Page 141 of In Rising Tides

“It would helpme.”

Drystan had the scout escorted out by Fang and Angler. It didn’t escape Lyra’s notice that it was done hastily and before any of the princes could ask any further questions.

“This is obviously because of Lyra’s bargain,” Caspian said with a leveling of his chin. His broad chest rippled as he stretched his arms out wide. “The humans don’t want her interfering in the tide. They could attack our borders?—”

“Enough,” Drystan snapped. “We need to set a plan in motion, and quickly. We are facing retaliation on every side.”

Lyra watched as he began to swim back and forth in the center of the room. The pressure of being king was beginning to take its toll. He looked tired in a way she knew he felt all the way down to his bones. He dragged a talon-tipped hand through his hair and winced when it snagged.

“Aegir is exercising too much power. I know we all feel it, and without the throne in my grip, it will only get worse,” he said, casting his gaze like a net around the room. “Now we have a threat against Lyra.” He threw up his hands. “Humans that are too strong—toopowerful. It’s strange, is it not?”

Caspian rubbed a hand across his jaw. “What are you saying?”

“The humans obviously got something out of the tithe, and that’s why they’re trying to stop her. But what are they gaining from it?” Drystan turned in a slow and steady motion, his tail barely moving as he looked at each prince.

The answer was on the tip of her tongue. It wasn’tjusta mermaid they were gaining.

“They’re acquiring magic from the tithe,” Lyra answered. “That would explain why they were able to take down a squad of scouts.” Her voice was barely louder than a whisper.

Hadrian spluttered. “The humans are gettingmagicfrom the tithe?”

Lyra locked eyes with Drystan, and he nodded, giving her leave to explain. “Mermaids are the only ones who carry any sort of magical abilities anymore. We don’t know what the humans are doing with the one they take from the tithe. We had assumed they were killing them, but what if they weren’t?”

Her words alone should have been enough to change the tide of the room, to get them to see reason. But it’s much easier to fool someone than to explain to them how they had been fooled.

“It’s inconceivable,” Caius muttered, shaking his head. “Taking magic from a mermaid is impossible.”

Lyra kept herself from rolling her eyes. “There’s so much about magic we don’t know. I find itinconceivablethat you think you know everything there is to know about it.”

Drystan brushed a hand across his lips, and Lyra thought she might have imagined the smile that quirked his lips. “Have we learned anything else? About the temple or the bargain?”

Rigel swam closer to the center, garnering everyone’s attention. “After a thorough search of our history, there are several gaps that appear suspicious. We have detailed records of every war, skirmish, and coronation stretching as far back as when the seven seas had been settled by the first tribes. But there are no records of the temple being erected and nothing that would provide further information about the tithe.”

Lyra’s brows pinched together. She wasn’t surprised that they couldn’t find anything, but she needed to sell her confusion, to play into this ploy to trick them because it was obvious they weren’t going to figure it out themselves.

“That is strange,” she mused. “Seems like someone worked very hard to keep it hidden.”

Caius snorted. “Or we can’t find anything because we are under your thrall to believe without question.”

Rigel cleared his throat. “That’s not correct.”

Caius’s brows rose precariously high on his granite-hewn face. “What do you mean?”

Rigel slid his attention from Caius to Drystan, and then around the room. “We have found records of the tithe as we previously discussed.”

“Have you been able to find the first mention of the tithe?” Lyra asked.

She held her breath waiting for his answer.

“After the first tribe wars. When the Na Tuinnes claimed this land.”

Lyra felt the salt in her blood heat. The Na Tuinnes had worked with Ennosidas to overthrow Tiandra, according to her dream that wasn’t a dream. That’s how they had conquered their goddess and the leviathan. But what if they had been responsible for more—for all of it?

She didn’t know how to explain that to any of them, or if they would even listen. Barring Hadrian, Ishmael, Rigel, and Adamaris, the rest were still adamant about needing to see proof of Tiandra in the temple.

Lyra felt heavy eyes on her and turned her gaze to Drystan.

He watched her closely as if he were cataloguing each of her features for further study. His eyes narrowed as she worked to master her face. He knew she was onto something.