Of Poseidon 02: Of Triton

that they don’t escape their own tribunal. Probably both. After all, there are those here still devoted to the Royals.
    But Toraf is lucky. He’s not a true Royal; since he’s only mated to one, he does not have the same restrictions that Galen and his family have. Neither does Paca, who takes her place in the section of Loyals next to her conniving father.
    Tandel begins. “My friends, thank you for your patience. Patience, because this is the longest tribunal in the known history of our kind.” He smiles. Galen has to admit that Tandel has done his duty, acting neutrally throughout the duration of the trial. If he is secretly a Loyal, Galen can’t tell.
    “We are hoping that today will show us the end of the debate. To that end, King Antonis would like to address the audience. I turn the stone over to him.”
    Antonis is met with a disgruntled roar from the Loyal section. He hovers over the stone, his profile casting a wave-distorted shadow in the sand in front of him. “My friends, I must first begin by apologizing. For my actions yesterday, yes. But for so much more. Jagen’s accusations upset me very much. They upset me because some of those accusations were true.”
    This prompts a murmur from the crowd. Antonis continues. “Jagen said that I have neglected my duty as the leader of the Poseidon territory. This is true. Friends, you remember how distraught I was when my mate, Queen Aja, died. But I took comfort in my daughter, the way my Aja would have wanted me to. When I thought I’d lost Nalia, as well … It was more than I could bear. Life did not seem worth living, friends. I did not think you deserved a ruler who could not even protect his own family. If the law would have given me a way out of ruling, I would have taken it.”
    The king pauses, pinching the bridge of his nose. Tandel reaches out to comfort him, but Antonis waves him off. “No. I want to finish. Please.” Galen wonders if Tandel and Antonis are old friends.
    Antonis looks back up into the audience, searching, scrutinizing each expectant face. “You all know what happened after the explosion. That Nalia was presumed dead. And that I presumed Grom, now the Triton king, had killed her. I am ashamed of the things I accused him of. I was irrational, friends. Driven mad by grief. But that is no excuse for abandoning you, for abandoning my duty as king. I should have taken another mate, produced another heir.”
    Antonis swims slightly away from the stone, toward the section of Loyals. “But friends, my daughter is not dead.” He turns to Nalia, gives her an adoring smile. “She is here, among the Royals, as is her place. She has returned to us. When she fled to land all those seasons ago, she was young and afraid. And she was grief-stricken, having thought she killed her future mate. Take the time, friends, to imagine what that feels like.”
    The Poseidon king folds his arms behind his back. “I do not make excuses for what she did; fleeing from her kind, living on land was wrong. She broke the law. But so have many of you here today. Jagen has acted treasonously toward the Royals, and has forsaken the law handed down from our great generals. He has accused the Royals of unimaginable things. Many of you have followed his lead. I beg you today to desist in this madness. To accept Nalia as the Poseidon heir. To reunite her with her intended mate, Grom. But more than that. I beg you to reunite the kingdoms of Triton and Poseidon once more. Just as the generals always intended.”
    The Loyals give a cry of outrage, but for a moment it is drowned out by the applause of slapping tails in the Arena. In fact, some of the Loyals leave their companions and move to the Triton and Poseidon sections.
    Jagen is quick to recover. He swims to Tandel and whispers something to the old Archive. Tandel nods, his expression eager to help.
    Tandel addresses the Arena over the continuous drone of the crowd. “Friends, I would like to invite Jagen up to speak again. It has come to our attention that he has some new information.”
    Jagen graciously takes the center stone of the Arena. “Friends, don’t be hasty in gifting the Royals with your trust once again. Trust must be earned . Don’t be enchanted by the words of a king you have not seen in too many seasons.” He chides the audience with a disappointed look. “As it turns out, I do indeed have new information.”
    Jagen smiles viciously at the small section of Royals behind the center