"Are you sure this is gonna work?” Nicole stood on a dock, looking down. The rippling surface was clear, blue, and she was giddy with the prospect of being able to explore the sea.
“Of course it will,” he answered.
“So will my fin look like Sara’s?”
“Yes, basically.”
“And how do I breathe?”
“You just open your mouth and let the water flow through your gills.”
“But I don’t have gills.”
“You will as soon as you enter the water.”
“Because you’ll change me, right? Wait. Am I different already? I didn’t feel anything.”
“Relax, Nikki. No, you aren’t different yet. I’ll be drawing the power from the sea when I change you. So let me enter first.”
“Wait a minute. What if I want to come back on land? Will I still be a mermaid?”
“No, you won’t. I’ll make it so you have a tail in the ocean and legs on land. Until we are married, that is. Once my father binds us, the change will likely be permanent.”
“Oh, right. What about my clothes? Should I take them off?”
“You do that, and I won’t be responsible for my actions,” he said, the heat of his gaze scorching her.
“Um…” She gave a short laugh. “I’ll keep them on.”
“Then I’ll take care of the clothes. I’ll tell you when I’m ready for you.”
“Okay.”
With that said, Ty dove into the sea. Nicole expected him to surface right away, but he didn’t. After a few long seconds, she began to worry. When it was a full minute, she started to panic.
“Ty?” She waited another second and yelled, “Ty!”
He didn’t seem inclined to answer her. “If he thinks I’m going to wait, he’s nuts.” As her body entered the cool water, she realized that maybe she should have removed her shoes. It was a bit difficult to swim with four-inch wedges. And did she have gills yet? Probably not. If she didn’t have a fin, she didn’t have gills. Where in the world was Ty? She searched around and saw only blue water before clumsily kicking her way to the surface. Taking a breath of air, she submerged again, pulling off her shoes. When she surfaced, she tossed them onto the dock. One more breath and she went back down, searching for him.
Did he leave her? Would she never see him again? The thought brought on immediate panic. She kicked her way back to the surface and screamed, “Triton. If you left me again, I’ll kill you! You’d better get your butt up here and get me.”
Relax, Nicole. I don’t think he left you.
“What do you know? You’re just a figment of my imagination,” she said. “I wish you’d just get out of my head.” She was suddenly slammed by something that proceeded to wrap around her waist. She just got in a quick breath when she was pulled under.
A bright flash of light blinded her as she struggled to get free of the creature that had her.
“Nicole.” The voice was soothing and familiar. “Calm down, love, it’s just me.” Ty. Thank heavens.
She opened her eyes and looked into his face, which was haloed by blond hair. She smiled, and then realized she would need to breathe… water. Okay, no problem.
Opening her mouth, she kept her tongue pressed against the roof. She was just a bit nervous. Still. She could do it.
In a moment.
Any minute now.
Her chest burned from lack of oxygen.
“Nikki, you need to breathe.”
She shook her head. Seriously, maybe she couldn’t do it. Her chest was feeling as if it were about to explode! She had to get to the surface! As she looked up, panic slammed into her. The surface was not even visible. The water was clear and blue, but she could see no sign of ripples. How did we get this deep?
“Nikki, come on, breathe. There’s nothing to be afraid of.” She thrashed around, fighting to get to the surface. Bubbles floated from her mouth, and she nearly cried at the fact there was no air to replace it.
“Gods Nikki, calm down. Trust me, I’ll give you the oxygen you need.” He took her face in his hands, shoved his open mouth against hers, and blew water into her mouth. She tried to resist, but the water flowed in and breezed out behind her ears. The relief was immediate—like taking a breath of fresh air. Ty pulled away, watching her closely.
She forced herself to breathe, tentatively at first, taking slow, deep breaths. The tightness in her chest loosened as oxygen filled her. The panic melted away, and she was comforted by the life-giving water.
“Good,” he said. “You’re doing just fine, love.”
Ty’s eyes were filled with tenderness and concern. She nodded to let him know she was better now. The panic had diminished. It wasn’t completely gone—breathing water was still strange. But each breath eased her mind and relaxed her tense muscles.
“Wow,” she said, smiling at how funny her voice sounded. “That might have been a little scarier than I expected.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know how difficult it would be for you. You’re the first human I’ve ever brought down here.”
“Wait. Are you saying you’ve never turned anyone into a mermaid before?”
“No, why would I?”
“Well, thank you for making me your guinea pig. Good thing your experiment worked,” she said, disapprovingly.
“Nicole,” he said, drawing out her name. “Changing your body was easy. I just didn’t realize how desperately you’d fight breathing in the water. It’s so natural for me, I… I just didn’t know.”
She moved away from Ty. “Well, I’m better now. But I’ll admit, I really didn’t want to do it.”
“I know. I’m sorry, love. Would you like to see my home?”
“Um, you live in Hawaii?”
He shook his head. “No, I transported us to my home at the mouth of the Mediterranean Sea.”
She looked around. A palace towered in the distance. It was huge! With turrets, spires, and archways, it seemed to rise forever. In fact, she couldn’t see the top. Nicole remembered watching The Little Mermaid movie with Sara. The castle in that movie wasn’t a fraction as amazing as the one that towered in the distance. “Is that it?” she breathed.
“Yes. This has been my home for several thousand years. What do you think?”
“I think. Oh, dear heavens. I think… I don’t know what to think. Do you live alone in that?”
“I didn’t use to. It was once filled with my children, dozens of them. They’re all gone now. They died two thousand years ago.”
What in the world happened to them? Nicole didn’t feel it was her place to pry, so she didn’t ask. Still, her emotions were conflicted over his words. On the one hand, she was saddened by the loss he must feel for his children. On the other hand, what in the world was he doing fathering so many darn kids? And who were these women he was impregnating?
Instead of reprimanding him, she showed compassion, knowing how devastated she’d be if anything happened to Sara. “I’m sorry.”
“This is no time for grief. You’re here, Nikki. My heart is once again whole. And you gave me a beautiful daughter. I have a lot to be thankful for.” All signs of sadness were gone as he brushed a kiss across her lips. He tasted like the sea.
Nicole smiled, warmed at his words.
“Come on. There’s someone I need you to meet. A little warning, though. My servants are all sea creatures I’ve gifted with intelligence. Try not to be shocked by their appearance.”
“Oh, okay.” She swam forward and stopped, stunned at a realization. “Oh my gosh, I have a fin! Look at it!”
It was blue, scaly, and when the light caught it just right, she could see rainbow colors. And her breasts were covered in honest-to-goodness seashells.
“A seashell bra?” she said. “Seriously?”
He chuckled. “I thought you’d appreciate it.”
“Actually… no. I don’t. They’re cutting into my side.”
He waved his hand, and the seashells were replaced by scales that matched her fin.
“Much better,” she said, running her hands over her body. “I can’t believe it. I’m really a mermaid! But, why do I have scales? Sara doesn’t have scales.” Nicole found a seam at the waist, pulled the fabric back, and let go. She then did the same with the bra. It snapped tight to her body like it was made of spandex.
“That’s a covering—for modesty’s sake.”
“I like it. I really do. So what about you?” She swam forward and felt for a seam where his skin ended and his gray fin began.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m seeing if you can take yours off. Can you?”
“Not unless I was skinned.”
“So why don’t you need to be covered?” Nicole asked.
“Would you really like a lesson in Mer anatomy right now?”
Nicole smiled. “People have been wondering about that for thousands of years. Now I know all about Sara, seeing as I sewed her diapers and changed them for two years, but you…” She looked down at him and frowned. “I can see your pelvic fins, but… Wait a minute, what is that crease between your fins?”
“Nicole.” He scowled at her.
“Well, is that where your—?”
“Nicole! This is not something I want to go into now. Let’s just say I have everything I need. Now, would you please drop this topic?”
“Did I embarrass you? You’re not ashamed of your body, are you?”
“Of course not!” he shouted. “Gods, do you not have a filter?”
“Yes, but I try not to overuse it.” She smirked.
He shook his head and cracked a smile. “Let’s get you and your mouth inside, and I’ll let you meet my servants. Try not to embarrass them.”
“I won’t embarrass them.”
“Oh no, I guess I’m an exception.”
She chuckled. “I thought you weren’t embarrassed.”
He shook his head as he led her to the castle. A gigantic creature with thick, tangled tentacles clung to the side of the wall.
“Ge sheou fílenio mo,” Ty said, smiling.
The creature growled, and Nicole plastered herself against Ty’s side. He wrapped his arm around her. The beast’s tentacles slithered like thick snakes sliding over each other to climb the building. His bulging eyes seemed to search her. Behind the monster lay a massive stone door. Ty waved his hand, and the door rumbled open.
As soon as the doors closed behind them, Nicole said, “What in the world was that?”
“That was Megalostas, a leviathan. He’s been with me for years.”
“He’s huge.”
“You should have seen him three hundred years ago. He could fit in the palm of my hand.”
“Wow. What do you feed him?”
“Trespassers,” he answered, smiling.
Nicole’s eye widened. “You’re kidding, right?”
“You probably don’t want me to answer that.”
Nicole shook her head and then looked around. The place was spectacular. They were in a wide hall, with high ceilings. She searched the room. There were no lights or chandeliers. The light seemed to come from the walls themselves, which were stone with colorful tapestries hanging all around. There were probably a hundred of them. Each piece of fabric was a work of art. All of them depicted things from the oceans—seascapes, sea creatures, and several stunningly beautiful people—some with fins, some without.
But nothing could compare to the mosaic on the floor. It was breathtaking. Colored rocks and seashells were embedded and sparkled all around. “Wait, just a minute,” she said as she let go of Ty and swam toward the high ceiling. Looking down, she could see a map of the world. The continents were black onyx, and the sea was made of colorful blues, greens, aquas, and white. “It’s beautiful!”
Triton swam up to join her. “Thank you.” He smiled.
“But why are the continents just plain black?”
“We don’t care much about the continents around here.”
“But they’re connected. You can’t forget we humans exist.”
He swam up to her and pressed a kiss to her lips. “I could never forget you, love. But the other humans—”
“Without balance between the four realms, all would perish,” Nicole said, but the words didn’t come from her.
Stop talking through my lips! Nicole shouted to the voice inside her head. It didn’t often take over her speech, but when it did, it always made her furious.
“What four realms? I only know of three.” Ty’s brows crunched in confusion.
“I don’t know what I was talking about.”
There are things I need to say to him.
No, you are not to talk to him. You just need to shut up and go away! What’s the deal with you lately?
Ty couldn’t hear her internal dialog, but she could tell he knew something wasn’t right. He confirmed her thoughts when he said, “Nicole, is there something you need to tell me?”
“No!” she said a little too harshly. “I’m sorry. No, I’m alright.”
Great, now he thinks I’m crazy.
You’re not crazy.
Says the voice in my head.
“Okay…” Ty drew the word out. He took her hand. “Come on, I want you to meet someone.”
They swam into another room and right in front of her—like an image in a National Geographic video—was a giant squid, complete with a bulbous, cone head and ten tentacles.
“Philotheos, this is Nicole—my mate.”
Mate? Seriously, did he just call me his mate? “Um, hello, Felo…”
“Philotheos,” Ty corrected.
“Um, yes, hello Filothesis?” She looked to Ty for confirmation that she got the name right.
“Close enough,” Ty said, smiling.
She put out her hand to shake, and the squid jerked back. A small cloud of black swirled in the water.
Ty leaned over and whispered, “He doesn’t like to be touched.”
“Oh.” Good grief.
A silver-striped fish swam through a door into the room. “Is this another friend of—?”
The squid whipped a tentacle out, pulled the fish in, and wrapped all of its appendages around it, forming a ball. She could hear chomping noises as it jerked. Blood leaked into the water.
“I… guess… not,” she said, frowning and wondering what other surprises Ty had in store for her.
“Come on,” Ty said. “I bet you’re hungry too.”
Nicole continued to frown as they swam into an enormous circular room. Fish swam around the room as if they were swimming laps in a giant track. There were hundreds of them: colorful ones with long tails, lumpy, grey ones, long, sleek fish with sharp, pointy teeth, and many more she couldn’t even begin to identify.
“Um, are we going to be swimming laps before dinner?”
Ty smiled and shook his head slowly.
“You don’t mean… This room full of fish can’t be dinner?”
“You’re not going to be eating all of them, just one or two.”
“No, I’m going to be eating zero of them.”
“Nikki, if you’re going to live down here, you have to learn to eat down here.”
“But… I’m a vegetarian.”
“Since when?”
“Since… now.”
“Nicole Taylor, just give it a try. That’s all I ask.”
She frowned and then got an idea. “You’re a god; can you cook one for me?”
“No, I’m not going to cook one for you. But I’ll catch some. I’ll be right back.” He manifested a trident in his hand and shot through the center of the circling fish. Seconds later, he swam back, with three fish speared, one on each of the three points of his trident.
“Fish kabobs are served.”
Nicole winced. “They’re still wiggling.”
“Fine,” he said, pointing his finger at the squirming fish. They immediately went limp. “There, now they’re dead.”
“You killed them just by pointing your finger at them?” she squeaked in surprise. “If you wanted to, could you kill me that easily?”
“Great gods of Olympus, why in Hades would I want to do that?”
“I don’t know. If I ever annoyed you—”
“You’d already be dead,” he interrupted. “Many times over.”
She held back a smile. “Very funny.”
“I thought so. Okay, now here.” He pulled a fish off the spike and handed it to her. “Give it a try.”
She learned two valuable lessons minutes later. First, when you threw up in the sea, it went everywhere. Second, whatever dinner you were not eating made a wonderful clean-up crew. She could have gone without learning either of those lessons.