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“Bijou only survived because Aunt Nell found the root of the problem and took care of it. After that, the priestesses of the Lunar Tide Coven took her in to nurse her back to health again,” Darcy says.
Bijou bows her head. “I was born a princess of Cor, so I was privileged.”
“What caused this illness?” I ask.
“An old woman showed up on our shores the day a terrible fog rolled in.” James closes his eyes as if he remembers it clearly. “She had bone-white skin, and blue veins around a lipless mouth that didn’t cover her teeth. No one knew who she was, or where she came from, only that she looked like she’d been drowned. She carried a basket full of stinking dead crabs, and anytime someone saw her, it meant death was coming.”
Another shiver crawls up my spine. “The plague wraith.”
“Yes, one of the oldest monsters locked away by the Mer-King.” Darcy’s voice lowers like my grandmother’s used to when she told us ghost stories. “Aunt Nell saw her after visiting Bijou’s sick bed. She followed her down to the beach and ran her blade through the creature. We never told anybody outside our family.”
“Why not?” Ross seems miffed that he wasn’t in on the secret.
“Because she only suspected the plague wraith was active. Up until now, we’ve never been able to confirm it.” Darcy removes the stoor wyrm’s plate and places it on a rough-hewn altar below a statue of a man catching a mermaid by her tail.
This one looks newer than the other sculptures in the cavern. The marble hasn’t been warped by damp air and salt yet.
“My ancestor came from a long line of hunters who had to work themselves to the bone to get by. But he was a dreamer, and he made a name for my family by gathering a crew to hunt down the Undine.” Darcy slaps the mermaid’s fin, the sound of her palm hitting the stone ringing through the cavern. “I am asking you all to preserve that legacy with me. Join me on a hunt to track the three remaining rune-locked monsters.”
Her request is met with somber silence. Agreeing to face the monsters could very well be a death sentence.
“It could be lucrative,’” Ross pipes up. “The plague wraith and the stoor wyrm are gone,” he continues, counting on his fingers. “That leaves the ice dragon, the kraken, and…”
“Zephyr, the air faerie.” I cup my hand over my pendant. “But the youngest Mer-Princess holds their key. No one else could have it.”
“Haven’t you heard?” James asks. “Princess Cordelia has gone missing.”
“No.” I blink rapidly. “That’s news to me.”
“The Mer-brat is probably dead. Someone else could’ve gotten Zephyr’s rune key by now,” Ross says, sounding rather jolly, like my death doesn’t matter one bit. “I’m sure King Morrow is furious that someone has it.”
Not me, but the access to Zephyr’s rune key.
Darcy moves the discussion along before I can dwell on that. “We’ll operate under the assumption that someone else is controlling the air faerie.”
“How we can prepare for that?” Ross asks. “I’ve heard it’s damn near impossible to kill them. No one even knows what they look like.”
I glance at the faerie’s stony expression. They grind their teeth as Darcy’s mouth splits into a smile.
“I’ve ordered iron nets just in case. I don’t believe they’re the all-powerful being everyone has made them out to be. After all, King Morrow trapped them and bound them to his brat.”
“Yes, how humiliating for them,” Zephyr says. “But I doubt anyone would be so cocky to their face.”
“I defeated the stoor wyrm.” Darcy thumps her chest. “I think I’m up for the challenge.”
Zephyr’s essence moves over my skin, and it almost feels like they’re laughing as Darcy leans over the altar like it’s her podium. “This could be our moment in history, my friends. Are we all in?”
“Let’s go hunt some monsters,” Ross whoops and throws his hand down on the stone.
I feel sick to my stomach as I join in, piling my hand on top of Zephyr’s. They seem to be amused, but I don’t share the sentiment.
I could never feel good about pledging my commitment to hunt them.
11
CORDELIA
This is enemy territory.
