The Mermaids Madness

her. “Lirea named me traitor. To follow my orders is to commit treason. I’m too young, and my scent isn’t strong enough to break Lirea’s hold.”
    “You said they listened to you,” Danielle protested.
    “Because we were helping to fight Morveren, another traitor. You’re asking them to escort us into the heart of the tribe.”
    Danielle looked around at the undine floating on the surface. “You saw Morveren’s ship!” she shouted, fighting tears. “You have to know Morveren will destroy your queen. Is this what you want? Will you obey Lirea’s orders even if it enslaves you to a witch who devours the souls of her enemies?”
    “They can’t disobey,” Snow said softly. “Do you remember what happened when we swam through their waters last time?”
    “Yes,” Danielle said, her face hot. “What does that—”
    “The scent Lannadae and Morveren talk about is a kind of love potion. Given time, I might be able to counter it, but . . .”
    “But some of the undine did leave Lirea,” Danielle protested. “They joined Morveren.”
    “Who probably used magic to help them resist Lirea. You remember the song she sang on the Phillipa , back when Lirea attacked?”
    “When she almost killed us?” asked Talia.
    “Morveren is skilled enough to sing two spells at once, and nobody would have known.” Snow rubbed her hands together, blowing on them for warmth. “I think she was calling to her followers, severing Lirea’s hold on them. I’ll keep trying to do the same, but you and Talia might want to start coming up with another plan.”
    Danielle realized Snow was close to passing out. Her face was bloodless, her movements stiff with pain. She had already fought Morveren’s air spirits and broken the spell that nearly killed Danielle.
    “Stop,” Danielle whispered. “You need to rest before you kill yourself.”
    Snow started to shake her head, but the movement made her gasp.
    Danielle looked at Beatrice. “What do I do?”
    “You have to stop Morveren,” Bea said gently. “You know that.”
    Danielle searched for Morveren’s ship, but it had already disappeared from view. She turned to watch the kelpies circling. Raising her voice, she called out, “I surrender myself to Lirea. I helped to shelter Lannadae. Bring me to your queen to face justice.”
    Talia yanked the side of the boat, nearly dumping Danielle into the water. “What are you doing?”
    “Can you think of another way to reach Morveren in time?” Danielle asked. Talia’s jaw tightened, and she shoved away from the boat.
    “Me too!” Snow’s eyes were closed, but her voice was firm. “I’m the one who prepared Lannadae’s cave for the winter. I even read her stories.”
    “I sheltered her too,” Talia said grudgingly. In a lower voice, she added, “Brilliant plan, Highness.”
    “Do you have a better one?” Danielle asked.
    “As prince of the Hiladi Empire, I demand you capture me as well!” Varisto bellowed.
    Danielle still had a hard time reading undine expressions, but their confusion was clear. They swam together to confer, gesturing and pointing at the humans.
    Danielle didn’t wait. Taking advantage of the confusion, she whispered to the kelpies, who swam closer in response to the urgency of her summons. Moments later their heads disappeared into the water.
    Beatrice grabbed the sides as the cutter rocked with the waves. “What are you doing?”
    “Watch.” Danielle pointed toward the Phillipa . “Hold tight, Captain!”
    “To what?” Hephyra shouted. The ship shuddered as the first kelpie pressed his head against the hull. Hephyra staggered backward. Two more kelpies joined the first, straining to right the ship.
    At first, they simply pushed the Phillipa sideways through the water. Danielle ordered two of the kelpies around to the opposite side to brace the bottom as the rest lifted. Whatever else happened, she would at least save this crew.
    Slowly, the ship began to right herself.
    “Harder!” Hephyra crowed. “Put your fins into it!”
    Water poured from the deck and the portholes. Hephyra danced along the hull, whooping as the Phillipa rose higher.
    “Overbalance her to starboard,” Hephyra yelled. “We need to shift the weight back to center. Easy, now. Not too far.”
    Waves shoved the crew back as the kelpies rocked the ship to and fro. Their fins and tails sent small vortices dancing over the water. Danielle did her best to coordinate the kelpies’ efforts, tilting the ship as