Just for Fins by Tera Lynn Childs

breaking the rules, knowing that I would still do it if it was. “Don’t get too close, don’t interfere unless he is in danger, but make sure he is safe.”
    The two swimmers glance at each other and then back at me.
    â€œWe will, Princess,” Phyllos says.
    Triakis adds, “We will protect him with our lives.”
    I hope it doesn’t come to that, but I am relieved to know he will be protected. He won’t like it if he finds out I put bodyguards on his tail, but if everything goes smoothly, he will never know.
    â€œThank you.”
    The pair swims over to the last pylon of the pier and take up a position. They’ll be able to see Quince enter the water and then follow after him. He will be kept safe. I can keep my promise to him and get on with my royal business.
    â€œNow,” I say, turning to Peri and the remaining six guards, “let’s get moving. I want to be in Trigonum before sunset.”
    The guards surround me as they did last time, only with Peri in the center with me, and we head out toward Thalassinia’s northern neighbor. Hopefully, both Quince’s first test and my first royal visit will be equally successful.

Chapter 10
    T he royal kingdom of Trigonum is Thalassinia’s nearest neighbor to the north, covering an area of the Atlantic bounded by the coast of the United States in the west, from Georgia to New York, and to Bermuda in the east. Along the North American coast, the kingdom is colorful and full of underwater life. In the waters far from the shore, the seas are dark, barren, and prone to storms and whirlpools. The eastern edge of Trigonum is rumored to be cursed, with a reputation for objects—human and mer alike—disappearing into what the human world knows as the Bermuda Triangle.
    In the mer world we call it the Trigonum Vortex.
    Thankfully, the palace is in the western part of the kingdom, off the coast of North Carolina. As we swim north, the waters get chillier. My mer powers kick in and automatically warm the water around me, but I can still feel the cold. I can’t imagine what the trip to Glacialis will feel like.
    â€œI scoured the palace records all week,” Peri says. “I made a list of important facts about King Bostrych and Trigonum so I can give you an official briefing.” Peri doesn’t look up from her stack of kelpapers. I smile, glad to see her so excited about this job. There isn’t a merperson in all the seven seas I’d rather have at my side.
    â€œGood idea,” I reply. “The more I know, the better.”
    She nods absently, flipping through her papers. “I’ll stick to the facts most relevant to our visit.”
    She finds the paper she’s looking for and skims over it.
    â€œIt’s worth noting,” she says, “that beach erosion and potential oil and gas drilling operations are the primary threats to the Trigonum ecosystem.”
    â€œBeach erosion,” I repeat, “and drilling operations.”
    â€œHuman tourism is also a major concern in this kingdom,” she continues. “As are commercial fishing and water pollution.”
    I try to keep a mental tally, but it seems like the list of problems is very long. And this is just one of ten kingdoms. I have a feeling my surveys are going to be quite full.
    â€œBut maybe the most important, though tragic, fact,” she says, looking up from her notes, “is the death of the king’s son last fall.”
    â€œOh no,” I cry. “What happened?”
    â€œPrince Cirren was a scientist,” she explains. “He was leading a research expedition to the Trigonum Vortex when a flash whirlpool appeared and wiped out the entire expedition.”
    â€œThat’s terrible.” I can’t imagine the impact of such a tragedy on the king. He must have been devastated. “Are those kinds of incidents common in Trigonum?”
    â€œThey aren’t unheard of,” Peri