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“They never cried. None of them. Cordelia is the only mermaid I’ve ever seen cry. And even then. Only once. When she was so broken-hearted by Valdez’s betrayal that she sent the maelstrom and cursed us,” I explained.
“That’s why she’s so powerful,” Katrina muttered, taking a step toward me. “She’s the only mermaid who’s ever allowed herself to be vulnerable. To feel.” She turned back to the mermaids. “Do you know what happens when you cry? You could get yourselves out of here!”
The sirens signaled their answer with a vague shake of their heads. And Katrina stepped back, closing her eyes for a moment.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Trying to think of sad things. So I can cry. I’m going to show them and set them free. I can control the water in the tanks and break the glass. If I can just—”
Suddenly a haunting melody filled the air, cutting through our whispers and halting all other noise around us. I felt as though my body was paralyzed, at the mercy of something sinister. Katrina stood unmoving, looking at me with panic in her eyes.
Like a ghost, Cordelia appeared in the doorway from the shadows, her red lips parted so that the tune flowed from her mouth. No words. No lyrics. Just a melody otherworldly. I drew my blade and glanced at Katrina just before the world around me fizzled out.
Whatever happened next was a memory I didn’t have. I shook my head back and forth to fling the saltwater from my eyes as I surfaced. Katrina coughed on water a few short feet away from me. We were in the dark, floating in the harbor amidst monstrous silhouettes of ships.
“What happened?” I uttered, looking around for some clue that might help me remember.
“Cordelia used her siren song on you. She made you attack me.”
“What? Katrina, I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay,” I said. “You didn’t hurt me. You just grabbed me and hauled me overboard with you.”
I moved closer to her. “I’m still sorry. I didn’t even realize…” I looked at my hands, disgusted with the feeling of violation I felt. I could’ve been made to do anything Cordelia pleased. And I despised the thought of it.
“It’s fine. We’re okay,” Katrina panted, looking downcast. “We just…couldn’t help the mermaids.”
“Come on, let’s get out of this water and back to the inn. We’ve been out long enough.” I made my way through the water swiftly, eager to get back on land.
“The thought that I might be able to do that freaks me out,” Katrina said, taking my hand as I helped her onto the shore. “I don’t want to be able to control people.”
“Then don’t,” I said gently. “But now you know why Cordelia wouldn’t control Valdez. She didn’t want his love if it wasn’t real.”
“I noticed when she was singing, the scale around her neck—the necklace—was glowing,” Katrina stated.
I raised an eyebrow, curious to what she would say next.
“When I sang my mom’s lullaby one night in my room—the same tune Cordelia was singing—I remember the necklace glowing like that. The song…The siren song isn’t magic alone. I think the song is what activates the magic from their tails.”
I tossed her words around in my head. She was certainly onto something, and I felt the pieces connecting.
“You know, you’re making a lot of sense,” I said. “And that would explain why the mermaid trade was so shrouded in mystery. The buyers knew the scales were magic…but no one knew how to use the magic. And when Valdez took their voices…there was nothing left but a goose chase for destroyed magic.”
“And that’s why Cordelia made her scale necklace. So that her song had power in either form.” Katrina added, her eyes widening as she spoke.
I nodded firmly, impressed. “It seems there isn’t a part of you that isn’t magic,” I teased, touching her thigh. “Voice, heart, tail, and everything in between.”
The way she blushed through a sliver of a smile made me want to pull her to me and make love to her all over again. She was an ocean I could happily drown in forever. And with that thought, I tensed, straightening as I scanned our surroundings to make sure no one was lying in wait or following us. There was no room for unguardedness here.
When we arrived back at the inn, nearly all the lights were out except the half-burned candle on the tavern counter. It gave us just enough light to help us find our way back to our room, where we peeked our heads in quietly.
“Noah?” I whispered. “McKenzie?” No one responded.
We tiptoed inside, only to see both our friends sleeping soundly in the single bed.
“Looks like we get the floor,” Katrina said.
“As we rightfully deserve,” I replied. “For what it’s worth, we’ll be back up in just a few short hours. Might as well not get too comfortable.”
