Marina Snaptail's Arc

Chapter 4 of 7

Nerilith did not lead Marina to the western door alone. She swam ahead of Marina and Sister Liera through the chapel, past the altar, past the kelp curtain, and stopped at a plain stone panel Marina had never noticed. She pressed three scales in a slow pattern. The stone swung inward. Warm blue light spilled out. Inside stood King Neptios and Queen Seraphina, waiting. Marina froze in the doorway. The king lifted one clawed hand in welcome. The queen held a slim staff that pulsed with soft light, and small charms floated around her shoulders. The room was small and round. A ring of shells sat on a low table, each shell wired to the next with fine copper. Marina understood at once. It was a speaking device. A way to send words up through the water without sending a map. "Sit, guide," King Neptios said. His voice was slow and kind. "You have earned an answer. Nerilith has done only what I asked of her." Nerilith bowed her head. She did not look smug. She looked tired. Queen Seraphina spoke next, and her words were careful and clear. "There is a king above the water named Raventh Mournscale. Long ago he wanted me for his own. I chose Neptios. Raventh has never forgiven us. He hunts every place my husband loves. If he finds Bubblantis, he will break it." She touched the ring of shells. "So we speak to the surface only through this room. Our merchants must still trade for salt, for iron, for grain. Without trade we starve. With a map, we die." King Neptios went on. "Nerilith guards the western door because that door opens onto the old channel, the one Raventh's spies still watch. Any fin near it draws their eyes. The hidden door serves our trusted scholars. Sister Liera receives their gifts. Kaelon Tidewave sorts what we can safely trade." He looked at Marina. "You were kept out to keep you safe, and to keep the city safe from what you did not yet know." Marina felt her shoulders drop. Sister Liera let out a small breath beside her. "Then Nerilith was never against me," Marina said. Nerilith met her eyes. "I spread the whispers to push you from the door," she hissed softly. "It was wrong. I am sorry. My orders did not include cruelty. That part was mine." Marina nodded once. It was enough for now. Queen Seraphina turned the staff toward Marina. "You kept the secret without knowing it was a secret. That is rare." She paused. "The Voice of Bubblantis will need someone who can stand between our merchants and the surface scholars, and speak for us without slipping. When your probation ends, I will ask the Guardian to consider you." Marina bowed her head. The badge on her chest felt light again. She had not won the title yet. But she had been shown the door behind the door, and asked to help hold it.