Could the twins have deliberately lied to her, to make her frightened and disgusted? How did it feel to be related to monsters? Probably it is no better than being married to an underwater creature. It’s kind of scary, and you realize that you have to get used to it to survive.

Lirena had one of her tentacles tied with a scrap from Lilophea’s dress. So these girls really had been motionless, wooden statues a short time ago. Lilophea remembered perfectly well the first time she had climbed onto a mermaid ship and torn her dress there.

Could it be that all the other animated statues from the ship would come here, too? Only, perhaps, they would come no longer as guests, but with a declaration of war. They are from the ocean. It seems that it was the creatures from the ocean that the Morgens fought all the time. That’s the reason Seal might have been missing for so long: some powerful enemy was approaching its borders.

«Could you show me the way to the ocean?» Lilophea fiddled with the sun pendant around her neck.

Hearing the question, the sun instantly was alive right in her fingers, rounded her dainty lips, and chanted:

«Don’t!»

So it really is very dangerous in the ocean. Lilophea was more surprised that her fears were confirmed than that the pendant could also give advice, and not just point the right way.

What should she do now? Go back to the palace and rely on the power of the Triton guards and an army of water dragons who would jump off the arches and pillars to protect the queen of the sea from any attack. And an attack from the ocean dwellers might be just around the corner.

To sit at home was humiliating and unpleasant. If the kingdom of the sea was in danger, she must do something. But what?

Lilophea climbed out of the azure garden and swam downstream. The mere sight of the familiar creature on the anchor of the wreck frightened her so much that she almost turned back. But it had no intention to attack, only staring at Lilophea with multiple pairs of multicolored eyes. It was content. On the ship, which, by all appearances, it had recently dragged to the bottom, were gleaming chests of gold coins. Lilophea recalled what Seal had said about the creature. It clings to the anchors of ships, unsuspecting sailors pull it up, and once on board, it attacks them and sinks the ship for its valuable cargo. Such a creature can be called nothing less than a cunning parasite or underwater pirate.

Somehow it was able to see through the bottom to see if there was treasure on board a ship that had passed by. The bottom of the large ship was just visible on the surface. The creature winked at Lilophea with ten eyes, let out a long whistle, and suddenly, out of the blue, someone above ordered to lower the anchor. It is supposed to be thrown out only near the shore for the time of anchorage, but not in the open sea. But the rules were broken. The clever spy hooked himself to the anchor and whizzed off again. He was pulled up. The chain was quickly wound onto the winch above. The creaking sound reached even into the underwater realm. The men on board were unaware that they were pulling their doom from the sea.

Lilophea became curious as to what exactly was going to happen up there, so she decided to watch. Naturally it was from a safe distance. To do so, she had to swim a little away from the ship. This proved difficult. The short anchor chain never reached the bottom, so the ship kept moving forward. Lilophea was too far out. And the sides of the ship were too high. You couldn’t see what was happening on the ship no matter how you jumped out of the water.

«You would have been better off with wings than a tail,» someone scooped Lilofea up from behind and lifted her over the water. What was happening on deck was so terrifying that she wanted to dive right in.

«Hush! Don’t move so much!» A woman’s offended voice sounded.

Lilophea found that she had been helped by the same morgena with snow-white, multi-layered, flower-like wings and white curls. It was the one she had seen once before floating on the sea in a palanquin. This must be the white fairy or the sea fairy. What was her other name?

She had a face in relief, like a morgena. But the patterned wings suggested the legends of snow fairies.

«Your mother has wings!» The white fairy put webbed fingers to her lips. «Don’t say anything! But you could have saved them. Just pull your train!»

Lilophea only now discovered that the fairy was no longer supporting her. Her feet are held on the water by themselves, as on solid ground. Only it was softer and more pleasant to tread on the waves than on land. She moved a little and the train of her dress spread like foam over the surface of the surrounding waves. It was as if the sea was her train! Lilophea tried to do what the fairy had advised her and pull the train. It turned out something like a small storm. Foamy waves rose along with the train. The ship was already sinking. If only she had intervened earlier, it would not have sunk, but the spy would have been thrown from the deck by the tremendous jolt.

«I wish I’d had another doubloon of his profit,» the fairy opened the white marrow fan in vexation. But no! It was not a fan, but one of her webbed hands. There were pairs of hands-one holding the hem of a lace dress that seemed to rise from her own pale skin, one pair correcting her hair, one pair gesturing. All of them had openwork webs that made a normal hand look like a fan. She seemed to have more than five fingers. Standing there with her mouth open and counting was uncomfortable, so Lilophea turned away.

«What would one do with doubloons at sea?» She wondered.

«Have you ever been to a fish market?»

«Yes, in Aquilania. There’s a main square there, and there’s a market.»

«Not the one where they sell the fish, but the one where the fish put out their own goods.»

«I’ve never been there. What interesting things can the fish sell that you can’t get for free on the bottom?»

«Well, the fish scientists offer a large assortment of things you can’t invent without their help.»

The fairy looked greedily at the bloody splash and the wreckage of the ship in the distance.

«You are able to tread the waves, and my wings are tired,» she apologized, and was so. There’s a reason her wings are layered! Even birds don’t fly at that speed.

Her newly discovered ability to walk on water was so unusual that for several minutes Lilophea enjoyed it. The ripple of small waves under her feet tickled her skin pleasantly. It was sheer pleasure! The train, merging with the sea, did not weigh her down or slow her down at all. If one tugged it, the whole surface of the sea would be stirred by the storm.

You could only feel so good in a dream. Dinny Shea flew over the water. Usually these tiny faeries gather in a flock near fishermen’s boats and vigorously offer the fisherman favors if he’ll do their bidding. For example, if he refuses to fish for good. Then they will make him rich. They must have some sort of agreement with the Morgens.

Only she couldn’t see any of the small fishing boats in the vicinity. No one had even had time to lower the lifeboats from the sinking ship. So what were the Dinny Shea looking for here? They glittered like a scattering of stars over the water.

A stroll forward across the surface of the sea made it clear who they were waiting for. The luxurious boat was sailing slowly downstream, uncontrolled by oars or rudder. The same painter in the boat was painting a morgen with a brush in the air. He must have run out of paper. Is it possible to take off and take with you the picture painted on the empty space? Or would such a picture come to life as soon as it was finished?

For some reason the Dinny Shea were wary of hovering directly over the rook, so they hovered in the air at a safe distance.

The painter frowned. Obviously, he was failing to recreate exactly what he intended. But when he caught sight of Lilophea treading the water, surrounded by a trail of foam, he nearly dropped his brush in surprise.

«Don’t move! I’ll paint you!» He shouted from a distance, but Lilophea didn’t want to pause for a pose. So she copied the gesture of the white fairy – elegantly put her fingers to her lips as a sign of silence. Let the artist know that the queen of the sea, walking directly on the water, should not tell anyone, or there will be a storm and the sea will not survive. She straightened her train a little as she passed by, just for showmanship’s sake. The boat shook on the waves so much that it almost flipped over.

White foam flowers bloomed right on the water. Lilophea spotted the body of a drowned woman with a large pearl sprouting right into the flesh in her chest. The sight was beautiful and frightening.

The silhouette of a large merchant caravel loomed in the distance. Was it not headed for Sultanite? Lilothea remembered how easily Seal had carried her aboard the ship. Would she be able to climb onto the caravel? As soon as she moved her train, a wave so high formed under her feet that it swept her directly aboard the caravel. Those on board must have thought she appeared out of thin air. Grant, obviously the master of the caravel, immediately fell to his knees.

«Do us no harm, your majesty!»

He knew unmistakably who she was by the crown. He must have had a road with the Morgens himself. How to sail the seas and feel safe without a non-aggression pact from the underwater inhabitants?

Is this the same Grant that once gave Seal the ring of fire? Or was it the wrong one? Lilophea tried to see if the living pearl was sprouting right in his forehead.

«I’m not going to sink the ship,» she hastened to calm his panic. «All I want is one small favor from you and your crew.»

«Anything you command!»

Grant trembled.

«I must get word to Sultanite. Are you sailing the wrong way?»

«I will change course for your sake,» he hastened to oblige. «It is almost on the way. It is but a little detour.»

«Will you be received at the royal court?»

«I think so. I have good trade relations with the King of Sultanite.»

«Now it is the queen.»

Grant was a little taken aback.

«The king died recently,» Lilophea felt it her duty to explain. «Sultanite is ruled by his daughter Ornella.»

«Didn’t her brothers all die too?» Grant was astonished, but covered his mouth as he noticed her hem splashing frothy sea water all over the deck.

«Apparently matriarchy reigns in the Sultanate. There is a woman on the throne. All the brothers obey her. That’s why you must speak to Ornella in person. You can arrange that.»

«She always comes personally for the silks I bring. Her brothers prefer tobacco and spices.»

«You’re a noble man, and you trade with the Sultanite? It is astonishing!»

«It is better to trade with the Sultanite than to fight. It is a dangerous power!»

«It is good that your caravel is equipped with more cannon,» Lilothea estimated. «If the Griffins attack, that’s the end of the trade, and you can fire every gun in the ship without thinking twice. But if you do manage to get to Ornella, tell her that the underwater queen reminds her that it is not delicate to go to war with blood kin.»

«Is that all?» Grant was relieved. He’d thought he’d have to take a report of the attack on the Sultanite. And such news could get him killed.»

«That’s all!»

«I can send her that message right now. I have a cage of carrier pigeons in my quarters.»

«You’d better give it to her in person.» Lilophea wondered what she could give him to make Ornella understand that these were not empty words. All she had with her was a pair of amber bones and a shell she had found at the bottom. Moralla mentioned that if you want to send people messages, you have to whisper the words right into the hole of the empty shell and, once in the right hands, it will speak itself. Lilophea decided to check it out. She brought the shell to her lips and whispered into it:

«You cannot go to war with your own family!»

The shell, as if mesmerized, immediately emitted something that sounded like a whisper, and a second later the same words echoed from the empty hole. The shell repeated them several times and wouldn’t have stopped if Lilophea hadn’t mocked her:

«The message is only for Ornella!»

It is of no use to the princes to say all this. They are under their sister’s thumb. An exception is the younger Prince Condor. But he’s hardly capable of deciding for himself whether to go to war with Aquilania or not.

«Tell her!» Lilophea placed the glowing shell in the trembling hands of Grant. He was afraid to hold it. «Do not break it! Here’s something for your trouble!»

Lilophea also gave him a pair of amber stones.

Probably it was necessary to put some kind of sea seal on him, so that he did not dare to disobey her orders and accurately fulfill the order, but Lilophea did not know how to do it. She merely ran a damp hand across his swarthy forehead, and something resembling a seal of runes such as those on Seal’s pectoral appeared on his skin all by itself. Grant wrinkled his nose, tried to brush the skin against his forehead, but there was nothing he could do. His gaze became somewhat hypnotized.

«I obey you, Queen of the Seas!» He bowed gracefully and pressed the shell carefully to his chest.

There was a servility and subservience in him. It seemed to be the work of a spell. Lilophea glanced at him to the door of his quarters and slipped back out to sea.

Somewhere far out in the depths of the water came trumpet sounds. They mingled with the murmur of the waves and seemed at times inviting, at times threatening. Such was the sound of the wondrous horn that summons the sea-dwellers to attack the mortals who are vulnerable by the moon by the shores of the sea. All night long they may attack before the sea calls them back. They will leave, but only corpses will remain in the towns near the coast.

Such are the usual rules! But today the horn heralded war between the underwater races. The human tribes scattered along the coasts remained in the background for now.

Lilophea walked farther across the water. Shallow waves lay before her like a blue desert. Everywhere she looked there was nothing but the sea. It was more interesting under water than on the surface. Lilophea was about to dive back in when she noticed a whole flotilla ahead. Dozens of ships hurtled forward at full speed. There were no Sultanite’s flags flying over the unfurled sails, but Lilophea was alarmed all the same. Passing between the ships would be difficult. If she didn’t dive underwater, they might crush her.

She’d barely had time to think about the danger when blue scaly reefs emerged from the sea. They looked like humps on a smooth surface. After a moment it was clear that they were moving, too. They were water dragons!

The sentries on the ships had spotted them too and already panicked, but it was too late. The blue sea dragons appeared in flocks and surrounded the fleet. There was no use shooting them with crossbows, or even cannons. Their azure skin was as impenetrable as magic armor. The dragons, on the other hand, after listening to the chorus of screams, opened their mouths and pounded the flotilla with such a torrent of water that the ships sank. The crackle of splinters and the screams of those drowning were mingled into one cacophony of sounds. The whole fleet was sunk in a matter of minutes. Those that sank more slowly, the dragons circled their blue tails and began crushing them like hazelnut shells. There was a deafening noise from the cracking of the breaking boards.

Lilophea watched the mayhem from a distance. She wondered why the dragons had done that. They hadn’t eaten anyone. They had only amused themselves. Perhaps Seal had told them to destroy one particular fleet. Maybe they were talking about breaking some kind of treaty with the Morgens. After all, as far as Lilophea had learned, no one sailed the sea without making a special pact with them. And all who do not agree with the underwater people, become victims of an attack and eventually drowned, never reaching land from their first voyage. The Morgens have everything under control. In addition, the sunken ships are profitable. How much wealth will sink with the wreckage and become the property of Seal.

One of the water dragons glanced back at Lilophea. In its open mouth could be seen, along with sharp incisors, each the size of a dagger, pearl teeth. Would you think that water creatures could even have teeth made of pearls?

The dragon tilted its horned head, paying homage to the underwater queen, whom, of course, it noticed even from a great distance.

Lilophea even thought that the dragons had sunk the fleet only because it posed a threat to her, strolling carefree on the waves.

Only there was no one else to ask. The dragons soared over the water, nodded their spiky heads at her one by one, and dove into the water, leaving fountains of spray on the surface.

The ring of fire

Had someone warned her that Morag wasn’t the only one to be wary of? The water dragons turned out to be many! Lilophea’s heart was pounding hard after her encounter with them. Of course, she didn’t seem to have anything to fear. They all have no right to harm her. She is, after all, their queen after all. But what if something happens to Seal? Then they’ll all turn on her and poor Aquilanía, of course. Not to mention the rest of the other neighboring states.

Seal was merciful. For the sake of his bride, he did not attack her homeland. Would the creatures of the ocean be as humane if they were victorious?

How hard it is to feel helpless! Even if Seal is at war now, there is nothing she can do to help him. Except to abuse her power and summon a militia of water dragons to move to the ocean. And fight her family there again?! According to Morena and Lirena, her maternal relatives are the rulers of the ocean. And she herself is not strong enough to believe that packs of sea dragons are subject to her.

While she pondered on the move, Lilophea reached the small rocky island. If it were not for the many tall rocks in which the faces of sinister mythical creatures were carved, the island could have been called paradise. It had picturesque waterfalls and palm groves that couldn’t be counted. And the colorful tropical flowers that grew here in whole clumps, Lilophea didn’t even know the name.

The yellow sand was not dotted with magic shells. So it was safe here.

She should have thought so! On the sand you could come across bones and skulls of some non-human creatures. Not human, not animal, not even morgen. Some skulls had the walls of the back of their heads shaped like shells. These could be the skulls of sea creatures.

«So you went back into the depths to your tribe after all?»

The voice was familiar, but the dark-skinned woman in gorgeous silver jewelry was not immediately recognizable to Lilophea.

«Harisi?»

The black woman nodded in response. In flowing silk robes and with colored bird feathers in her hair, she looked like an exotic island queen. She probably was. Lilophea noticed that the tips of crude spears and arrows gleamed in the thicket. There’s a whole warrior tribe hiding out there.

«They don’t like morgens here,» Harisi confirmed, «but I remember you were kind to me.»

«Are you in charge here?»

She nodded.

«And you know enough about us to keep us off your island?» Lilophea noted that the tips of the local warriors’ weapons were silver. «When you fled from Sultanite, did you take much silver metal with you? It was a good defense against Seal’s warriors.»

«It is not good enough,» Harisi sighed. «Once he turns his vigilant attention to our island, we are lost. But Sephora is around.»

«Sephora? You mean the dragon goddess? What’s her connection to your island?»

«Oh, it’s a long story,» Harisi wanted to take Lilophea under her arm, but she nearly burned the silver bracelets abundantly strung on her black wrist.

«I’m sorry!» She apologized at once. «I do not wish to insult you, so that you come to our island with your magic harp and flood everyone here.»

«I will not!» Lilophea promised. Perhaps prematurely! The weapon pointed at her still glared from behind the bushes. What a way to welcome guests here!

«So what is it with you and Sephora?»

«Her ring is shining on your hand, too,» said Harisi, her eyes gleaming with envy. «So she has taken you under her wing because of your feud with Ornella.»

«It’s not that Ornella and I are feuding,» Lilofea hesitated, remembering that this very Ornella was now preparing to attack her home kingdom.

«Even after her griffins had started attacking merchant ships from Aquilania and bullying captains to death?»

«I did not know that!»

«Birds put seals on people. It is like the seal of the morgen. The human mind weakens under their influence, yielding to the will of the one who set the seal. Those who resist perish. I saw a handsome young marshal whom Ornella had so branded kill himself to avoid becoming her slave.»

«She was always capricious and spiteful.»

«And she always disliked you.»

«I don’t even know why.»

«You’re a morgen. She doesn’t like all morgens.»

«But why is it? What have they done to her? There’s never been a flood in Sultanite, or I’d know.»

«She’s probably jealous that you keep control of all the ships and little boats that sail on the sea. You take tribute from people and collect sunken treasure from the bottom. And Ornella is very greedy. All she talked about was how rich the underwater king was. She and Sephora were friends, but they also quarreled over greed. Ornella started cheating at dice to win Sepphora some of her treasure. Sepphora caught her at it. That’s when they became enemies. You should have seen the magical tournament that ensued between them after another dice game. The whole sultan’s castle nearly collapsed. The floor, walls, and ceiling were cracked. Sparks were shooting out of the fire. Inside the cramped quarters a dragon against a griffin is a terrible force, but Ornella survived. But my entourage and I managed to escape. Right on the backs of dragons! Sephora called her pack and freed us in spite of Ornella. She easily broke all the magical slave collars and now has custody of us. I’ll tell you honestly, being under the patronage of a dragon goddess is sheer heaven.»

«At least everything worked out well for you,» Lilophea agreed.

She and Harisi walked along the sunny shore. The island was a very picturesque place. But what were the creatures carved into the surface of the rocks? Did they still inhabit the island today?

«There used to be a lot of morgens’ invasion,» Harisi lamented. «And there were pirates. Our simple tribal magic could not withstand their firearms. We were taken prisoners, sold in the markets of Pion, the largest slave marketplace in the land. Your admirer Morrin was going to make us a colony of Aquilania, and make himself viceroy of the island.»

That was something Lilophea could safely object to.

«No, he would be not a viceroy. He was going to make you a separate independent kingdom, and proclaim himself your ruler. He boasted of that. Only first he had to drive out the Morgens, who lay siege to your island at night.»

«That’s right! We all jumped out of the huts we were sleeping in at the sound of the underwater horn and hid in the rocks. But not everyone was able to do it. Many of my tribesmen died from the blows of the steel gills. Even my father, he was the head of the tribe. I’m the head now. And Sephora flies in the clouds above us. I am so afraid of one day do not please her and seeing my people eaten alive again by lizards from the sea.»

«I will ask Seal not to touch you again. What is the name of your island?»

«It is Tropic Circle.»

Clever! The island is shaped like a circle, and the faces of the supernatural beings carved into the rocks seem to wash over the land in the circle once more. They must be local gods and goddesses.

«Ask Urun better for us! He is the one who attacks at night most often. He’s the king’s pet, so there’s no use complaining about him. But in case you are closer to Seal than he is.»

Lilophea noticed a creature galloping along the rocks, very similar to those whose images are carved inside the rocks themselves.

«Tell me, are only humans living on the island?»

Harisi was cryptically silent.

«In any case, I’ll support you in any way I can. I don’t want us Morgens to have the reputation of usurpers and tyrants. My earthly father accustomed me to generosity.»

She would probably have given up and told her the myths of the island, but a pack of dragons roared in the sky.

«Sephora had arrived!»

She must have been attracted by the ring of fire. It was too late to take it off. She should have met Sephora and apologized for accepting it as a gift from the hands of a thief and crook. For some reason Lilophea had no doubt that Grant that Ceal had almost frozen was cheating on everyone and everything. A high title does not always guarantee nobility.

«I’ll go to her,» Lilophea saw the silver dragon turn into a girl before she landed at the top of the cliff.

«Don’t!» Harisi tried to restrain her, but Lilophea slipped out of her grasp like flowing water. For a moment she seemed to herself to be made of water. Her body became almost weightless as she climbed the stairs carved into the rocks. Some creepy creature with a beautiful horned head came beneath her feet. It squealed and quickly ducked into a crevasse.

Sephora waited at the top of the cliff. Her colorful flock of dragons hovered over the cliffs like fireworks.

Though the island itself was sunny, the sky above the cliffs was gray and gloomy. The mottled bodies of dragons were the only decorations here. They zigzagged across the sky, curling their tails around each other, shooting jets of fire directly into the sea below. It was dangerous to be near them, but how good they were! Red, yellow, purple, orange, green like malachite, and pinkish like corundum. Their scales sparkled like jewel armor. And they all resembled a flock released from a magic box.

Sephora herself was dressed in brocade and lace, like the ruler of the universe. A long train followed her over the cliff, like a living dragon’s tail. Curls of rich golden hue were arranged in a high hairstyle and intertwined with chains of sapphires and emeralds.

As soon as Lilophea approached, Sephora opened her dainty lips and exhaled a whole jet of fire into the sea. She managed to fry a large shark that was just surfacing from the waves, grinding its teeth on the critters floating in the clouds.

One bright scarlet dragon dived down toward the cliff, spotting the water woman, and tried to grab Lilophea with its claws. Defensively, she put her hand with the ring forward. The attacking dragon was immediately struck by such a powerful fire bolt that it flew several meters away and fell into the sea. He survived, but his chest was badly burned.

«It’s okay. He’ll recover quickly,» Sephora watched the pantomime indifferently. It’s how aristocrats watch a performance in a traveling circus or a floating theater. «Dragons have the ability to heal themselves. Did you know that crafty sorcerers hunt us down and make healing elixirs from our blood and innards?»

«No, I didn’t know that.»

«But your father does. He wanted to use the scales of one of my dragons to make an invulnerable armor against morgens, but his knights were not strong enough to wear such armor. He also wanted to make a potion out of a dragon’s liver that would turn two morgens into humans. It didn’t work either. But they vomited a lot afterwards. Now they drink only human blood.»

«Are they Morena and Lirena?»

«That’s right!» Sephora turned to her, pulling back her train, which turned out to be a living dragon tail. «You don’t look anything like them, by the way.»

«So they say! Why did you let me burn your dragon? You command them. Couldn’t you have told him not to attack?»

Or did Sephora want a feud?

«Now you know how it works,» she explained, pointing to the ring. It still sparkled where it had touched the dragon’s scales.

It was hard to be around Sephora. She herself was white as ice, but she reeked of flame like a furnace. Besides, her majestic beauty was so overwhelming that one wanted to bow down before her.

Did Sephora want the ring of fire back?

«Is it really yours? Did that nobleman, who reports to my husband, steal it from you?»

«Let’s just say, through repeated machinations, the ring fell into the wrong hands as it was meant to. But all is well now.»

«Shall I give it back to you?»

«Keep it! I want it to be yours. You could use a little fire at the bottom of the sea to warm you up after the cold embrace of the waterman, couldn’t you?»

Sephora arched an eyebrow slyly.

«I’m not complaining!» Lilophea did not go into the explanation that her love for the water king had so clouded her mind that she did not feel the cold.

Sephora read her mind herself.

«I have never understood creatures in love! They become naive and weak. Love is definitely not for me!»

«But one day it may arise without asking your opinion.»

«And a strong sorceress is able to pluck it from your heart like a thorny rose from the root.»

«Even in case you fall in love with that legendary lord you dream of seducing?»

«That is another matter!»

Sephora’s face was as frozen as a statue and unexpressive. It was impossible to tell from her facial expressions how she felt. But she reeked of both flame and anticipation of triumph. How sure of herself she was!

She gave a command in an indecipherable old tongue, and the dragons all flew as one massive mechanism. The multicolored swarm moved farther and farther away, like a fireworks display over the sea. Sephora, too, was about to fly away.

12 След.

Lilophea-3: Queen of the Sea and Princess of the Ocean

Water Dragons

The ring of fire

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