by Wendi Wilson
“How was that?” Bryce asks, lifting a brow.
“We sort of ransacked Coraline’s house,” Celine mumbles, looking guilty.
“Stop feeling so guilty, Celine,” Bran says, throwing an arm around her waist and pulling her close. “She’s gone, and she’s not coming back. The kids saw to that.”
“You have no idea,” I say under my breath.
“What was that, Kai?” Celine asks.
“Nothing, nothing.” There will be plenty of time to go into that later. “So, you searched her house and found a spell?”
“Yes,” she says. “We found a book hidden behind a secret panel in the wall. It was filled with spells.” She shakes her head. “They were all… negative, in nature. Coraline was not, by any stretch of the imagination, a nice person.”
“I could’ve told you that.”
Her mouth turns down. “I’m sorry-”
I wave her off before she finishes. “That part of my life is over. I’m ready to start the next chapter. My parents are waiting, so what will it take to fix them?”
“That’s the part that makes me nervous,” she says. “The spell is just words. No special circumstances, such as the full moon. No candles, no sage, no crystals, nothing. Just words. We’re not used to spells being so simplistic and we just hope we can pull it off.”
“I’m sure we can,” Bryce says. “Grab the book and let’s go get Kai her family back.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
“Mom, Dad, these are Bryce’s parents, Celine and Bran.”
My parents were laying on the sand, letting the waves flow up and around them when we returned to the beach. As they introduce themselves to Bryce’s parents, I peek over Bryce’s arm at the pages of the book he’s holding.
“Do you really think it will work?”
“Yeah,” he says. “It has to.”
“Uh, Kai,” Ana says, nudging my arm. “Who is that?”
I follow her gaze and see a silver head bobbing in the water several yards out. I suck in a breath and silently berate myself. How did I forget Adrian? In all the excitement, I completely forgot to talk to the Howell’s about him.
“Get back, Kai,” Bran says before yelling out, “We won’t let you take her again!”
Adrian jerks back in the water, looking crestfallen. He turns and drifts in the opposite direction. Oh God, he thinks we double-crossed him. I need to do damage control. Like, now.
“Stop!” My voice screeches, but I don’t care. I need them all to really hear me. “Adrian, come here,” I call out.
Celine and Bran look at me like I have two heads. Bryce takes my hand and nods to his parents. He quickly explains who Adrian is, what he did to save us, and our promise to make him human. While he’s talking, Adrian works his way up onto the beach next to my parents. He looks nervous.
“Adrian, I’m sorry. In all the excitement, I completely forgot to tell them about you.”
“That is…understandable,” he says, his voice low.
“I apologize,” Bran says. “I would like to thank you for helping my son and the others. We are extremely grateful.”
He holds out a hand to Adrian, who stares at it for a moment before grasping it with his own. He still looks a little wary.
“You can thank him by including him in the spell,” I say, pulling everyone’s attention to me. “He wants to be human, and we owe it to him to try.”
“Of course,” Celine says. “Nice to meet you, Adrian.”
“The pleasure is mine,” he replies.
“Adrian, this is my best friend, Ana,” I say, pulling her forward by the arm.
Ana mumbles a greeting, but Adrian doesn’t respond. I look back at him and he’s staring, his mouth drooping open a little. Hmm, very interesting.
“I was telling the kids,” Celine says, pulling me from my thoughts, “that we found Coraline’s spell book. The spell looks pretty straightforward and simplistic, but I worry about our ability to pull it off without any magical objects to aid us.”
“All you can do is try,” Mom says, giving Celine an encouraging look.
“We need to do it, now,” Bryce says, offering the book to Celine. “I’m guessing these three aren’t going to be able to stay beached for too much longer.”
“Okay, let’s do this,” she says, nodding at her son first, then her husband. “I’ll say the words first, then you two join in and try to channel your power through me.”
“Wait,” Bryce says, and seven heads swivel toward him. He turns to me and takes both of my hands in his. “Are you sure you want to do this? You could keep things the way they are and be able to turn into a mermaid whenever you want.”
I look from him to my parents. My mom looks like she wants to protest, but she keeps her mouth shut. She’s going to let me make my own decision. Dad gives me a supportive smile and Adrian has the same nervous look on his face he had earlier.
It would be amazing to grow a tail every time I want to swim, to shoot through the water like a torpedo. To stay beneath the waves for hours on end, frolicking with fishes and exploring the ocean floor. But it’s dangerous. I know we’re far from Delmare and its inhabitants, but a rogue Mer could find me and kill me and no one would know.
I look at Bryce. I’m sure he’d be willing to stay half merman for me. He’d do anything for me. I know that. The thing is, this is not his life. He’s a human, albeit one with magical powers, but human nonetheless. He didn’t sign up for this when he met me. I’ve caused enough chaos in his life.
He smiles. I’d follow you to the depths of hell if that’s where you wanted to go.
I don’t want it. I don’t need it. Any of it. All I need is you.
“Let’s do this,” I say aloud. “Include me in the spell.”
Bran nods and Celine takes a deep breath. She starts to chant, her voice resonating with power as she recites the strange words that will change four lives forever. My family will finally be whole and Adrian, well Adrian gets to start a whole new adventure.
Bran and Bryce’s voices join hers and energy crackles across my skin. All the hairs on my body stand on end. I look down at Adrian and he looks scared, so I drop to my knees and take his hand in mine.
“It’s going to be okay,” I say, my voice low.
Bryce drops down beside me, taking my other hand in his. He continues to chant, his voice rising in volume and tempo to match his parents’. The electric tingles I always feel when we touch intensify, but I just squeeze his hand tighter. I know what’s coming. I should warn Adrian.
“This is going to hurt,” I say.
He opens his mouth to respond, but all that comes out is a groan as he releases my hand and curls in on himself. Pain shoots through my abdomen and I moan. Bryce’s voice turns gravelly, and I know he feels the pain, too, but my eyes are closed tight as I fight against the pain.
The pain starts to recede and I hear Ana gasp. I look up just as she whirls around and takes off running toward the house. Confused, I look at Bryce as the chanting dies off. He’s looking past me, his eyes wide. I turn my head toward the others and can’t stifle my gasp.
Adrian is still curled into a ball beside me. Instead of a tail, two legs are curled up into his chest. I squeeze my eyes shut before I inadvertently look at my dad. The spell worked, which is amazing, but we all forgot one thing. They’re all naked. Oh, God, I just saw Adrian’s brand new, shiny ass.
Ana’s back and throwing large, fluffy towels over them before I recover from the shock. Mom is the first to stand, wrapping the towel around her waist. She’s still wearing the shirt she had on when Coraline reversed her spell that fateful night. She braces her shoulder under Dad’s arm. It’s been a very, very long time since he’s stood on two legs. Which reminds me…
“Bryce, help Adrian,” I say, standing.
I grab Ana’s hand and pull her a few feet away, keeping our backs turned so Bryce can help Adrian stand and get all his newly formed manly parts covered without an audience. Celine and Bran
take the hint and join us. I imagine learning to stand on two feet is just as hard as learning to swim with a tail and breathe water.
“Okay, we’re clear,” Bryce calls out.
I turn around and see Adrian standing, a look of pure wonder on his face as he stares at his feet. Bryce has a light grip on his elbow with the other hand held out, ready to catch Adrian if he loses his balance. My parents are wrapped in each other’s arms, my mom softly crying as Dad rubs small circles on her back.
“We did it,” Celine says softly as she, Bran, Ana and I walk back to the others.
We form a circle, eight sets of eyes roaming from face to face, eight faces brightening with smiles, eight mouths opening with laughter. We all converge, laughing and hugging and patting each other on the back.
“We did it,” Celine repeats, this time loud enough to be heard over the celebration.
Bryce grabs my waist and I jump up, wrapping my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck. I lean my forehead against his and lock eyes with him. He smiles softly before brushing a feather-like kiss against my lips.
“We did it,” I whisper, repeating his mom’s words but meaning so much more than just the spell.
We made it through. We made it through the secrets and the restrictions. We made it through facing down an evil sea witch. Twice. We made it through spells and murderous intentions, more times than I can count. We made it through and we have our whole lives ahead of us.
“We did it,” he says before pressing his lips to mine.
The rest of his words wind through my head like a gentle caress.
And we’re going to live happily ever after.
Epilogue
“I can’t believe we’re graduating today.”
Bryce laughs as he closes his door and cranks the engine. Our parents will head over to the school auditorium later, when it’s closer to ceremony time, but all seniors have to arrive early to practice the procession.
As he pulls around to the exit, I look at the home I’ll be leaving in a couple of months. It looks so different now that the oppressive presence of Coraline is gone. Celine and Bran offered to move so Dad could have his home back, but he wouldn’t hear of it. So, Bran had some of his associates at the law firm quietly change the deed of Coraline’s house into my mom’s name. Mom had lived there for fifteen years and Coraline had been missing for over a year, so it wasn’t too difficult.
The hard part was ridding the house of the bad memories. With time, fresh paint, new furniture, and the presence of my father, the rooms lost Coraline’s negative energy. It’s now our home, not hers.
“I say, it’s been a long time coming,” he says, pulling me from my thoughts.
“True, but it still seems weird doesn’t it? It’s like we’re grown-ups now, striking out on our own.”
“Well, not totally on our own,” Bryce says, his lips turning down.
I can’t help but laugh. We both got accepted to UC San Diego and will be attending in the fall. His parents surprised us with the keys to a brand-new condo downtown, within walking distance of the campus. My parents surprised us by informing us Adrian would be attending UCSD as well and would be our roommate.
“More like babysitter,” he says, reading my thoughts.
I smile. I perfected the art of blocking my thoughts from him a year ago, but I don’t bother doing it much anymore. He’s so attuned to me, he can guess what I’m thinking even if he can’t hear my thoughts.
“At least Ana will be nearby,” I respond. “I’m sure she’ll keep him busy.”
“That’s true. That girl is insatiable.”
“Hey,” I say, slapping his arm. “That’s my best friend you’re talking about.”
“Ouch,” he says, rubbing his arm. “I didn’t mean it like that, and you know it. I just meant she can’t get enough of him.”
“That’s for sure,” I say, barking out a laugh.
Ana and Adrian were drawn together from the start. They’ve been stuck to each other like magnets since the night of the spell a year and a half ago. I’ve never seen Ana so happy, and she’s been good for Adrian, too. He looks and acts like a normal teenager now, and that’s all thanks to Ana. She also helped him acclimate to high school, tutoring him in science and literature so he could pass subjects he’d never studied before.
I’m sure she tutored him in other subjects too, like anatomy, but she refuses to divulge any juicy details. For someone expecting to hear every detail of my love life, she sure is tight-lipped about her own. But I don’t mind. She’s happy, and that’s all that matters. I am so thankful she was accepted to an art school in San Diego. We’re all going to be together, and it’s going to be amazing.
I come back to the present as we pull into the school parking lot, probably for the last time. Bryce parks, jumps from the truck and runs around to open my door for me. Seeing him standing there in his cap and gown, holding out a hand for me, I get a little misty-eyed. Blinking against the burn, I grab it and jump down. Hand in hand, we head into the auditorium.
“Hey, guys.”
Ana gives a little start at my words and spins in place. She throws her arms around me and squeezes the breath out of me before taking a step back.
Adrian turns a little more slowly, a grin plastered to his face. I can’t help but smile. He’s had that same grin on his face pretty much nonstop for the last year. It took him a few weeks to adjust, but Ana was there every step of the way. She’s been his rock, teaching him everything he needed to know about being human. She also showed him what it feels like to be in love. Love suits him.
“What’s going on with you two?” Bryce asks.
A flash of panic zips across Ana’s face. No one else would have noticed it, but I know her too well. I arch a brow at her and narrow my eyes. She meets my stare with wide, much too innocent eyes.
“What do you mean?” Adrian asks. He sounds uncharacteristically nervous.
“I can feel waves of emotion coming off of you both.” He ticks them off on his fingers. “Excitement, nervousness, and…hmm, impatience.”
“What else are we supposed to feel at our high school graduation?” Ana asks.
“You’re hiding something, Ana Fuentes,” I say. “Your voice is doing that high pitch thing it does when you get all defensive.”
She looks at Adrian like she’s asking for permission or something and he narrows his eyes, giving a firm negative shake. Now, I’m really curious. A voice over the speaker system tells everyone to take their positions.
“Come on, Bryce. Let them have their secrets. We have to go get in line.”
Ana’s face relaxes, her relief evident. What is going on with her? Don’t worry, I send out to Bryce, I’ll find out what they’re hiding.
I never doubted it for a minute.
Our graduating class is small, only twenty-nine students, so when they alphabetize us, Adrian is behind me, with Ana behind him and Bryce right behind her. Ericson, Fisher, Fuentes, Howell. Sandy Evans would have been between us, but she ended up getting valedictorian, so she’s at the head of the line. Thank, God. She’s still bitter Bryce chose me over her, and never misses a chance to take a jibe at me. Not that it bothers me anymore. I’m just too happy.
Practice goes off without a hitch and we take our seats in the first two rows as people start flowing in through the double doors. I turn in my seat and scan the room. People are milling about, looking for the best spot to sit, but I don’t see my parents anywhere. I turn back around with a shrug. I know they’ll be here.
Sandy gives her speech and we all stand as Pomp and Circumstance starts to play through the speakers. We make our way, one by one, up the stairs to the stage to accept our diplomas. When it’s my turn, I shake the principal’s hand and turn toward the crowd. The bright lights of a camera flash blind me and my vision doesn’t clear before I’m back at my seat.
I clap and let out a shrill whistle as Bryce accepts his diploma. He turns toward the crowd with a smile. He looks at t
he back of the room and his mouth drops open. He quickly smiles again, but it looks forced. It doesn’t quite reach his eyes, which are wide as saucers.
What is it?
What are you talking about?
I narrow my eyes at him as he takes his place three chairs down, but he keeps his firmly on the stage in front of him. I try to probe his thoughts, but he heads me off at the pass and throws his block up in full force. Now he’s hiding something from me. I don’t like it. Not one bit.
Finally, the last student receives her diploma and returns to her seat. We all throw our caps into the air with a cheer, hugs and high fives going all around. I try to catch up to Bryce. I know if I can just touch him, I’ll find out what he’s hiding. But he’s too quick and I lose him in the crowd.
“Kailani!”
I look up at the sound of my name and see my mother waving at me from the back of the room. I start in her direction, giving up on my mission to find Bryce. I see Dad, smiling from ear to ear as Mom chats with a large man who has his back to me. She peeks her head around his massive body and her eyes widen when they land on me. She says something to the man and he starts to turn.
Bryce pops up beside me out of nowhere and slips his hand into mine. I narrow my eyes at him and ask, “Were you running from me earlier?”
He chuckles and nods. “I knew you’d get it out of me,” he says, then releases my hand and gives me a little shove forward.
I look where I’m going and stop dead in my tracks. Standing in front of me, in a three-piece suit, is someone I thought I’d never see again.
“Grandad?” The word comes out like a squeak.
“Hello, sweetheart,” he says, opening his arms.
I fly into them and he crushes me against his massive chest. Tears sting my eyes and I pull back so I can see his face.
“Are you really here?”
“In the flesh,” he says, flashing me a megawatt grin.
“But, how?”
“Because of those two,” he says, nodding to his right.
