Mervidia (39 page)

“Congratulations, Zane,” the
jellod stated, waving a yellow-glowing hand over the ink to spell-seal it into the hide, willing the substance back onto the page. It complied, the tendrils rapidly sucked down into the skin. She rolled up the Mervidian Scrolls, carefully retied them, and placed them back into the Royal Chair, repositioning the stone armrest into its proper location. Her white eyes regarded Zane, full of both pride and sadness. He did not have to wonder at the source of her melancholy; too many merwin had died recently, among them two monarchs in just a cycle’s time. The neondra had just willingly painted a big bloody target on his chest. “You are hereby given all rights and privileges allocated to the King of Mervidia. As you know, a formal coronation and celebratory feast are being prepared for tomorrow night. At that time, the Fangs will be placed on your brow before the whole city.”

“All hail, King Zane!” Penn shouted with enthusiasm, much to Zane’s surprise.
He did not think Penn capable of congratulating him after being so vehemently against the Red Trident captain becoming Mervidia’s next monarch earlier that day. The uklods’ descent had been a powerful sign that even the high-ranking Yellowtail could not deny. The Coral Assembly repeated Penn’s words.

“Hail, King Zane!” they cried together.
Kiva’s face drew Zane’s attention more than any other. She was genuinely excited, as if she were a fry who had spied a shiny shell on the dull ocean floor. The faera’s enthusiasm was more than a little unnerving. He would have to figure that merwin out at a later date. Zane looked at each member of the Coral Assembly in turn. He respected them all and looked forward to getting to know each merwin better. He vowed to earn their trust and loyalty, so that together, as a unified force, they could make Mervidia stronger.

“Thank you,” Zane said, his voice creaking with emotion at first, but gaining in authority as he continued to speak.
“I have bound myself to you all by accepting the honor of becoming Mervidia’s King. It is my hope that you will think of me as a brother, rather than a ruler. I want you to feel as though you can bring anything to my attention and not be rebuked with derision. I pledge to you that I will do everything in my power to make our home healthy and prosperous and bring an end to this streak of tragic deaths.”

Thaddeus, once a known traditionalist who would have never voted for a non-
ethyrie to wear the Fangs a week ago, now wore a content and satisfied expression. It made Zane feel justified that the right choice had been made. Ghita’s divine vision had shown them their true king, even as unexpected as that choice had been. For Thaddeus, at least, Zane could feel confident that the octolaide thought this new age was going to be a good one. His backing meant more to Zane than the neondra had anticipated. His and Penn’s unexpected turn in his favor bolstered Zane’s resolve.

Zane flicked his crimson tail fin, moving it to the side, as he slowly and formally descended upon the Royal Chair.
The Coral Assembly followed suit, sitting in their chairs as well, glad to finally be able to rest. Their visages were open, ready to tackle the scroll Captain Raygo was bringing forward, swimming down the length of the long table from where he had been guarding the chamber’s double doors.

“Congratulations, Your Majesty,” the red-finned
ethyrie whispered, as he bowed low, handing over the document containing the city’s most pressing matters. Zane placed a hand on his captain’s shoulder and thanked him. “I eagerly await tomorrow evening,” Raygo continued, “where I will officially pledge my spear and my allegiance to you.” Zane smiled at the ethyrie and squeezed his shoulder in acceptance.

The Captain of the
Palace Guard returned to his post with three flicks of his fins, his back tendrils flowing behind him like a long, regal red cloak. The King of Mervidia broke the blubber seal with the Fangs impressed into its ivory-colored fat. Zane read through the first few items on the list, while the Assembly got comfortable in their seats.

“The first item,” Zane said with confidence, “is a report from Domo Hasad, stating that the harvesting of the uklod is going well.
Much of the meat has been procured by the seifeira and evenly distributed throughout the city, even to the Ghet.” The King nodded in approval. “Wonderful, well done,” Zane said with a nod to Hasad.

“Pleasing our city
has not been hard this day, Sire,” Hasad said, his face beaming. “There is more than enough food for every merwin to eat their fill.” Zane smiled once more and looked back down at the report, reading the last few lines next to the item.

“I see that a large portion of the meat has been sent here to the
Royal Palace for the coronation,” the King noted. “Normally, I would not condone such exorbitance, but since there is an abundance of food, I am content to let it stand.”

“Yes,” Nayan said, “The entire city currently has, or soon will have, a full stomach.
Ghita’s vision spoke of a King’s Feast. So it shall be.” The jellod smiled. This time there was no sorrow in her expression and Zane was thankful for that.

“Alright, moving on,” Zane said, his confidence rising with the first bit of good news.
“The next item is a report from Domo Penn. The blood flowing into the water from the harvesting of the uklod meat has attracted predators, specifically shivers of sharks. I see that the Yellowtails are successfully holding them off. Well done,” Zane nodded to Penn, who solemnly bowed his head in reply.

It can’t be this easy to be king? Can it?
Zane thought. He was smarter than most gave him credit for though.
Surely, the good news has been listed first is all to soften the blow of the bad news to come. I know that there is ill will to be dealt with today, specifically concerning the attack on House Chimaera. Raygo informed me of the prisoner and witnesses waiting in the antechamber.
He prayed that Marin had not been harmed in the attack on her house and tried not to dwell on the distracting thoughts involving his lover.
Yes, they are breaking me in easy,
he realized.
Well, I appreciate that at least.
Zane’s hypothesis was confirmed with the next item. He glanced at Nayan, and her glumness had returned.
It was already written into the council notes…
From her expression, it had to have been her that submitted the item to the docket.

“A temporary
ethyrie representative needs to be elected,” Zane grimaced, as he said the words which tasted sour on his tongue as they were spoken. His heart felt heavy, so he reached out to the Assembly for help. “Any suggestions?”

“I would say Cassondra would be perfect, having been confident, wise, highborn, and talented, but that kelp has rotted,” Vaschel stated.
“Surely, another from the Divine Family would be a good choice?” Zane fixed his gaze on the ethyrie. He knew of House Paua and its generation-long grooming of Iago. Vaschel was probably the savviest politician on the Coral Assembly.

“Yes, Cassondra was exiled to the Deeps and is no longer a viable option,” Slone said.
“What about Ghita?” Vaschel, Kiva and Hasad gave him dubious looks, but he waved a hand at them, forestalling their disapproval. “Yes, Ghita is emotional at times, but she was quite successful in today’s ritual. She upheld her part and showed great strength, both mentally and physically. I respect her for that.” Zane saw that the neondra representative’s words had swayed them somewhat; their heads were cocked to the side, their eyebrows raised, and their tongues silenced by thought.

“She
is
the last of House Lumen’s line,” Kiva eventually said with a hand extended palm up, as if serving the fact to her fellow Assembly members.

“Yes,” Hasad said with an exasperated exhalation, “I don’t see that we really have any other choice.
No one else would be a satisfactory candidate.”

“At least being on the Coral Assembly would give her something to do other than mope about the Palace,” Vaschel said.
“You
are
going to allow her to continue to live here, are you not, Sire?” The ethyrie raised an inquisitive pink eyebrow at the new monarch.

Zane opened his eyes a little wider in deliberation, the movement creasing his brow upwards.
He had not even considered the matter. The ethyrie’s concern was valid though. With House Lumen’s descent from the throne, a crueler king would cast her out into the streets. Zane would never do that. Sure, she had inherited her family’s wealth, but Ghita would have no place to go, no house, and no family with whom to live.

“Yes, of course,” Zane decided.
“She can stay and live in her chambers as she always has. I also think she would do well joining the Coral Assembly as the new ethyrie representative. All in favor, please raise your hand.”

Once again, eight hands rose, this time along with Zane’s.
Nine Coral Assembly members, with another selected, and one yet to choose
, the king thought. Assembly matters were shaping up better than he had anticipated, and the council would be at its full number again within a few days.

“Very well,” the King said. “Captain Raygo, please extend our invitation to
Ghita to become a member of the Coral Assembly. If she accepts, instruct her to join us for our next meeting.”

Raygo acknowledged Zane’s decree with a “Yes, Sire.”

The neondra king was pleased, until he looked down at the next item on the scroll. Shock washed over his visage, but he managed to compose himself enough to speak.

“
‘What is to be the future of the Red Tridents?’” Zane read, his voice heated with irritation. “‘Will they be added to the Palace Guard, the company dissolved, or its leadership transferred to another?’” The King looked up, meeting Captain Raygo’s eye.
This entry is no doubt his doing
, Zane thought. When the captain did not react to the king’s pointed look, the neondra shifted his gaze to Penn. The Yellowtail had a satisfied smile on his lips.
Now I understand you coming around to my side, dear Penn. In your jealously, you seek to destroy what is most important to me.

“I will not
permit the Red Tridents to be dissolved,” Zane stated smoothly, not allowing Penn’s treachery to enrage him. “They are houseless merwin, as I am. I will not cast them out, nor set aside the near decade of work we put into our good name. Asking the Red Tridents to join the Palace Guard is not fair to them; they chose a mercenary’s life, to do the most good for Mervidia as a whole, not just be a house sentinel. If any should choose to join my Serfin, I would agree to that, but the company should remain whole and continue their good deeds for the merwin of Mervidia.”

“Of course, my King,” Penn spoke up, his grin fading, perhaps seeking to save face.
“However… surely, you can grasp that being Mervidia’s King, as well as leader of the Red Tridents, would be too much responsibility for one merwin to bear. Additionally, having your own personal army may be misconstrued.”

Nayan nodded, along with Vaschel, Quag, and Slone.
They all murmured their agreement.

“There is truth to the
domo’s words,” Nayan said. “It would be wise for you to at least hand the reins of leadership on to a trusted member of your company?”

Hasad and Thaddeus also agreed, nodding their heads at the
jellod’s words. Only Kiva remained silent.

“Kiva,” Zane asked, noticing that she had said nothing.
“What are your thoughts?”

“I do not see why you could not be both
the King of Mervidia
and
the Captain of the Red Tridents,” the faera said bluntly. “I personally have many titles,” she finished, her words leaving behind a cold mysterious wake.

“But you are not Mervidia’s monarch,” Thaddeus argued.
“Being a king is several jobs within itself: ruler,” the octolaide began ticking off titles on his fingers, raising each one as he named another, “defender, organizer, figurehead, caretaker, judge…”

“Yes, yes,” Kiva cut him off with a wave of her dainty tattooed hand.
“You are right, of course. If it were me though, I would have a hard time turning my back on an organization of my creation, which I left my house to form. I understand King Zane’s apprehension.” She crossed her arms in front of her chest, as she stared hard at her king. Zane could not tell if she was arguing for him to keep hold of the Red Tridents or let them go. Her words said one thing, yet her demeanor said another.

Despite her dubious body language, the
faera’s words were like daggers in Zane’s heart. He had not expected to have to relinquish the Red Tridents. He just assumed he would be both king and captain.

Damn it!
Zane inwardly cursed.
I should have weighed accepting this kingship more carefully.
He knew that there was only one merwin he could really trust to lead the Red Tridents in his stead. The title would also protect the merwin from Jade’s murderer and her family, both of whom
might still seek his life.
Lachlan
.

“Very, well,” Zane sighed deeply, giving in to the will of the Assembly.
“I will transfer my title of Captain of the Red Tridents to Lachlan, formerly of House Nori before its
decline
. I trust him to continue on with my vision for the company.” The King looked down at the next item and slammed his fist down on the table, before he could stop himself. His patience and good-natured outlook were rapidly deteriorating. Zane felt as if a shark he had been hunting for two days had been speared by another merwin at the last moment.