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Chapter Thirty-One
AQUARIUS STANDS ALONE
Maris
Atlantis is in ruin, and I fear I’m too late. Our glorious city is no more. Instead, it’s reduced to a pile of rocks.
“Hello,” I shout. The waters are deadly quiet. Everyone can’t be gone, can they?
I search the waters, only I can’t find any sign of life. I’m glad everyone managed to escape, but I have no idea where they’ve gone or what’s happened.
I swim towards the palace. That’s when I see the first merman. It’s one of my dad’s guards, and I go to him. “What happened here?” I ask.
“Maris?” he asks in shock, and a bad feeling settles in my stomach.
“Is my father okay?” I ask, although he hasn’t answered my other question.
“Come with me and I’ll take you to him.”
I swim backwards with unease. “Where is he?” If he doesn’t say the dungeon, I can’t trust him.
“Where do you think he is? Cyrus is on his throne, of course.”
“I thought Neptune took over the city?”
The realisation is evident in his wide eyes. He knows I’m about to flee. I swim as hard and as fast as I can.
“Hey!” he shouts.
The secrets of the city have been drilled into me since I was a little mer. The clam is badly damaged when I reach the city square, but it’s the easiest way to get out of view. I open the trap door under the statue and quickly go inside. I grab a pole from the collection I used to use to play queens and jam it into the handle of the door. The guard that was following me tries to open the door, but the metal is strong and longer than the hatch, so it doesn’t give way. It holds firm, and I relax against the wall. I can’t get caught, especially with the jug. I need to figure out how to heal Atlantis without falling into enemy hands. These tunnels under the city are like a maze, and not many mer know they exist, never mind being capable of navigating them.
I make my way to the dungeons in search of my friends and father. It’s dark in the tunnels, but I know my way. The jug is too precious to cart around, so I leave it in a safe place close to my destination. The hatch on the other side is similar to the one at the clam. Carefully, I push it over, listening to the sounds of the ocean. Once I feel the coast is clear, I swim out into the open. Lucky for me, the keys are on their hooks, and I help myself to the master. Looking through the cells, I search for my loved ones. In the end room is a beaten shell of a man. My heart sinks when I realise this could be my dad. My hands shake as I try to get the door open quickly.
“Dad,” I whisper as I get closer. My voice comes out squeaky as I fill with emotion. Was I away too long?
Black rings circle his eyes, and his body is covered in bruises, but there’s no doubt who this is. I should’ve been here.
“Maris? Is that you?” my dad asks in a faint voice.
“Yes, Daddy. It’s me. What have they done to you?” I can’t hide the horror in my voice.
“You’re going to have to leave me here and save our people. I’m not going to make it far.”
“Don’t talk like that. Let me help you into the tunnel. We have to go.”
“I’m not strong enough to stand up to Neptune.”
“Maybe not now, but you will be.”
“I don’t have time for my injuries to heal. You need to act now and take back the city.”
“And we will.” I lift his arm to help him out of the cell. He winces in pain, but I don’t stop. We have to get out of here. Leaving the dungeon behind, we make it into the tunnel, and I seal the entrance.
“I’m safe now. You can leave me here,” my dad says.
“No. I have a better plan.” I retrieve the jug from the place I hid it. The water glows like a light, and I present it to my father.
“This is Ganymede’s jug. You need to drink from it.”
