Page 38 of Whispers of the Starlit Sea
She nodded her understanding and watched as he dashed through the rain to give what aid he could. The all-too-familiar feeling of waiting by the sidelines settled on her as she stood there. She couldn’t help here any more than she could underwater.
Waiting. Always waiting.
A sound broke through her thoughts, one that was both above the storm and part of it. All around was chaos. The men shouted as they worked to tie off a ship that threatened to buck the crew off her deck. The sound came again, from the opposite direction, wrapping around her.
Tears pricked her eyes as she recognized it.
Another glance at Arick. He had a rope wound around his arms, and he braced himself as another man attempted to tie off the line. He wouldn’t miss her if she left for just a minute.
The sound continued as the song grew stronger. Sorcha ran to the far pier, past the abandoned ships that groaned against their restraints.
She dropped to her knees at the end of the dock. “Ciara!” she called out, a smile splitting her face.
Her sister rose with the waves, a matching smile forming. “You’re okay.” She reached a hand up to clasp Sorcha’s. “Auntie said you were, but I had to see for myself. I thought… I turned around and you were gone.” She looked at Sorcha’s dress, the boots that replaced her once-shimmering fin. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
Sorcha shook her head, her own tears mingling with the rain. “Not your fault. The storm was awful, and I couldn’t just let him drown.”
Ciara’s face turned dark. “You should have.”
Sorcha pulled back. “What? Just because I’m not a Watcher doesn’t mean I can’t help.”
“No, you don’t get it. Another Watcher went missing after the storm. The humans lured him away.”
Bands tightened around her chest, but this time it wasn’t due to Arick’s absence. Why would the humans want a merman?
“They don’t even think we’re real,” she whispered.
“Some of them do,” a third voice interrupted.
“Aunt Maeve!” Sorcha couldn’t help the surge of joy that filled her despite everything. “What are you doing on the surface?”
“I had to check on this one,” her aunt replied, nodding her head at Ciara.
Ciara rolled her eyes in the gray light. “I’m a Watcher. I’m supposed to be up here.”
Something felt off, but she couldn’t place it. Maybe it was her… She had changed.
“But I’m glad you’re here,” Maeve continued as though Ciara hadn’t spoken. “I found some old texts. There might be a way to break your curse.”
Sorcha startled, nearly falling in the water in her eagerness. “There is? How?”
“You took the curse of being human by rescuing one. Magic has a give and take. In order to undo the curse, an opposite action must be performed.”
Thunder clapped, covering her gasp. “I have tokilla human?”
“No, my little guppy. A human must do something of equal sacrifice to you. Specifically, your man must perform an act of selfless love. Only then will you return to your true form.”
Sorcha stared at her, a million questions swirling through her head. She opened her mouth to ask, then closed it again, unsure of where to start. Arick was kind, but he wouldn’t risk his life for her. He barely knew her.
“We have to go — humans are coming,” Ciara cut her off. “Take care, cuttlefish. I’ll try to come back in the next storm.”
Maeve and Ciara vanished beneath the waves.
“No!” she cried. “Come back!”
She had more questions. More things she wanted to say to them. But the waves hid all trace of the mermaids as it had for centuries, keeping their secrets.
Alone, she shivered in the cold rain. Wind buffeted her, threatening to hand her over to the reaching waves.
