her backpack and start in on homework.
âHere, take this to our guest,â Doe offers, pushing the lemonade into my hand. âIâll fix another glass for Shannen.â
Iâm too distracted to worry about Shannenâs shock or wonder at Doeâs uncharacteristic generosity. I nod in thanks and head into the living room.
Calliope Ebbsworth is sitting on Aunt Rachelâs floral sofa next to Brody, reading a scroll of kelpaper that reaches all the way to the floor, with Prithi purring contentedly in her lap. My first real interaction with Calliopeâthe foremost mer couples counselor in Thalassiniaâwas when Quince and I were accidentally bonded while I thought I was still in love with Brody. Daddy made us go through the motions with Calliope to make sure I really, really, really wanted to break the bond with Quince.
At the time, I did. But her methods definitely helped me see the truth about Quince and helped me realize my own feelings for him, feelings Iâd never even let myself imagine.
Why she is here now, when Iâm perfectly happy with Quinceâbond or noâis confusing. Maybe sheâs here to counsel Dosinia and Brody. Or maybe she wants me to do some exercises to make sure my bond-in-name-only with Tellin doesnât muddy my emotional waters with Quince.
âHello, Calliope,â I say, walking into the living room.
âPrincess Waterlily,â she replies with a grin. She releases the top of the kelpaper scroll, and it rolls down to join the rest of itself on the floor. Prithi startles and makes a dash for the stairs. âJust the mergirl I wanted to see.â
There goes the hope sheâs here for Doe and Brody.
âIâm also the mergirl who almost ran you over with her car.â I hand her the lemonade before taking a seat in the recliner next to the sofa. âYou have to be careful on your bicycle.â
âOh, you know.â She waves her hand at me like itâs no big deal. âA fish on a bicycle.â
She laughs at her own joke, and I wait while she takes a long drink.
âShannen might never recover,â Doe says. She crosses to the sofa and squeezes in between Brody and Calliope. âYouâve scarred her for life.â
Brody chuckles as he hands Doe one of the coffee cups heâs holding.
I glare at her.
She takes a sip of her latte and slips her free hand into Brodyâs. When he makes a swoony smile at her, I turn my attention back to Calliope.
âWhatâs going on, Calliope?â I ask, hoping this will be quick and easy so I can get to work with Shannen on developing the survey Iâm going to take to the mer kingdoms. âWhy are you here?â
âCanât a mermaid come visit her princess without a reason? Your hair is looking particularly lovely today. Have you done something to it? Is it shorter?â
âCalliope . . .â
Her chipper expression turns serious.
âWell . . .â She glances down at the kelpaper scroll at her feet. âIt seems there is a bit of a legal knot surrounding your bond to Prince Tellin.â
The muscles in my shoulders tighten. âWhat kind of knot?â I demand. âBonds in name only happen all the time in the mer world. I know Iâm not the first.â
âCertainly not,â she says with a sympathetic smile, âbut you are the first in recent memory to do so openly, and with a human mate already at your side. It is a unique situation.â
âOkay,â I say, really not liking the sound of this. âWhat does that mean?â
She sets her glass on the table and grabs the scroll off the floor. âAt your fatherâs request, his advisers and I have been reviewing the ancient laws of royal bonding. It seems our ancient mer founders foresaw such a possibility and set up a kind ofââ She clears her throat. âRequirement.â
âWhat kind of requirement?â Her avoidance
Sharon Kleve, Jennifer Conner, Danica Winters, Casey Dawes