Brendan?”

“I’m his aunt.”

Just that sentence makes me retract the arm that I’ve slung around

her shoulder. “I don’t think I’ll get used to this age thing. You look

sixteen.”

She seems relieved that I’ve put a little space between us. “My

brother is the herald of the North. I’m the youngest at forty.”

“I guess you and I are related by marriage, then? Brendan’s mother

is my aunt. Never met her, though.”

“I’ve read all about your mother, Lady Maia!” She laughs giddily.

“Bit scandalous when it happened. Even more than Lady Maristella

eloping with my brother, a lowly scroll keeper. My brother wasn’t

herald of the North yet when that happened. He had to fight for that

title.”

“So you’re a lady of court who really wants to be a scroll keeper?

Are there rules against that?”

She doesn’t laugh at my ignorance, which is nice. “Our people are

changing slowly. A thousand years ago, merfolk with magic couldn’t

marry into the court families. They were sent away. Our stations have

changed, but slowly as does everything we do.”

“No wonder Sarabell’s having such a hard time finding a husband.”

I almost feel bad for her.

The breeze around us picks up, and a thin fog comes in with the

sunset. There’s a strange horn blasting in the distance. I wonder if

that means more accidents.

“It seems to me that merpeople aren’t that different from

people-people. Everyone just wants to be on top of any kind of

pyramid.”

“I don’t think you’d be that kind of king.”

“I’m not even sure what kind of anything I am lately.”

She offers me a smile. “Had I…done that”-she can’t bring herself

to say vomit -“to Adaro, I’d be missing a head right about now. No,

you’ll make a just king.”

She sounds so sure when she says it that now I feel sheepish. If

Kai believes in me, then maybe she can help us figure out how to get

to Eternity.

“I mean, I feel like I’m at a disadvantage in all of this. I

wasn’t raised on the island, and up until a few days ago, all I did

was swim and hang out with my friends. Now, all of a sudden, I have a

piece of the trident and I’m carrying around a dagger in my backpack

that would get me locked up-sorry. I shouldn’t be dumping this all on

you. I mean, if you’re going to help anyone, it’s going to be

Brendan.”

“Really, Tristan?” A surprising laugh comes from deep in her

belly. She dabs at a tear falling from her long, fringy eyelashes. I

can tell she digs me even if it’s just in a friendship kind of way.

“First of all, if you’ve met Brendan, you know he isn’t taking the

championship seriously. He’s always had the heart of an adventurer-not

a king. My father blames it on the fact that he’s read too many of our

scrolls depicting pirates and ladies in towers and islands full of

treasures. Even among our kind, we take pleasure in new worlds. It’s

why we travel on Toliss.”

“He can’t blame the books,” I say. “You’ve probably read the same

ones and aren’t off looking for the pot of gold at the end of a

rainbow.”

“I’ve also read enough that makes me want to stay hidden away in

my family’s caves.” Her smile falters. “There’s a lot more in the sea

to be wary of than on land. Don’t you feel you’d be safer if you kept

to your human life? I don’t mean to put doubt in your mind. I really,

really do believe you’re brave. You’ve got the heart of the heroes

I’ve only read about.”

“You’re going to make me blush.” And I do. I feel the heat and

confidence flooding back to me.

“I’m going to tell you this.” Her eyes flit from side to side like

she’s feeding me answers of our history final. “From the last

tournament I read about, the champions didn’t hunt the oracles. The

sisters are secretive, even for our kind. It’s almost cruel the things

they can do. Don’t make them any promises. It always backfires. I read

about one champion who was asked for his heart in exchange for the

Trident of the Skies. He agreed and then she ripped out his heart.”

My own heart clenches when she says this. I rub my chest. “That’s

pretty harsh.”

“The oracles are harsh. Their duty was supposed to be to interpret

the word of the gods. Now, I don’t know. They’ve always been a

mystery. I know the king only calls on them when important war

decisions have to be made. I’ve never met one. You’ve met at least

one.”

“Shelly’s cool. She hasn’t got any voodoo or whatever.” I don’t

want to talk about the nautilus maid or the terrible thing I promised

to do.

“She must be the youngest.” Kai bites her lip. I can tell the

oracles are as much a mystery to her as they are to me.

“You called it the Trident of the Skies?”

She shakes her head and takes on a new air-the confidence that

comes with everything she knows. “Our people aren’t exactly spending

their eternity reading, which is a shame. Once the trident was pieced

together, no one seemed to care what the separate pieces were called

since its power is strongest as a whole.

“The quartz piece is called the Scepter of the Earth. Quartz is

the most common mineral in the world, but this kind is ancient, from

the deepest depths of the earth. Poseidon was called ‘earth-shaker,’

and one legend says he shook the earth so hard that a great mine of

quartz opened up for us to use in making weapons.

“The staff is the Staff of Eternity. The symbols etched on it were

burned with the blood of the oracles that forged it. Even if you’re a

regular witch, it magnifies your powers. But for most, it’s really

best to give someone a beating with. The trident tip is simply Trident

of the Skies. It pulls on all the elements to create thunder and

lightning and whirlpools. When I was little, it was always my favorite

part of the whole trident.”

“Scepter of the Earth.” I enunciate it in different

voices-voice-over hero, evil villain, even a badass Russian accent. It

all sounds kind of silly but I like the sound of it, strong and

powerful and, most importantly, mine.

Bonus points: I make serious, bookish Kai laugh. It’s a lovely

sound until it’s followed by a scream.

We’re halfway back down to the ground when something bangs into

our car and we fly back against the hard metal door. There is nothing

like getting crushed by your own backpack full of weapons to end a

date. Kai grabs on to me, and even though I want to make her feel

safe, I need to see what the hell is happening. The bang leaves a

shapeless dent where our door should be. I try to pull it open but the

metal is warped and the lock is stuck.

“Come on!” I rattle it with my hands. “One time I saw a guy climb

out of these things when it was stuck.”

“I thought you said this was safe!”

“I said it could hold our weight! I never said anything about

safety.”

Kai gives me a good shove, which I guess I deserve. Then again, I

can’t control external forces, now can I?

Down below, the crowds are mob-like, running out of the park. The

other cars on the Wonder Wheel are in full panic, their occupants

screaming and trying to punch their way out. The shaky technicians let

out the people closer to the ground.

A screech echoes through the park. It fills the air in a swoosh .

I unzip my backpack with sure fingers.

“Did you see it?” I ask her.

The ride jolts, like the lever is hitting stop and go at random.

There’s one guy left manning the station, because the others are

running the hell away.