His brother begins, “I’m thankful for the opportunity to present my testimony before you today. There is much to consider, and I hope you are all taking all the evidence to heart. We have heard much conflicting testimony in the past few days. We’ve heard from some Trackers that the stranger is none other than the Poseidon heir. We’ve heard from others that the stranger could not possibly be the Poseidon heir. What we haven’t heard though, is this: if she is not the Poseidon heir, then who is she, friends? How can a stranger even exist among us? And if strangers do exist, how many are there? Where can we find them? How did they come to be strangers to us? These are questions we need answers to, friends, if you decide to believe that she is not Nalia the Poseidon princess.

“You well know my feelings regarding this matter. You know I believe with every part of me that this is Nalia.” He turns to her then, and smiles. “The Nalia I loved and lost so many seasons ago. I have never done anything dishonorable to you. Even when I thought all was lost, I sacrificed myself to take a Common as a mate, taking a chance that Paca possesses the Gift of Poseidon and that somehow we have misinterpreted the laws passed down from our generals. I took a chance that somehow the Royals may be useful to you yet. I did not neglect my duty to you, as it has been represented here. But before I speak further, I would ask Paca to present her Gift once more, for your benefit. I want you to see why I chose to make this decision.”

Paca swims forward to the center stone. The same shock and confusion she wears on her face thunders through the crowd. What is he doing? Even Nalia seems perturbed at his request. Galen cannot see how any good can come of this.

Grom holds his hand up. “My queen, Paca, will you please demonstrate your special Gift to us once more?”

She nods, uncertain and nervous, but says, “Of course, Majesty.” Then she waves her hand above her, twisting it. Galen has seen the signal a hundred times at the Gulfarium while visiting Dr. Milligan. “Come to me, pets,” she says. “Come.”

Galen has also seen enough of Paca to know that she keeps her dolphins close at hand, in case she’s asked for a show. They practically follow her everywhere and why shouldn’t they? She keeps them full on dead fish, leaving an obvious trail of them behind her wherever she goes. Even now, the dolphins instantly spring from between some Syrena in the Loyal section. Could Grom have arranged for her to have them in the Arena for his testimony?

“Ah, there you are, my pets,” she says, nuzzling her nose to one of the three affectionately. “Shall we show our friends what we can do?” She twirls her finger around and around. Of course, the dolphins swim in circles in front of her. The Arena cheers.

Galen catches a glimpse of Rayna rolling her eyes. Grom nods to the crowd as Paca has her “pets” do more fancy tricks. What Grom could be hoping to accomplish by putting her apparent Gift on display, Galen doesn’t know. But he wishes he’d get on with it.

After a while, Grom asks Paca to rein in her flippered friends. He smiles at her. “Wonderful, Queen Paca.” He turns to Section Loyal. “Would you not agree with me, friends, that she put on a splendid example of the Gift of Poseidon?”

At this the Arena explodes into tail slapping and applause. Grom lets them sound off for a while, then signals for silence again. He turns back to Paca. “My queen, now if you will demonstrate the Gift on some of the other fish around the Arena. Choose any one you’d like.” He motions around him, as if the Arena were stocked with a variety just for her.

Paca’s eyes flit back and forth between several schools of colorful fish. Some swim close to the surface, some swim undisturbed toward Section Triton. Some swim so close to her that she moves out of their path. She scowls. “The Gift does not work that way, Majesty. It only works with dolphins.”

Grom turns to Section Triton. “That is troubling, don’t you think, friends? The Gift of Poseidon is meant to feed us, is that not correct? But we do not even eat dolphins. Not only do they taste horrible, but there are not enough dolphins in either territory for us to survive for very long. They do not reproduce fast enough for any lasting food source. Friends, dolphins are more companions to us than anything else. Many of you even hunt alongside dolphins, and have done so for many generations. Why would the generals provide a Gift that would only allow us to communicate with, in order to consume, such a scarce but valuable resource to our kind? They wouldn’t, friends. They haven’t.”

Jagen swims to the center to interject, but Grom holds up his hand. “You have already given your testimony, Jagen, several times if I recall. I did not interrupt you once. Not while you insulted my family, my ancestors, or myself. I will not be interrupted now.”

Tandel swims between them. “Yes, Jagen, we will return the respect King Grom has shown to us. Please resume your place in the Arena.”

Galen exchanges a surprised look with Nalia. Thus far, Tandel has mostly allowed Jagen to interrupt if and when he’s pleased. Or rather, he’s been unable to stop him, and most who’ve taken the center stone have backed down from Jagen’s aggression. But not Grom.

It’s like Tandel is feeding off his brother’s confidence and strength.

“You are so quick to accuse the Royals of hiding on land, Jagen. But I will remind you that when Toraf, the best Tracker in the history of our kind, found your Paca, she’d been hiding on land as well. She openly confesses that she did so, in fear that King Antonis would send someone after her because of her Gift. I do not see Paca standing in a tribunal for hiding on land. Why is that?”