A recruit, she thought his name was Ray, finished the processes and leaned up against a wall just a few fins from her and Proteus to wait for the rest of their group. He gave a brief nod in her direction, and Araxie was about to return it when a bright yellow and black striped sea snake struck from one of the holes just above his shoulder.
The bite struck Ray’s neck just above his black-shell armor. His body thrashed and his eyes rolled up. More snakes in brighter colors slithered from the walls and Proteus pulled Araxie away from the poisonous animals. Knights in the room started clanging silver bells hanging from the golden bracers on their forearms. The sound reverberated through the water.
Her classmates huddled around Proteus and Araxie. The reverberations sent the snakes back into the walls. Two knights picked up Ray’s body and swiftly carried him through a doorway off to the side of the room.
“What is the meaning of all of this?”
Araxie held in a groan at the sound of Mar’s voice as he entered the room. Her father’s advisor was not somebody she cared to see, ever.
Proteus faced the tentacled merman. “Someone touched the wall.”
Mar spotted Araxie and the smile that made her insides twist spread across his lips.
“I’m sure the King will be interested in knowing that his daughter came close to being bitten. A prison is no place for a princess after all.”
Araxie wanted to roll her eyes. Instead she put as much sarcasm as she could while still being civil into her voice. “Thank you for your concern, Mar.”
“You are welcome to join us for this tour, Advisor,” Proteus said. “So you can provide every detail to any of the King’s questions.”
“Of course, lead on.” Mar nodded and the conversation ended between them.
Proteus turned the class. “Mind your surroundings as we move forward. Stonefish line the floors, and box jellyfish tentacles are used to shield windows and cells. You’ve already seen the snakes.”
They moved throughout the prison in their regular formation. Araxie right behind Proteus, with Calista on her left and Jett on her right. The other recruits followed behind them in rows of three as well, leaving Mar alone at the back of the group.
The deeper they went into the prison the thicker and darker the shadows grew along the edges of the green lights on the white walls. It wasn’t until they reached the room in the very heart of the prison that Araxie realized what was happening. The doorway was the color of the darkest wine and the shadows were darkest here. A plaque next to the doorway said Shadow Witch.
Two knights outside the doorway used long thin rods to brush the dangerous jellyfish tentacles aside for the recruits to enter the small room. Araxie moved closer to Jett so Calista could leave a few more inches between her and the darkness spilling through the curtain of white jellyfish tentacles falling over the cell opening.
Through the gaps Araxie could see a swirling darkness inside the cell. The blackness moved like a living thing, Thrashing at the invisible barrier created by the ring of gold runes etched into violet stones around the cell. The shadows surged at times to overpower the light from the crystal sconces throughout the room.
Even the stonefish stayed away from the runes and shadows in this room.
“You would bring them to her cell! The King will hear about this.” Mar pushed his way through the recruits towards Proteus. One of his greying tentacles pushed Calista towards the cell as another thrust Araxie further into Jett.
Proteus reached out for Calista and pulled her back just as the red tip of her fin brushed across the rune line. Bright yellow and dark grey sparks of light rippled across the rune barrier and Calista yelped. He didn’t bother to check her injury as he motioned Calista, Jett, and the rest of the class towards the door.
“Everyone out.” Proteus’s cold glare as he stared at Mar was at odds with his fiery scales.
As the last one to leave Araxie was close enough to hear Proteus’s quiet words. “The only danger here was you carelessly pushing a recruit towards that cell. You were the one that risked Riva—”
“Are you coming to the club tonight?” Jett asked Araxie, pulling her away from the door so she could no longer hear the conversation between Mar and Proteus.
She shook her head. “Tonight I have dinner with Father.”
“Babe, we’re graduating in eight days. Come celebrate, the first round of appetizers is on me.”
Jett pulled her closer and she stared up at his ice-blue eyes.
“I’ll be there.” Calista beamed at him.
“How’s your fin?” Araxie asked Calista.
Calista touched the tip and her hand came back black. “A little singed, but I can still dance with Jett since you won’t be able to.”
He smiled at Calista and a tinge of jealousy wound its way through Araxie. But she shrugged it away. Calista was her best friend, and had helped ease Araxie’s loneliness now that her sisters were either traveling, banished, or married. The vibrant firefish colored mermaid had befriended Araxie shortly after their final year at the academy began. Calista had glided over, her tail swishing smoothly so her white and red scales flickered like a flame, and slid into the seat next to Araxie and Jett. The three of them had done everything at the academy together ever since.
A brush of skin against her hand brought Araxie back to the present.
Calista lifted Araxie’s hand to inspect her nails. “You really should let me pick your nail color next time. Yellow isn’t your color. What color do you even call it? It looks like a sick eel.”
“Aquata called it canary-yellow. I thought it was pretty in the sunlight.” Araxie looked at the pale paint. Calista was probably right though. Aquata hadn’t been around the mermaid fashion scene in over a year and Calista practically lived at the beauty shops and stores on the weekends.
“I always like you in blue,” Jett said as he looked over Araxie’s plain black scales and black chest armor.
She’d run out of time after braiding to put on the blue scale dust. Araxie made a mental note to wear the dust the next time she saw him. But she did have a new lipstick from Aquata that she pulled out from a small pocket her sister Amarine had designed to blend in with her scales.
The tube twisted smoothly, and the bright red lipstick slid just past the tube’s edge.
Calista squeaked in excitement. “What’s that?”
“Aquata calls it lipstick?” Araxie said.
Her best friend took it from her hand. “It’s red, I want it.”
Araxie sighed. “Aquata made it for me, Calista. She’s going to ask me how I like it the next time I see her.”
Calista’s perfectly pink lips pouted. “Please Araxie, it matches my scales.” She held the lipstick up to her fin.
Jett gently squeezed Araxie’s shoulder. “Aquata can make you another one.”
Araxie looked at Jett, he was so generous to everyone and she wanted to be more like him. Plus he was right, Aquata probably had a dozen of the tubes she could give to Araxie. But the little things from her sisters were what helped her not miss them so much when they were away.
She sighed, “You can have it.”
Calista squeaked in happiness again and started putting the lipstick on. Mar stormed out of the cell room and he bumped into Calista as he pushed his way through the recruits. The lipstick jerked and made a line of red up to Calista’s nose. Araxie felt a little bad about how happy that made her feel.