Page 134 of In Rising Tides

“Stop that.” Thalassa shook her head. “Nerida is reading it right now. She sent me to tell you!”

Lyra inhaled sharply through her nose as her eyes widened. “Did she say anything else?”

“She’s going to check it against something else she found, but she’ll have to go back to Naguni. She said to be patient—and don’t touch your magic in the meantime.”

Lyra huffed a laugh. “I can promise you, I won’t be touching it at all.”

There was a pounding on the door. “Princess Lyra, the council convenes!”

Thalassa threw a glare over her shoulder at the door, her golden hair bouncing in the low gathering she had pulled it up in.

“I’d better go,” she muttered, glancing back at Lyra. “Good luck.”

Thalassa was gone before Lyra could say thank you, not that her sister would have cared, anyway.

Lyra struggled to finish getting ready. Each of her movements was sluggish and clumsy.

She dropped several pins attempting to pull her hair back and then took an exhausting amount of time trying to decide on a kylix before giving up and selecting one at random. It was lilac.

Her eyes burned when she thought of how much Maelys would have liked the color.

She reached to grab another one, but the blue was the same shade as Daisy’s hair, and it had a lump forming in her throat.

Everywhere she looked, she was reminded of them.

With one final glance in the mirror, Lyra sighed.

She was as good as ready. It was difficult for her to pull her door open, and when she did, she was greeted by the brooding faces of Angler and Fang.

“Took you long enough,” Fang muttered.

Lyra didn’t reply.

“All that time and she still looks likethat,” Angler added.

She didn’t say a word, just floated there, waiting for them to finish.

They weren’t wrong. She looked abysmal.

Fang shrugged and took up her left, while Angler followed on her right.

They swam through the halls of the palace at a tepid pace. Lyra found herself relieved. It was an effort to move her body at all.

They weren’t clever enough to hide the looks they shot at each other over her head, but they didn’t speak to her or about her again.

Lyra thought she spied Seraphina down a hall they had passed. At least she saw a shock of white hair before Angler blocked her view.

She realized she hadn’t thought of Sera since seeing her sister, Ondine, and she hadn’t seen Ondine or Lorelai in quite some time.

“Where are the servants?” Lyra wondered aloud.

Truthfully, she didn’t expect either of them to answer.

“The Tidal Master has decreed that no mermaid can be in service to the crown,” Fang said.

“Until Drystan has been crowned King,” Angler finished.

Lyra’s nostrils flared as she pursed her lips. “Why?”