Suppressed: A Little Mermaid Retelling

by Wendi Wilson

  “You’re not going crazy,” he says.

  I take a quick step back, flinching at his words. “How did you…? Did I…? What is happening, Bryce?”

  “Everything okay?” Bran says, coming back to check on us. “We really need to get this spell started.”

  “Dad,” Bryce says, pausing for a second as if to collect his thoughts, “Kai and I can read each other’s minds.”

  “Yes, you told me she can project thoughts to you. And your ability is enhanced with her due to your synergy.”

  “No,” I say, my head shaking back and forth. “This isn’t the same. I can hear his thoughts, as if he’s speaking directly to me.”

  “And I can hear hers.”

  Bran rocks back on his heels in the sand. “The diviner said something like this might happen.”

  “And you didn’t tell us?” Bryce asks, his voice demanding.

  “Now, son, Evelyn didn’t tell me anything specific. She just said your bond would intensify if you use the physical manifestation.” He puts a palm up and lunges forward, mimicking Bryce’s use of the lightning bolt. “She said it would tie you together, even tighter than before.”

  The steam blows out of Bryce and, with sagging shoulders, he looks at me. “Are you okay with this?”

  Looking at him, feeling all the love and devotion between us, I know the answer to that. I am okay with it. I’m more than okay. It’s going to be awkward at times, like with the whole shower incident. But I’ll take awkward any day if it means being more closely bonded with Bryce. My soulmate.

  I feel the same way. His smile is huge, that real smile that he devotes solely to me.

  “Bryce? Kai?” his mother calls from down the beach. “Come quickly! We have to do this now.”

  Sand kicks up, spread in every direction from our feet as we sprint across the beach. We come to a skidding halt when we reach Celine with Bran just a few steps behind us. My mouth drops open at the sight before me.

  Fat, white candles, set in a large circle in the sand, flicker in the wind. Strange symbols ring the inside. I look closer, trying to discern what they are but they look like hieroglyphics to me. I have no idea what they mean.

  “You need to step inside the circle, Kai,” Celine says, motioning me to a spot where there is a break in the line. “I’ll close it after you enter.”

  My nerves ratchet up a few notches now that the time has come to do this. What if it doesn’t work? What if I turn into a mermaid and have to go into the sea?

  It’s going to work.

  Bryce’s thought fills my head as he takes my hand. I can hear him chanting in his head, sending calming waves into my body through the physical connection. Can he do that without touching me now? Because of our bond?

  “We’ll try it later,” he whispers, nudging me closer to the circle.

  With one last reassuring squeeze, he releases my hand. Taking a deep breath, I lift my foot to step inside the circle. Celine and Bran are already chanting, their comforting voices complimenting the sound of the waves breaking nearby. As my foot touches the sand, a keening wail pounds against my eardrums. Using my palms to muffle the sound, I stumble back.

  “Kailani Ericson, daughter to Merryn of Delmare and the human, Dante Ericson, I come with a message from our king.”

  My eyes scan the water frantically, looking for the source of the voice. The waves shift and I see him about thirty yards out. With the moon reflecting its brilliant light off of his platinum blond hair and pale, muscular torso, he’s hard to miss.

  “Our king holds your father and your mother in his custody. Our king decrees that you shall come to Delmare and face punishment for being the abomination that you are. You have one day to get your affairs in order. Tomorrow night, when the moon is at its zenith, I will come back and escort you to your fate. If you refuse, your parents will be executed.”

  Just as suddenly as he appeared, he’s gone. The roar of the ocean returns in full force, making me realize that it had somehow been muted while the man… merman… whatever he calls himself had been speaking. Tears sting my eyes as I replay his words over and over in my mind.

  “Kai, get in the circle,” Bryce says, his urgent voice breaking through my thoughts.

  “What?” I ask lamely.

  “Get in. We have to do the spell. We’re running out of time. We’ll figure out the rest later.”

  I take a step in the wrong direction. “I’m sorry, Bryce.”

  “Kai, don’t. We will figure this out together. Just get in the circle.”

  “I have to save them.” I’m sorry. I love you, I add mentally. Without looking back, I dash toward the water. Toward my parents. Toward my destiny.

  Want to know what happens next?

  Continue Kai’s story with the next installment of the Suppressed Series: Resurfaced

  Click Here!!!

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  Acknowledgments

  Thank you to Sandra, Megan, Sam and Kat for all your help. I couldn’t do this without you. Thank you to my husband for getting the kids out of my hair so I can work. You’re the best!

  Thanks to all of you, my readers, for making my dreams come true.

  Also by Wendi L. Wilson

  Shadowed Strength

  Shadowed Instincts

  Shadowed Ascension

  Shadowed Truth: A Shadowed Series Novella