"Curiosity is a double-edged sword, both beautiful, and deadly. There's no telling which side you'll get."
A night of innocent exploration turns lethal as Sorcha's sister is captured by human sailors. In her search, Sorcha rescues one of the humans...
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The sun beat mercilessly upon her as she observed the comatose man, the only sign of life being the gentle rhythmic rise and fall of his chest. Sorcha's body still shielded him, though now from blinding sunlight rather than torrential rain. The afternoon was a stark contrast to the stormy morning proceeding. There wasn't a single wisp of white in the sky as she memorized every detail of the man's face. He was young, handsome, strong, everything she'd been warned against. His jet black hair had plastered itself against his pale porcelain skin. Dregs of ocean waves washed up around him, disturbing the soggy clothes now caked in sand.
Sorcha couldn't help but linger. She knew she should flee, but curiosity had always been her downfall. And what better opportunity to see a human up close? Hesitantly, she reached out her slender fingers to brush a few strands of hair from his eyes. He was shockingly similar to the mermen in her pod. But from the waist down, he was a foreign entity.
He seemed so peaceful in slumber. It was hard to place this man with that of her childhood cautionary tales. Asleep, it was almost impossible to link him to the monsters who'd taken Dyvon. So many young Merlings had been tempted by the charms of handsome sailors, only to meet a variety of unsavory ends. Yet here she was, a breath apart from one of them.
A short, sharp cough sounded from the man. His head tilted to the side of its own accord, and he began to dry heave over the sand. Sorsha flinched away, her heart a sudden thrum of fear. She scrambled across the wet sand, dragging herself into the shallows with the strength of her two arms. Her tail disappeared beneath the sea just as his eyes fluttered open.
