Mahina got it right away. “Kona?”
“Yes. He’s not answering me. I have to get closer, have to—”
“Come on. I’ll go with you.”
“What about your family?”
“They’ll understand.” She grabbed my hand and we ran down the beach to the water.
“What’s the fastest way to get to Kona’s territory from here?” I asked her. Besides being a genius, she had a better sense of direction than a GPS. If anyone could help me find a way to do what I needed to, it was Malina.
“Through the Wailana trench.”
“Let’s do it then.”
“I want to pack a few things first. So should you.”
“We don’t have time.”
“Then we’ll make time.” She started running toward her family’s land house. “I’ll meet you here in ten minutes.”
Even as I cursed her, I ran back into Hailana’s castle. Went to the room I kept there and put together a backpack filled with extra clothes and the only weapon I could find—a knife Kona had given me months earlier for protection.
Then I ran outside. Mahina was already there, a black waterproof bag slung over her own back. Together, we plunged into the water, diving deep. Neither of us bothered to shift—the trench was so narrow that it was hard to use our tails effectively. Better to traverse it in human form before shifting.
Thank you, I told her as we swam.
Give me a break. Nobody else needs to die today. She paused. Except Tiamat.
I’ve got no argument with that.
As we swam, I kept trying to reach Kona. But when we were within a half hour of his territory and still nothing, I thought I was going to lose my mind. Even if I couldn’t hold a bridge at this distance, there was no way I could be this close to him without Kona knowing and contacting me. Something terrible must have happened.
Images of Coral Straits after the attack zoomed through my head. I closed my eyes, tried to block them out, but all I could see was Kona lying somewhere, dead or dying. Just the thought had my stomach pitching violently and for a minute I was sure I would throw up.
He’s dead, I told Mahina desperately. That’s the only explanation. He has to be dead.
Don’t go there yet, she answered, but I could tell by the grim tone of her voice that she thought the same thing.
I let him go.
What?
When we were in La Jolla. I knew something was wrong, and I let him leave without me anyway.
That’s understandable. Your brother—
It wasn’t just about my brother. It was about Mark. And Kona knew it.
Mark? she asked, turning to me with wide eyes. I thought that was long over.
So did I. But being back there, seeing him … Everything got so confused. I love him, Mahina. I really do.
What about Kona?
That’s the thing. I love him too. I don’t think I knew how much until— I swallowed more water, coughed. Until this happened.
The long, deep trench that led directly to Kona’s city loomed in front of us, and I barreled down it, leaving Mahina to follow in my wake. I was swimming as fast as I could, as fast as I ever had, so that when it emptied out into the city, I ended up skidding across the ground much as I had the first time I’d ever come here. I’d been rushing to make sure Kona was okay that time, too.
I ended up stopping inches from one of the selkies in seal form. It was lying on its side on the ocean floor and at first I thought it was just resting. But then I understood—it was dead.
I scrambled up, backed away, and realized I was in the middle of my worst nightmare. Kona’s city looked even worse than Coral Straits had. Thousands of bodies littered the ground—in seal and human form—each one a little more horrific looking than the last.
Oh my God! Oh my God! Ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmygod! I screamed, turning around and around, trying to find Kona. Trying to see if he was down here. If Tiamat had—
I don’t know if he’s here, I told Mahina, bordering on hysteria. I can’t tell the difference between them in their seal forms. I didn’t see him like that enough. I don’t know. I don’t—
Hey! She grabbed me by the shoulders, gave me a firm shake. You have to get it together! She pointed at a few live selkies in human form. They were going from body to body, checking to see if anyone was still able to be saved. So far, it didn’t look like they’d found anyone. Let’s go ask them if they know where the royal family is.
It was a massacre, I told her dully. They didn’t stand a chance. They weren’t prepared at all. Hailana could have warned them. She could have—
Don’t think about that. Not now. She looked around grimly. We’ll deal with Hailana’s crimes later. Let’s go see about Kona first.
We swam over to the selkie healers. As we got closer, I realized one of them was Zarek. I threw myself at him, grabbed on to his arm. Kona? I asked, unable to formulate the words to ask what I really needed to know.
We haven’t found him yet. He shook his head grimly. The king—He choked up, cleared his throat. The king and queen are over there. He pointed behind him to two selkies in human form, both of whom were being wrapped in long pieces of fabric. Tiamat had gotten her revenge on Malakai, after all.
I gasped, stumbled, would have fallen if Mahina hadn’t been there to hold me up. Have you checked above? she demanded of Zarek.
We did a cursory sweep through the house—no one was there that we could see.
Let’s go, Mahina told me. When I didn’t budge, she started dragging me along behind her.
He’s not up there, Mahina, I told her desperately. He’s down here somewhere. He’s— My voice caught on a sob as I tried to accept the impossible. Tried to make myself understand the inexplicable. Kona couldn’t be dead. He just couldn’t be.
Sitting down here isn’t going to help anyone. Let’s go check the surface, just to be sure.
Her indomitable will firmly in place, she tugged me toward the narrow, vertical passage that would take me to the island where Kona’s family made their home. I didn’t fight her because, honestly, I didn’t have the energy. Trying to make a decision was impossible, especially as an abyss of agony yawned wide inside of me.
When we got to the passage, Mahina pushed me forward. You go first.
I didn’t question her. I couldn’t. I just stretched my arms over my head and pushed up. There was barely enough room in the narrow, rocky chute for me to move my arms and legs, so it was slow going, just like always. I finally made it to the top, bursting into the warm water of the inlet that brought me to the beach right in front of Kona’s castle.
Mahina was right behind me, and together we slowly made our way to shore. The beach was lined with injured people, while others attended to them. They were all positioned close to the water, and I remembered, suddenly, how salt water healed them. Which made me wonder—just how badly, and quickly, had those down below been injured that being immersed in the stuff had provided almost no protection?
No one spoke to us as we made our way over the sand to the giant castle. When we got to the front door, I knocked as loudly as I could, praying for Kona’s butler, Vernon, to open it. If he was there, I told myself, then everything would be okay. He would know where Kona was. Vernon would never let anything happen to any of the royal family.