Chapter Nineteen
"Surely she is capable," Isadora speaks over the protests of the crowd. "After all, I'm not asking her to sneak in and steal something."
Unable to speak, Serena's hand goes to her fluttering stomach. Underneath the fear that courses through her body at the prospect of approaching the entire wolf clan's camp, Serena has to admit there is a small twinge of excitement.
"They'll smell her from a mile away!"
Serena isn't sure but she thinks it is Mariam's voice shouting out from the crowd.
The king still hasn't spoken and in his silence, Isadora feels the need to continue to justify the punishment. "It seems a fitting duty as an extension of her assignment as Werewolf Liaison. She can bring back valuable intelligence—information we can use to solve the problems of our kingdom."
The king's eyes flit away from Isadora, who continues to ramble, and come to rest on Serena.
Noises from the crowd along with Isadora's speech blend together and become a dull roar in the background while the king's bright blue eyes come into sharp focus. The corner of his mouth twitches, pulling at the long white beard that hangs from his chin.
Serena gives the slightest of nods. I can do this.
"Very well," says the king. "The second punishment has been assigned."
The Great Hall goes quiet—the decision is made.
"But our Werewolf Liaison will not go on the mission without some basic knowledge on how to defend herself," he says.
Murphy and Kai step forward from the line of the King's Guard at the same time, almost as if it was rehearsed. Serena turns to leave with them, still stunned—and not for the first time—at the decisions coming from the Great Hall. She is stopped short with a cold hand on her arm.
"Look for the one called Alaric," hisses Isadora. "I must know about him. Every detail."
Jerking her elbow from the council member's grasp, Serena returns a harsh gaze and doesn't answer. She is sure Isadora has her own reasons for this particular punishment, but Serena can't decide what they are.
Once in the corridor, Murphy motions to Kai who hands Serena her bow and arrow set, complete with breastplate armor. She runs the pad of her thumb over the her mother's charm, now inlaid into the center of the chest. She smiles up at Kai, but he is already following Murphy down the hall.
Serena trots to catch up, struggling to put on her new armor while she moves. The King's Guard walk so fast. Arms through, arrow carrying case adjusted on her back, straps cinched in on the sides. Just as she finishes with the last strap, Murphy and Kai dive into the receding tide. Their legs transform into fins before they even hit water.
Serena pauses for a moment, astonished. She has always prided herself on how often she transforms, and how little pain it causes compared to others. It didn't ever occur to her to practice with speed. Though, in The Dry, it would absolutely come in handy.
She trudges into the water, her entrance clumsy compared to those before her. Calling forth her own natural body armor, her scales bump against the inside of her breastplate. It moves and shifts, then settles over a new type of skin.
In the water the bow, the arrows, and the rest of the contraption create a drag Serena is not used to. Serena follows the wake of the guards in front of her, their fins almost already out of view. She looks down, trying to adjust straps as she swims. She should have had all the scales out before she put on the armor.
When Serena looks up, Murphy and Kai are gone, and so is their wake. She opens her throat and pushes out whistles and clicks, then waits for the echo. Sound comes back to her, clarifying and expanding her vision farther than her eyes allow. She turns, completing a full circle. When she stops, Murphy is there treading water. She almost does a double-take. Kai is behind him, keeping his distance.
Murphy raises a questioning eyebrow at Serena. Then he sends out his own signal. It is loud and obnoxious, pushing her back several feet in the water.
Her vision goes wonky and she has to shake her head to rid herself of the sound. When it clears, Murphy is still there, looking at her. He buzzes again.
She tries holding up her hands, warding off the sound, to no effect. Serena is pushed back even farther. The noise is jarring and she can feel her hair begin to glow in anger.
She swims back to her original spot, letting out her own signal again. Back off.
The Head of the Guard cocks his head, almost as if he is studying her beacon. Then he listens to the echo that comes back to them. He turns to look over his shoulder at Kai who glances at his leader, then back to Serena. Serena doesn't understand the exchange at all.
When he turns back around, Murphy reaches out to her. As an instinct, Serena swats away his hand.
His eyes open in surprise and his mouth tips up in a smile. He points to one of her buckles that has come undone.
Serena lifts her arm, realizing he is only trying to help. His buzzing still has her on edge. She nods, allowing him to make adjustments. He moves to her side, redoing the straps and cinching them tighter. Serena's body jerks with each tug.
Now behind her, Murphy twists the arrow case. She hadn't realized it did that. The opening now faces her fins, but the arrows are strapped so they do not fall out. The pointed bottom of the case sits close to the base of her neck, and each side follows the curve of her back.
Murphy moves in front of Serena again and turns the bow in her hand so the lower limb lies against her arm. He flashes a smile and swims away. Serena follows, keeping her distance. She still expects him to turn and buzz any second. She'll do anything he wants so long as he doesn't do that again.
Ahead, Serena has to move to the side to avoid a clump of jellyfish. She realizes her arrow case and armor no longer create drag. In fact, she barely notices she has them. She speeds up, moving from side to side, then up and down, imitating waves. Still no drag. Ronan's invention is brilliant.
Murphy and Kai are almost gone again, but by now, Serena recognizes exactly where they are headed. The archives.
She angles down, then speeds up to enter the tight passageway. Fizzy bubbles from Murphy’s and Kai’s trails emerge from the tunnel. The usual routine follows. Fins streamline, scales and hair slick back. The undercurrent helps her gain speed.
Right shoulder up and back. Serena's arrow case bumps against the tunnel wall. She frowns. She hasn't bumped these walls since she was a calfling. She ducks her head. The tip of the backward arrow case nicks the ceiling. Serena can feel the buckles strain at the change in pressure.
Slowing down for the curve ahead, Serena compensates for the extra bulge at her back. Her breastplate scratches against the wall. She gasps, placing a hand over her mother's charm to protect it. In return, her knuckles scrape against rock.
She picks up speed in the last section, counting on brute force to get her through, unscathed or not. Twisting to conform as best as she can to the crooked tunnel, Serena scrapes against the wall again and feels a buckle come undone. She holds the entire contraption in place, swimming even faster. It feels like she is learning the tunnel all over again.
She is going so fast that when she breaches the surface of the archives entrance pool she comes completely out of the water, adapting from fins to feet and landing steady on the rocky ledge.
Murphy and Kai, already wearing their robes, turn in surprise. Serena refuses to look at them, keeping her chin high and her gaze well away from their ankles.
"Have you always been able to transform that fast?" asks Kai.
Serena reaches the robes hanging on the hooks. She removes her arrows and armor, setting them and the bow on the ground. She glances at Kai. "I learned from the best."
Just a few minutes ago, in fact.
She puts on a robe and picks up her weapons. "Shall we?"
Murphy nods, and Serena leads the way into the archives. Serena sets her weapons down on a table, which is still littered with werewolf books.
"What was that all about?" She turns to Murphy, arms crossed.
/> "What?" he asks.
"That…that…buzzing!" She almost shivers at the memory.
"Effective, isn't it?" He smiles. "And necessary. Something has to keep the King's Guard in line." He moves into the archives at a slow pace, craning his neck to follow the books straight up the ceiling of the large cavern. "You also have a very distinct call. Almost like…" Murphy trails off.
"Almost like what?" asks Serena.
"It's hard to describe." Murphy glances at Kai, who is quick to jump in.
"You know how the moon holds sway over the ocean, and to an extent, us? Its call isn't as strong as the ocean, but no one can deny it is there," he says.
Serena nods.
"Well, your call is like that."
"My call is like the moon?" Serena doesn't get it, but a flickering memory of the maiden girl led away for punishment because she couldn't resist Serena's call over the king’s crosses her mind.
"Something like that," Murphy is looking at Kai, eyebrows knitted together. "Never mind," he says. "Let's get started."
He motions to several training tridents leaning against the wall. They are simple in design, and obviously well-used by the guard. "We'll start with the bow and arrow, then move on to tridents."
Serena follows him to the center of the archives. "Why in here? Why not practice in The Dry? Or in one of your training rooms?"
Murphy reaches behind Serena to turn her arrow pouch back over, clicking it into place. He removes an arrow, studying its bend.
"We don't want to practice in The Dry and give your enemies a chance to watch. Your abilities should be a surprise to them. And the King's Guard training room is for the King's Guard," he says, crossing his arms.
"Oh." She shifts the armor on her front, as though it will protect her from the sting of his comment.
"Besides." His thumb traces the sharp edges at the tip of the arrow. "What better place to perfect your aim, than in your beloved archives?"
"Oh," Serena says again, louder and more drawn out this time. Her eyes wander up the shelves as she turns in a full circle, imagining all her stray arrows sticking out of ancient books.
Mariam would be so upset.