“Actually, I do. You’re Traho’s boat boy. His gogg lackey.”
“I’m afraid you have that the wrong way around,” Mfeme said.
He removed his sunglasses.
Ling gasped. His eyes had no irises, no white. They were entirely black.
Mfeme swept his hand through the air and her letter tiles slid across the deck. As Ling watched, they spelled out his name.
RAFE IAORO MFEME
Then slowly the tiles rearranged themselves.
“No,” Ling said in horror, as she saw what they spelled. “It can’t be. You’re dead. You’ve been dead for four thousand years!”
I AM ORFEO FEAR ME
THIS PAGE IS where you thank the people who helped you make a book, and once again, I’d like to thank my wonderful family, and the awesome team at Disney, for their support and enthusiasm for Rogue Wave and the whole Waterfire Saga. But there’s one person in particular I’d like to thank here—the person who first introduced me to my mermaid friends: my longtime agent, Steve Malk.
An agent’s role in a writer’s life is huge—he’s a business partner, confidante, cheerleader, adviser, and if you’re as lucky as I’ve been, a friend. I can’t adequately thank Steve for all he’s done for me in these few lines, but I’m going to try anyway. Here goes.
Thank you, Steve, for your insight, wise counsel, and constant good humor—all of which I prize so highly. Thanks for loving music and chocolate as much as I do. I’d split my last ginger-sesame-wasabi truffle with you, and I know you’d do the same for me. Thanks for talking me off the ledge more times than I can count. Thanks for caring enough to always tell me what’s wrong with a manuscript as well as what’s right. Thanks for your genuine and enduring love of children’s books. Most of all, thanks for helping me make my living doing what I love. My whole life, I’ve wanted to be a writer. Because of the hard work you do on my behalf, I get to be.
ABBADON an immense monster, created by Orfeo, then defeated and caged in the Antarctic waters
ABELARD Coco’s sand shark
ACQUA GUERRIERI Miromaran soldiers
AGORA public square
AHADI, EMPRESS the previous female ruler of Matali; Mahdi’s mother
ALÍTHEIA a twelve-foot, venomous sea spider made out of bronze combined with drops of Merrow’s blood. Bellogrim, the blacksmith god, forged her, and the sea goddess Neria breathed life into her to protect the throne of Miromara from any pretenders.
ALMA the woman Orfeo loved; when she died, he went mad with grief
AMAH nursemaid
AMARREFE MEI FOO a pirate who attacked the Demeter, looking to steal the infanta’s blue diamond
APĂ PIATRĂ an old Romanian protection songspell that raises water and hardens it into a shield
ARAN, EMPEROR the current male ruler of Matali; Neela’s father
ARMANDO CONTORINI duca di Venezia, leader of the Praedatori (a.k.a. Karkharias, the Shark)
ASKARI members of Kora’s personal guard in Kandina (ASKARA, sing.)
ASTRID teenage daughter of Kolfinn, ruler of Ondalina
ATLANTICA the mer domain in the Atlantic Ocean
ATLANTIS an ancient island paradise in the Mediterranean peopled with the ancestors of the mer. Six mages ruled the island wisely and well: Orfeo, Merrow, Sycorax, Navi, Pyrra, and Nyx. When the island was destroyed, Merrow saved the Atlanteans by calling on Neria to give them fins and tails.
AVA teenage mermaid from the Amazon River; she is blind but able to sense things
BABA VRĂJA the elder leader—or obârşie—of the Iele, river witches
BABY Ava’s guide piranha
BALTAZAAR first minister of finance from the start of Merrow’s reign
BARRENS OF THIRA the waters around Atlantis, where the Opafago live
BASTIAAN, PRINCIPE CONSORTE Regina Isabella’s husband and Serafina’s father; a son of the noble House of Kaden from the Sea of Marmara
BECCA a teenage mermaid from Atlantica
BEDRIEËR one of three trawlers that Rafe Mfeme owns
BELLA Italian for beautiful
BENGALESE BLUEFIN DRAGON gentle, calm, good for pulling wagons and carriages
BILAAL, EMPEROR the previous male ruler of Matali; Mahdi’s father
BING-BANG a Matalin candy
BIOLUMINESCENT a sea creature that emits its own glow
BLACK FINS members of a Cerulean resistance group headquartered in the Ostrokon
BLOODBIND a spell in which blood from different mages is combined to form an unbreakable bond and allow them to share abilities
BLOODSONG blood drawn from one’s heart that contains memories and allows them to become visible to others
BLU, GRIGRIO, AND VERDE three Praedatori who help Neela and Serafina escape Traho
BRACK a frothy ale brewed from sour sea apples
BUONO Italian for good
CABALLABONG a game involving hippokamps, similar to the human game polo
CANTA MAGUS one of the Miromaran magi, the keeper of magic (MAGI, pl.)
CANTA MALUS darksong, a poisonous gift to the mer from Morsa, in mockery of Neria’s gifts
CANTA MIRUS special song
CANTA PRAX a plainsong spell
CARA Italian for dear one
CARCERON the prison on Atlantis. The lock could only be opened by all six talismans. It is now located somewhere in the Southern Sea.
CERULEA the royal city in Miromara, where Serafina lives
CETO leader of the Clan Rorqual, humpback whales
CHILLAWONDA a Matalin candy
CLIO Serafina’s hippokamp
COMMOVEO a songspell that can be used to push objects
CONCH a shell in which recorded information is stored
CONFUTO a canta prax spell that makes humans sound insane when they talk about seeing merpeople
CONVOCA a songspell that can be used for summoning and communicating with people
CORRENTE LARGO the Lagoon’s main thoroughfare
COSIMA a young girl from Serafina’s court; nickname: Coco
COUNCIL OF THE SIX WATERS a meeting of representatives from all of the water realms
CURRENSEA mer money; gold trocii (TROCUS, sing.), silver drupe, copper cowries; gold doubloons are black market currensea
DAÍMONAS TIS MORSA demon of Morsa
DANKLING a person’s deepest fears; Rorrim Drol feeds on them
DARKSONG a powerful canta malus spell that causes harm; legal to use against enemies during wartime
DEATH RIDERS Traho’s soldiers, who ride on black hippokamps
DEMETER the ship that Maria Theresa, an infanta of Spain, was sailing on when it was lost in 1582 en route to France
DESIDERIO Serafina’s older brother
DOKIMÍ Greek for trial; a ceremony in which the heir to the Miromaran throne has to prove that she is a true descendant of Merrow by spilling blood for Alítheia, the sea spider. She must then songcast, make her betrothal vows, and swear to one day give the realm a daughter.
DRACA the language spoken by dragons
DUCHI DI VENEZIA created by Merrow to protect the seas and its creatures from terragoggs
EELISH the language spoken by eels
EKELSHMUTZ one of the four goblin tribes
ELYSIA capital of Atlantis
EVEKSION the god of healing
FABRA marketplace
FEUERKUMPEL goblin miners, one of the Kobold tribes, who channel magma from deep seams under the North Sea in order to obtain lava for lighting and heating
FILOMENA Duca Armando’s cook
FOSSEGRIM one of the Miromaran magi, the liber magus, the keeper of knowledge
FRAGOR LUX a songspell to cast a light bomb (FRAG, abbr.)
FRESHWATERS the mer domain that encompasses rivers, lakes, and ponds
GHOST SHIP a shipwreck entwined with the life force of a human who died onboard; it does not rot or rust
GREAT ABYSS a deep chasm in Qin where Sycorax’s talisman is believed to be located,
and where Ling’s father disappeared while exploring
HAGARLA queen of the Razormouth dragons
HALL OF SIGHS a long corridor in Vadus, the mirror realm, whose walls are covered in mirrors; every mirror has a corresponding one in the terragogg world
HARAKA a form of martial arts practiced by the Askari
HIPPOKAMPS creatures that are half horse, half serpent, with snake-like eyes
HÖLLEBLÄSER goblin glassblowers, one of the Kobold tribes
HOROK the Keeper of Souls in Atlantis, who took the dead to the underworld, holding each soul in a white pearl
IELE river witches
ILLUMINATA a songspell to create light
ILLUSIO a spell to create a disguise
INCANTARIUM the room where the incanta—river witches—keep Abbadon at bay through chanting and waterfire
IRON repels magic
ISABELLA, LA SERENISSIMA REGINA Miromara’s ruler; Serafina’s mother
JANIÇARI Regina Isabella’s personal guard
JANTEESHAPTA a Matalin candy
JUA MAJI a village in Kandina
KANDINA a region in the western part of Matali, near the Madagascar Basin, ruled by Kora
KANDINIAN from Kandina; the language spoken in Kandina
KANJAYWOOHOO a Matalin candy
KARKHARIAS “the Shark,” or leader of the Praedatori
KENGEE sun ray in Kandinian; the symbol of Jua Maji
KHELEFU the grand vizier of Matali
KIONGOZI Kora’s general
KIRAAT Matali’s medica magus
KOBOLD North Sea goblin tribes
KOLFINN Admiral of the artic region, Ondalina
KOLISSEO a huge open-water stone theater in Miromara that dates back to Merrow’s time
KOOTAGULLA a Matalin pastry with many layers
KORA the mermaid ruler of the Matalin region of Kandina, as a vassal of the emperor; leader of the Askari
KUWEKA MWANGA, DADA YANGU Kandinian for Keep the light, my sister
KYR Neria’s youngest son, whom Merrow saved from a shark attack
LA SIRENA LÁCRIMA The Mermaid Tear, the blue diamond given to Maria Theresa, an infanta of Spain, on her sixteenth birthday
LAGOON the waters off the human city of Venice, forbidden to merfolk
LAGOONA a resident of the Lagoon
LAKSHADWA BLACKCLAW DRAGON one of the many types of dragons that breed in Matali and are the main source of the realm’s wealth; huge and powerful and used by the military
LAVA GLOBE a light source, lit by magma mined and refined into white lava by the Feuerkumpel
LIBER MAGUS one of the Miromaran magi, the keeper of knowledge
LING a teenage mermaid from the realm of Qin; she is an omnivoxa
LUCIA VOLNERO one of Serafina’s ladies-in-waiting; a member of the Volnero, a noble family as old—and nearly as powerful—as the Merrovingia
MADAGASCAR BASIN where the Razormouth dragons breed; in western Matali, near Kandina
MAGGIORE Italian for bigger
MAHDI crown prince of Matali; Serafina’s betrothed; cousin of Yazeed and Neela
MARIA THERESA an infanta of Spain who was sailing to France on the Demeter in 1582 when it was attacked by a pirate, Amarreffe Mei Foo
MARKUS TRAHO, CAPTAIN leader of the death riders
MATA-JI a Matalin term for mother
MATALI the mer realm in the Indian Ocean. It started as a small outpost off the Seychelle Islands and grew into an empire that stretches west to the African waters, north to the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, and east to the shores of Malaysia and Australia.
MATALIN from Matali
MEDICA MAGUS mer equivalent of doctor
MEERTEUFEL one of four goblin tribes
MEHTERBAŞI leader of the Janiçari
MĒĒRĒ DILA, MĒRĪ ĀTMĀ Matalin for My heart, my soul
MERL Mermish equivalent of girl
MERMAID TEAR another name for Neria’s Stone, the blue diamond that Neria gave to Merrow
MERMISH the common language of the sea people
MERROVINGIA descendants of Merrow
MERROVINGIA REGERE HIC The Merrovingia rule here
MERROW a great mage, one of the six rulers of Atlantis, and Serafina’s ancestor. First ruler of the merpeople; songspell originated with her, and she decreed the Dokimí.
MERROW’S PROGRESS Ten years after the destruction of Atlantis, Merrow made a journey to all of the waters of the world, scouting out safe places for the merfolk to colonize.
MGENI ANAKUJA Kandinian for A stranger is approaching
MINA Brazilian slang for a female friend
MIROMARA the realm where Serafina comes from; an empire that spans the Mediterranean Sea, the Adriatic, Aegean, Baltic, Black, Ionian, Ligurian, and Tyrrhenean seas, the seas of Azov and Marmara, the Straits of Gibraltar, the Dardanelles, and the Bosphorus
MOLLUSKA the language spoken by octopi
MOONSTONE Navi’s talisman; silvery blue and the size of an albatross’s egg, with an inner glow
MORSA an ancient scavenger goddess, whose job it was to take away the bodies of the dead. She angered Neria by practicing necromancy. Neria punished her by giving her the face of death and the body of a serpent and banishing her.
MOSES POTION a liquid from the Moses sole in the Red Sea that puts people to sleep
NÄKKI murderous shapeshifters in the northern Atlantic
NAVI one of the six mages who ruled Atlantis; Neela’s ancestor
NEELA a Matalin princess; Serafina’s best friend; Yazeed’s sister; Mahdi’s cousin. She is a bioluminescent.
NERIA the sea goddess
NERIA’S STONE a blue, tear-shaped diamond that Neria gave to Merrow for saving Kyr, her youngest son, from a shark attack
NEX a darksong spell used to kill
NGOME YA JESHI the compound of the Askari, Kora’s personal guard
NOCÉRUS a darksong spell used to cause harm
NYX one of the six mages who ruled Atlantis; Ava’s ancestor
NZURI BONDE the village in Kandina where Kora lives
OMNIVOXA (OMNI) mer who have the natural ability to speak every dialect of Mermish and communicate with sea creatures
ONDALINA the mer realm in the Arctic waters
OODA Neela’s pet blowfish
OPAFAGO cannibalistic sea creatures that lived in Miromara and hunted mer until Merrow forced them into the Barrens of Thira, which surround the ruins of Atlantis
ORFEO one of the six mages who ruled Atlantis; Astrid’s ancestor
OSTROKI the mer version of librarians
OSTROKON the mer version of a library
PALAZZO Italian for palace
PANI YOD’DHA’OM Matali’s water warriors
PERMUTAVI a pact between Miromara and Ondalina, enacted after the War of Reykjanes Ridge, that decreed the exchange of the rulers’ children
PESCA the language spoken by fish
PETRA TOU NERIA Neria’s Stone, a blue, teardrop-shaped diamond that Neria gave Merrow for saving Kyr, Neria’s youngest son, from a shark attack
PITA-JI a Matalin term for father
POMPASOOMA a Matalin pastry
PORTIA VOLNERO mother of Lucia, one of Serafina’s ladies-in waiting; wanted to marry Vallerio, Serafina’s uncle
POSIDONIA a sweet wine made from fermented seaweed
PRAEDATORI soldiers who defend the sea and its creatures against terragoggs; known as Wave Warriors on land
PRAESIDIO Duca Contorini’s home in Venice
PRAX practical magic that helps the mer survive, such as camouflage spells, echolocation spells, spells to improve speed or darken an ink cloud. Even those with little magical ability can cast them.
PRINCIPESSA Italian for princess
PRIYA a Matalin term of affection
PYRRHA one of the six rulers of Atlantis; Becca’s ancestor
QIN the mer realm in the Pacific Ocean; Ling’s home
RAFAEL the justice of the seas who offi
ciates at Mahdi’s and Sera’s exchange of vows
RAFE IAORO MFEME worst of the terragoggs; he runs a fleet of dredgers and super trawlers that threaten to pull every last fish out of the sea
RAZORMOUTH DRAGON one of the many types of dragons that breed in Matali and are the main source of the realm’s wealth; they are feral and murderous and prevent invaders from getting past the Madagascar Basin
REGGIA Merrow’s ancient palace
REGINA Italian for queen
RIVER OLT the Freshwater region where the Iele’s cave is located
ROBUS a songspell used to push
RORQUAL humpback whale
RORRIM DROLL lord of Vadus, the mirror realm
ROYAL ARABIAN DRAGON one of the many types of dragons that breed in Matali and are the main source of the realm’s wealth; they are so dazzling and so costly that only the wealthiest mer can afford them
RURSUS the language of Vadus, the mirror realm
RUSALKA a ghost of a human girl who drowned herself because of a broken heart
SAGI-SHI one of three trawlers that Rafe Mfeme owns
SAINTES-MARIES the wreck of the Demeter lies twenty-five leagues due south of this point in France
SALAMU KUBWA, MALKIA Kandinian for Greetings, Great Queen
SANADA, EMPRESS the current female ruler of Matali; Neela’s mother
SEA WHIP the most deadly jellyfish in the world
SEJANUS ADARO Portia Volerno’s husband, who died a year after Lucia’s birth
SERAFINA principessa di Miromara
SHIPWRECK GHOSTS hungry for life, their touch—if prolonged—can be lethal
SÍ Italian for yes
SIREN a mermaid who sings for currensea
SOLDATI Italian for soldiers
SUMA Neela’s amah, or nurse
SVIKARI one of three trawlers that Rafe Mfeme owns
SWASH Mermish slang; a shortened version of swashbuckler, suggesting a flamboyant adventurer
SYCORAX one of the six rulers of Atlantis; Ling’s ancestor
SYLVESTRE Serafina’s pet octopus
TALISMAN object with magical properties
TAVIA Serafina’s nursemaid
TERRAGOGGS (GOGGS) humans. Before now they haven’t been able to get past the merpeople’s spells.
THALIA, LADY a vitrina who knows what the six talismans are