Rest now her essence requested.
A stillness grew from the center of Rowan’s being and he closed his eyes. Death by drowning was a peaceful way to go and he was glad for it.
A black void sucked him from the conscious world, but the Ocean wasn’t done with him. She had a purpose for Rowan, a destiny only he could fulfill. She molded him into what he was meant to be, what She’d originally planned for him when the storm thrust him into her waters five years ago.
She caressed his cheek as Meriya once did, counting his freckles. Her touch traveled down his neck, giving him the gift of breath. Further she went, providing him the muscles he’d need to survive.
All these gifts would help him to live the life he was meant to live.
Finally, her magic would take away his previous existence, transforming two of Rowan’s limbs into one. Scales sprouted along his flesh from hip to heel. Diaphanous, teal fins burst from the end.
She paused to survey her handiwork and would have smiled if she possessed a face. With Rowan’s conversion complete, she set him down on a soft spot of sand to wait for him to wake up. Until then, she would watch over and protect him.
34
“You got the book!” Cayson’s greedy gaze landed on it, itching to snatch it away. “I knew you could do it.”
Meriya laid upon the sand next to her sister, her chest heaving from both exertion and panic. She set the book down and patted herself down to check for injuries. With all her scales accounted for, she checked her fins and found no injuries.
“Jovie, are you okay?” Her sister failed to move but breathed just as heavy as Meriya.
“Yeah,” she breathed. “I think I am.”
Meriya sat up and checked her sister out, running a hand down Jovie’s scales and when she lifted her fingers up, she came away with blood.
“Oh, Jovie. You’re bleeding!” Meriya didn’t understand how she could have been hurt. “What happened?”
“It was the glass on the window. When I swam through the opening I cut myself.” Jovie sat up to examine her cut. “It’s not too deep. I’ll be fine.”
“Oh, good,” Cayson cut in. “Now let me see the journal.”
“Excuse me?” Meriya shot up like her tail was on fire, shaking the book in his direction. “We both risked our lives for this book while you merely sat there. This isn’t even your journal to begin with. Did you steal it?”
“I didn’t steal anything!” Cayson threw his hands out, eyes searing with anger.
“Then how did you get the King’s personal journal?” Jovie asked as she brushed off her tail and went to her sister’s side.
“My father gave it to me. He told me it needed to be guarded and no one would suspect I would have it.” He ogled the book in Meriya’s arms, practically drooling.
“Is that so?” Meriya put one hand on her hip, the other arm holding the book. “Then no one is going to expect me to have it. It’s safer if I watch over it.”
Cayson smiled and inched forward. “We can both watch over it, my love.” He eased up in front of Meriya and placed a hand on her shoulder. “You mean the world to me and I want to ensure you are taken care of for the rest of your life. This journal contains everything we need to give us a life of luxury.”
Meriya didn’t like the direction this conversation headed. He switched from hot to cold so often, she got whiplash. She didn’t voice her concerns about Cayson only thinking about himself. He’d finally shown his true colors once again.
“I’m done, Cayson.” Meriya threaded her fingers through Jovie’s and turned to leave. They needed to find shelter for the night. Tomorrow, they would continue excavating the palace and looking for survivors.
“No, you’ve got this all wrong.” Meriya heard from behind before Jovie crumpled to the ocean floor.
Meriya turned to find Cayson holding a large rock now covered in blood from her sister. “Cayson!” Her eyes flew between Jovie and Cayson, unsure of what to do next.
“You left me no choice.” He said matter-of-factly.
Meriya rushed to Jovie’s side, hands fluttering over her, unsure whether she should touch her or not. “Jovie, are you okay? Oh, my gods. Wake up!” Her actions put her closer to Cayson, but she tried her best to ignore the way her skin crawled.
“Back off!” She seethed, but Cayson stayed where he was, glaring down at her. She was no good to her sister dead. She prayed to Poseidon her sister was still alive.
He waved a hand at Jovie. “She’s hardly dead. I only knocked her out.”
“Which you had no right to do!” Meriya practically screamed, her voice high in pitch. She was afraid to turn her back on him and run, but being this close to him wasn’t doing her any good.
She needed a different tactic. “Maybe… maybe you’re right.”
“I am?” Cayson’s brows drew together.
“Yeah, um…” Meriya reached deep, trying to decide what was best for her and her sister. If she swam away, he would follow her and perhaps forget about Jovie. “We can go back to the palace, request an audience with the council, and…”
Cayson’s gaze took on a hunger as he ate up every word.
“And?” Cayson’s mouth distorted into a slick, oily grin. His eyes roamed over her body.
“And…” she glanced at her sister still lying unconscious on the sand, which caused Cayson to look down at Jovie as well. While his focus was elsewhere, she took the opportunity to get a head start, putting fin to water, and racing toward the palace. He wouldn’t dare make a scene around other people, would he?
“Meriya!” Cayson cried her name causing goosebumps to spring up along her arms. Could she swim faster than him? She was smaller and maybe that would help her to glide through the water easier.
“Meriya!” She could have sworn she heard her name called again, but from farther away. The sound was gone in an instant, swallowed up by the sound of the storm above and crashing waves.
Fins could only carry her so fast and she feared Cayson would catch up with her. He was bigger and stronger, but his build wasn’t as slim as hers. Would her size work to her advantage?
Did she dare look behind her? No, she needed to keep her goal in her sights.
“Let’s be reasonable about this!” Cayson sounded too close for comfort and she doubled her efforts.
When she didn’t answer him, he tried again. “Meriya, please. Can we talk about this?” His words felt like they brushed her shoulder. She wasn’t going to make it to the palace and there wasn’t a soul in sight to help her.
“Leave me alone, Cayson. I don’t want to hear it.” If only her words sounded as strong as she intended them to be.
“I can’t do that.” His arm snaked around her waist and brought her to the ground. Her body scraped over coral and her head bounced off a rock. With blurry vision, she turned to find Cayson over her, pinning her to the sand.
“Please, don’t do this,” she mumbled weakly. “Let me go. I need to… need to…” The injury to her head throbbed a few more times before she laid her head down to rest. She was tired, so, so tired.
“You’re making this way too easy.” Cayson moved her hair out of her face tenderly. “You’re precious to me, whether you realize it or not.” Those were the last words she heard.
She opened her eyes to darkness. This seemed to be a reoccurring theme in her life. Sleep hadn’t been the greatest, but it was better than nothing. Her head started to pound when she moved it, reminding her she’d struck it on a rock.
Meriya rolled onto her back with a moan, vision blurry, but it appeared she was in a cave. Raising her head only made the pain worse, but she needed to know where she was. Light filtered in through the cave opening, allowing her to see she wasn't alone. The man near the entrance wasn't Cayson, but one of the royal guards.
Meriya laid her head back down and closed her eyes, gathering her thoughts. Once the pain lessened to a manageable amount, she rolled over and sat up. Her stomach lurched.
"You're a
wake, Your Highness," murmured the guard.
"Against my better judgment." Meriya rubbed the sore spot on her head, wincing, and came away with semi-caked blood. "Where am I and how long have I been out?"
"You're in the cave system next to the palace or what used to be the palace.” His smile fell, worry lines creasing his forehead. “You’ve been asleep a full day.”
Rising up, Meriya gradually drew closer to the entrance, trying not to upset her stomach, but then the guard barred her way. "You can't go out there, Your Highness."
"Tarian?” She knew this guard. He worked with her father for years. “What are you doing?” Did the guards find her and now they were keeping her in the cave to protect her from Cayson? Did he know what Cayson did to her?
Oh no. Where was the journal?
"I was personally selected to watch over you until the ceremony." Tarian moved to point at something, but Meriya raised a hand, interrupting him before he could continue.
"Ceremony?" She squealed, causing the space within the cave to ricochet her word. She brought her hands up to cover her ears as she realized that move would cost her a great deal of pain.
"Yes, ceremony. The council has been waiting for you to wake up. You'll be pleased to know you’ve been cared for here. The council requested proper bedding be set up for you." He waved his hand and lanterns sprung to life, revealing what the darkness kept a secret. Everyone possessed magic but her, which only made Meriya feel even more helpless in this situation.
She'd woken up on a soft pallet with pillows spread around it, not taking notice of her surroundings because of the pain radiating through her skull.
Her brain felt muddled, between the aching in her head, the situation before her, and now a ceremony.
"Tarian, what ceremony are we waiting for?" Her insides did a flip-flop, praying to any god that would listen, hoping it wasn't the ceremony she thought it was.
"We're waiting for preparations to be made for your joining ceremony. Once completed, you'll be coroneted." Tarian stood up straight, proud that he could serve his future queen and provide her information.
Her hand shot up to cover her mouth. She was going to be sick. He'd smashed her head against a rock, dragged her to a cave, and then decided her fate without asking her. He still thought their betrothal was on.
Meriya placed her hands together and begged. “You have to help me, Tarian.”
“Of course, Your Highness.” He relaxed his stance, ready to assist.
“I need to speak with the council. Cayson… he’s lying to them.” She pleaded with her eyes for Tarian to understand.
“Your Highness, with all due respect, my orders are to keep you here until the council comes for you.” His face was void of emotion now. Tarian was a soldier and only following orders.
No way in hell would she spend the rest of her life with Cayson. Especially not as a pawn in his game to become King.
"I'm not who he thinks I am. I... I can't be a queen." She eyed her only point of escape and wondered if she could outrun him, but it hadn't worked out well when she fled from Cayson.
"It's not for me to decide, Your Highness."
35
Water wrapped around Rowan, comforting him in his slumber. He rolled over with a groan, coming in contact with a pile of sand. No, the whole ground was sand. He could feel it beneath his body, against his skin, in his hair. His fingers curled into it, squishing it out of his hand.
“What the…?” He shot up, only then realizing he was under water. His hands went to his throat, but he discovered drowning should be the least of his concerns.
“This can’t be.” Dumbfounded, he stared at his hands, down his arms to his torso, then stopped at his waist. Shimmery, teal scales winked up at him.
“No, no, no, no! This has to be a dream.” He pinched his arm and yelped.
Clumsily, he tried to maneuver through the water, but only managed to barely keep from falling on his face. Something he didn’t know could happen when faced with trying to swim at the bottom of the ocean… with a tail.
A current of water forced him upright and he looked around.
“What was that? Who’s there?” He searched around frantically but found himself alone. The current brushed against his skin and scales, bringing on a feeling of serenity, of rightness.
Rowan couldn’t help but think of all the times Meriya spoke of the ocean as if it were a person, a woman.
Meriya, he thought inside his head, missing her so much. He was a mermaid now. Merman? Yes, he was a merman he resolved. Which meant they could be together. If only he could find her.
Who is this? The voice came from inside his head and once again he was on edge, wondering who was out there.
Huh? His eyes lingered on his surroundings. Sand, coral, rocks, and what appeared to be lava rock surrounded him. There was a crack running along the ground near him.
I asked who this is. Who are you and why are you contacting me?
He must have hit his head pretty hard. Why was he hearing voices? Voices which sort of sounded like Meriya, but that couldn’t be. Could it?
Meriya? Is that you?
M-maybe.
He was either completely crazy or dreaming. He couldn’t decide which.
Meriya! This is Rowan! You’re alive? Relief flooded through him. He’d found her. Wait, he still didn’t know where she was.
Rowan! How, what…what are you doing talking to me telepathically?
I don’t know. Where are you? He moved about, somehow getting a sense of where she was by hearing her voice inside his head. His body felt a tug, but the muscles in his tail wouldn’t work right. He wasn’t used to having only one limb. If he could have both his legs, he’d be kicking his feet to move through the water.
With a downward thrust, he was able to move, but it only brought him closer to the surface. Shit, he needed to learn how to swim all over again.
The Ocean gave a gentle nudge of guidance to this tail, helping him get the feel for what he should do to steer correctly with his newfound muscles.
In a cave. Oh, Rowan. I’m being held prisoner!
Rowan saw red. That wouldn’t fly with him. I’m coming for you, Meriya. Hang tight.
Hurry, Rowan.
With those last two words, he doubled his effort. His instincts, and a sketchy knowledge of the topography thanks to the maps he studied, were telling him to travel toward the east. As he swam he saw more destruction. Structures which once looked like dwellings were nothing but ghosts of their former self. The foundation was still intact, but the walls and roof sprawled across the ground, scattered in the current which created a road of debris for him to follow.
Meriya never told him how she’d gotten injured, but he started to lay all the puzzle pieces together. Her world, now his world, lied decimated. He swallowed down the uneasiness.
Another glance down at his tail reminded him he was no longer human. Why had he been turned into a merman? How? That was the big question. How had he been turned? Who or what did this to him?
The Ocean gave his shoulder a gentle nudge, reminding him she was there. This was crazy. The ocean was not a living thing. It was only water, a big mass of liquid with coral and plants and real living things that actually breathed.
Another tug from something deep within redirected his course slightly. He still faltered several times in his attempt to swim, but he gradually got used to only having one appendage with which to swim and steer.
Over a small rise he found a group of mermaids and mermen meandering about, sifting through small and large black chunks of rock. The pieces weren’t lava rock, no, this stuff looked like coal, but shiny. The name of the stone hovered right on the tip of his tongue.
Sunlight flitted across the surface of a boulder-sized piece as three mermen did their best to carry it away, but they weren’t touching the stone. Their faces strained with effort, but the debris hovered just out of reach.
Obsidian!
Yes, that’s what it looked
like.
Were these the same people who’d taken Meriya captive? These people were strangers to him. Deciding not to take any chances, he’d avoid them at all costs.
Skirting the edge of the area was his best bet. No one spotted him yet and on the far side of the valley appeared to be mountains. That must be where the cave was located where they held Meriya. The mountain formation was a half circle mass wrapping around toward his direction.
He kept close to it and as low as he could to keep from being seen. The mer-people below were too busy to pay him any mind. As he got closer to the other side, he spotted a cave. The three tough looking guys hanging around the entrance told Rowan this was the place they held Meriya.
These guys were huge, with muscles popping out of their arms and abdomen for days. How was he going to get through them to rescue Meriya?
Rowan? Her voice was a soft caress, warming his insides.
I’m here, but you’ve got a few guards that look like they could squeeze, grind, and pulverize me into orange juice.
There was only one until a few moments ago. She paused, and he could feel her agitation. I’m betrothed, Rowan. In an hour’s time, I’ll be joined with Cayson.
What? Was she getting married? She’d never mentioned this betrothal. They’d kissed, they’d shared a moment, and all this time she knew she would be marrying another guy.
Rowan? Are you there?
He slowly backed away, his fear and betrayal seeping through their connection. His heart broke into a million slivers, like the black obsidian lying yards away.
Why? He asked. The question was for both her and him. Why was she doing this to him? Why was he a merman if not to finally get the chance to be with her?
Why, what? In turn, her confusion filtered through with her words. Rowan, I don’t want to join with Cayson. He’s only forcing me to do this for his own gain. You have to help me!
Rowan braced his hand against the mountainside, sick to his stomach. What if this was a lie?
Sirens and Scales Page 397
