Sea Spell (Waterfire Saga #4)(31)

Sera knew he was asking her for the truth, but the truth was a lethal commodity. She didn’t want to lie to him, but neither could she answer his question. Not in front of the entire goblin court. As she deliberated, Guldemar spoke again.

“I see. You ask for my help, you demand my trust…yet you do not trust me.” He spat into one of the lava pools that bubbled on either side of his throne. “And so it has always been between Meerteufel and mer,” he added bitterly.

Guldemar was referring to the uneasy relations between the two peoples. The goblins were intimidating in appearance and manner and tended to frighten the mer. Sera, who had twenty thousand Meerteufel troops in the Karg, was learning that in addition to possessing great reserves of fierceness and courage, goblins were also loyal, hardworking, and kind, but bringing about a better understanding between the Meerteufel and mer was a task that would require a great deal of time, and Sera had none. She knew that if she wanted Guldemar’s help, she would have to show that she trusted him. Right now. She’d have to tell him about Orfeo and Abbadon. There was no other way.

It was risky, though. What if, after listening to her, he sided with Vallerio and Orfeo? Any sane person would. Their might and magic dwarfed her own. And then there were the talismans. They were powerful objects. What if Guldemar wanted them for himself? He might attack her camp and take the ones she and her friends had found.

Sera decided she would tell Guldermar everything, but only him. She started toward the throne. Immediately, a dozen goblin guards advanced on her. Desiderio and Yazeed rushed to defend her.

Guldemar held up a hand, stopping everyone. “Approach, Serafina,” he commanded.

Sera swam to him. Light flickered in the kraken’s eyes as she did, startling her. For a moment, she was certain the creature was alive, but then she realized the light was only an illusion. The kraken’s eyes were fashioned from obsidian; they reflected the lava’s glow.

When Sera was close enough to Guldemar that he alone could hear her, she told him that her fight with her uncle was only the beginning, and that a greater battle lay ahead. She told him everything—starting with Vr?ja’s summons, and ending with Ling’s discovery that the terragogg Rafe Mfeme was really Orfeo.

“That’s why I need the additional troops, Guldemar,” she added as she finished. “So that I can make it to the Southern Sea, where I mean to destroy Abbadon.”

Guldemar said nothing. He just stroked his tusks thoughtfully. Sera waited for him to answer, but before he could, Stickstoff, annoyed at being left out, spoke.

“Another has approached us. One who also wants Guldemar’s help. One who will pay well—very well—for an alliance with the Meerteufel.”

Sera turned to him. Stickstoff hadn’t mentioned a name, but he didn’t have to.

“Yes, he will,” she said, with a caustic smile. “At first. But then he’ll send his own troops here to take what he wants. Tread carefully with my uncle, Stickstoff. He has the might of three mer realms behind him now. What’s to stop him from taking Meerteufel waters?”

Worry surfaced in Guldemar’s eyes at Sera’s words.

Stickstoff, however, waved them away. “We Meerteufel are quite capable of defending our territory, thank you. Our only difficulty, at present, is that we don’t quite know which mer ruler to trust.”

“You mean which mer ruler to back,” Sera said cynically. “A battle’s coming, you know it is, and you don’t want to be on the losing side.”

Stickstoff ignored that. “You say that the throne of Miromara is yours. Your cousin Lucia claims that it’s hers. If only the two aggrieved parties could solve their problems by talking them through…” he mused, tapping a finger against his chin.

Something in his tone made Sera’s fins prickle. He was up to no good, she was sure of it.

“Or better yet,” he continued, smiling slyly, “by fighting to the death!”

At his signal, the doors to the stateroom were thrown open, and a merman swam through them.

“It’s a trap, Sera!” Desiderio shouted, swimming to her side. Yazeed was right behind him.

Sera snapped into action. Her hand went to the hilt of the sword. Her body tensed as she prepared herself to fend off her worst enemy.

But it wasn’t her uncle or Traho who swam through the doors.

It was Mahdi.





SERAFINA LIFTED HER CHIN, affecting the haughtiest look she could muster.

It took every ounce of control she possessed not to race to the merman she loved and throw her arms around him. Instead, she had to pretend to hate him. To show even a flicker of warmth toward Mahdi was to put his life in the gravest danger. Her uncle undoubtedly had spies in Guldemar’s court, and a report of what transpired between them would surely reach his ears.

“Principessa, you’re alive!” Mahdi said, faking surprise.

“No thanks to you,” Sera retorted. Her eyes were icy, her tone glacial. But behind the pretense, she was worried. Mahdi was thin. There were shadows under his eyes. His color was off. Something was wrong. She risked a glance at Yazeed. His eyes were on Mahdi, too, and she could see from his expression that he felt the same way.

Stickstoff, however, noticed nothing amiss. He was too excited over the prospect of bloodshed.

“Isn’t this wonderful!” he crowed, clapping his hands. “We can solve this right now. Serafina, you will represent yourself, of course. His Royal Highness, the Emperor of Matali, is here as emissary for his realm, and the realm of Miromara. You both have swords, do you not? Excellent! The first one who cuts the other’s head off wins. The Meerteufel will be happy to do business with the survivor.”