We were silent on the road to Acewood. No racing down the dirt paths with vigor, no speeding through the meadows, no laughter or good-natured banter. Neither of us felt well enough to enjoy the trip.

We were unsure how Luned had her sights on us, and wary that she still did.

Did she have spies in the castle? On our tail as we left? In the water when we borrowed the boat?

I assumed Ysac experienced similar thoughts as we cruised through Acewood City, ignoring curious onlookers, keeping our chins down. We passed the high-walled barricade surrounding the castle, and a wave of relief washed over us, but it was short-lived.

The welcoming committee at the stables wasn't too pleased to see us: a stern-faced Sir Sym, and an outraged Lady Ossenna.

"Did you have a pleasant excursion?" The bottoms of Sir Sym's silky breeches were caked with the stable's dusty dirt as he towered near the entrance. "A nice escapade into peril?"

Lady Ossenna was so enraged her eyes had shifted from gracious galaxies to a rueful red. She paced back and forth in front of an enclosure, her heels clicking on the floors. Her dazzling dress of salmon and sage satin hypnotized me as it swayed with her steps.

"What's wrong with you? Both of you!" She'd been biting her lip; I noticed teeth marks through her aubergine lip-stain. "Not only did you go without an escort—"

"Hey, I was there!" interjected Ysac, slamming the door to his horse's enclosure. "I'm her escort, remember?"

Lady Ossenna didn't pay him any heed. "But you snuck out and told no one where you were going! During such times you can't do this, Majesty!"

Sir Sym stood behind her, wrapping his large hands over her shoulders to steady her. "Calm down, Ossenna. They returned, they're alive, and that's what matters."

She whirled around and snarled at him. "But they could have—"

"They didn't." His gaze flickered to me, cat-like and crippling, making me grit my teeth. "They returned unharmed, and I see no need to further harrow them with our concerns."

"Sym," hissed Ossenna, a sort of silent tension forming between them. "Scolding, remember? This is too easy."

"They know what they did." He massaged her shoulders, then switched his focus to me, his voice deepening, thick with frustration. "I ask that you refrain from sneaking out like that again, Majesty. These are dangerous days, what with three culprits on the loose—two of them with powers. I understand your desire to punish Luned, but until we have better intelligence on her plans and location, you can't go after her yourself."

My gaze found Ysac, whose eyes were their electric violet as he sucked in his lips. "About that," he said, jutting his chin at the document I still clutched in my grasp. "We received something from Luned."

The instant I lifted my hand and unfolded the parchment, Sir Sym snatched it from me, hissing as if it had bitten him. "Are you mad?" He was panting. "You touched this?" He waved the paper in the air, holding it with the tips of his index and thumb.

Lady Ossenna inspected my palm as if I'd been injected with poison. "Are you okay?"

"I tested it first," said Ysac, frowning as he crossed his arms. "I'm her guard and cupbearer, did you think I'd let her take hold of it without being sure it wasn't poisoned?"

Clasping my wrist, Lady Ossenna shoved my sleeve up to check my forearm, then bicep, then my other side. "Any faintness, dizziness, nausea? Swelling, itchiness, loss of consciousness or hallucinations?"

I ripped myself from her and groaned. "Nausea from the sea, and from your hovering." I peered over at Sir Sym, who still held the message away from himself as if it might explode. "It could be a clue."

Sir Sym moved his sleek ebony strands out of his face. He read, mouthing the words, his expression growing darker with each sentence. "Did you see her?" He glowered at me, lips thinned. "Who delivered this?"

"Her dolphin, we think," said Ysac, arriving at my side, his elbow against my arm. "We saw it from afar, monitoring us. To make sure we left, I assume."

"I always hated that thing," muttered Lady Ossenna, still holding my hand as if afraid it might fall off.

"You must know," Ysac tapped a foot to the ground, "the entire region was deserted. The Spade Island population has been moving elsewhere. Her castle is abandoned."

"Abandoned?" Lady Ossenna arched an eyebrow. "Surely she wanted that to happen. I was under the impression she had certain mermaid artifacts somewhere in that weird basement of hers. Arden mentioned that before the castle went to her, they'd found...things. Ominous things. Ingredients and ancient chalices and...ritualistic items."

Sir Sym folded the note and slid it into his cream-colored coat. "Mages scheming, knaves revolting, princesses out for blood and hiding artifacts? Dolphins delivering messages? What in Efura is happening?"

"Should we discuss this elsewhere?" I glanced at the arched doorways and the heaps of hay in corners and the windows where anyone could be lurking. Any of my staff; any who had allegiances none of us knew about. "This isn't a good place to strategize."

Lady Ossenna nodded as she slid an arm under mine and tugged me out of the stables. Ysac hastened ahead to lead the way, and Sir Sym brought up the rear.

"I must inform you of something," said Lady Ossenna, leaning close to my ear, her aromatic apple scent slipping into my nostrils. "Our new Arden is already somewhat functional. The choice we made last night, the young Sinclair...he checked out."

Sir Sym scurried to my other side. "They picked up on their powers fast. Naturally gifted, it seems."

Lady Ossenna twitched at his words, prompting me to gaze at her curiously; but whatever she felt, she kept it off her expression.

Sir Sym smelled like fruit orchards and spice, and his scent complemented Ossenna's in ways that settled the ache in my temples. "The power we sensed in him during the ball was genuine, but we have no clue where he got it from. His father, the baron he mentioned, has no traceable magical history."

"A miracle," said Lady Ossenna, drumming her rounded rosy nails against my forearm. "This Arden is what we needed to amplify our forces. It'll take a few more days, maybe a week, for them to develop their full display of powers, but we're headed the right way."

We meandered into the castle, down the long halls still decorated from last night's festivities. We passed through the illuminated throne room and traversed into the meeting area.

Lady Ossenna took me to my seat and pulled it out for me, urging me to sit.

"I'll summon Arden to attend this reunion," said Sir Sym after a bow. "They need to be briefed like everyone else."

Lady Ossenna flinched at this, but acquiesced.

"And my sisters." I rapped my knuckles against the table to draw their attention. "I want Tilda and Astrida here."

They were on my council, after all. Luned was their half-sister, too.

Ysac stood guard by my chair. His bells rattling softly near my ears were a more restful sound than the ocean's crashing waves or the squeals of concern from my advisors.

Yet my scalp still throbbed, my stomach wouldn't unclench, and my legs and bottom were sore from riding.

How did Luned know we were there?

The word "spies" flickered continuously in my mind. Over and over, so much I had to close my eyes and rest the back of my head against my cushions.

I wasn't sure if I dozed off, or if time fast-forwarded, but heeled footsteps and a heavy whiff of roses and powder drew me to pry my eyelids apart.

Astrida and Tilda shimmied in, both hurrying to my side, grabbing at my wrists and cupping my chin and plastering reassured kisses to my forehead.

What had Sir Sym and Lady Ossenna told them?

"I'm fine, I'm fine," I said, pushing them off and gesturing at them to take their spots.

"But that monster contacted you?" I'd never heard Astrida's voice so menacing, so low in her throat. "And she threatened you? The nerve."

"Sent her damn dolphin with potentially poisoned letters?" Tilda tucked her chestnut curls behind her ears and snarled. "How rude. She used to have tact, poise, and now she's a fish—"

"A scaly, squishy, sour fish!" Astrida gagged and pressed her diamond-ringed fingers to her mouth.

"Enough." I banged my fists to the table. "Can we focus, please?"

"Yes," said a voice from the doorway. A neutral, nebulous noise I hadn't expected to hear for a while.

I gazed over to view him—them. The black veil, the black cloak dropping over black boots. The black gloves and black aura arising around them. A black mask that hid their original features from me.

I shuddered.

"Focus would be ideal, as I imagine there's much to debate," they added, ambling to the chair across the table from me.

Lady Ossenna took the space to their left, Sir Sym to their right. My siblings sat on either side of me. But I couldn't stop studying them.

Sinclair. Arden. Their presence coated the room in a mystery. A muted awe. Shock and astonishment—the usual reactions to their immense array of abilities that no one knew much about.

But this Arden was new, and wasn't supposed to inspire such sensations yet, were they?

"Arden," I said, battling the knots in my belly and the pain in my throat. "Welcome back."

They inclined their head, and I imagined Sinclair's ginger eyes dimming in respect. Eyes I'd likely never see again, as Sinclair would be Arden forever.

"So, you're all aware of what happened." I peeked at Astrida, who nodded. "Ysac and I went on an adventure and discovered that Luned may keep a closer watch on us than we anticipated."

"A message in a bottle," said Arden, their head tilted towards me, scanning me, analyzing. "Brought to you by a dolphin?"

"We assume." Ysac stiffened beside me, one hand curling over the top of my throne. "We didn't see Roro bring it over, but we noticed him swimming on the horizon. Glaring at us. Yellow eyes and all."

"Does this mean Luned has taken refuge in the sea? She's hiding with her mermaid family?" Tilda tapped her nails to the table. "I believed they'd abandoned her, and that's why she lived with us, no?"

"That was the consensus." I crossed one leg over the other, my leathery breeches chafing. "But I presume along with her decision to betray us all, she re-established contact with her mermaid mother. It's rumored the mer-folk hate us, so she may have formed an alliance with them. For amnesty and protection until her plots are set in motion."

"We can't enter that territory, Majesty," said Sir Sym, his back arched as he turned sideways to glimpse me. "Not only is it impossible for us to summon the energy to take on such a deeply exploratory task, but we won't have access to it. The stories say sharks and killer whales patrol its gates and prevent anyone without mer-blood from entering. If you'd somehow discovered the mer-kingdom, you would have come back to us in pieces. Bloody pieces."

"I believe it's Jack we should seek first," said Lady Ossenna, her eyes returning to their unnatural space-like glimmer. She was so elegant as she spoke, I wondered if she'd make a more eloquent queen than I. "He has no powers. He's strong, but he's human. We can take him on if he's alone."

"But would he be alone?" Tilda tipped over the table to reach for a bowl of sweets I hadn't noticed before then. "Wouldn't he have a retinue of Otho's corrupt soldiers to protect him? I'd wager Otho would be with him, actually. Jack needs magical protection, and Luned doesn't." She sucked on a morsel of dark chocolate and smacked her lips in delight.

"She's not wrong," said Sir Sym, shoulders squaring as he faced the table again. "But it's still a lesser risk to apprehend them than it is to swim into perilous waters. We can recognize Otho's essence, and though he's undoubtedly concealed some of his powers, we'd have a better shot at apprehending him over Luned. She's the blood-tie to the throne, thanks to Hendry, so she's the most important piece of Otho's mission. He won't make it easy to find her. Without her, his attempt to take the throne is pointless."

"Yes." Lady Ossenna concentrated on Sir Sym, and one of their invisible links established between them. Absorbed, lost in their telepathy, they both quieted before Lady Ossenna snapped back to life. "He'll care less about us going after Jack, so it's Jack we should aim for."

I disagreed. Of course I disagreed.

Luned is the key to everything. We get her, we end all this.

"So, if I agree with you," I said, deciding to go along with their idea, to hear their thoughts. "If I consent to capture Jack first, how do we proceed?" I stood up, peeping at each attendee in turn, except Ysac, who remained rigid behind me. "How do we locate Otho and steal Jack from him?"

I expected my advisor-mages to crane their necks to me, to spit out some obvious means to fetch the knave, to detect an issue with my tone. But they gaped at Arden. The newcomer, the recently converted, the youngster hiding under the immensely powerful mask.

"They have the ability to sense threats to the world," said Sir Sym, a somberness to his voice that surprised me.

Ysac hunched over the table and zoned in on the cloaked mage. "Otho is a terrifying threat to the world," he said, more to himself than to anyone else.

Lady Ossenna joined her hands atop the table. "With a bit of practice, Arden should be able to sniff out Otho. They should have the chance to narrow down our options, so we can send some troops after him." She glanced at the veiled mage, stoic, solemn. "Arden can find Otho."

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