Of Poseidon 02: Of Triton

appeared for me was when I was drowning in my grammy’s backyard pond. I used the Gift to talk to the catfish, who pushed me to the surface. It was life or death. Just like it was life or death back at the Arena.
    “Does that … Does that answer your question?” Galen says softly.
    I nod. The room is quiet, in a sort of collective reflection. Then Grom reminds us all why my grandfather is here.
    “You said humans came?” Grom says.
    Antonis nods grimly. “They’ve captured two Syrena. The humans are holding them on the inhabited island closest to the Arena.”
    “Who did they take?” Grom asks.
    “Jagen and a Triton Tracker, Musa. The council of Archives is requesting the help of the Gifts,” Antonis says solemnly. “They recognize now that they have been gravely mistaken to doubt the Royals.”
    Galen scoffs. “It’s a little late, don’t you think? They were ready to throw us in the Ice Caverns two days ago.”
    “Besides that, what can we do anyway?” Rayna says. “There are only three of us with Gifts. And our Gifts don’t work on land, remember? Humans have all sorts of stuff they could use on us.”
    “That’s not true,” Grom says. “Remember the story of the generals? Triton sent the big waves to land. He destroyed humans with it, drowned them all on their own ground.”
    “That was a long time ago,” Mom argues. “They were practically defenseless. Humans have much more advanced methods of protecting themselves now.”
    “Not to mention, I’m not in a particular hurry to save Jagen,” Galen says. “I’d say he got exactly what he deserved.”
    I’m thinking the same thing. I can’t help it. The guy stabbed me.
    “It would be unfair to take that perspective, brother,” Grom tells him. “We are not doing it for Jagen. We are doing it for our kind.”
    “We?” Rayna snaps. “What Gift do you have, Grom? Oh, that’s right. You and Nalia get to stay safely behind while me and Galen and Emma drown an entire island.”
    Oh heck no . “Um, I’m not killing anyone,” I say, raising my hand. “Not humans, not Syrena.”
    “It’s a good thing your Gift isn’t deadly then, isn’t it?” Rayna sneers. “I have an idea. You can give the humans their last meal. That would be special, wouldn’t it?”
    “How would you like to go without eating for a while?” I shoot back. I could use my Gift to send the fish away from her, or I could just bust all her teeth out. Maturity seems to be evaporating into the air. I wonder if her Gift includes pushing all my buttons in rapid-point-five seconds. But then, I know her animosity is really toward Grom, not me. All I’m doing is feeding her anxiety.
    Galen tucks a tendril of my hair behind my ear. It’s enough to distract me and he knows it. I give him a sour look for interfering, but he grins. “You don’t have to kill anyone, angelfish. In fact, we need your help to save them.” He seems to be telling me something with his eyes, but I’m not picking up on it. I’d love to blame it on the pain meds.
    “Doesn’t that kind of miss the point?” Rayna says.
    “Of course not,” Galen says. “Our objective is to rescue our kind, not kill the humans. We can do that without destroying them.”
    Everyone is all ears, but Galen is not ready to divulge his plan just yet. He stands. “Highness, tell the Archives we will meet with them to discuss our terms.”
    “Terms?” Grom says. “This isn’t negotiable, Galen. They need us. It’s our duty as Royals.”
    Galen shrugs. “As far as I’m concerned, it’s entirely negotiable. And we’re not Royals anymore, not until I hear it from their lips.” He turns to Antonis. “And tell them that in view of recent events, the council must come here, on land. There is no reason for us to doubt that this is a trap to recapture us.”
    Antonis chuckles. I get the feeling that this is all an amusing game to him. But then, old people have earned the right to be amused by everything. And I’m pretty sure he’s the oldest person I know.
    “Young Prince Galen, I am at your service.” With that, my grandfather leaves. I turn away as he begins to finagle the shorts from his skinny waist on his way down the beach.

20

    GALEN STANDS behind Rachel and Emma as they scroll down the screen of the laptop. “Toraf stuck his foot in the water. The Archive council will be here soon. Antonis is with them.” He’s met with silence, except for Rachel flipping the page of a notebook she has in