Ethan had also realized that the Merfolk weren't a species limited to those strange squeaking sounds.
In fact, the voices of the pure-blooded Merfolk were remarkably melodic—soft, flowing tones that seemed to ripple through the water like music.
He noticed something else as well. All the soldiers in the Merfolk army were female, while the guards stationed around the palace were male. It was clearly a society where men tended to the home and women commanded the world beyond it.
The four Merfolk they had first encountered, and the countless others who had surrounded them upon entering the city, were a different case entirely. Those ones communicated only with those squeaking noises.
The Third Princess had served as their interpreter, explaining that those Merfolk were of mixed blood—the Battle-Thralls, the result of generations of intermarriage between the Merfolk and other sea tribes.
Ethan listened and nodded, beginning to understand.
