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No. I don’t want them.
I want my men.
Eric is dead.
Tears stream down my cheeks as I try to scream, but through the bright lights, all I see is Eric’s cold hands in mine. I swam with him in my arms, deep to the ocean floor and it was like the sea life all around us understood what had happened.
We were enveloped by thousands of translucent jellyfish as I laid Eric’s body against the sand. I cried, pushing back his black hair, using my fingers to close his blue eyes.
Starfish in gorgeous oranges and purples moved around him, circling around his body. I looked up and saw frilled sharks and massive squid swim over us, paying their respects. Our eyes would meet, and a current of understanding would pass between us.
A whale swam overhead, blocking out all the light for a moment, and a hush fell across the ocean, as we paid our respects.
It was a holy moment, painted against the vibrant backdrop of the sea. Still the cold truth remained: Eric was gone.
And now a boat comes toward me, and the bellowing horn blares, “Stay calm, stay still.”
But where would I go when what I want is set deep on the ocean floor?
But then I see three men jump from the emergency boat.
I know those men.
They are mine.
They swim fast, calling to me, and my chest tightens, relief flooding me. They are here for me.
But I don’t know if I can go with them.
They pull me into their arms, holding flotation devices, to help with the treading water.
They look into my eyes and they know.
I nod, and tears fill their eyes.
“No,” Kai says, cupping my face in his hands. “Say it isn’t true.
But it is.
And he knows it, because tears fall over his cheeks,
My heart is gray, a thrashing storm. And now, theirs are too.
“Come, Harlow, you need to get on the boat,” West says. “Your parents are here. You’ve been in the water too long.”
I shake my head because it isn’t as easy as that.
Truth is, maybe I’ll never be on dry land again. I start sobbing at the realization, the loss.
“Harlow,” Crew says. It’s okay now. You’re okay.”
I shake my head, my lips trembling. I try to speak, but find I have no voice.
I press my hands to my throat. My Siren call took my voice, I croak out a hoarse reply, but there is nothing but scratchy sounds.
“It’s gone?” Kai asks.
I nod. Behind us the medics are yelling as they move closer, telling everyone to get out of the water. I see my parents calling for me from the railing of the boat.
They don’t understand why I’m not getting out of the water, why I’m still swimming backward instead of forward.
But I don’t know what to do.
I don’t know how to go from mermaid to human, or if I even can.
“You need to turn back into a human,” West says, treading water, his brows knit in worry. “And you don’t know how.”
I nod.
He breaks out into a grin. “Good. We were scared you wouldn’t want to come back,” he says.
I want to laugh but it’s not as simple as what any of us want. Not anymore.
My birth father is Poseidon and I literally just forced him into a deep-sea cage.
And apparently, I’m a Greek goddess. Talk about surreal.
How can I merge that reality with this reality?
How do I bring together that ancient origin with a sunny life in Hawaii where I make love to my harem of men?
It seems too faer-fetched.
Heck, I can’t even have sex. I have a tail for goodness sakes.
But then I’m looking into the guys’ eyes and I realize that maybe anything is possible with love.
True love.
It certainly made the impossible possible when it came to beating Poseidon at his own game.
And maybe it holds true here, too.
I know the words I need to say that will bring my two worlds together.
“I,” I say with a scratchy voice. It hurts, and I press my hands to my throat, aching but desperate to say what I mean. “I love you.” The words are ragged and raw, just like my bruised and broken heart.
But they couldn’t be more true.
Once the words leave my lips, my toes begin to wiggle and my tattoo begins to tingle, my legs are no longer one and suddenly it’s not so easy to tread water. I grip the flotation device, a laugh breaking through my storming heart.
“Say it again,” Kai says, a smile playing on his lips. West and Crew grin. They didn’t lose me.
“I love you,” I say again and instantly I feel my legs press together, and my lower half begins to morph back into the body of a siren.
I shake my head and gasp.
It’s the magic.
Love is magic.
I say it again, “I love you!”
And just like that, I being to return to my human shape.
