Hallie doesn’t know about the notes, though. In fact, it was only a month ago that she let me glimpse Giselle and Ian through the slot on the door. She was convinced I was “dangerous” and had plotted with Elva to kill our brother. I was glad for the Merlings’ safety that their mother didn’t know about our clandestine notes. She didn’t want her babies to be anything less than perfect.
Everyone had always loved pretty little Hallie. No one had cornered her as a child and made her watch while they tortured little animals. No one had hit her when they were drunk. They never had to. Hallie always ensured I was there to take the brunt of the brutality. She had always put me in the path of danger. I just didn’t recognize her orchestrations until it was too late.
Two years later, I have reached a clear conclusion: Hallie is worse than prison. At least in prison, I could’ve made friends. Instead, I am given three meals a day, and no one speaks to me for more than ten minutes at a time.
My sentence is generous for the Northern Court. I probably should’ve been killed immediately. I’ve had a lot of time to think about why I’m still alive. Perhaps Daddy has just a bit of a soft spot for me, his embarrassment of a daughter.
My mind wanders everywhere and nowhere at once. I’m lying on my bed, counting the glittery flecks of pearl embedded in the ceiling, when a soft knock sounds on my door.
I pause, straining my ears to see if I had imagined it.
It isn’t mealtime… which usually means it’s time for a lecture from my Devastatingly Perfect Sister.
The knock sounds again, accompanied by, “Helena?”
I bolt up and swim to the door, my tail swishing from side to side. I look down at the doorknob and just barely glimpse my naked breasts.
Wait, I think.Shirt.
I pull a loose, short-sleeve shirt over my head and open the door.
Hallie’s annoyingly large eyes meet mine. She’s pretty—prettier than me, many say—evil, and yet still manages to be absolutely, annoyingly elegant.
“What do you want, Princess?” I snap.
Something glimmers behind her eyes, and I smile. I want her to get mad, to show me the kind of person she really is. These lectures are much more fun when I get to try to smack her. She’s a better fighter than I am, though. Daddy’s little girl in every single way.
“Dad’s here for you,” she says.
I frown because she doesn’t take my bait.
“What the hell does that son of a bitch want?” I snarl, attempting to accelerate the situation.
The door opens so fast, slamming against the wall. A bang echoes through the room as I’m thrown back into the wall. Hallie’s eyes are glowing green, just like the king’s. I smile at her even as the back of my head aches like hell. Pain is good, though. Pain reminds me that I’m alive. It breaks up the monotony of the days.
Bingo. Now the show begins.
She swims over, grabs my neck, and pins me to the wall. “Behave, Helena. If you want to keep living in my hospitality, if you want to see your niece and nephew, then you will be nice. Actreallysorry, got it?” Hallie’s teeth make a clicking sound as she clenches them, her peach-colored hair floating around her.
“Got it, little sister,” I choke out, still grinning.
I follow her down the stairs and find the Oh So Glorious Ice Mer King at the entrance.
I feign shock, “Daddy? Is that you? After all this time!” I put a hand to my forehead and somersault backward.
“Helena,” he commands, “you will stop that this instant.”
His voice is enough of a warning that I return to a normal swimming position. The back of my head is still throbbing from Hallie’s outburst—a reminder of the life pulsing through me.
My father hasn’t changed at all. He watches me through wary, dangerous eyes. “We’re leaving. Your house arrest is over.”
I stiffen like petrified wood. “Wait, really?”
He doesn’t repeat himself, just turns around and swims out of the house. The water is swirling in his wake. Hallie is clinging to James, looking like the ever-needy damsel in distress. Of course, James can’t see what a monster she is. I snort at my joke.
“Behave, Helena,” James says, straightening his pitiful crown. “You’re upsetting my wife.”
Ireallywant to tell him what he can do with that second-rate crown, but two of Daddy’s personal guards flank me on either side and grab my arms.