the waves, opened whirlpools, and buried the monsters as deep as they

could. There were three Sea Kings once, and each had a separate piece

of the trident. The fork, the staff, and the crystal spike. Each king

fought against the others, the sea folk dying as the battles waged. We

slaughtered dragons, gorgons, and the fair folk who would have us

cower to their wicked games. Our magics ebbed like the tides. Our

numbers were depleted. Until one king united us all. He merged the

trident. He tamed the giants. He made us all one.”

“Was that you?”

The king laughs, and the sound echoes off the walls. He stands the

trident up so the tip of the crystal hits the floor and leaves a tiny

dimple in the rock. “That was my great-great-grandfather. His blood is

mine, just as it is yours. If you don’t do this, then our line dies

with me. You can go back to your human life. You might even lead the

same life as your mother. But you will always get called back to the

ocean, to us. You are ancient, and you are of my blood, the way I am

of the sea. And that, that is why I have chosen you to be my champion.

My blood, my grandson, my young Tristan Hart.”

•••

I leave my grandfather in his chamber and return to the court,

where the sky has burst with sunset colors.

Silks are draped over the tent openings, and lamps are turned on.

Some merfolk dive back into the water and go below wherever it is they

go. Others curl up on their boulders and sleep. In the distance

someone is strumming a small guitar. I don’t know the tune, but I find

myself humming. My entire body is humming. I’ve never even touched the

trident, and I can still feel its power.

Marty is sprawled on a bed of spade-shaped leaves. He’s made a

pillow out of a bunch of silk, his cap covering most of his face.

I find Layla and Thalia with their toes dipped in the pool. They

stare up at me with sleepy eyes. “Where have you been, Tristan?”

“Yeah, you missed Marty trying to synchronize swim with his

merteenies.”

Sorry, guys, but I was busy learning my family tree and being told

officially that I was going to be a champion. I reach down to the lake

and wash my face.

“I met Atticus,” I say.

Thalia squeals, then covers her mouth when she realizes she’s

about to wake the whole island. “Did you find your chambers? Kurt

already went to his. You can stay in mine, Layla.”

“Do you snore?” she jokes.

Thalia leads us back through the passageway, the mini-firelights

hovering over our heads. Layla reaches for my hand, and I take it

eagerly. She’s my rock, and I’m a balloon getting carried away in the

wind.

Thalia runs into an opening to the left, forgetting about us and

jumping into the pool with her recently well-fed sea horse. I don’t

exactly know where I’m going. All the tunnels look the same. The

cluster of lights gets frantic in front of my face. I try to flick

them away, but Layla stops me. “I think they want us to follow,” she

says.

Oh, I knew that.

The light leads us right and then left again. There’s only one

opening here. I part the silky sheer curtains and walk in. It’s a

room, like any other room. The bed is made of more shipwreck parts,

and when I touch the mattress, it is the softest thing in the world.

Layla hits the bed first. The last time we slept in the same bed was

when we were little. Before I knew we had matching parts, but maybe

even then I sort of got the idea. She stretches her body, and the arch

of her back lifts from the mattress and then sinks back down. I sit

carefully. I’m afraid she’s going to banish me to the floor. Then, her

eyes flutter, barely awake, and she reaches her hands out.

“I thought you’d left me,” she says.

I lie down beside her. I trace her face lightly with my finger.

The slope of her nose, the dip of her lips. I stop at her jaw and then

let myself trace her neck. She whispers something, and I wish it were

my name. Her eyes open suddenly, bright against the hazy light of the

stone walls.

“What are you doing?” She doesn’t move. Neither do I.

“You had something on your face.”

She smacks her cheek. “Is it gone? What was it?”

“This poisonous fly that you can only find on Toliss Island.

Really, I killed it for you.”

Just then she smirks. She’s caught me. She presses a hand on my

chest and pushes me away, but grips my T-shirt at the same time.

“Tristan.” I don’t like the way she says this. No, let’s just smile

and stay in this moment, because whatever she’s going to say, I’m not

going to like it. “What’s going to happen tomorrow?” She lies flat on

her back, and I do the same. I follow the grooves of the ceiling with

my eyes, trying to count the tiny chips that sparkle.

“I’m supposed to be a champion .”

“So it’s not just a feast in your honor?”

I shake my head hard. “Nope. I’m going to be introduced as the

king’s heir. Apparently he has no living sons.”

“That’s so sexist. Why can’t there be a girl Sea Queen? Why-”

“Relax, it’s not like that. He has daughters, but it’d be like

making Hannah Montana president, you know? My mom was supposed to be

queen. But she chose to stay with my dad.”

Layla gets on her side. Even though the room is cool, I can feel

the heat of her body “So, what? You’re going to be this king? You’re

not going to graduate? You’re-” she chokes. You’re never going to see

me again.

I didn’t think of that. I mean, I didn’t exactly get on one knee

and accept, but when your grandfather is wielding a trident that

crackles with lightning in your presence, you don’t exactly want to

disagree. “I can’t exactly go back to the way everything was, can I?

Now that I know what I am. How do I just sit in class and joke with

the boys?”

“How are you supposed to be a champion? The only time you’ve ever

fought is when Angelo and Jerry want to reenact WWF.” She’s sitting up

now. Her voice goes up a few octaves when she’s stressed.

“Come here.” I pull her close to me so her head is on my chest and

her hand is over my heart. I’m not as sure as I sound. Can she tell?

“Tristan,” she whispers. “The day of the storm, I cried from the

moment the wave hit you till the moment I found you. Please don’t

leave me like that again.”

I hold my breath, because it’s what I’ve wanted to hear from her

since the moment I came back. My Layla, my girl. She’s always been

there; I just never saw her the way I do now. I kiss her forehead and

feel her body soften against mine as she sinks into sleep.

•••

First I think it’s a trick of the light. There are so many moving

shadows in this room that I can’t tell. But then I see it moving. A

hooded figure past the entrance to my room.

As gently as I can, I pull myself off the bed without waking

Layla. I part the curtain, my eyes adjusting to the low light. I take

slow steps and listen. The figure is walking quickly, and I can tell

it’s a girl-her hood swishes in the wind. Maybe she’s trying to hide

from something. Maybe she needs my help.

The tunnel makes a break to the right into a room covered with

floating orbs of lights. There’s a pool like the one in my

grandfather’s chamber, but bigger. The rock around it forms a perfect

circle. Leaning over the pool is the hooded girl. Her slender hand

holds something silver and dips it in the water.

She sees me and gasps, jerks her hand back, and covers her face

with her cloak. She runs to an opening to the left.