Kingdom of Salt and Sirens

by J. A. Armitage

  “I’m not going to keep you here,” he growled inside my head and then added, “Kick the water.”

  I kicked out slightly. From around my foot, the water began to glow, a pale blue light that glittered and then evaporated leaving the water black again. My eyes widened in shock, and I quickly pulled my foot back onto dry land.

  “It’s phosphorescence,” he explained, putting his hand into the water and clapping the surface so it glimmered around him for a few seconds. “Movement in the water causes it to light up.” When he was still the surface of the water turned back to inky blackness.

  “It’s beautiful,” I exclaimed, bringing my foot down into the water, splashing the pair of us.

  “You haven’t seen anything yet,” he said with a grin and rolled back into the water. His head disappeared under the tranquil surface before he began to swim. The way he swam was unrefined, peculiar for someone who’d I’d begun to associate with the sea. But as the water bubbled around his flailing body, I realized what he was doing. He was churning the water. With each rough stroke, the water glowed more until the whole cave was lit up as though a thousand fairy lights had been turned on. Below water below the surface was now transformed. What I’d assumed would be nothing but sand and rocks was really a secret underwater garden with hundreds of underwater plants, each of them lit up with the motion of the water. Thousands of beautiful fish swam through delicate coral, making me want to dive back down to touch them.

  The stranger did a lap around the whole cave before ending up right back where he started, lazily gliding through the water in front of me.

  The cave glimmered and glittered all around us, magically illuminated by the phosphorescence on the water’s surface, and light danced over the stranger’s body, slowly dimming as he pulled himself up onto the beach beside me. I sighed at the fleeting beauty of it. Already it was starting to fade, and I knew that within a minute, the water would go back to the appearance of lifelessness and we would be once more plunged into darkness.

  As the last bit of light extinguished, I turned back to the stranger, eager to let him know just how beautiful I’d found it. He’d moved down the beach slightly, so that he was right next to me. I trailed my eyes down his wet body and stopped in shock. There, where his legs should be, he had a tail. My stranger was a mermaid.

  9

  The Merman

  “Merman,” he corrected me. I hadn’t even spoken. I was too busy being in shock to use my mouth for actual words. He was reading the thoughts right from my head again. I had to keep them reigned in.

  I tensed up, holding in the scream I wanted to make and, instead, opted for a few deep breaths as I tried to come to terms with what I was seeing in front of me. I would have passed it off as a trick of the light had there been much light in the dim cave.

  “You’re not real,” I pointed out as if stating the obvious. I pulled myself away from him, scared that I was completely losing my mind. “Mermaids are fairytale creatures.”

  If he was offended that I was denying his existence, he didn’t act it.

  “All stories start off with a kernel of truth. Giant is just another name for an unusually large person, and witch is a term for someone who makes potions. Don’t pharmacists do that?”

  I shook my head before meeting his eyes and holding his gaze. “Giants and witches are people, though. They don’t have fish tails.” My voice was echoing again, but I didn’t care. I was trapped in an underwater cave with a half man-half fish.

  “I’m not a half fish,” he replied indignantly, “although I prefer it to you calling me a mermaid. Maid is a woman, man is a ... well, is a man.”

  He was listening to my thoughts again.

  “Please stop doing that,” I snapped, clapping my hands to my ears. He splashed his tail up and down in the water, lighting up the cave around us with each movement in an eerie blue color. I felt my heart rate increase out of fear with each movement he made. Five minutes ago, this whole place and situation had felt romantic. Now it was just alien to me; the creepy lights making fearsome shadows on the cave walls.

  “I’m sorry,” he replied, leaning toward me. I leaned backward, but not quite far enough. He took hold of my hands and pulled them gently away from my ears. His hands were strong but delicate as he let them drop by my side. The moonlight illuminated his face, highlighting the cut of his cheekbones, the wetness of his lower lip from the ocean water. His eyes were now purple, and like the salt water to the side of us, they had their own sparkle. I’d thought there was something otherworldly about him when I first saw him, thanks to those eyes, and now, he’d confirmed it. His home was down here, beneath the waves. No wonder I’d thought he was connected to the sea. He was part of it. It was his home.

  He put his hand to my face, and slowly traced it up the side of my head letting it rest on my right temple. “That’s how we communicate down here. There’s very little sound underwater, and speaking doesn’t come easily to me. I should have known you’d be scared.”

  Realization hit me. “That’s why you didn’t speak at my party.”

  He nodded, lowering his eyes to the sand between us. “Among other reasons, yes.”

  I thought back to the party, how sure of himself he’d looked, cocky even. But now that I remembered it, he had an air of uncertainty about him, like a lost child.

  I’d wanted to kiss him then. Even with all my family watching me, with the heads of state of at least five of the nine kingdoms in attendance, not to mention the hundreds of other dignitaries, I’d wanted to lean forward and kiss him. Outside the party on the promenade, I had kissed him, and it had been magical. Now, I wasn’t so sure. I felt cold and scared.

  He looked up at me in surprise.

  Before I thought about why he would look at me that way, he took my hand. “Please, trust me. I promise I’ll take you home. I didn’t set out to alarm you, I just wanted...” he trailed off. There was something in his eyes, something that made me realize that this was just as scary for him as it was for me. All his former bravado had gone along with the flashes of purple in his eyes. They had gone back to the pale green they’d been before.

  “I just wanted to get to know you.”

  I could almost feel his heart beating as he looked at me so earnestly. I couldn’t read his mind as he could mine, but in that moment, I knew I was safe. He’d saved my life, he had no reason to hurt me now.

  He held his hand out for me, and this time, I took it.

  “If you keep hold of my hand, you’ll be able to breathe underwater. You’ll also be able to see better than you would without me. It’s part of the magic we possess.”

  I let him guide me into the water, no longer feeling nervous. The excitement I’d felt earlier was creeping back.

  I stepped into the warm darkness, enjoying the feel of the water as I sank deeper and deeper into its depths. He pulled me close, wrapping an arm around me, so I was crushed up against his chest, with my arm around his back. His skin was so much warmer than my own, and I had to compose myself not to think about how naked he was next to me, not to notice that the skin of my fingers and arm touched him. He swished his tail around to light the water, creating a maelstrom of bubbles around us. As the bubbles cleared, a whole other world emerged, still illuminated by the phosphorescence. Thousands of beautiful fish swam around us, completely unafraid of our presence. I’d seen them from above water, but now that I was among them, I saw how stunningly beautiful they were. Pink and purple coral grew, covering the sandy floor of the cavern, which, in turn, was covered with vibrant sea anemones and colorful fish, dashing in and out, creating a breathtaking scene in front of me.

  At least, it would have been breathtaking if I was breathing. With the stranger holding my hand, I didn’t need to. I hadn’t breathed the whole way here, not in the normal sense; but then, I’d been too panicked to notice. Now, I felt so at ease, weightless in the salty blue water, my senses filled with wonder at this beautiful place. A playful creature swam past, brushi
ng against my arm. I pulled back quickly, nervous, but the stranger laughed. “Don’t mind him, that’s just Ollie. He doesn’t bite.”

  “Ollie?” I replied, this time using my mind to speak to him, confident that he could hear me. The creature came back, and this time I let it come to rest on my hand.

  “An octopus. He’s kind of a friend of mine. I think you call them pets above land.”

  An octopus. Such a strange word for a strange creature. He wrapped his legs around my fingers, tickling the palm of my hand.

  He unwrapped himself from my hand and darted off, back into the shadows. The light was dimming, so I waved my hand about creating a trail of light.

  The blue glow lit up his face as he grinned at me enjoying myself. I’d loved the sea for as long as I could remember, but not in my wildest dreams had I ever imagined something as wonderful as this beneath its depths. I gave the stranger a shy smile now that I’d caught him looking at me. His green eyes crinkled up at the edges. Below the water, the deep shadows of his chest muscles were prominent. I couldn’t stop the blush that rose up from my chest. I only hoped the fading blue light hid the redness of my cheeks.

  “I should go back,” I said in my mind. I didn’t want to, I could have happily stayed down here forever, but the light had begun to change. The soft blue of the phosphorescence was now being replaced by the pink tinge of dawn, filtering down from the small holes in the cavern roof. Had we really been down here that long?

  The stranger nodded, his long charcoal hair flowing out behind him like obsidian flames, framing his pale face.

  He moved closer, putting his arm around my waist to gently guide me through the tunnel until we emerged back out into the open sea. It was much darker here without the phosphorescence, but I could still make out basic shapes thanks to the dawn’s early light. The vastness of the ocean astounded me. Okay, I’d seen it from above, but it was a completely different experience down here. It seemed to go on forever in every direction with the seabed below us and the surface above.

  The journey back to the rocks couldn’t have been more different to the journey from them. Then it had been dark, and I’d been terrified. I was still scared, but now, it was a different kind of scared. It was exciting, new. I looked around me, eager to take everything in before I’d have to leave it to go back to my own world. The fish weren’t as concentrated here, but I still saw them as we swam past. Long fish that looked a little like snakes, schools of tiny red fish, swimming as though they were one, large silver fish that I recognized because we sometimes ate them for dinner. Disappointment weighed heavily as the rocks appeared in the distance. I knew I had to go back home and get changed into dry clothes before my parents noticed I was missing, but I didn’t want this night to come to an end. The ocean was vast, and I wanted to explore. I wanted to spend more time with the stranger.

  “We will have time,” he answered my thoughts. “You know where I am. If I’m close, I’ll hear you.” and I knew he meant with his mind. I wished I could hear his thoughts the way he heard mine. Sure, I could hear what he wanted to project out there, but everything else that he was thinking remained a mystery. I couldn’t help thinking that it put me at a disadvantage.

  “We’re here,” he observed, pointing out the rocks. All I had to do was to swim to the surface and climb out. I grabbed one of the rocks to pull myself up, but he pulled me back. I turned to face him, wondering what he wanted, but before I had time to form the question in my mind, his lips were upon mine. In the cold water, his lips felt surprisingly warm as he brought his body closer to me. My mind was ablaze with sensations, none of which I could articulate if I wanted to. I hoped he wasn’t trying to probe my thoughts because I could barely make sense of it at all. All I could think was how salty his lips were, how he tasted like the sea, every other thought was obliterated as he crushed his lips hungrily to mine.

  “You know where to find me,” he said, pulling back. With a swift push up, I breached the surface, taking in a huge breath as I clung to one of the rocks. I looked down to where he’d been, but he was already gone, swum away into the briny depths.

  I scrambled up the slippery rocks until I was completely out of the sea. Turning, I gazed out over the waves hoping to spot him again, but all I saw were a couple of gulls overhead and a sailboat in the distance.

  I turned back towards the palace, my heart both frizzing with excitement from what had been and heavy, knowing I’d have to wait before experiencing it again—and came face to face with my mother, the queen.

  10

  Hayden

  “Where have you been?” she demanded, her features contorted in fury, and beneath that, I saw the fear in her eyes. I stood there looking at her, my nightgown dripping wet, clinging to my body. I shivered, partly from the cold and partly under the weight of her stare. I’d committed the worst sin possible in her eyes. All I’d heard my entire childhood was not to go out into the sea. My mother’s entire existence it seemed was to keep me away from the water and here I was breaking the cardinal rule. Again!

  “I went for a swim,” I stammered lamely.

  “A swim!” Her voice was harsh. I’d never seen her so angry in my whole life. “Who were you with and don’t try telling me no one. I saw a man.”

  There was no point denying it if she’d seen him. I opened my mouth to tell her, but then I realized he hadn’t even told me his name. I’d only thought of him as the stranger, and I could hardly tell her that.

  “I thought I’d come down to the rocks and see if I could see the man who saved me from drowning to thank him.”

  My mother’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “He was just a figment of your imagination. The nurse said so. I don’t know who you thought you were with out there, but I’m willing to bet it was someone who was out to harm you. You are a princess, and because of that, you are a target. Now, let’s get you home so you can change into some dry clothes.”

  She grabbed my arm and dragged me back across the rocks to the palace. Without letting go, she hauled me up the stairs to one of the bathrooms where she instructed my maid to fill the bath for me. “I’ll come back and talk to you later about this,” she fumed, before turning on her heel and stalking out of the room.

  I’d seen my mother upset before, but never like this. I looked down to see a hint of a bruise on my arm from where she’d held me. My father was usually the one with the temper, but even then, he only directed it at his enemies—never us. My mother often had a look of disapproval upon her face and knew how to make it clear when she was unhappy about something. But as a queen, she knew how to keep her temper down, until now that was.

  Wisps of steam floated up from the bath and Dora, my maid, moved to turn the cold tap on.

  “Don’t!” I said to her, but she ignored me and turned the tap to cold anyway. I was just about to reprimand her when I realized I’d spoken to her with my mind, the way I’d spent the night speaking to the stranger. I thought back to our conversations, and it dawned on me that I hadn’t heard his actual voice once since that day on the beach when he’d saved my life. I’d only heard him inside my head.

  Dora laid out a towel for me, curtseyed, and left me alone in the grand bathroom. Usually, I took a bath in the small en-suite off my bedroom, but for whatever reason, my mother had brought me here to the palace’s main bathroom. The room itself was huge, with a high ceiling and glimmering tiles covering the floor. The bath, an oversized roll top with silver claw feet stood in the dead center of the room with a chandelier directly overhead. Around the base of the bath, inlaid into the floor, were grates so the water could overflow. I turned off the cold and added more hot water. As soon as the stranger had let go of me, I’d felt cold. It was as though his presence had kept me warm. Perhaps that was also part of the magic he held. I peeled off my dripping nightdress and threw it onto the floor, before sinking right up to my neck in the scalding water. I let out a low moan as heat seeped back into my bones. Turning off the hot tap, I lay back in the water, letting
my hair float around me. Closing my eyes, I sank below the surface, holding my breath as I did.

  “Hello,” I called out in my mind, but there was no answer. Either he had to be closer to me, or I had to be in the ocean for him to hear my thoughts. I opened my eyes and looked up at the chandelier. Its crystals twinkled in the light, throwing rainbows around the room. I didn’t want to come back up to the surface. It was as if all my problems left me if I was underwater, but pretty soon, I had to. Without the stranger holding on to me, I needed the oxygen above the surface to be able to breathe.

  I washed my hair slowly, using more shampoo than was really required to rid it of all the salt I’d picked up in the ocean. I was in no rush to get out. I knew my mother would be waiting for me so she could shout some more. I looked down at my arm. The bruise was darker now, more defined. I could almost see her fingerprints in it. She’d always had a problem with the sea. The issue she had with the ocean all seemed to revolve around me, and to a lesser extent, my younger brother. Before I had time to ponder it, there was a knock on the door. I braced myself for my mother coming in to ask why I was taking so long.

  “Yes?”

  “Erica, it’s me, Hayden. Your mother told me you were up here. I was hoping to have a word with you.”

  “Just coming,” I replied with a sigh. I’d much rather speak to Hayden than my mother right now. She needed time to cool down, but it was just putting off the inevitable. Pulling myself out of the bath, I wrapped the towel Dora had left out for me around myself and padded to the door leaving wet footprints on the sparkly tiles. I opened the door a crack, aware that the only clothes I had in the bathroom was my drenched nightgown. Hayden raised his eyebrows at my lack of clothes, but I brushed past him, deciding I’d done enough blushing in one day to last a lifetime. Besides, it was only Hayden.