The Mermaid's Reckoning | ONC 2024

Chapter 15

It wasn't until the group dipped back into the ocean that Ephyra had a revelation.

"The stone," she hissed, spinning around to face Pretie. "The Stone of Edrisse. Did... Did your prince take it?"

"To clarify, he is not my prince, nor do I want him to be..."

Ephyra rolled her eyes. "I think I could figure out that part on my own, Prettypants. But... The stone. He took it, didn't he?" When she turned to face Pretie fully, her expression was cloaked in concern. It was beyond strange to Pretie how Ephyra had been mere inches from death, and yet the mermaid was more worried about her.

"I... I guess he did." Pretie murmured thoughtfully. She vaguely recalled Virid crouching to grab something as he stumbled away from them on the beach. She'd been too focused on Ephyra to pay much attention to him at the time. By the time the group had completed the healing ritual, the prince had disappeared completely.

"That stone... It might be your only chance to break the curse. Without it, you won't be able to return to Aecora. You won't be able to turn back to your human form." The mermaid replied, her eyebrows furrowing as she let her gaze sink to the ocean's sandy floor. After a beat of silence, she whipped her head toward Pretie, her face suddenly serious. "We can go back for it. We can... Create a tsunami. If we flood the kingdom, we'll be able to get to the castle or wherever else that dude might have taken..." The mermaid trailed off, confused, as Pretie's laughter drifted toward her.

"You were right, you know."

Ephyra raised an eyebrow, her eyes shifting for a moment between Pretie and the others, who had drifted ahead to chat among themselves. "Uh... Right? About what?"

"I've never fit in up there." Pretie whispered, glancing toward the surface of the water. They hadn't traveled far from Aecora; the water they hovered in was shallow, dark with the beginning of night. "I've never belonged up there, as much as I tried to get myself to believe I'd someday have a place. 

"My father would never listen to me, even if I returned to him on two legs. Virid clearly hasn't changed any, considering he tried to murder you. If I went back to Aecora, I'd be subjecting myself to the same fate I was trying to escape in the first place. So... You were right, when you asked if there was anything left for me there. There isn't. Nothing worth the shit I'd have to deal with if I went back." She twisted a lock of hair around her finger. If Pretie never ventured back to Aecora, the only person she would miss was Juva. And she was the one who urged me to escape. She'd probably strangle me if I returned to the castle just for her. "Maybe... Maybe this wasn't a curse, but a blessing in disguise."

When Pretie met Ephyra's eye again, she noticed her lips were parted in surprise. The hopeful longing she could oh-so-faintly recognize on the mermaid's features made a soft smile tug at Pretie's lips.

"I was thinking, actually... If it's okay with you..." Her face flushed, Pretie forced herself to take a breath. A thousand words swarmed her head and it took a moment for her to formulate them into proper sentences. "I want to stay here with you, if you'll allow me."

"Oh my gods, enough with the princess talk. Of fucking course I'll allow you." Ephyra flashed her a pointy-toothed grin, her eyes glinting with amusement. She held out her hand and Pretie took it without hesitation, a grin of her own twitching onto her face. 

"Oh. Okay. Good. I was almost worried you were going to say no, or laugh in my face, or—"

Ephyra snorted. "Did we not just kiss, like, ten minutes ago? Or was that someone else? Is there a shapeshifter in our presence? Hey, guys, did anyone witness—"