In Deeper Waters by F.T. Lukens

Author:F.T. Lukens [Lukens, F.T.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Published: 2021-04-20T00:00:00+00:00

10

We have a problem,” Dara said when she returned late that afternoon. She startled Tal into wakefulness while he was in the middle of a snore, which turned into a loud snort. He rolled onto his side and peered at Dara over the edge of a blanket.

“What?”

“Great. You’re awake. Where’s Athlen?”

Tal yawned and stretched his good arm over his head, his injured one bandaged to his chest. “I don’t know. He was here when I went to sleep.” He sat up and accepted the canteen of hot broth Dara shoved at him. “He might be swimming.”

She twisted her hands. “Oh no. He needs to get back here right away.”

Alarm lanced through Tal. “What’s wrong?”

“We have a problem,” Athlen said, popping up from the water, surprising them both. Tal dropped the canteen and Dara let out a yelp. “Oh, hi, Dara. What’s wrong? You look upset.” He pushed his body from the water with his strong arms, his gills closing and his tail morphing as he emerged, water sluicing over his muscles as he stepped onto the shelf.

Tal and Dara both looked away as he stood dripping. Dara’s cheeks were as red as Tal’s felt.

“Trousers!” she snapped.

“Right. Right. Land modesty.” A rustle of fabric and a soft curse later, Athlen was dressed. His hair was flattened to his head, tendrils sticking wetly to his cheeks.

“Like I said, we may have a problem.”

Tal pointed to Dara. “That’s what she said when she walked in.”

“What’s your problem?” Athlen asked, using the edge of a tattered sail to wipe off the remaining droplets of water, his torso flexing in the golden light of the late afternoon.

A lump lodged in Tal’s throat, and he squirmed in the makeshift bed.

“There was a royal messenger in the next town over who made a proclamation. Rumor has already spread, but the kingdom is in mourning.” Her brown eyes zeroed in on Tal. “You’re officially dead.”

“Oh.” He unplugged the canteen and took a drink of the broth. It was hot and thick and hinted at flavorlessness. It was better to his stomach than the eggs and sausage had been. He swallowed. “Did they say how?”

“Murdered.”

“Oh,” he repeated. Tal picked at the edge of the canteen. Murdered. Not assassinated. There was a slight difference. The latter being politically driven. His family either hadn’t made the connection or hadn’t found evidence to support a declaration of assassination. They’d be reluctant to declare anyone an enemy when they had so few allies.

Either way, his mother thought him dead. Tal hugged his stomach.

“That’s not all.” She tugged on her braid. “The proclamation says that the perpetrators have been captured or killed, but there is a bounty for information about anyone who may have helped them.” She shifted her gaze to Athlen and gestured to him. “The townsfolk have implicated you.”

Athlen pushed his head through the fabric of his shirt, then pointed to his chest. “Me? I didn’t help them. I saved him.”

“I know that. Tal knows that. But you were seen with Tal at the tavern before he disappeared.

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