Meeting Aggie

43.

I tripped over a branch and fell into Apollo. Thankfully, he caught me because I wasn't paying any attention to where we were going.

I thanked him as I looked over at Amphid, frustrated. "For the love of Styx, where are we going?"

The pixie peeked over at us but paid more attention to the destination. "I can't reveal it to you both, as it's something neither of you will be fond of. Given that you haven't yet mastered light magic, it has become crucial to prioritize shadow magic. As your familiar, it's my responsibility to ensure your training in this area."

Apollo glanced at me then stopped walking. He raised his hand and froze her. She remained suspended in the air as he put his hand down.

"Aggie, my love. I know you're in need of a familiar, but how do we know she's not trying to get us killed?"

With an exasperated roll of my eyes, I approached her and took in her delicate scent. The audacity of a diminutive pixie believing she had the power to endanger two beings a hundred times her size was almost laughable.

Isidore stirred. "I don't detect anything in her either. I think she means well. Pixies are good-natured creatures."

Apollo scoffed. "Fine! If this blows up, I'll save you. Then you'll owe me the rest of your life."

"Speaking of living, I wonder what my life expectancy would be."

"We can talk about that after you're crowned." Apollo smiled at me.

I waved at him to unfreeze Amphid. Even though I didn't feel hostility toward her, I'd be damned if this were some extreme form of magic used to trick us.

We continued following her. I wasn't sure where we were, but it felt cold. The light humidity in the air said we were near water. As we trudged along for what seemed like an eternity, Amphid guided us until we reached a cliff. She turned to face us, her gaze filled with determination.

"We've come to the point where swimming is our only option. Our destination lies beneath the depths," she declared, motioning toward the vast expanse of the ocean before us.

Apollo and I exchanged glances, our eyes meeting briefly before shifting our attention back to Amphid.

"Where are you taking us?" I sighed, scrunching my nose.

"To the only person who can teach you shadow magic—Erebus."

Apollo let out a dismissive snort, clearly displaying his skepticism. I turned to him, my curiosity piqued.

"Apollo, do you know who Erebus is?" I inquired, hoping for some insight.

Apollo tilted his head. "Nyx's brother and lover."

My mouth curled in disgust. "I keep forgetting you guys screw each other. I'm still disturbed by it."

"All we had was each other. We had to procreate somehow."

"Lies, but anyway, isn't Erebus supposed to be in the Underworld? Why would he be underwater?"

Amphid floated closer to us. "He's not tied to the Underworld. Or anywhere, for that matter. He's the darkness, but his physical form is in that underwater cave."

"Are there any mermaids in this water?" I swallowed.

"Of course, there are! That's their home."

I glared at Apollo, who raised his hands innocently. "I didn't burn any bridges here, if that's what you're wondering."

I raised my eyebrow but dropped it. "What do we do now, Amphid?"

"Follow me."

The pixie floated over the edge and dropped into the water. She came up and waved at us with her little hand, her blonde curls pasted to her head showing her wee ears. She was even cute soaking wet.

I looked at Apollo. "Can you swim?"

"Babe, of course. I was captain of the swim team at school."

He grabbed my hand before I could react and ran toward the edge, dragging me with him as he jumped into the water.

T cold slammed into me, squeezing my lungs. I kicked for the surface and gasped for air, forgetting for a moment I could breathe underwater, a fact Poppy helpfully reminded me about.

I snatched my hand from Apollo's and flipped my middle finger at him. He grinned at me, the jerk.

Amphid used telepathy to speak to us. "We will be communicating like this until the cave. Follow me."

Remiel said, "She's so badass, taking charge like that. Love me a small queen."

Apollo leaned toward Amphid, offering his suggestion with a serious tone. "It's probably best to use illusion magic to hide ourselves. We don't want to stir up anything with the mermaids."

Amphid nodded. "Agreed."

Gracefully diving toward the ocean floor, she retrieved two pieces of seaweed and handed one to each of us, her actions a seamless display of underwater dexterity.

"The cave isn't too far off," she said. "You guys will turn into mermaids for exactly twenty minutes. If you don't get distracted or talk to the mermaids, it will be just enough. There are millions of merfolk and thousands of pods. You'll blend in fine."

Apollo, Amphid, and I ate the seaweed at the same time. It tasted like iron and death. After a minute, my legs grew scales, which faded into gold. Apollo's tail was gold too. Amphid's eyes widened. Her tail matched her blue eyes.

"Sugar lumps! Why are your tails gold?" Amphid cried.

I struggled to spin in a circle but smiled at her. "You tell us. Is that a bad thing?"

"You guys would've been less noticeable as yourselves than how you are now. Every tail color represents your status in the kingdom. All colors for merfolk except silver and gold. Nobles are silver, and the royals are gold." She facepalmed.

Apollo shrugged. "I don't know. Doesn't seem like that's so bad to me. Didn't you say there are millions of mermaids?"

Amphid shook her head. "There are only four royal kingdoms for each section of the ocean. It's not hard to recognize the four kings and their families."

I tried to use magic to change the color of my tail, but it hurt to do so.

Remiel spoke lightly. "Can't do that. Even though it's temporary, your tail is now part of your body. It's also your source of magic, and the color is your magic capability. Only nobles and royals can use powers other than water magic because it—"

I finished for her. "Was bestowed by the gods. Yes. I know."

Poppy softly sighed. "Well, there are two ways out of this pickle, because your tails will expire in about fifteen minutes, and you'll get there a lot faster with them. Try to use light magic or turn yourself invisible."

Isidore disagreed. "Smart but no. My magic hasn't fully recharged."

"Light magic it is." I muttered.

I closed my eyes and focused on the sun's rays shining in the ocean, opening the tap to its magic only enough for a tiny trickle.

Through careful manipulation, I altered the appearance of both mine and Apollo's tails, refracting the wavelengths of golden light and toning down the brilliance of our metallic scales, adorning them with a captivating shade of blue.

Amphid nodded in contentment. "Good job! Now follow me, guys."