Holy bananafish, what did I do? My brain freaks out for a second—okay, more than a second—not quite believing what my heart just told me to do.
But my brain quickly catches on. This is about more than love and college plans and a black-and-white decision between living on land or becoming queen. There is a huge, Pacific-sized gray area where I can choose both.
And I just did.
Holy bananafish!
The shock of my spontaneous decision sends gallons of adrenaline pouring into my bloodstream. While I take a few deep, calming breaths to regain a normal pulse, I take note of the room around me. The people around me.
Tellin blinks, like, forty-seven times.
Daddy shouts, “What have you done?”
Doe shrugs and stares at the ceiling with a bored expression.
Quince watches me seriously, silently, with his mouth drawn up into a smile on one side. He’s not thrilled with the kiss, of course, but he supports my decision. I can tell. And it’s a huge relief.
Since Daddy is the only one actively questioning my actions, I say, “It’s the right thing to do.” I share a solemn look with Tellin. “In more ways than one.”
“Are you sure this is what you want?” Daddy asks after the two minutes it takes him to get over his shock. “There is still time to perform a separation, if you—”
“No.” Though my decision was rash and instantaneous, I’m not racked by any feelings of regret. Actually, I’m relieved. The doubts that have been plaguing me for the last few weeks are instantly gone, telling me I made the right choice. “I am Thalassinia’s princess, and I cannot cast aside that responsibility for selfish reasons.”
Daddy’s gaze shifts to Quince. “And you have no objections?”
“Sir,” Quince says, floating to my side, “I am still a stranger to this world”—he takes my hand—“but I know your daughter. I believe she will be the best possible kind of ruler. I love her and will always support her choices in any way I can.”
Daddy nods at Tellin. “And the bond?”
Quince squeezes my hand. “Our love is stronger than a bond,” he says with the kind of certainty I’ve come to rely on. “If this is what it takes for Lily to remain in line for the crown, then this is what we have to do.”
I squeeze his hand back. The best part of what he said? We. We are in this together, like the inscription on his birthday gift, forever. Who could ask for a better boyfriend?
Although this does mean I’ll probably be hearing a supersized I-told-you-so about the giving-up-my-crown bit. I’m okay with that.
“Guys, I know this is a lot to take in,” I say. “But I need a minute alone with Tellin.”
Daddy shakes his head, as if he still thinks I’m a little insane. He’s probably right, but that doesn’t mean I made the wrong choice. In time he’ll see it’s the only decision I could make.
“I’m going to enjoy the party before all the candy-coated sand strawberries are gone,” Doe announces, continuing her bored attitude.
“Dosinia,” I say before she disappears out the door. When she looks back over her shoulder, I say, “Thank you. For finding Quince. And other things.”
I can’t come out and thank her for the earthquake and the plot with Tellin, but we both know that she had a lot to do with my final decision.
She shrugs. “Whatever.”
I catch sight of her smile before she swims out into the hall.
“I’ll see you downstairs?” Quince asks.
I give him a solid kiss—just in case he or anyone else in the room has lingering doubts about my decision. “Wait right outside.”
He nods at Tellin before following Daddy and Doe out the door.
“Lily, I—” Tellin begins.
“Don’t.” I turn on him. “Don’t thank me or apologize or whatever else you were about to say. I didn’t do this for you. I did it because it was the right thing to do. Because the oceans are changing and I want to help my kingdom and yours—and all the others—make the transition.”
I thought I could be content to fight for the oceans from above, but things are more dire than I’d imagined. We’re going to have to be more aggressive, more diligent. If I can help from land and from the throne room, then the chances I can help will definitely multiply.
He grins like the little merboy who used to dare me to eat sea slugs.
“You are every inch the future queen I knew you could be.”
“Don’t think you can butter me up,” I say, waving his compliment away. “This is a political arrangement only. My heart belongs to Quince.”
“I understand.”
“And we’ll scour the records to see if there is a way to remove the emotional connection from the bond.” Not that I’m super worried about that, because I believe Quince’s assertion that our love is stronger than the bond. But just in case . . . Besides, if Daddy can find a ritual to return Quince to the sea, then who knows what other rituals might be hiding in the archives? “We’ll talk to Calliope Ebbsworth, our mer couples counselor, to see if she has any advice.”
“Agreed.” His smile turns sly. “My Lucina will be much relieved.”
“Your Lucina?” I smack him on the shoulder. Is he joking? “Are you telling me you have a girlfriend?”
He has the decency to blush, a bright flaming pink beneath his cinnamon hair. “Yes.”
“And she knew about your plan?”
“She is a mermaid of noble integrity,” he says, his pale eyes glowing. “She understands the situation in our kingdom and why this connection is necessary.”
I’m pretty sure I will never understand boys. Why is the truth so scary? He could have told me all of this days ago. Okay, so it probably wouldn’t have affected my decision—which turned out to be in his favor anyway. I guess he won’t be learning that lesson anytime soon.
“Come on,” I say, swimming for the door. “We’ve got a party to attend.”
Tellin swims after me. “And a trio of old acquaintances with whom to share your news?”
My mood brightens by about a million percent. I hadn’t thought of that. Astria is totally going to have to eat her words. Seeing the jealousy in her and her look-alikes’ eyes will be so gratifying.
“Maybe I could play up my enthusiasm,” I say, swimming up to Quince and slipping my arm around his. “Just a bit.”
“Not too much,” Quince says. “A guy needs to protect his image.”
Tellin laughs, grabbing Quince’s other arm. Though often masked by duty and responsibility, Tellin is still very much the merboy I remember. As we swim down to the ballroom, I can imagine far worse things than ruling with these two at my side.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” Mangrove announces with the biggest smile I have ever seen on his face, “Crown Princess Waterlily of Thalassinia, Crown Prince Tellin of Acropora, and Master Quince Fletcher.”
This time, the room erupts in whispers, as the realization that I am still Thalassinia’s princess makes its way through the crowd. Far preferable to a stunned silence.
Quince, Tellin, and I swim through the doors, three abreast. I am in the middle, holding Quince’s hand, our fingers laced tightly together. The message will be clear. Tellin and I are allies, not mermates.
“Subjects of Thalassinia,” Daddy says, raising a glass of sparkling gelatin—the mer equivalent of champagne—as the waitstaff scurries through the crowd with trays of the stuff. “Please raise your glasses in toast to my daughter. Thalassinia’s future queen.”
“Long live Princess Waterlily” echoes throughout the room as everyone in attendance lifts a glass in my honor.
It’s a little overwhelming, the thought that sometime in the (hopefully very) distant future, I will be responsible for leading all the merfolk in this room and beyond. No, it’s not overwhelming. It’s terrifying.
Tellin grabs a pair of glasses from a passing waitress and hands them to me and Quince. At the same time, Mangrove appears with another pair.
“I’ll take those,” Doe says, grabbing the glasses from Mangrove and handing one to Tellin.
Mangrove looks like he wants to throttle her—welcome to my world—but then turns and swims quietly away.
“To Lily,” Quince says, raising his glass.
Doe and Tellin echo, “To Lily.”
I barely hear them. All I can focus on is the look of pride in Quince’s eyes as he looks at me.
Can a mergirl get any luckier? I have the boy I love—and he has been restored to aquarespire—and my future as queen of Thalassinia. Of course there will be details to work out. Where we will live and when? Do I still want to go to college? What about Quince’s plans for the future? How can I—and Thalassinia and the other kingdoms—help Tellin and the people of Acropora?
Sure, those are a lot of questions. But the best part is there’s no longer a ticking clock. No eighteenth birthday looming over me like a time bomb.
We have time to figure it all out.
Together.
In the meantime, there are three girls who I am sure are just dying for an introduction to my boyfriend. Ever the dutiful public servant, I grab him by the wrist and head off for a little show-and-tell.
It’s good to be the princess.