“Nope. Coconut shrimp with piña colada sauce. Bad?”
“No, it really good. Mom, can you make that sometime?” She tugs on her mom’s dress.
Mrs. Avery laughs nervously. “I wouldn’t know how to start.”
I lean down and tap her on the nose. I can’t resist; she’s so stinkin’ adorable. “Tell you what, come over to the house sometime, and I’ll teach you. Then you can make it for your mom.”
Her mouth falls open. “Really? You think I could make that?”
“Sure, why not? I’m the dumbest guy I know, and I can make it.”
“He’s not dumb at all, Becky, and he’s a great teacher.” Coral puts one hand on my shoulder and the other on Becky’s and gives me that look that makes me feel like I’m ten times better than I think I am.
Avery ruffles his sister’s hair. “Yeah, that’d be great, Beck. You can go swimming, too.”
She looks up at him in horror. “Are there alligators?”
He laughs. “Not in the swimming pool.”
His family isn’t the type to ask me questions about the food, so they wander away a few minutes later. Bella is hanging around nearby and comes over when they’re gone.
“Hey Jude, do you know how to make wings and sliders and stuff like that? For, like, a cool party?” She looks around at all the high-society, middle-age people and rolls her eyes.
I smirk at her and gesture to my body. “What do you think?”
She grins then puts her hands on the table and leans forward. “So, do you think you could make some food for me if I had a party when I move in?”
Coral looks pointedly from me to Bella to Becky, and I think I know what she’s hinting at.
“I’ll tell you what, I’ll make your party food, but you have to help me. You’re old enough you need to learn how to cook.”
She huffs and tosses her hair. “I can cook some stuff!”
I raise an eyebrow. “Oh yeah? What do you know how to make?”
Her eyes drop to the table like she’s suddenly fascinated by the plate of crackers in front of her. “Macaroni and cheese.”
“From a box?”
She rolls her eyes. “Maybe.”
“Yeah, you definitely need some lessons. Unless you think you can’t handle it.”
She snorts. “You think Becky can learn how to make coconut shrimp but I can’t handle chicken wings?”
I shrug and smirk at her. “I don’t know. She seemed a little more confident in herself than you do.”
She sticks her hands on her hips. “I can handle anything you throw at me.”
“You’re on, then.” I grin, and she walks away, shaking her head.
“You’re good with them,” Coral whispers in my ear.
“I like kids. They’re fun, and they don’t judge me for being a goofball.” I get excited about the prospect of teaching Bella and Becky how to cook the things they love.
“They like you, too. You’d make a good teacher, and you’ll make a good father someday.”
Her words instantly paint a picture in my mind of me, surrounded by kids, teaching them what I know. One of them looks like a pint-size Coral.
Chapter 18
Coral
We’re all lounging in the backyard, enjoying a gorgeous fall day, and I’m thinking about how perfect my life is now, when the world I left behind comes rushing back to claim me, and my two worlds collide in a way I never would’ve imagined.
Jude and Gio are tossing a football back and forth, Avery is working on his tan and flipping through a magazine, and even Liam came out of the office and is reading his textbook on one of the lounge chairs. I’m floating in the crystal blue pool, experimenting with the way my human body moves in the deep water.
All the guys holler out “not it” when a buzzer sounds, letting us know someone is at the front gate. Everyone except for Liam, who’s so caught up in his book he doesn’t even look up until Jude throws the football at him, knocking the book out of his hand.
“You lose, bookworm.”
Liam rolls his eyes and hurls the ball back towards Jude who dives for it, landing in the grass.
We don’t get many visitors, so I’m curious who it might be. Liam comes back a minute later with a stunned look on his face. “Coral, there’s someone here asking for you.”
I lift my head out of the water, confused. Almost everyone I know is here with me. My arms flail in the water, reaching for something to grab onto when I see the person standing behind him. Her hair is much lighter when it’s dry, blonder than Avery’s, and her body is covered in clothing. But I’d recognize those sad eyes anywhere.
I breathe in her name on a gasp. “Meribel.”
The guys are just as stunned as I am when they hear me say her name. I’ve told them all about my best friend.
I’m not wearing a bathing suit, and I feel naked even though Meribel’s never seen me in clothing. Avery jumps up and hands me a towel, and I wrap it around my body. I’m too stunned to do anything else but stare at her, though.
Suddenly, she reaches for me, wrapping her arms around me. My body responds then. I hug her back, squeezing her like I’m not quite sure she’s real.
“I can’t believe you’re here. And you’re human! How did you find me?” I stroke her soft hair and pale skin, stare at her shorts and tee shirt. If I didn’t know her, I’d never guess she was a mermaid. Do I look just as strange to her in my human form?
“Your mother told me how to find you. I went to see her again when…” Her thought trails off and her face goes stiff like she’s holding back a flood of emotions.
“When what?”
She glances around at the pool, the tropical landscaping, the ocean, and the men surrounding me. “I can’t believe you live here, Coral. This place is amazing. And these are your… mates?”
I smile and grab onto the nearest one. “Yes, this is—”
“Liam,” she interrupts me. “And this must be Jude, and Avery, and Gio.”
My heart melts as she looks at each one and thinks their names. “You remembered.”
She scoffs at me. “Of course I remembered! You’re my best friend, Coral. How could I forget about the men you love?”
I cringe, feeling guilty, because forcing myself to forget about her and Kai and everyone else in the shoal is the only way I’ve been able to live with myself since I left there. But something is terribly wrong, or Meribel wouldn’t be here. She never dreamed of living on land like I did. She never had any desire to leave the sea.
“Why are you here, Meribel? Is everything okay?” I thread my fingers through hers the way we used to hold hands when we would swim together.
She tries to force a smile, but a tear squeezes out instead. I grip her hand tighter. “It’s your grandfather. He’s dying.”
Her words pierce my heart with more pain and sadness than I could have imagined for someone I thought I no longer loved. I press a hand to my chest, trying to soothe the ache. My heart throbs with anxiety, each contraction a stab wound.
“What’s wrong with him?”
“We don’t know, but he’s very sick. He won’t eat, he can’t swim, he can barely speak. They don’t expect him to last more than a few days.”
The guys can’t hear what Meribel is saying since she’s sharing her thoughts not speaking. Probably the only English she learned how to say is my name. So I quickly fill them in on the conversation and flick my eyes towards Liam.
He shakes his head. “It could be a lot of things — cancer, a stroke, a brain tumor. He needs to see a doctor. He needs blood work at least, maybe an MRI.”
My eyes drop to the ground, staring at the water droplets that drip from my body and evaporate on the hot pavement. I know my grandfather would rather die than involve a human. Even one as trustworthy as Liam. His own stubbornness will be the death of him. Suddenly, all the ramifications of that crash over me. I stumble under the onslaught.
When Grandfather dies, if there’s no heir to take the thro
ne, the two highest-ranking mermen will have to fight to the death for the right to rule the kingdom. That means Kai will have to fight his brother. If one of them forfeits, the other will have to fight the next-highest merman, Pelagios, who is stronger than both of them and will certainly win. That means Kai has to kill his own brother or let Pelagios do it for him.
I put myself in Meribel’s place, imagining one of my mates having to kill or be killed. The thought is too horrible to dwell on for more than a moment, turning my world black even under a bright, cloudless sky. The reason for Meribel’s visit is vividly obvious.
“You didn’t come all the way here just to tell me that. You came to ask me to come back.”
My words get the guys’ attention, and they all close in on me, touching me, shielding me, like they’re hoping their presence will remind me of what I’d be losing if I went. I need no reminder. The thought of leaving them is like having my limbs torn from my body. I would still be me, still be alive, but I’d no longer be anything but a figurehead, a lifeless body to sit on the throne. I claw at them, feeling them slipping away even though they’re standing right beside me.
Meribel looks at them and me and then drops her head. “I thought it would be easier, asking you to give up your happiness to spare Kai’s life, but I can’t do it, Coral. I can see how much they mean to you, how much you mean to them. Watching you mourn the loss of them would be just as bad.”
I close my eyes and let the weight of my destiny settle on me. I tried to escape it, but deep down I knew my reprieve was only temporary. My destiny demands sacrifice. It’s time for me to accept my fate. When I open my eyes again, I’ve made up my mind.
I take a deep breath, lifting my head up high like the princess I am. “No, Meribel. You were right to come. No one should have to die for my happiness. I am the heir to the throne. The responsibility is mine, not Kai’s.”
The guys respond to that, grabbing at me, their protests and commands jumbling together in a storm cloud of cacophony. I feel like I’m being swallowed by them, drowning.
“No!” I flail my arms and push them away from me. Their pain is too heavy to add to my burden.
They back off just enough for me to catch my breath, but one look at them has me clutching my aching chest. They try to approach me again, but I hold them off with outstretched hands. “Don’t. Please. Don’t make this any harder on me.”
I think about staying for one more night to give myself time to say goodbye to them, but I know if I let myself linger I’ll give in to my own selfishness, and I’ll never be able to go. I have to go now before I let them talk me out of it. I don’t even trust myself to say goodbye to them in private.
Once I’ve caught my breath, I turn to them. Gio is fuming, his face red and clenched, the muscles in his neck taut cords, bulging. I take his arm, the one with the image of me, and press it to his chest. “I’m glad you got this. It means you’ll always have me with you, even when I’m not here.”
He grabs my shoulders, and my body shakes with his anger. “So that’s it, then? You’re just going to leave?”
“I have to do what’s right, Gio. You know how that feels.” My words have the desired effect. His face crumples with guilt and pain. I wrap my arms around his massive body and press my cheek to his chest. He engulfs me, squeezing too hard, but I don’t try to stop him. Eventually, a giant sob wracks his body, and he lets go and storms away. I start to go after him but force myself to stay and turn to Liam.
“We can fix this, Coral. I can prepare a tranquilizer so you can sedate your grandfather. We can bring him here and treat him. Maybe with the right medical care, he’ll be all right.”
I take his hands and lift them to my lips, kissing his knuckles. “He’s an old man, Liam. His time has come, and so has mine.”
“But maybe he has another five years or even ten. Things could change.”
I shake my head. “You can’t fix this, Liam. But finish your schooling, and maybe someday my people will be willing to trust you to save them.”
I look up into his emerald eyes, flashing with emotions he’s too afraid to speak. One tear drips from them, and I kiss it away. He sucks in a sob and clutches me to him. I hold him till his chest quits heaving.
When we part, I turn to Jude, whose face is twisted in a pained smile. He opens his mouth, a silly joke on his tongue, but I reach up and kiss him deeply instead. My tongue drives out any doubt of my love for him. I don’t want him to make light of this or pretend what we had wasn’t real.
“You’re meant for great things, Jude. I’m so proud of you. Don’t ever think you’re not special.”
He runs his hands through his hair, mussing his curls, as tears course down his cheeks. He pulls the hem of his tee shirt up to wipe at them and sits down, his face buried in the cotton.
Avery is the only one left, and his beautiful face is already wet with tears. I run a hand gently down his damp cheek, and he does the same to me. He sniffs and reaches for me, pulling me in and drying his face on my hair. His hands caress my body as soft as feathers. I sigh against him, soaking in the comfort of his love and memorizing the scent of him.
“I’ll never forget you,” I whisper the only promise I can make.
Will I ever come back here? Once I take the throne and release the merfolk from the curse, they’ll have the freedom to come and go as they please. But my duty will always be to the shoal. Coming back here will only turn the knife deeper in my heart, knowing I can’t stay. No, it’s best if I cut all ties.
When I turn away from them, Meribel has her head in her hands. I lay a hand on her shoulder, and she looks up at me. “Let’s go, Meribel.”
I wish I had time to show Meribel the world, all the thrills and pleasures of human society. But all it would do is stir up longings in her she doesn’t want and remind me of everything I’m losing. Instead, I take her hand and lead her to the end of the dock and we dive into the water. I don’t dare look back.
Chapter 19
Coral
When I plunge into the sea, the cool, ocean water engulfs me, claiming me. My tail unfurls immediately, ever ready to resume its natural form. My body absorbs the water, filling my gills, making me one with the sea again. It’s surprising how easy it is to swim, like I never left the sea.
Meribel and I keep our hands intertwined for a moment, but it slows our process, so eventually we let go. Merfolk don’t count time like humans, but I know that Grandfather doesn’t have much left. If he dies before I get there, I’m sure Pelagios will be pushing for a new king to be crowned.
We don’t speak much on the way. Anything I have to say will only remind me of what I’m losing. I try not to let myself think about the guys, but when I do, I make sure to block my thoughts so Meribel can’t hear them. Someday maybe I’ll be strong enough to savor the memories, but right now, they only bring me pain.
The journey seems to take forever, the sea an endless stretch of nothingness compared to the world on land. It’s been a long time since I swam such a far distance. Exhaustion overwhelms me while we’re still a long way off, but I force myself to go on, ignoring the pain and fatigue. We stop only a few times to catch fish to fuel our journey.
“What would you like to eat, Coral? Do you want to look for a red snapper? Or maybe yellowfin tuna?” Meribel asks when we near a reef teeming with marine life.
I shrug and grab the first thing that swims by. “Fish is fish. As long as it’s edible, what does it matter what kind it is?” That’s the merfolk way of thinking about food. Might as well embrace it. My gut twists as I eat, realizing I’ll never taste any of Jude’s delicious concoctions again.
“There’s a sea turtle!” Meribel points as the creature floats lazily by, trying to cheer me up a bit. She knows I love the gentle giants. But all I can think about is the turtle in Liam’s laboratory. I remember how frightened I was at the idea of being a specimen for humans to study, but I’d gladly spend the rest of my life in a tiny tank if it meant I could be with Liam a
gain.
We have to ask directions a few times as we go since neither one of us has spent much time exploring the sea beyond the shoal. A pair of bottlenose dolphins are happy to assist us. Their eagerness reminds me of the dolphins who helped me tow the life raft to the island the day the guys’ ship sank.
What would’ve happened if I’d never rescued them? Would I have returned to the sea on the fifth day, never knowing the truth about the curse? Or would I have stayed, only to discover I was all alone? The thought of a world where they don’t exist is too terrible to dwell on. Even if I can’t be with them, I need to know that they’re alive.
Eventually, we near the shoal. I recognize the familiar patches of coral that Meribel and I played in what seems like a lifetime ago. It’s hard to believe it was less than a cycle since we were last here together.
The guards swim back and forth in tight formations, monitoring the sea around the shoal. I tense at the sight of them, remembering the way they treated me the last time I was here. They chased after me when I escaped, but Grandfather called them off and threatened to kill me if I ever came back. Will they give me a chance to explain why I’m here, or will they attack me immediately?
“I’ll go first and talk to them, tell them why you’re here. I think your grandfather will want to see you.” Meribel swims off, approaching the nearest guard openly.
He stiffens when he sees her but then relaxes a bit as soon as he recognizes her. They talk for a few moments, then the guard swims off. I stay hidden in the coral while Meribel waits for him. When he comes back, they talk again, then Meribel waves for me to join her.
I slowly swim out of the coral, hesitant to reveal myself. The guards gather, but they don’t attack me as I approach. They surround me in a watchful circle.
“We will escort you to King Aegeus, Princess Coral. But if you attempt to run off, we will detain you, by force if necessary.”
“I understand. I’m not here to cause trouble.” Still, two of the guards loop their arms through mine and guide me straight towards the palace. My heart pounds recklessly as we near it. The familiar stone walls seem menacing instead of comforting, even though they were my home for so many cycles.
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