[ Lachlan ]

Nereus glittered under the fading light that signaled the end of the day cycle. Lachlan felt a deep peace settle into his body as he swam toward the edge of the city. He closed his eyes, and for a moment, he could hear the laughter of his best friends through the quiet evening water. 

A smile blossomed on his face. He knew that if he opened his eyes, Bastian would be on his left, teasing him about how slow he was. To his right, Zareb would mutter something sarcastic to make him feel better. Together, they would race to the palace for a delicious dinner. 

"We have to be quick." The deep voice pulled him from his memories, and Lachlan's heart broke a little more.

"I know, Militum. We don't have much time to spare."

"The Selachs are growing restless, but the Naiads are the real problem."

Lachlan frowned. Zareb, as the Trident to Bastian, had taken up many of the duties that would have fallen to the missing Triton. That included being the peacemaker between the standing Naiad army and the Selach tribes. It was something he was uniquely suited to, seeing as he was a Naiad warrior who was romantically involved with the son of the Selach chieftain. 

Even with the support of Atreus, second in command to the now broken Arsenius, Zareb was losing control of the people. Soon, it wouldn't matter that Arsenius had lost his left arm, and so the goddess Selene's mark was gone from him. And it wouldn't matter that Bastian had given his lif—his best to stop an all out war with the Selachs. Any day now, a distant cousin to Bastian could come forth and stake a claim to the throne, undoing all the work of the Selach treatise. 

The people were tired of waiting.

Lachlan was tired, too. 

The search had been non-stop since the day Bastian disappeared. There were rumors, among all the merfolk clans, that Bastian had simply been completely vaporized by the magic of Neptune's Trident. That was a better rumor than the one whispered amongst the more violent merfolk... that Bastian's vitae gem had been stolen by some barbaric Selach for some nefarious reason. 

It was a ridiculous notion, fueled by fear and ignorance. Even the Selachs, with all their strange customs, respected the dead. Lachlan lifted a hand to rub at the bridge of his nose, where he could feel a tension headache beginning to brew. Soon, it would spread behind his eyes, and then it would rage all through his head if he left it unchecked.  

"We're running out of plausible leads, Militum. You know we had to come back." He waited for Militum to speak, but Lachlan knew that his only reward would be silence. Militum spoke less now than he had when he had been the sworn guard of Melodia. 

The loss of both the previous Queen and the current Triton had weighed heavily on the old warrior, and he had since been driven with an intensity that would have frightened Lachlan if he didn't share the same goals. 

Lachlan sighed. "I'm sorry. I know it's not what either of us wanted. But we can't keep searching blindly. It's a big ocean, Militum. And there are far too many who would take advantage of our desperation. Too many leads have turned up false for us to chase all of the rest. We'd be dead before we could get to them all anyhow."

Militum's face remained stony, but he didn't offer up any protest. It would have to be good enough, for now. A flash of red caught Lachlan's attention, and the pain of his brewing headache was momentarily forgotten.

Warm arms wrapped around him and hugged him close, and Lachlan laughed for the first time in too long. "Brother!" He returned Zareb's hug. 

"Oh, thank the goddess you're here Lachlan. I really needed to see a friendly face." Zareb pulled back to give Lachlan a once over. 

Lachlan rolled his eyes. "I'm fine, mother. And so is Militum. Did you find what I asked you to?"

Zareb's eyes flicked to Militum, and then back to Lachlan. He frowned. "I did, but I'm not sure you'll like it overmuch."

"Why not?" 

"Well, mother says it's not the most reliable information. Some things are bound to have changed in the two hundred years since she went to the augur."

"We have to try, Zareb. It's the strongest lead we've had in a long time." Six months, to be exact. And Bastian had been gone eight in total. 

Zareb lifted the travel pack he carried and offered it to Lachlan. "I still think you had better follow up with that seanachie your Aunt Ceili told you about first."

Lachlan took the pack and traded it for the empty one he carried. Then he gave Zareb a pointed look. 

Zareb sighed. "Fine, fine. If you're so determined, then I might as well get out of your way. But don't say I didn't warn you if it brings you trouble." He shook his head, the same way he always had when Lachlan got stubborn about something—which was often.

"Mother says that when she first ventured out from the Wata clan, she stopped by the eastern coast of Manus. There, on the eastern most tip of the coast, lives an augur who is blessed by the Sun. Mother says it is always a woman, and always someone touched by the god himself. If you bring a gift for the god, then the augur will speak on your behalf. She says..." Zareb hesitated, and Lachlan held his breath. 

Already, he had learned more about Zareb's mother than he had ever been able to pry out before. He knew she had been exiled from her clan, all Wata mermaids that lived outside their goddesses' sacred waters were. But she had never before spoken about her journey to Nereus. 

"She says that the Sun does not often look fondly on men. Even mermen. She says that you should go only for the briefest of times, and not trust the ones who surround the augur."

Lachlan breathed again. The gills on his neck fluttered with his anxiousness. "Well, that's not exactly the glowing recommendation I had hoped for."

"See?" Zareb rolled a shoulder. "I told you to try the other one first. Just in case."

"This augur of the Sun, is she a human?" Militum's voice startled Lachlan. He'd forgotten about the big merman. 

"Mother wasn't specific." Zareb answered immediately, in the tone of one who was used to answering questions. Always the warrior. "But I would assume the answer is yes."

"Then we will have to be very quick in our visit."

Lachlan's curiosity was piqued. "Why?"

Militum looked straight at Lachlan when he answered. "Because, little one, the waters off the coast of Manus are largely inhabited by the Undine. And they are at war with the humans. Always."

Lachlan's headache blossomed behind his eyes. Nothing was simple anymore. When he found Bastian, he was going to choke the lazy fish for putting him through all this.  

Haha, sorry about the delay! Meant to post this yesterday, but time is a bit of an illusion right now. >.>

Update for those who wanted to know more, I was hospitalized for only a couple days due to an infection that knocked me on my butt. I'm out and feeling loads better and taking all my medications so hopefully that's the end of that!

So thanks for all the well wishes. I really appreciated them (once the drugs wore off). And now, hopefully, nothing else will get in the way of my writing! Yay! 

Welcome back to our lovely Lachlan! I know he's a fan favorite (Mina, stop shipping him with Bastian), and I couldn't very well leave him out of the story, considering how he sort of disappeared at the end of the first book. Are you happy to see him back? 

Are you excited to find out he and Militum are part of the main cast? I know I am!

This book will be a little fragmented at the start, until everyone gets together. Rest assured, I know EXACTLY (sorta) what I'm doing. ;)

Thanks again for reading, sorry for the huge update, and I LOVE YOU. YOU'RE AN AMAZING RAY OF SUNSHINE AND I NEED MORE OF YOU IN MY LIFE. <3