Chapter Forty-One

My neck hurt when I woke up. I blinked wearily, lifting my head. My neck was sore from my head being down and ached when I moved my head. I looked around, seeing that I was by a wall inside a ship. Jason was a few feet away from me with his hands bound behind him. He sat on his knees, looking around. Our eyes met and I tried to move my arms. My hands were also cuffed behind me as I sat on my knees.

"Ah! Princess. You're finally awake!" Arlo wore a smug expression. "How was your nap?"

"How can I have such a horrible brother?" I rolled my eyes. "You know I can get out of these so why bother putting me in them? Also, where is my trident?"

"No one besides you can touch it so when you dropped it, we simply left it." He shrugged. I sensed anger rising inside me. I pictured the trident in my mind as I glared up at him. "Don't try to get out. You'll be killed. Everyone is on my side."

"Prince Arlo, we have arrived at the Brine Kingdom." Someone called.

"Good." Arlo left the ship. "Brine Kingdom! March with me on the land dwellers!" There was silence for a moment.

"Then you will be eliminated from the seven kingdoms. Fire at will!" I could hear water swishing then explosions.

"Stop!" I yelled. No one listened, just kept firing. I clenched my bound hands into fists causing the ship we were in to rumble. I looked to Jason as the metal wall behind him made a scaping sound then a thump. I could see the golden tip of the trident through the metal wall, snapping the chain that held Jason. He jumped up and punched the Atlantean as the controls. My binds grew colder and colder until I pulled and broke them. I got to my feet and pulled the trident through the wall fully. The ship was already full of water so the hole didn't pour anymore in. I went to the large window and used the trident to smash it. The glass shattered and the pieces floated around. Exiting, I slammed into Arlo. "Stop this!"

"Never." He swung at me, but I dodged.

"Don't make me beat you again." I kicked him in the stomach.

"Incoming!" We both turned to look at a giant ball of red hot rock flying towards us. I swam away, letting it hit the ship I had been in. I turned to the Brine Kingdom to see that it was all red with steam rising from it. An underwater volcano sat behind it and there were large crab like creatures that catapulted the hot rock that it produced. Someone slammed into me, hauling me to the ground. When I collided with the hot surface, my skin sizzled. I cried out in pain then turned to the person. Arlo, of course. I kicked him, swirling the water around him. Turning to the battleships, I raised my hands. They all moved up in the water. Swiftly, I pushed my hands together. Each ship smashed into the one next to it, a few exploding. The sharks and dinosaur looking creatures shook off their riders, launching at the crafts that still worked.

"Princess!" A gruff voice shouted behind me. When I rotated in the water, I saw a large, hairy, crab with a small head. "It's good to finally meet you and thank you for choosing our side!" I went over to him as rock was thrown above us.

"I just want everyone to live in unison. I don't agree with my brother and if this is the only way to stop him then so be it." I replied.

"We are with you all the way." His beady eyes blinked.

"Blake!" Jason swam to me. "How are we going to stop this? The wreckage will end up on beaches. The land will know about Atlantis if this doesn't stop."

"They need to know." I stated. "And if they retaliate, we will deal with it." I saw Arlo break free from his swirling cage and pounce at me.

"You are in my homecourt, land born." He growled as Jason intercepted him.

"Then let's go to mine." I exhaled deeply with my lips pursed. The water around me froze quickly, bending and forming a large platform under Jason, Arlo, and I. As we floated upward quickly, Arlo and Jason fell flat against the ice. I took a stance that allowed me to stand without falling. We reached the surface in less than a minute. Arlo gasped so I created an orb of water around his head so that he could breathe. "I want it to be a fair fight." He and Jason stood.

"Why do you dislike me so much?" I circled him. I didn't slip on the ice and it wasn't too cold under my bare feet. "Why did you try to kill me and Jason?"

"You are the reason our mother is dead." He got into a fighting stance.

"I didn't ask to be born. I didn't tell our father to send her to the trench. It is not my fault that she went there." I dodged him as he lunged. "But she isn't dead."

"You lie!"

"If I am lying, how was I told about the trident? Everyone else believed it was a myth." I hit him with the trident as he jumped at me. "She is alive. She returned with me." Arlo punched me in the side and Jason joined in. The two of them fought and I went to the edge of the ice.

"Lilah!" A brown head popped out of the water when I called. "Find my mother. Bring her here." She nodded and left. A hand grabbed the back of my shirt, yanking me backwards. I spiraled on my heels, wedging the trident between me and Arlo. I shoved him back and kicked him in the stomach. It wasn't long before I realized there was another person on the ice platform. Finally.