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.He accepted a handful of the tasty morsels from a smiling mer maid as she passed, cracking the shells in his powerful hand and sucking out the soft insides.He handed a few mussels to Finwag and Redtail, who used their daggers to pry open the shells.*The seamage signed that she had no control over what ships the landwalkers sent,* Redtail signed as he gulped down a mussel.*She signed that she would suggest they send an emissary to us.**A landwalker emissary here?* Finwag signed, his own color shifting with worry as he gazed up through the lattice of protective coral to the glittering surface.*How would they do that? They don’t know where our home is.**The seamage would show them where our home is,* Redtail signed, glancing up as well, *and they would probably send a warship and throw their iron hooks right down onto us.**They would not,* Shellbreaker signed, swallowing his last mussel and fluttering his fins in frustration.*They know the mer would drag their ship to the bottom of the nearest trench.**Oh, the seamage knows we would, but the landwalker empire does not think we are worthy of their attention, let alone their respect!**Then the seamage must tell them that the mer will not tolerate warships in our territory, and that, if they send one, we will sink it!* Finwag snapped his tail, then sculled backward to maintain his position.*That was another thing; when Eelback signed that the landwalkers were risking war with the mer if they sent warships, she signed that she would not let us make war on the landwalkers.**She signed that?* Shellbreaker asked, his eyes wide with surprise.*She has no say whether we make war or not! She is not The Voice! Trident Holder knows this! Did he sign nothing?**No, he did not,* he signed.*The seamage says she has done much for the mer, but I see that she has done more for herself, befriending the landwalker emperor and bringing her firemage friend to her island.She strengthens her position, building ships, learning our magic, taking our friendship and giving back nothing.*Another school returned from a successful hunt, four large tuna trailing from their harpoon lines.They passed the entry grotto, signing greetings to the two sentries and Redtail, the scent of blood trailing in their wake.As they swam past, Redtail nodded to the bleeding carcasses and signed, *If Broadtail does not see that she betrays us, and allows the seamage to bond with his son, we may all soon be led around by her tether, unable to even fight for ourselves because she does not want us to go to war!*The two sentries floated mute, fins twitching in agitation, tridents held tightly in their hands.*Thank you for sharing the mussels, Shellbreaker,* Redtail signed, swimming another tight circle.*Have a care who sees you sign of this.If the seamage thinks she can stop the mer from going to war, even if The Voice so indicates, I do not want to know what she will do to those who oppose her alliances with the landwalker emperor.**We will, Redtail,” Finwag signed.The two sentries waved their goodbyes and returned to their positions at the grotto’s entrance into their city.Redtail waved and swam away, knowing that the two would be unable to resist signing the story to every group of gatherers to pass their gate.In fact, he was counting on it.≈“Bid, thirty-five,” Sam said, keeping a smile from her lips as she passed a card to her partner, Lord Garrett.She sipped her iced drink, a piney-tasting concoction laced with lime and sugar.Their opponents, a couple of lordlings with more taste in clothes than common sense, glared at her.“Pass, no bid,” said the foppish dandy on her left, passing a card to his partner and holding his hand close to his embroidered waistcoat.“Bid, forty,” Lord Garrett said, passing a single card to her and lifting his own iced drink in toast.Sam picked it up and tucked it into place in her hand; it was the one card she needed to complete a full knight family.“I swear they are passing signs to each other, Fenwick!” the other lordling said with a pout, passing a card and throwing his hand down on the table.“Pass, no bid.”“Oh, come now, Lord Baldwin,” she said, matching his pout and adding her own indignant lilt.“Surely you’re not accusing us of cheating! Why, such an affront among true gentlemen would require that Lord Garrett call you out [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]