Into the Spotlight: A Little Mermaid Remix

Chapter 7

A/N: Picture of Lila Faithens ^

Kayden hated Mondays.

They seemed to be created by the gods to punish the foolish mortals they ruled over.

And today, the sky was crying.

Rain was drenching everyone and everything outside, and it was the only reason Kayden had gone to school this morning.

He thought the black clouds were doing a lovely job of reflecting his current mood.

He didn't even have a singular thing to be angry at besides himself. He'd already talked things over with Lizzie on letting Prince Liam backstage. She had apologized, and then said it was very likely to happen again.

Kayden had left her office at that point before he allowed his powers to do something stupid like break a window.

Kayden knew he couldn't blame Lizzie. Saying no to the Crown Prince for no reason just wasn't done.

Which was exactly why Kayden was going to do it.

If he ever saw Liam again that is.

It was just a one-time thing. He reassured himself. He's no different from anyone else. Once he has what he wants he'll leave.

And why does that bug me? I want him to leave! I need to be left alone if my deception is to last! Besides, it's much too risky to be hanging out with royalty. The last time sirens and the royal family interacted, they ended up killing each other.

Better to keep your distance, just like with everyone else.

But why did that thought send a whizzing pain through his heart? He barely knew Prince Liam, and above all, his magic had acted strangely around him as well.

Yes, it was better to avoid him at all costs.

Someone was snapping their fingers loudly in his ear.

He batted the hand away and blinked to see Erica frowning at him.

"Are you alright Kayden? You're more spaced-out than usual."

"He's fine Erica." Yvonne insisted dismissively, scrolling through her social media while eating the school's poor attempt at mashed potatoes. "Kayden's always spacey. Like Uriel."

Uriel's head snapped up from the book he was reading beneath the table. "Hmm?"

Erica rolled her eyes. "Go back to reading about electricity or whatever that is."

Uriel didn't need to be told twice.

Kayden pushed the mashed potatoes in a circle on his tray. He couldn't bring himself to eat them. Worry over Liam showing up at his next concert in two days was making the mere thought of food inedible.

"I don't know." Erica frowned at him. "If you have something bothering you, you'll tell us right?"

Kayden made a noncommittal noise and resisted the urge to ruthlessly stab his potatoes with the spoon.

They don't care normally. Why do they notice and pay attention now?!

Erica's eye twitched and for a moment both eyes flashed bright yellow.

The triplets all shared the same true eye color, which was weakly self-illusioned. Oddly enough, Uriel's eyes never flashed.

Probably because he never experienced rushes of emotion, but instead had gradual increases or decreases in feeling. Kayden knew for a fact that Uriel's magic was practically nonexistent and extremely unreliable. Uriel's strength lay in his ability to predict the needs of others, and his observations and intelligence.