His friends snickered, and I glanced around at them. Aza was the only one whose name I knew, though only because he was the cruelest after Zolo. His tail was a rare gold and as beautiful and glittery as his eyes, which were the same color.
Aza smirked. “He’s a coward, that’s why.”
“I am not!” I’d thought about it, of course, going to the sea witch, who’d been banished by the elders hundreds of years ago. I’d never seen him, but I’d heard rumors about how ugly he was. He’d once been a merman, they said, until his greed turned him green and wrinkly. I didn’t know how much I believed of the whispers, though. It was said he’d studied the darkest magic, born from the days when we’d had predators called the Mayas. They’d since died out, but not before the witch could learn the most despicable magic from them.
“You are weak,” Aza sneered, his mouth curling. “It’s embarrassing to call you our prince. You’re a weakling. You haven’t been on one hunting trip with your father and brothers.”
“I don’t like the way they hunt.” I flicked my tail in annoyance.
Aza snorted. “Nay, you’re scared.”
“He’s a coward,” another of them bellowed and then laughed. I remembered this one’s name, too. Ribbins was the son of one of the lords.
With a shake of my head, I glanced in the direction of Atlantia. It wasn’t a long swim, and I could possibly make it home before they caught me. Other times they’d chased me and grabbed me, they’d held me down while they mocked me and pinched my skin. They were bullies, cruel as the Mayas were rumored to have been.
I took the chance, flicking my tail hard in a way that gave me a push forward. Swimming as fast as I could, I slotted my arms against my side to allow me to slip through the water even more swiftly. I heard them, yelling and laughing, giving me a chase that I knew they wanted. The sooner I got away from them, the better.
I managed to reach the boundary of Atlantia just before Zolo caught me, and he growled because he knew he couldn’t hurt me inside the thick stone walls built centuries ago. I turned and grinned at him. “You can’t touch me here, Zolo.”
Zolo smiled politely at a mermaid who swam past us and raised his hand in a wave. She giggled and fluttered her fingers at him as she floated past, and then he turned his attention back on me, eyes narrowed. “You won’t stay here forever, human lover. You’ll want to go back to your treasure sooner or later, and when you do, I’ll catch you.”
His friends laughed and sneered at me as they turned, swimming away. Zolo gave me a hard glare before he followed them.
I breathed out a sigh of relief, placing a hand over my pounding heart, before I headed toward the castle where Grandfather, and Father, too, would be waiting for me. Nodding at the guards as I sped through the water past them, I hurried onward between the open large golden doors and swam into the throne room. Father and Grandfather were waiting for me like I expected, with Father sitting on his throne and Grandfather floating beside him. They both smiled when they saw me, and I hesitantly returned the gesture as I finally made it to them.
“My king. King-Father.” I bowed my head at them.
“My son. You made it. What took so long?” Father frowned at me, his gaze stopping just below my belly, and I glanced down at my fins. A piece of seaweed hung from my red tail, but not just any. The purple leaves gave me away because this plant was the same type that could only be found around the wreckage. Father sighed and squeezed the bridge of his nose. “Lyric, have you been near the human boat again?”
I inclined my head. “Yes, Father.” There was no use lying to him.
“Why?” He glared harder, those blue eyes of his demanding answers. No one quite did that kind of stare as Father did. It sent a shiver down my spine. He’d always been a hard merman, but he’d become even stricter since Mother died when I was six.
“My treasure is there.”
“Your treasure?” He turned his strong gaze to my grandfather. “What did I tell you? He’s not ready to go to the surface. He’d sooner try to talk to the humans than stay away from them.”
“I am ready,” I pleaded. “Please, let me go to the surface. I’m twenty-five summers old now.”
Father shook his head. “It’s dangerous up there, Lyric, and humans are not fish. You can’t control them. They are murderers.”
“So are you.” The words were out before I could stop them. I pressed my mouth together into a thin line when fury slid over Father’s face. I quickly continued, “You hunt for food. Does that not make you a murderer?”
“That’s different. I kill so our family can eat.” He pushed himself off his throne, green tail flipping in annoyance. Pru had inherited his looks, not just the same tail, but the same hair and strong brow, too.
“How do you know they don’t do the same thing?” I asked, although I knew the truth. Father and my brothers didn’t just hunt for food, they hunted for humans, too. The one time I followed them without my father knowing, I’d seen him drag a human who’d fallen out of a boat deep under the water where the poor soul drowned. My family was not innocent.
Grandfather shook his head at me, holding up his palm. His silver hair glinted under the light that glimmered through the glass windows, made from items they’d found in human wreckage. The merfolk chose what they were scared of and what they thought they could use. “Enough, Lyric. Do not speak back to your father.”
“But, Grandfather, I want to go to the surface. It’s my right.”
“He is correct, Naro.” Grandfather turned his attention on my father. “It is his right. He is twenty-five now.”
“I have never argued against my other sons going to the surface, but Lyric is too interested in the humans.” He turned his back to me and whispered something I couldn’t hear. Grandfather nodded and they conversed quietly.
My heart thumped against my ribcage, and I held my breath, waiting and hoping, until finally Father looked at me again with a grim face. “Fine. You may go to the surface. Tonight, after the sun sets and the moon has risen.”
“But, I wish to see the sun above water. Feel its heat on my skin,” I argued.
“Don’t push your luck, Lyric. I’m tempted not to let you go up there at all,” Father warned, pointing his finger at me. “Tonight, when there’s less chance of a human seeing you.”
I sighed and nodded. “Yes, Father.”
“Good. Your grandfather will prepare you for the journey.” He swam toward me and cupped my face, placing a kiss on my forehead. “You look so much like your mother, Lyric. Never forget that I love you, son. I do everything I can to protect you.”
I closed my eyes and forced back another sigh as I opened them again. “I know.”
Father watched me, and I stared back until he shook his head and waved his hand toward the door. “I’ll leave you to your grandfather. Your brothers and I are going hunting again. You’ll see us after your trip to the surface, and we’ll celebrate this milestone.”
I did smile then, excitement buzzing through my body. My blood felt too hot and my face grew warm. “Yes, Father.”
He gave me a final stare before he swept past me and out the doors. Grandfather shook his head with a grin, waving his hand at the two thrones, one which was my father’s and one that had been my mother’s. “Shall we go over the preparations?”
I nodded enthusiastically.
There was no telling how long we sat there, my grandfather warning me of everything to take care of, but when he was done, the sun no longer glimmered through the water, lighting up Atlantia, and it was time for me to go to the surface. Excitement didn’t explain how I felt. My nerves bundled just under my skin, and touching my arms made me shiver. My tail swished, and I was unable to sit still.
Grandfather smiled at me, laugh lines denting the skin around his eyes. “Are you ready?”
“I was born ready.” I bit my bottom lip when Grandfather waved his hand upward.
“Then swim free, Lyric. Go see the surface.”
I d
idn’t need to be told twice. I rushed out the doors of the castle, waving at the guards again as I stopped just outside and stared up. This was it, the moment I’d been waiting for.
The surface.
“Is it that time, Prince Lyric?” one of the guards asked, an older merman with short silver hair and a pink tail that twinkled with seafoam green highlights. I couldn’t remember his name, but he’d been in Father’s service for a long time.
I grinned and nodded. “Yes.”
“Be safe up there. Those humans are cruel.” He hummed, gripping his long gold spear in front of him. “Stay out of sight.”
I tilted my head, smiling again because I didn’t believe him. They were all so scared of humans, but I’d always doubted that they were any different from us. “Thank you.”
Not waiting for another warning, I propelled myself up. I took a deep breath and focused on the darkness.
Grandfather had warned me about how the water changes near the border between water and air. “You’ll feel it. It’ll get a little harder to breathe. Not impossible, just harder.”
I was already beginning to recognize the signs. My breaths came shorter, and the water felt like it was getting thinner until I broke the surface.
I let out a gasp when my head and shoulders were no longer in water. I was here. Above. And it was beautiful. The night sky wasn’t as dark as I’d imagined, with the white globe hanging high in the air. Father had called it the moon. It wasn’t quite like the sun, but I enjoyed the sight of it as well. Clouds clumped together, hiding the stars I’d heard so much about, but I didn’t mind. There would always be other nights.
A loud noise made me startle, and I turned, staring at where it had come from, and my mouth dropped open. I didn’t think I’d see a human, not at night, but there they were on their floating device: the boat. The device wasn’t like the one from the wreck. It wasn’t brown and wooden with large sail poles, but rather a lot smaller and white. Modern, that’s what Pru would call it. He told me the humans’ technology had changed as years flew by. They’d grown smarter with intelligent possessions, and this sleek… boat must have been what he was talking about.
The white capped water rocked the boat roughly, and the men shouted, running around the small vessel. I didn’t know what they were doing, but they yelled more, and one leaned over the back to check the things that made the boat move.
A drop of water hit my face, and I frowned up at the sky as more came down. Grandfather had warned me about this, too. He said it was called rain. I’d always found it intriguing. Water from the sky, who would have thought?
The men yelled some more and it caught my attention. The waves rocked the boat harder as the whistling sounds of the wind made them grow bigger. I needed to get a closer look. I swam forward, flicking my tail to move nearer to the boat, where I could hear them better. We’d been taught the human language since we were children. The elders believed we needed to know what the humans said, in case we were ever taken by one.
“Why won’t the fucking motors work? What’s wrong with them?” an older man screamed as he grabbed one of the other men by the material he wore on the top half of his body. I stared down at my bare chest. What would it feel like to wear clothes?
“I don’t know, Boss. They cut out and we can’t get them to go.”
“Where’s the fucking mechanic? If we don’t get moving soon, the waves will dump us.” The older man spun around, yelling some words I didn’t understand.
That’s when I saw him. Him. The most beautiful human I’d ever seen. Did males in their species like being called beautiful? I didn’t know, but that’s what he was with dark hair cut short to his head, a strong body accentuated by large shoulders, and the most kissable mouth I’d ever seen.
My heart stuttered. I needed to get even closer.
“Dad, what’s the problem?” the beautiful man asked, his gaze whipping around the boat.
“Get inside the cabin, Ethan. The fucking motors stopped working,” the older man yelled. Now that I thought about it, the humans looked alike, except his father had gray hair and was probably almost twice his age.
Ethan. I loved that name. It was so very… human.
“Let me help you,” Ethan yelled, striding forward, but his father grabbed his upper arm and dragged him closer.
“No, get inside. I don’t want—”
The biggest wave I’d seen so far slammed their boat and rocked them. There was no mistaking the sound of crunching from the floating device.
“Fuck, we’re taking on water! We’re going down, Boss!”
“Fucking fuck. Roger, do something!” another man shouted.
“Ethan, get a life jacket on. Now!” The demand came from the beautiful man’s father again, but it was too late. Another wave hit, and the crunching got louder until the boat was pushed on its side. The yelling from the men made me wince.
I knew what Grandfather would say. Leave it. Don’t go near them. I couldn’t do that, though. The beautiful man needed help. Rain beat across my face until it stung, but I knew what I had to do. Dipping back into the water, I sliced through the ocean, searching for the beautiful man. There were bodies of other humans there, but I kept away from them. Some men were opening their mouths, almost as though they were trying to shout, and every time they tried to break the surface, they were battered by waves that forced them underwater again.
I pushed farther until I found him. His eyes were closed, and unlike some of the other men, he was floating in the water, not fighting against the current. It looked like he was sleeping. Tightening my jaw, I shot toward him, my tail cutting through the water to push me forward through the strong pull of the ocean. Quickly, I came to him and grabbed his shoulders, shook him, but he didn’t wake up.
Someone grabbed the fins on my tail and yanked, and I screamed. I spun, kicking my tail hard, and the elderly man I’d surmised as the beautiful one’s father was shoved backward. He reached for me again, but I hit him on the head with my tail harder than I’d meant to. His eyes slipped closed, and he stopped moving and started to sink deeper. There was no chance for me to save both him and his son.
I turned again and grabbed the beautiful man against my body. Using the full force of my tail, I dragged him up and to the surface. But the waves still bashed against us and there was no way I’d keep him up for him to breathe. I glanced around as best I could and laughed when I caught sight of land. It wasn’t far away, close enough to get him there under water.
Dragging him back below, I sped forward. He was lighter under the surface. I kept him against my body, and the closer we got to the shore, the harder it became for me to breathe. I’d heard enough stories to know that I couldn’t travel much farther without being washed up on the beach as well. I didn’t want to be stuck there with the chance of a human seeing me.
When I thought I was close enough, I pulled us both above the water again and stared at the sand and how the waves crashed against it. All I’d have to do was let him go and he’d wash to the beach.
I glanced at his face under the softening rain and dark-lit sky. Everything about him was perfect, even with his eyes closed. His skin, slightly darker than mine, was soft to touch as I ran my fingers over his cheek. I leaned forward and pressed my lips against his.
“Goodbye, human,” I whispered. “Ethan, such a beautiful name.”
Releasing my hold on him, I watched his body move with the waves. I stayed, staring until he finally washed ashore. He was heavy enough to keep him from being dragged back into the ocean, and the water was calmer here, almost as if the storm was dying.
I wished I could go on land, watch as he woke up. I wished…. I shook my head and ducked when I heard singing. Maybe someone would find him sooner rather than later.
Then I saw her; a woman with the blackest hair I’d ever seen hurried toward him. She wore clothes, like all the other humans, but hers covered the length of her legs and jealousy sat heavy in my belly—what I wouldn’t give to have th
ose instead of a tail. She was beautiful, too.
She leaned down to touch the handsome man, her hands on his face. I heard her voice, a gentle caress of words so quiet I thought I’d miss what she’d said. I could hear her, though. “Sir? Sir, are you okay?”
Then he gasped, jerking upright, giving her barely any time to get out of the way. He stared, mouth agape in bewilderment, out over the ocean, and I ducked farther in, afraid he’d seen me. He did frown in my direction before his attention turned on her—the woman.
“Hi.”
She smiled so prettily, brushed at her black bangs as she ducked her head. “Hello. Do you need a doctor?”
“I… what happened?”
“I don’t know. I found you here.”
Yearning curled at my insides, my fingers tingling. How I dreamed he could see me, know that it was me who’d saved him.
“My dad…. Fuck. My dad. The boat!”
I shook my head and forced myself to drift back toward the deeper parts of the ocean. There was no use for me being here. It’d make me sick with need. I ducked back into the water and headed toward Atlantia. I wondered if I’d ever see Ethan again. Maybe I could do more than see him, if I talked to the sea witch. He had magic. What if he could give me legs?
Excitement stirred inside me again and my arms tingled.
It wouldn’t hurt to ask.
It took me a very long time to find where the sea witch was living and he wasn’t anything like I’d imagined. He wasn’t green, but he wasn’t pretty, either. Scars crisscrossed his face and his eyes were strange: one a vibrant green and the other a strange red. Were his disfigurements the consequences of practicing with dark magic?
“Why are you here, little prince?” The witch sneered, nostrils flaring in irritation. He wasn’t ugly, even with the scars and weird eyes. He had a handsome face and soft jaw, and a muscular chest with skin a shade lighter than mine. Definitely not green.
“I want legs,” I announced as confidently as I could.
A Merman's Tail: A dark gay retelling of The Little Mermaid (Grim and Sinister Delights Book 14) Page 2
