Raising Beast Cubs to Find a Husband-Chapter 163: The Black Tide

The departure from the Crepusci Estate was less of a tactical exit and more of a goth emotional breakdown.

In the courtyard, Silas was trying to walk to the carriage. This was proving difficult because three grey-robed Shadow Servants were currently lying on the ground, clinging to his ankles.

"Please do not leave us, Shadow Master!" one servant wept, clutching a basket of black fruit. "Take the Berries! They are sour like our souls!"

"Let go!" Silas squeaked, trying to shake them off. "I don’t like berries! They make my tongue purple!"

"He rejects the berries!" the second servant wailed. "He demands blood sacrifice!"

"No, I don’t!" Silas yelled, looking at Lucien for help.

Lucien sighed, adjusting his travel cloak. "They are your cult now, Silas. You must give them a command, or they will follow you to the ocean and drown themselves out of loyalty."

Silas frowned. He puffed out his chest, channeling his inner Duke.

"Sit!" Silas commanded.

The servants immediately sat up straight, hands on their knees.

"Stay here," Silas ordered, pointing a small finger at the castle. "Clean up the mess. Fix the door Uncle Malachi broke. And... water the plants."

The servants gasped.

"A holy decree!" they whispered. "The Rite of Restoration! We shall scrub until our fingers bleed!"

"Okay, bye!" Silas sprinted for the carriage before they could worship him again.

Nearby, Lucien was giving his final orders to Vesper.

"Keep Malachi in the dampest cell," Lucien instructed. "Feed him once a day. If he speaks, gag him. If he tries to use magic, call Rurik’s lightning-eels."

"Understood, Your Grace," Vesper rasped, bowing. "And the Regency Council?"

"Tell them I went fishing," Lucien said coldly. "If they have complaints, they can file them with my sword when I return."

Cassian walked out of the library, carrying a satchel clinking with glass vials. He checked a list written on parchment.

"I have the base for the Gills-Potion," Cassian announced, pushing up his glasses. "But the catalyst ingredients are specific to the deep sea. I need Bioluminescent Algae, pure Kraken Ink, and... Sea-Hag’s Sneeze."

"Sea-Hag’s Sneeze?" Rurik asked, carrying three trunks under one arm. "Is that a metaphor?"

"No," Cassian said seriously. "It is the mucus of a specific hagfish found in the trenches. It is disgusting, but highly potent."

"Gross," Vali cheered, pumping his fist. "I want to collect it!"

---

They piled into the Shadow Carriage. It was crowded, noisy, and smelled faintly of wet dog (Vali) and ozone (Primrose’s glitching tail).

Luna was fussing over everyone, handing out sandwiches. "Eat. We don’t know if there are restaurants under the sea. Clover, did you pack your extra sweater?"

"Yes, Luna!" Clover chirped, hugging her carrot backpack. "But do fish wear sweaters?"

Primrose sat next to Caspian, nervously twisting the ring on her finger.

"You’re quiet," Caspian noted softly.

"I’m practicing my ’Ambassador Face’," Primrose muttered. "Your stepmother nearly fed me to crabs last time. And that was when I was bluffing about the treaty. Now the treaty is real, but I’m showing up with five tails, a glitching body, and a Void apocalypse."

"She will respect the treaty," Caspian assured her, though he didn’t look convinced. "The trade routes have been prosperous. The Surface Warlords sent grain and steel. Sunless City is wealthier than it has been in centuries."

"Yeah," Primrose sighed. "But she still hates me."

"She hates everyone," Rajah offered helpfully from the opposite seat, sharpening a dagger. "Just roar at her."

"Do not roar at the Queen Dowager," Lucien corrected, not looking up from his book. "She hates noise. Stare at her. Unblinking. Assert dominance through silence."

"That is terrible advice," Arjun noted, scribbling in his tactical notebook. "Target ’Grandma’ seems immune to intimidation. We need a diplomatic approach."

"Or," Jax suggested from the corner, "we could just... be polite? And maybe bring a gift? Moms love gifts."

The Warlords looked at Jax like he had suggested hugging a cactus.

"A gift?" Caspian pondered. "She likes... venomous sea snakes."

"Great," Jax deadpanned. "I’ll check the gift shop for a deadly viper."

---

Hours later, the carriage slowed. The dense canopy of the Obsidian Jungle gave way to grey, overcast sky.

"We are here," Vesper announced. "The Coast of Whispers."

The carriage landed on a cliff overlooking the ocean. The group spilled out, eager to stretch their legs.

Vali was already wearing a snorkel he had found (stolen) from Lucien’s pool house.

"BEACH DAY!" Vali screamed, sprinting toward the edge of the cliff. "I’m gonna fight a shark!"

"Vali, wait!" Rurik yelled, chasing after him.

But when they reached the edge, Vali stopped. He didn’t cheer. He didn’t jump.

He gagged.

"Ew," Vali whispered. "It smells like rotten eggs."

Primrose walked up beside him and gasped.

The ocean wasn’t blue. It wasn’t even the dark, stormy grey of the North Sea.

It was black.

Thick, oily sludge churned in the waves. Dead fish—thousands of them—were washing up on the black sand below. The foam was a sickly yellow. The air burned their throats.

"The Corruption," Caspian whispered, his face draining of color.

He scrambled down the cliff path to the water’s edge. He knelt in the sand, reaching out to touch the black surf.

"Don’t!" Primrose warned.

Caspian ignored her. He dipped his finger into the sludge.

Hiss.

The water reacted like acid. Caspian flinched, pulling his hand back. His fingertip was red and blistered.

"It’s not just oil," Caspian said, his voice shaking. "It’s Void Mana. The Boss... he hasn’t just poisoned the water. He has infected the very essence of the tide."

Orion peeked out from behind Caspian’s leg. The little Merman looked at the dying ocean and began to cry.

"My home," Orion sobbed. "It’s sick."

---

"We can’t swim in that," Jax said, looking green. "We’ll dissolve before we get five feet down."

"We don’t swim," Caspian said, standing up. His eyes were hard, the playful father gone. He was the King now.

He walked to the edge of the surf. He raised his trident high.

"By the blood of the Tides! I summon the Leviathan!"

He slammed the trident into the wet sand.

BOOM.

The ground shook. The black water exploded upward.

Rising from the depths wasn’t a monster of flesh and blood. It was a massive, translucent construct made of pure, hardened water-magic. It looked like a whale, but it glowed with a soft, clean blue light that pushed the black sludge away.

It opened its mouth. Inside, instead of a tongue and teeth, there was a dry, air-filled cabin with benches carved from coral.

The Bubble-Whale.

"All aboard," Caspian commanded. "It will filter the corruption as we descend."

Jasper inspected the whale’s mouth, wiping a spot with his handkerchief. "We are being consumed by a fish. This is undignified. Is the interior sanitary?"

Vali poked the side of the whale. "It’s squishy! I’m gonna touch the uvula!"

" Damn! It’s huge. Can I train with it?" Arjun smiled brightly at Caspian.

"Do not touch the uvula," Caspian snapped ignoring Arjun. "Or we will be ejected at high velocity."

Clover held Luna’s hand tight. "Will he eat us, Luna?"

"No, sweetie," Luna smiled bravely, though she was eyeing the whale teeth nervously. "It’s just a... very organic submarine."

They filed into the whale. The mouth closed, sealing them in a bubble of clean air and blue light.

The whale dove.

---

As they sank, the world outside the bubble turned from black sludge to a murky twilight.

"The corruption is concentrated on the surface," Cassian observed, taking notes. "The deeper we go, the cleaner the water. The pressure keeps the Void-oil from sinking... for now."

Deeper they went. Past the Twilight Zone. Past the Midnight Zone.

Down into the Abyss.

And there, glowing in the darkness like a galaxy of neon stars, was Sunless City.

It was breathtaking. Towers of spiraling coral reached for the surface. Bridges of light connected massive pearl domes. Schools of glowing jellyfish floated like lanterns between the buildings.

"It’s beautiful," Primrose breathed, pressing her hand against the whale’s wall.

"It is," Caspian said softly. "But look at the gates."

---

They approached the massive city gates.

Usually, they would be open, with trade currents flowing in and out.

Today, they were sealed shut with heavy blast-doors made of dragon-scale metal.

A wall of armed Mer-Guards blocked the path. They held tridents pointed outward.

The Bubble-Whale slowed.

A small, heavily armored figure scurried out from behind the line of guards. He wasn’t a merman. He was a large, red Crab-kin, wearing a Chancellor’s sash that was slightly crooked. He clicked his claws together nervously.

Chancellor Crustar.

Caspian pressed his hand against the bubble wall, projecting his voice magically.

"Chancellor Crustar! Open the gates! I have returned with the Warlords!"

Crustar flinched. He looked at the King, then he looked back at the palace, shaking in his shell.

"Click-click... Halt!" Crustar’s voice squeaked through the water, amplified by a magi-shell. "By decree of Queen Dowager Morana, the borders are sealed. Lockdown Protocol Omega is in effect."

"Lockdown?" Caspian roared. "I am the King! I command you to open the gates!"

"The King abandoned us to the surface," Crustar recited robotically, though his eyestalks were drooping with sadness. "The Queen Dowager protects the City now. No outsiders. Especially..."

Crustar pointed a trembling claw directly at Primrose.

"...Especially not the Fox."

Primrose felt a chill that had nothing to do with the cold water.

"She knows," Primrose whispered. "She knows I’m here."

"Turn back, Your Majesty," Crustar pleaded, clicking his claws frantically. "She has activated the Ancient Defense Grid. If you cross the perimeter... the Guardian Turrets will fire. Please, Sire! I do not want to become boiled crab!"

Caspian looked at the glowing red cannons on the city walls. They were aiming right at the Bubble-Whale.

"She locked us out," Rajah growled. "She would fire on her own son?"

"She thinks I am corrupted by the surface," Caspian said bitterly. "Or she is using this crisis to finally take the throne."

Behind the closed gates, deep in the Royal Palace, Primrose could imagine Morana sitting on the throne, smiling that venomous smile.

Welcome back, Ambassador. Try not to drown.