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Soulara swam out of the castle ignoring every greeting she sped past.

Zendalia’s home appeared before Soulara consciously realized where she had been heading.

“Hello?” Soulara called out from the front, waiting for either Zendalia or Kaelin to show up. She’d swum in on them one too many times to risk going any farther inside.

“Soulara?” Zendalia’s head poked out of the main living area. Her smile brought a warmth of comfort and a lump of fear to Soulara.

“I’m not interrupting, am I?” Soulara grinned cheekily, leaning back on her teasing because right now being the crown princess was too much for her to carry.

“No.” Zendalia met Soulara halfway to the living area and wrapped her friend in a hug.

The moment Zendalia’s arms wrapped around Soulara’s shoulders, the pressure that had been building burst, and she collapsed in her friend’s arms. Small sobs escaped as she buried her head into Zendalia’s shoulder, letting her hair hide her face.

A small noise of surprise escaped Zendalia, but her arms tightened, and she moved them both farther into her home.

“Kaelin, would you mind fixing some herbs for us?”

“Of course.” Kaelin disappeared from the room in a blur Soulara couldn’t keep up with. The mermaid from the deep soundings had gotten faster since she had taken Reine as her home.

“Some great leader I’m turning out to be, aren’t I?” Soulara laughed self-deprecatingly as she rested against one of the moss-covered stones that decorated the room.

Zendalia took another of the stones across from her, the seaweed bandages from her attack still shining against her scales.

“You’ll be an amazing leader when you’re ready to take up the mantle.” Zendalia gently rubbed the back of Soulara’s hand.

A wave of guilt and failure washed over her. She’d been so busy she hadn’t even let Zendalia know that she had been given no choice but to step into her power.

“I’ve claimed my royal birthright,” Soulara whispered.

“What?” Zendalia’s rubbing stopped. “When? Is that why you’re here?”

“No.” Soulara shook her head back and forth. “Well, not exactly.”

“Soulara.” Zendalia’s words were gentle and kind. Even now, knowing that Soulara would in fact become leader of their entire people, Zendalia treated her exactly as she always had. “What happened?”

Soulara took a deep breath and filled Zendalia in on what had happened since the moment she had seen Autumn up until the fight she had with Honour. She left out the parts about kissing and wanting to do so much more, though Zendalia would be all for that sort of gossip. Soulara also chose not to mention her ability to split her tail and walk on the ground outside of the water.

During her frenzied recounting of events, Kaelin had joined them. The herbs were exactly what Soulara needed. The sharp tang of them burst on her tongue and gave her the strength to continue telling her story.

“I can’t make her stay behind. And I get the impression that she wouldn’t be allowed to even if she tried.”

“She’ll be in the battle.” Zendalia’s face had taken on a stern, worried expression.

“Do you believe Honour will intentionally try to hurt her?” Kaelin asked.

“What?” Soulara looked up at Kaelin. It had taken time to get used to the differences between her and Soulara’s own people. But it turned out the differences were a superficial decoration. Beneath, Kaelin seemed more like a citizen of Reine than many other mermaids who had been born into their city.

“Isn’t that what you accused Honour of?” Kaelin flicked her eyes to Zendalia. Kaelin’s eyebrows were pulled together as she turned back to Soulara. “Did I not understand that right?”

Soulara leaned farther into the stone. “I don’t think she would intentionally target Autumn any more than the other humans.”

“But you feel like she should see Autumn as different from the rest of the humans?” Kaelin had a knack for unsettling Soulara. Most of the time, Soulara enjoyed Kaelin’s direct and curious ways. But right now, she floundered to know what to say.

“Does she know?” Zendalia rescued Soulara from the silence that demanded her to answer Kaelin’s question.

“Does who know what?”

“Oh come on, Soulara,” Zendalia said. “You can go through all the details without spelling it out, you can put all your diplomatic training and skill to good use. But I’ve known you far too long.”