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Seraphina tried to move, but I swam up to her and hit her hand with the scepter. Unable to hold onto the moonflower pearl any longer, she dropped it. I picked it up with my other hand.
I stared sadly at the sisters, frozen in ice. “Seraphina, Coraline, for your crimes against the merkingdom, I strip you of all magic. Your tails from this time forward are traded for legs and you will walk the realm, never resting, as a penance for draining magic of another.”
Light pulsed from both pearls, washing over the sisters. They both cried out. Coraline gasped for air.
I called the magic from deep within, instinct and knowledge guiding me. I surrounded the sisters in a bubble of air as their tails and gills disappeared. Weakened, they dropped to the ground, both sobbing.
Turning to the purple goo, I willed it to turn to sand, watching as it obeyed. My heart thundered as I ignored everyone and swam to Kaga. He was barely breathing, his heart impossibly slow.
I grasped the moonflower pearl and the mermaid pearl, drawing out as much magic as possible. “Vitalis cura Kaga.”
Chapter 37
The pearls glowed, but nothing happened. Everyone around stood in silence, their faces drawn and tense.
“Kaga,” I said as I pounded his chest. “You stupid water mage. If you die on me, I swear I’ll kill you.”
I grasped his face. “You can’t leave me yet. I love you.”
I pushed the air funnel away from his face, kissing his cold lips. A flash of energy jolted through the both of us. Kaga’s eyes flew open, and I sat him up. The air funnel formed around his lips again. One of the mages handed him a shirt, which Kaga wrapped around his waist.
“Kaga?”
He stared at me, dumbfounded. “Allura. I think I almost died.”
I snorted and pressed my forehead to his. “Did you hear a word I said?”
“No, what did you say?”
I kissed him on the cheek, not wanting to push the air funnel away. “I love you.”
“How convenient. I love you, too.”
“I hate to break this up,” said Thalos, gesturing to the sisters, “but what do we do with them?”
I turned to him. “Can you please take them to the human realm?”
He nodded, and I leaned closer to him. “At least give them some water and food before you send them off.”
With another nod, he went to tell his mages, who were lounging on the seabed, clearly exhausted.
Kaga stood up and slowly walked toward Lirion. He drew Lirion’s body to the ground and kneeled over him. Kaga bowed his head, muttering softly. I drifted over to him and put a hand on his shoulder. “Are you okay?”
Kaga shook his head. “He was the same year as me. He and I learned together.”
“I’m sorry for your loss, Kaga.” I slid my arms around his shoulders and pressed my cheek against his head. He reached up and held onto my arm, as if I was the only thing holding him together.
The mages continued to clean up around us, gathering their wounded and dead. My merpeople had gone on home to heal. Someone came and picked up Lirion, taking him to the surface. Eventually, Kaga stood up, his feet planted firmly on the sea floor. I frowned at his legs. “Not going to lie, I miss your tail.”
“Me, too, actually,” he said. “Wait. Can everyone else hear me now?”
Both our sets of parents, who had been watching the entire exchange with wide eyes, laughed. “Oh, we can hear you loud and clear,” said my father with a twinkle in his eye. “What have you two been up to?”
Kaga’s face reddened. “Uh, sir, I mean king.”
He kept stuttering until my father took pity on him. He clapped Kaga on the shoulders and said, “It’s all right. You don’t need my permission. Allura makes her own choices. As you can see.”
“Speaking of choices,” said my mother, swimming up beside me, “I am so proud of yours, Allura. I know how much you didn’t want to claim your birthright.”
