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Claira

TWELVE YEARS AGO

M ovement broke the quiet in the foyer the moment the palace doors swung open. I stared out from the safety of my alcove, stunned, wondering if one of my daydreams had somehow become real. Was something exciting actually happening in the palace?

Before I could pinch myself, two captains set a serving table up in the very center of the usually empty foyer where I spent my days. A line of chefs zipped by next, and I held my breath, amazed by what they carried.

I’d never seen so many fish.

Skilled hands delivered haddock to the table, one after another, until the gilded cage set in the center was stuffed full of wiggly fish.

Was a new festival starting? Even though the hall was filled with palace laborers, I didn’t dare ask.

Here, hidden away in my little alcove, it was easy to pretend I wasn’t really here at all. That was what my daydream had been about. Being away—wherever away was. But the more merfolk swam into the foyer, the more it felt like away had suddenly come to me.

A maid drifted by, and she set a sponge to work, scrubbing over the lantern above me like I wasn’t even beneath her. More maids swept into the foyer, and they wasted no time polishing every wall and even the ceiling, whispering among themselves about how soon the party would begin.

A party? I was so excited that I wanted to squeal.

Papa had told me all about parties. I knew how magical they were, with music and dancing and tables full of more food than an entire kingdom could eat. He said I was still too young to be invited to parties, but maybe if I kept quiet, no one would notice I was here.

I pulled myself into the very back of my alcove, hiding away from the maids as they worked around me. By the time they finished, the colorful gems on the walls twinkled like tiny lanterns, and just one look up at the sparkly ceiling was enough to make my head spin.

As quickly as the workers had appeared, they all seemed to vanish. I poked my head out of my corner, looking at the table full of food and noticing the glittering instruments sitting across the grand hall.

I’d never seen an instrument up close before. I was imagining pulling myself closer when the palace doors swung open again.

King Eamon was the first through the door, and I gasped at the sight of him. He was so large, even bigger than Papa, with his scales and armor shining as bright as the trident he held close to his side. Without even realizing it, I’d shrunk back into my corner.

A bright streak of gold zipped into the palace behind him, and I muffled a groan. Ugh. Lee was with him. I was wondering why he hadn’t come by to bother me yet today, and now I knew.

Although I thought myself hidden, the prince’s bright eyes fell right on me as soon as he entered the room. A smirk pulled over his lips, and I could already feel myself getting annoyed.

I was so close to seeing my very first party. If Lee ruined this for me, there was no way I would ever speak to him again!

A group of merfolk followed in after them, and I found myself stunned by how they looked. Everything about them was unfamiliar to me, from their warm tones to the wide scales on their tails. Beautiful frills trailed off their fins, ruffling like ocean silks behind them, and I glanced down at my tail, wondering if extra frills could help a mer swim.

When I looked back up, I caught sight of a merfry swimming in the very center of the group, tightly guarded by the merfolk around him. Dark curls fell over his eyes, and I could tell by the way he held his chin that he was nervous about entering King Eamon’s palace.

But who wouldn’t be? King Eamon was scarier than the biggest, toughest shark around.

My eyes fell to the merfry’s tail, and I could hardly believe it. It was red .

I’d never seen a red?—

“Nerida,” a deep voice whispered from across the foyer, and I shot straight against the wall of my alcove with a startled yip. Papa gave me a smile as he shut the palace doors. He rarely came back to the palace during the day, and I hadn’t expected to see him. Today was sure full of surprises.

It wasn’t until he swam closer that I remembered the party and why I was supposed to be hiding. “I know you say I’m too young for parties, Papa, but please—” I paused. He wasn’t wearing his sash. My eyes shot to his spear, and there it was, tied up into a bundle underneath the tip. “Did you bring me something?”

Amusement glittered in his gray eyes, and he held his lips tight like he might not tell me, but Papa was the worst at keeping secrets. “Maybe I brought back a little something.”

I was practically vibrating with excitement as he dug into his sash. “I found an oyster on the swim back.” With a soft smile, he set it in my awaiting hands. “It’s from a very special place called the Red Sea.”

“The Red Sea,” I repeated, staring down at the oyster. I’d never heard of a red sea, but I knew it had to be a special place for an oyster this beautiful to live there. “Do you think there’s a pearl inside?” I asked, feeling hopeful.

Papa’s eyes glittered even brighter. “Now, Nerida, have I ever picked up an oyster that didn’t have a pearl waiting for you inside it?” He chuckled.

“Never,” I said, returning his grin. “Can I hold on to it? It’s so pretty, I don’t want to open it just yet.”

“Of course.” He gave me a quick pat as he laughed, then turned back to where the other captains gathered.

“Oh, Papa?” I asked, just before he swam to join them. “Can I stay for the party? Please? None of the palace guards or the maids said I needed to leave, and I promise I won’t be a bother to anyone or get in anybody’s way.”

His thick eyebrows drew together, and I worried for a moment he might tell me no. “Just this once. But only because it’s so early in the day. I don’t get off duty until after the Feast horns.” He ruffled the top of my head before taking off.

I couldn’t believe it—I could stay for the party!

Now that Papa had said it, everyone had to listen. Not even a palace guard could carry me away without risking getting into serious trouble with my papa.

I pulled my head out of my alcove to look at the wide-scaled merfolk again. They were still in their group, but King Eamon was now in the center of it, and every eye was on him. Behind him, the musicians gathered up their instruments, and a few chefs reappeared, carrying golden platters around the foyer. I could hardly believe such an ordinary day had turned out so amazing!

Grinning, I turned my beautiful oyster over in my hands. I told Papa I wanted to hold on to it, but really, I just wanted to try prying an oyster open for myself for once. Setting my fingers into the groove, I strained, trying to force it open but?—

“What’s this?” a voice asked from above me, and the oyster was snatched right from my hands.

“Lee!” I shrieked. I swung my arms to grab it back from him, but quick flicks of his tail had him darting zigzags all around me. “Give it back!”

He stopped his tail’s expert movements only to scowl at me. “I told you to call me Prince Lee,” he corrected. Dragging a hand through his hair, he flashed a showy smile. “Because I’m so princely .”

My molars ground together. There wasn’t a single merfry in the entire ocean more annoying than Prince Leander of the Atlantic. I swiped for my oyster again, but he easily twirled out of my reach with a twist of his tail. Showoff!

“I’ve got loads of pearls, you know,” he said, the golden scales on his tail glimmering in the lantern light as he spun. “All colors and sizes and?—”

I gasped as the merfry with the curly dark hair plucked the oyster right out of Lee’s fingers.

Although he looked to be around my age, I couldn’t believe how large he was compared to me and Lee. Just as the scales on his tail were wider than normal, his chest and shoulders seemed wide as well, almost double the size of Lee’s. Wow .

Lee grabbed for the oyster again, but his father’s sharp voice called from across the room, and he was gone in a streak of gold, leaving me alone with the dark-haired merfry drifting in front of my alcove.

“Is this yours?” the merfry asked quietly, his eyes peeking at me from the blanket of dark curls falling over his eyebrows. There was something about his voice that made it hard for me to understand it, and I felt my neck turn as I worked through the words. “Yours?” he repeated, and he held the oyster out to me.

“Oh, yes, it’s mine,” I said, taking it back from him. “Thanks for getting it back for me.”

His mouth formed into a small smile, but his gaze drifted down like he was trying to hide underneath his hair. “You are welcome.”

When I looked back down at my oyster, my face felt strangely warm. Weird. My fingers went back to the shell’s groove, and I tried to pry the two halves open, pulling at them just like Papa always did. My muscles strained, but no matter how hard I pulled, I couldn’t get them apart.

“May I?” the merfry asked in his strangely thick voice, and suddenly he was in my alcove, palms outstretched, offering his help.

“Sure.”

The merfry cupped it in his hands just like I had, but when his fingers pried into the middle, the two halves snapped right open.

“Whoa.” I looked up at him, totally stunned. “That was amazing.”

“Mmh.” He offered the halves back to me, but I froze when I saw what was inside them.

Two beautiful pink pearls sat nestled together in one of the halves. Two .

“Doubles?” I gasped, leaving the oyster halves in his palms as I dug the pearls out. “I can’t believe it. That’s like super rare.”

They were perfectly round and such a delicate shade of pink, too. This was the first time I’d ever opened an oyster with two pearls inside it. Was that because it came from the Red Sea? Papa had said it had come from a special place, and it was a lot prettier than normal oysters. The shell felt thicker, too, and this merfry had cracked into it like it was nothing.

“You’re so strong,” I blurted, still amazed by how easily he’d pried it apart. His shoulders jerked at the compliment, and I wondered for a moment if it was as hard for him to understand me as it was for me to understand him. “Your arms,” I said, poking at them. “They’re strong.”

He glanced up at me slowly, his dark curls nearly hiding his eyes, but he didn’t say a word. Maybe he wasn’t used to getting compliments.

“Here.” I pressed one of the pink pearls into his palm and gave him a smile. “For helping me.”

Just as his chin turned down to look at the pearl, one of the wide-scaled mermen called out a word I didn’t recognize, and the merfry was drifting away. When he got back to his group, he glanced over his shoulder, and I gave him a wave.

Maybe I’d made a friend for once. That thought made me smile—parties really were magical, just like Papa had said. And this one had hardly even begun.

But my smile quickly faded as Lee swam back over. His mouth slipped into a smirk, and I stuck my tongue out at him as a distraction while I hid my new pearl in my ocean silks. There was no way I would let him steal it from me again.

Music started playing, and with a crescendo of notes, the party had officially begun.

“Hey, Lee,” I said, and he spun at me with a teasing grin.

“Yes, Nera?”

My eyes rolled at that horrible nickname, but still I asked, “Do you know who that merfry is?”

Lee’s lips fell. “Yeah, I know him.”

“Well?” I pressed. “I’m just wondering why your father brought a merfry to his party. I didn’t think we were allowed.”

“He’s not a merfry, Nera.” Lee’s voice turned serious. “Maybe he was, but not anymore.” He took a pause to run a hand through his hair. “That’s Barren Arwa, and he’s about to be a king.”