The Mermaids Madness

more proud of you and Talia if you were my own daughters.”
    Snow stood and hoped the queen couldn’t see her blushing. “I should let you rest.”
    Beatrice merely chuckled. “So beautiful, and you still haven’t learned to accept a genuine compliment from someone who loves you.”
    “You’re teasing me. You know there are worse things I can put in your tea.”
    The queen raised her hands in surrender. “Before you go, will you tell me what else is bothering you? I assume it’s something to do with Lirea.”
    With a sigh, Snow sat back down on the carpet. “I keep remembering what I did to her. I thrust a knife into her mind and twisted until there was nothing left. I felt her thoughts fragmenting, ripping apart like rags.”
    “Is that why you worked so hard to reverse the spells Morveren had worked upon her, back in Hilad?” Beatrice asked. “Danielle told me you kept passing out, but each time you awakened you insisted on trying again.”
    “I managed to bind Lirea to one form,” Snow said. “The transformation from human to undine and back was a tremendous strain. I can’t completely restore her body to what it was . . . she no longer produces a scent, and her voice will never heal. But now that she’s free of Morveren and Gustan, unable to change, she might survive for years. A part of me wonders if it would have been kinder to kill her.”
    “You did what you had to in order to free her.”
    Snow snorted. “Free her to what?”
    “To a life with a sister who still loves her. And perhaps, as time passes, a life of peace.” Bea climbed out of bed and held out her hand to Snow. “Help me find Danielle and Talia. There are few things more beautiful than sunset at sea, and I’ll be damned if I’ll let them miss it.”
    Snow bit her lip at the mention of Talia’s name. The undine had kept her too busy to think about Morveren’s revelation, but now that the crisis had passed . . . She still didn’t feel ready to face that truth. “I think I’d rather be alone, if you don’t mind.”
    “I do mind. Since I’m queen, that means you’re coming with me.” Beatrice put her hands on Snow’s shoulders. “None of us live happily forever after. But we can choose to be happy today. I’m choosing for both of us. Argue, and I’ll make you wake up tomorrow morning to watch the sunrise as well.”
    Slowly, Snow smiled. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

    The next morning Danielle stood on the forecastle with Beatrice, watching the waves. The queen tried not to let her pain show, but Danielle could see the tightness in her expression and the way she rested after exertion. Though she did appear stronger here on the Phillipa .
    Beatrice glanced at Danielle. “You seem to have gained your sea legs at last.”
    Danielle smiled and shook her head.“Without Snow’s tea, I’d be huddled away in my cabin with a bucket.”
    Perhaps it was the magic of the ship, or simply being out in the sea air, but Beatrice’s face had more color this morning than in the past two weeks. She still used a cane for support, and she couldn’t stand too long without rest, but she was alive. Alive and healing.
    The ship wasn’t fully recovered either. Hephyra said it would likely be several months before the foremast finished regrowing. But she was seaworthy, and Beatrice refused to set out in any other vessel.
    “King Theodore was right,” said Danielle. “You shouldn’t be here. You need rest.”
    “If I spend one more day in bed, I’ll go mad. They treat me as though I were a crystal doll who’ll shatter at the slightest touch.”
    “How foolish,” Danielle agreed. “It’s not as though you were stabbed, had your soul ripped from your body, fell from a sinking ship, ripped your stitches, and nearly bled to death on the journey back to Lorindar.”
    Beatrice snorted. “You sound like Talia. I think I liked it better back when you were afraid of offending me.”
    From high in the mainmast, the watch shouted, “Hiladi ships sighted to port.”
    “That would be the Prince’s Triumph and their escort,” said Beatrice. “I’ll have to ask Snow, but I don’t believe a Hiladi vessel has ever attended an undine ceremony before.”
    Danielle pulled down her hat to block the sun as she searched for Varisto’s ship.
    “You should get Snow and Talia. We’ll be there soon, and Lannadae will be disappointed if they aren’t present.”
    Danielle turned around. “They’re already coming.” Snow and Talia were