“I think he’s about to,” Yazeed said.
They all looked where he was pointing, at the seamount above. A figure, hovering by a rocky ledge, made its way down to the seafloor.
As the figure got closer, though, they all saw that it was a she, not a he.
The mermaid had blond hair, and the black-and-white tail of an orca. She wore a sleek black dress, a fitted sealskin vest, and a pearl necklace. A sword of Kobold steel hung from a scabbard at her hip. She held her head high, exuding confidence and power.
As the mermaid swam to the open patch of seafloor between the camp and the Carceron, Sera blinked, barely believing her eyes. The fear she’d felt evaporated. A feeling of triumph surged through her veins.
“Astrid did it! She got the talismans.”
She started toward her friend, overjoyed, but a few yards away, she stopped short. Another figure was making its way down the seamount.
Sera recognized him. He’d come for her once. Through her mirror. He’d tried to kill her. He too had blond hair, and he wore it cropped close to his head. He was without sunglasses now, and she could see his eyes, as black and bottomless as the abyss. He walked instead of swam, for he was a human. Or had been once.
He joined Astrid. They smiled at each other.
“Astrid,” Sera said. “Astrid…no.”
Astrid didn’t reply. She threw a cold glance at Sera, then trained her gaze on the Carceron.
With a sickening jolt, Sera saw the truth: Astrid had betrayed her. She’d betrayed all of them. The things she’d said during the last convoca were all lies. She’d only said them to get the Black Fins to the Carceron with their talismans. Astrid had asked Sera how many troops she’d had and then given Orfeo that information, which was why his troops outnumbered hers.
Astrid was Orfeo’s now. And Sera knew why. He had given her something no one else could: her magic, and her pride.
And now she was about to give Orfeo something in return: the talismans, her friends’ lives…and Abbadon.
ORFEO WALKED UP TO SERA. He bowed.
“Serafina, Regina di Miromara, at last we meet in person. It’s an honor,” he said. “Your bravery and resourcefulness, and that of your friends, are remarkable. No one else, not even myself, has managed to find the other five talismans.”
Sera did not return the bow, or the pleasantries. “You can’t do this, Orfeo,” she said. “You can’t unleash suffering on the entire world just because you’ve suffered.”
“Actually, I can. I vowed to get my wife back from the underworld, if it took me all of eternity. And now I will.”
“Not without a fight.”
Orfeo smiled. “I thought you might say that. Knowing you, you’ll have prepared some brilliant military strategy, much as your mother would have. The logical choice would be for you and your fighters to head for higher waters and attack from there, knowing that my cadavru are not as strong in the water as your troops. But that would be a mistake, because they are,” he said, pointing above him.
Sera looked up. The waters above were filled with dragons. They hovered menacingly.
“Razormouths,” Neela said fearfully.
“Indeed,” said Orfeo, turning to her. “I believe, Your Grace, that you’re acquainted with one of them—the dragon queen herself, Hagarla. She’s carrying a grudge, I’m sorry to say. She’s never quite gotten over the theft of her moonstone. I’ve told her that it’s hers the minute I’m finished with it.” He smile broadened. “And that you are, too. But enough chatter. I want the talismans.”
“You’ll have to kill me for them,” Sera said, raising her crossbow.
Orfeo nodded. “As you wish.”
“ATTACK!” ORFEO ROARED.
“Forward, brave fighters!” Sera commanded.
With rallying shouts, guttural growls, and high shrieks, the armies of the living and the dead rushed together, swords clashing against shields, spears and arrows hurtling through the water, songspells flying.
Above them, Hagarla and her dragons dove, shrieking as they hurtled toward the fray. The humpbacks rushed in and blocked them. Sera heard Kora’s war cries. She saw Lena and her catfish charge into the battle. Seaweed trolls, sand trolls, and ice trolls thundered past, swinging their giant clubs.
Sera fired her crossbow at Orfeo, but he evaded the arrow. Becca and Yazeed were battling cadavru. Ling was whirling vortexes at Astrid, who was flipping them around and throwing them back at her.
Ava, holding a dagger, tried to fight, too. She turned this way and that in the water, pointing the blade in the direction of any noise she heard.