“No, leave her alone!” I cry, and charge at the giants.
One of the guards turns to me and pushes me hard enough to send me tumbling to the ground. He says something brutal in his ugly language, but I don’t need to know what he said to know it was a threat.
“Don’t fight them,” my mother says. “They let us in, and they can change their minds if they want to. I’ll be okay.”
“Where are they taking you?” Bex shouts.
“I’ll be okay,” she says over and over again. “Terrance, please keep an eye on them.”
I turn to Terrance. “What is happening?”
“Your mother is a traitor,” Terrance explains. “She has to face the high accuser.”
“Who is that?” I ask.
“The person who will decide whether she gets to live or die.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
The moon is a glaring spotlight in an angry black sky. I can see it in our ceiling-less hut, arranged by Terrance, and built by Ghost and his . . . I don’t know what to call it; magic glove? It glowed bright on his stringy hand, and the water obeyed him like a well-trained puppy, carving sand into a shelter. Unfortunately, the roof is nothing more than a ratty sheet I pulled out of the enormous garbage wall. The rain is still coming down, befriended by a frosty wind that sets my teeth chattering. But these are the least of my worries. There is no word of my mother or father, and Terrance has not been back with news since we knocked on the front door and asked to be let in.
“Someone’s coming,” Bex says, peering down the beach. I stand and look, overcome with a hope that it is Fathom. He hasn’t been here to see me. I begged Ghost to let him know I was in trouble. Nothing came of it. Unfortunately, as the figure grows closer, I recognize its outline.
“It’s Arcade,” I say.
“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
“She’s Fathom’s fiancé,” I explain.
“Uh-oh,” Bex says. “Just be cool and apologetic for trying to steal her man, but if she starts taking off her heels and earrings, then we should run.”
“Is it true?” Arcade snaps. “You are a Daughter of Sirena?”
“Busted.”
“You realize you’ve dishonored him?” she says. “You manipulated him, deceived him, spied on him—”
“I did not spy on him,” I say.
“You have been attempting to seduce him since the moment you met, human. I’ve seen it with my own eyes, all to feed his secrets to your traitorous mother and your policeman father!”
“It’s not like that.”
She stares at me, not in disgust, which is what I would expect, but rather like I’m a dangerous threat, something that might need to be put down before it hurts anyone else.
“He and I are selfsame, united, and destined. You were nothing more than a carnal outlet for a spirited Triton male—”
“Did you just call my friend a whore?” Bex says.
“Just stop. There was nothing approaching carnal. It was just a little crush I had, it was stupid and meaningless and clearly it was all me, and I am sorry.” The words sting my tongue and lips like they’re made of vinegar, but what hurts most is that they are true.
“Your apology means nothing to me,” she snarls.
“You have to—” I’m seized with pain, brass knuckles punch my gray matter, and I cry out in both agony and surprise. It’s so bad, I nearly fall over.
“What is your trouble, land walker?” Arcade snaps.
“I get headaches.”
Arcade raises a curious eyebrow, almost as if she doesn’t believe me.
“Lie down,” Bex says. “She’s been getting them since she was a baby. She just needs some quiet, maybe something to eat.”
“Find someone else to serve you, bottom feeder,” Arcade says, and then she’s gone.
“You are the queen of awkward encounters these days,” Bex says. “Did you know they were together?”
I nod. “I didn’t think it would go anywhere. The whole thing sort of came out of nowhere.”
“But when you realized it was happening between the two of you, there was no little voice in the back of your head shouting about the swords that come out of her arms?”
I groan. I really don’t need a lecture right now, but I know I deserve one.
“No lectures,” she says, seemingly reading my mind. “Can you just stop keeping secrets? Because it sort of blows up in your face every single time.”
I frown. “What was I supposed to say to you, Bex? I’m half mermaid and I have the hots for Edward Scissorarms?”
“I guess I’ll never know,” she says. “You didn’t trust me enough.”
“I’m so sorry, Bex.”
She shrugs. “Is there anything else I need to know about you?”
I shake my head.
“Are you pregnant?”
“NO!”
“Don’t act all offended. You’re a notorious slut, Ms. Carnal Coney Island.”
“Don’t make me laugh. It hurts my head,” I say.
“Is anybody else in your family a fairy tale character? Is Leonard a hobbit or something? Is he an ogre? Is he Shrek?”
“No other secrets.”