Fins (Transformations: Book 2)

Aria checked her phone after work and frowned.

“Bad news?” Freya asked.

“No news. I was hoping somebody might have called about the necklace, by now.”

“It’s been one day,” Freya pointed out. “It was unlikely we’d find it the first day we put up flyers, isn’t it?”

“I suppose.” She knew Freya was right, but she couldn’t help being disappointed, nonetheless.

They headed out of the room, together and were walking through the empty aquarium when someone called, “Frigg!”

Freya smiled, but quickly forced herself to look annoyed as she turned to Frederick. “Seriously? My name has only two syllables and five letters. It’s not that difficult.”

“Frigg also has five letters,” he pointed out as he smiled.

“You’re not as charming as you seem to think.”

“I’m sure I’m much less charming than you think,” he admitted.

“I’m going to head on out,” Aria said, sensing they may be at it for a few minutes.

“Wait,” he told her, reaching into his pocket. “I, actually, wanted to talk to both of you. I was on the beach the other night when something caught my eye…” He went through one pocket after another until finally, “Ah, here it is.” He pulled out a fin-shaped pendant on a rope. The glow could hardly be seen in the light of the aquarium, but there was no doubt that it was the one they’d been seeking.

Freya grabbed the necklace, scarcely daring to believe it was real. “How long have you had this?”

“Just a few days,” he replied. “I found the stone interesting. I haven’t seen anything like that before. Where did you get it?”

“It actually belongs to a girl I know,” Aria explained as she took the pendant from her friend. “It’s kind of a family heirloom. You wouldn’t believe the amount of stress this thing has caused.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t return it, sooner,” he told them. “I intended to seek out the owner, but I was curious about the stone and thought I might research it a bit, first. I would appreciate it if you could get her to tell you what kind it is.”

“I’ll do my best,” Aria promised.

Freya could only stare at the scientist for a moment before she broke out into a smile. “Oh, Frederick, you beautiful, brilliant man!” She kissed his cheek in her excitement, feeling like the world had been lifted from her shoulders. She grabbed Aria’s hand. “We have to go home and make some plans, now!”

She rushed out of the aquarium and didn’t see him touch his cheek. She didn’t see him standing there, staring at her as she rushed out. She didn’t know he stayed like that for several minutes after she was gone. All Freya could think about was returning the necklace and she hardly gave Frederick Grey a thought past that.

“You alright?” Adam asked when he found his boss, staring at the door.

“I’m…brilliant,” Grey mumbled as he walked away.

Eric came out and the pair watched him head out of the aquarium, as if in a trance.

“What happened to him?” Eric wondered.

Adam shrugged. “It’s impossible to say with him.” He looked at the intern. “Want to get a drink?”

“Not a chance.”

“But it worked out well for you, last time,” Adam pointed out. “You met that flying girl.”

Eric nearly laughed as he resisted the urge to tell Adam the truth about her. “All the same, I’ll pass. We have an early start in the morning, after all.”

“Why do you always have to be so responsible?” Adam complained as they headed out of the aquarium together.

Aria laughed as Freya dragged her to the car and they drove home. “Can you believe Dr. Grey had this?” She was so relieved, she felt she might never stop laughing. “Honestly, I feel like we shouldn’t even be surprised, at this point.”

“It is Frederick Grey, after all,” Freya agreed. “At any rate, this is good news. We have the necklace and we can make a battle plan.”

“I thought we were trying to avoid fighting.”

“Figure of speech,” Freya assured her. “I just meant that we can figure out how best to approach the Glemoran king and queen with our accusations.”

“Right.” Aria looked at the necklace, the glow easier to see in the dark car. “I still can’t believe we really found this.”

“Believe it,” Freya told her. “It’s almost over.”

“For Alizarin, too.”

Freya paused at that. “You know this won’t significantly improve his life. He’s still a red tail, living in the Glemoran palace. He’s never going to be treated well.”

“But we’ll get him away from the twins,” Aria pointed out. “That’s something.” She looked at her friend. “Of course, stopping a war is the best part.”

They talked cheerfully for the rest of the drive, both girls feeling a little giddy after how much distress they’d felt since Aria was accused of stealing the necklace.

“Can I be there when you let Astrid know?” Aria asked when they reached their apartment building.

Freya considered the request before nodding. “I suppose there’s no harm in it, at this point. Besides, you’re one of the injured parties, so you might as well be involved in all our decisions.”

“Do you want to take a shower, first?” Aria asked as they headed up the stairs.

“I want to do this as soon as possible,” Freya replied. “Let’s go to the roof.”

“The roof?”

“That’s where I can call her.”

“Since when do you not get reception in our apartment?”

“You’ll see,” Freya assured her, opening the door to the roof.

“If you say so.” Aria headed out, pushing her wet hair from her face as she watched her friend.

Freya pulled out her pendant and held it to the moonlight. It, soon, began to glow softly. After a few minutes, when nothing else happened for a few minutes, she frowned and dropped her arm.

“Was that supposed to do something?” Aria wondered.

Freya nodded, unhappily. “Surely, she wouldn’t ignore me…”

“Maybe, you should try again,” Aria suggested.

“No need,” a voice said from behind them. “Sorry, I’m late.”

Freya and Aria turned to face Astrid, who was standing on the rooftop. Angela landed right behind her.

“It was my fault,” the siren told them. “She wanted me to come with her, but I’m not as fast as she is.”

“Nobody expects you to be, under the best circumstances,” Astrid assured her before turning back to Freya. “I can’t say I was expecting you to contact me so soon. Do you have news or is this going to be a plea for more time?”

“News,” Freya replied, looking at Aria, who held up Alexander’s pendant.

“That’s the necklace?”

Freya nodded. “With this, we can make sure our accusations are taken seriously.”

“I expect you’ll want Angela to come down to Glemora with you.”

“It would be best,” Freya answered as she looked at the siren. “Will you be okay with that?”

Angela frowned and bit her lip. “I don’t know. I’d like some time to think about it.”

“It will work best if they hear it straight from you,” Freya pointed out.

“I’ll think about it,” Angela promised.

Freya looked like she was about to argue, but Astrid cut her off. “We don’t have to decide anything tonight.”

The oceanidfrowned, but couldn’t argue. “We’ll need to decide soon what we intend to do, though. We need to make sure nothing goes wrong.”

“I understand that,” Astrid replied. “Even so, I don’t want to make things harder on her than they already are.”

“Maybe, you two should discuss this without us,” Aria suggested, realizing they were getting nowhere and might just terrify Angela more. “We can go down and hang out for bit while you figure your parts out.”

“She can’t go down with her wings visible,” Astrid pointed out.

Aria hadn’t had a chance to put her work bag up, so she pulled out her towel and offered it to the siren with a smile. “Want to come hang out with me while these old ladies duke it out?”

Angela looked at Astrid. “Can I?”

Astrid frowned, but nodded. “I don’t see the harm and it might be good for Freya and me to talk about this between ourselves. As nymphs of the air and sea, we are in charge of seeing this matter settled, after all. There’s no reason to make you worry about it.”

Angela smiled and accepted the towel, tucking her wings in and wrapping it around her shoulders to hide them. When she was done, she looked at Aria. “Ready.”

Aria smiled and held the door open for the girl before leading the way down to the apartment, where she was able to unwrap herself as she looked around.

“You live here?” Angela wondered. “Isn’t it a little cramped?”

“To a siren, perhaps,” Aria agreed, knowing there was no point in being offended. “It’s perfectly fine for a human.”

“Does Eric live in a place like this?”

Aria thought about it and frowned. “I don’t actually know. I don’t think I’ve ever been to his place.” It hadn’t occurred to her until that moment that it was the case. It was a small thing, but it seemed strange that he knew where she lived and she couldn’t say the same. “You really like him, don’t you?”

“As well as I’ve liked any boy,” Angela replied. “He has a unique way of looking at things.”

“I suppose he does.”

Angela looked at her. “Can I see the necklace?”

“Sure.” Aria handed it to her.

Angela stared at it with fascination. “Amazing that such a small thing could be so important.”

“Or cause trouble for so many people.”

“Well, we can prevent that, now,” Angela commented. “I guess it’s troubled you, but it doesn’t have to trouble anyone else.”

“A bit late for that.”

“What do you mean?”

Aria hadn’t really been thinking when she made the comment, but it occurred to her that it might not be a good idea to dump her worries on the girl. “Nothing. I’m just tired.”

Angela frowned. “Do you not trust me?”

“I barely know you,” Aria pointed out.

Angela looked down at the necklace. “I trust you.”

Aria stared at her, blankly. “You do?”

Angela nodded. “Eric trusts you and I trust Eric, so I trust you.”

“Not sure that’s a good reason to trust someone.”

“Maybe not,” Angela admitted, “but I’d rather trust you and be proven naive than distrust you and be proven paranoid.”

“Well, that sounds nice, but it’s not really safe, is it?”

Angela looked down at the marks where her feathers had been plucked. “I suppose not.”

Aria sighed and relented. “It’s not really a secret. I just don’t want to add more stress than you already have, you know?”

“I can handle it,” Angela promised.

Aria frowned, but decided there was little point in keeping it from the girl if she truly wished to know. “There’s a boy who’s been dragged into this mess, Alizarin. The twins like to mess with him and he is a servant to the royal family, so he’s been forced to work for the twins until the necklace is returned. That part’s a bit complicated to explain, but they’re bound to have been tormenting him this whole time.” She gestured towards the siren’s arms. “You’ve seen how they are.”

Angela bit her lip. “Will they receive no punishment for treating him badly?”

“It’s unlikely. He’s…lower on the food chain than they are, so they get to do as they please to him.” Aria stared straight ahead, trying to hide how frustrated she was about the situation.

“But they’ll be punished for what they did to me?”

“Of course,” Aria rushed to assure her.

Angela fell silent for a minute, clearly thinking something through. “What is Alizarin like?”

Aria stared at her for a second, caught off guard by the question. “Well, he’s generally the quiet type. He can be a bit intimidating, at first.” She thought about the first time they’d met, but then remembered how he’d acted afterwards when he tried to apologize. “When you talk to him, it’s easy to realize he’s really just a little awkward.” She smiled as she thought about it. “He’s also kind; incredibly kind, given his difficult circumstances.”

“And he’s being bullied by the same people who attacked me?”

“Until we return the necklace.”

“And after that?” Angela looked at her. “Will they leave him alone, then?”

Aria frowned, not wanting to lie, even if it might make her feel better. “It’s unlikely.”

Angela thought for a few more seconds. “They’ll be punished for what they did to me, right? It was significant enough to warrant a severe punishment, wasn’t it?”

“One can hope,” Aria said. “They did almost start a war, after all. They still might if this isn’t dealt with, properly.”

“And they might not be able to hurt anyone else if they are punished.”

“I suppose that’s true and we’ll make sure they don’t get away with what they did. Don’t worry.”

Angela nodded, silently.

Freya and Astrid walked in, then. Freya didn’t look particularly happy, but, after a look from Astrid, she told Angela, “We discussed it and we don’t want you to do something that makes you uncomfortable. You’ve had a trauma, recently, and I know I need to be more sensitive, even if we are trying to prevent a war. We’ll respect whatever you decide.”

“I’ll go to Glemora,” Angela announced. “It’s the right thing to do.” She looked at Aria. “I don’t want them to hurt anyone else.”

Freya didn’t even try to hide her relief. “I respect that decision.”

“I could come with you,” Eric suggested to Angela as the group stood on the beach, the day of the next full moon, preparing for their departure into the sea. “I’m sure it would be something worth seeing.”

“And I would worry about you the whole time,” she pointed out. “I can’t be focusing on you when I’m trying to keep my nerve up for my testimony.”

“But I’ll worry about you, otherwise.”

She smiled and kissed him. “I will return to you as soon as I can.”

“I will wait here until you get back,” he promised. “You’d better come back soon.”

“Fly with me when I return?”

“Of course.”

Freya cleared her throat. “If you’re quite finished…”

Angela turned to Astrid. “Are you sure you can’t some with me?”

“An aurai in the sea is too risky,” she explained. “I’ll keep an eye on things from here.”

Angela nodded and looked at Freya, who stood beside Aria. “I’m ready when you are.” Freya gestured towards the beach, having already given her the ability to transform. Angela gave Eric one more nervous smile before she sat down and closed her eyes. A few minutes later, she had a pale blue tail with white swirls. She slipped out of her dress and touched her scales, gingerly. “Incredible.”

Aria sat beside her and willed her own legs into a tail. She pulled her dress off and slipped the necklace on, not wanting to lose it as she swam.

“That’s even more startling than the wings,” Eric commented.

Aria smiled at him. “You’ll get used to it.”

“I doubt that.”

“You’re still going to fly with us, right?” Angela asked her. She had been visiting Aria regularly as they worked through what they were going to say to the Glemoran royals. Eventually, she had managed to convince Aria to agree to fly with them.

“After this is over,” she promised. “Let’s focus on what we need to do in the ocean, for now. As you said: it’s no good to let ourselves be preoccupied.”

“Of course.”

“Shall we?” Freya said as the waves splashed over her feet.

Aria nodded and pulled herself into the water, turning to look back at Angela, expectantly.

“I’ll be back soon,” Angela promised Eric before following her into the sea.

They swam deeper and deeper with Freya in the lead. Kai and Echo hadn’t come, since it didn’t seem wise to bring Valadorans into Glemora when they were trying to make their case without significant issues.

As they reached the undersea kingdom, Angela stopped and Aria took her hand to comfort her. “It’s going to be alright.”

Angela nodded, steeling herself. “Let’s go.”

They made it through the city easily enough. Some merfolk stared, but nobody approached them, even as they reached the palace and swam inside. Freya had gone to see the king and queen a few days prior to inform them of their arrival. She hadn’t given them all the details, but had stressed the importance of their situation, while insuring them that the necklace would be returned during the meeting. That was sure to bring the twins there, which was ideal for her group.

A guard led them to the throne room, where the twins were waiting, along with Sapphira and her parents, who were seated on their thrones. Aria couldn’t help but stare at them. They were different from Kai’s parents in ways she couldn’t describe. The king’s hair was cut short, drawing all the attention to his face which didn’t look capable of smiling. His eyes were icy blue and seemed to look straight through her. The queen was stunning with golden hair, pinned back, so it stayed still, despite the movement of the water. She had the slightest smile, but there was no humor in it. Their tails were both blue, although his was darker.

“King Proteo and Queen Eldoris,” the guard announced, “I present the nereid, Freya and her companions.”

The king nodded his acknowledgement and looked at the trio, speaking in a voice as cold as his gaze, “Welcome to Glemora. I understand you have a case to present.” He leaned forward, slightly. “Shall we begin?”