THESE DARK WAVES | A Fairytale Retelling| APRIL 2023

A LITTLE MERMAID RETELLING
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Thaleia's rosy lips quivered as she wielded the dagger just the way her prince had taught her. Without mercy. She positioned the sharp edge against his ribs and then in between them, feeling the softness of unprotected flesh.

It would be so easy to end it here, she thought. Too easy.

There was something that bothered her though. He faced her fully, gazing into her eyes like she was salvation and ruination and everything in between. He wanted her. He wanted to see how far he could push her.

"You look beautiful with my knife in your hands," he whispered, leaning into the blade in a way that told her he wasn't scared. He couldn't read the contemplation on her face, the fear.

Tears brimmed in the corner of her eyes as his lips hovered over hers. If she dared to move an inch, everything would change.
If she moved less than an inch, her entire world would implode on itself.

His eyes glittered. She could feel the breath of his every word on her tongue.
"If you're ever to kill a man, you mustn't hesitate."

I only have to kill one.
You.
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Thaleia Athanasae has committed the gravest offence in the realms of the Undersea.
She saved a mortal and gave away the truth of her soulsong in the process, bringing him back from the edge of death and forfeiting her immortality.

Her father, the King of the Undersea has taken away her tail and banished her from the Endless Depths, giving her one instruction on her departure.

Find the boy you saved. Bring me back his heart and we will welcome you with open arms.

There's only one problem.
Thaleia seems to be falling in love with him, and worse, he seems to be doing the same.

In a world where sea and land share distinct boundaries none dare to bridge, will Thaleia choose her heart and the man that's stolen it or the home she longs for with all her being?