LITMIR.BIZ

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water. She knew for sure now! Not long ago she had doubted it. She wondered what charms might have helped her breathe under water for a short time, but if she really was a descendant of the Oceanids, then she had nothing to fear.

      Fear of meeting her kin is the only thing that should grip her. Her kin started a war with her husband.

      Once deep in the water, Lilophea listened. She listened for the sound of Seal’s horn nearby. It was quiet. And even the sharks weren’t swinging at her like they did with Sephora’s dragons. Either they sense the queen of the sea in her, or the blood of Oceanids is not something they want to taste.

      Is there ordinary human blood inside her? When she hurt herself on the mermaid ship, some murky liquid came out instead of blood.

      It seems that her blood used to be red, like all earthlings. Could it be that after sinking to the bottom, she began to change, returning to her normal underwater nature? Would this have happened to any descendant of Oceanids or Morgens who were born of humans and lived on land for a long time and then returned to the water again?

      There is one way to check. Lilophea hoped that in case of danger, her fiery ring would strike the hungry shark with lightning as well. A pair of sharks were just swimming nearby, but were in no hurry to attack. Probably the smell of Lilophea did not excite their appetite. But as she beckoned one of the sharks toward her, she willingly swam up, almost joyfully opening her mouth, which was full of sharp teeth. Lilophea touched one of its teeth deliberately to hurt her. From the shallow wound came not blood, but a bluish, watery liquid. Its taste almost made the shark vomit. The ravenous fish shrieked like a battered one and swam away hastily.

      Apparently, the taste of oceanids is destructive to sharks. If you eat an oceanid maiden, you will be poisoned.

      Lilophea would have liked to question her so-called sisters about many things, but it was frightening to meet them again. She would have to look at them while they talked and try to keep her cool. It was better never to see them again. Even thinking of their ugliness was unpleasant.

      As luck would have it, another unpleasant object of observation came into view. A skeleton strapped to the anchor of a shipwreck was staring at her with vacant eyes. The same amulet as the entire Sultanite’s dynasty had on its bony neck dangled limply. How ridiculous that thing looked on him! He was certainly not of Ornella’s family. So why should he wear it?

      Lilophea tore the amulet from the skeleton, and the restraints immediately burst. The dead man sprang to life, and the bones began to grow a kind of flesh mixed with slime.

      «Thank you, Princess of the Ocean,» he bowed low to her.

      «So you’ve been alive all this time?»

      «It was no more than a dead man in a coffin,» the creature, which resembled either a morgen or a laird, looked closely at itself. «It was like, when the crew found out I was a werewolf, my sailors drowned me themselves. Don’t become a bird yourself because of that thing.»

      His hand was half still of bone and pointed to the amulet.

      «You were a privateer in the service of the King of Sultanite? Why else would you have their amulet?» Lilophea asked, but the revived dead man was no longer listening to her. As soon as he discovered he was free again, all interest in his only companion disappeared.

      «Well, farewell! Rokuela’s waiting for me,» he paddled toward the gap at the top.

      Lilophea wasn’t even sure who he meant. It seemed that all sailors on land had some lover they hurried to on their return from a long voyage. The dead man might have been no exception. Except that his chosen one might have died long ago, or become the wife of another.

      Except that he said a very familiar name. Rokuela was the name of a sea fortune teller. So he was in a hurry to see the sorceress for what? Is it for some kind of ritual for complete resurrection? Or was he the man she had loved when she was young and who had died at sea?»

      She’ll have to watch her lodge in the observer mirror later. It wasn’t right to peek unceremoniously into someone else’s private affairs, but Lilophea was curious. Besides, she was still holding the amulet. It was the same as her uncle the King’s. It had more feathers. It seemed to be intertwined with strands of someone else’s hair.

      «Throw it away or burn it.»

      The painfully familiar voice, alternating with a bird’s croak, seemed almost like an obsession at the bottom of the sea.

      Lilophea had never expected to see Seneschal here. The peacock swam in a dignified manner, fluttering the tips of its wings. His paws did not resemble those of a fish. He wasn’t an underwater bird, that’s for sure.

      «You’re here, aren’t you?» It seemed like a dream to Lilophea. She touched his luxurious tail to be sure.

      «I ate a nasty weed that grows on the beach, and gained the ability to breathe underwater for hours,» he boasted. «I am clever. I know how to find such grass. It often grows in the sand. All you have to do is pick it up with your beak. It tastes disgusting. But I did the heroic thing for you. I ate the whole bundle. Now I won’t suffocate.»

      «So you missed me?» She petted his crest happily. «Wouldn’t you think so?»

      «Well, I haven’t got a heart of stone,» said Seneschal proudly. «I am capable of love and longing, just as humans are.»

      «And the watcher’s mirror told me you were happy with Baldwin. I must have agreed. One mermaid says they sometimes lie.»

      «No, they don’t!» Seneschal grunted. «I needed someone to take care of me while you were away. So I tried to make myself useful to everyone I could. But I’ll betray them all when you get back to Aquilanía.»

      She didn’t want to disappoint Seneschal right away and tell him she wasn’t likely to come back.

      «By the way, how did you find me at the bottom of the sea? It’s a big bottom, and I’m not at the palace where I should be.»

      «Well, you know, I’m an unusual bird,» boasted the peacock. «And I sing like a siren, and I speak like a man, and I know all the languages of the animals. And also…»

      «It is a stone in your forehead!» Lilophea guessed. It glowed in a way that made everything clear. «It’s imbued with some kind of magic.»

      «That’s right! You’ve gotten a lot smarter since we parted,» Seneschal flapped his wings, creating fountains of spittle. «It was sad to see you kidnapped by a waterman. I’d say it was the most tragic day of my life when my mistress was taken from me. Now I’ve even begun to understand how grooms feel when a bride is taken away from them right at the altar.»

      «Don’t be so dramatic.»

      «I didn’t mean to be. There’s a silver lining to everything. I used to be your favorite. Since you’ve been gone, all the attention has been on me as the princess’ only friend. I am spoiled!»

      Seneschal breathed underwater, not thinking of the time when the effects of the wonderful herb would wear off.

      «It’s a good thing I’ve managed to get a foothold in Aquilanía. I can’t go back to my former benefactors,» Seneschal admitted.

      «And who are these former benefactors?»

      «They are the White Fairy and the Sea King. At first Ariana was my mistress, and then she lost me to Seal. They played shells (it’s a dice kind of game). I like a chump, watched and gave advice to both of them. Mistress Ariana got mad and purposely lost me to Seal. And he sent me to you with a portion of gifts from the sea. He didn’t need me underwater anyway. I’m not even a water bird, but I’m beautiful. I was a fine gift for a princess.»

      Seneschal fluffed up his tail with importance.

      «So you were sent here from the start to persuade

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