Eternal Abyss - Waterfire Saga - Book 5

Chapter 1 - Trap

 "Where's Neela? Don't tell me she's going to be late again," Serafina muttered to herself. She was so ready to leave now, and she didn't want to be late just because her friend had kanjaywoohoos to snack on. The two of them were getting ready to leave on their Royal Coronation to visit the other Realms tomorrow. Sera felt like she hadn't seen Becca, Ava, and Ling for way too long, and she really wanted to check in on them. All the mer realms knew that Sera was coming; she'd publically announced it and then sent letters to all of them.

"There you are!" Neela came rushing over to embrace her friend. "I've been searching for you forever!"

Sera laughed. "Really? Because I was worried you had stayed in pigging out," she teased, knowing how much Neela loved sweets. "C'mon, let's go inside."

The next day, Sera waited outside of the palace, dressed up for their trip. Neela was taking awhile, which worried her. Then again, Neela always took too much time dressing up. After a while, she finally showed up.

"Hey merl! What took you so long?" Sera smiled, swimming up to her friend.

"I couldn't find the right dress," Neela replied quietly, and then perked up again. "Turquoise or teal, such a hard decision!" They both laughed at this.

"Are you merls just going to stay there blabbering or move your tails?" A new voice rang out in the clear water. Astrid, impatient as always. Sera grinned. "So we're all here, I'm sure. Guards, if you would . . ." Guards trailed out, bringing beautiful hippocampi pulling carefully decorated carriages for the long ride ahead. Neela rushed in first, giggling with Sera. Astrid rolled her eyes.

"First stop, Qin!" The coachman yelled. And they were off.

* * *

Ling sat bolt upright. Her heart thumped fiercely in her chest. Just a dream, just a dream, she told herself over and over. But she'd seen her face so clearly. Lucia Volnero, the girl who tried to steal Serafina's throne. She didn't know Lucia well personally, but she knew enough to know the she was like a poisonous angelfish. Beautiful on the outside, but an eel on the inside. Ling also knew that Lucia would do anything to kill Sera and become the Regina of Miromara. Even though Lucia was probably dead or close to dead, she still felt that something about that nightmare . . . seemed real.

"I'll talk to Sera," Ling declared aloud.

You can talk to me, too, Rain muttered.

Ling yelped before remembering that Rain, her pet Crowntail, was still in the room. Shortly after Ling had returned home from defeating Orfeo, she'd found this beautiful blue fish lost and alone, hiding from a band of vicious sharks. Since she was what they called an omnivoxa, she could speak and understand any language without really knowing it. So she'd done what any other kind merl would've done. She rescued the poor thing.

"I don't know, buddy," she replied half heartedly, lost in her own thoughts. The little fish seemed to understand the mood and snuggled under Ling's arm. They stayed like that for a while.

* * *

Becca neared the surface, as the brightness of the water almost blinded her. She was supposed to meet him here, but he was nowhere in sight. Becca took a deep breath of water and rose her head above the surface. Nothing but open water. She sank back down into the sea, disappointed. Had she gone through all that trouble for nothing?

* * *

Astrid was relieved to finally get out of the cramped carriage. Even though most mer would do anything to see a royal carriage, Astrid hated it. She prefered the clear, cold, open waters of Ondalina.

Home. Astrid thought. She had returned a couple years ago, and the people were equally astonished and angry to see she was alive. Broken inside, she left, hoping that one day, she could call the place home. Still, it still hurt her heart when she remembered the previous general. He would be so ashamed of her now.

Ondalina will be mine one day, she thought bitterly. No one takes my kingdom and gets away with it.

"C'mon, Astrid, Ling's home is this way," Sera called. Astrid wordlessly followed.

* * *

Ling had flung open the door before her friends had even reached her shellbox. She just couldn't stand waiting any longer. The merlfriends all greeted each other joyfully, smiling and chatting about how life had been going.

"Come in," Ling's mother called. "We just prepared dinner."

Sera called off all the guards and the coachman on break, and they left without argument.

"Oh! I've missed you so much!" Ling said as she took Sera's hand and danced happily in a circle. "How are you all doing?" 

"Everything's wonderful!" Sera replied, "Can you believe that we graduated already? It feels like  hardly anytime passed in the last few years! Though studying for finals are kind of hard when you have a realm to rule." The merls all laughed, and Ling waved them over to follow her.

"So, how are you and Mahdi getting along, Sera?" Ling quipped, leading the other chatting merls into the dining room.

Sera fidgeted uncomfortably. "He said there were some problems in Matali. We visit once in awhile and talk about what's going on, but I get the feeling he's not telling me everything," she says with a heavy sigh. Ling decided not to press on that anymore. They continued a light, easygoing, conversation. After they were finished with the meal, Ling heard a knock on the door.

"It's probably the guards," Sera said. "Although I didn't think they'd be back so soon, but I bet it's nothing."

"Hm," Ling muttured. She got up from the table and swam by her to the door. "Who is it?" She called out.

"We're the Imperial Guard of Qin," a deep voice boomed from the other side. "And we're here to retrieve Regina Serafina of Miromara and her friend, Princess Neela."

Ling paused, confused. The Imperial Guard? Something was definitely wrong here. Sera wasn't supposed to visit the King of Qin until a couple days. Was there an emergency? Ling frowned. Then they should have sent her a conch by now. The Guard had no reason to be here, not that she knew of.

"Hide," she hissed to her friends. "This has to be a trap."