Those who had avoided the Disease.
And those too weak to overcome it.
Coral pushed all thoughts of curious stares aside and tried to focus on this night. Her night. Her excited fins fluttered in synchronicity with her heart. She peered around the stone pillar. After what happened the other evening with the crown princess, Coral was sharp as a swordfish. Her muscles seemed to grate against her bones and her nerves electrified. She hadn’t seen or heard her oldest sister since.
A shell horn sounded, announcing the arrival of another guest. “Presenting Lukiss and Laura Lye Dunes of the Northern Shore.”
A couple swam forth beneath the main archway, hanging vines of ocean ivy parting in ripples at their entrance. The merman was somewhat slumped over, and a bored look washed his shadowed face. The merwoman was his opposite in every way. Though she showed no teeth, her amber eyes appeared to dance in time with the upbeat tempo of the orchestra. Even from this distance, Coral could hear the refrain those eyes produced—joy.
Emotion. Hidden there beneath the surface where no one wanted to look.
Coral inhaled a breath. Exhaled. A group of merboys and maids her age entered, which made her cheeks warm and her stomach backflip. Why did her father invite them? She didn’t even know them. Not that things were much different back in their Atlantic merdom. Coral had never been one to fit in. East or west, north or south, she remained a mermaid out of water.
Once again she found herself wanting to cling to the one person she was most comfortable with. Coral scanned the room for her oldest sister. There must have been dozens of merfolk from every region of the Northern and Southern Shores. More boys than maids, she noticed.
Please don’t tell me Father is already searching out a suitor for me.
She gasped, then hiccupped. He was. Why didn’t Coral see the signs? His prodding, pushing her to make her debut? All those merboys she didn’t know? He was presenting her. This party was more about finding her a match than it had ever been about her birthday.
Of course it was.
The crown princess remained nowhere to be found. Instead, Coral spotted Jordan. She twirled at the center of the sea glass–mosaic dance floor, wrapped in the arms of her chosen suitor, Duke. Neither appeared happy.
Coral was about to make her grand entrance when two familiar faces approached the pillar a few feet from her. Her two favorite mermaids in all the sea.
Coral moved to greet the future queen and their grandmother, thankful she could postpone introducing herself to a stranger for a few more fathoms. But then her sister said her name in a low tone and Coral whirled out of view. The mention was not directed in greeting.
She’s talking about me. Curiosity won and she remained hidden.
“Coral knows now,” the crown princess said. “I don’t know what else to do, Grandmother.”
“Your youngest sister is no threat. The question is, does your father know yet? Has he figured it out?” Their grandmother tasted her green jellied kelptini, her expression a mixture of amusement and grace.
“I don’t think so.” Her sister fiddled with the pearl bracelet on her wrist. Her downcast expression matched the inflection in her dreary voice. “But it’s only a matter of time, Grandmother.”
“You are right about that.” Their grandmother had never been one to sail around uncomfortable situations. Now was no different. “Have you considered your options? You could come live with me.”
The crown princess smoothed her scales. “I can’t go back there. It’s too much.”
Go back where? What was she talking about?
“I understand.” Their grandmother floated a few inches to her left, smiling and looking out at the ballroom. “I am here. I will even go with you to tell the king.”
“Father would kill me before Red Tide ever got the chance.” The crown princess hung her head.
Coral pressed her back against the stone, pulse pounding and mind racing faster than a runaway current. They stayed quiet for a spell, giving Coral a chance to calm her breathing and collect her scattered nerves. She examined her far-too-glittery skin and touched the updo she’d tried to achieve after Jordan didn’t have time to help her get ready. Coral looked a fright. She had never been good at mermaid things—not the way her sisters were.
“Look,” their grandmother continued. “Sometimes you have to swim through a bit of darkness . . .”
“. . . if you’re ever going to surface in the light.” Her sister finished the mantra their grandmother often spoke to them. A scraped fin? A bruised scale? This was forever the remedy.
The crown princess laughed then and Coral relished the sound. When was the last time she’d heard her sister laugh?
“You are a captivating beauty,” their grandmother said. “You will find love again. And your father will understand.”
“And if he doesn’t?” The one-day queen’s voice rose, and a few dancers nearby stopped to stare. Her next words were softer but remained firm. “If he doesn’t, I’ll truly have nothing left.”
Coral’s heart skipped several beats before she found a way to breathe. Her sister’s fear ran in scarlet ribbons across her vision. Coral wanted to grasp those ribbons, to rip them apart until her sister felt safe once more.
“You will have me. And your sisters.” Taking time with her dessert, their grandmother took plenty of time with her words. To her, words held a magic far greater than anything the Sorceress of the Sea possessed. Finally, after what seemed the remainder of the evening had passed, she said, “I know your heart is broken right now, but have a little faith. Things will get better.”
Eyes pleading with the merwoman who’d helped raise them, the crown princess sighed. “How can I have faith when I have seen firsthand what Father will do? If he knew I’d fallen for a human, and then that human abandoned me? He’d banish me to the Abyss.”
Coral’s fears were at last confirmed, and it was all she could do not to vocalize her internal moan.
“Remember,” their grandmother said. “Swim through the darkness, find the light.” She touched the crown princess’s arm.
A lingering pause. A quick breath. A sigh. “Thank you, Grandmother. For listening.”
“Think nothing of it. It is my privilege and my pleasure.”
Her sister shifted and Coral mirrored her move, staying out of sight but close enough to catch her next whispered words. “Take care of Coral, okay?” A tear slipped free, falling fast down her right cheek. The crown princess erased it in a heartbeat.
Coral covered her mouth to stifle a gasp. Another tear? How was it even visible at these depths? Were tears so powerful they withstood even the mighty ocean waters?
Their grandmother didn’t respond for a fathom. Coral couldn’t see her face now, but she imagined her pondering expression. A mixture of darkened conflict worrying her brow and chin, singing the tune of the rolling fog on the water’s surface in winter.
When she finally answered, she took a long, deep breath. Then, “I would not dream of doing anything to the contrary.”
The crown princess bowed her head and left without another word or tear. Coral expected her to join the party, but instead her sister swam past a pair of palace guards, beyond the entry arch, and into the evening blue.
Coral watched the future queen, her gaze lingering on the arch long after she’d vanished. The little mermaid didn’t move. Or blink.
Her sister was in love with a human?
She could hardly process it.