The witch threw a sneer over his shoulder, flicking his tail at me in irritation. “You came around a lot quicker than your human lover,” he said. “Yes, little prince, I am taking you to your Ethan. Your father, too. Be prepared.”
I thought about saying something but kept silent instead. There was nothing else I could say to the witch that would help. The merfolk may hate him, but they chose to use him when they wanted to. He was nothing but a tool to them, like one of Ethan’s knives or a saw. I hadn’t realized until now. I had to wonder who asked for his help though—Father or Wily. The witch didn’t seem like the kind of person to follow my father’s orders, king or not.
“What’s your name?”
The witch nearly faltered in his swimming, and after a quick glance toward me, he kept moving.
“I only know you as the witch. Surely you have a name.”
“I do,” he said sharply.
“Tell me. I don’t want to be like my father or the other merfolk. I won’t call you the sea witch if you have a name.”
For a while, I didn’t think he’d answer me. The eerie silence of the deep sea was the only thing Iheardfor a long moment before he sighed.
“Taya. My name is Taya, little prince.”
“Hello, Taya, I’m Lyric.”
He shot me a smile over his shoulder. Maybe the one that the merfolk always wanted me to be afraid of wasn’t the scary monster after all. That was the irony, wasn’t it? The ones you trusted might have been the real monsters.
It didn’t take us long to get to Atlantia, and when we arrived, it was clear to see they were waiting for us. The moment we reached the underwater city’s outskirts, the mermen and maids stopped what they were doing to stare at us on the way past. The ones who used to smile at me now glared or cowered. Soon enough, I’d be part of their nightmare stories as the one who abandoned their people to be with a murdering human, no doubt.
The witch—no, Taya—snarled at anyone who looked like they were coming toward us, and like scared guppies, they skittered away. I would have laughed if I wasn’t so worried about Ethan.
Taya dragged me toward the castle, and this time the guards didn’t greet me with a smile and ask how my day was. They stiffened and pointed their spears at me. I smirked at them in return because there was something exciting about having them afraid of me.
“Welcome to the dark side, Lyric,” Taya murmured with a chuckle as he dragged me through the open doors of the castle.
“Can you teach me dark magic then?” I teased in return, and it earned me a wide-eyed glance from him.
“No, not while you havelegsand are human.” He smiled anyway and by the time he’d stopped tugging me behind him, we were in front of my father’s throne where he sat, Grandfather floating beside him. Wily and Pru were on the other side, but they drifted a little farther, which wasn’t odd for something as dire as this. Father and Grandfather were the most important merfolk in the ocean.
I didn’t bow my head like I once did, merely let myself float to stand on the rocky and sandy floor. Unlike humans, merfolk didn’t need to worry about having flooring in their homes, they floated through the water. There was no reason for them to care. Now I had feet, though, and I winced at the feel of the stones on my delicate skin.
“Father.” I raised my chin at him.
“What have you done, Lyric?” Father asked, shaking his head. “You have betrayed us.”
“Have I?” I smiled and the thrill of standing up to my father sent a spike of excitement through me. “I like to think of it as living my life.”
Father’s face turned red and he swept up from the throne, pointing his spear at me menacingly. “I didn’t raise you to be this way.”
“No, but I chose my own path.”
Grandfather sighed sadly. He looked older than ever, the lines of his face more prominent and tired. “Killing your own people, Lyric?”
“I killed three who deserved it.” I straightened my shoulders and stood how I’d seen Ethan do it more than once when he was faced with those who thought he was crazy. Like him, I wasn’t going to be seen that way. “They made my life hell and they got what they earned.”
“They weresearchingfor you,” Father hissed, his mouth curled in disgust. “And you killed them.”
I shook my head, refusing to feel an ounce of guilt. Not for them, not ever. “No, they weren’t looking for me, they were looking for your praise. They wanted the merfolk to worship them as heroes when they found me. I won’t apologize for what I did.”
Father jolted back and his hands curled into fists at his side. “Is this what you’ve become because of this human, Lyric?”
“No,” I said without hesitation. “I became this because I wanted this revenge, and Father, if you hurtmyhuman, I will destroy Atlantia.”
I didn’t miss the wide-eyed expression on Wily’s face, but it changed to mildly impressed. Pru, on the other hand, looked stunned with his mouth ajar. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d ever seen him like that.
