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I magining the way her murdered husband Grystark used to swim, Lilia kicked her finned legs and drove through the turbulent currents of the ocean. The shadows of dragons and one gryphon blocked most of the filtered moonlight as she swam with vengeance and grief as her closest companions.

Lilia would see Astraea broken for what she had done to Grystark.

At Lilia’s right, Yenn swam hard, eel-blue hair flying behind her and gaze darting to watch for any of Astraea’s troops or scouts.

Yenn had been one of Astraea’s most promising young warriors, but Lilia had persuaded her to join the rebellion after Grystark’s death.

Grystark and Lilia had helped raise Yenn after she’d lost her own parents in a battle against the Jades.

It wasn’t easy risking Yenn like this. Lilia well knew what would happen to Yenn if she were caught here, helping the queen’s enemy.

When Astraea had found Lilia and the rebels in their first meeting place, that cave where Lilia and Grystark used to meet as young lovers, Astraea and her warriors had killed all but the dozen Lilia had managed to help escape out the cave’s back entrance.

In the limited hours Lilia had slept since then, nightmares of those rebels’ screams haunted her.

Their deaths were on her hands because of her push to revolt against Astraea’s insanity.

Lilia reached her webbed hands forward through the bubbling water, gripping her coral spear and whispering spells to swim faster, to keep the lead and remain beneath the flying earth kynds overhead.

She shook off her guilt. No, the rebels had been committed to the cause just as she was.

They had chosen to risk their lives to fight Astraea.

Claiming it was her own fault only belittled their heroism.

Lilia truly felt as though there was no other choice except to keep fighting Astraea as best they could even with only a dozen to do the work.

Astraea’s madness would ruin the world. There was no way the Source meant for things to go this way.

With no land, the weather would change, or so the Watcher had told her during their clandestine meeting in her dark cave.

Storms would twist the seas and uproot the sea folk’s cities.

Why couldn’t Astraea see that? Why wouldn’t she listen?

She was so clearly out of her mind with the need to hold power over all.

And why couldn’t the rest of Astraea’s warriors see the madness of the pursuit?

“Lilia. There is movement.”

Lilia’s heart beat faster. The blurry outline of a bulky male with long hair materialized beyond a ridge of coral and stone, and she relaxed a fraction. “It’s Gracus.”

The first of their two scouts swam up to meet them, matching their pace.

“I spoke to Demi.” Demi was the second scout, sent all the way to the base of the elven homeland to watch for Astraea’s warriors or other sea folk who might be passing through.

“He said a band of merchants was headed this way, passing through toward Tidehame from the oilfish hunting.”

“We will need to avoid them.” Lilia’s mind whirled over the possibilities. The water was so open here. They could be spotted from miles away.

Yenn flipped her spear, water magic sizzling in the current, and sliced a path through a floating tangle of seaweed so Lilia could pass easily. “But if they’re only merchants, they aren’t involved in the war.”

“They have mouths that will speak of us,” Lilia said, “and minds that will wonder what we are up to in this newly flooded area. Word will get back to Astraea. We must avoid them.”

Gracus looked west, his hair pooling around his head. “Too late.”

They stopped, treading water. Lilia waved the rest of her rebels—a sad number of eight warriors—to continue and keep up with the Earth Queen.

Above what appeared to be the remains of a human bridge, a group of sea folk swam in an unorganized line. Packs hung from their backs, and two held a net of shimmering oilfish between them.

“They do indeed appear to be hunters and merchants, not merely spies,” Lilia said.

“I’ll speak to them. Gracus, you go on ahead and inform the others that we have a small issue to deal with.

Tell the Earth Queen as well. We shouldn’t be too long.

Yenn, do you remember the spell we cast on the younglings in the village? ”

Gracus sighed, then left with a quick nod of obedience.

Yenn’s eyes darkened. “How could I forget?”

“We’ll need to use it again on this group, I’m afraid.”

“I hate this spell.”

“You know I do too,” Lilia said. “But it’s for their safety as well as ours. We can’t let Astraea know where we are and where the Earth Queen is.”

Yenn sighed, bubbles rising from her mouth and scattering across a small school of grassfish swimming overhead. “Doesn’t she already know? She is aware that the human mage must find the Sacred Oak.”

“Astraea has been busy with her plans for the next wave. She does know where the Earth Queen is headed, but from what Demi heard when he was last spying in her ranks, Astraea believes she is still in the northern mountains. Besides that, Astraea doesn’t know where exactly the Sacred Oak grows.”

They swam closer to the traveling group and Lilia raised a hand. “Greetings, hunters and merchants.”

Three females and two males, one barely old enough to be hunting, smiled in a friendly way despite the fatigue that showed in the lines around their eyes and the slump of their shoulders.

“Greetings,” the largest male said. “I didn’t realize we were in the way of a military move. Apologies. We will be on our way as quickly as possible.”

Lilia knew she and Yenn had to hit these folk with the spell now before they realized what was happening. She glanced at Yenn, who nodded. “Not a problem. May I ask how the currents are shifting near the tip of the new land shelf? We’re headed there next.”

Blue hair swirling around her shoulders, Yenn spoke the basis for the spell.

The young male was staring at Lilia. “Eh, I think I saw a carving of you in the reports,” he said, squinting at her scarred face.

“I doubt it. I’m not very high ranking.” Lilia smiled and hated herself for the deceit. Never once had she lied about a single thing. But since Grystark’s death…

Life was complicated, and it didn’t serve the best interests of the innocent to stand on ultimate truthfulness. Not when it would end up with more good folk dead.

“No, I’m sure of it.” He spun and started a question aimed at one of the females, but Yenn pointed her spear at him.

Lilia called up the spell on her own spear and shot the magic fizzing through the water at the rest of the group. Between her magic and Yenn’s, they had all of them cloaked in the memory-altering casting.

But then the young male wiggled free of the vibrating water that showed the spell’s boundaries. He flew from the area and shouted a name.

Steeling her heart, Lilia pointed her spear at the young male and blasted him with power. His body went limp, and his eyes shuttered as he floated into a forest of seaweed.

Yenn finished Lilia’s part of the spell, the portion Lilia had to cease chanting in order to deal with the male, then Yenn swam over to help Lilia tie the male to a drowned land tree.

“Is he…” Yenn grimaced at the youth’s soft cheeks.

“No. He will live. But we must move this group on without him. Hopefully, by the time this magic-resistant fellow wakes, they’ll be long gone. Knocking him out and keeping him hidden should give us a day at least.”

“We need more than a day,” Yenn said quietly.

Lilia gritted her teeth. “I’m not going to kill him.” She remembered the blood in the water at the cave when Astraea had attacked. “Not like this.”

“You might be killing us by saving him.”

“It’s a risk we’re taking. Do you agree?”

Yenn studied Lilia’s face, and Lilia felt the gaze like a press of a finger. “All right. Agreed. But we must tell the others the risk is now higher.”

Lilia clapped a hand on the back of the leader, the big male, then she pointed away from the younger male they’d had to temporarily immobilize. “I heard a great school of rockgills were seen just beyond that reef there.”

The man blinked and waved his group to begin heading in that direction. “Rockgills?”

“Yes. The dark-finned ones. Best tasting, in my opinion.”

“Of course they’re the best tasting. We’ll make our year’s wage on that alone. Come!” The group swam away quickly, leaving the young male in the dim shadows of the seaweed.

Lilia led Yenn back to their original route, and soon they were speeding into the dark water toward the former plateau of the elven homeland.

She would tell the other rebels and Queen Vahly too, but it was hardly riskier. The entire venture was already the most dangerous idea in the wide, watery world.