by Charlie Hart
He lifts the trident, pointing it directly at me, ready to conjure something that will keep me tied up forever.
I shake my head. Because I can conjure something too. Something stronger than the sea.
I reach inside.
I’m not propelled into action because of hate. I’m not working against good.
Poseidon is.
But my father will never win this war.
I reach deep inside myself, searching for all the love in my heart.
Love fueled by my friends and family and my men. Fueled by the love they have shown me, I push all that I have toward Poseidon.
I offer him all the love. Only love.
All-consuming love.
I thought the love the men had for me was too much, too strong, too fast. But I needed to feel that kind of power, that kind of passion, in order to understand what I could harness.
So, I could understand what is possible.
A soft and gentle love would not work right now.
The love inside me needs to be supreme.
I close my eyes and make a Siren’s call, letting my love burst forth from my soul.
It envelops Poseidon in a way he can’t handle because he doesn’t understand.
Because he doesn’t know this kind of love and maybe he never will.
He certainly won’t have a chance at understanding until I find my sisters and we decide, together, what we want to do with our father.
For now, love binds him. Just like the nest, Gaia built to surrounded West and me in our moments of vulnerability, I encircle Poseidon.
But this is no nest of light. This is a cage.
One from which he cannot break free.
His face breaks into a rage, and while he screams with ferocity, I can’t hear him.
No one will be able to.
He is my prisoner now.
He pounds his fists against the cage that he can’t penetrate. No one can hear his cry, and the orb that holds him begins to float away.
I don’t chase it, I don’t swim after him.
I don’t need him now.
Right now, I know what I need most.
Eric.
Then I will prepare for what comes next.
I’m not only a Siren, I am the daughter of Poseidon and that means the blood coursing my veins is eternal.
I don’t see Gaia, but I do hear her, or maybe I just feel her warmth around me.
As I swim toward Eric, her light pushes away the seaweed, breaks through the tangles wrapped around Eric, helping me to reach the man I am here to save.
I pull him into my arms, clinging to him. But he’s so weak, so broken. We have been under the water for so long.
Too long.
I cry, kissing his lips. But they are so cold, and his eyes are empty.
He is gone.
The hollow in my heart, the one I’ve sought my entire life to fill, is emptier than ever. Eric is gone, and he was mine and if I can’t hold onto him, then there’s only one thing I want.
Poseidon did this, and he will pay.
I will avenge Eric’s death if it’s the last thing I do.
Chapter 21
Harlow
As I break through the water, I want to scream, but as I try to raise my voice I find that it is gone.
I try to shout. To say something; anything, but I can’t.
I wave my arms in the air, needing Crew, West, and Kai to find me, but all I see are numerous flashing lights from a rescue boat.
No. I don’t want them.
I want my men.
Eric is dead.
Tears stream down my cheeks as I try to scream, but through the bright lights, all I see is Eric’s cold hands in mine. I swam with him in my arms, deep to the ocean floor and it was like the sea life all around us understood what had happened.
We were enveloped by thousands of translucent jellyfish as I laid Eric’s body against the sand. I cried, pushing back his black hair, using my fingers to close his blue eyes.
Starfish in gorgeous oranges and purples moved around him, circling around his body. I looked up and saw frilled sharks and massive squid swim over us, paying their respects. Our eyes would meet, and a current of understanding would pass between us.
A whale swam overhead, blocking out all the light for a moment, and a hush fell across the ocean, as we paid our respects.
It was a holy moment, painted against the vibrant backdrop of the sea. Still the cold truth remained: Eric was gone.
And now a boat comes toward me, and the bellowing horn blares, “Stay calm, stay still.”
But where would I go when what I want is set deep on the ocean floor?
But then I see three men jump from the emergency boat.
I know those men.
They are mine.
They swim fast, calling to me, and my chest tightens, relief flooding me. They are here for me.
But I don’t know if I can go with them.
They pull me into their arms, holding flotation devices, to help with the treading water.
They look into my eyes and they know.
I nod, and tears fill their eyes.
“No,” Kai says, cupping my face in his hands. “Say it isn’t true.
But it is.
And he knows it, because tears fall over his cheeks,
My heart is gray, a thrashing storm. And now, theirs are too.
“Come, Harlow, you need to get on the boat,” West says. “Your parents are here. You’ve been in the water too long.”
I shake my head because it isn’t as easy as that.
Truth is, maybe I’ll never be on dry land again. I start sobbing at the realization, the loss.
“Harlow,” Crew says. It’s okay now. You’re okay.”
I shake my head, my lips trembling. I try to speak, but find I have no voice.
I press my hands to my throat. My Siren call took my voice, I croak out a hoarse reply, but there is nothing but scratchy sounds.
“It’s gone?” Kai asks.
I nod. Behind us the medics are yelling as they move closer, telling everyone to get out of the water. I see my parents calling for me from the railing of the boat.
They don’t understand why I’m not getting out of the water, why I’m still swimming backward instead of forward.
But I don’t know what to do.
I don’t know how to go from mermaid to human, or if I even can.
“You need to turn back into a human,” West says, treading water, his brows knit in worry. “And you don’t know how.”
I nod.
He breaks out into a grin. “Good. We were scared you wouldn’t want to come back,” he says.
I want to laugh but it’s not as simple as what any of us want. Not anymore.
My birth father is Poseidon and I literally just forced him into a deep-sea cage.
And apparently, I’m a Greek goddess. Talk about surreal.
How can I merge that reality with this reality?
How do I bring together that ancient origin with a sunny life in Hawaii where I make love to my harem of men?
It seems too faer-fetched.
Heck, I can’t even have sex. I have a tail for goodness sakes.
But then I’m looking into the guys’ eyes and I realize that maybe anything is possible with love.
True love.
It certainly made the impossible possible when it came to beating Poseidon at his own game.
And maybe it holds true here, too.
I know the words I need to say that will bring my two worlds together.
“I,” I say with a scratchy voice. It hurts, and I press my hands to my throat, aching but desperate to say what I mean. “I love you.” The words are ragged and raw, just like my bruised and broken heart.
But they couldn’t be more true.
Once the words leave my lips, my toes begin to wiggle and my tattoo begins to tingle, my legs are no longer one and suddenly it’s not so easy to tread water. I grip the flo
tation device, a laugh breaking through my storming heart.
“Say it again,” Kai says, a smile playing on his lips. West and Crew grin. They didn’t lose me.
“I love you,” I say again and instantly I feel my legs press together, and my lower half begins to morph back into the body of a siren.
I shake my head and gasp.
It’s the magic.
Love is magic.
I say it again, “I love you!”
And just like that, I being to return to my human shape.
“Thank God,” Crew laughs, as we begin swimming to the boat, anxious for our return.
“What’s that?” West asks.
“I was scared she’d have a tail forever.”
I shake my head. “And you wouldn’t like that?”
Crew takes a hold of my flotation device, pulling me to him, kissing my lips. “Hell, no,” he murmurs in my ear. “I’d really miss spreading those thighs.”
Heat spreads through my body at his words and hot breath.
I roll my eyes and splash water at him.
I may be the daughter of Poseidon, but I am still a woman.
Thank goodness one thing hasn’t changed.
Chapter 22
Harlow
When my phone wakes me in the middle of the night, I reach for it with a start. Only one person is allowed to call me at this hour.
I read the text that just came through.
“It’s go time! Meet us there.”
A grin breaks across my sleepy face, and I roll out of bed. A few minutes later, wearing a pair of leggings and a hoodie, I tiptoe into my mom’s bedroom to let her know where I’m going.
“Sorry,” I say, waking her. “But it’s Chloe. It’s time.”
My mom sits up in bed, and presses a finger to her lips then points at my dad who snores beside her. She pulls on her robe and follows me down the hall, into the kitchen.
“Drive safe,” she says. “It’s two AM.”
I wrinkle my nose. “I know, Mom, but you don’t have to worry. I just knew you’d freak out if I wasn’t in my bed when you woke.”
“I know, I know,” she says, plodding over to the sink and filling a mug with water. I watch her put it in the microwave, and grab a bag of chamomile tea. I’m anxious to leave but know waiting a few more minutes isn’t going to change the outcome of anything.
And Mom’s been so worried about me over the last few weeks, ever since I came aboard the emergency boat.
“It’s just if anything happened to you, Harlow, I don’t know what...”
I wrap my arms around her, more grateful than ever to have a mom who looks out for me, especially after finding out my birth father was perfectly fine with the idea of locking me under the sea for all of eternity. Not exactly the paternal figure I thought I was looking for.
“I love you, Mom.”
“I love you too, even if--,”
I cut her off, waving my hand, not wanting to get into that conversation. “Even if.”
I told her and dad a few days ago that I was leaving. She is nowhere close to accepting this reality.
“Okay, well, text me with updates,” she says, taking her mug from the beeping microwave.
“Of course, you’ll have to come when she’s born.”
Mom smiles softly, worried about me, but right now I know her mind is on Chloe. She thinks my best friend’s relationship with her child’s fathers is insane, but that’s okay.
If she knew about Kai, West, Crew and I’d relationship, she’d be livid; but still, I know that she’d find the concept of her daughter being a Siren a little more disturbing.
I’m keeping that part of my deep-sea adventure under wraps from her and dad for now.
She’ll hate the plan we’ve been hatching, but that’s okay too. It has to be. It’s part of me learning to leave the shallow waters and find my place in the depths.
I kiss her good-bye, and she stops at the door.
“Harlow, I know losing your friend Eric was awful, but maybe Pearl’s birth is a new chapter. You know, how a birth can be a fresh start?”
I nod, I know.
In fact, I have a feeling I know that all too well.
I pull the front door shut, and get in my car. My period isn’t even late yet, but it feels like something is different.
Like something is growing.
---
FYI: birth is messy and loud and really good birth control. Though, like previously mentioned, it may be a little too late for that.
“She is perfect,” I say, looking over Chloe’s shoulder as she holds her newborn in her arms.
“She better be. My vagina is permanently ruined.”
A nurse in the room clucks her tongue. “Not true. Things always have a way of going back to normal.”
I twist my lips, wishing that were true. Not everything goes back to normal though. Eric is gone, forever.
I look at Chloe’s men who are in various stages of post-delivery shock. There are a whole lot of baby daddies in this room.
“I’m gonna go makes some calls,” Noah says, leaning over to kiss Chloe on the lips, then Pearl on the forehead. What a lucky baby to have so many men smitten with her.
Enzo and Mason leave on a mission to find food, and Ethan asks the nurse about some paperwork. I sit on the hospital bed next to Chloe.
“You were so brave,” I tell her, marveling at her strength. Childbirth was not as easy as the movies make it seem.
She scoffs. “Says the woman who managed to lock Posi--”
“Chloe,” I say, stopping her. “It’s not the same.”
She lifts her eyes, meeting mine. “You keep saying that, but I don’t know how to make the loss of Eric any easier except to remind you of how strong you were.”
“Can this moment be about you and Pearl?” I sigh, looking at her baby with so much tenderness. “Chloe, she’s literal perfection.”
“I know,” Chloe says, exhaling, as she touches her baby’s tiny fingers. “But now that she’s here, it means...,” Chloe blinks back tears.
“I know.” I swallow. Kai, West, Crew, and I made a plan the night we lost Eric. We were going to get on a boat and sail the seas, looking for my sisters. The only clue we have is that we each have a golden ring. Not a lot, in the way of clues, but I am also hoping the elusive Gaia will show up again and give us some direction.
“Is the boat all ready?”
I nod. “Yeah, the sponsors were willing to work with the guys, but they declined since Kai’s dad agreed to his offer. The boat was paid for in cash a few days ago.”
“Wow, so you’re just going for it?”
“Yep, I need to be on a boat. My skin gets itchy if I’m too far from the water for too long.”
“And you’re just gonna hope it works out?”
I bite my bottom lip, leaning down and kissing Pearl’s perfect cheeks. “A few weeks ago, you told me the alternative was to worry and second guess everything. But like you said, that’s no way to live.”
“I said all that?” she says, a smile playing on her lips. “Guess I’m pretty smart.”
“You are. Look at this life you’ve created for yourself.”
Pearl begins to stir, and Chloe pulls her to her breast and helps her daughter latch on. “Do you have any doubt that these men are yours?”
I shake my head, brushing away a tear. Watching Chloe is so beautiful, so inspiring. “None. But our first days together were so intense and losing Eric was so hard. I think to leave, even though it will be hard, is really important for us. I need to figure out what being the Siren means, and I can only do that on the ocean, with them at my side.”
“We’ll come meet you somewhere in a few months,” Chloe says, squeezing my hand. “Noah was already talking with Crew about where we could all go. Maybe the Greek Isles.”
“Greece?” I snort, letting go of her hand to hold my belly, cracking up.
Chloe laughs, her finger brushing against her daughter’s cheek. �
�I honestly didn’t think about the fact that you’re the daughter of Poseidon when they mentioned it.”
“I bet Crew did. The guys are dead set on us going back to the beginning, to help me figure out who my mother is.”
Chloe’s eyes meet mine, crinkling at corners. “Sounds like you have some really wonderful men then.”
“I do,” I tell her, a smile spreading across my lips and warmth filling my heart. “And they love me, tail and all.”
Epilogue
HARLOW
Four Months Later…
The water shimmers a clear turquoise, the sun above, brilliant and bright. The sky blue and clear--full of possibilities.
West and I are lounging on the boat deck. I’m still in my nightie, even though it’s past eleven in the morning. We’ve started sleeping in quite a bit since our nights are usually pretty full. Wink, wink.
I’m on a pile of cushions, propped up perfectly in my favorite spot and West’s hands move up and down my still shimmering thighs, his fingers moving higher and higher. I scoot my ass closer to him, wanting him to take everything I have to give.
“You woke up in a good mood, “ I tease as West sinks his fingers inside me. He flicks his fingers against my clit, knowing just how to move to get me going.
“Oh, hell, baby, you woke up in a good mood too,” he says, kissing me hard. “You’re so fucking wet.”
Our mouths are needy--like we didn’t spend last night in an orgy that makes even me blush. At one point I was on my back, thighs spread and coming so hard as Crew fingered me that I should literally be dehydrated right now.
Yet somehow, my body is ready for more.
West slows his hand, and leans over me, pushing up my nightie and planting kisses from my navel to my nipples. His tongue swirls around my areola as his thick cock, so hard and mine, presses against my wet pussy.
“Yes,” I moan as he fills me, so ridiculously ready for his release to shoot inside of me. He wants it too. He pins my wrists, rocking hard against me, and I cry out. Although he presses a hand over my mouth as I do.
“Careful, Siren, we know what your call can do.”
