Sera had met Astrid, Kolfinn’s daughter, in the Iele’s caves, and Astrid had sworn that her father had not ordered an attack on Miromara, but Sera didn’t trust her.
Like Serafina herself, and four other mermaids—Neela, Becca, Ling, and Ava—Astrid had been summoned by the Iele, a clan of powerful river witches. From Vr?ja, the Iele’s leader, the mermaids had learned that they were direct descendants of the Six Who Ruled—powerful mages who had once governed the lost island empire of Atlantis.
They’d also learned that Orfeo, the most powerful of the Six, had unleashed a great evil upon the island—the monster Abbadon. The creature had destroyed Atlantis before it was finally defeated by Orfeo’s five fellow mages. They had imprisoned it in the Carceron; then one of them—Sycorax—had dragged the prison to the Southern Sea, where she’d sunk it beneath the ice. But now the monster was stirring again. Someone had woken it. Serafina was convinced it was Kolfinn. She believed he wished to use its power to take over all the mer realms.
Vr?ja had told the mermaids that they needed to destroy Abbadon before whoever had woken it could free it. To do this, they would need to find ancient talismans that had belonged to the Six Who Ruled. With these objects, the mermaids could open the lock to the Carceron and go after the monster.
Sera knew her best hope of finding out where the talismans were was in Cerulea’s Ostrokon, among the ancient conch recordings about Merrow’s Progress. She believed that Merrow, the merfolk’s first leader, had hidden the talismans during a journey she’d taken through the world’s waters, and that the conchs might reveal their locations.
Though she knew it was extremely dangerous—and she was scared of seeing Cerulea in ruins—she had to go back home.
But not yet.
There was someplace else she had to go first.
No, Sera! a voice said forcefully.
She whirled around, looking for whoever had spoken, but no one was there.
Don’t go, mina. It’s too dangerous.
“Ava?” Sera whispered. “Is that you? Where are you?”
In your head.
“Is this a convoca?” Sera asked, remembering the difficult summoning spell the Iele had taught them.
Yes…trying…can’t hold it…ember…Astrid…
“Ava, you’re breaking up! I’m losing you!” Sera said.
There was no sound for a few seconds, then Ava’s voice came back. Remember what Astrid said? “The Opafago eat their victims alive…while their hearts are still beating and their blood’s still pumping.”
“I know, but I have to go,” Sera said.
The Ostrokon…safer…please…Ava was fading again.
“I can’t, Ava. Not yet. Before we can find out where the talismans are, we have to find out what they are.”
Sera waited for Ava’s response, but it didn’t come.
“Here, silverfish!” Sera said, more urgently now. Time was passing. She had to make wake. “Here, fish! I have a tasty treat for you!”
“How fabulous! I love treats!” a new voice said. From right behind her.
Serafina’s blood froze. Rorrim Drol. He’d found her after all. She slowly turned around.
“Principessa! How lovely to see you again!” said the mirror lord. His eyes traveled over her face, taking in its pallor. He noted the deep cuts on her tail, made by the monster. His oily smile widened. “I must say, though, you’re not looking very well.”
“You are. Well fed, that is,” Serafina said, backing away from him.
His face was as round as a full moon. He wore an acid-green silk robe. Its voluminous folds couldn’t conceal his girth.
“Why, thank you, my dear!” he said. “As a matter of fact, I’ve just had the most wonderful meal. Courtesy of a young human. A girl about your age.” He burped loudly, then covered his mouth. “Oh, my. Do excuse me. I rather overdid it. There were so many delicious danklings to be had.”
Danklings were a person’s deepest fears. Rorrim fed on them.
“So that’s why you’re as fat as a walrus,” Serafina said, keeping her distance.
“I couldn’t resist. That silly girl made it so easy! She reads these things called magazines, you see. They have pictures in them of other girls, only the pictures have been enchanted to make those girls look flawless. But she can’t see that. All she sees is that they’re perfect and she’s not. She spends hours fretting in her mirror, and I stand on the other side whispering to her that that she’ll never be thin enough, pretty enough, or good enough. And when she’s utterly scared and miserable, I feast!”
Poor thing, Sera thought, remembering how bad it felt to fall short of others’ expectations. How bad it still felt sometimes.
“Isn’t it brilliant, Principessa? Ah, the goggs! I simply adore them. They do so much of my work for me. But enough about them. The things I hear about you these days!” Rorrim said, wagging a finger. “You’ve got Captain Traho tearing up entire rivers looking for you. What are you doing in Vadus? Where are you going?