Bianca grabbed her hand, and Lucia—dazed by Kharis’s request—let herself be led away.
“Death for death, Your Grace, or I must return your handsome Mahdi to the bed of clay from which I took him,” Kharis said.
…your handsome Mahdi…
The words echoed in Lucia’s mind. But he wasn’t hers, no matter how much she wanted him to be, because Serafina had tricked Mahdi into Promising himself to her. Promising vows were binding. If anyone who’d been Promised to one mer tried to marry another mer, the notes of his or her marriage songspell would fall flat.
Lucia knew that as long as Sera was alive, Mahdi would never be hers.
“Your Grace…” Kharis said.
Lucia stopped dead. “No,” she said.
Bianca let out a ragged sigh of relief. “Thank gods you’ve come to your senses. Come on, Luce,” she said, tugging on her hand. “Let’s get back to the palace.”
But Bianca misunderstood.
Lucia stopped. She cocked her head and gazed at her friend. This is what little fish are for, a voice inside her said. To feed big fish.
“Bring me a sacrifice for the goddess, Your Grace,” Kharis demanded. “Before the moon wanes.”
Lucia smiled. She tightened her grip on Bianca’s hand.
“Not to worry, Kharis,” she said, her eyes glittering darkly. “I already have.”
CONSCIOUSNESS CAME SLOWLY. And painfully.
Ling felt as if she was crawling out of a deep, dark pit. Every bone ached; every muscle throbbed. She knew her body was reacting to the sea wasp venom.
Her eyes were badly swollen. It was hard to breathe, too. It felt as if something was sitting on her chest.
Ling tried to raise her hands, gritting her teeth against the pain, but she couldn’t do that, either. Her arms were pinned to the ground.
That’s when she realized that something was on top of her. Something smooth, warm, and very much alive. It was pressing down on her, squeezing the water from her lungs.
“I—I…can’t breathe…Get off…” she moaned, struggling against the weight.
“Get off?! That’s the thanks I get?” an indignant voice asked in RaySay.
Ling stopped struggling. She forced her eyes open. Another pair of eyes, widely spaced and unamused, was looking down at her. Below them, two rows of gills opened and closed rhythmically. Ling realized she was underneath a giant manta ray.
“I saved your life, rude little merl. The least you could do is say thank you.”
“Th-thank you,” Ling rasped. “Where am I?”
“Far too close to the camp from which you tried to escape,” the ray replied.
“But how—” Ling’s words were cut off by a violent bout of coughing. The spasm left her gasping for breath.
“Close your mouth, mermaid, and listen,” the ray said. “Listening is more important than talking.”
Ling did as she was told and the ray continued.
“Last night your father called to me through the sea wasp fence. He begged me to follow the cart, to make sure you were all right. He, unlike you, is gracious and polite. He helped my daughter once, by untangling her from fishing line, so I agreed to help his. I saw you crawl out of the cart and fall to the ground. Luckily, the guard did not. I hid you all night, but we have to go now. It’s nearly dawn and the waters are lightening. I’ll swim down the current and into the hills. You swim directly under me so no one can see you.”
The ray rose slightly as she spoke, giving Ling room to move. Ling tried to swim, but couldn’t. The base of her tail, where the sea wasp had stung her, was twice its normal size. She couldn’t even feel her tail fins.
“I can’t move my tail,” she said, panic rising in her. If the ray swam off, she’d be exposed.
The ray huffed water through her gills, irritated. “Take hold of me, then. I’ll carry you as far as I can,” she said.
With effort, Ling hooked her hands over the tops of the manta’s wings. The ray silently glided off with Ling hanging on underneath. Only a creature with the eyesight of an osprey would have been able to see Ling’s hands, and the guard on duty was no such creature.
The ray swam for what felt like forever to Ling. She stopped when they reached a range of craggy, coral-covered hills.
“This is where I leave you,” she said. “We’re well away from the camp now and there’s an old eel cave directly below us. You can hole up in there until you’re better. Or dead.”
Rays, Ling knew, were not known for their subtlety. She released the strong, graceful creature. “Thank you,” she said. “You saved my life.”
The ray looked at her with a pitying expression, then glided off. “No food, no currensea, no weapons, and a bad case of venom sickness,” she said, her voice trailing away. “I’m not sure I’d be saying thank you. Good luck, mermaid. You’re going to need it.”