I braced myself, ready to fight. But instead of gaping, serrated mouths, two teenage girls popped out of the waves. Water streamed from their hair, down their shoulders, and past their shell bikinis.
The closest girl had long blonde hair decorated with shells and starfish. Her blue eyes had a tint of purple in them, and she had the pretty, perky look of a cheerleader. The second girl was beautiful in a more angular, sophisticated way. Rows of pearls twisted through her long brown hair like jeweled streamers. Her green eyes regarded me disapprovingly. “That’s it. We’re staging an intervention.”
“What?” I’d had so many shocks I couldn’t think straight. It barely registered these girls must be mermaids too.
The blonde folded her arms and made a gesturing nod at the ship. “Don’t pretend you weren’t just talking to those humans.”
“Blow me down!” a sailor exclaimed. “Two more of them showed up!”
The black haired sailor scanned the waves. “I told you they’d attack the ship. Dozens are probably circling us.”
The sailor in the bandanna motioned for the spyglass. “Are all of them dressed in their unmentionables?”
Both girls ignored the men and waited for my answer. I swallowed, feeling helpless. “There’s been a mistake. I’m not supposed to be a mermaid.”
The brunette girl rolled her eyes. “Oh, not this again. Look, I don’t care how handsome that prince guy is. You’re not human and never will be. And if you think—”
The blonde girl held up a hand to stop the other mermaid’s words. “Let me handle this, Daphne.”
The brunette, Daphne, let out a humph.
“The prince . . .” I repeated weakly. The pieces fell together, interlocking in my mind to reveal a picture—a story. It couldn’t be coincidence, could it? I put my hand to my throat. “I’m in love with a prince?”
The blonde mermaid let out a sigh. “I think the correct term is infatuated. I mean, you can’t really love him. The guy doesn’t know who you are.”
I said several things at that point, all of them completely unholy, and all of them directed at my absent fairy godmother. Underneath the water, I flicked my tailfin back and forth angrily, stirring up a current. “I’m the Little Mermaid, aren’t I?”
The other mermaids—my sisters, I supposed—exchanged a patient look. Daphne swam over and put her hand on my shoulder. Her large green eyes turned sympathetic. “Just because you’re the youngest, that doesn’t mean Marina and I don’t take your feelings seriously.”
Marina, the blonde mermaid, nodded. “Interspecies crushes never work out. Trust us on this one.” She took hold of my hand and pulled me a few feet farther away from the ship. The water made parting ripples around us, blue and sparkling. “You need to come home now,” Marina said. “If you stay out here too long, you’ll get sunstroke.”
Daphne glowered in the boat’s direction. “Or netted by those vicious barbarians.”
“Or speared,” Marina agreed.
I couldn’t go home. I was half fish. And in a fairy tale. And none of this was supposed to happen. But if I said this to the other mermaids, they’d think I’d already succumbed to sunstroke.
I took deep breaths, trying to calm myself. When lost, it was best to stay put until someone found you. I was lost now, and Chrissy needed to find me. She had to undo this, to change me back.
I pulled away from the Marina and Daphne. “I can’t leave yet. I need to talk to someone. It’s really important.”
My sisters exchanged another look, this one not so patient.
Before either of them spoke again, a loud voice rumbled from the ship. “What the—what’s going on? Who are you people? Where am I?”
The guy wasn’t close enough to the side of the ship that I could see him, but he sounded familiar. I listened, drifting closer to the ship.
“You—yes, you—get me a latte and a cell phone.” There was a small pause and then a moan of frustration. “I don’t even remember leaving a party last night. How did I get here and why is the floor moving?”
The sailors at the side of the ship turned toward the voice and bobbed their heads in curt bows.
“Your Highness,” a simpering man near the rail ventured. “Beggin’ your pardon, Sire. I would happily get you a latte and . . . whatever the other thing was you asked for . . . if I only knew what they were and where to fetch them.”
The prince let out an unsympathetic grunt. “Have you been living under a rock? How could you not know what a latte is? It’s coffee, only better. Go get one.”
A sinking feeling took hold of my stomach. I recognized the voice now. It was Jason. He was the prince.
A lot of apologetic murmuring came from the men on the ship, and then Jason’s voice rang out again. “Where is my assistant? Gordon! Gordon—get out here!”
I put my face in my hand. This was how Chrissy was fulfilling my wish? She’d kidnapped Jason Prescott and made him the prince in a fairy tale? Yeah, that would make him love me for sure. What guy wouldn’t fall for a pathetic fangirl turned mermaid?
“My contract,” Jason yelled, punctuating each word, “states I only stay at five-star hotels. This dump doesn’t rate one star. It doesn’t even rate one of the pointy parts of a star. And what is that awful smell? No—don’t come closer. You’re the smell.” A smacking noise came from the boat as though Jason was batting someone away.
Marina glided over to me, barely disturbing the water around her. “So that’s the guy you like?”
Daphne joined us. She shook her head slowly. “Sorry, there’s not enough handsome in the world to make that guy look good.” She leaned closer to the boat, sunlight glowing across the shells adorning her head. “You can’t actually believe you’re in love with him.”
“Um . . .” I answered. I didn’t know what else to say.
“Sire!” one of the sailors motioned to the water. “What are your orders concerning the mermaid infestation?”
“Mermaid infestation?” Jason asked with a scoff. “One of us drank too much last night, and I’m beginning to think it wasn’t me.”
Footsteps strode toward the side of the ship, and then Jason peered over the rail. He wore a red coat with gold trim rimming the sleeves and collar. His brown hair was mussed from sleep, and his skin had a pale green hue to it. He was either hung over or seasick. It would be ironic, I supposed, if he threw up right now.
He stared blankly at us. “Is that water down there?”
Daphne and Marina both laughed. The sound was musical, like lilting bells. “He’s charming and smart,” Daphne said.
Jason’s gaze narrowed in on me, as though he recognized me but didn’t remember from where.
Marina grabbed my arm. “We’ve seen enough. Let’s go.” Her grip tightened and she dived downward, dragging me into the depths of the water.
I struggled, twisting as I tried to swim back toward the ship. But then Daphne took hold of my other arm, and the two of them pulled me along with them. They were strong. I could only wave my tailfin in protest, watching the sunlit surface grow more distant.
I was afraid I was going to drown, which would have been just my luck—to drown while being a mermaid.
Chapter 4
I didn’t dare take a breath. One part of my brain knew mermaids must be able to breathe underwater, but I wasn’t a real mermaid. I was a girl that a fairy godmother—no, a fair godmother—turned into a mermaid. What if she’d forgotten to give me mermaid lungs, or gills, or whatever they used?
I gestured wildly upward.
Sign language is something I’m apparently not good at. The mermaids only glanced at me and kept dragging me deeper.
“What’s with her?” Daphne asked Marina. She actually spoke the words, though I wasn’t sure how she’d done it underwater, or how I’d heard her.