Andrew
I had no idea what I was looking at. For several seconds, I couldn't move. I couldn't even think. The only thing I could do was stare at the woman floating several feet in front of us. A woman with a fish tail. A real fish tail. A mermaid. My brain refused to accept what my eyes were seeing. This wasn't possible. Mermaids weren't real. At least, that's what I'd believed my entire life. I slowly turned toward Claire. She looked just as stunned as I felt, but there was something different about her expression. She wasn't afraid. She looked almost… familiar with her. Like some part of her already knew this woman. The mermaid's eyes remained fixed on Claire. Then she looked down at the pendant around Claire's neck. Even underwater, I could see the faint blue glow coming from it. My stomach tightened. Nothing about this made sense. Claire's pendant had never done anything like this before—not until today, on her eighteenth birthday. What is all this talk about Sea Lords and princesses? The mermaid slowly moved closer. She wanted us to leave, but continued to be fixated on Claire.
I immediately reached for Claire's arm. "Stay behind me."
Claire looked at me. "Andrew—"
"I don't care what she is," I said. "We don't know if she's dangerous."
The mermaid stopped. Her expression softened. "Trust me, I'm not here to hurt her." Her voice echoed strangely through the water again.
I stared at her. "How are you talking, anyway?"
She ignored my question.
Instead, she looked directly at Claire. "You need to leave."
Claire frowned. "Leave?"
"Now," she replied.
Claire continued to frown. "Why?"
The mermaid's expression became serious. "Because if Persius knows you are alive, there is no doubt in my mind that he will come for you."
That name again. Persius. The Sea Lord. I didn't know who he was, but judging from the fear in her eyes, I didn't want to find out.
I looked at Claire. "We're leaving."
Claire shook her head. "What about her?"
I stared at her. "What about her?"
"We can't just leave her here!" she exclaimed.
I grabbed my temples. "Claire, she's a mermaid."
"I know," she replied.
I blinked. "You're saying that like it makes this situation better."
She gave me a look. "Andrew, she just told me that someone is hunting me. I think we have bigger problems than the fact that she's a mermaid."
I couldn't argue with that. Unfortunately, she was right.
The mermaid looked between us. "You must go."
Claire moved closer to her. "Come with us."
The mermaid's eyes widened. "I cannot."
"Why not?" I asked.
She looked toward the darkness beneath us. "I cannot leave."
Something about the way she said those words made my chest tighten.
Claire seemed to notice it too. "What do you mean you can't leave?"
The mermaid didn't answer. Instead, she looked over Claire's shoulder. Her expression changed.
Fear returned to her eyes. "Go."
"Not without you," Claire said.
"Princess—" The mermaid stopped herself.
Claire's eyes widened. "You don't have to call me that."
The mermaid looked away. "Please."
Claire reached for her. "Tell me what's happening."
The mermaid opened her mouth, but before she could speak, a deep rumbling sound echoed through the water. I felt it through my entire body. The ocean floor beneath us trembled.
Claire looked around. "What was that?"
I shook my head. "I don't know."
Another rumble. Stronger this time. The rocks began to crumble around us.
The mermaid's eyes widened. "Go!"
She pushed Claire backward. "Now!"
She hesitated. "But—"
The mermaid began swimming deeper into the darkness.
Claire, come on!" I yelled.
Claire shook her head. "Something's wrong."
"How do you know?" I asked.
She looked down into the darkness. "I don't know. I just do. And I think we should go check it out."
She started swimming after the mermaid.
I groaned. "Claire!"
I followed Claire further into the chasm of darkness. The further we swam the darker it got. We finally caught sight of the mermaid. She was laying at the bottom ontop of a flat rock. Claire reached the mermaid and grabbed her hand.
The mermaid looked shocked. "I didn't know humans could swim this far."
I laughed. "We can't . That's what all this fancy expensive equipment is for."
Claire nodded. "Exactly, so come with us. We came all this way just for you."
The mermaid shook her head. "I can't."
"Why are you so adamant on staying down here?" I asked.
The mermaid looked down. "It is as I told you before. I cannot leave."
Claire followed her gaze. At first, I didn't see anything. The water was dark beneath us. The rocks surrounding the ocean floor were covered in shadows, and the faint blue light from Claire's pendant wasn't enough to illuminate everything.
Claire moved closer. Then she froze. "Andrew."
Something about her voice made my stomach drop. "What?"
"Look," she pointed.
I swam closer. At first, I still couldn't see it. Then I saw Claire pointing downward. There. Behind the mermaid's tail. A thin metallic glimmer. I moved closer.
My eyes widened. "What the hell?"
Wrapped tightly around the mermaid's tail was a chain. Not a normal chain. It was thick. Ancient. Dark. It disappeared beneath the rocks and into the darkness below. I followed it with my eyes. It seemed to go on forever.
My heart started pounding. "How did we not see that?"
Claire stared at it. "I don't know."
The mermaid lowered her head. "I told you."
Claire looked at her. "Who did this to you?"
The mermaid didn't answer.
Claire demanded an answer. "Who?"
She finally whispered, "Persius."
The word seemed to echo through the ocean.
Claire looked at the chain. Then at the mermaid. Then back at the chain. "We have to get you out."
The mermaid shook her head. "No."
Claire looked the mermaid in the eyes. "We can break it."
The mermaid looked down at the ancient chains. "You cannot. The magic is way too powerful."
"We have to try," said Claire.
"Claire." I grabbed her arm.
She turned toward me. "Andrew."
"We don't know how strong that thing is!" I exclaimed.
Tears began to well in Claire's eyes. "We can't just leave her."
"We don't even know what we're dealing with," I said calmly to her.
She looked at me. "I know enough."
I stared at her. "No, you don't."
She stared at me. For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then Claire's expression softened. "I can't explain it."
"What?" I asked.
"I feel connected to her somehow," she replied.
I looked at the mermaid. Then back at Claire.
I shook my head. "How can you feel connected to someone you've never even met before? It doesn't make sense."
"I know," she replied.
"Then how can you feel that with her?" I asked.
Claire touched her pendant. "I don't know."
The pendant suddenly glowed brighter.
The mermaid gasped. "Your pendant…"
Claire looked down. "What?"
The blue stone was shining. Not reflecting the light. Creating it. The glow spread across Claire's hand and illuminated the surrounding water.
The mermaid stared at it. "Do not touch the chain."
Claire looked at her. "Why?"
"Because it is bound by dark magic," the mermaid replied. "I don't know what will happen if your magic mixes with it."
My stomach dropped. Dark magic. I almost laughed. Not because it was funny. Because I didn't know what else to do. First, a mermaid. Then, a magical pendant. Now, magic chains infused with dark magic and Claire just won't leave it alone. My entire understanding of reality was falling apart. I don't know how much longer I can protect Claire from danger.
Claire moved closer to the chain. "But it can be broken and that's all I needed to know."
The mermaid shook her head. "You can't."
Claire's expression hardened. "You don't know what I can do."
The mermaid looked at her. "With all due respect, Your Highness, I know exactly what you can do. I just don't know the outcome of mixing your magic with Persius' magic."
Claire froze. "Well then let's find out together. I'm not leaving you behind."
The mermaid nodded with a smile. "Okay."
In that very moment, the mermaid looked past Claire and into the darkness. Something moved. I saw it. A shadow. Large. Far below us.
My heart stopped. "Claire."
She turned toward me. "What?"
"Something's down there," I said to her.
The mermaid's face went pale. "You must leave."
Claire looked at the darkness. "What is that?"
I shook my head. "I don't know."
The shadow moved again. This time, it was closer.
I grabbed Claire's arm. "We're going."
She resisted. "But the mermaid—"
"We can't help her if we're dead!" I shouted at her.
Claire stared at her. "I'm coming back."
The mermaid's eyes filled with something that looked almost like sadness. She nodded. Claire finally followed me. We began swimming upward. I kept looking back. The mermaid remained below us. The chain was still wrapped around her tail. Claire kept looking back too. She didn't want to leave her. I could tell. We were halfway to the surface when Claire suddenly stopped.
I turned around. "What are you doing?"
She pointed downward. I looked. The mermaid had tried to follow us.
She was swimming upward with a look of desperation. "Wait! I want to come with you guys. I don't want to stay here. Please help me."
For one brief second, I thought she'd managed to escape.
Then—
She was violently pulled backward. Her body jerked downward. The shadow had grasped the chain and was yanking the mermaid back down.
Claire gasped. "No!"
We both turned around.The chain glowed around the mermaid's tail as it pulled her toward the darkness. She cried out. We swam toward the mermaid together.
Claire grabbed her hand. "Hold on!"
The mermaid nodded. The pull on the chain tightened again as the shadow was yanking her down. The mermaid cried out. Claire looked at the chain. Then something happened. Her pendant began glowing brighter than I'd ever seen before. The entire ocean around us turned blue. And the chain bound to the mermaid began to glow a Golden color.
I stared at Claire. Her eyes were fixed on the chain. "What are you doing? How are you doing that?"
"I don't know," she replied. "I just thought about how badly I wanted to save her."
She reached toward the chain. Her fingers were inches away from the metal. Then I noticed something about the chain.
"Claire wait!" I shouted.
I pulled her back. Suddenly, the chain became loose. As though whatever was pulling had let it go. Then it began glowing another color.
Black.
A dark energy spread across the metal. The ocean around us became freezing cold.
The mermaid's eyes widened as she pointed down into the darkness. "There…"
Claire and I turn to look into the darkness.
"Persius." She sad coldly.
My heart pounded. The darkness beneath us seemed endless. Then I saw something. Two enormous eyes opened in the distance. Claire froze beside me. The eyes began moving closer.
I grabbed Claire's hand. "We're leaving."
Claire snatched her hand away and grabbed the chain bound to the mermaid's tail. She pulled as hard as she could. The pendant around her neck began to glow even brighter. The chains began to glow a golden color once more.
"Please! For once in my life, I'm not the one who needs saving! Give me the strength to save someone else! Please!" she cried out.
I was shocked and confused. I thought we couldn't touch the chains. I thought Claire didn't have the power to break the chains. I shifted my thoughts aside and began to help her pull the chain.The chain began to glow brighter, then—
Snap.
The chain finally broke. The mermaid was free. We began swimming toward the surface as fast as we could. But before we could get far, Claire stopped. As if something was compelling her to. I turned around. She was staring down at the darkness. The mermaid was staring as well. They both looked like they were in a trance. Claire's pendant continued glowing. Then the chain moved. It moved toward us.
Slowly.
Almost deliberately. The end of the chain rose from the darkness and stretched toward Claire.
Claire's eyes widened. "Andrew… the chain."
I stared at it. The metal was floating toward us. And then I heard something.
A whisper.
It wasn't coming through my comms. It wasn't coming from Claire and It wasn't coming from the mermaid. Judging by the look their faces, they can hear it too. It came from somewhere beneath us.
A voice so deep that I felt it more than I heard it. "Found you."
Claire's hand tightened around mine. The pendant flashed. And the entire ocean went dark.