Chapter Six
Late the following afternoon, Merletta found herself swimming the familiar route from the island back to the triple kingdoms for the third time in as many days. Except this time she wasn’t traveling alone.
Merletta glanced at the older mermaid swimming beside her. Eloise moved with a quiet grace that Merletta couldn’t help but admire, even in the midst of utter turmoil in her personal life. She made no sound as she cut through the water.
“Are you all right?” Merletta asked quietly.
She knew they were nearing the uncultivated kelp forests just outside the barrier, and soon would be unable to speak freely.
Eloise turned a wan smile on her companion. “All right?” she repeated. “August is alive. I feel like I am again, too. It’s just a lot to take in.”
Merletta returned her smile. “You certainly took the news about drying out more calmly than any of the others did.” It was true, although Eloise had opted not to make the transition herself on the occasion. Merletta didn’t blame her. Eloise had enough else to focus on.
Eloise gave a faint chuckle. “I was as floored as anyone, I’m sure. I just know how to keep my emotions inside.”
Merletta sighed. “Perhaps you could give me lessons.”
The other mermaid gave her a shrewd look. “I don’t think I should. Your strength isn’t in hiding. From the little I’ve seen of you, I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re the one who actually brings the lies to light. And you won’t do that by swallowing your reactions.”
Merletta was silent for a moment, a little stunned by Eloise’s faith in her.
“If I achieve anything of that nature,” she said at last, “it won’t be by myself. I wouldn’t even be alive now if not for my friends, and August’s patrol, let alone have all the information I do.”
Eloise gave an approving nod. “Wise words. I’m glad you know you need help. None of this should be taken on lightly.”
“I assume you’re glad I brought you into the secret, though?” Merletta asked, confident of her answer.
“Do you need to ask?” Eloise responded, the hint of a scoff in her voice.
Merletta didn’t, of course. She’d witnessed the reunion of husband and wife, and she had no doubt Eloise was willing to take whatever risks came with knowing August was alive.
“You can count me an ally, Merletta,” said Eloise seriously. “I don’t have much influence, and I don’t know how much help I can be to you. But if you need help, come to me, and I’ll try.”
“Thank you,” said Merletta earnestly.
She barely knew Eloise, but she still felt a weight lift from her shoulders. She was enormously grateful for the support of Sage, Emil, and Andre. But they were all similar in age to her. Having someone older—the age of a parent—whom she could trust was something she didn’t take lightly.
“I don’t think it’s wise for us to be seen together publicly, though,” Merletta added. “The last thing I want is for someone to figure out that August and the others are alive, and to go looking for them. The island really isn’t that far away.”
“I agree,” said Eloise briskly. She flashed a sudden smile at Merletta. “And I’m grateful to you for being the one to say it. I didn’t want to seem to be abandoning you, but—”
Merletta shook her head. “No, I understand completely. It’s safer for both of us this way. In light of which, we need to be extra careful as we pass back through the barrier. Maybe we should go separately? Are you confident you can get past the patrols?”
Eloise gave a grim smile. “I’ve been married to a guard for thirty years. I know a thing or two about how they operate.”
Merletta chuckled. “I’ll go in at the city’s northernmost point, then. Perhaps you should skirt around to the west, enter closer to home.”
Eloise nodded. “Until next time, then, Merletta.”
And with a powerful swish of her tail, she disappeared silently into the gloom.
Merletta turned her face southward, drawing in a deep pull of water. She was glad to have the hurdle of safely taking Eloise to Vazula and back behind her. And even more glad that Eloise had offered to take on the role of communicating the guards’ survival to the families of Paul and Griffin, using her judgment as to who should be told what. They had all agreed not to share the information about drying out just yet, however. For now, the bare fact of the missing guards’ survival would have to be enough.
Merletta felt a twinge of guilt as she thought of her friends. In spite of her lofty words about it being unfair to keep Andre in the dark about August’s fate, she still hadn’t told any of them the truth about drying out, not even Sage. She’d wondered if Emil might already know, given he was a record holder now. But she’d never confirmed it.
She would need to fill them in, but she wasn’t sure how to do it without them thinking she’d lost her mind. It had been simple with the guards. She hadn’t told them anything—she’d just showed them. But when she’d tentatively suggested that Sage might like to join her at the island, Sage had been hesitant enough for Merletta to drop the matter for the time being.
Focused on avoiding any nearby guard patrol, Merletta wasn’t paying close attention to the landmarks. Consequently, she didn’t realize until she’d crossed the barrier just how close she was to the neighborhood where she’d grown up. She felt a strange sense of nostalgia as she swam through the kelp farms. So many times she’d snuck in and out that way, back when she lived at the charity home. She’d clung to her private rebellion then, as the only way to gain a measure of control in the limited and restrictive world in which she lived.