Free Breakwater by Shannon Mayer

tension rising with each step he took. He reached out and touched the healer closest to him, running his hand down her neck to cup her breast, squeezing the nipple. “These are my people. I will do what I wish here.”
    I didn’t back down, just shifted my stance and thrust my spear around to point not at his belly, or even his neck. I tucked it up between his legs with a swift flick of my wrist, pressing it through the material of his pants. He dropped his hand from the healer and she scuttled away, well out of his reach. His eyes dropped to the spear tip and then rose to my face. “You are a brassy one, aren’t you?”
    “You have no idea, but I do believe you and I aren’t done,” I said. “Get out of here. You’re bothering the healers.”
    “You can’t protect them all, and certainly not them and your ambassador. Who will you choose? I’m so very glad you are here, Larkspur. I’ve been bored, and I do believe I’m looking forward to playing with you and your ambassador.” He stepped back, his hands spread wide. “Welcome, little Terraling, welcome to the Deep.”
     
     

CHAPTER 6

 
     
    fter the show Requiem and I put on, the healers seemed more than happy to have me stay. Ayu brought me a steaming hot drink that was salty and sweet, and I gulped it down, pausing only for a moment to nod and say, “Thank you.”
    “The least we can do. No one stands up to him, Ender. That you did, that is worthy of respect and a hot drink.” She gave me a wink, but the lines etched around her eyes showed how much strain she was under.
    I looked over my shoulder, for a minute forgetting that “Ender” was my title now. “He is the bastard son of the king who died?”
    “Yes, though there are rumors about how the king died—”
    “Ayu, hush, you’ll get us killed, or worse, banished!” Another of the healers spoke in undertones as she tended Belladonna. We were the only ones in the infirmary, but still they all acted like other elementals listened in. Maybe they were. Ayu shook her head, her hair bound up with sea kelp and dotted with tiny starfish that danced lightly as she moved.
    “It is common knowledge. The king was healthy, robust, and well loved. He went to bed one night and didn’t wake the next morning. His body was shriveled as though he were a thousand years dead, not a few hours.” Her eyes filled with tears. “Requiem took over immediately, citing the Deep could not wait for the heir to come of age.”
    I downed the last of my drink and let out a slow breath. “And there is no one who could stand against him? The proper heir is too weak?”
    Ayu shook her head. “I have said enough. Drink and flee. You do not want to be on the receiving end of Requiem’s games.”
    With Belladonna out cold, I needed to move fast and Ayu’s advice was good. The quicker we got the information we needed and left, the better. “We were sent to observe, to find out who our king should back if it came to a full out war.”
    Ayu shook her head slowly. “There is no real choice, and there will be no war. Requiem has only to wait until his sister dies and then he will have the throne.”
    I frowned into my empty cup. “His sister is sick? Why is she not here with you then?”
    All three healers turned away. I grabbed Ayu before she could move from me. “Tell me.”
    She jerked out of my hand. “No. It is forbidden. Requiem will soon be the king and we must learn to live with his rules no matter how we may hate it.”
    Worm shit and green sticks, this was turning out to be more of a mess than even Ash and my father thought. “And the other ambassadors? They were killed by Requiem?”
    The other two healers left the room tripping over themselves and each other to get away. Leaving just me, Ayu, and Belladonna. Ayu wiped a hand over her face. “Get away, Ender. Take your ambassador and get out of here as quickly as you can. Do you understand me?”
    I nodded; she was right. The visit had been anything but