The kelp rustled as something moved through it, Araxie pulled herself tighter to the shark to make herself more streamlined. With a sudden burst of speed, Araxie was grateful to be hooked in. The megalodon opened its mouth.
“Unhook!” Proteus shouted.
Araxie did, and watched as the seaweed parted to reveal a giant blood red squid. Her megalodon chomped down on a tentacle and the squid screeched. Araxie had to cover her ears to drown out the screeches as the other sharks moved in and between the three they quickly eliminated the threat.
Proteus and the others formed ranks with Araxie near the middle, and they all drew their swords.
When the squid was dead, Nami sheathed her weapon. “The threat is gone, I can feel it.”
“Feel?” Araxie asked.
Nami nodded. “It's like a buzzing in my head, goes away when it's safe, gets louder when it's dangerous.”
“Unfortunate we had to come through here,” Leena added. “I'd have loved to tame that one.”
“You're insane.” Keel responded. “I've never seen a squid that big before.”
Leena put her hands on her hips and stared down Keel until he shrugged. “Nothing my sharks couldn't handle, there's nothing they can't. Isn’t that right Pearl?”
Leena patted her shark affectionately.
“Do they all have names?” Araxie asked.
“Of course they do. Mine’s Pearl, the one you’re riding is Silver, and the other one is Bubble.”
Araxie looked at the shark named Bubble as it whipped a chunk of squid from side to side. Bubble would not have been the name she’d have chosen.
Proteus looked to Leena, “That is enough, Leena get the sharks out of their frenzy so we can get back to traveling.”
Nami spoke again, “We'll want to stick to the exit from the valley on the right. There's something on the left.”
“You don't know what it is?” Araxie asked.
Shaking her head, Nami answered, “Never know for sure until I see it.”
As they left the seaweed behind, Araxie glanced at the path Nami had said not to take. A cave mouth with shadows darker than the abyss made Araxie's skin crawl. For miles afterward she couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched by whatever creature lived there.
Ten days passed as they journeyed south towards the Saldows Sea known for sinking ships unfortunate enough to be in the area during the storms that were known for how fast they appeared and how quickly the waves could sink a vessel. Ten days of sharing a cramped tent with Leena, who had started snoring louder than a sea walrus around day three, and eating sand crackers three meals a day. The pouch of snacks from Aaralyn long since disappeared when Araxie had found it contained the sour yellow hard candies she loved from the ports. She'd shared with the other knights, but only Nami had liked them.
The truth of it all, was this was the happiest she'd been in years, sand crackers and all. The others had quickly stopped treating her like she was made of crystals or required a pedestal. For the first time in her life, outside of her sisters, she'd found mer-people that made their judgement of her based on her actions. It all made her want to do more, be more.
Tertis would banter with Leena the way old friends could, neither holding their opinions back. Leena always ended the banter by reminding him that she could manage the sharks better than anyone. Tertis would simply counter that he was happy to sew her back together when the beast chewed her up and spit her out.
Proteus led them all with his jovial nature and input. Nami spent far too much energy flirting with Keel who quietly kept their supplies in order.
On day eleven Proteus started teaching her how to direct the shark, and she tried to ignore the attraction growing from being so close to him each day.
She acknowledged that others considered him handsome. Calista had certainly stared at him enough whenever she'd come to the palace, or he'd visited the academy. Others in her class also hadn't been shy in their admiring comments about his physique when they thought he couldn't hear. But sitting mere inches away from him day after day, and watching the light in his eyes as he bantered with the other knights was new for her. She'd only ever seen him this relaxed around Calder after they'd spared to the point of exhaustion. Even then, he'd never stayed relaxed for long.
Seeing him like this was refreshing, and she did her best to ignore the tingles that formed when his hand brushed hers as he helped her learn how to hold the reins. Or how she wanted to shiver when he gently spoke into her ear as he pointed to a school of angelfish moving elegantly through the water below them.
They'd talked a lot over the last week. Traveling provided a lot of time for it, and she'd needed a distraction from the budding romance between Keel and Nami.
“Go to the right of the coral head.” He instructed her.
A tug of the reins had their shark smoothly going around the obstacle.
“Why not over?” she asked.
“Tactical maneuver. If we went over the top in the middle, we could be attacked from below and both sides. By going to the side, it'll draw any enemy forces to one side while our back up attacks from the other side.”
Indeed Leena and Nami had guided their shark around the left side of the coral.
“Why did you want to be a knight?” Araxie asked him, wishing she could see him as he spoke. She'd wanted to ask him for days now, but feared that he'd ask her the same in return. If he gave her a thoughtful answer from his heart, she didn't dare give him the memorized line she'd delivered to anyone else. But she wouldn't be able to handle it if he mocked her answer like Jett had when she'd told him.
He shifted behind her and she felt the brush of his fin against hers.
“I followed Calder at first,” he said. “I hadn't really known what I wanted to do, and my father was always telling me to be more like him. As we went through the Academy I found myself drawn to the noble adventure of it all. So when Calder started the path of commander I focused on the missions. When he got hurt on the front lines at the abyss, Mother begged me to come home.”
“Do you miss the missions?”
“Every role as a knight has a purpose and importance. I didn't recognize that at first. I thought that missions were the most important thing a knight could be asked to do. But working at the palace I've realized that there are more dangers within the kingdom than those elsewhere. A mission either succeeds or fails, but the work at the palace makes me wonder if I'm making the right choice for so many that depend on that outcome. I'm proud of the work I do now that protects those I love, even if I do miss traveling to the oceans near and far.”
Wanting to distract from the serious mood brought on by his answer, and deflect him from asking for her reason, Araxie asked. “Does the food ever get better?
He laughed out loud at that. “Only when you can trust the chef.”
They moved to pass through a break in a rising ridge when a current of water slammed into them. Araxie held to the reins, but the strength of the current threw her off the shark. The angle of her body on the reins pulled unevenly and caused the shark to start thrashing. She tried to swim back to the shark while pulling on the reins, but the frantic thrashing made it unsafe.
Proteus grabbed her arm. “Let go!”