Chapter 74: The Long-Range Communication Device

Talori had been eagerly awaiting seeing her friends again for months. Even though she was home and had her brother back, she was lonely. He was busier now that he was the merking and she missed being called by her name since she was getting "princessed" to death. 

At least Aila called her Talori. The two of them had spent a lot of time together since they started wedding planning and that only increased afterward. 

Aila's upbringing wasn't quite as sheltered as Talori's but she hadn't seen much of the kingdom as a noble. She listened to all of Talori's stories about the surface with a vague degree of curiosity. 

She was no Brennan or even Harmony but she was better company than her brother's mermen. They all treated her too formally. She had grown used to casualness while she was on the surface and missed it dearly. 

Talori had been so busy at first that she didn't have much time to miss the way things were up there. She was still busy but as time went on she wished more and more that she could talk to her friends at the very least. Brennan especially. 

He would be so interested in everything she was doing now as the liaison. She couldn't wait to tell him everything she had been up to when she saw him again. 

Which was exactly what she did. She thought her heart might burst at the sight of him standing on the deck of the boat with the witches. Oh, it was so good to see him! They talked the whole way back to the kingdom and it still wasn't enough. 

Talori had to cut herself off though because they had things to do. She could talk more to Brennan specifically later. 

As the liaison it was her job to familiarize their visitors with the palace and provide anything they might need. She did her duty with pride but hadn't expected to run into her sister-in-law in the process. 

She shouldn't have been surprised. Aila's favorite place here in the palace was the garden. If she wasn't tending to her duties as merqueen, she could typically be found there. 

She had caught onto things very quickly. The only part of her lessons she struggled with was English so Talori had volunteered to help her practice since she was the most fluent out of the few merfolk who spoke it, having lived among English speakers. 

When Aila met her friends it was clear she felt awkward because she couldn't understand them and needed a translator. Talori did her best to help her feel included anyway. Her sister-in-law was a nice fae. Her brother couldn't have possibly found himself a better wife. The problem was that he paid her almost no attention. 

Yes, she knew Zale was busy, but he still made time to see Talori. Why couldn't he do the same for his wife? 

The only times Talori were aware of that he even saw Aila pertained to duties that required both of them or when the two of them were hanging out when he came looking for his sister. She knew he wasn't the friendliest when it came to outsiders but he looked out for his own. Wouldn't his wife count under that umbrella?

She shouldn't be worrying about that right now though. That could be dealt with after her friends left. She didn't want to waste a moment of time she had with them. 

Her brother's voice startled her out of her thoughts. She hadn't realized his meeting was over and that he would come looking for them. 

"Tali, aren't you going to introduce me to your surface-dweller friends? It is a pleasure to see you again, Brennan." 

"You too," Brennan said with a smile. "Thanks for having us."

"Of course. We have much business to attend to." 

Talori jumped in then. "These lovely witches are Harmony and Arietta. Their coven was able to create a long-range communication device so we can set up future meetings more easily and potentially collaborate from a distance as well."

Zale's eyes sparked with interest. He was clearly impressed they managed to pull that off within the given time frame. "Excellent! Where is it?"

"In pieces in my room," Harmony explained. "We'll need to install it together. Is there a specific place you want it to be? It's rather large and difficult to move so once it's set up it should stay there."

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"I see. A room in the coral palace would be best." He switched to speaking in Mermish. "Aeces, would you go on ahead to the coral palace and have the maids clear out a room to prepare for the witches to install their device?"

"You got it," Aeces said before swimming off. 

Zale turned back to the witches and resumed speaking in English. "My subordinate has gone on ahead to prepare for the installation. I can have someone take the equipment over if you will show me where it is."

"All of the pieces are in the two bags in my room. I'm afraid I don't remember how to get back there though. Talori?" Harmony asked for help sheepishly. 

"Follow me!" Talori chirped before turning back to Aila, remembering that she was standing there looking rather left out. "Please excuse us, Aila."

"Don't mind me. You need to see to your guests," she said graciously in a soft voice. 

Talori speaking up reminded Zale that his wife was there. He addressed her as well. "Forgive my inattentiveness. I will come see you tonight after I have concluded my business with the surface-dwellers."

Aila nodded and everyone headed out. Zale did find someone to grab the bags and bring them over and had many questions for the witches since he had never met any. They were enthralled being able to talk to the merking and Talori couldn't help but smile. Everyone was benefiting here. 

She hung back and chatted with Brennan more. She wanted to know everything he had been up to while they were apart. 

He shrugged. "I really didn't do much. Work was about the same but I have been hanging out around the witch coven more and seeing my fairy friends on the weekends to fill my time. It seems like you've been up to a lot more than I have."

"There has been a lot to learn," Talori admitted. "I've been pretty busy with everything. There's a lot to do around here now that Zale's in charge but I'm not complaining! We've both been waiting for this for a long time." 

Zale especially. He had been planning to become merking since she was a child. She knew it would happen sooner or later with his brains and determination but it was still strange to think it actually did sometimes. So much had changed since she came home. 

She felt like she had changed most of all. She had learned so much while she was away and, though she was happy to be helping her brother and her kingdom, she felt like she was missing a part of herself that had been left on the surface. 

Talori was sure she would be able to visit again at some point—she was the liaison, after all, and these things were supposed to work both ways—but she didn't know how long it would be. Probably not for a good while since she hadn't been home for long. Right now she was needed here. 

She also didn't know if Zale would want to let her go. He had only sent her away in the first place to protect her from being taken to the deep. He wouldn't see a reason for her to go now that she was safe. 

Hopefully she would be able to convince him someday. In the meantime she was glad to have some of her friends here for a couple of days.

Talori was sure she would miss the surface less when she was able to contact them more regularly. Having the device set up in the coral palace meant she would have constant access to it and could call whenever she wanted. It wouldn't necessarily have to be about official business. She used to text Brennan on her lunch breaks at work just for fun. 

She didn't think he would mind if she called him solely for the sake of calling him. She had missed being able to talk to him every day. He had missed her too, hadn't he? He certainly seemed happy to see her earlier and he was smiling much more than usual now that they were together again. 

"Where is the other device going to be set up?" she asked suddenly. 

"Harmony's office. She's putting it where your tank used to be," Brennan told her. "Some of the other witches were a bit put out about it but she reasoned that it was the best place since I come and go from there so often and I'm the liaison."

Talori was relieved. He did spend a lot of time in there.. She should be able to talk to him easily that way.

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