After Rick told her about the Leviathan and the animated genocide victims, Nerissa stood completely still.
The water around her shook a little, which was the only sign of any trouble that might be going on underneath her calm exterior. Her empty blue eyes stared at nothing in particular, taking in information with the speed that had characterized her rule for fifty years.
The quiet lasted for thirty full seconds.
The gathered ocean dwellers waited for their Empress to respond, give orders, and show leadership in the face of this terrible threat. But Nerissa just stood there, her water dress flowing around her and her face blank like carved marble.
Rick felt something break inside of him, and it was his frustration seeing the empress just being difficult at times like this.
"That's it...!"
He had witnessed this woman nearly grasp his hand just hours earlier. He had seen her shed tears for the first time in fifty years.
