on his land near the Galapagos, he would have to return the favor.”

“What, I go to him and make nice?” Then I think of the army I need

to form. Having Adaro as a temporary ally wouldn’t be the worst thing

in the world. “The last time we heard of him, we had just missed him

at the Vanishing Cove. Now he has the Staff of Eternity. Why hasn’t he

made himself known until now?”

Kurt buckles his sheath around his waist. “That’s precisely what

we are going to find out.”

A few weeks ago, on a day like this, I would’ve been sitting on

the lifeguard tower. I would be in my uniform-an orange Speedo with

orange trunks over that, which is the least flattering color on anyone

who isn’t a lifeguard. The circumference of towels below would be full

of girls baking in the sun, each asking stupid questions like, Hey,

Mr. Lifeguard, if I drown, will you give me CPR?

I’d even be playing along.

Today I’m on a political mission with Kurt as my ambassador. Hell,

before they explained it to me, I wasn’t sure what an ambassador

actually did. It helps having the girls along. Thalia said a champion

shouldn’t go anywhere without an entourage. I guess this is the

closest I’ll ever get to feeling like a rock star.

“Don’t pout,” Thalia whispers to me.

“I’m not pouting.” But I know I am. This is the way I felt when I

lost my first meet-helpless and angry and stupid because I hated the

idea that someone could be better than me. I press my hands on the

waterproof nylon of my backpack as a reassurance that I am the king’s

champion and I have the Scepter of the Earth. But then Adaro has the

staff. We’re equals, and I have to make him see that.

“Hey, Tristan,” Layla says dryly. “I’ll bet you twenty bucks you

can’t guess where on the beach Adaro is.”

“That seems like a perfect waste of bucks,” Kurt says.

“How come I didn’t get a celebration tent?”

They laugh, stepping off the boardwalk and onto the sand. Amid the

early beachgoers setting up camp with towels and blankets stained in

the wash, Adaro’s celebratory tent is glaring. All silks and

shimmering threads, the canopy shields him and his entourage from the

gray brightness of the day.

Kurt pulls me back, suddenly apprehensive. “Let me introduce you.”

“I’ve already been introduced! Remember that big ceremony on

Toliss with the introductions?”

He ignores me, stepping right in front of Adaro’s makeshift court.

He holds his hands at his back and bows his head with a smile. I don’t

want him to bow to anyone.

“Hello there!” Adaro says. “What a pleasant surprise.”

“Hard to ignore all the conch-blowing action,” I say, eliciting a

nudge from Thalia.

“Adaro, son of Leomaris and champion of the Southern Seas,” Kurt

flourishes in my direction. “I present to you Tristan Hart, son of

David Hart and champion of King Karanos.”

Freaking Adaro with his shiny golden staff and wind-tossed black

hair. The white of his teeth is blinding against his cinnamon skin.

He’s loud and maybe a little drunk. He’s in full human mode, though

right at his ankles are a leftover spattering of red and yellow

scales. I realize they’re there on purpose, letting him wave his

family colors like a flag. So I let my blue scales surface on my

wrists.

He sits up, sloshing white slushie down his chest and abs, and

soaking the hem of his golden Speedo.

I start cough-laughing and Kurt gives me a few good smacks.

“I didn’t peg you for a piсa colada kind of guy,” I say.

“It’s a piсa colada kind of day!”

“Here we go,” Layla mutters behind me. Despite the tension in her

body, she keeps her chin up.

“It’s wonderful to see you!” Adaro opens his arms wide toward me.

Does he expect me to hug him? He pulls me into a bear hug, lifting me

way off the ground, then kissing me on each cheek. He looks Thalia and

Layla up and down with drunk golden eyes and kisses the back of their

hands. Then, looking down the beach, he does a double take. Gwen in a

long, white dress, stark against the grayness of the beach.

“I didn’t realize Princess Gwenivere was here,” Adaro whispers,

patting my back too long.

Her eyes twinkle the closer she gets, and she smiles, letting me

take her hand for a kiss. I hope she’s not still mad about this

morning. She bows to Adaro, offering congratulations, before joining

the others in the tent. Adaro drinks his piсa colada faster. “Is it

getting warm here?”

A mermaid close to him draws out a fan and starts batting it at

him.

“Please, sit!” Adaro gestures to his makeshift court. “Make room

for our welcome guests.”

Every princess, except for Sarabell, does as she’s asked. They

trade wicked glances, like they hope any moment Adaro and I will just

start going at it. Right, court politics. It’s not like I haven’t

played this game before. Angelo calls them “faux bros.” Guys from

other swim teams that we hang out with even though they’re our

competition.

“I must tell you,” Adaro says, taking a tiger-shell plate of

oysters and passing them down my way. “I’m not much for cold seas, but

this shore is rather charming. It’s like a parade of foot-fins! Look,

look at that one!”

A jogger passes by. He’s muscular and has a lion tattooed over his

chest. He lowers his sunglasses to get a better look at us but doesn’t

stop. I catch Sarabell gazing after him, and when she sees me staring,

she scoots away from me as if my very presence offends her.

“I should be congratulating you.” I try to match his enthusiasm,

but it’s hard to keep up with.

“And I you.” His golden eyes are happy and wet. He combs his hair

back coolly and opens his mouth, accepting the golden grape Princess

Violet of the loveliest purple hair feeds him.

I lean over to Kurt and whisper, “She got over you really

quickly.”

I don’t give him time to react. I lean forward to Adaro and ask,

“So what’s the story, man?”

“The story?”

“Yep, the story.” I take the tray from Sarabell, despite the

nagging looks from Kurt and Gwen as I do so, and suck down an oyster.

The salt wakens up my taste buds, and the meat is tender so I take

another. “Every adventure comes with a story.”

Gwen leans back and says, “Everyone knows how Tristan found the

quartz piece.”

Sarabell eyes me. “Yes, the youngest sightless oracle deemed you

worthy.”

My eye twitches when she says that, but I keep my smile frozen.

“Tell it, Addie,” Violet says. Her voice is like pressing the

belly of a doll that sings back to you.

Addie, I mouth to the bronze merman, who doesn’t like his

girlfriend’s nickname coming from me.

“Sit back, cousin. I will tell it,” says Sarabell. She stands with

her back to the water. Her skirts are the color of sunset, the

material sheer and threaded with gold. It has the effect of a great

flame. Her smile is wicked, marring the smooth, chiseled lines of her

face. “Our family is descended from one of the original kings of the

sea, Ellanos-he carried the staff. Wielded it to shape the caves

beneath the sea, the hidden places where we would seek shelter. It

seems fitting that it would fall into our family again.”

Layla moves closer and leans against my chest. The look I get from

Gwen brings a memory flash of her trying to kiss me. Even when her

lips hovered, it didn’t feel right. Cold. So cold compared to Layla.

My heart is running laps, and Layla is looking up at me, pressing her