, hoping to indicate that I would never be unkind to anyone. He offered a small smile in exchange. He knew that. But he wanted to warn me. I nodded, understanding.

Zale continued to speak, “You will know who is of royal blood because only the royals are permitted to wear crowns.”

“The larger the crown, the more important the royal,” Nicholas whispered to me.

I nodded, grateful for the tip.

“Now,” Zale continued. “If you are ready…?”

We were, so we nodded.

Zale turned and pushed open the large doors behind him.

Immediately, my mouth dropped. The banquet hall was spacious and wide, but it was also deep, seeming to go down, down forever. The merfolk didn’t care about floor space, not when they could move easily in every direction.

We moved forward as a group toward the end of the walkway, before the very ground disappeared. A plethora of merfolk turned to look at us. Some started a throaty call.

“A cheer,” Nicholas whispered to me. “Similar to clapping.”

Bridget immediately began to bow and wave. The others moved slower.

One of the merfolk moved closer. His scales were bright green and matched his eyes. His tail had many fluttering fins, all very attractive and well-taken care of. A crown of conch shells circled his head.

A royal then, of middling importance.

My nerves heightened, especially when he smiled right at me.

He covered his fins, gave a small dip of his head, and then winked.