through the water. Valerie watched it in fascination.
A sharp tug pulled
her beneath the surface, and Valerie gasped, expecting to pull in a lungful of
water. Instead, the water passed through her system as naturally as air, and
she didn’t choke.
Her eyes adjusted to
the underwater world. From above, the water’s surface glittered. But once
beneath the surface, she could see a complex series of pathways on the floor of
the lake.
She saw Elle
elegantly slicing through the water with powerful flicks of her tail. Valerie
admired her own tail, which shone with green scales. She’d wondered if having a
tail would be like trying to walk with her legs tied together, but it was
nothing like that. Her tail was a natural extension of her body, and propelling
herself forward was as easy as taking a step on land. Easier, even.
“Come,” Elle said,
her voice sounding a little hollow, but reaching Valerie’s ears with no
difficulty.
Valerie swam after
her into a dark tunnel in the corner of the lake that quickly gave way to open
ocean. Her tail was more powerful than she imagined it would be, and as they
sped through the water, it strangely reminded Valerie of when she’d flown
through a wind tunnel years ago from Elsinore to Dunsinane. She was weightless.
Water rushed past her skin, exhilarating her.
The deeper they
went, the cooler the water became, but it wasn’t dark. The water was lit by
thousands of little sparks, like underwater fireflies. The effect was a surreal
blue-green world highlighted in gold.
Unless Elle or
Valerie spoke, it was also a silent world, and Valerie found it peaceful. She
could understand how decades might pass down here without the Illyrians
noticing.
The first sign of
the city of Alexandria was a giant, spiraling conch shell with light shooting
from each of its points. As they swam closer, she saw hundreds of other shells
surrounding the main conch, like homes surrounding a palace.
“I can see why
people don’t want to leave,” Valerie said, taking in the ethereal world.
Merpeople jetted
between structures and off into the wider ocean. Next to Valerie, Elle surveyed
the scene with a strange expression on her face, her hair a gold cloud around
her head.
“It still feels like
home after so many years away. I wasn’t sure if it would,” she said.
Elle swam toward one
of the shells a good distance away from the giant conch. Up close, it was as
big as Valerie’s home on land. There was no door, only a small opening where
they could swim inside.
Will was waiting for
them, turning over strange silver triangles in his hands.
“Mom and Dad’s tools
are still here. The whole place is exactly like we left it,” he said.
“Except everything’s
covered in algae,” Elle said.
“Remember how we’d
race to see who could find a bit of trivia in the records the fastest?” Will
said, still fingering the triangles.
“The winner would
get to choose the story we read that night,” Elle said, her voice more
childlike than Valerie had ever heard it.
The twins seemed to
snap out of their memories at the same time, and they turned to Valerie.
“Gabriel’s here for
the rest of the day. We made it in time,” Will said. “He didn’t recognize me,
and he definitely won’t be expecting Valerie. We should go now and not waste
the element of surprise.”
“Are you ready?”
Elle asked Valerie.
She nodded, and then
followed the twins to the conch shell. When they swam in the opening, Valerie
immediately noticed a change in the temperature of the water. It was warmer,
and filled with bubbles. The extra oxygen when to her head, making her a little
dizzy.
The inside of the
shell was pearlescent, lit by even more of the underwater lights. It was a
giant room with grooves in the walls where Illyrians gathered in pockets. At
the very top was a small crowd.
“His majesty is on
his throne,” Will said, and Valerie couldn’t miss the bitterness in his tone.
“The last time we were
here was
A sharp tug pulled
her beneath the surface, and Valerie gasped, expecting to pull in a lungful of
water. Instead, the water passed through her system as naturally as air, and
she didn’t choke.
Her eyes adjusted to
the underwater world. From above, the water’s surface glittered. But once
beneath the surface, she could see a complex series of pathways on the floor of
the lake.
She saw Elle
elegantly slicing through the water with powerful flicks of her tail. Valerie
admired her own tail, which shone with green scales. She’d wondered if having a
tail would be like trying to walk with her legs tied together, but it was
nothing like that. Her tail was a natural extension of her body, and propelling
herself forward was as easy as taking a step on land. Easier, even.
“Come,” Elle said,
her voice sounding a little hollow, but reaching Valerie’s ears with no
difficulty.
Valerie swam after
her into a dark tunnel in the corner of the lake that quickly gave way to open
ocean. Her tail was more powerful than she imagined it would be, and as they
sped through the water, it strangely reminded Valerie of when she’d flown
through a wind tunnel years ago from Elsinore to Dunsinane. She was weightless.
Water rushed past her skin, exhilarating her.
The deeper they
went, the cooler the water became, but it wasn’t dark. The water was lit by
thousands of little sparks, like underwater fireflies. The effect was a surreal
blue-green world highlighted in gold.
Unless Elle or
Valerie spoke, it was also a silent world, and Valerie found it peaceful. She
could understand how decades might pass down here without the Illyrians
noticing.
The first sign of
the city of Alexandria was a giant, spiraling conch shell with light shooting
from each of its points. As they swam closer, she saw hundreds of other shells
surrounding the main conch, like homes surrounding a palace.
“I can see why
people don’t want to leave,” Valerie said, taking in the ethereal world.
Merpeople jetted
between structures and off into the wider ocean. Next to Valerie, Elle surveyed
the scene with a strange expression on her face, her hair a gold cloud around
her head.
“It still feels like
home after so many years away. I wasn’t sure if it would,” she said.
Elle swam toward one
of the shells a good distance away from the giant conch. Up close, it was as
big as Valerie’s home on land. There was no door, only a small opening where
they could swim inside.
Will was waiting for
them, turning over strange silver triangles in his hands.
“Mom and Dad’s tools
are still here. The whole place is exactly like we left it,” he said.
“Except everything’s
covered in algae,” Elle said.
“Remember how we’d
race to see who could find a bit of trivia in the records the fastest?” Will
said, still fingering the triangles.
“The winner would
get to choose the story we read that night,” Elle said, her voice more
childlike than Valerie had ever heard it.
The twins seemed to
snap out of their memories at the same time, and they turned to Valerie.
“Gabriel’s here for
the rest of the day. We made it in time,” Will said. “He didn’t recognize me,
and he definitely won’t be expecting Valerie. We should go now and not waste
the element of surprise.”
“Are you ready?”
Elle asked Valerie.
She nodded, and then
followed the twins to the conch shell. When they swam in the opening, Valerie
immediately noticed a change in the temperature of the water. It was warmer,
and filled with bubbles. The extra oxygen when to her head, making her a little
dizzy.
The inside of the
shell was pearlescent, lit by even more of the underwater lights. It was a
giant room with grooves in the walls where Illyrians gathered in pockets. At
the very top was a small crowd.
“His majesty is on
his throne,” Will said, and Valerie couldn’t miss the bitterness in his tone.
“The last time we were
here was
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