The Mermaids Madness

glass.
    “Danielle! Where are you?”
    The urgency in his tone burned away her fatigue. “What’s wrong? Is Beatrice—”
    “She’s still alive.” The image jogged about, presumably while Armand found a more private place to talk. “I’ve tried to reach you, but your friend neglected to tell me how to make this mirror work. Prince Varisto of Hilad arrived in Lorindar last night. He says you invaded his land? Are you all right?”
    “We’re fine,” Danielle said. “We should be home in less than an hour.”
    Armand lowered his voice. “Danielle, he’s threatening to declare war against Lorindar.”
    “He attacked us! He would have sunk the Phillipa if Morveren hadn’t helped us.”
    “He’s saying Morveren is an enemy of the Hiladi Empire.”
    From behind Danielle, a tired voice said, “He’s right.”
    Snow grimaced and adjusted her hat to block the worst of the sun. She kept one arm around Talia’s shoulders for support. Shadows swelled the skin beneath her eyes, and she hugged a heavy cloak around herself for warmth.
    “Varisto is demanding we surrender Morveren to him,” Armand said.
    Danielle shook her head.“She helped us find Lirea.We need Morveren’s help if we’re going to save Beatrice.”
    “Where is Morveren?” Snow asked.
    “Down below.” Talia’s words were as stiff as her posture, and she wouldn’t even look at Snow. “Captain Hephyra wanted her locked away for the rest of the journey.”
    “I’ll meet you at the docks,” Armand said. “I don’t believe Varisto will try anything here, but I’ll have guards ready just in case.”
    “Thank you.” She kissed the mirror again, then turned to Snow. “How do you feel?”
    “Foolish.” Snow gasped in pain as she rested her forearms on the rail. “Also a little sore.”
    Danielle started to reach for her. “Did you hurt yourself?”
    “You know how your whole body aches when you get sick?” Snow asked. “It’s kind of like that, with the added pleasure of blurred vision, a cracked skull, and memories that aren’t actually mine.”
    “The knife?” Danielle guessed.
    Snow started to nod, then winced. “I heard her, Danielle. I heard Bea’s voice. She’s in there. She’s scared, but she’s still . . . still her .”
    Danielle smiled, and even Talia relaxed slightly.
    “I heard . . . I felt Gustan, too. What’s left of him. He’s in bad shape. Fragmented.” Snow closed her eyes. “I watched Lirea kill him. I saw the expression on her face when she realized what she had done.”
    “What do you mean?” asked Danielle.
    “Morveren created the knife to complete her spell and save Lirea’s life. But Lirea refused to use it. She had chosen death rather than kill the man she loved.”
    “Stupid,” Talia said.
    “Young,” Snow corrected. “He was her one true love. Without him life wasn’t worth living, and woe was her. Weren’t you ever young and foolish?”
    Talia scowled but said nothing.
    “I saw her face.” Snow bowed her head. “When she stabbed Gustan, she didn’t know what she was doing. Any more than Talia did when I made her leave the knife behind last night. I could hear Morveren’s song in Gustan’s memories.”
    “You’re saying Morveren used magic to force Lirea to kill Prince Gustan.” Talia’s voice was taut as the lines running to the mainmast.
    “That’s what destroyed Lirea,” said Snow. “Morveren warned me that struggling to control a mind could damage or even destroy that mind. This was no gentle nudge. Morveren used magic to rape Lirea’s mind. When Lirea regained control and saw Gustan dying in front of her, you could see the horror in her face. She covered her ears and fled, screaming.”
    “Morveren wouldn’t allow her granddaughter to die,” Danielle whispered. “All along, she’s wanted to save Lirea. It’s the only thing she seems to care about.”
    “That’s why I couldn’t control Lirea.” Snow turned to Talia. “She might not be trained, but some part of her recognizes the touch of that magic and remembers what happened the last time.”
    Danielle nodded. “Morveren said Lirea was gifted.”
    “She said the same of me.” Snow’s voice was so quiet Danielle barely heard. “Talia . . . I’m sorry.”
    “It’s not the same thing,” Talia said, shifting uncomfortably. “You didn’t force me to kill anyone.”
    “Not to kill, no. But I did force you. Because I could.” She laughed, though there was little humor in the sound.