Chapter Eighteen
"Go!" Serena pushes Rayne into the room, then steps back, hiding from the crowd.
From the quick glimpse, Serena knows most, if not all, of Society is here. There is barely room to stand in the large cavern.
"Excuse me—coming through. Can I just squeeze by?"
Rayne make her way through the crowd, bundled food in hand. The low murmur of voices grow silent and Serena risks another glance around the corner.
Rayne has only made it halfway to the front when the king's voice booms through the cavern. "What's this?"
Rayne actually takes a step back. Serena knows the feeling, but she silently wills Rayne forward. Rayne obliges, closing the distance to the throne with a hesitant stride. "Food, your majesty. For the court."
The king, and Nerin by his side, glance at each other.
"Very well," he nods, waving it toward a table on the side by the members of the council.
Rayne bobs her head, then bustles to the table.
Standing on her tiptoes, Serena's eyes come on the objects sitting on the table. They are the experiments from her cave, still sitting in crab traps and jars. Next to them is her dry box. Together, they represent every last personal object she owns, except her necklace. Serena's hand goes to the base of her neck where the jewel hung until she remembers she left it with Ronan to be incorporated into her armor.
Only a small corner of the table is uncluttered, and it isn't large enough for Rayne's food. Stacks of books, as well as Serena's personal belongings, are squeezed on the flat surface. Rayne sets the package of food on the floor, then brings her hands to the sea urchin jar, one of Serena's experiments.
"Don't touch the evidence," Zayla speaks up from behind the table. She uses her Caste-Master voice, shrill and clipped.
Heat creeps up Serena's neck and her fists clench. That was uncalled for. But before Serena can speak, Kai comes around the table.
"Let me," he says, laying a hand on Rayne's shoulder. Her hair has begun to glow.
He picks up the jar of sea urchins, thrusting it at Zayla. "Here, find a place for this."
She takes the jar, mouth open. She wouldn't dare challenge him, her position well below his. Still, it doesn't do for members of the council to appear divided, whether it is over sea urchins or not. They always present themselves in unity in front of Society, which is why every one of them pronounced Serena guilty. Except of course for Kai's wish to abstain.
Serena smiles when the glow leaves Rayne's locks just as Zayla's light up. Zayla leaves to set the jar on the other end of the table, forced to pile books higher for more room. A stack of them fall, toppling off the table. The noise of the accident echoes around the room and Serena overhears snickers.
Mariam bustles forward from the crowd. "Oh, good grief," she exclaims. She shoos Zayla away and picks up each book herself, inspecting them for damage as if they were her own children.
Rayne and Kai finish squeezing in each of Rayne's dishes, nudging Zayla clear of the table. With her cheeks thoroughly flushed, Zayla glares at the plate of noodled kelp.
Kai lays a reassuring hand on Rayne's shoulder. "Thank you."
Serena touches her fingertips to her lips. Kai's small actions toward Rayne mean more to Serena than a thousand golden tridents.
When Serena looks back at the throne, both the king and Nerin are staring at her.
"Serena Moon-Shadow." A voice calls out. It is Nerin's, not the king’s. "You may now approach."
Serena licks her lips, trying to slow her breathing back to normal. She looks down and makes small adjustments to her scales, bringing enough out so as to be deemed appropriate for court.
Smoothing her hair, Serena glances at the end of the tresses to ensure she has her glow under control. When she walks forward, all faces are turned her way. The small path Rayne forged grows wider as Serena approaches. She tries not to concentrate on the faces, afraid of what they may exhibit. Disdain, pity, fear—each person unknowingly dousing Serena with their own form of punishment.
Instead, Serena focuses on the king's long tail, draped over the throne and extending down the steps leading up to his platform. It feels uncomfortable to stare, but it helps remind Serena even the king is not without his imperfections. Knowing this, she is able to hold her chin a little higher.
The king's flippers twitch, as if they know they’re under scrutiny. Serena breaks her eyes away to survey the council, now that she is close enough. They stand as one in a line behind the table of her belongings and Rayne's food. As unified as they may appear, Serena spots a subtle difference in their attitudes.
Murphy and Kai stand tall and proud, eyes scanning the crowd. Serena catches the twitch of Murphy's right hand, the one that usually holds the trident.
Evandre, along with Sarafina, the Head Gardener, have their heads bent together, whispering and pointing to the jar of Serena's algae.
Zayla leans away from the rest of them all, arms crossed. Rayne and Mariam leave the platform together, taking their position in the front row. As Serena emerges from the crowd, she glances at them. Mariam pushes her shoulders back, encouraging Serena to do the same. Rayne winks and gives Serena a small smile. Be brave, and we are here for you. The messages her mentor and mother send are perfectly clear. Their colors, paired together, suddenly strike Serena as odd. Deep brown and dark green—the colors of the forest.
Serena steps up to the mid-platform, clasping her hands behind her back. She holds her breath and waits for the king to speak.
"Shall we begin?" he asks, his voice low.
Serena can imagine all of Society behind her leaning in to hear his words. "Yes, your majesty." She risks a glance behind her at Mariam and Rayne. They both shoo at her with their hands, urging her to turn back around and pay attention.
"Isadora," the king calls.
Scales glittering like black gold, the Undine psychic approaches the king to stand next to Serena. Rumor is that he has avoided her as much as possible since his wife's death. She is no doubt a painful reminder.
A few inches taller, Isadora moves so close to Serena that they brush shoulders. The psychic gives a slight nod, acknowledging Serena. Unable to return the gesture, Serena stares with wide eyes. Suddenly the audience watching her back isn't nearly so unsettling as the one maiden by her side.
"You have decided on your punishment?" the king asks.
"I have, your majesty." Isadora responds.
The king leans forward, placing his elbows on the armrests and his chin in his hands.
Forcing her eyes from Isadora, Serena doesn't wish to see her expression as she announces the next punishment.
At least we are getting through them quickly instead of dragging it out for a year.
"At first, I had a lot of trouble deciding on an appropriate punishment, one that would serve justice as well as benefit Society."
The only part of Isadora Serena can see out of the corner of her eye is her long, thin nose.
"Her past is very clouded," says Isadora. "Which doesn't lend to a clear future in my premonitions."
Serena shifts from one foot to another. Grace Poseidon, just announce the punishment already. Even the king didn't draw it out this much. Werewolf Liaison. Boom. Done.
"Which is why I had all of Serena's things brought to the Great Hall. Personal possessions can be as revealing as a maiden's dreams." Isadora pauses, taking a long moment to look at Serena.
Leaning back in his throne, the king begins tapping two fingers on the armrest.
Taking her cue, Isadora continues. "As you can see," she says, walking toward the table crowded with Serena's things and Rayne's food. "Much of Serena's possessions come from The Dry. In fact, I hardly see anything made right here in our own kingdom."
Serena's heartbeat flutters. She turns to watch Isadora and most of the Undine maidens in the audience come into view. There are plenty of narrowed eyes and arms crossed. Her hand goes to her flipping stomach. Squeezing her eyes shut, she pictures Liam in we
rewolf form. His long snout with the half-moon mark takes the place of pursed lips, and it is somehow better.
Isadora moves around the table of evidence, approaching one of Serena's jarred sea urchins. She reaches around to the back of the jar and tugs on something. It won't come loose. Tugging again, Isadora shakes the entire jar. Serena can see her sea urchins bouncing around, jostled off their rocks.
She tenses, ready to step forward. In front of her, Nerin clears her throat, then shakes her head.
Finally, an audible pop and the shaking stops. Isadora turns, and she holds in front of her a shiny, silver CO2 bottle like a prized jewel. It stands out against her black scales. The hose still dangles from an opening.
"A prime example," she declares, thrusting the bottle into the air. The maidens closest to her lean back. She walks the length of the mid-platform, making sure all can see. When she reaches the end, she turns a knob on the bottle, releasing the contents at full throttle. She walks it in front of Assembly again, this time with CO2 spewing out of the hose. A wave of Undine lean away as it oscillates down the crowd.
The hose makes a shrill whistle, and draws circles in the air. Isadora turns to Serena.
"You just wasted my last CO2 canister," Serena says before Isadora has a chance to speak. "It is an Ungainly apparatus, extremely hard to come by." If the truth of the full extent of her absconding will come out, Serena will speak it first.
Isadora opens and closes her mouth, at a loss for words. The canister's whistle sputters out, the hose hanging limp with the last of the air gone. Isadora licks her lips. "So you do not deny it?"
"What?" Serena asks.
"That this was in your possession, taken from the Ungainly?"
"I very well can't deny it now, having just stated it." Serena points out the obvious, tapping her foot in time to the king's own tapping on his armrest.
A quick glow runs down the inside of the Isadora's hairline. "Then how, exactly, did you come by it?" she asks.
The event is so clear in Serena's mind, it would be difficult to fabricate a lie. Holding back her shoulders, Serena turns to the king and answers. "I entered an Ungainly camp at night, stealing four of those canisters. They were strapped to those wheeled contraptions Ungainlies sometimes pedal through the paths of the forest. No one saw me."
"And the purpose?" asks Isadora, replacing the canister back on the table.
Serena is still addressing the king. At least in this direction, she doesn't need to imagine dozens of werewolf snouts. "I need the canisters to emulate rising acidity levels in the ocean." She glances at the table of her experiments, the results speaking for themselves. "My control groups thrive with life while the CO2 groups are in obvious decline, if not all together dead. If I may, your majesty, this is the problem Society needs to focus on, not my punishments."
"You may not," The king leans forward in his throne. "We are here to administer the second of your punishments, not to solve the acidity problems in our ocean."
Isadora takes her place by Serena's side again. "Serena Moon-Shadow has undoubtedly made unauthorized visits to The Dry," she says. "As she just stated herself, she is stealthy enough to sneak into Ungainly camps and return with their instruments without getting caught."
Serena narrows her eyes. Where is she going with this?
"If the king pleases, for Serena's second punishment, I task her with observing the werewolf camp and reporting her findings."
Serena's gasp echoes with that of the crowd behind her.