Page 70 of Chasing Tail
“You’re probably going to end up the queen of this kingdom. It doesn’t matter where on land you go. People are fascinated with mermaids. You’re going to receive visitors from other kingdoms who are going to have a lot of questions. You have to be gracious and polite while lying to their faces.”
“You know mermaids are never gracious and polite, right?”
“I’m aware. But you don’t need them angry and asking questions, so you’ll manage. You need everyone on land thinking you and Taron paid a sea witch for legs with your voice. If they know mermaids can survive on land without magic, it’ll be bad for your people.
“You know there are bad people on land. Mermaids are beautiful and mysterious to people on land. Some people would try to own them like property. They’d send as many ships as they could afford, hoping to capture one and get away before they ended up at the bottom of the ocean. Sometimes, a little lie saves a lot of people.”
“You’re a Sin, Salem. Shouldn’t you be telling me to be honest about everything?”
“We punish the wicked, but we aren’t stupid, Kishi. If Cassandra hadn’t been in his room, we would have murdered them both and lied to the entire kingdom. We’re all mad the pup got hurt, but it worked out the way it was supposed to. Callum went along with it, but he didn’t want to rule based on a lie. However, he did understand it was for the best until another option was presented.”
“If people tried to capture mermaids, we’d kill them.”
“Oh, I’m well aware. You’ve seen the things people on land have built and invented. You haven’t seen some of the terrible things they’ve made for killing people. If someone were wealthy and very determined, they’d pay the best minds to build something to arm their ships to fight back. Just lie, Kishi. None of us are going to punish you for it, and it’ll save a lot of lives. We lie too.”
“I don’t really want to be queen. I just want Callum, Beck, Forrest, and Taron.”
“The job comes with the men. Plenty of people have done crazy things for a seat on the throne.”
“I just wanted to stab the man responsible for the massacre in my home.”
“Well, he got his face ripped off by a wolf pup, and you found love with his sons. So I’d say you won.”
“I did, didn’t I? Adamo even told us how we can go back and visit our family and that the pain eventually stops.”
“I know you lost a lot coming here, but you gained some good things too. So cherish what you have because there are plenty of people on land who want it.”
“Taron and I almost killed one of Beck’s old lovers for trying to steal him back, but Beck said she should be with a bear, and we decided not to.”
“You’ll want to avoid stabbing and biting people here, or not even Callum can protect you. That said, there’s nothing wrong with non lethally punching someone in the face. It’ll make you feel better, and sometimes, they have it coming.”
“Noted.”
“Get back to the party, Kishi. These things tend to get wilder when the sun goes down. I’m planning on eating again and dancing.”
“Land food is delicious, and I enjoy dancing.”
Salem helped me to my feet.
“Dancing and music are some of the most innocent, joyful things about land. If you have the opportunity to partake in either, you should take it.”
“I think I’m going to ask Topaz to teach me to play the violin. It was my favorite.”
“All of us have picked up instruments in our long lives. It’s a lot of practice and can be frustrating. If you get angry with your instrument, I would suggest not taking it out on Topaz. She won’t hesitate to punch you right back, even if you’re the queen.”
“I know. That’s why I like her.”
“Get back to the party, Kishi. You’ll get to see how the royals throw parties next. Go enjoy this one.”
I already was, and I appreciated Salem’s advice. He was right. I hated lying, and I told myself I needed to for the end goal when I was doing it to the princes. I felt horrible about it and was trying to find the right way to tell them the truth.
I knew I could probably trust them to keep that secret, but for now, everyone needed to believe mermaids could only come on land by trading with a sea witch.
