The shark nodded curtly. “I was sworn to him, and he to me. I-”
“He is lying!” John burst out, unable to contain himself at this slur to the Emperor’s honor. “The Emperor would never have sworn an oath-bond with any shark, let alone this shark. Our people have been mortal enemies since tides began! The Emperor conquered the sharks!”
“No,” the Master Shark said, flatly. “But I will not waste air telling you the truth of the matter, for you would refuse to hear it. Suffice it to say, we were oath-brothers. I never called in his oath…but he called in mine. Just before his death.”
“Before you murdered him.” John could barely form human words, his voice warping with the melodies of vengeance.
Emotion flared in the Master Shark’s grey eyes at last. It was just the briefest flash of rage, but the sheer power behind it hit John like a punch to the gut.
The Master Shark blinked, once, and the moment was gone as if it had never been. “I did not.” He looked back at Neridia. “I say again, he was my oath-brother. I could never have harmed him. I would have died in his defense. My greatest shame is that I left him unguarded. I did not know, then, the danger that he was in.”
“I saw you there.” Neridia’s voice was thin, but brave. “At his house, the day before he, he—the day before the fire. Are you claiming you had nothing to do with it?”
“On my honor, I swear I did not.”
“The honor of a shark,” John growled.
The Master Shark’s impassive expression hardened. “I do not expect you to believe me, sea dragon.”
“I don’t believe you either,” Neridia said, to John’s relief. “You came after me with those assassins. You ordered them to set fire to my house, just like they set fire to my father’s.”
“No. I came to warn you. But even though I hastened to you as quickly as I could, I was still too slow. I arrived in the middle of the attack. I tried to get you to safety, but you fled before I could explain my intentions.” The Master Shark shot John the briefest glance. “I could tell that you had already been prejudiced against my kind.”
“I’m not buying it.” Neridia shook her head, but there was more uncertainty in her expression than John liked. “If you didn’t attack me, who did?”
The Master Shark’s lips drew back a fraction, revealing the gleam of sharp, jagged teeth. “If I knew that, they would be dead. But I do know that you must not go to Atlantis. A hidden enemy awaits you there.”
“So that is your ploy.” John’s own lip curled. “You are terrified of the Empress-in-Waiting claiming her true power, for you know it will be the end of your own. And since direct assault has failed, you resort to lying words to try to keep her from her throne. I would not have thought a shark would be so cowardly.”
The Master Shark ignored him completely, focusing only on Neridia. “I captured one of the assassins that attacked you, but he did not know the name of the one who had hired him. All that he knew was that the order had come from Atlantis. If you go there, you will be putting yourself in mortal danger.”
Neridia flinched—but then shook her head again, her mouth setting stubbornly. “John’s right. You’ve got far too many reasons to be lying. Why should I trust you?”
“You shouldn’t.” An ironic, white flash of teeth. “Who would trust a shark? But perhaps you will trust your father. Consider his actions. All your life, he hid you from the Sea Council. He even gave you his pearl of concealment.”
Neridia’s hand flew to her pendant. “You know about my pearl?”
“I made it for him, as I made my own.” The Master Shark parted the collar of his shirt, revealing an identical pendant resting against his muscular chest. “When we were young, we would sometimes use them to escape from our respective duties and adventure unobserved together. Later, of course, he used his to disappear permanently. I was the only person in the sea to know the truth. Before he left the ocean, I told him that if ever he had need of me, he had only to remove the pendant. For decades, I stayed alert for his blood-scent calling out to me.”
The Master Shark looked away, gazing into the depths of the tank as though seeing something quite different. “And four years ago, it did. I came immediately, as I told him I would. Your mother had died, and he could no longer deny the call of the sea. He wanted to finally return home.”
“So that was why he gave me his pearl,” Neridia whispered, her voice catching. “He was planning to go back to the Pearl Empire.”
The Master Shark nodded slightly, still staring into the water. “I would have accompanied him back immediately, but he needed a few more days to finish wrapping up his human life. He asked me to tell no one of his imminent return. And he asked me…he asked me to protect you. I think, even then, he knew that he had enemies who would kill to stop him from returning to his Throne. He made me swear on our oath-bond that if anything happened to him, I would make sure no one in the sea ever discovered your existence.”
“You spin tales like a seal,” John snarled. “Neri-Your Majesty, do not listen to him. He is only trying to feed your doubts. He would cripple you with words, since he cannot do so with his teeth. Come away. We have heard enough of his lies.”
The Master Shark turned on his heel, grey eyes hard as iron. “My last words to my oath-brother were that I would keep his daughter safe. I will keep my oath, sea dragon. I will eliminate any threat to her…regardless of whether such threats arise out of malice, or blind ignorance.”
John didn’t back down, matching the shark lord stare for stare. “As will I, traitor.”
“John, stop. This isn’t the time or the place.” Neridia glanced nervously around at the humans still milling unconcernedly about them, checking that they weren’t attracting undue attention. “Master Shark, why are you telling me all this?”
“To make you see the lengths to which your father went to keep you from the Throne.” The shark lord gestured at her pendant. “He gave his very life to ensure that you would not be found. His dearest wish was that you would live your life free, on land, happily unaware of your own heritage. Why do you think he never told you of your birthright?”
Neridia’s hand closed around her pearl pendant again, as if seeking comfort from the touch of the precious gem. “He, he thought I was only human. That I wouldn’t be able to shift.”
“He knew that you were only human,” the shark lord corrected, his cold voice pitiless. “He did not want you to seek the Throne. He knew you did not have the strength to claim it. Think. Think on everything he did for you, and tell me that I am wrong.”