“Yeah,” I say, disgusted at Doe—and myself. “Let’s go.”
Once I’m back in the water, with Quince’s arms wrapped tight around my waist for the swim home, my frustration ebbs. I should be happy for Doe, proud of her for fitting in so well. Especially since she plans to spend a lot of time on land with Brody in the future.
“Feel better, princess?” Quince asks as we reach the deep ocean.
I sigh. “Yes.”
“You know you’re good at things that make her jealous, right?”
“Like what?” I huff.
“Like making people smile.” He squeezes me tighter. “You’re brilliant at that.”
I want to grumble—like making people smile is a tangible skill—but instead I grin. That’s better than nothing, I suppose. And I’ve got bigger things to think about right now. Quince’s second test, for one, and the news about the sabotage conspiracy.
We’ll take care of Quince’s test first. Then I can talk to Daddy about what I learned in Desfleurelle.
Quince and I swim through the palace gate, expecting the guards to lead us to the main entrance. Instead, they take us around the outside of the palace. As we round the first tower, I see Daddy, Calliope, and a few other merfolk waiting.
They are standing at the edge of a part of the royal gardens called the Night Garden.
It’s one of the most breathtaking underwater gardens in Thalassinia. Because it’s made up entirely of plants and animals with bioluminescent glow, on nights when there’s a new moon, with no lunar light filtering down through the water, the Night Garden shines bright as the sun.
I remember watching a video about fireflies in biology. There was a part—when the narrator wasn’t talking about larval form and chemical reaction—where it showed time-lapse photography of a forest when firefly glowing was at its maximum. At one point, it was like the entire forest was awash in light.
That’s what the Night Garden is like.
Even in the filtered late-morning sun it’s spectacular.
“Hello, Princess,” Calliope calls out to me as we approach. “Quince.”
I wave at her and Quince says hello.
“Lily, I am glad you are here,” Daddy says when he sees me. “I want to hear about your meeting after Quince finishes his test.”
I nod. “Definitely.”
“But for now,” he says, “you need to stay on the sidelines with us.”
“Remember,” Calliope adds, “you cannot help Quince in any way.”
“I understand,” I reply.
“So do I,” Quince says, letting go of my waist so he can swim around to my side. “I’m ready.”
“You might remember I said your second test would focus on mental strength,” Calliope says, leading Quince to the Night Garden path. “Well, it specifically focuses on memory.”
“It will test your ability to remember sequences,” Daddy explains.
“This path,” Calliope says, pointing at the strip of dark gravel that weaves through the garden, “follows a circular route. Along this route are several creatures trained to glow in a chain reaction, each time adding another glow to the chain.”
“In short, son,” Daddy says, “you will need to watch them light up, remembering the order, and then re-create the chain by touching each creature in the same order.”
“Oh, okay,” Quince says, smiling and nodding. “We had a game like this growing up. If you pushed the lighted buttons in the wrong order, it blasted you with an alarm.”
“With this test,” Calliope says, “if you get the order wrong, you fail.”
Some of the humor fades from Quince’s face.
“How many chains does he have to remember?” I ask. “How many sequences?”
“The chain will begin with only one,” Daddy says. “And will gradually build to sixteen.”
“Sixteen?” I gasp.
Quince makes a choking sound.
“Why so many?” I ask. “Isn’t that kind of . . . excessive?”
“The number sixteen was chosen for a very specific reason,” Calliope says.
“Yeah,” I mutter. “To make it impossible.”
“Ten for the number of kingdoms in the Western Atlantic,” she says, pointedly ignoring my comment. “Five for the number of original mer kingdoms. And one more for Capheira, the sea nymph who granted us our powers.”
“Sixteen,” I grumble.
“Don’t worry, princess,” Quince says. “I can do this. I will do this.”
“Come,” Daddy says as Quince swims into the garden, “we can watch together from above.”
Daddy and I float up to a place where we can see the entire garden path. I’ll be able to see every glow and watch every choice Quince makes. Calliope takes her position next to us, clipboard in hand and ready to judge Quince’s performance.
She reaches out and pats my hair. “He’ll do fine.”
I smile at her. “I hope so.”
I cross my fins and fingers that he succeeds.
The first few rounds go quickly. The first chain is simply a glowing anemone at the garden entrance. Quince touches the anemone, making it glow again, and then the second chain starts. First the same anemone again, and then a sea star on the other side of the circular path. When he touches those two in order, they glow again, followed by a bed of red-glowing seaweed back by the entrance.