Of Poseidon 02: Of Triton

before he’s close, there’s something I need to tell you.” He turns to Galen. “Emma was in the water yesterday, too.”
    Galen pinches the bridge of his nose. “Great.”
    “She was with someone, Galen. One of us.”
    “What? Who? Why? Great. That’s just great.”
    Toraf shakes his head almost indiscernibly. “Not so loud. I’m telling you, they’ve got ten Trackers on you right now.” He sighs. “It was Jasa.”
    “Jasa? I don’t know her.”
    “I do. She’s a fingerling, ten seasons old. I overheard her mother, Kana, telling one of the Archives that she’s been disappearing, going off on her own. I think … I think she talked to Emma. They were very close to each other. Close enough for a long enough time that they could’ve talked. The weird thing is … Emma wasn’t in the water at all, and then suddenly she was, like she was on a boat or something and jumped in.”
    “I swear if—” Galen starts to name all kinds of ways to kill Rachel if she’s involved, but he’s cut off by the sound of his new favorite person to loathe approaching.
    “Highness, I’ve heard your lovely sister plans to join us soon,” Jagen says from behind them. “What a happy reunion.”
    Galen rolls his eyes before turning to face him. “You are correct, Jagen. Rayna has missed you. She loves that face you make when you’re upset. She says it’s the best impression of a rockfish she’s ever seen.”
    Jagen doesn’t like this. His lips curl into a snarl. “Go ahead, young prince. Have a laugh at my expense. I assure you it will be the last time.”
    Toraf glides in front of Galen. “That sounds a lot like a threat. To my knowledge, threatening a Royal is still illegal.”
    Galen grabs his shoulder. “It’s fine, Toraf. Let this squid release his ink. Ink will only last so long before it fades away in the current. When his protective cloud is gone, everyone will see what’s really going on here.”
    Jagen nods. “We shall see, young ones.” He rakes his eyes over Toraf. “Tell your mate that she stays with the rest of the Royals. If she tries to leave, I’ll have her thrown in the Ice Caverns. She can wait there until the rest of you join her.”
    Toraf starts toward Jagen again, but Galen holds him back. “This is not the time,” Galen says. Jagen gives Toraf a smug smile. Galen adds, “Besides, you saw his face when Antonis had him by the throat. We don’t want him to faint before things get interesting, do we?”
    To Galen’s dismay, Jagen laughs. “Things have already gotten interesting, Highness. See you soon.”
    * * *
    Galen waits with Toraf until Rayna arrives. She is accompanied by two Poseidon Trackers. When she sees Toraf, she throws herself into his arms. He hugs her, but then pushes her back. “You’re in so much trouble, princess,” he tells her. It’s the first time Galen has ever seen him be truly stern with his sister.
    “It looks like you’re the one in trouble. What’s taking so long?”
    “The Archives have convened a tribunal,” Toraf says. “For the last few days, they’ve been trying to verify whether or not Emma’s mother is really the Poseidon heir.”
    That’s the nice version of the story, Galen thinks to himself. Wait until she hears everything.
    “What? That’s dumb. Tribunals only last a few hours. You’ve been gone for days. And why did these idiots follow me?” She motions toward the Trackers. They grin as they swim away—to the Loyal section.
    Toraf sighs. “Other tribunals are about simple things, like thievery. This one is … You shouldn’t have come here. I told you not to come, no matter what.”
    “Emma said I should come,” she says.
    “That’s a lie,” Galen says, recognizing the slight flinch in her eye when she’s not telling the truth. “And why was Emma in the water?”
    Her eyes go round as oysters. “She was? I didn’t know. Rachel bought us some jet skeezers. She must have taken one out.”
    Galen rolls his eyes. “What else? What else could go wrong?”
    Toraf snorts. “Don’t invite trouble, Highness.”
    “Don’t call me Highness.”
    Just then, Tandel calls the tribunal to order and the Royals are ushered to their place in the Arena.
    “ Highness ,” Toraf hisses with a smirk as he swims in the direction of the Triton section.
    Galen is envious of his friend’s inconspicuous viewpoint in the Arena. All the Royals must stay in the center. Galen can’t decide if it’s for their protection or to assure