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So there in the dark, as Milo swam back to the dinghy, I stayed for a moment. With nothing but the ocean and me, my thoughts drifted. I’d forever be at war with the voice in my head. A voice that sought strife and destruction. A voice that would always threaten to overpower my own. A voice that could take everything and everyone from me eventually, if I ever lost control for too long. It would always make me choose the sea over anything and anyone else. It would always be a constant reminder of the soul I didn’t have.
I made myself admit it out loud. I hated being half-siren. It wasn’t an existence that was meant to be shared with a human side. I’d never be happy to walk—or swim—in both worlds. I needed to choose one. And I had one more idea in mind that I hoped Serena would be willing to hear.
53
Daughter of the Sea
Katrina
Ifollowed Milo in the dinghy back to shore where everyone still waited. When we arrived, McKenzie, Noah, and Russell stood around Bellamy’s body, their faces still downcast even though we’d technically won the battle for the seas. And I didn’t blame them. Not much of it felt like winning when one of us didn’t make it out alive and one of us was lost at sea, even if it was by her own accord. I hoped my plan would at least solve one of those problems.
“Where’s Serena?” Russell asked, worry etched in his eyes.
“Don’t worry,” I said. “She’ll be back for Bellamy. She wouldn’t leave without him.”
“How do we just go home after this?” McKenzie’s voice sounded weak, and even from where I watched in the water I could see the tear marks on her face.
“It’s going to be hard,” I swallowed, looking at Bellamy. “But I try to just keep telling myself this is what he wanted.”
Suddenly there was a swooshing of water behind me, and a soft light emerged from the surface as Serena lifted from the water. She stepped out, regal and elegant, the dress of seawater trailing behind her with a train like a waterfall. Her skin almost seemed to sparkle beneath her flowing hair tinged with blue. Across her waist, she carried a bag made of velvet and a sword hanging from a sheath.
But her face was dull with heartache. She stood, looking at each of us one at a time. “Thank you all for your help restoring my power. We’ve paid a great price for it.” Her eyes dropped to Bellamy and she hesitated for a moment as we hung on her last words with anticipation. “I must return to the sea now, as there are no sirens left to rule, but there is always darkness to keep at bay. And before I depart, I have something for each of you, as a way to show my gratitude and to honor Bellamy’s sacrifice.”
First she walked to McKenzie, who she handed the sea glass necklace from around her neck. “A fitting keepsake to remind you of that time you impersonated a sea goddess.” She and McKenzie exchanged smiles, and then McKenzie threw herself at Serena and embraced her in a hug, which didn’t surprise me. I smiled to myself.
Next, she handed Noah something resembling a rolled up scroll. “A map of the seas, even the secret parts,” she winked. “To remind you of the things you once didn’t believe in.” Noah nodded his thanks.
Next, she silently trudged over to Russell, placed a hand on his cheek, and uttered something just between them. I supposed she was helping him come to terms with the fact that his daughter was really an ocean goddess and maybe to ease the goodbye. Her gift to him, I couldn’t see, but I believed that was sort of the point.
Last, she turned to Milo. She reached for the sword at her side and placed it in his hands. “This is—’’
“Bellamy’s cutlass.” Milo cut her off, his voice catching between the words.
“Yes.” She blinked. “Who else better to have it than the one he taught to wield it?”
Milo pressed his lips together with a dutiful nod. When Serena turned away, I caught him staring at the sword with hollow eyes. He held onto it for a long time before looking back up at us all.
With everyone on land dealt with, it was my turn. Serena turned around to face me standing with her feet in the surf as she looked down at me. “And you, little siren, what is it that I can give to you?”
I hesitated, my voice seemingly gone. I’d planned to ask Serena for this anyway, but I hoped it wouldn’t anger her. Hell, I just hoped it was even possible. “Can…can you take away my siren form?” I spat it out, trembling.
Serena knelt down, her solemn expression unchanging. “Tell me. Why would you want that, Katrina?”
I looked at my friends standing behind her, and I looked for a long time at Milo. “Because of them. And because of my mom. I want to be fully human. I want a soul.”
Serena stood back, and I fully expected her to deny me what I asked. I didn’t even know if she could give me that. So when she spoke, I breathed a sigh of relief. “I can do what you ask, but not without something from you. The ocean demands a covenant of your sincerity for me to fulfill a task so great.”
“Whatever you need,” I said. “It wouldn’t be the first deal I’ve made.”
“It’s not a deal,” Serena snapped. “But it’s the only way to relinquish all your siren qualities—your voice, your power, your strength. Just as Bastian needed to destroy the things that made me a goddess to kill me, the things that make you a siren must be destroyed for you to become fully human. And for you to gain a soul.”
“So what is it that you need then?” I flipped my tail with impatience and a bit of nervousness.
Serena gave me a look that cut right through my core. “You must cut off your tail.”
Smothering silence fell over us all like a wet blanket as I considered the condition. “Another mermaid before me cut off her tail, and that’s what started all this.”
“And now it must end with the same. Your great-grandmother did it to place a curse and spare herself. You do it to lift a curse and spare those you love.”
