As soon as the curtain closes behind us, I glare at my father. Now that he’s pulled this ridiculous stunt, it’s not difficult to think of him as a dad. “Why did you do that?”“Tell you about the trials in front of everyone?”“WhatHe glances at the servants in the room and waves them out before turning to me. “I thought you’d be excited. You aren’t?”I stare at him, trying to find the words. “You thought I’d be excited?”“We were discussing the Mrs Walker link before I brought your mother back from land. It sounded like you were on board. Has that changed?”My heart pounds like a jackhammer. “About going through a set of trials?”“This is good news.”“How?”He puts a hand on my shoulder and looks into my eyes. “You can come into Sirena’s full powers.”I take a deep breath. “How much do you know about how she got those?”“Like I said, I’ve gathered every book I could find on the topic—and it wasn’t easy. Some of them were from opposing kingdoms in secret libraries and even in vaults.”

I take a few deep breaths before looking over the titles again. Expand the breadth of my search. Double-check that I’m at the right row. Look up and down adjoining aisles.Nothing. The book isn’t here.Why in Hades is it gone? My heart pounds like a jackhammer, making it even harder to think. I check the time. I’m down to ten minutes before the spell wears off and I have to be out of here. Heir of the throne or not, I’m not a fourth-year. I can’t be seen here.I race up and down each aisle, scanning the books. Look at the tables to see if anyone brought it out and left it.Still nothing. It’s nowhere.Am I imagining having found it in the first place? No, that’s not possible. Isaac was here with me, and he was insistent that I wouldn’t have to kill my dad. He saw the book too. It’s not something I made up.I glance at the clock. Three minutes. And that’s assuming the spell will last exactly one hour. It could wear off two minutes early or five minutes late. I have no idea, and Mila’s

Ten minutes later, we’re entering the dining hall.Isaac glances up from his seat and melts me with his eyes. I turn to Erica. “Mind if I sit with Isaac this time?”“Not at all. Go get him, tiger fish.” She nudges me toward him and swims away.Before I reach him, he leaps up and wraps his arms around me, squeezing tightly. I take in the warmth of his embrace and his rugged scent. If only I could stay here for all time and not have to deal with anything else. Unfortunately, he pulls away all too soon. But he does hold out a chair for me.I take the seat and greet the rest of the band. Mila’s mother throws me a curious look, clearly wanting to know how the timing spell worked with the cloaking one. I give him a nod. My mission may have been less than successful, but the spells did what they were supposed to.Isaac sits and offers me a donut. I take it, eager for the sugar fix after everything I’ve been through, and scarf it down while everyone else discusses an upcoming concert.“You go

“My” —I struggle to say the word out loud— “father got me out of it. But that means I’m going to spar the king for practice. Did you know he was reigning champion of the competition?”“You just called him your father.”“I know. I’m trying to get used to the reality, even though my dad will always be my dad.”“So, King Tobi is Father and Martine is Dad?”“That’s where I’m at. They’re both my dads. Just in different ways.”“At least you have a chance to have a good one.”We say goodbye to the band and head for the parking lot.Isaac leans against his bike. “Now that we’re alone, fill me in. I’m dying of curiosity.”I sigh dramatically and tell him all about my failed mission in the fourth-year library. He laughs at the part about Earwyn hearing me but her friends thinking she was crazy. “Now I want to see if I can find those other books. If the public library doesn’t have the ones I found before, I’ll know something is up.”“But why would someone go to all that trouble?”“Do you know ho

“I’ll speak to the school about that.”“Well, I didn’t actually go there. I thought I was fine. You know me, stubborn as a mule.” I laugh nervously. “But he made sure I was okay before leaving me. And that’s not all. When people were rioting against my dad—I mean, your brother—he pulled me away when I wanted to fight them. He brought me to his room and—”“He took you to his room?”“Wait! It’s not like that. To study. That’s all. We—”“I’ve heard more than enough.” He spins around.“Dad!” I lunge for him, but Mom stops me.“Let them talk.”“Can you imagine how that’s going to go? A normal dad-boyfriend talk is bad enough, but he’s the king!”Mom plays with my hair. “He’s a kind merman, sweetheart. And if anyone knows what it’s like to have love ripped away, it’s him. Your dad is the last person to try and push you two apart.”She does have a point. “Are you sure?”Mom gives me a knowing look and nods. “I’m not saying he won’t warn Isaac not to break your heart, but he won’t be irration