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Nemo took my left hand. “Steady, Princess.” With his free hand, he guided them back onto the path.
Steering the wagon was starting to stress me out a little. “Do you want to navigate these horses?”
“Believe me.” His voice was turning croaky and parched. “I’d love to. But my vision is starting to blur.”
Oh, no. This was bad. My freak-out factor raised one hundred bars. I had to hurry. My mantra from earlier repeated in my head.Get a grip, Nyssa. You can do this. You have to save your people. Then they can help save your father and the kingdom.
With this in mind, I cracked the reins on the horses’ backs, and they climbed to a trot, carrying us away from the remains of the pirates’ ambushed caravan.
Darkness swallowed us.
Fin and Nemo groaned as if they were about to vomit.
Bile rose in my throat, too. “Sorry. Want me to slow down?”
“No, Princess.” Fin’s voice was calm, soothing, hypnotic.
The way he’d said “princess” sent goosebumps skittering all over my flesh. I wanted to listen to him whisper it all day. Have his breath tickle my ear. His lips graze my lobe. Have him deliver soft kisses to set my skin on fire…
I jolted the straps, and the horses kicked into a run.
“Go, Princess!”
Nemo’s raised voice startled me. Even though my effort so far was terrible, I loved the way he complimented me. For some reason, his opinion mattered and made me feel special and warm inside.
Thankfully, no one else traveled down the road, which eased my twisting gut.Guiding this thing left me totally out of my element. But the longer I did it, the more I started getting the hang of it.
“How are you faring?” I asked Nemo when I felt steadier.
“Just happy to be going home,” he said, slumped against a barrel of rum behind him.
He started to hum a tune. Pretty soon he broke into a song. The other two joined him. I didn’t recognize it. Something about mersoldiers and warriors. It was nice to list to and lifted the morale.
After that song, they fell quiet, and the gentle rocking motion of the carriage put them all to sleep. Their snores stroked my ears. It wasn’t the honking, snorting type emitted by some of the pirates, but more of a heavy breathing noise. The noise was strange and foreign yet somewhat comforting. Back in Tritonia, the water distorted most sounds, so we didn’t hear it. But I could always tell whenever someone dozed off during one of my father’s strategic meetings by the way their gills fluttered from their relaxed breathing. It annoyed my father to no end, and he would poke the snoozer with his trident.
I laughed at the fond memory.
An overwhelming urge to be with my father hit me. I missed his firm and bellowing voice. Our private conversations over breakfast. Hugging him before I went to bed. Fine. I may be a daddy’s girl. I didn’t care. My dad was the center of my world. Knowing he was helpless against Faraall made me mad as hellfire and had me longing for justice.
A little sparrow landed on the long bit connecting the wagon to the horse. It twittered, wagging its tailfeathers, and hopped along the length of the strap. I was grateful for its presence. Anything to distract me from thinking of home.
“Hello,” I said.
The bird cheeped at me, before flying off.
“Don’t go!” I called.
But it didn’t return, and I slumped in my seat.
The woods were quite beautiful. Smaller ferns nestled among the thick and tall trees. Patches of moss hugged the trunks. Mushrooms sprouted at the base. Fallen leaves turned brown on the forest floor and along the trail. In a way, it reminded me of home. I inhaled all the different smells that invited me deeper into my surroundings—dried leaves, earthy floor, clean and crisp air, citrus and wood. Branches swayed in the breeze, like a symphony of wind. This place was heaven.
****
Sometime later,my senses tugged me to the west, and I cocked my head. Merfolk had an amazing ability to track water when we were on land. Don’t ask me how it worked because I didn’t know. My father just told me it was how we survived in an amphibious state.
Nemo snorted himself awake beside me. “Water,” he groaned.
“Do you sense it, too?” I asked.
