World of Aluvia 2 by Amy Bearce

seawees, who swam alongside her with welcoming grins. Some of the adults even glared at her like Elder Seamus had.
    A few minutes later, Phoebe slumped wearily in a shadowy cave empty except for a few small boulders dotting the sandy floor. She was too tired to even appreciate the iridescent seashells lining the roof. Had she really felt safe with Tristan and Mina just a short while ago? When she imagined swimming to the rescue of the merfolk and warning them of a dangerous threat, a pack of angry, disbelieving merfolk hadn’t been in her plans. It made her doubly glad she’d never confessed her true feelings for Tristan. He’d never be permitted to be bondmates with a human, even if he wanted to. That much was painfully clear.
    She was shocked at the strife among the merfolk. It looked like they were at war, but against what? Not warring against humans. They were angry at humans, yes, but clearly not planning on fighting back. But something else was wrong. Whatever it was could make things even worse for Tristan.
    Even without any added problems, he was in serious trouble. At least neither he nor Phoebe had mentioned that Mina had been a part of Phoebe’s journey to the village. They’d severely underestimated how badly the merfolk would take Phoebe’s arrival. None of the elders understood that what she had to say was more important than breaking the rules about humans in the village.
    With Tristan gone, Mina sat with her instead, the mermaid’s skin producing only the faintest shimmer. The silence of the cave was a relief after the commotion below. Phoebe asked Mina, “What’s happening? What does all of this mean?”
    The maid crossed her arms and simply said, “You should rest while you can. You’re only human, and it’s been a long day for you.”
    That was a very unsatisfactory answer. Phoebe wanted to argue, but she was so exhausted that she actually drifted off to sleep sitting up, lulled by the soft currents. When she jerked awake―who knew how long it had been?―she found nothing had changed. They were still waiting for Tristan to return.
    “Okay. I’ve rested. Now please tell me what’s going on,” Phoebe begged. “Your village looks, well, a little rundown. And everyone looks almost ill. It worries me.”
    Mina sighed. Her next words were reluctant, barely audible. “Things have been difficult the last few years.”
    Phoebe gaped at her. “What? What does ‘difficult’ mean?”
    “As magic has increased, old magical sea creatures, unseen for years, have been reappearing out of the midnight and twilight realms. Dangerous creatures. We thought they were just myths, but they must have come out of some type of magical hibernation.”
    “Well, that makes Liam’s story even more believable!”
    “The elders are slow to accept change, Phoebe, even when the facts are undeniable. It’s one thing to fight off some sea dragons. It took the elders
years
to finally accept those were real. But it’s quite another to discuss our most ancient of enemies, especially when our own powers have remained low as they ever have. The old ones had powers that let them build magical barriers around their city and fight off large predators when foraging. They could live without fear. Now we have neither the magic nor the skill. We don’t know why. It’s become rather… dangerous for us to gather our food and trade goods, so we’ve been doing with less, especially as humans keep fishing in our waters.”
    “Dangerous! That’s an understatement! You’ve never said anything about hard times!”
    “We weren’t supposed to.” The sentence was simple, but it confused Phoebe. Mina fidgeted with a bracelet, avoiding Phoebe’s gaze.
    Realization dawned. “So you were keeping things from me?” Hurt bloomed in Phoebe’s chest. “Lying to me?”
    She had told Mina and Tristan more than anyone about the traumatic time with Bentwood’s people. She had shared her heart with her two friends. Her bottom lip