“Hey! At least take me to dinner first,” I say when their silky hands dig into my flesh. When we pass Hallie, still curled up in James’s arms, she looks up at me and flashes a triumphant smile. I blow her a kiss, and her eyes narrow.
I’m glad my Giselle and Ian aren’t here to see this. They deserve so much better than this dolphin shit.
When we enter the open sea, the guards hurl through the water at an inconceivable speed. My tail isn't used to the rapid pace, and I go limp in their arms. The sensation of being dragged through the sea sucks.
When we arrive in Aqualis, the guards hand me to my father. Continuing with the theme of the day, he then drags me behind him. The familiar, breathtaking views surround me on every side as he takes me to the throne room.
We pass through enchanted tunnels so no one will see how poorly the Crown Princess is treated.
I push water through my gills as fast as possible, grasping at the oxygen that will keep me from passing out. Once I’m in the throne room, the male who fathered me violently releases me.
I rub the purple spots on either arm. My ice-gray skin bruises so easily.
For a moment, Phelix, the Ice Mer King, just floats above me. He is enormous; god-offspring always are. His well-kept beard is a blend of a dozen shades of green and blue. It appears as if there are dozens of eels writhing around his pale gray skin and unnervingly green eyes. Eyes that are currently promising pain in epic proportions.
I stare back at him. I am his daughter and won't let myself be afraid of him, even if he hates me.
He breaks the silence first, and I smile, reveling in the small win. “You are a disappointment,” he says cooly.
The slight sense of pride evaporates. “Yes, Daddy. I know,” I say. This time, instead of flashing him a cocky smile, I drop my head. It’s pitiful how short of a time I stood tall before him. I let the monsters inside me that I keep locked up run around as they wish. My shame makes me sink a bit lower in the water.
“You cannot be queen,” he continues as though I hadn’t spoken.
“What?” I don’t understand.
“Silence!” he demands. The sound waves travel through the water at such a rate that they cause my head to pound even harder. “If you were to take the throne tomorrow, it would be a disaster. You knownothing.”
He pauses, swimming back and forth across the room for a few moments. He reminds me of a caged tigerfish I once saw when I was younger. They’re dangerous wild, but in captivity, they have been known to kill entire populations of Merlings.
At last, he says, “You will go to your uncle in the Gates of Hell. He is a smart ruler. He will teach you what you must know if you ever hope to become queen.”
“So, you’re saying there's a chance I will be queen,” I flash a half-hearted smile that he doesn’t return.
“This is serious, Helena.”
“Okay, okay, when do we leave?” I begin fiddling with the baggy gray shirt still billowing in the water.
“Youwill leave today. I will not be coming, and you will take a boat.”
My jaw falls open, and I blink. “Boat? But Daddy, why would I take a boat when I have this bad boy?” I gesture to my tail.
He doesn't like my joke. The room around us grows dark, and my heart speeds up. His voice thunders, “Helena, you talk too much. You will learn to be a queen or pay the price. I think it’s time you learn another fundamental lesson.”
I open my mouth to respond, but he’s too fast.
“If you are going to be above water, you will need legs. But, as you know, there has to be a balance. I’ve thought long and hard about this… and I’m almost sad I won’t be coming with you. Because, you see, my darling daughter, the price for legs will be your voice.”
When the last word comes out of his mouth, my eyes fly wide open. No! I need my voice.
I open my mouth to protest just as emerald green magic shoots across the room. It snakes past my lips and down my throat like a slippery eel. I choke, the water that has been my home for my entire life suddenly making breathing impossible. I look down to see my tail fading away. Desperately, I grab at the bottom of my shirt, trying to cover the human parts that are now exposed for the world to see.
I want to say something, to scream, to yell my frustration, but nothing more than air bubbles come out. A new sensation fills me, one I’ve never felt before. My lungs burn, and my oxygen supply is suddenly non-existent.
The King smiles and snaps his fingers. He summons a shark that speeds through the room. It slides under me and then shoots me up to the surface. The shark swims faster than the guards. The underwater city disappears as the light gets stronger, illuminating golden-white particles floating in the green-blue water.
Black spots edge my vision as a rainbow of colored fish burst from their formation around us. The water is brighter the further we go, but the black keeps interceding in my sight. My lungs burn, and my chest seizes as we travel.
We slice through the levels of the sea. It changes from midnight to twilight to daylight, but the burning in my brain and chest makes me worry I might die just as we break the surface. I gasp for air, spitting out as much water as possible. It burns.