The Mermaids Madness

a rayid-style two-color row blindfolded, thanks in no small part to the “gifts” of her fairy patrons.
    “I’m sorry,” Snow mumbled. “I’ll try to be gentler.”
    Talia tensed. “What was that?”
    Snow looked up and squinted. “Didn’t you . . . sorry. I thought you said . . .” She yawned and rubbed her eyes. “Wait, are you knitting?”
    “I didn’t want to disturb you.” Talia gathered her would-be blanket and yarn.
    “But you’re knitting .” Snow smothered a giggle.
    Talia held up one of the needles, a bronze spike as long as her hand. “A woman with proper training can kill a man with this needle and never spill more than a single drop of blood.”
    “I suppose you’re knitting a garrote?”
    Though Snow’s voice was playful, her eyes were bloodshot, and her lips had lost much of their color. She kept rubbing her thumb, smearing a thin layer of blood over the skin, though she seemed unaware of it. “When was the last time you took a break?”
    “Beatrice can’t wait.” Snow wiped sweat on her sleeve. “Stop being such a hen.” She turned back to the knife and her books.
    Talia’s needles clicked a staccato rhythm as she watched. It wasn’t long before Snow was mumbling to herself again. She sounded like she was speaking Allesandrian. Talia didn’t recognize the exact words, but the tone was unmistakable.
    Soft footsteps announced Danielle’s arrival. “Has she made any progress?”
    “How should I know?” Talia rolled up her knitting and jabbed the needles into the skein. “Is there news from upstairs?”
    “Nothing good.” Danielle sat down next to Talia and watched as Snow flipped through another book, turning pages roughly enough to tear the paper. “King Theodore asked me to join him in the throne room. They’ve brought out the crystal, and he’s been meeting with other rulers to discuss what we’ve learned.”
    Talia nodded. The crystal was a polished sphere the size of a human skull, enchanted to allow the king to communicate with the lords of other nations, as well as his own nobles. “What did they say?”
    “It was hard to hear over all of the shouting,” she said ruefully. “They weren’t happy to hear about Hilad’s involvement with Lirea. Lyskar is ready to declare war.”
    That made sense. Lyskar hadn’t suffered as personally as Lorindar, but they had still lost ships to the undine.
    “Lyskar paid Lirea’s tribe for free passage three days ago,” Danielle said. “Now they’re demanding repayment from Hilad, both for the ransom and the damage to their fleet.”
    Talia snorted. “The Hiladi must have loved that.”
    “They’d probably be sending warships after one another if Theodore hadn’t calmed them down.” Danielle absently rubbed at a stain in the carpet with her thumbnail. “Lord Montgomery is rallying some of our nobles, trying to pressure the king into joining Lyskar against Hilad.”
    “Ask if he’ll be the one to lead the attack,” Talia said. “That should shut him up.”
    “It’s not just the nobles, Talia. The merchants have been raising their prices. The cost of food has doubled in the past week. If shipping doesn’t resume soon, the people could riot.”
    “The undine are all busy breeding.” Talia pulled out one of the needles and twirled it in her fingers. “What are they so afraid of?”
    “Most of them are breeding,” Danielle said. “They’ve still hit three more of our ships, including one down in Emrildale that was still docked. We’ve heard similar reports from Morova and Najarin. Mostly the elder undine and the very young, but once the undine finish spawning—”
    “It’s going to get worse,” Talia finished. Theodore had to know what was coming if Lirea wasn’t stopped. Fighting between Hilad and Lyskar would only make it easier for Lirea to destroy them all.
    “I know,” Danielle whispered.
    Talia didn’t envy Danielle her time upstairs. Talia wouldn’t have lasted a single hour in a room full of angry, frightened nobles before breaking someone’s nose. “What does he intend to do?”
    The answer confirmed her expectations. “Nobody wants war, but we have a better chance against Hilad than we do against the undine. Theodore will be taking the crystal to his chambers. He means to talk to the Hiladi emperor alone about an attack against Lirea’s tribe. We know where she is, and Hilad isn’t the power it once was. If Hilad finds itself at war against both Lorindar and Lyskar . .