Ice Crypt (Mermaids of Eriana Kwai Book 2) by Tiana Warner Read Free Book Online

ponytail and slid it confidently inside the enormous lock. It reminded me unpleasantly of the time I had to do the same thing while locked inside the brig on the Massacre. Traitor , my crew had called me.
    The task was easier here, surrounded by still woods instead of a mermaid-infested ship crashing through angry seas.
    As I wiggled the pin around, pushing the buttons inside, I kept my ears strained for weird noises.
    At last, the lock clicked open. I removed it hastily.
    Crossbows lined the walls, hanging on pegs. A pile of extras littered the bottom, along with quivers and bolts.
    “Grab them from the floor,” whispered Annith, “so they don’t notice any missing.”
    I reached down just as a noise split the air that made my blood run cold.
    Tanuu.
    I whirled around to see the whites of Annith’s eyes. What had he seen? I’d honestly not expected Tanuu to be useful. Who could be creeping around the training base at this time of night?
    We gaped at each other.
    Should we abandon the crossbows and run? Put the lock back on? Hide inside the shed and wait it out?
    Annith seized my wrist and pulled. “Come on!”
    I grabbed the first thing I touched and sprinted after her.
    We made it not two steps before I heard a click, an electric buzz, and Annith’s black camouflage became useless as she was bathed in the orange glow of a floodlight.
    We stopped dead in our tracks.
    A girl stepped into the clearing, arms crossed, lips curled in an expression of savage triumph.
    A crossbow was slung across her chest. I considered running—but then a man stepped out from the darkness behind her, face purple with anger. He put a hand on his daughter’s bony shoulder.
    “My goodness, ladies,” said Dani in her usual purr. “This doesn’t look good at all.”
     

CHAPTER FOUR
The South Pacific Army

    By the time Katus and Ladon slowed down, we must have been halfway to the equator. Every piece of me ached from being stuck without my arms for so long.
    A mountain range sprawled ahead, crackling with plants, fish, and shrimp. The movement tickled my skin, and beyond it, something larger.
    While I couldn’t see through the blue, every angle and divot materialised as a tiny swirl in the current. At first, I thought this might be another city under construction, Adaro’s kingdom expanding towards the South Pacific. But the water didn’t have that same dirty scent. Coral breathed on every surface, mature and healthy. Stone buildings grew into the mountain range like they’d been there for centuries. They towered high above the reef. The architecture was curved, ancient, unlike the blocky structures of Utopia.
    “The Moonless City,” I whispered.
    In school, we learned that Adaro had made a peace pact with Queen Evagore when he crossed the Ice Channel into the Pacific. Adaro stayed north and built Utopia there, while Evagore remained in the Moonless City.
    “Is the military base here?”
    Katus and Ladon ignored me.
    “Hello?” I said. “Are we there?”
    “Yes,” said Katus, not looking at me.
    They both oozed exhaustion. I felt a smug satisfaction at the thought that the trip had been as gruelling for them as it had been for me.
    As we drifted closer, I doubted the queen would suddenly be all right with Adaro’s army storming through her city. It didn’t sound like part of a peace pact.
    Anemones swayed below. Small fish darted inside, brightly coloured in ways I’d never seen. In other circumstances, I might have plunged to the bottom for a closer look.
    To my right, a turtle flapped along, the only creature indifferent to the three predators passing through. I slowed, feeling her presence.
    She projected tranquility. I’d never felt it at such a deep level. I wanted to swim closer, but the rope tugged sharply.
    A ridge materialised ahead. It rose from floor to surface, a natural wall of coral and rock. The current told me the other side was a grotto, like a circle carved by a meteor a million years ago. Activity