Back down in the storage-closet-slash-bedroom I share with Finn, I find my best friend sitting on the edge of our cot, rubbing his eyes. His blonde hair is stiff with salty sea-air and sticks up at all angles. He looks more like a pufferfish than a flounder, but I bite back the comment. The last thing he needs is to be compared to a sea creature right now.

"Morning," he mumbles sleepily.

"Good morning. Did you sleep good?"

He shrugs. "You hog the bed."

"Sorry? I thought you liked cuddling with me." I hand him the small breakfast I snatched from the rations—fish and bread.

"I do." His voice is thick with sleep, and his eyes are barely open. Somehow, he still finds the wrapped package and takes it from me. "But as a mermaid, you couldn't kick me."

I grimace and sit on the bed beside him. "I'm really sorry. I'll try to do better."

Finn looks over at me, offers me a soft smile, and rams his shoulder into me. "Don't worry about it. Anything's better than being tossed around in a glass vial. I shouldn't complain."
His face is playful, but his eyes are dark and stony. They're storm-cloud gray this morning, a hurricane of memory and loss. As he eats, he remembers. That's been the hardest part: reliving the events he survived because of me.
Which is why I'm sending him home, even if he doesn't know it yet.

"Papa sent guards," I say, breaking the silence. Finn looks up from his roll.

"Seriously? Did you talk to them?"

I nod. "They were... as serious as always. Told me they couldn't let me wander Vandya without an escort."

"But you're the crown princess!" he squeals, shaking his head.

I shrug. "I guess I am. But when they looked at me, Finn, all they saw was my legs. To them, I'm just another human."

My best friend shakes his head even harder. "That's silly! Those same guards fought in the war. They know that we can change at will, if the Divine shows us how. Surely they understand that this body is just temporary."

"They probably know, but transforming like this is highly illegal," I remind him. "Maybe they weren't looking at me like a human but like a criminal."

Finn won't be swayed. He takes another bite of his bread and grumbles incoherently for a minute. "Just plain stupid."

Leave it to Finn to be insulted for me.

"Either way, we need to get dressed. Eero's at the helm; we'll be closing in on the isles in an hour or so."

He jams the rest of his breakfast into his mouth and moves towards the chest. Within a second, he's throwing clothes out at me—pants for the two of us, shirts, belts, socks. I run my fingers across the soft, worn material and let it calm me down. When he's satisfied with the outfits he's chosen, he returns to the bedside, and we change.

Both of us wear the same uniform. Black pants tucked into boots that are a bit too big for the both of us. Finn helps me cuff the too-long pant legs, and I straighten his upturned collar. It's a moment of unspoken intimacy, two kids playing dress-up together.

Finn laughs as he watches me pack my shirt into the waist of my pants.

"That's not going to work. It's all bunched up and makes you look swollen."

I glance down at myself, realizing he's not wrong. "Do you have a better idea?"

With a laugh, he pulls the shirt out, knots it at the base of my spine, and then tucks it back in. Surprisingly, it makes it fit perfectly.

"Where'd you learn that?" I ask, strapping a holster around my thigh.

His cheeks turn pink. "Josef taught me. None of the clothes in Lykke fit, and I didn't want to ask somehow to alter them. So, he showed me how to tie everything up."

That's when I notice that he tied his shirt too. Now, it pulls tight against his stomach, making him look skinnier.

"Leave it to Josef," I whisper, smiling.

Then, we fall into busy silence. Finn smooths his hair down; I braid mine into Amaia's multi-strand braid and tuck a single glass daisy close to my scalp. The rest go into the small leather bag that I hang across my body. As a final touch, I slide a borrowed bagger into the sheath at my waist and pat it lovingly.

It's William's—a token to remember the man who gave his life for me. One day, I might get Mama's back, but until then, I think she'd be okay with him being at my side.

"Well," I say, turning to Finn with my arms spread at my sides. "Do I look like a guard?"

He smiles. "Surprisingly, yeah. A little."

"I'll take that." I look at myself in the mirror and tug at my shirt.

This outfit is ten times more comfortable than my dress. The pant legs fit tightly around my thighs and remind me of having a tail. The shirt has short, cropped sleeves, showing off the muscle's I've honed training with Magnus and Eero. Freckles line my once-clear skin and make me look like a speckled trout.

Nodding at myself, at the charade we've crafted, I turn back to Finn. "Alright. I'm ready."

"Remind me why we have to dress you up like this instead of a dress?" Finn asks as we head back up to the deck.

"Well, it's really for when we go to Snejorn," I tell him, pushing open the door. "The queen is notoriously anti-men. Her royal guard is made up of only women, and she doesn't let anyone who identifies as male inside her inner court. So..." I gesture to my outfit. "I'm taking Magnus's place."

"And I hate it," a deep voice says from high above my head. I glance up to Eero's right hand man, the mountain himself, glaring down at me.

"Don't worry, Magnus. It's not like I can replace you."

He huffs. "That's not what it's about. I don't like leaving Eero unprotected, especially now that he's king."

"You forget that I have nearly eighty years on you, Magnus," I point out, lifting up the other end of the little rowboat he's carrying. "I've received twice as much training as you have."

"And yet you got trampled by William." The giant guard smirks. "Surely you understand why I question your worth against Queen Maeja's royal guard. William was nothing. Those women will be..." He fights to find the right word as we carry the boat across deck. It's surprisingly light; he's not allowing me to do much work.

"Lethal," Magnus finally says. Beside me, Finn shudders. "They're not just well-trained and inhumanly strong; they're sly and conniving. You won't even know they're after you until your head's in front of you."

My stomach bottoms out, and I swallow nerves.

I'm a trained, warrior princess. I have absolutely nothing to fear. All I need to do is summon the overly confident Ari that challenged William on the training grounds that night.

Plus, I have the Divine on my side.

"I assume your silence means you understand why I'm worried."

I glance up at Magnus as he hands the boat off to two other crewmen. They start lowering it into the water. "I won't let anything happen to him, Magnus."

And I mean it. If I'm going to shed my inner maid and take on the warrior role I've trained for, there's no half-efforts. Eero will have my total and complete attention. I need him. Without the king, I'll never have the strength to defeat Zula.

Magnus stares at me for a long minute, chewing on the inside of his lip. Thoughts roll behind his eyes like boulders down a hill, taking out little trees along the way. The black pupils dilate and relax, dilate and relax, until finally, his shoulders relax. Just enough.

"I know you'll try," he mutters. "Luckily, Eero can protect himself."

I scoff and shove at his back as he turns away from me, walking towards the helm. "I'll take you right now!"

He laughs. "Full of hot air, as always, fiske."
"I'm not weak! You know that. You've been training me."

"And your hands are still baby-soft." He catches one of my wrists and holds my hand up in front of my face. "Fragile."

With my free hand, I pull a spout of water towards us. Magnus can't see it; it's hovering behind him. The rest of the crew do, though. They pause mid-task and stare at the cerulean blue wall. In the water below, my father's guards shout indignantly.

I'd forgotten I wasn't supposed to show magic around the humans. Everyone aboard knows what I am. Papa's men, though—they thought our secret was still hidden.

"I'm not fragile," I hiss, heat overtaking my face.

"Not unless you want to be, huh?" he whispers, a tiny, infuriating grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. He's baiting me! Leave it to Magnus to lead me into an angry corner. "Only when Eero can carry you back to your room, ain't that right?"

A horrified gasp leaves my mouth, and the wall of seawater slams into both of us. Magnus barely has time to react before I've got my arm around his neck and am pinning him to the now-soaked deck. He gasps for breath—because he's dripping and because of the headlock I've got him in. Finn stumbles backwards, slipping in the puddles left behind. The crew lets out a soft, unified sigh and then laughs.

"How dare you," I growl, tightening my grip. I can see his ears growing red. He digs his too-big fingers into my arm, but I'm locked in. "That was one time!"

"Twice," he sputters, standing up. He takes my body with him. "It happened—twice."

Yes, but he wasn't supposed to know about the first time. No one was.

"I deny everything!"

Magnus manages to shove me off of him, and I land on the deck less-than-gracefully. Luckily, I've gained my balance in the past few weeks. Maneuvering on my legs is nothing now. I walk as gracefully as I used to swim. But there's water and a massive, red-headed guard coming after me.

He swings for me, and I duck, only to pop back up and jab at his throat. He takes the hit in stride, coughing once before he grabs me by the waist and lifts me off the ground.

"Not—fair—" I stammer, trying to kick out at him. One booted foot lands on his chest, but it doesn't even faze him. "Put me down, Magnus!"

"You attacked me first, Ari," he replies, calmly. But now I'm not mad, I'm semi-enjoying myself. As much as someone can enjoy themselves while they're being held in the air like a trophy.

"I'm sorry!" I snap, trying to pry his fingers off my waist. "Let me down."

"What's the magic word?" he taunts, grinning deviously.

"Magnus!"

"Wrong."

"Seriously—"

The word dies in my mouth as a huge crack of lightning splits the morning air. The sky is crowded with thin, cottony clouds, each one a different shade of gray. They're not storm-clouds, though. This is after-storm sky. So, where...

Over Magnus's shoulder, I see a silver-clad warrior rising from the water. He has his trident hoisted over his shoulder, his face twisted in fury and concentration, his aim focused on the man holding me aloft. My eyes widen, and panic swells in my chest.

"Stop!" I scream, magic surging forward in my veins as I kick Magnus again. A rush of air leaves him, and the impact throws him backwards. The trident soars over his head, out of my reach, past Finn and the rest of the crew...

And embeds itself in the mainmast.

It begins to rain as I push myself off the deck and look between the trident and my friend—the one who was nearly speared for messing with me.

They may not trust me, but they will still protect me.

Magnus pushes up, his face red as he fights to get his breath back. I kicked him hard. My mouth opens to apologize, but... I can't. I saved his life. His eyes fall on the trident, then on me, and then he looks over his shoulder. The guard's still glaring at him. The air shivers around his outstretched hand, and I know he'll have another trident in a second, a magicked one.

Eero appears from another part of the deck. He looks at the three of us, confusion morphing into a mixture of worry and rage. Magnus manages to sit up, but he's still gasping. The guard has his new weapon. I'm frozen.

"What happened?" Eero growls, grabbing the trident and yanking it from the wood. The metallic twang reverberates through the air. No one says anything for a long minute, and his fury deepens. "Someone better explain."

The words come out as a stern command, the embodiment of authority. With three words, everyone on the ship knows who he is, just how much power he has. It's stern and commands our attention and respect. Chills run up my spine.

"It was my fault," Magnus whispers. His voice is hoarse. Just how hard was that kick?

"No," I say, cutting him off. "It wasn't." My eyes go to Papa's guard. "Everything's okay. You can go."

He meets my gaze, silver eyes flashing dangerously, liquid steel. "Yes, your majesty." With a rush of gold, he's gone again, melted into the water.

Magnus and Eero both look at me. I rub the back of my neck. "I forgot to tell Magnus we had company. He was teasing me, and I... I used my magic. They must've thought he was attacking me."

Eero shakes his head and helps his guard off the deck. He doesn't say anything, though, and I'm grateful for that. I feel bad enough; I don't need Eero scolding me too. Magnus untucks his shirt and lifts it up to inspect his injury. There's a huge red mark in the center of his chest, welting up as we all look at it.

"Forbandet, Ari," he mutters, wincing. "If you put half of that into guarding Eero, you'll do a better job than I ever could."

Eero glances over at me, a bit taken aback. I shake my head at him and smile at Magnus. "I didn't mean to hurt you. I was just afraid you were about to get hurt."

"I was," he admits, taking the trident from Eero. It looks like a toy in his giant hand. The beads of water gathering on the sleek handle reflect my pale face back at me. "So thanks, lile fisk." He tosses me the trident, and I catch it reflexively.

Unlike in his hand, the weapon fits perfectly in mine. There are four shallow grooves in the middle of the handle where my fingers rest. Its weight balances as I shift it from one hand to the other, better than any sword ever did.
Maybe I'll keep it. Use it against Zula.

"Your majesty," a crew mate says as he cautiously approaches us. "Pinnace is ready."

Eero nods. "Thank you." He looks over at Magnus. "You good to go with us?"

His friend nods. "It'll take more than one little girl to keep me down."

The king grins. Then, he extends his hand, and the two men pull each other in for a firm one-armed hug. They beat each other on the back and laugh heartily. I ignore the little girl comment but make a mental note to put fish in his pillow.

Once they pull apart, Magnus leaves for the pinnace, and Eero turns to me. "Ready?"

I shrug. "Not really."

"I'll be right beside you." He extends a hand to me, and I don't even have to think about taking it. I just do. His palm is warm, despite the misting rain. He's firm, steady, sure.

Eero is my safe harbor in the storm that is my emotions.

"Let's be scared together," he whispers, pulling me towards him, and I smile nervously.

There's nothing else to be said. Finn follows us to the side of the ship where Magnus is manning a rope ladder. We climb down, load into the four person pinnace, and head towards the cluster of islands in the shallow waters beyond.