6 An Ancient Pact

CHAPTER 6

An Ancient Pact Lucas walked Clara home and then headed for the palace. He snuck in through the kitchen only to find his father, King Caleb, grabbing an apple from the fruit bowl. The king glanced over at his son. Lucas's clothes were still dripping wet, and there were bits of sand on his face. "Good heavens, boy! What have you been up to now?" cried the king.

Lucas shrugged as if it were no big deal. "Clara and I went swimming at Mermaid's Cove," he answered. "With all your clothes on?" questioned his father. Lucas wondered if he should tell the king what had happened. He didn't want to get in trouble, but he also

wanted to ask his father about the Mermaid Kingdom. He decided to tell the truth. "Actually, we found a raft washed up on the beach," Lucas began. "And we paddled out into the cove." The king raised an eyebrow. "It was really fun," Lucas went on, "until the waves got too big... and we kind of fell overboard."

"Kind of?" the king asked. "How do you kind of fall overboard?" The prince shrugged. The king's frown deepened. Lucas knew what was coming next. "Lucas!" his father bellowed. "You are the heir to the throne! How could you be so careless with your safety?"

Lucas looked down at his feet. "I'm very sorry," he mumbled. The king pointed out the window toward the distant