Kingdom of Salt and Sirens

by J. A. Armitage

  “We were always told we looked like twins, so I get that. So, tell me about your parents. What do I need to know?”

  “Hop in the water and then I’ll tell you everything you need to know.” He lies on his back, smiling at me. Removing my shorts and t-shirt, I leave them in my bag and put them in the hole in the rocks. “Move out of the way, fish boy,” I shout as I run and jump into the sea.

  I hear him laughing as I hit the cold sea and shout out.

  Nix laughs when I jump in the cold water. “I like when you jump in and you get really cold.”

  “Why’s that?” I’m surprised he can understand me through my shivering.

  “Because it makes you wrap yourself around me to keep warm.” He opens his arms for me.

  Smiling, I slide in and wrap myself around him. He doesn't move until I can feel the warmth coming back into my body.

  “Come on. I'll take you out to the island. When we’re safely hidden behind the rocks, I can give you your Rubins. Then when it takes effect, we can dive under the water together and I’ll take you down to my house. Sorry, my castle.”

  “I can't believe you live in a castle. That’s just so amazing. Do I need to curtsy? What do I need to do when I see your parents? I've never met royalty before.”

  He laughs for a moment and then he’s serious again. “No, you don't need to curtsy. We don't stand on ceremony like that. We’re just heads of the village. We run them and govern them. The only problem with my parents meeting you, apart from the fact that they’re racist towards humans, is that they will realise very quickly that I’m the one that has been stealing the Rubins. So, that could potentially get me into a bit of trouble. Well, actually, a lot of trouble”

  “Oh, no! I don't want you to get in any trouble.”

  “I’ll be fine. My parents are quite lenient with me. Anyway, you’re worth it. Are you warm enough yet?”

  I nod my head, and he smiles before turning around and pointing to his back. “Stay on my back and I’ll bring you out to the island.”

  I climb onto his back and wrap my arms around his neck.

  He starts swimming out to the island. It’s so much fun on his back because he swims fast and occasionally he dives under the water and straight back up again. I have to be careful laughing, because otherwise I’d get a mouthful of sea water.

  When we get to the island, I reluctantly climb off his back. Sitting on the rocks, I need to get my breath back.

  “Nix, what could your parents do to you when they find out you’ve been taking the Rubins?”

  A dark cloud covers his eyes, making them darker than normal. “I’ve heard of mermen getting banished to a place called The Loop. It’s a deep, dark place. Not many people get out of there once they’re inside. Once we’ve not seen the sun for a while, it sends us mad.”

  I gasp. “No. Then I don’t want to meet them, Nix. I can’t have you getting into trouble because of me. I want to see you, not lose you.”

  “My parents won’t banish me. I’m sure of it. I want them to meet you. You mean a lot to me already and they need to know that you’re going to be in my life.”

  “Are you sure?”

  He grabs me and hugs me. “Yes, I’m sure. Right. No more stalling.” He reaches into his pocket and takes out some Rubins. “Now, you know what to do.”

  He hands it to me and I hold my nose and start chewing it. It really is disgusting. “Urgh. Couldn’t this taste nicer?”

  He laughs, watching me screw my face up as I chew and eventually swallow it.

  It only takes a few minutes before I feel my throat closing over. I take a deep breath, just because it’s my body’s natural instinct. I nod at Nix, and he dives into the sea and holds out his arms for me.

  I’m not as graceful as he is because I’m starting to panic a bit, thinking I won’t be able to breathe. When I land in the water, I open my mouth to breathe and am thankful that water doesn’t gush down my throat.

  I give Nix the thumbs up. He holds my hand and we swim down to his village. It’s so beautiful down here. I can’t help but look all over the place. Nix waves to lots of people and then he stops, puts his arm around my waist, and points to his castle. “That’s home.”

  “Beautiful.”

  He takes my hand again and we swim to the castle. When we come to the main gate, there are some guards who nod at him and look at me strangely. I wonder if they can tell straight away that I’m human.

  When we get inside, he takes me to Darya’s room. I think she was waiting for us because she’s standing in the middle of her room when we enter.

  Her eyes well up when she sees me, but I can’t stop myself from hugging her. “Thank you for being friends with Anna. I think she loved you a lot. She has mermaids everywhere in her room. I just wish she’d told me about you.”

  When I pull back, she smiles at me. “You’re very like her. I made her promise that she wouldn’t tell anyone. She made me do a pinky promise or something like that.”

  I laugh. “I made Nix do one too.”

  She looks serious again. “I don’t want to put a damper on today, but Mum and Dad won’t want to meet you. I know Nix thinks he can railroad them into meeting you, but I don’t think it’s a good idea. Then again, no one could ever talk him out of doing things he wants to do.”

  “I told him I don’t want to meet them if he gets into trouble for talking to me and telling me about mermaids and then for stealing the Rubins.” The thought of Nix getting into trouble is scary. He told me what could happen to him and I don’t want him to be banished by his family. Walking backwards for a few steps, I sit down on her bed. “Nix, do you really think this is a good idea?”

  He comes over to me. “Baby, they already know you’re here. There’s no turning back now. I want them to meet you and that’s it.”

  He takes my hand and leads me out of Darya’s room just as his parents walk in.

  “Nix, Darya, what’s going on here? Why is there a… a human in the castle? Who invited her?” his dad says as he looks down at Nix’s hand in mine. His face is thunderous and his mother has her hand over her mouth. I’m not sure if she’s gasping or whether she’s going to be sick.

  “No, Nix. No. Absolutely not.” She looks up at me with disgust in her eyes.

  “Mum, Dad.” Nix looks at me and pulls me closer to him. “This is Sophia and she means a lot to me. I think she’s my soulmate.”

  I gasp. His soulmate?

  His mum growls and leans into his dad. She looks like she’s going to faint.

  His dad goes red in the face and reaches out to grab Nix, but he takes a step back.

  “No. Sophia is mine, and if you won’t accept her then I have to leave the palace. I need to be near her every day. You know the legends say that when we find our soulmate, we need their touch every day or we get sick and die. I already feel the pull to Sophia. I know how she feels because I can feel it in here.” He puts his hand over his heart.

  I’m in shock. I don’t know what to say. I’m still thinking about being his soulmate. I knew when I met him that there was a strong pull and I was sad when I didn’t see him every day, but soulmates. Do they really exist?

  His mum gasps again and leaves the room. His dad looks like he’s torn. He wants to go after his wife, but he wants to talk to Nix too.

  “I have to go after her. I want Sophia to stay for dinner. We all need to have a serious conversation.”

  “Thanks, Dad.” Nix squeezes my hand.

  “Dinner’s in an hour.” With that, he turns and leaves the room.

  Neither of us says anything for a few minutes and Darya is the first to break the silence.

  “Well, that went better than I expected.” Darya flops down onto her bed and starts laughing.

  “I think they like me.” I just manage to get out before I flop onto her bed next to her, laughing really hard. The whole bed is shaking with both of us laughing.

  “I think you made a great impression,” Nix says, laughing wit
h us.

  After a few minutes, I prop myself up on my elbows. “Seriously though, what’s going to happen next?”

  “I don’t know. I’m being honest, maybe I didn’t think this through,” Nix says, looking down to the floor.

  “Can I ask you what you meant by soulmates?” I ask with a tremble in my voice.

  Nix kneels down and takes my hands in his. “In our history, we only mate with our soulmate. It’s a really big deal and it’s something we learn about through school and through stories our families tell us. We’re supposed to know instantly when we meet our soulmate.”

  “Did you know when you met me?” I ask him meekly.

  He lifts my hands to his mouth and kisses them. “Yes. It felt like all the air had been knocked out of me and I couldn’t breathe. At first I thought it was because I was on land and the Rubins wasn’t working. But my heart was doing flip flops and I just wanted to talk to you and be near you. When you got angry at me for leaving you in the caves, I felt like I was slowly losing my mind. I needed to see you. I needed to be near you. I needed to touch you. That’s why I had to come and find you.”

  “Wow. I didn’t have a clue. I knew I missed you, but I think that’s because I really liked you.” I feel the blush rising up my face.

  “They can’t keep me away from you, Sophia. They know it will slowly kill me. You only get one soulmate in your life and you are it for me.” He kisses my hands again.

  I hear a sniffle behind me and turn to see Darya crying. Taking one of my hands from Nix, I reach out and touch her. “Darya, are you okay?”

  “Yeah. I’m just so happy for both of you. Nix, you’re so lucky to have found Sophia.”

  “Well, if it wasn’t for the starfish, I wouldn’t have met her.” He laughs.

  “Oh my God, yes. You threw a starfish and it landed on my leg.”

  “It was telling me to throw it on the shore, but it would have died. When I refused, it landed on my face and tried to suffocate me. I pulled him off my face and threw him out of the sea. Then I felt guilty so I was walking back out to find him so he didn’t die.”

  I laugh. “That’s when I threw him back in and it landed on your head.”

  “Now all we’ve got to do is convince Mum and Dad that you’re soulmates and that they have to accept Sophia,” Darya says with determination in her voice.

  “Dinner’s going to fun then,” I say sarcastically. I’m not sure how we’re going to do it and I’m not sure if I can make them like me. What happens to me and Nix if they refuse us being together?

  12

  Nix POV

  This dinner is going to be horrendous. Mum and Dad hate humans for reasons they haven’t told me. The fact that I just told them that my soulmate is a human will have exasperated them even more.

  However, they know you don’t choose your soulmate; it’s in your destiny. Hopefully that means something to them.

  “Come on, ladies. We need to think about going down to dinner. We don’t want to keep them waiting.” Standing back up, I stretch my back out after bending over to Sophia.

  “I’m really nervous,” Sophia says quietly as she gets up from the bed.

  She needs to be because this is not going to be pleasant. Although, they didn’t just throw her out of the palace, so that’s a good thing, right?

  Darya follows us down to the dining hall where we sit at the table and wait for my parents to arrive.

  When they come into the room, we stand until they take their seats. Sophia stands a fraction of a second later than us as she realises what we’re doing. She looks at me with a frown on her face, clearly giving out to me for not telling her to stand.

  “Sorry.” My voice is hushed. “It’s automatic to us. We just didn’t think.”

  Once they have sat down, we all sit and I watch Sophia as she glances around the room. There are a lot of treasures in this room and there’s always a guard at the door.

  “So.” My dad clears his throat. “Sophia, is it?”

  She nods her head. “Yes, sir.”

  “Sophia, how did you meet Nix?”

  She looks at me. I’m not sure if she’s waiting for me to speak, but he addressed her so she needs to speak to him.

  “Would you believe a starfish brought us together?”

  Mum gasps. Starfish are mystical creatures that hold lots of powers. This just signifies our bond even more.

  “Explain.” Dad doesn’t mince his words.

  “Well, a starfish landed on my leg and I was trying to pull it off my leg, but it was just stuck fast. When I did get it off, I remembered my nanna told me that ‘if you’re ever lucky enough to catch a starfish then you should make a wish’ so I did. I wished for a friend. Then I threw it back in the sea but it landed on Nix’s head. Then we became friends.” She looks up at me when she tells her side of the story.

  “A starfish, you say?” Dad asks.

  Again, she nods her head.

  “Interesting. So, how did you take the news that your new friend is a merman?” Dad leans his elbows on the table and rests his head in his hands.

  “He didn’t tell me for a few days and then we fell out.”

  “Fell out?” Mum asks her, instantly perking up.

  “Yes. He left me alone with Eva who was mean to me, so I didn’t go down to the beach the next two days. Nix came up to find me though. I’m glad he did. Then, when we were alone on the beach, he told me all about who you are. I was fascinated and I’m amazed by the life you all have down here.”

  “Down here is right,” Mum grumbles.

  “Nix, how did she react?” Dad has a smirk on his face. He clearly thinks there was trouble. Little does he know how well she took it.

  “Actually, she was amazing. She didn’t believe me at first but then I showed her my tail. We went for a swim and the rest is history.” I reach out and take her hand. I can’t help myself; I need to touch her. I want her to know I’m here for her. “I think it has a lot to do with the soulmate bond. Her mind didn’t fight my words because, deep down, her heart knows she’s mine.”

  Sophia gasps as she tightens her hold on my hand.

  “Yes. The soulmate bond. Have you heard of this, Sophia?” I’m not sure what Dad is up to, but I’m watching him closely. Where is he taking this?

  “I’ve heard about soulmates. Everyone has. My mum says that Dad is her soulmate. I just assumed it was someone you love unconditionally.”

  “Unconditionally. That’s the perfect word. Obviously, you and Nix have quite a few hurdles to overcome before you can live happily ever after, don’t you?”

  Sophia lifts her chin to Dad. ‘Like what, sir?”

  He laughs. Dad throws his head back and laughs loudly. I feel Sophia shrink back in her chair a bit.

  “Like what? How about the fact that he is a merman and you are human?” He doesn’t wait for her to answer him. Suddenly his eyes go wide like saucers. “Nix, have you been the one stealing the Rubins?” he roars down the table at me.

  “Yes. I took some at first to save the starfish that I threw out of the sea because he told me to. I quickly swam and got some. Then I met Sophia, and because of the pull, I had to keep getting some.”

  Dad stands up and walks to my end of the table. Banging his hand down on the table next to me, he leans forward. “Were you not at the dinner the other night when we said that when we find the culprit, they would be banished to the Loop?”

  Nodding my head, I look at him defiantly. “Yes, I was.”

  Dad growls loudly. “For the love of Poseidon. Nix, you’ve put me in a difficult situation. I can’t accept this union between you and Sophia, not when you’ve been stealing our precious Rubins.” He moves around me and stands next to Sophia. “This is all your fault. I hope you’re happy. Because of you, our son is going to be banished, but the soulmate bond will kill him before anything in the Loop does.”

  Mum starts to cry at the other end of the table and Dad moves closer to her and puts his arm around her shou
lder.

  Looking up at us, he roars, “Get out, both of you. Nix, get her out of my sight. I don’t want to see her again. Sort this out or I’ll have no other option than to tell the council that you were the one stealing from them.”

  “Dad, you can’t do that to Nix!” Darya shouts. She never raises her voice, ever. This is monumental. Dad stares at her. “Nix will die if he’s away from Sophia for too long. Are you trying to kill your son?”

  “He’s done this to himself, Darya.”

  Darya starts crying.

  “Dad, when we had dinner the other night, I was talking to Hurley and he told me there’s another way for us to be together.”

  Dad starts laughing. “Nix, you are really showing your age now. Have you ever heard of or seen anyone coming back from the Loop?”

  I shake my head. Now that he mentions it, no one has ever lived to tell the tale.

  “It’s all a load of rubbish. There’s no other way and we need to keep our dwindling stock of Rubins safe. Now get out. Take Sophia home and say your goodbyes.” Dad helps Mum to stand up from the table and they both walk out of the room without even eating their food.

  “Well, that went well,” Sophia says before sobbing.

  I pull her closer to me. “It’ll be fine. They’ll come around.”

  Darya snorts. “Yeah right. Stubborn beggars.”

  In that moment, I know what I need to do. I need to go to the Loop and find Zale to find out what is the other way around our dilemma.

  “Come on, Sophia. There’s no point staying around here. Let’s go.”

  She stands up and leans over to kiss Darya on the cheek. “See you soon, Darya. I have so many questions for you about Anna.”

  At the mention of her name, Darya’s eyes cloud over for a second then she recovers herself.

  “I’d love to.” She smiles at Sophia.

  “Come on, baby. I want to show you my room and I just need to pick something up then we can get out of here and talk.”

  I feel nerves radiating from her. Her body has gone stiff, her pulse has quickened, and her hand feels clammy.