COMPLETED
Nereida has always been shackled to her royal duties as princess of Triteria, and when her kingdom becomes involved in a series of mysterious vanishings and deaths she begins to seek answers. Rebels soon shatter her world, and she finds he...
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My eyes widened, and anxiety stormed as I repeated the word to myself.
Humans?
I wondered if my face was convincing enough to compensate for the lack of surprise in my tone. Iaira glanced at me from the corner of her eye, silently questioning. We had always been honest with one another due to our shared upbringing. We had kept many secrets, some about other royals who had been less kind to her. I was so conflicted about whether I could trust our bond's strength. That it would be enough to let her see reason. The secret within me burned to escape, to tell someone who would understand, but my fear held it back.
"Aye, milady, humans. Ye were onto somethin' when ye were worried about the disappearances, but none of us anticipated that our kind would join forces with those savagecreatures," she began, her voice slowly filling with rage. "On the day ye escaped, I remember everythin'. Men stormed into yer room with their pikes raised, searchin' for ye. They grabbed me and dragged me out of the room, askin' me about yer whereabouts. Of course, I refused to tell them. Soon, royal guards arrived, and chaos ensued. I hid in a corner, watching the men fight one another. My heart was beatin' somethin' fierce. I had never witnessed anyone die right before my very eyes, nor had I seen our kind look at each other with such hatred."
"Oh, Iaira, I'm so sorry. That terrifying!" I expressed reassuringly while placing a hand on her.
"Aye, t'was. But then, Prince Seabroc came. He looked like one of the old gods, standin' in front of me, radiating glory. He guided me to the Great Hall, where many others had gathered. When we entered, I couldn't believe my eyes. There were so many of us! Injured, dead, and bodies strewn everywhere, many swimmin' swiftly to aid one another. Seabroc asked me to go to the keep and bring survivors inside the palace while he and the others fought to reclaim the Bailey. Once at the keep, I found it mostly filled with women and children. It seemed every man had gone to battle. I immediately began helpin' anyone in need, searchin' for food, medicine, and provisions."
"How did you learn about the mermaids conspiring with humans?" I inquired.
"That night felt like the longest of my life. I awaited death or worse at any moment. Yet, mornin' came, and I lived to see another day. I returned to the Great Hall, where military officials had gathered with Prince Seabroc, Prince Aurelis, and yer father. They had captured a few hostile intruders and confined them to the dungeon. I overheard their discussion about what they had uncovered. During an interrogation, one of the captives confessed to plotting the overthrow of the Southern King. Before, he was dethroned and killed after he had been brought to the surface by his advisor to meet with a human man, but this human milady possessed great knowledge about us, includin' how to make us sick and turn our pearls to dust. He also knew about the tablets too. The human and Emil worked together to poison and weaken us so that the attack on the night of yer wedding would spell our demise.
"Poison us, but how?" I asked.
"We don't know, but we know time is runnin' out. More die each day."
