“Veronica!” I shouted with excitement and, holding the coconut, rushed closer to her side. “You did that so easily!”Veronica did not seem to mirror my level of joy. In fact, she seemed utterly dissatisfied, frowning at herself. Her breaths were shallow. She seemed winded.“It’s not good enough,” sh
I stared into Julian’s eyes, and he stared back at me. For a moment, nothing existed except the two of us and the ocean behind us, the waves cresting and smashing into the sandy shore.“I hope you mean that,” I said. I so desperately wanted him to be happy, and I knew he never would be, not so long
Bridget’s doe-eyed look, while so similar to Elva’s, was not nearly as convincing. Perhaps Bridget’s charms worked on those who were already fond of her, or on unsuspecting men who found her attractive, but I was neither of those.When I looked at Bridget now, all I could see was the memory of her s
“Elva!” I cried out, and rushed to wake her. “We overslept, honey. We have to go now!”I had so many questions. Where was Charlotte? Why didn’t my alarm go off? Why didn’t anyone come looking for us?But there was no time to consider them, let alone process them long enough to find answers.I tried
I tried to take Julian’s advice, trusting in Nicholas, and attempted to relax. By now, Julian had sat up, so I took the open seat next to him. Elva squeezed into the middle space between us.Veronica soon came to join us. She was apologetic, it seemed none of the staff members on board had extra swi
Holding Elva’s hand, I lead us both down the stairs.As I dropped beneath the surface of the water, I instinctively held my breath. Beside me, Elva hadn’t. She looked around, surprised, and then laughed. Oddly, I could hear her voice clearly, even under the water.In front of us, Jessica and Veronic
I gasped. Ambassador Zale!Yet unlike the last time I had met him, when he had been more human shaped and wearing a tuxedo, now he was even more otherworldly. The biggest change was the lack of human legs. Instead, he had a long and coiling fish tale, covered in scales the same as the blue-green one
The merfolk royal swam over toward me. I stood very still, continuing to grip on Nicholas’s arm.The merfolk cleared his throat. I braced myself, unsure if he would speak in a language I would recognize. Despite any potential awkwardness here, I certainly didn’t want to be rude.“My lady,” the merfo