The Deepest Blue(97)

She imagined they’d tell Lanei, and Lanei would inform Mayara and Roe that it was all taken care of. Maybe she’d even have an explanation for what happened with the queen—that Palia had misunderstood and had acted rashly and independently. But Mayara knew even as the thought blossomed that it was ridiculous. Lanei had maneuvered herself into position to become queen. She’d murdered an heir. Of course the queen’s murder hadn’t been a “misunderstanding.”

What will she do to us if we go to her? Lanei would know they knew the truth. But we promised the queen. And if Lanei isn’t told . . .

“Maybe another heir has already told her,” Mayara said. “Maybe it would be better if we left. Got as far away from here as possible.” Back home. To hide in the village she came from. She’d never told Lanei where her home was. She could live out her life in anonymity. . . .

Unless Lord Maarte came for her.

Unless the Silent Ones returned.

Surely Elorna would help protect her. And Kelo would hide her and Roe. And Garnah, I guess. Except that Lanei didn’t know who Garnah was.

“Are you willing to risk your islands on a ‘maybe’?” Garnah asked.

“Lanei won’t be happy to see us,” Mayara said. “Maybe you could tell her, Lady Garnah. She doesn’t know you know what she’s done.”

“She doesn’t know me at all,” Garnah said. “She may not listen.”

“Are you afraid of her?” Roe asked Mayara.

Of course. She was more afraid than she’d ever felt on Akena Island. At least then she’d been certain she was doing the right thing by hiding. Here, she was doing the opposite of hiding. She was diving through a monster’s skull, but there was no clear pool of water at the bottom. “Yes. She’s a murderer, and now she has the power of a queen.”

But neither Roe nor Garnah slowed. And so Mayara kept pace with them. She saw the palace rising up before them. It was curved like a shell, and a bridge made of translucent blue stone broke like a frozen wave through the gilded doorway.

A crowd of white-robed islanders had gathered by the blue bridge. Many were laying flowers and sugar drops at the foot of the bridge. A few were singing the mourner’s lullaby. Others were embracing and laughing, grateful to be alive.

It was an odd day, Coronation Day.

Usually most islanders felt relief.

They won’t feel relief if the leviathans come, Mayara thought grimly. She didn’t turn aside. Instead she followed Roe and Mayara to the blue stone bridge. She waited for a moment, wondering if they would be allowed across, while Lady Garnah spoke with the guard.

Then they were waved through.

She tried to remember the Mayara she used to be, before the island and before Lanei. She’d been fearless, reckless even, trying to live large enough for two. She didn’t feel like that Mayara anymore. She’d seen death and fear and loss. But she was diving in anyway.





Chapter Twenty-Four

Beyond the known world, beyond the horizon, beyond where any ship had ever sailed, deep within the sea, where the currents were thick and powerful and the sun was a weak shadow of nearly forgotten daylight, slept the wild spirits.

They were all water spirits and all ancient. They could remember a time before humans when they were supreme, when they were the only ones who created and destroyed.

They felt when the queen who told them such soothing lullabies died. Her absence was like the removal of a blanket. They felt the water on their skin, the coolness of the depths, and their minds churned sluggishly.

Another would come. Sing them back to sleep. Give them the dreams they so desperately craved. They wanted to sleep, to dream, to exist again in that long-ago age and forget that the world had moved on. Being awoken was like feeling the Great Mother die once more. Once more, they remembered they were alone.

They woke and they waited.

But no one came.

And slowly, they remembered everything.

Three of them woke, giant monsters that dwarfed imagination. One was shaped like a dragon with a scaly serpent’s body, blackened wings, and eyes that were white-hot embers. Another was a kraken, with tentacles the thickness of a ship’s hull. And the third was a many-headed snake, with a body that could wrap around the city of Yena.

They swam unerringly toward Belene.

INSIDE THE PALACE, MAYARA FELT AS SMALL AND DRAB AS ONE OF the swallows that nested in the eaves. Everything was encased in nacre. Like my wedding dress. She thought again of Kelo. She wondered if he’d come here to meet the queen—there hadn’t been a chance for him to tell her his story. She felt as if she’d plunged into a world in which she didn’t belong.

If she stayed in it long enough, she wondered if she’d lose herself, the way she did when she dived deep, becoming one with the blue until she forgot she still had to breathe.

They’d all given their names to an official who’d told them to wait. Mayara could tell that the others wanted to storm in and demand to see the queen, but it was more sensible to be invited. They’d have a better chance of convincing Lanei to listen if they didn’t barge in.

They waited for several minutes, with both Roe and Garnah growing more impatient by the second. Roe paced back and forth over the iridescent tiles, while Garnah sat, drummed her fingers on the armrest, then stood, then sat again.

Mayara wished she were home.