The Mermaids Madness

mouth for me.”
    Danielle looked around. Her chest still hurt with each breath. “Where’s Beatrice?”
    “Safe.” Snow used her hands as paddles, turning her frozen island about to point toward the front of the ship. “Hephyra ripped the cutter free with her bare hands and helped Beatrice into the boat. We should get you in there as well.”
    “What then?” Danielle asked. Morveren’s ship had already shrunk in the distance, appearing no larger than a toy. The undine had formed a loose ring around the Phillipa and her surviving crew. If they chose, they could drag every last human down with hardly any effort. From the wary looks on the men’s faces, they knew it too. She rubbed her bracelet. “I should call Armand. I need to warn him.”
    Warn him that she had failed. That Morveren had escaped and would soon control Lirea and the undine. How many more ships would they sink because of that failure? How many undine would die for refusing to join them?
    “I never should have rescued her from that island,” Danielle whispered.
    “Don’t be stupid.” Snow splashed ice water in Danielle’s face. “If we’re about to die, I do not want to spend my last moments listening to you wallow in guilt.”
    Lannadae bobbed to the surface between them. “You’re not about to die. Not right now, at least.”
    Danielle grabbed one of Lannadae’s hands. “Thank you for saving me. I’m glad you’re safe.”
    Lannadae beamed. “I sang the true story of Morveren, how her magic allowed a human to corrupt our queen, and how the princesses Cinderella, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty fought to save Lirea from Morveren’s power.”
    Talia’s fingers tightened on Danielle’s arm. “You told them that , did you?”
    “Would you like me to sing it to you?” Lannadae asked.
    “Does that mean they’ll help us?” Danielle interrupted before Talia could answer.
    “Not exactly.” Lannadae gave a well-practiced shrug that looked almost natural. “They agreed to not kill you. And they believe I should have the chance to tell my story to the queen.”
    “That’s a start,” said Snow.
    It wasn’t enough. Lannadae’s influence had kept them alive for now, but Lirea would order them killed the moment she saw them. Danielle squeezed Lannadae’s hand. “You did wonderfully. I’m proud of you.”
    “I’ll have that mermaid’s head on a pike,” Varisto yelled, paddling toward them. He and the other Hiladi survivors of the Hiladi shipwreck clung to an open trunk. Clothes floated on the waves nearby. Snow’s clothes, now that Danielle looked more closely. To a passing glance, the shirts looked uncomfortably like bodies.
    Varisto was bleeding from a cut to his arm but otherwise appeared unharmed. He looked around, and his bravado faded. “What do we do now?”
    Was he asking her ? Danielle clutched her bracelet. Even if Armand sent every ship in the fleet, they would never arrive in time to stop Morveren. Most of the crew would likely drown before help arrived.
    “Come on.” Talia and Lannadae took Danielle’s arms and pulled her toward the cutter.
    “You should have killed her, Talia.” Danielle gripped their arms. “You would have stopped Morveren and Lirea both.”
    “You’re saying you’d rather be dead?” Talia scowled and shoved Danielle into the boat.
    Beatrice pushed herself to one side to make room. The benches had been removed, and the queen lay at the front of the boat, her back sloped upward with the curve of the bottom. Stub the cat was curled in her lap, drenched but purring.
    Danielle looked back at Talia. “You know what I’m saying.”
    “You’re right, I should have.” Talia grunted and grabbed the side of the cutter, helping Danielle climb on. “That’s what I get for spending so much time with overly sentimental princesses.”
    From here, Danielle could see the exposed underside of the Phillipa . A network of long, pale tendrils lay limp against the hull. Roots, she realized.
    “I can’t drown out here,” Varisto said. He sounded like he was talking to himself as much as anyone else. “Gustan’s shade would never let me rest if I died trying to save him. I’m not spending the next life listening to him gloat.”
    Danielle grimaced as she pulled herself upright. Her chest and stomach burned from the effort. “Lannadae! Tell your people we need them to take us to Hilad. The kelpies might be fast enough—”
    “I can’t command them,” Lannadae said, swimming up beside