Contents

Title page

copyright

Dedication

Prologue| The Exodus of Atargatis

1 | The Party

2 | Birthday Girl

3 | Gravity

4 | Trust

5 | Fallout

6 | One Month

7 | Kiss Me

8 | Rebirth

9 | Awakening

10 | The Fall

11 | Lunar Sanctum

12 | The Ritual

13 | Initiator

14 | Secret Symphony

15 | Hunt

16 | Starry Eyed

17 | Those Magic Changes

18 | Promises

19 | Lust

20 | Impress

21 | Exiled

22 | Ball

23 | Veil

24 | Aftermath

25 | Duality

26 | The Upside-Down Storm

27 | Ride

28 | The Scythe Of Atargatis

29 | The Calm

30 | The Warning

31 | The Equinox

32 | The Vessel

33 | Home

34 | The Darkness Within

Afterword

Epilogue

Acknowledgements

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The Tidal Kiss Trilogy – Book 1

TRILOGY ONE IN

THE QUEENS OF FANTASY SAGA

First published by Kristy Nicolle, United Kingdom, December 2015

QUEENS OF FANTASY EDITION (3RD EDITION)

Published March 2016 by: Sapphire Press

Copyright © 2015 Kristy Nicolle

Edited by: Kristine Schwartz (The Schwartz fiction edits)

Adult Paranormal/Fantasy Romance

The right of Kristy Nicolle to be identified as author of this Work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system, copied in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise transmitted without written permission from the publisher. You must not circulate this book in any format.

Disclaimer:

This ebook is written in U.K English by personal preference of the author. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

ISBN: 978-1-51725-004-1

www.kristynicolle.com

For Grandad,

Who taught me that blood may be thicker than water,

But that magic is always thicker than blood.

You may be gone,

but you still haven’t lost yours.

On the higher plains, among the Gods and Goddesses of the sea, who constitute the rulers of the heavens, is where our tale begins.

The God Poseidon and Goddess Atargatis had a love unlike any other, but their relationship was not without flaws. Atargatis was curious, curious to the point of angering her beloved Poseidon. She would sit, looking down upon the mortal world, feet dangling from dense clouds of magic, chin cupped in hand, lilac hair flowing in the salty breeze, observing Man and wondering exactly what it was that made him tick. He had no power, no omniscience, and yet a forceful will and determination to not only survive but thrive and strive for progress unlike anything she had ever seen. He not only reproduced, but loved. Not only thought, but dreamed. She couldn’t help but fall in love with Man, each day tempting her further to journey into the lower plains, meet a human, and study them. Perhaps even love one for herself. She wondered if this would allow her to understand her love for Poseidon more fully, for she had been created in the crucible of Gaia, at the very beginning of time and space.

Poseidon, unfortunately for Atargatis, was more tentative to her mood than she realised, and as he watched her from his looking-glass chamber, he became transfixed and terrified of her fascination with the mortal world. He took a chance, banishing her in the form of a Mermaid, the only form that could hold her Godly powers in flesh, removing her magic and binding it in a scythe, which he gifted to her, a weapon to protect her soul while on Earth, sentencing her to a life of protecting the seas in his name.

Atargatis realised soon what Poseidon had done; sentencing her to be close to mankind but denying her the love of a mortal. Her half fish form prevented her from walking among them trapping her within a watery prison. She took the scythe and with it cast the seas into tumult, riding the waves and drowning an entire city, a city known to us now as Atlantis.

Atargatis looked over the sunken ruins, the destruction, the dead, and cried.

Regardless of her desperation and growing guilt, Atargatis refused to beg Poseidon to restore her omniscient form. She vowed to protect mankind and their progress from invasion by the sea and the demons it allowed to walk among them. She moved to appease her guilt over drowning Atlantis with an eternity of servitude, not for Poseidon but for Man.

An eternity passed until one day Atargatis was captured, bound in a net of heavy chains by a northern fisherman. Her scythe fell from her into the seas and she was reeled upward, eye to eye with the monstrosity of humanity, the cruellest qualities rearing themselves, revealing themselves to her. The man took one look at her radiant form and immediately fell so deeply in love that he could not bear to remove his eyes from her. He freed her from the net and putting her in his arms, she turned to sand, burning in the heat of the day.

Upon release from her sentence, Atargatis returned to the higher plains and to Poseidon. He promised to take her back, their souls being two halves of the same whole, but she must find a replacement to protect the seas. Her magic had weakened the walls between dimensions, allowing great evil passage into the mortal world, leaving the lower plains open to invasion by more powerful demons.

She agreed, deciding to task humans with their own protection, enhancing their power by trapping their souls in the same shell in which she had once been encased. However, Atargatis gave a reward for the men’s servitude to the Gods. The gift she had been deprived. She blessed them, allowing them to walk on land among their own kind for three nights a month when the moon was full.

A deep icy blue penetrates me, pinning me to the spot, stopping my breath with the chilling warmth of its depth, taunting me, haunting me. I want to get lost in its frosty glaze, swim in it and writhe in it, wrap myself up in it as though it were silk. It is familiar and yet strange. I am watching it as the pastel cold blazes with a promise I cannot quite comprehend. I extend out to touch, but cannot quite reach …

My eyes fly open, my body is soaked in sweat … gross. The alarm clock blinks neon green to my right as I turn over under the plain, white duvet that clings to my perspiring form. I groan to myself, breaking the illusion of getting back to sleep by remembering that I have school. The ceiling, with its white swirling pattern greets my eyes that feel like they’ve been taped open before their time. I sigh, peeling the cotton cover back from my legs; they cool as the air hits my skin. I fling them off the mattress and onto the cold wooden floor reluctantly, my head still fuzzy from my dream. My alarm goes off as scheduled and I panic, turning and hitting the off button with more force than I intend. My palm rings with the pain for a moment before I rise to my feet and walk haphazardly towards the bathroom, reeling and groggy from sleep. I can hear my Mom and little sister, Kayla, bustling around the kitchen below as I push open the bathroom door and lean against the sink, palm pounding from my assault on the alarm clock. I look up into the mirror, my aqua eyes blink back at me, watery and full of sleep. I breathe hard, sucking in air for the sake of clarity, as I reach for my toothbrush and become lost in my early morning routine.

After showering, brushing out my curly blonde hair, and applying concealer to cover the nasty bags hanging out under my eyes, the dream dissipates and becomes lost in a jumble of other things I cannot quite remember. I am glad to forget the blue, it makes me feel empty, but I can’t help but wonder, even if it is just for a split second, why it’s always the last thing I can remember before I open my eyes. Ever since I was a child, the same dream has reoccurred night after night. I guess I am just weird. I’d heard some people dreamed in black and white, so maybe it was like that, just something different about the way my brain was wired.

I emerge from the bathroom feeling ready, finally, to greet the day as I head back to my room with a large white towel clutched around me. I dress in a black tank top, black jeans, and black pixie boots and eye myself with approval before rushing to collect my stuff. I slink downstairs, slinging my schoolbag over my shoulder after grabbing my phone off the nightstand, which is scattered with numerous college brochures. I press the ‘ON’ button; no texts from the girls yet so it looks like it’s going to be a quiet day, or so I hope. I’m really not awake enough to deal with drama, even if it is Friday.

Downstairs in the duck-egg-blue kitchen, all is ordinary. Lacy white curtains flutter in the light San Diego morning breeze, and the smell of slightly carbonised toast diffuses throughout the room. I move to make breakfast, keeping my back to my family before plopping down on a stool at the kitchen island. I eat groggily, operating in teenage mode, shovelling cereal into my face like a zombie child. My mom is sitting next to Kayla at the wooden table in front of the island where I’m perched, and Carl, my step-father, sits reading his morning paper at the head of the kitchen table. I watch him watching my mother watch Kayla eating her cereal. I swear they observe her like she’s a monkey in a zoo, clapping each time she places the spoon in her mouth successfully. She’s four for craps sake, if she couldn’t do that I’d be worried. I look down into my cereal, brooding with golden child envy. My step-father looks over at me, notice I refer to him as ‘father’ rather than ‘dad’. This is because ‘dad’ implies I like the guy rather than having to deal with him as one would deal with a caged, slobbering, and very pissed off rhino; that being with extreme caution, and a safe distance of at least fifteen metres. Well, I think to myself, at least he makes my Mom happy. I smirk as I watch her smiling, wishing that I, too, could be so in love with the guy as to ignore his balding head, stern brow, and medieval values. What kind of twenty first century man expects a teenage girl to wear shirts that come up higher than the arch of her eyebrows for goodness sake. It’s like he wants me to look like a turtle or something! Okay rant over. So anyway, my sister is eating breakfast looking at me, her almond shaped, chocolate brown eyes so cute they make a baby unicorn look ugly in comparison. I look at the roundness of her face and can’t help but leave my seething resentment in the past and smile back at her.

“Callie?” she asks, taking another mouthful from the spoon that looks about half the size of her head.

“Yeah?” I respond tilting the bowl to my mouth and downing the remainder of the milk. I step over to the sink and load the dirty crockery into the dishwasher.

“Will you play tea-party with me when you get home from school?” she pleads, blinking through masses of long black lashes that any girl would kill for.

“Yeah … sure. As long as I don’t have any homework, okay?” I promise. I walk over to her and stroke her hair; it feels like silk, the kind I’d like to make a sheet out of and crawl back to sleep in. She reaches up, pudgy hands outstretched, she wants me to lift her up, but I really don’t think my back can take it at this time of the morning, so instead I bend down and hug her lightly. She smells like cookie dough, I don’t know why as I’m pretty sure Carl would not allow that before breakfast, but it smells good so I quickly drop that thought and release her. My mom smiles a patient smile at me, fitting seeing as her first name is Patience. My eyes reflect back at me in a luminous turquoise and her hazelnut hair looks about as silky as Kayla’s feels.

“Did you hear back from Brown yet?” my mom pries looking hopeful, her eyes are bright with the earliness of the day.

“Nah, nothing yet. They said I’d hear back in a couple of weeks, it’s only been four days,” I remind her, remembering the terrifying woman in horn-rimmed spectacles that had interviewed me.

“Ah well, let me know,” she nags and I roll my eyes. Of course she’ll be the first to know when I hear. As soon as she heard I had been invited for Interview at Brown University in Rhode Island she had become insufferably nosey. I am stationary for a moment, contemplating the possible outcomes of my interview, about what it would be like to move across the country to Rhode Island, when I’m reminded why I so seek to flee. Carl coughs from behind his paper deliberately.

“Don’t you have somewhere to be?” he asks. I feel irritation rise within me clawing to escape in a bout of verbal abuse, but instead of starting a fight my mom will never back me up on, I turn around, grabbing my bag from the island. I wink at Kayla.

“Catch ya later Kaylagator.” I recite our usual parting words and she returns with a wave.

“In a while Calliedile!” her face falls into a beaming smile of tiny, white, pearly teeth. Carl scowls as I turn to walk out the door, he hates that his daughter and I get on so well, that I’m something he can never remove from her life without some serious heart breakage. I smile to myself, savouring my silent victory.

The ride to school passes quickly and I enjoy the breeze running through my ringlets. It wakes me and as I leave La Mesa my rage from the step-monster is lost. It’s hard to be out in the morning sun in my convertible without feeling happiness spread through me. I turn my little red vintage convertible into the school parking lot. I stare into the rear view mirror, checking my hair isn’t too unruly, recalling the day I got this car. My mom brought home two shiny things that day, one more welcome than the other. The first was the vintage car of my dreams as a present for my 16th birthday. The other was her engagement ring that Carl, after 4 years of dating, one child, and a joint mortgage, had finally decided she was worthy of.

I listen to the engine purr as I glide into an empty parking spot before I turn off the engine and it sputters into silence. I love my car, but it is not without its faults. I place the steering lock onto the wheel and glide from the white leather interior, slamming the door behind me as I turn to face my daily dose of smitten Daryl. I really like Daryl, don’t get me wrong, he’s cute, smart, and funny. He’s even captain of the football team and everyone knows he’s headed for a place with the Chargers, but in all seriousness, he is just not my type. He has been trying to land me as his girl for over a year now and much to my friend’s annoyance has not succeeded. I can hear Mollie’s voice in my head as I stare into his boyish grin, ‘If you don’t want him, just destroy all hope he has of getting with you already and let someone else have a shot at him!’ I stand there musing over this before my thoughts drift toward the day’s biology homework. I’m thinking about recessive alleles when I realise that the background noise I’m so used to blanking out has stopped. Daryl is staring down at me with an expectant and lopsided smile. I hear teenage hearts crying out everywhere at the humanity of it all, disgusted at my disinterest.

“So?” he demands, a little too enthusiastic for this time in the morning. I give him a questioning look and he continues on with his over-amorous spiel. “Will you go to prom with me?” He breathes the words, looking hopeful but out of breath from the speech I missed. They’re the words any normal girl would be squealing at internally, but as usual my stomach drops through my butt.

“I’m sorry, I can’t. I’m just going with my friends. Thanks for asking me though.” This is all I can muster for the poor guy. His face drops about a million feet.

“But you kissed me at –” He begins, but I cut him off, raising a hand.

“Look Daryl, this has been going on for a long time now so I’m going to level with you, okay?” He nods, eager, as I fidget on the balls of my feet, uncomfortable. “I don’t like you in that way. When I kissed you I was drunk because Chloe spiked my lemonade with vodka.” Yeah enough to get an elephant drunk, I remember fuzzily. “I have told you this a hundred times,” I breathe out impatiently. “If you want to be friends I’m okay with that, but I’m not attracted to you and that’s not going to change,” I conclude. My heart is heavy as I watch his frustrated expression and chiselled chin formulating a response to my rejection.

“So, same time tomorrow?” He bursts into another charming smile and I can’t help but giggle. This guy just doesn’t give up! I’m not interested in a relationship right now, I never have been. My friends don’t get it either. I may be a day off turning eighteen and therefore almost legally cleared for take-off in the sex department, but I honestly feel as though I am still too immature for all that drama. I have enough problems of my own; I’m not ready to help someone deal with theirs too. I turn away from Daryl as he saunters off towards the pitch to throw his ball about in front of his adoring fans. I scurry forward, feeling the San Diego sun beating down on my back, today is going to be a scorcher.

I reach homeroom and Manda, Mollie, and Chloe are already sitting around our favourite back-of-the-room table, chatting away while habitually checking their phones every two seconds. The walls are decorated with the usual lame school stuff, trying to get kids to read or try out for glee club or whatever, pushing so hard to be enthusiastic it’s making the room even drearier. As I enter through the peeling paint of the doorway, they all turn and look at me smugly before they burst out laughing. The maturity is staggering. I wonder sometimes how I ended up being friends with three people that I have nothing in common with. They love trashy magazines, but I’d rather read novels. They love talking about cute boys, and I find all the boys I know boring and immature. They love gossiping, while I find other people’s drama somehow petty. I make my way across the room as I compare us mentally, but then remember I’m glad I have them. It would be awful if I was alone again like I had been before we moved here five years ago from Tulsa. That was when mom and Carl had decided to move back to San Diego since my grandparents needed looking after. I had lived here once before technically, when my Mom was pregnant with me. She had moved away after my father died before I was born, but there has always been something that felt more like home in San Diego than in Tulsa. I prefer the heat to cold, the beaches to the snow, and I always wonder if I am visiting places my dad had been. Maybe going to school with the kids of people he had known or grown up with. I realise in this flash of memories far too painful to dwell on, I am standing with all three of my friends faces looking up at me.

“What? Do I have toothpaste on my face or something?” I ask anxiously, reaching to feel around my mouth for mischievous escapee blobs of dried toothpaste, paranoid after the last time this happened.

“No! No! Come … Sit!” beckons Mollie with a manicured hand. Her dark brown hair and beetle back eyes glinting under brown eye shadow and thick mascara. Her Mexican blood runs strongly through her as is evident from her beautifully tanned skin and lustrous dark locks. I do as I’m told and they all turn to face me. Chloe’s platinum blonde locks frame her face while Manda’s red froth of hair bounces around her shoulders and her green eyes catch the sun with the excitement of whatever they’re so happy about.

“What gives? What’s going on?” I ask curiously, hoping their excitement is not because of something banal like, for example, a cute boy being transferred into our class from Central Florida again.

“We …” Chloe looks at the other girls and raises her eyebrows, “have a surprise for you, birthday girl!” She flashes me an eye watering smile. Chloe, the oldest of our group, has dentists for parents, and has inherited nothing but the best in the looks department. I often think that she could probably stand in the middle of a busy intersection, smile, and stop traffic. Her eyes are a beautiful sea green and her skin a tan olive. She is the kind of girl you assume has no common sense, but she is actually very intelligent and will be going on to medical school after graduation. I sigh and realise that I have been lucky to evade the birthday radar for so long; it was only a matter of time before one of them did some research and discovered it lies on the 25th of April, which as of today, is tomorrow.

I look up at them in anticipation of what they will say next. But it is as though someone with far more power than I wants to draw out my curiosity even further, as the bell drones through the air and Mrs. Sanchez walks in for roll call.

I have to wait until lunch to discover what they were all so excited about, but when I hear I’m instantly filled with worry about what my mom, or rather the Carl shaped beast controlling her, will say.

“We are throwing you, like, a crazy party!” Mollie bursts, her round face smiling enthusiastically with excitement.

“Crazy?” I question, cocking my head to one side.

“Yes! Just us … but with, like, a wicked cool location!” says Manda, her enthusiasm coupled with her frizz of red hair makes her seem a little mad.

“No one says wicked cool anymore, Manda! Don’t you know that?” mutters Chloe, smiling absent-mindedly while inspecting her perfectly manicured nails.

“Oh right … totally awesome?” Manda questions and Chloe nods her platinum blonde head with approval. “Totally awesome location!” she corrects, staring at me with wide green eyes.

“So where is it?” I enquire with a knot in my stomach hoping it does not involve alcohol or a fake ID.

“That would be telling!” Mollie says leaning into me and bumping my shoulder while stroking the side of her nose slyly. This is good, I think to myself, what I don’t know can’t come to bite me in the ass when it comes to my stepfather.

“So what should I tell the troll?” I ask the group as they lean in, in the way only a tight knit group of friends can. They all smile having a clear understanding of to whom I am referring.

“Just tell your mom you are staying over at my place for a sleepover. My older sister will cover for us,” Mollie assures me. This gives me confidence, because for some reason, God knows why, Carl seems to like Mollie more than most people. Whether it be because of her easy charm and attractive laugh, or because she seems to be carefree even during final exams, I will never know. I do know, however, that this works in my favour. I look around at my friends and smile.

“Thanks guys!” I gush, breaking the silence that was filled with the anticipation of my reaction to their plan. I change the subject not wanting to talk about my birthday anymore.

“I gave Daryl the speech this morning,” I tell them as they listen intently. Mollie puts her hand on mine and sighs.

“Oh honey … was it, like, awful?” she asks, looking more upset about it than I am about the whole situation.

“Nah, it was okay. He still won’t listen when I tell him I’m not interested, so I’m sure I will have to listen to many more uncomfortable ‘Will you go to prom with me’s.” I exhale and feel my curls tickling my ears in the way they always do when I’m stressed.

“Well you can let him know that if he ever needs a shoulder to cry on I’m, like, here … and I have shoulders.” Mollie giggles and looks at me in the way we do as best friends. Chloe leans forward and places her chin in her long fingers.

“He is rather yummy.” I can almost see her mentally undressing him. “Why are you turning him down again, Callie? Isn’t he like … most definitely going to be a super-rich Charger quarterback in just a few short years?” she asks looking accusatory.

“I just don’t like him that way …” I begin.

“You don’t really like ANYONE that way,” she observes acutely. Not much gets past Chloe unfortunately.

Chloe is one of those people who as well as holding a perfect GPA is highly opinionated. She has a heart of gold, and I know she would do anything for me if I asked, but you don’t disagree with Chloe. Mollie and I look at one another covertly in acknowledgement of this fact.

“Yeah Callie … do you like anyone at this school?” Manda asks, joining the Chloe bandwagon in the ‘Let’s get super personal and nosey in Callie’s life’ parade.

“Look, I like guys … just not anyone from this school; they’re all too … immature,” I finish, feeling as though I have successfully tap-danced across a social minefield. If my friends regard me as anything less than a lesbian after this conversation is done, I will be a credit to reserved girls everywhere. Before I can dig myself further into a hole, Mollie steps in and saves me, I do love her.

“Guys stop, like, grilling the birthday girl! She’s too busy focusing on becoming a marine biologist and getting into Brown to worry about guys! They’ll just slow you down, right Callie?” I shoot her a grateful look and nod in agreement, momentarily wondering when everyone started excessively using the word ‘like’.

“You guys wanna go down to the bleachers and, like, check out Daryl playing football?” Manda suggests and I could hit her, but I don’t. I am so uncomfortable in this kind of social situation. I know if I don’t go with them then I’m being rude because they’re throwing me a party, but if I do go with them then it’s not helping me to avoid Daryl’s puppy dog eyes. I feel awkward and wish I could run, but instead I rise and follow them to the pitch; Mollie grasps my hand and gives it a quick squeeze with a glance full of sympathy.

“Mine after school?” I ask feeling tired.

“Of course,” she smiles, her beetle black eyes glinting wildly. “Anything for the birthday girl.”

The afternoon passes slowly, too slowly, but it could be worse; I could be in double physics rather than double geography, and I could be spending tonight alone with my four-year-old sister instead of my best friend. Then it hits me as I sit drawing a graph of the GNP of European countries: Kayla. I promised I’d play with her tonight and I do not break my promises to her. Ever. I know what it is like to not believe anything grownups say to you as a child, it breeds trust issues as an adult. I recall the memories every year at our home in Tulsa; my mom would write me a birthday card which she signed ‘love mommy and daddy’. I see now that she did it for my own good, to make me feel normal, she told me that my daddy (who I had never met) signed it and sent it from his job across the country in San Diego. It wasn’t until I was eight that she stopped signing the cards and told me that he had died before I was born. She never told me how, and to be honest, I never wanted to know, but it truly damaged my relationship with her, that she could lie to me, even to protect me, about something so important. I sigh and bury that problem back in the past where it belongs and pull my phone out covertly under the graffiti covered desk, keeping my eyes on Mr. Brewer, who is now helping Manda with her chart across the room. I quickly text:

‘U k 2 play T-party wiv Kayla 2nite for abit?’

Then select Mollie from my phone book and click send. I place the phone back into the pocket of my jeans and continue to shade in the GNP for Greece. I feel it vibrate against my thigh and I covertly track Mr. Brewer and his nasty comb over as he returns to his desk. Her reply reads,

‘yh sure! Such a cyootie!’

I smile feeling blessed I can call her my friend.

Geography finally over, phew, I exhale feeling the pressure of another school day fading into the past. As the final bell of the day sounds I start to get that Friday feeling where the weekend stretches before you, filling itself with possibilities.

I move through the crowd of teens and out to the parking lot where my red convertible stands in all its glory. Mollie is leaning against the hood talking to Daryl and I want to turn on my heel right there and run, not only for myself, but for Mollie. I want Daryl to stop crushing after me long enough to see her easy charm and Latino flare. To be with her and not long after someone like me who is just not interested. Why can’t he see it would be better for everyone? I force myself forward across the cracked tarmac. Daryl catches my gaze and I throw him a ‘skedaddle now or face my whining’ look, and he does. Mollie turns to me hugging her books to her chest.

“Why does he have to like you?” she whines at me and I place my arm round her shoulder.

“I know. It sucks, doesn’t it?” I ask in rhetoric, wishing I could remove myself from his testosterone-fuelled vision.

“We would make such a cute couple.” She sighs into the clammy air and I can almost picture her thought bubble, filled with an image of herself and Daryl, standing as plastic figurines on top of a multi-tiered and highly elaborate wedding cake.

“I know you would, sweetie. I wish I could make him see how amazing you are. He would be lucky to have you.” She nods in agreement and slides into the passenger seat of my car as I wedge myself into the driver’s seat. The white leather interior cuddles my back like only vintage can as I root through my bag for my keys, finding them attached to my ‘I heart San Diego’ key chain I place them into the ignition, put the gear shift in drive, and cruise smoothly out of the parking space. Mollie waves to Manda and Chloe as they get into Chloe’s silver SUV. They both place their fingers to their lips as though making a shushing sound and I know they’re warning her about spilling the beans on my party location. She nods back at them and I cruise out of the parking lot and onto the road. I put on the stereo and ‘Take it off’ by The Donnas comes on the radio. Mollie looks at me knowingly and I nod my head. I put on my indicator just in time to turn onto the route we love to indulge, the route that takes us by the heart of San Diego’s culture. The road that takes us to the sea.

I plunge the pedal to the metal and listen to the radio happily as my little red vintage lurches across the tarmac. I have taken a route Mollie and I take all the time, and one that always leaves us breathless. It bends round the side of a cliff, and to my right all I can see is uninterrupted beach for miles. Sometimes I love living in San Diego, purely because I am so close to such staggering natural beauty. I can’t imagine being pent up in a city away from the coast, surrounded by sky scrapers. I shudder at that claustrophobic imagining. I look down at the ocean; the countless life that teems beneath the surface is mind boggling. Part of what made me want to be a marine biologist in the first place is that the mystery of such depths scares me a tad. In knowing more about it, I can eliminate that fear. Mollie has put on her sunglasses and taken off her denim jacket and is smiling insanely. I laugh out loud as she pokes out her tongue, and then her hair is blown into her mouth as I turn a corner. Spitting it out, she smiles in a self-conscious fashion. I’m still chuckling when I hear it, and it startles me into silence … like a melody but so much more haunting than any I could imagine. I’ve heard it before, but I can’t place it. I fiddle with the dial of the radio and as the end of the song is interrupted with static, Mollie turns toward me questioningly.

“What are you doing? That was a great song!” she grumbles, looking confused.

“I thought I could hear something weird,” I mumble and she sits back into the leather again, the wind whipping her hair back off her tanned face which I’m sure she is grateful for after her recent hair debacle. She looks out to the sea and speaks absentmindedly.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” she asks me, eyes bright.

“Yeah I guess … I never really noticed before,” I explain, focusing on the road ahead, my hands slack on the white leather of the steering wheel. I wonder why I’ve never thought of the sea as beautiful. Could it be because I know too much about it, how it can devour and engulf. How it can turn from perfect calm to a tumultuous killer in mere moments? Maybe it was because my mom had always been too scared to let me swim like all the other kids and her fear had rubbed off on me. I decide to head home to La Mesa and by the time I pull up at my house with its multi-coloured roof tiles and offset windows I am feeling pretty beat. I get out of my car under the gorgeous San Diego sun and walk towards my last evening of being 17, Mollie in tow.

“Thanks for a great night, see you tomorrow!” I call. Turning on one foot, I close the front door of my house to the sight of Mollie’s mom pulling away in her black SUV, and Mollie waving frantically through the tinted window. It’s nine o’clock and I’m already shattered but rather than being able to creep back upstairs, I hear a call from the living room that stops me in my tracks.

“Callie can you come in here please?” It’s my mom calling from the front room. I pivot slowly waiting for the inevitable lecture I’ve been watching stew beneath the surface of propriety in my mom’s mind. As I enter the olive walled sitting room she and Carl are sitting together on the sofa and his hand wraps possessively around her shoulder, I shudder. They both turn their attention as I stand feeling like I’m at a tribunal.

“So about this party …” My mom begins but Carl takes over.

“I hope you realise that Patience and I are somewhat concerned about the nature of what goes on at parties for girls of your age. We want to make it clear to you that Mollie’s mother will report drugs, alcohol, or intimate relations of any kind with the opposite sex, to me. I want you to know Callie, that any funny business, of any kind, and you won’t see those friends of yours for spring break or summer, is that clear?” He stares down his fat nose while looking up; I can’t help but feel that he may seem a bit more intimidating if he was standing. I stew hating how he uses my mom’s name like he owns her and I’m about to retort when I realise inwardly that my friends really want this party to happen. As I begin to draw breath to let him have it, I pause for a moment, exhale the breath I’ve been holding deeply, and put on the fake smile I’ve been getting so good at before treading carefully and with the prowess of a linguistic ninja.

“I know you are only trying to protect me, Carl, and that’s why I’m so grateful that you’re …” I pause for a moment … which word should I use … an ass pain? An overbearing control freak? A mini household Nazi? “So concerned …” I continue. “I promise you that this is just going to be a quiet sleepover with three friends. There aren’t even going to be any males in the house! Unless you count Mollie’s dad!” I giggle innocently, sweetly even, and my mom’s eyes warm to mine as she looks from me to Carl.

“It sounds like you are going to have a good night.” She steers the conversation away from the stern for once, making my shoulders relax and causing my curly locks to bristle against my ears.

“It is nice that you are showing such maturity … finally.” Carl attempts a compliment and then fails dismally on the dismount. My mind wanders to images of him landing a vault, pancake style on his face. I smile at the thought and both mom and Carl turn their attention back to the television. It seems I am not interesting enough for actual conversation but purely as a target for critique.

I turn on my heel and walk quietly upstairs, inventing imaginative ways for Carl to fall on his face as a way to stop my temper kindling into a fully-fledged rage. As I muse that, once again, it is not worth getting angry over a situation I can’t change, I breathe out slowly. I finally reach the top of the landing and dive into the safety of my room, closing the door behind me with a soft click. I stand in the doorway a moment before breathing with relief. I lived through the questioning, and as for my ‘chaperone’, Mollie’s mom understands the home situation with Carl and totally has my back. I wish for a moment that I had Mollie’s life. Her family, mom and dad still in love, being the baby, she seems to have it pretty good. Plus, her parents actually trust her! They let her do pretty much whatever she wants; I mean Carl has a wheel clamp in the garage for God’s sake. Like I couldn’t catch the bus if I wanted to get some space from him anyway?

I look around my room, I notice parts from easier times, parts from harder ones. My life is a cracked mirror, each shattered fragment reflecting parts of me, the image splintering further as I grow apart from my origins. My dad’s dead and my mom … well she is not herself. No wonder I feel conflicted about who I am. Or maybe that’s just what they mean when they say the words ‘teenage angst’. I spy my Bunnyboo, my cuddly, raggedy bunny from when I was a child. I remember hugging him each year for five birthdays, wishing on shooting stars, eyelashes, and birthday candles that my father would turn up. That fantasy lasted less time than the one that Bunnyboo was real and could talk to me in secret whispers. I stare at the rocking chair in the corner, now draped with dirty clothes. I remember sitting on my mother’s knee when it was just her and me, when things were simpler and I trusted what she said to me. I shake my head, enough of that, I’m beginning to sound like Dr Seuss, and the thought of rhyming in happy Disney fashion makes me want to cry all the more. Birthdays are always hard, people take knowing where they come from for granted … but at least I have my friends. My room is simple, white furniture, turquoise walls, and a few shelves with books I’ve read. Posters of my latest craze in music or film litter the ceiling, most of them provided by my friends. I look at the photograph on my desk: the girls and I huddled up under an umbrella on a rainy afternoon a few years ago. This is the only photograph in my room because it’s the only one I can bear to look at. In this photograph, I was actually happy. What it shows is the truth, not a lie with a fake required smile plastered on. I think without my friends sometimes I would go crazy with loneliness. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love my sister, but there are only so many ways in which you can connect with a four year old. I hear a buzz and I flip open my phone after retrieving it from the depths of my pocket. It’s a message from Mollie and reads:

‘Dnt 4get to dress up warm!’

I smile, throwing the phone onto my bed before stripping down. I dress in a white cotton camisole and blue shorts and cuddle back into my duvet, nesting amongst the cotton and closing my eyes as I eventually drift into a dreamless sleep.

“OW!” I cry out sitting bolt upright, hair strewn across my face. My little sister, or ‘little monster’ as I should refer to her, has launched herself onto my stomach while I am still asleep. The frost bitten depths of something I cannot quite explain fade into the recesses of another night as I slow my breathing and the shock of Kayla’s impact dissolves. Her brown hair is still knotty from a night’s (undisturbed I might add) sleep. I can’t see her face as it’s buried in my side and her pudgy feet are sticking out from under her nightdress. I shake off my bed head and begin to tickle them until she lets me go and cries out.

“Happy Birthday Calliedile!” her face is exploding with excitement and I hear the creek of footsteps coming up the old wooden stairs. My mom emerges from round the corner with a tray in her hands. She beams as she comes into the room; she is wearing a blue button up blouse and cream slacks, her hazelnut locks seeming as silky as ever in the light of the morning.

“Happy Birthday sweetheart!” she smiles and sets the tray down on my lap. It’s my normal birthday breakfast, pancakes with blueberry eyes, a strawberry nose, maple syrup smiles and whipped cream hair framing their fluffy pancake heads. A glass of orange juice sits at the edge of the tray and next to it lies a small box wrapped in metallic looking, purple wrapping paper.

“Where’s Carl?” I ask looking around, curious as to why I am not under his usual scrutiny.

“He went fishing with a few friends from work.” My mom sighs as she sits down on the side of my bed.

“Oh.” I breathe out, feeling less tense.

“Honey, I don’t understand what your problem is with Carl. He’s never been anything but nice to you.” She looks down into her lap, like a small child, ashamed.

“Mom, I have the same problem with him that you do. You just don’t see what he’s done to you, because you’re in love with him.” I claim.

“Oh and what problem is that?” She questions me as though whatever comes out of my mouth will be absurd. I take my hand and place it on her neck, around the buttons that close the collar, hiding her feminine curves. Her beauty.

“Mom, look at yourself, you don’t … dress how you used to … you don’t see your friends anymore, you never go out!” I exclaim, feeling so angry with her for allowing this man to change who she is. To turn her into, not my mother, a strong independent woman, but rather a loyal, intimidated housewife without a voice of her own.

“Yes well …” she pauses, knowing what I say is true. “That is my choice Callie, not yours. I love Carl and that is all that should matter to you.” She doesn’t sound angry but I wonder if under the million layers of restrained smiles and repression, the woman I once knew as my mother is stirring, ready to scream at me for denying her my approval. She doesn’t, rather she does the exact opposite, placing her hands folded neatly in her lap and spreading her lips in a seemingly content smile.

“Why don’t you open your present, honey?” she encourages, changing the subject as Kayla dips her index finger in the whipped cream hair on my second pancake and devours it grinning. I smile at her, after my conversation with mom; I seem to have lost my appetite.

“Take what you want.” I tell her, handing her the fork. She daintily, upon my approval, picks up a strawberry leaving the face without a nose, and pops it into her mouth. Juice runs down her chin and my mother wipes it with a napkin from under a vase I’ve only just noticed that contains a water lily, my favourite flower. My mom’s encouraging glance becomes too much as my curiosity mounts and I grab the tiny purple present, give it a shake and set about unwrapping it. Inside the wrapping is a white velvet box, I pop open the lid, the velvet soft to touch, and on a cushion of the same soft velvet lies a thin, white gold chain and attached to the bottom is a teardrop diamond, glinting in the light.

“Oh …” I gasp, shocked at the generosity. It’s no secret we aren’t the wealthiest family in the world. I grasp my mom and pull her into a tight hug. Kayla leans up trying to see what all the fuss is about.

“Can I see?” She asks obtusely and I release my mom.

“Sure.” I say smiling as I take a last glance at the diamond necklace before turning the box round so she can see.

“Ooh!! It’s so shiny!” She squeals with delight as it catches the light pouring in through the window.

“Oh that reminds me, Mrs. Jones rang about babysitting tonight, but I told her it was your birthday. She agreed to rearrange her dinner so you can babysit Thomas another night, and still get the money you need for gas next month.” She smiles, pleased with her success.

“Thanks mom.” I smile back at her, taking the diamond from its box and fastening the chain around my neck. The diamond glints against my flesh and I feel my heart flutter beneath, this has to be the best present I have ever gotten.

The rest of the day passes in a blur: cards containing money from my grandparents arrive in the mail and I lose myself in constructing a den with Kayla between two sofas in the front room. I can’t believe that, while I put the sofas and chairs back to their rightful places and Kayla runs around yelling “I’m a Ghost!” while giggling under the sheet we used for a roof, it is almost 5pm. I return to my room after catching the mystery sheet-wearing phantom with a stupid grin plastered on my face and as I pick up my phone off my nightstand, I note two texts. One from Daryl:

‘Hope you have a fantastic birfday babes! Luv ya xxx’

I sigh. How does he know today is my birthday? Oh I bet Mollie let it slip yesterday … I ponder this, slightly irritated, then realise the better question is how he got my phone number! I decide I’d rather not know about his stalker tendencies tonight and check the second message. It’s from Mollie:

‘Happy birthday you oldie! Can’t wait for tonight, I’m buzzin’! xxxx’

I snap the clam cell shut and eye my make-up bag, grab it, and head over to the bathroom.

After I’m showered, my hair has dried into its normal springy ringlet style, and my make-up has been applied, I head back into my room and open my closet doors. I stare at its contents willing inspiration to strike and it does … light soft denim jeans, pink long sleeved cotton shirt, and a white knitted poncho, not the most stylish of outfits and the poncho certainly doesn’t flatter my curves, but at least I’ll be snug. I turn to my backpack, also not stylish with its supple, smooth brown leather but I have no idea where I’ll be going so I need to take certain supplies. I pack my cell, wallet, cream blanket I was given by Kayla for my birthday, and sleeping bag. I also add my make-up bag, a hairbrush, and some hair ties, as I’m on my way downstairs, ready for Mollie to come pick me up. I ponder about shoes for a moment before steering away from a pair of black stiletto pumps and selecting my pair of old, beaten up, pink converse … I add trainers to my backpack just in case too, having no idea what the night may hold. Walking into the living room, I am unpleasantly surprised to find Carl is back from his fishing trip. Thankfully he is snoozing in the armchair, his feet up on the coffee table, beer belly rising and falling like the Swiss Alps. I back out of the room slowly, as though trying to escape the lair of a sleeping ogre and progress forward into the kitchen, where mom is sitting feeding Kayla dinner.

“Oh, you look nice.” She compliments. “Want me to fix you something?”

“Nah, I’ll grab something at Mollie’s.” I lie, knowing full well I’m not actually going to Mollie’s. My mom’s eyes track to my backpack.

“Why do you have your sleeping bag? Doesn’t Mollie have a futon?” She asks raising one eyebrow. I stutter mind racing, searching for a lie.

“We … uh, are going to sleep in her back yard, it’s the full moon tonight and it’s going to be the biggest and brightest we’ve seen in a century.” I pull the twisted truth back from an article I saw mentioned on a social networking site earlier this week. My mom’s mouth twists and her eyes have the shadow of something I can’t quite recognise behind a vacant glaze for a moment before she returns to her normal self, exhaling. I worry she knows I’m lying, but instead of questioning me she lets it go and smiles superficially. I hear the familiar honk of Mollie’s mom’s horn and before I rotate to leave, she grabs my hand, pulling it onto the table.

“You will be careful, won’t you Callie?” She stares so intensely into my eyes that I’m sure she wants me to crack and tell her I, in fact, have no idea where I’m going. But I don’t. Instead I nod.

“Sure, it’s just Mollie’s house, jeez don’t worry so much.” She releases my hand hesitantly and I turn on my heel, waving goodbye to Kayla and leaving out the white front door.

Mollie is waiting in her Mom’s black SUV and honks the horn once as she sees me approaching through the rows of petunias that line my front garden path.

“I’m coming, I’m coming!” I mutter to myself, feigning irritation as I smile at her with a cocked brow and give a slight wave. I get into the car and chuck my backpack onto the floor, leaning back into the black leather seat.

“Hey! Have a good birthday so far?” Mollie asks as I latch my seatbelt into the buckle on my left.

“Yeah, it was good, thanks. How was your day?” I ask, looking at my house in the side mirror as we pull away from the curb.

“Good, looking at options for college online mainly. I still can’t decide what I want to major in.” Mollie admits, not looking at me, her brown eyes settled on the road in front of her.

“Well, I’m still waiting to hear from Brown.” I say, thinking once more about the terrifying woman in the horn-rimmed spectacles at my interview.

“I bet you’re nervous.” Mollie replies seriously.

“Yeah. I hate that they make you wait to find out if you’re moving your life all the way across the country.” I smile to myself at the thought.

“I don’t think I could move so far away.” She sighs.

“So you’re thinking SDSU?” I ask her as she turns, allowing the steering wheel to fall through her hands clockwise.

“Yeah, it seems like a good school. They have a diverse programme, plus I can still be close to home.” She says.

“But you don’t know what you want to major in?” I ask her curiously, as I notice we are driving away from the heart of San Diego.

“No. I’m stuck between art history and British literature.” She enlightens me and I smile, they both sound so intellectual.

“Well, it’s only ever been marine biology for me.” I say proudly. I had never made a big deal about getting an interview at Brown to my mom, but I can’t help but feel smug when Mollie and Manda still had to apply to their college choices. I feel relieved that I’d gone for early admission after all the initial stress.

“Yeah, I think it’s cool you want to save dolphins and stuff.”

“You know it’s more than just dolphins.” I laugh at her over simplification of a world that is so mysterious and unknown.

“I always hated science. You know I’m struggling to pass chemistry.” Mollie whines and I laugh. Mollie has never struggled to pass anything in her whole life.

“So are you going to tell me where we are going?” I ask her as she smiles to herself, smugness enveloping her lips.

“Nope.” Her head turns from the road as something catches her fancy.

“Are you going to tell me where you got that hunk of rock around your neck?” She asks me in retort to my prying. I look down at the teardrop diamond lying on top of my poncho.

“Nope.” I tease her, poking my tongue out with a giggle.

“Oh come on? Some mysterious admirer?”

“I wish … no it’s from my mom.” I admit.

“She has good taste. And do you?” Mollie asks, incredulous as she turns once again, but this time onto a smaller coastal road.

“Do I what?”

“Wish you had an admirer.”

“I don’t know. Sometimes, I suppose.”

“You could have fooled me chick.” Mollie laughs and I see slight jealousy behind her eyes.

“You know just because I don’t want Daryl doesn’t mean I’m frigid.” I snap slightly as she turns to look at me with a serious expression.

“I know. You’re just … sometimes I wonder if I know you at all.”

“I’m sorry.” I bite my lip guiltily, feeling bad for snapping at an observation which was probably dead on.

“Don’t be sorry. It’s just who you are. You’re different from the rest of us. You’ve been through stuff. I mean Chloe freaks out if her hair goes curly in the humidity or if her shoes don’t match her outfit. That stuff, it doesn’t seem like a big problem to you, because you’ve seen actual problems that matter I guess.” Mollie says this while her eyes are kept on the road, not daring to look me in the eye. I know she speaks the truth. I’m grateful.

“Thank you” is all I can manage.

“For?” she looks across at me, her cheeks flushed with the intensity of the conversation mixed with the heat.

“Knowing me better than anybody.” I smile at her and place a hand on her shoulder, squeezing.

“Just …” She begins but stops as she pulls the car to a halt.

“What?” I ask peering around as she unbuckles her seatbelt and turns to me.

“Don’t forget to be a teenager Callie. You won’t be young forever.” I nod and look back at her.

“I know, some people have the cheek to call me old you know.” I tease her but pull her into a hug across the car smiling to myself.

“Hey! Birthday girl! Not so fast! Put this on.” Mollie slings a sleeping mask to me, which she retrieves from the depths of her Ralph Lauren purse as I attempt to exit the vehicle. I sigh as I catch it haphazardly, they couldn’t just make this easy for me. As I slide the blindfold over my eyes, the soft silk feels cool against my skin. After a few moments, I hear the car door open and Mollie grabs my hand, guiding me out of the car. I can hear jokes being made at my expense and I realise that Manda and Chloe are here too.

“Hi guys, stop laughing at me please!” I shout and wave, oblivious to which direction they are in.

“Jeez Callie, stop shouting, we’re right behind you!” Chloe laughs patting me on the shoulder.

“Talk about the blind leading the blind.” I mutter as Manda chortles behind me and the others join in. Of course they all find me being visually impaired hilarious. I feel the wind whipping around me and then I notice the smell, so familiar and tangy. It hits me.

“Hey, are we at the beach?” I guess, only to have my question answered as my friends turn me round a corner. A grin spreads across my face as the ‘swoosh’ of the waves sloshing against the shore meets my ears.

“There’s more.” Chloe whispers and my anticipation builds as we walk for a few more minutes and I begin to feel myself sweat: why did I wear something so snug? In the middle of summer? In San Diego? I ponder this as I swelter until the girls come to a stop, halting me with them.

“Okay, stand still.” Mollie commands and I feel her fumbling hands release the blindfold from my eyes. The scene in front of me is sublime, the orange sphere of the sun hanging low in the sky shooting oranges, pinks, and corals across the dimming blue horizon. The sand is white, pure, and empty, no person but us stands for miles and the breeze swirls the smell of sea salt in the air around us, whipping hair from our faces. I look back over my shoulder and see the condos not far across the road behind us on the top of the cliff. I think I know where we are and if I’m right it’s a pricey neighbourhood.

“Not the best part.” Chloe announces once again as she takes a few steps forward off the concrete path and onto the sand. Manda, Mollie, and I cock our heads, a little confused. I can tell that Mollie and Manda have as little clue regarding her impending announcement as I do.

“See that house over there on the shore?” She asks, pointing out to a small modern house at the end of the beach, cradled in the corner of the beach formed by the cliff edge. It’s the last in a line of similar properties and they don’t look cheap. I nod in unison with Manda and Mollie as Chloe reaches into her pocket and pulls out four keys, each on a different coloured feather key-ring.

“Happy birthday, Callie.” She smiles and hands me one of the keys. I stare at it blankly. She got me a key-ring?

“You guys know my grandma died a few months back? Well her last will and testament finally came through and my parents have said we can use it whenever we want for ‘studying’.” She boasts and laughs to herself slightly.

“The Hotel Del Coronado is just up there by like a few miles and there’s a naval base down that way, but this beach is basically ours.” She continues to brag and I can only gawp along with Manda and Mollie who she then gives a key each, they’re clearly just as stunned as I am. Mollie finally finds the words to speak.

“What the house, on the beach … we can use it? Whenever we want?” She questions, eyes wide with disbelief.

“Like totally. My parents already have a beach house; this one is going to be mine when I go to medical school anyway.” She smiles, obviously loving our disbelief. Both her parents are dentists, private dentists, so it is obvious they are rolling in money. I mean she has a Land Rover and she’s never worked a day in her life for goodness sake. Everyone knew that Hotel Del Coronado was the most exclusive tourist resort in San Diego, but private beaches were hard to come by, unless you had the crazy amount of money to buy a property somewhere like Pacific Beach. But a house on the beach? For us? I launch forward and hug her at this unexpected generosity. Chloe has given me much more than just a house, but unknowingly provided an escape from Fort ‘Carl-is-boss-here’. I release Chloe and she looks a little ruffled. She really doesn’t do physical affection, unless of course it’s with a really hot life-guard named Jose who she met that one time in Jamaica on vacation.

“This is really … Thank you.” is all I can manage. She looks back at me and my necklace catches her eye from beneath my poncho.

“You’re welcome.” She responds graciously, but I see the slight appearance of envy behind her sparkling green eyes.

“Wow, so we can come here, like, anytime we want?” Mollie asks breaking the tension.

“Yep, bring guys here; come to study, party, like whatever. I’ll barely be using it this summer anyway, my parents are taking me to Barbados.” She says matter-of-factly, and slight irritation rises in my throat at her boastful tone. It has always, in fact, seemed strange to me that someone as wealthy as Chloe was friends with such simple people as me, Mollie and Manda. I guess we never really questioned it that seriously. It seemed that she accepted us immediately as friends, but I couldn’t deny that the group dynamic between me, Mollie, and Manda had changed since she had come along two years ago after transferring from LA. It seemed Manda had become the sheep to Chloe’s wolf, following her like a loyal puppy no matter what insensitive comments fell out of her mouth. Mollie stands next to me, the epitome of Switzerland, neutral and unmoving in neither mine nor Chloe’s direction.

I blink a few times, returning to the conversation, which has now turned to the interior of the house as Chloe explains we will all have our own rooms and ensuites. I look at Chloe and then at Mollie who is clearly in awe of her. I can’t deny I am a little in awe too.

“This isn’t even the full plan.” Chloe brags, walking down from the concrete platform near the parking lot and into the sand, kicking it up in the wake of her bedazzled sandals.

“Oh?” I ask, curious as to what she is implying.

“We have, like, the whole grade coming down here, well everyone who is cool anyway, just to celebrate your birthday!” She reveals and my gut tightens slightly. I hate group activities.

“Seriously?” I ask, looking to Mollie who nods enthusiastically.

“I’m not dressed for a party.” I state lamely, wondering what happened to the small get together I had been assured of.

“I’ve got you covered” Manda assures me with a sly smile, placing her arm around my shoulder, her red hair a frizzy flame against the sunset.

“Okay. Thanks.” My elevated mood has gone, worried about what will happen if anyone, particularly my stepfather finds out about the magnitude of this ‘small’ get together.

“Callie, chill out, it’s all good!” Manda encourages me, until I break into a small smile as the wind moves my hair from around my face. Chloe steps forward and grabs my left hand, pulling me down into the white powder sand that I have come to expect from San Diego’s numerous and gorgeous beaches.

“Come on, I want to show you around the house before people start arriving.” She demands, arching a beautifully plucked brow as she strides forward in steps much longer than mine. We move along the beach and I look at the towering cliff top which cuts us away from the rest of the world. I smile as I turn my head and look over my shoulder at the sea, which beckons under the sun hanging lazily in the sky and lowering with each passing second. The waves slosh up the beach and kiss the sand with each roll of the tide generously wiping them clean of imperfection. As we move along the two mile stretch of beach, the house comes into closer view, elevated onto a wooden deck that acts as foundation, and which holds several other beach homes that seem stark and empty.

“This beach is for residents only, it’s private, and the other houses haven’t been sold yet. The housing market isn’t great, according to my parents. It’s private for now; we just have the Hotel and Naval Base … so basically hot tourists and hotter sailors.” Chloe informs me as I peer into the barren living rooms, not breaking stride.

“So we basically have this beach to ourselves?” I ask, feeling slightly giddy.

“Basically, until someone else buys property here or tourists start to make their way down this far.” She says, confident as always. I hear Manda and Mollie catching up from behind.

“So this is it?” I ask as we stop outside the largest property, which also happens to be the house closest to where the cliff makes a right angle against the sand.

“This is the one.” Chloe answers, in charge as always. I clutch my key in my fist tightly. Chloe beckons us forward impatiently, her legs beautifully tanned and smooth, propelling her through the sand. She climbs the wooden staircase and stands on the deck looking down at us.

“Come on then, people will be arriving soon and I still have to show you the best part.”

“I love how she says that, like this already isn’t amazing.” I quip, getting over my nerves. I muse that as the invites have already been extended I can plead ignorance later. I move into the lap of the house’s luxury with a smile, deciding that I may as well enjoy myself.

The inside of the house is gorgeous, lightly furnished in whites, blacks, and pastel colours to accentuate the light that flows in from the giant glass windows making up the walls of the sitting room. This is not just a beach house; this is a multimillion dollar property. Upstairs the house contains a massive four bedrooms, each as beautiful as the last, with built in ensuites. As I stand in the doorway of the room which I’ve claimed as my own, I turn my back on my backpack which lies at the foot of the queen size bed and head back downstairs. I walk down the clinically white, high ceilinged corridor and cannot believe I am actually standing in such a luxurious building. When I arrive downstairs I can see my friends assembled on the deck and my heart swells. Four lounger chairs lie with cream cushions tied to them and one of them is free. I walk out of the wide open glass double doors and onto the deck, taking my place on the only empty deck chair next to the rest of my friends.

“This is incredible, Chloe, thank you again.” I gush, feeling like I may burst with gratitude.

“Yes, thank you Chloe.” Mollie and Manda say in unison. They laugh at themselves but Chloe interrupts their giggling.

“You’re welcome! Don’t mention it. I’m sure you guys would do the same for me if you had an awesome beach home like this.” She borders on bragging but we all smile, just glad to be laying on its beautiful front deck.

“Oh, I forgot!” She blurts, remembering something. She jumps up, storming through the house, as only Chloe can, and into the kitchen. We all get up to follow her curiously as she stands in front of the fridge and swings open the door. Inside lays the mother lode of booze and junk food. We all inhale and then she smiles, passing me a beer.

The dying light of day greets the first arriving guest. I’m standing on the deck in a black shift dress tied around with a white belt and red pumps which Manda and Mollie gifted me for my birthday. I’m wearing a spattering of red lipstick too, which so isn’t my colour, but Chloe insisted it matches, and I didn’t have the energy to argue. To no one’s surprise, the footballers, along with a keg are the first to arrive. Daryl, in his letterman’s jacket, supporting our school initials over his heart, is the first whom I recognize. His silhouette is broad against the sky as his buddies run across the sand like school children, testosterone pumping through them like a drug. Daryl doesn’t run, but walks, slowly, sweeping his overly long fringe out of his dark eyes, tilting his square jaw upward. I swear I can hear someone exhale deeply in a sigh, so I turn to look back over my shoulder, catching Mollie staring at him too, shielding her eyes against the orange glare of the sun. I look away, letting her admire in private, a knot forming in my belly.

“Hey Cal!” Daryl calls, alcohol forming a box like shape against the arm he isn’t raising in a brisk wave.

“Hey!” I say back, cringing at his nickname for me. Nobody ever calls me Cal, and I can’t help but feel like he doesn’t have the right to be making up cute nicknames. As I’m pondering the inappropriateness of his adopted pet name, he steps up the wooden stairs and ascends to the decking. I stand stone still, rooted to the spot, not sure whether running at this point would be rude or not. He puts one arm around me.

“Happy Birthday, Cal!”

“Thank you, please, it’s just Callie.” I plead with him, plastering on a fake smile. I look up into his face as he pulls away and holds me at arm’s length. I stand, impervious to his crooked, American teen smile.

“Sorry, Callie.” he moves his hair out of his eyes again with a sweeping motion of his palm and I wonder if he’s nervous.

“So um … where should I put this beer?” He asks, placing his free hand in his jeans pocket.

“Uh, inside should be fine.”

“Gary has gone to ask about setting up the decks, you wouldn’t know where he could do that would you?” He questions me again, trying to draw out the conversation.

“I’d go ask Chloe, it’s her grandma’s old place.” I say, stepping aside so he can move past me. I sit down on the lounger beside the door and he turns back to me, a wicked gleam in his eye.

“Save a dance for me, okay?” He demands.

“Daryl I …” I begin but he walks away before I can reject him. I sigh and place my head in my hands, letting ringlets fall around my face.

The Party is in full swing not one hour later. The house is crammed full of people who I apparently go to school with, though I can’t say I know even half of them. The music is obscenely loud, so much so that it’s starting to give me a headache and I find myself sat on a couch in the corner of the living room, watching Manda and Mollie throwing themselves around in a crowd of strangers that are celebrating my birthday without me. I see Chloe coming in through the crowd, narrowing in on me like a long legged bird of prey.

“Oh my God Callie, are you all right?”

“Yeah, I’m good thanks, enjoying the party.” I smile back at her politely; not wanting to point out this is so not my scene after all the effort she’s put in.

“Really? You don’t look it.” she frowns.

“I’m sorry, I’m just tired. I guess Kayla wore me out earlier.”

“Well that’s too bad, there’s a guy asking for you and … If you don’t mind my saying, I think he might be from SDSU, he’s WAY HOT. Like oh my God, Callie, you have to see this guy! He might sway even your frigid resolve.” She says the last sentence with far too much enthusiasm to be fully aware of what’s coming out of her mouth. It’s obvious she’s had too much to drink. I sigh internally, why the hell can she not just back the hell off? I’m not here for her entertainment in spite of what she might think. I can almost see a thought bubble coming out of the top of her head with the words ‘Dance puppet dance!’ in cartoony scrawl.

“Oh …” I begin, but she’s pulling me up off the white leather corner sofa and through the throng of people as the song changes into something slow and romantic. Before Chloe can pull me behind her toward the mystery man she insists I meet, I am confronted with an expectant Daryl. The lights become dim and it seems like his towering height means everyone in the room turns, eyes on us.

“May I have this dance, madam?” He has a mock posh tone on. His leather jacket discarded and his white t-shirt and jeans combination seems to have every female in the room staring daggers at me. Chloe looks back over her shoulder with a smirk.

“Don’t leave the boy hanging Callie. Go on.” She nudges me with one hip and I stumble forward, twisting my left ankle behind my right in a fit of gawky incoordination. Daryl catches me, and for just a second it’s like in the movies, our eyes meet and I can see him willing me to kiss him. Vomit rises in my throat.

“Uh, dance … yes.” I steady myself, swallowing hard. I step back and give him my hand, I don’t really want to, but it’s better than the alternative. He looks disheartened, but takes it, leading me into an open space which is cleared by the masses of sweaty teenagers that, a few seconds ago, were throwing themselves around to a thudding beat. The music has changed to a slower song, very cringe worthy, with the title ‘Love you like that’. Daryl puts his muscular arm around my waist, and I can feel everyone staring. I cough, averting my gaze, hoping this will diffuse the tension, but I can’t keep my gaze from my partner’s for too long. Why am I doing this? I wonder as I see Chloe watching me out of one eye, talking to a tall guy with his back to me. She was right, if this was the same guy who was asking for me he was stacked and attractive from the back at least. I realise what has happened as my eyes narrow: Sabotage.

“Thank you.” Daryl whispers, trying to ignore the circle of people standing around us.

“For …”

“The dance …” He says, rolling his eyes and I laugh.

“No worries.” I say with casual reserve. I don’t really want to talk, after all, if Chloe hadn’t been standing right next to me I would have bolted like a weasel.

“So about the other day, I’m sorry, if I came over too keen. I just … I really like you.” Daryl says and his puppy dog, all American, blue eyes stare into mine fiercely.

“I get that Daryl. Trust me.” I say, feeling irritation rising in my throat like venom.

“So …” I can almost hear the hamster running on the plastic wheel that’s powering his brain. His forehead creases in thought as he searches for what to say next. I cut across him impatiently. His brain-hamster clearly needs a Red-bull.

“So, I’m giving you this dance, because I’m sorry I was harsh. You didn’t deserve such a flat out rejection.” Even if that is exactly what you need, I think to myself bitterly.

“That’s it?” Seriously, he still wants to push his luck … Really? He’s like a dog with a bone and I am so not in the mood.

“What more is there?” I mutter, calming the urge I have to smack him into next week.

“But I thought …” The urge within me rises again.

“Look, can’t you just enjoy the dance?” I plead with him and he exhales in disappointment.

“Of course.” he looks determined and pulls me closer. It is then that something happens, something I can’t explain, and has no rational explanation. I feel eyes on me. Not the kind that are staring out of half interest, but something on the back of my neck that feels like a burn, making my downy neck hair stand erect. Goose-pimples rise up on my spine and I can feel Daryl’s grip tighten on me.

“I knew it. I knew you felt this attraction. Look at you. You’re practically gagging for it.” He whispers the words in my ear and I can’t help myself. My head snaps up.

“Excuse me?” I can’t help but raise my voice and pull away from him in disgust. Who the hell does he think he is? In what world does me getting goose-pimples equate to ‘hey let’s get it on!’ What the hell is wrong with Daryl … no wait not just him, men. I’ve so had enough of this crap. The little devil on my right shoulder stirs with interest, making my right palm twitch. On-looking party goers are beginning to stare

“Oh come on Callie. You’re such a tease. You know you want this.” He pushes his crotch towards me and I push him away with all the force I can manage. If he hadn’t had a drink or seven, I don’t think I could have moved him at all.

“No, I most certainly don’t want this, you total and complete pig!” I move before I think, raising my hand, giving into the slap happy devil on my right shoulder and delivering the mother of all fish slap’s across his left cheek. The contact leaves a sharp sound that echoes through the now silent room like thunder. The music has been cut off mid-song and the idle chatter has seized. I turn on my heel, storming from his shocked expression, my hair blowing back from my face and out of the front door. Chloe is looking over, trying not to laugh, and Mollie’s mouth is a tiny ‘o’ shape in shock. I am so done with Daryl, and men, which in this moment seem like the root of all evil. Once the sea air hits me, I break into a run, fleeing down the sand and into the moonlight bathed night.

I sit at the edge of the shore for a while, breathing in the cool salt vapours that cling to my skin. The water is lapping at my toes, kissing them gently as I’ve discarded my shoes; it’s cool and refreshing even though the air is chilly. My mind is racing … what is it about Daryl that makes me so crazy? He’s attractive-ish, isn’t he? So why is it that while every other girl in the room is slobbering over their shoes, I get my kicks out of slapping his supposedly attractive, stupid face? I wonder if the slap rattled that hamster running in its plastic wheel, smacking some sense into him and I smile to myself at the image. I sit for a while longer, pondering my incapacity to fall for guys that have normal women ‘gagging for it’, using Daryl’s term.

As I’m realising the complete lack of attraction between Daryl and myself, I hear a sound that catches my attention. I glance over my shoulder. It isn’t the music from the party back up the beach, even though I can see people dancing through the windows, silhouetted against the dim light of the sitting room. The sound I can hear is something ethereal, calming, calling me. I listen in, letting it soothe my jumpy nerves for a few minutes before my calm is broken as I hear something stir behind me.

I turn, but nobody is there. I hear it once again, the call, otherworldly, beautiful in its own right. Is it the alcohol, or just my imagination this time? I swear I hear it, that alluring chant, a melody of some kind calling my name, calling me, just me, into its warm embrace. I am lost in the music, so lost that I begin to hum, moving my head from side to side … so indulging the sound that it comes as a complete surprise when someone taps me on the shoulder. I jump up, disoriented and full of fear at the thought it may be some kind of rapist, whose watchful stare was what made the hairs on the back of my neck rise earlier. Then as I pivot to face the intruder, it hits me like a freight train.

It’s him. He’s the one.

I am not usually one for staring, but in this moment I am knocked back, totally dumbstruck and completely flabbergasted by the man who stands before me. The sane part of me wants to run, but the woman in me is rooted to that spot by a force so much stronger than anything she’s ever known, so much so that I cannot move. This force is so much greater than gravity, it’s as though this man has his own orbit in which I am trapped, unable to escape. The tiny voice inside my head, known as common sense, is screaming ‘Get out of there you dumb-ass! He’s probably a serial killer, approaching a young girl alone at this time of night’. But the other part of me, the part that has to pick up her jaw to say what comes next, just could not fathom moving a single step away from this man if she tried.

“Huh …?” Is all my incapacitated mind can manage; it is clear that my brain hamster is suffering from an asthma attack, which is the result of excessive swooning. I wonder absently if this is how Daryl feels when he looks at me.

“Are you all right?” he asks, looking down at me with his eyes wide open: those eyes … whoa, they’re so familiar! I sigh inwardly, taking in his face. His jaw is about as chiselled as any prince charming illustration I’ve ever seen, and he has a head of luscious, dark mahogany hair that is tousled to within an inch of perfection. I’d like to run my hands through that hair, is all I can think as I stand there in total silence. He is much taller than I am, at around six and a half feet and when I look at him, I see approximately two hundred and forty pounds of pure manliness. He is not a boy. He is a man and a fine specimen at that. He is muscular beyond even Daryl, with a square jaw line covered in fine dark stubble. His inquisitive, angular, ice blue eyes pierce mine with an unabated curiosity. It then occurs to me that while I’m standing here, gaping at him like an idiot, he is awaiting the usual thing in this kind of situation, an answer to his question.

“Uh, yes, I’m fine … Who are you?” is all I can think to say, unable to take my eyes off his gorgeous complexion.

“I’m Orion. You looked like you were singing to something … anything good?” His voice is rough but rolls out like silk sheets; I like his name too, unusual and mysterious. Pull yourself together Dumbass … You’re turning into one of those girls who drool on their shoes. I snap to myself, shaking my head a little, trying to wake up my fluffy brain motor, which is currently on its back, four teeny feet in the air.

“Nothing really. I just needed to get away from the crowds.” I finish, jerking my head to the house up the beach, and I’m sure he’s going to turn and run for the hills because I sound like some raving loony. Then I stop, take a deep breath and try to pull myself together. I muse, if he doesn’t like the answer, he shouldn’t walk around in the middle of the night, scaring the crap out of people and asking crazy questions. I expect him to laugh, or perhaps give up on the conversation and leave, but he doesn’t. Instead, he smiles to himself and once again blesses my ears with his silken tongue.

“Some people say they can hear the call of the ocean, you know. Of course I never believe them, but it’s a nice thought.” He smiles gently and I feel my knees weaken a little. His voice is so proper, like he’s not from around here. It’s a mix of some kind of European accent with classic American twisted over the top. I try to stand straighter, resisting my weak knees. I will not fall victim to this guy’s cheesy one-liners. I try to think of a reply, one that’s witty verging on sarcastic, but all I can come out with is:

“I guess.” Stunning reply to this incredibly handsome man standing before me. I know, but what can you do?

“So, what brings you out here?” He asks coolly, sitting down in the sand. I notice what is covering the well-muscled body he possesses. I deduce this according to the number of bulges that strain against the fabric of his shirt, and to my horror and mortification, find that I’m struggling to take my eyes away. I spot a tattoo peeking from under his left sleeve; it is a simple band, not a tacky tattoo like some of those sported by guys my own age. On closer inspection, it looks like the waves. Hmm, I think, maybe he’s a surfer.

He’s wearing a simple white t- shirt and soft black jeans that elongate his legs; his feet are bare and I wonder if he has left his shoes somewhere down the beach. His body, as simply dressed as it may be, instantly makes me feel self-conscious about my own appearance. I reach up to my hair and cringe as I hit a frizz of curls on the top of my head; he looks up at me with a quizzical expression.

“As if you don’t already know,” I say, wondering what his game is.

“I did happen to see your justifiable rage,” he confesses and it clicks. This is the guy; the guy Chloe wanted to get me away from, using Daryl as a diversion. It occurs to me that he’s seen me at my worst, slapping Daryl across the face. I cringe.

“Don’t worry about that, you are beautiful, especially when you’re angry.” He compliments me, as though reading my mind. So he thinks I’m beautiful? Maybe this is a reaction to my rage, coupled with the burning desire to find someone who isn’t a walking hormone? I breathe in the surrounding salty tang; pinching my left arm … nope I’m awake … what the hell?

“It’s supposed to be my party. I don’t even know who you are. Being totally honest, I have no idea who most of the people in that house are.” I say, immediately feeling more focused now that I have some ground supporting me.

“I’m not from your school.” Orion admits, his eyes burning, he looks concerned at how I’ll take this news. I wonder why I’m not walking away, as the hairs on my skin rise. Who the hell is this guy?

“But I saw you talking to Chloe. You were gate-crashing?” I ask, worried now.

“I was looking for you.” Orion admits. I remember Chloe saying he was asking for me.

“Why?”

“I wanted to meet you. I’ve seen you around before. You seem … different.” He adds, speaking with increasing speed.

“I don’t really fit in with the normal teenage angst demographic.” I add, trying not to blush as I feel his eyes on me.

“I can tell, I mean, you aren’t like other girls.” He comments a little half-heartedly and I watch his eyes travel to my chest and I feel vulnerable; is he checking out my boobs? What a pervert …

“I like your necklace.” Complimenting me, he reaches forward and gently grasps the teardrop diamond free of my round neckline. Where his fingers have lingered electricity sparks through my skin and I inhale sharply, not expecting human contact to bring such uninhibited feelings of pleasure.

“Thanks, it was a gift from my mom.” I explain.

“It’s beautiful, a family heirloom no doubt.” He guesses and I shake my head.

“Nope, she bought it I think. I’ve never seen it before.” I continue as he drops the necklace back down onto my chest. I feel slightly exposed again and move back a little, not wanting to risk him grabbing at me as I remind myself I know nothing about him.

“Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you.” He reassures me and I wonder how he notices a movement so small. His legs are crossed in the sand and he looks contemplative, sitting with his chin in his palm.

“The ocean is really beautiful, isn’t it?” He asks and I wonder if he means it rhetorically. He turns seamlessly, those icy blue eyes lock mine in their charms and I know he expects a response from me. I decide to go for honesty.

“I guess. I’m partial to thinking of it as more terrifying and savage.” I relinquish this tiny gem of personal information and his eyes light up slightly, a rather odd reaction to my pessimistic reply. I inhale and his eyes reflect an understanding of what I’ve said.

“Why?” The words we share are so simple, I wonder if somehow I am making all this up as an antidote to the alcohol and Daryl’s over amorous plight. However, I somehow think, or hope, that he is aware of these feelings, as new as they may be, that are left unexpressed and lingering in the air between us.

“I want to study marine biology, once you’ve read about the complexities of marine life, what they have to do just to survive, the ‘prettiness’ seems rather redundant.”

“You really aren’t like other girls your age.”

“Not a drop.”

“So how did you end up being friends with those other girls?” Orion asks with a sly smile, which I return despite being suspicious of his observant nature. He has known me barely ten minutes and is already questioning me about my personal life.

“So you live in San Diego?” I ask, deflecting his question. I wonder if perhaps he is a college student.

“You could say that.” He answers mysteriously, looking down into the sand. He quickly moves his head sideways so his eyes meet mine. My heart pushes my blood around the simple circuitry that lines my seemingly frail, human condition, like the infamous Bullet train. His strength, the conviction in his stare, and the sure set of his jaw, makes me feel bewildered by the intensity of my own attraction. It’s not just his face, it’s something deeper, something so ‘Juliet Capulet’ in the fact I’m torn between what I know, and this pounding in my chest, so unwanted and unbidden. I ponder this a few moments more before I notice that the orb that hangs continuously over us, showering us with soft, white romantic light is lowering. How did that happen? Have I been sitting here in silence like a moron for longer than I realized? However, this early morning has crept upon us and Orion, holding my gaze, gets to his feet while aiding me to mine.

“Well, I better get going.” He relinquishes my hand and I find myself disappointed as the current passing between us vanishes.

“Oh.” I drop my head as my heart slows a little. Then I remember we are but two strangers and I wonder why his presence or impending absence is affecting me so much.

“Aren’t you coming back to the party?” I suggest hopefully.

“Not my crowd. A little too immature for me I suppose. I don’t like boys who force themselves on unwilling women.” He smirks and his way with words surprises me, he’s more literate than most teenagers. I wonder if he’s read the classics. I stop myself as I begin to scowl unwillingly; the divot in my forehead is so unattractive.

“Daryl … he …” I, beyond reason I can myself explain, start to defend Daryl. Orion doesn’t know the situation. Maybe it’s my fault. Did I lead him on? Maybe I should have slapped him sooner. After all … there was that kiss when my drink was spiked.

“Felt it prudent to put his hands on what does not belong to him.” Orion’s voice rings out with a chilling edge to his tone. Felt it prudent? I question his choice of words, slightly formal and uppity for someone so young. Maybe he’s just educated, or in college perhaps.

“You’re right. I don’t belong to anyone.” I say it and as the words pass my lips, I feel my heart deflate in my ribcage at my own honesty. Orion doesn’t answer this, just gives a knowing smile. It kind of makes me want to slap him actually, but seeing how I’ve already slapped one person tonight …

I stand on bare feet awkwardly, wriggling my toes in and out of the sand.

“Will I see you again?” He whispers, pushing his body closer to mine than I expect, and grabbing both my hands, reinventing the current between us. I don’t know what to say, the common sense part of me is screaming, what kind of freak wants to meet up with some randomer they barely know? But the woman part of me is crying out, He wants to see you again! whilst jumping up and down in excitement. I look up into his eyes as the moon continues to lower in the sky and I don’t know why, but the only plausible response is,

“When?”

“Tomorrow night. I’ll meet you here.” He says this like a demand, so sure of my compliance.

“How do you know I’ll come back?” I ask, irritated by his cockiness.

“Something tells me you won’t be able to stay away. Let’s call it gravity.” He smiles, certain as to my return. He turns and saunters up the beach, but as he does, he turns and calls over his bulging shoulder:

“Oh and Callie … Happy birthday.”

I turn away from Orion’s figure disappearing into the distance under the light of a descending full moon. My mind races and then I stop. Realizing what has happened here, he called my name! I didn’t tell him my name. I guess Chloe told him. What the hell!? I sink to my knees; have I just been charmed by a stalker? How anyone could make me feel so powerless and at the same time, armed with my own emotions, I don’t understand. I frown, feeling empty, emptier than anyone, even Carl, has ever made me feel. Orion … is possibly the most infuriating person I’ve ever met. Now that I look back on the small period of time I spent staring at him, like a tourist ogling an Orca at Sea World, I’m angry; really angry. What kind of crazy man goes about looking for girls to charm, or rather entrap, in the middle of the night with his corny lines? I mean, ‘The Ocean is really beautiful, isn’t it?’ Give me a break! Almost instantaneously I’m no longer angry at Orion, but rather at myself for allowing him to capture my attentions with his pretty face and extremely creepy, stalker-like knowledge. How stupid can you get, falling for some guy with an angelic appearance? Falling, is that what I’m doing? Was that love? Oh God …

“Shut up!” I yell out and then slap my hand over my mouth, turning to look over my shoulder at the beach house which continues to rumble with party activity. I seriously need a slap right now. That was when the next series of questions flood into my mind; should I tell my friends? A tiny voice whispers, No, he’s yours. Then there’s the question of whether I should return to this spot only to be made to look moronic by the same man, again? I sigh; how in a matter of a night did my life suddenly seem like someone else’s? This wasn’t what I wanted. I didn’t need anyone else in my life at the moment; I had everyone I needed. I was happy, wasn’t I? Even if I wasn’t, I certainly wasn’t looking for a boyfriend, not after Daryl, whose forcefulness pushed me to violence. I stand, the salt air whipping my hair back from my face, trying to remind myself that I’m fine, but I can’t help but remember the five words that made me feel melancholy and small: I don’t belong to anyone.

Back up the beach, the party seems to have died down, the music having stopped replaced only by the chattering of happy and loose-tongued mouths in the now early hours. I pick up my red pumps from the sand, walking barefoot and feeling slightly bereft after the night’s events. I don’t want to go back to the house but I have nowhere else to go, so I make my way slowly up the incline of the beach, picking my way toward the deck in the dim lights that seep from the embers of my party. As I approach, I feel like the person that really needs a slap is me. I do belong to someone, I belong to myself, and that is just fine.

“Callie!” I hear the call of my name before I see the source. Mollie is moving through the dispersing crowds of people, who brush past me leaving with linked arms coupled off as they move down the steps and onto the sand to begin their journey’s home.

“The party is over.” I comment sadly and Mollie looks giddy. I can’t help but notice the smell of beer on her breath as she slings her arms around me.

“I’m sure Daryl didn’t mean it Callie …” She starts to defend Daryl, not unlike how I did to Orion, but I can’t let her finish.

“I’m sure he meant it, Mollie. I just want to go to bed.” I snap at her and she looks slightly irritated behind the alcohol induced haze that lies like a thin film of disillusionment over her eyes.

“It’s not his fault you don’t like him back. He’s crazy for you.” She slurs. I wonder if she might cry.

“Yeah, I’m sure he is, crazy, being the right word.”

“Don’t be so hard on him.” She almost begs me.

“I just want to go to bed, Mollie. Thanks for the party.” I say with a small fake smile, trying as hard as I can to reign in my sarcasm. Was this party really for me? Or was my birthday just an excuse to get drunk and show off Chloe’s new digs?

“But …” She starts but I push past her. Tired and uninterested in what she has to say. Inside the house, I see Chloe making out with one of the football players on the white cushioned corner couch which I was sat on for most of the night. I roll my eyes and turn away as I see tongue. Moving up the stairs that lead to the top floor of the house, I move to the furthest door down the hallway, where I dumped my backpack earlier, and push on the wood. Inside I interrupt what I assume to be the start of a spontaneous sexual encounter.

“Get out.” I say in an exhausted tone and the couple lying on my bed give a joint look of guilt and agitation at my interruption. The girl, who has long raven hair, pushes the strap of her camisole over her freckle peppered shoulder as she brushes past me, pulling the skinny guy she was smooching behind her. I walk through the doorway, shut the door behind me, move a few paces forward, drop my sand speckled shoes on the floor haphazardly, and collapse on the bed. My hair spreads out against the white sheets like a halo of gold; I go over the conversation between Orion and me once again. The phrase, ‘I don’t belong to anyone’, echoes in my mind, reverberating off the inside of my skull, bringing with it a fear that creeps over me, filling my chest with a numb emptiness. I breathe out deeply, trying to lift the loneliness that has come over me. I reject it; wanting to be independent and strong. Among my internal fight to break free from the connection formed between aqua and icy blue eyes, I give in to exhaustion and fall, fully dressed, into a deep and haunted sleep.

The girls drop me back at my petunia lined front garden, waving cheerily out the window as Chloe pulls away in her silver SUV. I turn, clutching my backpack like my life depends on it, walk down the garden path, and open the front door.

The house is empty, not even the sounds of snoring come from the bedrooms upstairs. I walk into the kitchen, only to find a note. ‘Gone to visit grandma and grandpa,’ it reads. I look over to the clock; it’s midday. Jeez, I’ve been in my own head. I didn’t even really enjoy the hangover cure fry-up Mollie cooked in the kitchen of the beach house this morning, even though she made extra bacon. Nobody mentioned the slap or Daryl, who it turned out, had left shortly after I had run off down the beach, and that was fine with me.

I sigh and put my backpack down on a kitchen chair. I then make my way upstairs into the bathroom and peel off the clothes I slept in before stepping into the shower. I find myself exhausted after tossing and turning all night, icy blue eyes fading in and out of my dreams in a subconscious taunt.

I sit down onto the floor of the bath, under the steaming water and begin to sob, emotion rising like a tidal wave, breaking and crashing down, destroying everything in its path. I cry for a good twenty minutes, so confused and unfamiliar with being human that I don’t know what to do. How can what I want conflict so much with what is logical? I do not do well with emotional baggage, perhaps because I’m carrying so much already, but this, the thought of relying on anyone, is unfeasible to me. I cannot let myself be let down, damaged, cracked, and shattered again. I will not be left, a hole in my heart like when discovering the death of my father, and I cannot be repressed like my mother. It may seem juvenile, but this fluttering beneath my skin scares me profusely, with each moment bringing me closer to heartbreak. I cannot go to meet Orion, I just can’t.

After the tears subside I castigate myself, sitting and crying over someone you’ve met once is not normal behaviour for someone who is now classified as a legal adult. I get to my feet, breathing in the hot water and set to washing my hair, feeling a lot better. Well, that’s something I guess, as pathetic as crying is, it does purge you of angst. After I’m completely cleansed of the night, I step out of the bath feeling a little more like myself. I feel more relaxed, having realized I don’t have to go back to that beach and see him tonight; I’m still my own person and still have my free will. I walk the few paces over to the mirror and smear away the condensation that has materialized upon its flawless, smooth surface. I wonder if Orion’s skin is this smooth; it looks that way. I gaze into the patch of mirror that is clear of steam and see myself. I’m … glowing. I may feel crappy on the inside but I’m practically pearlescent in appearance. I smile, wondering if the sea air did me good after all, and walk from the room, gathering my clothes from the wooden floor. Back in my room, I take my routine slowly, as though trying it on for size, feeling just like me again, not someone out of control or going crazy with emotion. As I get comfortable with feeling calm, I lay on my bed, where my mind begins to wander.

I’m imagining Orion towering over me. His arms swoop down to cradle my face, then his lips are on me and his large hands are stroking my cheeks. His lips send a fire through me, deep into my belly, and then I’m falling, falling to the floor. Having his weight on top of me feels good. Then he’s kissing down my neck, over my breasts, down my stomach until …

“Callie, we’re home!” My mother calls up the stairs, slamming the door behind her and shattering my fantasy. My eyes fly open and my heart is racing, my skin is humming. I think for the first time ever I’m feeling attraction for a man, and it’s scaring the hell out of me. I sit up on the bed, propping my chin on one knee and breathe out. What the hell is this guy doing to me? I wonder, before I spend an hour scaring myself with the possibility of going back and then terrifying myself with the idea of never seeing Orion again. By the time I fall into an unplanned nap as the night’s events catch up with me, I still haven’t made up my mind either way.

I wake a few hours later without an answer still, but knowing one thing for sure. That in the dream I’ve been reliving every night for years, the icy blue I want to writhe in, the glacial pastel that blazes so intensely, belongs to the gaze of the one man I can’t forget. It belongs to Orion.

It had been a day truncated by napping and distracted imaginings, thinking of all possible scenarios for the night ahead. I sit down at my desk and make lists of the pros and cons, towards whether or not I really should risk my own safety and emotional state by going back to the beach. There is just no way I can spin it, no possible series of words in the ‘con’ column of my now organised dilemma, that can silence the tiny voice in the back of my head screaming, ‘You’re going!’

I sit back in the unforgiving wooden chair and exhale deeply, rubbing my sweaty palms on my thighs. I look out the window where the sun is beginning to set, highlighting that my Sunday is drawing to a close. Then I remember; ugh, school tomorrow. I will have to face the fact that I have not texted any of my friends since my arrival home this morning, thanking them for the party they threw me. I haven’t responded to any of the messages I’ve gotten, mainly because they’re asking if I’m okay and the honest answer is that I don’t know. They claim I had seemed somehow more distant when we left the beach house this morning and of course, all of them are asking me about what really happened with Daryl.

I look down at the piece of paper in front of me, knowing I should feel guilty but unable to help the feeling that I have more growing concerns. The ‘cons’ list looks longer, but the ‘pros’ list lacks the things I dare not write. These include, ‘He’s completely gorgeous’, ‘He said you’re beautiful,’ and ‘When we touched, I felt something I’d never felt before’. I’d written a load of rubbish in all honesty, things that left little feeling and were swimming in denial, such as, ‘Possibly make a new friend,’ and ‘Have someone to talk to about male stuff’.

I rise, crumpling the piece of paper and tossing it toward the trash beside the desk, missing the basket; I leave it there, unable to find the energy to care enough to pick it up. I go over to my bed and grab Bunnyboo from under the pile of unmade blankets; I hold him to my chest and inhale from the top of his raggedy-eared head. I hear Orion’s voice in my mind, above and over doubt and reason: “Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you.” I gather myself and move to my feet, heading downstairs. In the kitchen my mom and Carl are sitting at the table not talking, they’re both reading magazines. I breathe deep, puff out my chest, and ready myself to do battle with the step-monster.

“Hey guys, I’m going out tonight if that’s okay?” I ask, holding my breath.

“Callie, it’s nearly sundown and you have school tomorrow. Will you be gone long?” My mom asks, cocking her head disapprovingly, her gaze is split between my foe and me.

“Yeah, and it’s for a test I have tomorrow, actually. It’s a mock for finals and I was going to meet up at the library with Mollie and Manda; you know they’re way better at physics than me.” I whine, trying to get what I want. I hate playing the whiny teenager angle, but I wonder if somehow it’ll melt the ice wall between me and mom long enough for her to throw me a bone.

“I’m not sure if that’s a good idea. Can’t you just do one of those online study groups you girls have been using this year? You went out last night.” She whines back, clearly not in a bone-throwing mood. Then it happens: Carl steps up to the plate, armed and ready to piss me off.

“Look Callie, me and your mom were real nice about you going out and doing one of your girly gossip nights last night, or whatever, but you’re going to stay in tonight, okay? It’s late and as your mom said, you have to get up early for school. You won’t want to be tired for that test now, will you?” He snarls and his upper lip curls in triumph and they both return to reading what I assume is ‘How to be a crappy parent digest’ and ‘Step-monster monthly’. Not that they need it, they’ve got this crap down cold. Rage bubbles through me again, and I want to thump my fist down on the table and smack that sneer right off Carl’s face. I’ve been denied going out privileges before, but this is different. How dare he keep me from Orion? I am so affronted that rather than shout like I want to, I walk silently from the kitchen up to my bedroom, quietly shut my bedroom door and stand for a moment, fuming soundlessly before hurrying over to the window. I look downward, then across at the giant willow that sits among rows of petunias. It beckons; will it be strong enough? I don’t even care at this point; I’m so fuelled by desire. I’m going to do what I want for once; I am an adult now after all.

I turn to look in the mirror that hangs above the chest of drawers, which stands next to my door. I look as though a wave of wickedness has drenched me in its sensual, seductive glamour. My hair is scraped back into a high ponytail, my turquoise eyes are framed by smoky shadows and liner, and my lips are polished by a rouge gloss, which tastes like cherries. I smack my lips together; they’re the colour of the blood racing under my pale chilled skin. I’m wearing my leather jacket over a low cut, black corset I never wear because Carl doesn’t approve. This means that, now, my mother doesn’t either, even though, comically, she liked it when she bought it for me a few years ago. I look down at my bottom half: a small black skirt, too small in fact, but anything Carl would sniff at, I’m all for right now and therefore I’m feeling a bit more confident in it. I’m wearing black suede, knee-high boots that are flat, so they will manoeuvre the sand more gracefully than heels. I grab my small, leather, black bag off the desk and throw in my window key, phone, and some emergency money just in case. I take one last breath before vowing that I will never regret the decision I’m about to make.

The sun has just lowered over the horizon and, once again, shadow is descending upon the world where the moon has not yet risen. I slide open my window, grabbing my car keys off the bedside table and step out trying to balance. As my first boot-clad limb meets bark I’m regretting my short attire as I imagine what anyone beneath me would see should they look up. Once free of the window, I lean back artfully and slide it shut before locking it; I don’t want to leave any trace of my escape route as I imagine this may result in the window being barred, or maybe even nailed shut.

I edge my way towards the central trunk of the tree, glad its weeping branches are eclipsing my figure as I pass the window and see Kayla playing with her tea set on the living room carpet; I swear that girl should have been born in Victorian England. I smile to myself as I reach the ground, crouching as I scramble to my car and then jump into the driver’s seat. In this moment I’m really glad I left the top down. I place my keys in the ignition, slam the gearshift into reverse and push down on the gas, hard. I could have tried to be quiet, but in a vintage that will not happen, so I opt for fast, reversing and halting to a stop as I see the front door open in lieu of the racket. I yank the gearshift forward into drive and slam down on the accelerator, speeding away into the night as a heavy orb of full moonlight rises into the sky.

I park my little red vintage a few yards from the edge of the sand. My ears are cold from the wind, which had whipped past them as I roared down the highway, cursing as I tried to remember the route Mollie had driven only the night before. I step out of the car, the wind blowing around my legs making them chill. I’m beginning to regret my skirt decision. I sigh inwardly and apply the steering lock which was thankfully not applied when I made my get away from Fort ‘Carl-is boss-here’. It clicks into place and I turn away from my getaway vehicle while slipping my car key into my bag and then throwing it into my glove compartment. I step onto the sand and discover that walking is more awkward than I anticipated, even in flats. I unzip my boots quickly and chuck them a little too aggressively into the back seat, still feeling drunk on the adrenaline buzz from my escape.

I walk up the beach a little way, calming my nerves with deep breaths. The wind nips at my knees and as I get closer and closer to the shore, his silhouette comes into view. He is ripped against the moonlight, fully packed with muscle but slimming down into a small waist and tight tummy which flow artfully into two gorgeously long legs. I breathe inward.

As he turns, as though he can hear my breathing from such a distance, the moonlight hits his chest and I realise once the shadow has evaporated that he is bare-chested, wearing only jeans. My lips creep sneakily, and against my will, into a smile. Then I remember my suspicions. Why is a guy I’ve only met once standing bare-chested on a beach, I wonder? Perhaps it’s because he’s intending to make me so speechless I won’t scream as he rams me into the trunk of his car? Perhaps it’s because he thinks I’m stupid enough to fall for his good looks and charms, and give myself willingly without knowing anything about him? ‘Or perhaps’, my inner hope whispers, ‘it’s because he’s trying to impress you’.

I walk slowly up the shore, with the waves lapping at my bare feet, leaving them with delicious cooling tingles. I finally reach him and the moon throws shadows onto his face, causing each line that projects his masculine beauty to define and accentuate further.

“Hi.” He breathes simply and I think I may swoon, but I stop myself, inwardly willing myself to play it cool.

“Hi.” I reply back, smiling sweetly, trying not to come across as too intimidating.

“How have you been?” He asks cocking his head and piercing me with his, somehow warm, icy blue eyes.

“Concerned.” I admit, shrugging my shoulders and holding his eye contact. He brings up a hand and touches my left arm with gentle reverence. I feel the electricity though my leather jacket.

“Oh … why don’t we sit and you can tell me all about it? I’m a good listener.” He explains, taking my hand and walking me a little way further up the beach before helping me gracefully down onto the sand. I stretch my legs out in front of me, guessing that crossing my legs in such a short skirt would be nothing less than whorish.

“So tell me. What’s wrong?” He asks with more caring and understanding than I could have ever expected.

“You freaked me out … how did you know my name and when my birthday was and stuff?” I ask, feeling like a child.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you, Callie. That was never my intention. I’ve wanted to meet you for some time in fact.” He explains and rather than easing my fears, they become heightened.

“How come I’ve never seen you before? How come you haven’t ever approached me?” I ask him, now piercing him with my gaze as though I’m interrogating him for some heinous crime.

“I saw you when you were at school, but you were always surrounded by your friends.” He replies, looking saddened by the memory and then continues. “I have finally, it would seem, found the courage to talk to you.” I know I’m blushing scarlet as I feel the blood rush to my cheeks so I look down at the sand.

“Where do you go to school?” I ask him, wondering if he comes from one of our rival schools, perhaps Diego Central or Coastal Cape High.

“Actually, I don’t go to school; I left quite a while ago.” He enlightens me and an immediate lump forms in my throat. He seems to be rather a lot older than me now that I look at him, making him a definite no in the department of parental approval.

“So what? You just roam the beaches of San Diego looking for girls you randomly spot out of car windows or something? Hoping for what exactly?” I ask raising my eyebrows sceptically; this guy is just too much of a puzzle. I hate puzzles.

“No, I know about you through a friend.” He confirms and I, overtaken with paranoia, wonder if I’m being set up. I look around for Manda, Mollie, or even more likely, Chloe …

“What are you doing?” He asks looking around too, suspiciously.

“Checking for my friends standing with a video camera somewhere …” I confirm, still craning my neck and peeking into the darkness.

“Not Amanda, Mollie, or Clara …”

“It’s Chloe.” I correct him abruptly; feeling satisfied he hadn’t got every detail of my life locked away in his brain.

“It’s another friend, which one doesn’t matter, trust me, okay?” He asks me placing his large hand on mine. I tremble slightly, looking at my hand, nope it’s not jacked into a car battery, this man, Orion, can really do that to me with just the touch of his skin to mine.

“I don’t do that.” I whisper, closing my eyes and enjoying the trickling pleasure that his touch brings me.

“What, trust people?” He questions me, looking deeply into my eyes and bringing his body closer to mine, slowly closing the gap between us.

“Not usually.” I murmur, pulling away slightly as I open my eyes. His gaze drops and he looks disappointed.

“Couldn’t you perhaps make a tiny exception for me?” He pleads and I can see in the asking of this question, that this man has not been as damaged as I have. A spark of hope lingers in his eyes as I get out my metaphorical fire extinguisher, prepared.

“What makes you so special?” I demand, but rather than the spark dying away it erupts into a jolly flame of expectation.

“So if I give you a reason why I’m so special, you’ll trust me?” He teases, grinning.

“That was rhetorical …” I begin but he cuts me off and gets to his feet.

“Come.” He beckons, and all my questions kind of answered, I follow him. He reaches the shoreline and turns on me, excitement visible on his face.

“Take off your jacket, and that corset.” He demands of me.

“No, I’m not getting half naked in front of you!” I snap with an incredulous expression. How forward can you get? What exactly does he expect from me? The question drifts through my mind again, like a drop of blood in a clear pool.

“Please?” He asks, pouting. His pout is so sexy that I’m drawn back to my fantasy earlier today and before I can stop myself, I’m turning around and he’s using his smooth fingers to intimately unravel the ribbons binding my breasts and stomach flat. My strapless black bra holds my breasts firmly and covers more than enough of my private parts now that I think about it. The amount of cleavage that corset was producing probably makes this the least provocative of the two choices. I shiver as I stand feeling self-conscious under his scorching gaze. He doesn’t try to hide his appreciation of my body, smiling to himself as if he realises that acting as though he’s disinterested will increase my bare anxiety.

“Come.” He beckons once again, though it’s almost a growl now, slow, sexy … Oh my God, am I actually doing this? Standing half naked on a beach with a possible sex god I’ve met once … What does he want from me? My teenage self has overridden my common sense and I go to him. I, Callie Anya Pierce, who has only gone to first base, and with someone I didn’t like for that matter, am getting into the sea with a half-naked man, in just a bra and skirt. I walk forward slowly, grains of sand clinging to the bottom of my feet. I watch Orion dip beneath the waves and bob up above the surface into the open water. His broad forehead glistens as the water catches in his dark hair like diamonds.

“Come on out, the water’s great …” He calls to me and I step into knee deep waves which are surprisingly warmer than the surrounding air. I walk until I am waist deep and then Orion comes swiftly to meet me and I wonder why he’s impatient. He grabs my waist and pulls me onto his chest as he floats on his back on the surface of the water. I feel giddy at his body enclosing around me, claiming me and I look up at his chin, admiring his square jaw line. He begins to propel us backwards, faster than I could have ever imagined possible. I straddle his waist, feeling a little intimidated by the fact that my panties are all that separates my genitals from his stomach.

“Hold on!” He laughs up at me, amused. I must appear baffled at his speed. I do as he commands and grasp softly onto the muscle at his sides as he speeds forward, 100 meters from shore, 200 … We move through the water as though it were nothing more than air and as he speeds up I daringly throw my arms up and out to my sides, as though I’m standing on the bow of the titanic with Leo DiCaprio.

The moon is huge from out here, with no land to obscure its soft glory and my skin turns milky as it bathes me. Orion smiles up at me before slowing, his skin aglow just like mine, we must be around three or four miles from shore by this point, in only a matter of seconds. How is that possible?

“How do you swim so fast?” I exclaim breathless as he moves me into the water fully. He supports my body with his hands while keeping himself afloat, treading water effortlessly.

“I’m a good swimmer, always have been. Do you trust me now that I’ve shown you how ‘special’ I am?” He asks, not even looking like he has broken a sweat as we sped through the water. Water glistens with moonshine on his form as his hair sparkles with droplets from the ocean that surrounds us.

“That was rhetorical!” I reply, laughing at his naivety.

“Okay, you don’t play fair, so I won’t either …” His eyes glimmer with mischief and I can’t help but feel a little afraid. Moments later he disappears into the darkness, leaving me stranded … several miles from shore. I’m a crap swimmer, my mother having never taken me for lessons or to the beach, almost as though she was afraid of the water. Fabulous: I want to slap myself, how could I have been so stupid, trusting a man I’d just met with my life at sea. I start to breathe rapidly, panicking as I struggle to keep … oh wait … after a few seconds I realise Orion’s’ hands are still, however lightly, around my waist. I exhale. Feeling my belly relax. He surfaces looking sad.

“You actually thought I’d leave you out here?” He says coming out from under the surface without as much as a gasp for breath.

“Yes! Oh my God, of course I thought that, you total and complete idiot!” I scream at him, relief being replaced with fury. He pulls me to his chest, folding his arms around me and I pull away. “You scared the crap out of me!” I cry out, tears falling from my face in shock. His eyes look miserable as he picks me up in his two muscle packed arms. We speed back to shore and he holds me all the way there, saying nothing, lips pursed in frustration.

We return to the shore in a matter of minutes and he walks out of the ocean’s warm grasp with me dripping wet in his arms. He places me down on the sand and I want to kick and scream like a little girl. I feel like he took my defences away only to launch a Trojan horse. I slowly bring my sobs back to tiny hiccups, feeling embarrassed about the state of my snotty appearance over something so minor.

“Callie … I never let you go! I swear. I thought you would think it was funny! I never thought you would be so scared … I’m so sorry …” He looks as though he would stab himself in the heart if it would make me smile, his eyes are concerned with a kindness I have never known from a man. He puts his arm around my shoulder as I shiver and rubs my left arm up and down to try to warm me up. I feel myself soften and then crack under his tentative affection. My defences fall, tumbling to the ground. A rush of emotion bursts forth from the dam that my 18-year-old heart has become and I crack, telling Orion absolutely everything I’m afraid of.

“And that’s why when you disappeared; I thought you had left me stranded for good …” I conclude.

I’m sitting in the sand looking Orion straight in the face, after what feels like an eternity of nonstop venting and I can’t deny I feel like a weight has lifted. I look up at him as my shoulders relax, his gorgeous glacial blue eyes are blazing, a million emotions flickering behind their glassy surface. He has done little since I began my explanation, but nod and smile sympathetically, but I can tell he’s really listened to what I’ve said, taking in each word as if precious and long awaited.

“Well, I cannot say that is what I expected to hear, Callie. It would appear that you have had more trials in your life than most; it would also appear you have reason for such a lack of faith in the human condition. What your mother did must have been incredibly hard for you at such a young age.”He places an arm on my shoulder, his voice passing through the salty air between us, rough and sexy, but somehow soft as silk to my ears. “However, you have to understand, I’m different. I would never lie to you, or hurt you like that.” He concludes, looking deep into my eyes, as though staring hard enough will alter my view. I wonder why he cares so much. This whole situation is about as believable as Carl waking up tomorrow and riding off into the sky on a unicorn. If I wasn’t within touching distance of Orion, hadn’t felt his touch, I’d still think he was a dream.

“Yes, but it’s easy to say these things Orion, I’ve heard it all before.” I sigh and shake my head, ringlets tickling my ears. I look up into the sky, the moon is now high above us and after the few hours I have spent explaining myself to him, I feel tired. I want to trust him now, after all, he’s still here, even after hearing everything about my past, but a tiny part of me, the wounded little girl inside that sat for hours waiting for her dead father to return, is petrified of crying on her bedroom floor again.

“I know but … I won’t hurt you.” He tries to convince me and squeezes my shoulder with his hand, reminding me of the attraction that passes physically between us; the electricity in his touch.

“I know.” I exhale. I do trust in that fact at least. How could I not after I’d seen the look in his eyes after thinking he had hurt me out in the sea was one of terrified guilt?

“So you do trust me … just a little.” He goads, smiling.

“I opened up to you, didn’t I?” I snap, realising that perhaps without wanting to, I have already given him my trust, along with enough knowledge of my problems to allow him to destroy me verbally.

“Yes, thank you. I promise I won’t let you down.” He vows, bringing a hand up to cradle my face. I stop breathing momentarily before I relax and smile against my better judgement. I can’t believe I just told a stranger of my dark-twisty past. It makes me feel kind of relieved, and then I remind myself that if I ever hope to find love, this is a hurdle I have to overcome. I have to learn to trust, to take the risk of being hurt.

I lean towards Orion and he moves his hand down to my back, cradling the rest of my semi- nude torso. He embraces me for a few more seconds in the silence that is only broken by the gentle lulling of the waves and I let myself become consumed, however temporarily with contentedness. Orion clears his throat, a guilty look in his eye. I wait for him to unleash the hurt I have risked being exposed to.

“I know this isn’t great timing, Callie, but I have to go out of town for a while, for work.” He sighs outwardly, as I try to pull away and he pulls me back stubbornly. “Callie, I’ll come back, I promise. It’s just patrol training.” He looks a little worried, like he revealed too much. It figures he was a Navy seal or something. I mean, the Naval base wasn’t that far away after all and look at him … the guy is stacked.

“Patrol training? What are you like … in the Navy or something?” I ask looking up at him curiously. His largely muscled body is still holding me, and as he pulls me tighter against his washboard abdominals I realise someone as muscled as he would probably do well in the armed forces. I can easily imagine him as a great fighter.

“Yeah, I’ve been called back for manoeuvres for a month. I’m sorry I didn’t mention it sooner, I’ve just been … enjoying your company.” He smiles down at me and I realise I would give anything to tie him to a tree until he agrees to stay with me and never leave. He makes me feel safe, I admit internally. I smile back and realise that perhaps, he is the first person I have ever been able to be completely honest with, and while I’m not entirely sure that he won’t hurt me, that feels pretty damn good right about now.

The night draws on and gradually fades into early morning as Orion and I sit in the sand, holding conversations about nothing in particular. They hold unspoken connotations of emotions that represent everything you could imagine. I find that while talking with him is easy, I’m self-conscious about coming across as young and so try to talk about my life outside of school.

I finally get to my feet and Orion laces me back into my corset, his fingers adept and quick, brushing lightly against my skin. The air is cooler now, so I place my leather jacket over my shoulders before turning and looking at him. His pale blue eyes look me up and down, a note of approval sizzling behind seductively half-closed lids.

“So, will I see you when you get back?” I ask impatiently, thinking that a month would feel like a year without him. How would I deal without him to vent to, to tell all my problems to? How had talking and being honest with him become so seemingly addictive and necessary in the space of one night?

“Yes of course.” He smiles in anticipation and grabs my hand. I feel like I’ve been injected with something, so wired I’m vibrating.

“Can we go to your place maybe?” I suggest gently, surprising myself. Did I actually just suggest that? I can’t help but wonder where this forwardness has come from.

“Can’t we meet here? I like the beach. It’s a lot more … romantic.” He requests and my heart skips a beat. So it’s not my imagination, he wants to be more than friends too? He feels this insane attraction just like I do?

I peek upwards under my eyelashes, giving him something to remember for the next month. It’s a look so seductive, so full of promise and promiscuity, that I find myself startled I’m able to perform it at all, considering my lack of expertise in this particular area. Okay that’s it. Easy girl, you don’t want him to get his hopes up TOO high. I startle myself again with this thought, what the hell has gotten into me? I need to be careful, or I risk falling over myself in order to please a man, just like my mom.

“Callie, please don’t look at me like that. You have no idea what it does to me. I’m feeling guilty enough about leaving already.” He drops my hands and places his own into the pockets of his jeans nervously. Slightly taken aback by his candour I change the subject quickly as the hair rises on the back of my neck.

“So, here at sundown in a month?” I ask, once again impatient. I’m growing wary at the prospect of Carl’s increasingly imminent eruption at my defiance.

“Yes. Until we meet again, Callie.” He bends down and kisses my cheek gently and I feel warmth spread through my body and a smile come to my lips.

“Until we meet again.” I whisper, touching the place where his lips had brushed just seconds before as he turns and walks into the black, diamond scattered, velvet blanket of the night.

It is not until I turn onto my street that the enormity of my rebellion hits. My stomach knots into balls of nervousness at the yelling and lecture I know is imminent, and probably deserved. My vintage lurches forward up the street in what seems like seconds as I pray for time to slow down. Hell, I muse, I’m a teenager; I’m supposed to pull crap like this. Right? Isn’t it my given right to sneak out and have fun? I wasn’t going to live forever. I’d rather take a chance on the one guy I’d ever felt anything for than sit in my room studying chem. Guilt threatens to overwhelm me, I know I’m making excuses for my bad behaviour but I can’t quite regret what I’ve done. I pull into the driveway, turn off the engine, apply the steering lock and get out of the car, breathing in deeply as I notice the hunched silhouette of someone sitting on the porch. I half expect it to be Carl, waiting to pounce like a balding panther and rip out my guts, but it isn’t. It’s my Mom.

“Hey”, I say cautiously as I approach her slumped form. She appears to be shivering, until I move into the light and she raises her head and I realise she’s been sobbing. I feel so guilty in the moment I see her face, that I want to join her in crying.

“Mom I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to …” I begin my practiced apology before she cuts me off in an exhausted tone.

“It’s Carl. He’s gone.” She explains and begins weeping again silently beside me as I sit down onto the porch.

“Why?” I ask, placing an arm around her shoulder, she shrugs me away.

“Because of you Callie, he said he just couldn’t deal with you anymore.” She says this calmly, but I can tell resentment is seething below the surface, though whether it is toward me, or Carl, I am not sure. She opens her mouth to speak again and I find I’m afraid of what will come next.

“How could you do this to me Callie? He’s my husband, he’s Kayla’s father!” She is no longer crying, but has worked up enough steam to become the woman she used to be, the strong, formidable woman that’s been slumbering for years.

“Mom, I’m sure he’ll come back.” I comfort her, a massive knot of guilt and horror unfurling inside me as she shoves me away again.

“No! He won’t, he took his stuff Callie! The car, his clothes, the TV, everything!” she screams and then starts sobbing again. Out in the street a front door opens and our neighbour opposite, Mrs Jenkins, an elderly woman of eighty odd, is stepping outside in her dressing gown.

“Everything okay ladies?” she calls in her old, wobbling voice.

“Yes everything is great, thanks! Goodnight!” I yell back across the street. Her pruned face creases into a gap-toothed smile and she turns back, closing her door behind her in slow, precise movement. Why the hell can’t she mind her own goddamn business? I snap internally, but then realise I’m angry at the wrong person. I made my bed, this is my fault. As I turn, I see that Mom has turned and stormed back inside the house.

I follow her, my heart in my throat, my blood roaring in my ears. I wonder if she’s going to yell at me but then I hear the door of her bedroom slam shut and I breathe out, relieved. I close the front door behind me, and then I hear another sound, one so desperate and sad that tears begin to trickle down my cheeks before I can stop them. I walk slowly up the wooden staircase, past my own room and open the door into another with pink walls. A wrought iron bed stands central in front of the window that overlooks the garden, with a cascade of white gossamer netting surrounding it, strung from the ceiling.

“Kayla?” I call out into the darkness as I hear muffled sobs coming from under the bed. I turn on the light and duck down onto the cold wooden floor, peering into the shadows under the bed. There, on the cold floor, Kayla is lying curled up in a ball, cuddling three of her most favourite teddy bears. “Kayla, what’s wrong?” I whisper, reaching toward her and pulling her down towards me at the foot of the bed. She hardly weighs anything and when she emerges; her usually silky hair is strewn over her face, drenched in tears and sweat. She doesn’t answer but crawls up into my lap, abandoning all three of her teddies on the floor and wrapping her clammy arms around my neck. She weaves her chubby fingers through my hair and muffles her despair into my shoulder. She cries for what seems like an eternity and I try to soothe her, stroking her hair, kissing her forehead, rubbing her back slowly, and rocking her back and forth, but nothing I do works. It feels like it’s been hours when I finally carry her from the floor into bed, turn out the light, and cuddle up beside her. Her little feet are cold from the floor but I don’t mind.

Exhaustion finally beats her and she makes a final pitiful whimper before placing one thumb in her mouth and falling asleep with her head on my chest. I hold her in the darkness, unable to sleep. Is this all my fault? Did I destroy this family? Did I pave the way for my innocent, baby sister to suffer the same absence of a father as I have? These are the questions I ask myself as I lay there in the dark, listening to Kayla’s stifled breathing. I wonder if this is entirely my fault. I wonder why nobody is blaming Carl in this. But most of all, I don’t wonder, most of all, I wish for my little sisters happiness and the return of my mysterious stranger. I reach up under the covers, to my tear stained cheek, the place where he kissed me, the place still burning with the anticipation of his return.

I wake the next morning surrounded by a white canopy and pink walls, with swollen eyes and a sore back. I look down and Kayla’s head is on my chest. Her thumb still in her mouth and her hair is strewn across her face, which holds salt marks from where her tears have dried onto her perfectly pink cheeks. I want to move but I’m terrified of waking her. What time is it? I worry frantically realising that it’s Monday and I have school. I crane my neck and notice the light coming in through the gossamer covered window is feint. It is then that I remember the night before. Carl left. I feel bile rise in my throat and I think I might throw up at the memory of my mom’s blame ridden tone and my sister’s heart wrenching sobs. I have to get out of this room, I have to get out of here. As slowly and quietly as I can, I prop Kayla up and move her sideways onto her pillow while edging out from underneath her. I’ve been leaning against the white iron bars of her bed and my back is killing me so I wince as I rise slowly from the mattress before tiptoeing out of her room and sliding the door shut behind me. The house is eerily quiet and as I tiptoe across the landing, I hear something call a little too loudly out of the darkness.

“Callie. Come here.” My stomach plummets in fear as the one voice I want to avoid reaches out to me. It’s my mom and she sounds angry.

I move down the stairs quietly, aware of every single sound I make, scared of waking Kayla. I feel like I need to protect her from her own mother, how ridiculous is that?

“I said come here. I know you’re out there Callie.” My mom calls again, she’s getting impatient and I feel my heart start to race. Why am I so scared all of a sudden? As I reach the bottom of the staircase and turn slowly, I feel an unease settle over me. The lights are out down here and only low light from the dawn is creeping in through the windows, casting shadows everywhere. It shows empty places where objects used to reside, the television for one, which Mom had said Carl had taken. It’s stupid but this makes me irrationally angry. It’s only a television, but it’s the only one in the house. How will Kayla watch all her favourite movies? How will she watch one hundred and one Dalmatians now? I continue to turn and then I see her down the corridor, dead ahead and encased in shadow. My mom sits, slumped over the kitchen table, eyes burning with rage. Rage targeted at none other than yours truly.

AZURE

“Tell me my darling Azure, will you do it?” Titus strokes my chin with his long, pale fingers, tickling my flesh with his sharp nails. I smile back at him seductively, as his fingers trail down to my bare breasts. They surround the scales where my nipples once lay and pinch; leaving me to cry out with pleasure before I surrender.

“Okay master, give me a minute.” I concede, looking into his black eyes, the abyss staring back at me. His thin, pale lips twist into a wide and wicked smile. I close my eyes slowly as I hang from the chains that are nailed to the sheer, cold rock face that makes up the cavern wall. I’m helpless to his whim, his touch and his malice which consumes me. I stare, deep into the depths of time, travelling to another place, another world: my sisters’ memories. Then the black fog rolls back and I see it, I hear it, I feel it surround me: the vision.

“It wasn’t just the fact that my mother married a man I despise and became this weak, helpless creature I barely recognise, Orion. It was the fact that she let him consume my life as well.” The blonde ringlets on the girl’s head shake, as she moves her head from side to side in disappointment. My brother places his arm around her bare shoulder, listening and comforting like any good lover should. The girl continues to whine about her petty human problems.

“I just don’t belong in their family. It’s not my own Orion; I can’t trust my mom to keep my secrets from Carl. I can’t talk to Carl about anything. I’m pretty sure that as much as I love my friends, they’re different than me. They wouldn’t want to hear about this stuff as it is just far too depressing. They don’t understand; they all have these happy families and love talking about boys and fashion. The person I guess I’m closest to is my little sister. And then there’s you …” oh God, mushy romantic crap. I feel my stomach heave as I watch the girl’s eyes fill with moonbeams and all that other star crossed lover bullshit. I inhale deeply, watching the two of them sitting in the sand under the moon and decide I’ve seen enough. I regress backward, allowing the fog to roll back in before opening my eyes.

“What did you see?” Titus demands, his black eyes as empty as always. No moonbeams, no star-crossed lovers crap, just the way I like it. I decide to try my luck; I bat my eyelashes, push out my chest, and smile slyly.

“I don’t know; what do I get?” I ask pouting. His rage bubbles over, as I knew it would, he holds out his long fingered hand flat behind him and grabs the pearled whip that I so favour which is resting against a rock central to the cavern.

“You’ll get a lashing and nothing else.” He dares me to challenge him with his stare and I know better than to try bargaining for more pleasures.

“I saw her, the initiator in the prophecy, the one we need to turn. She was with my brother funnily enough. But she’s too hesitant; she’s not open to his love. We should intervene; try to turn her before she has his full protection. This might be our last opportunity,” I finish. I feel my impatience grow as I look at my lover from head to tail. My chest heaves in anticipation of his touch.

He glides forward, black eyes so intense I feel he may slit my throat just for the fun of watching my blood plume downward over my breasts.

“Very good my darling … now go, move her along. I want her turned. She’s the first in a hundred years and she must be ours! You know a destined soul like hers is hard to find, and even harder to defeat once the darkness has consumed it. I want her swallowed whole from the very beginning. Not to mention it’ll make your brother miserable! If you do your job right there will be many pleasures in store for you.” He runs a nail down my jaw line before wrapping his lips around my neck and grazing the top of my skin with his jagged teeth. I groan as he reaches up and releases me from my shackles. I drop through the dark waters and slide through the room, heading to the exit of the cavern at full pace before he calls after me and I turn to look over my shoulder.

“Oh and Azure … Take Caedes with you. You only have until the next full moon to snag that bright eyed, blonde haired child and he may come in useful.” I sigh, as if I need that psychopath tagging along, but rather than argue, I nod and turn away from Titus. I hear him as he begins to sharpen the black and violet trident he has picked up from the cavern floor against a flint with a merciless laugh. I move into the darkness of the deep water, thinking about what is to come and praying that one day my brother will forgive me.

CALLIE

“Get in here!” She practically yells it but then I think I see a flicker of recognition behind her eyes. She remembers that her youngest is sleeping upstairs.

“What is it? What do you want?” I ask her.

“What do I want? It’s funny … you asking like that when you never gave a damn before.”

“That’s not true.” I take deep breaths, slowly putting one foot in front of the other, still dressed in last night’s corset and short skirt.

“Yes. It is. Don’t fool yourself Callie. The only person you care about in this world is yourself.” My mind fogs over with a red mist, blood racing around my body and flushing my face.

“That isn’t true.” I repeat the words again but I wonder about their legitimacy.

“I gave up so much for you. Why did you turn out this way? What did I do wrong?” My mom isn’t yelling anymore, or talking to me. She’s muttering to herself as I step through the kitchen doorway.

“You didn’t do anything. This is all because Carl …” I start to speak but she’s on her feet before the last words slip off my tongue.

“DON’T – YOU – DARE- SAY HIS NAME TO ME.” her voice is getting gradually louder again. I feel like shrinking away from the fight, running to my room like I always do. I don’t, but only because, for the first time in a while, I get the feeling that she’d follow me. Her eyes are wild with a fire that had been dimming for years, her hair is unruly, tangled and out of control, returning to the curls that she straightened day in day and day out. Carl didn’t like curly hair.

“Why the hell not? He’s the jerk who left us mom. He’s the bastard that did this to us.” I spit the words out.

“No, Callie! YOU did this to us. After your father … I said I wouldn’t do this again. I said I wouldn’t be a single mother again. It nearly KILLED me raising you. And this is how you repay me?” She is on her feet, hands down on the kitchen table, baring her weight forward as her mouth turns into a snarl of disgust.

“I’m sorry … I didn’t mean to be such a disappointment.” I utter the words aloud and try to sound angry, but my resolve is breaking. The tears are threatening to fall as the woman who I once thought of as strong, crumbles under the weight of what a man has done to her. It breaks my heart.

“I didn’t raise you to be this way … I didn’t raise you to dress like a slut and sneak out to God knows where, doing God knows what with God knows who.”

“I’m sorry.” I relinquish, not wanting to stand and take her venom anymore. It was starting to eat at my heart, making it sputter and falter.

“I don’t care. I don’t care if you’re sorry.” She sneers mocking my tone.

“Mom please …” I beg her, yielding.

“You’re so much like your father, Callie. Reckless, stubborn, arrogant, and above all else: a liar.” She looks like she might cry now and I find a second wind of confidence.

“You know … I think that makes me just like you.”

“What did you just say to me?” My mother looks up at me, her eyes are watery and her brow furrows with anger.

“I said … I think that makes me like you. You’re the one who lied to me about him being dead after all. My father has never lied to me.” I say it again, straightening my aching spine and looking at her right in the eye.

“What would you know about him?” She bites and I retort instantly.

“Nothing. Because that’s how you chose to make it.”

“You know Callie …”

“NO.” I put my hand up. “You know what I know? I know you need to get yourself together. You may not want me as your daughter. But you still have a little girl upstairs who needs you.”

“You didn’t think about what Kayla needed when you pulled your little stunt though, did you?” She cuts me with this. I feel myself back down again. Lost.

“Yeah I thought you might not have a quirky response to that one. Because of you, Callie, she doesn’t have a father. Because of you she doesn’t have a family.”

“You’re wrong. She has me and you.” I remind her as I shift on my feet uncomfortably.

“You’re right Callie. She does have me. As for you. I’m done. I don’t need you ruining anything else for her. I can’t have you around her.”

“What are you saying?” I feel fear and bile rise within me again.

“As of this moment Callie, this may be your house. But we can’t be your family.”

“Mom please! You’re overreacting! You’re just exhausted. You’re not thinking clearly.” I stumble over myself.

“No, Callie. You know, I think for the first time I AM thinking clearly. I see perfectly now how things have to be. And that picture doesn’t have you in it.”

“What are you saying?” I repeat the phrase again.

“I’m taking Kayla away tomorrow, to stay with family.” She breathes. “The card for your trust fund is on the living room table.”

“You’re leaving?” I ask her, horror obvious in my expression.

“Yes.”

“When are you coming back?” I ask her on the verge of tears now.

“I don’t know, Callie. I just don’t know.”

“Mommy.” I gasp the guttural sound as I feel the first tear fall down my cheek. My mom walks past me without a word, leaving me standing alone in the kitchen as the sun breaks over the horizon, opening a new dawn on my own personal hell.

I’m sat on the chair, which my mother left untucked from the table, looking at my feet. I can hear stirring upstairs but I can’t quite bring myself to think about what that stirring means. It means they’re packing. Packing to leave me. I think back over the argument between my mom and I. Was she really right in blaming me? I mean Carl had abandoned them. Not me. Was it really my fault that he’d left? Or was it just an excuse he’d thrown at my mom because he couldn’t come up with a better one. No. I muse, surely it had been my running away, making my mom sick with worry and his having to deal with her that had caused him to leave. But what about Kayla? Why would you leave your only daughter because of someone else? Was there a reason good enough for that kind of abandonment? Maybe he was scared I was going to lead her down the same path. Teach her to hate him like I did. Maybe he left because he would rather be rid of us than watch his own daughter have her fantasies about her dad poisoned by me.

I put my head in my hands as my ringlets fall around my ears and I find myself wishing Orion was here so badly I could scream. I don’t just need someone, I need him. He would understand, I think to myself. Maybe if I explained he could give me some kind of explanation, something to relieve the guilt that’s eating me alive. I didn’t know my Mom could make me feel so awful. I’d always known the step-monster had the power to make my life difficult, but with my Mom it was worse, so much worse. It was like having someone stab me, turn the knife slowly in the wound and then rip out my guts and show them to me. She knew me. She’s raised me. And now I know she had the power to destroy me. More power than any man I’d ever known.

I hear the tiny footsteps and my heart whimpers, palpitating weakly in my ribcage. I hear my mother’s voice speaking to Kayla.

“Go and say goodbye to your sister.” She orders and Kayla comes padding through to the kitchen holding her three most favourite teddies.

“Callie … mommy says I have to say goodbye.”

“Okay, come here munchkin.” I say, holding out my arms to her. She walks up to me and wraps her chubby arms around my neck. I bury my face in her hair and inhale. She still smells like cookie dough. I feel a tear run down my cheek.

“Why are you crying?” She asks and I wipe my face, putting a pained fake smile on.

“I’m okay, I’m just gonna miss you.” I say truthfully and she looks worried, a small crease appearing in the flawless skin of her forehead.

“I love you.” I say to her and I hug her once more. She turns to leave and I call after her, my voice breaking as I stand up to follow her. I see my mom at the end of the hall as Kayla returns to her side, suitcases packed around her.

“See you later Kaylagator.”

“In a while Calliedile!” she calls back with a giggle as she disappears out of the door which my mom holds open for her.

I hear the door close behind them as they leave together, my mom not bothering to say goodbye. I hear them get into the taxi and then I hear it drive away. Then I hear nothing as silence engulfs the house. The silence falls heavy like lead. I burst into tears, dropping to the kitchen floor in a heap letting my despair engulf me and the emptiness I feel consume.

The next few weeks pass slowly, it’s as though my heart has become a steady, monochromatic instrument of numb torture. I wake, I eat, and I dream of Orion’s icy blue eyes. I avoid thoughts of my mother, I sit silently at school, I pace the beach wistfully longing for Orion’s return and hearing the ocean’s seductive call. I return home, I eat, I avoid thoughts of Kayla, and I sleep. It goes on like this for weeks as I wander the empty rooms, looking into the empty closets and over made bedspreads. The house is silent and I can’t bear to listen to music anymore meaning I am alone, utterly alone, with my own thoughts. Did I bring this upon them? Did I ruin my sister’s life? Did I destroy her family? These are the questions I ask myself each day, every day, as I lie awake all night and I sit silently at lunch while my friends chat about unimportant rubbish.

I wait each day until the bell rings at three o’clock and then I rush to my vintage, drive the twenty miles to the beach, and sit in the spot where I formed the connection with Orion, where he touched me and where I melted when things were good. I need him now more than ever when the phrase I don’t belong to anyone, has never been more accurate. I feel myself craving Orion’s affection more with each passing, silent minute. I wake from dreams of him being next to me and my heart plummets as I’m brought back to the fact that he isn’t lying next to me underneath my sheets.

The sky is overcast as I sit in French class, looking out the window and asking myself that question again. It’s been three weeks since Carl left my mom and Kayla. Since mom and Kayla left me too. My life in solitude has engulfed me and even when I’m around my friends, I’m not really there but rather internalising, waiting for Orion’s return before I breakdown. Mollie and Chloe are sitting next to me and they’re whispering, though I’m pretending not to notice. Are they talking about me? Probably, but I am somehow unable to summon the energy to care.

I sit through the hour, barely writing anything down on the blank piece of paper in front of me. It’s white and reminds me of the moon the last time I saw Orion. I hold onto his memory: that is the only way I can stand through the silence of each day. The promise of his return is what drives me each afternoon to the beach, to become lost in the mysterious song of the sea once more. Am I crazy? Perhaps … but if I am crazy then it is not unwanted insanity, but rather welcomed like an old friend. This loneliness that has consumed me, even while surrounded by people, has made me even more determined that I must be with Orion, that I must take the risk. Anything, even his betrayal, would be better than this numbness as it would mean that I had felt his love to begin with. The bell rings as I am in wistful imaginings of Orion’s embrace once again: Strange how my cravings are no longer sexual, but for a deeper kind of company. As I ponder this, Mrs. Belle stops me in my tracks. Oh God, another lecture.

“Callie, can I talk to you for a moment?” She asks, stepping into my path, like a big boned, French floral traffic cone.

“Sure.” I mumble, as I shift my bag from one shoulder to the other. She waits for everyone to clear the life sucking, stale aired classroom. Mollie and Chloe exit while glancing my way and whispering still. I ignore them and focus on the problem at hand, roadblock Belle. Oh jeez.

“Callie, it has come to the attention of me and some of the other members of staff … that you appear to be struggling. Is everything okay dear?” She asks. Her big, Bambi brown eyes fill with concerned as I look down at my shoes. My confidence is non-existent, and as of late I’m finding looking at the floor to be a good way to avoid pitying eyes.

“Yes, I’m fine.” I reply shyly, not giving anything away.

“Look, it is very clear that you are not okay Callie, but I can’t force you to talk to me about whatever it is that is bothering you. Just please, talk to someone okay?” She asks, almost pleading.

“I have someone.” I say aloud unable to stop myself, realising that this is true. My heart rises inside my chest a little, and then plummets when the painful truth of Orion’s absence hits me all over again.

“That’s good. You’re so bright Callie, and it’s awful seeing you this way.” She admits and I can’t help but feel completely disarmed by her caring.

“Um … thanks. I have to go.” I explain, dashing for the door. I hear Mrs. Belle give out a sigh and it sounds like someone deflating an air ship.

I get out of the school building and head straight over to my car, glad that nobody is in my way. I remember this morning, Daryl greeting me, trying to apologise, and me walking away without saying a word. I wouldn’t be surprised if he hated me but I can’t say I care too much. I mean what does he expect after the way he treated me at my party? I get into my little red vintage convertible and sink into the white leather, even this gives me less pleasure than I am used to. I take off the steering lock, plunge the key into the ignition and drive, agitated, out of the parking lot. I feel spots of rain begin to fall before I see them and with one hand I pull the white leather hood over the top of the car and haphazardly connect it to the windshield for protection from the sudden downpour. This just about sums up my mood right about now, I think to myself as I wind down the road leading to the private beach: our private beach. As I park my car routinely, get out into the drizzle and slam the door shut, I realise I can barely remember getting here. This drive has become second nature to me now.

I reach the spot in which Orion and I sat, the hood of my grey jacket pulled up around my head, my baggy jeans and unkempt hair both blowing in the building breeze. I sit and close my eyes as the rain comes down around me. I go back to that night in my head. Remembering the freedom I’d felt as Orion swam us out toward the giant moon that rose over the ocean horizon. I remember his silken, rose pink lips brushing my cheek and his hand around mine. As the rain pours down around me, hot tears fall into the sand as I consciously wish so hard that he was here that I feel sick. The rain comes down in sheets, drenching me, chilling me to the bone. I hear someone yelling my name and I turn, wondering if by wishing hard enough I have conjured Orion back. But no … It’s Chloe and Mollie running towards me, their figures cowering in the ice cold assault from above.

“Callie! Oh my God, what are you doing out here!?” Mollie cries out as they rush to me and bundle me, unwillingly, toward the beach house that lies in the distance. Through the rain, we emerge into the sitting room of the finely decorated and airy beach home and they both stare incredulously at ,what I can imagine is, my very mascara stained face.

“What the hell Callie?” Chloe yells looking at me like I’m crazy.

“Shut up Chloe and calm down okay.” I say to her, not thinking about the consequences of telling someone like Chloe to shut up.

“Hey don’t you tell me to shut up! We followed you to try to help you! You’re the one who’s gone all suicidal and psycho! And you know what Callie? It really doesn’t suit you!” She storms out of the room, overly dramatic and self-involved as per-usual. Mollie looks after her as she stands in the doorway with her hand on the handle.

“I’ll be in the car. Make sure you lock up MY beach house.” She announces in a bratty tone to Mollie. Mollie nods and turns to me rolling her eyes.

“What is going on, Callie? You know you can tell me.” She announces placing her arm around my soaked and shaking form. I’m sitting on one of the larger couches and my hair is dripping onto the wooden floor, as the huge windows are pelted with rain making a horrendous noise. The room is dim in the overcast light and I sigh.

“Carl left my mom.” I explain, glad to finally say it to someone.

“Oh! I’m so sorry … I thought you didn’t like Carl though?” She admits, looking confused.

“He told her he was leaving because he couldn’t handle having a step daughter like me.” I tell her and a tear trickles down my face as guilt overcomes me.

“Well Callie, that’s ridiculous!” Mollie laughs and I look up at her with large, watery eyes.

“Yeah, well my mom doesn’t think so; she hasn’t spoken a word to me in almost three weeks. She’s gone. She took Kayla and left. I’m all alone.” She gasps and moves toward me, clutching her arms around my sodden body.

“Come stay with me.” She demands and I look up at her so relieved.

“You mean I don’t have to go back to the silent house tonight? Oh thank God!” I say and I feel so relieved inside that the knot of tension I always get around home time each day unfurls and a hysterical giggle escapes my lips.

“You’re the best. Really, I cannot tell you how much this means to me Mollie.” I hug her back tightly and she wiggles free.

“Callie I don’t mean to be mean … but you’re a little … soggy.” I look down at my sodden baggy jeans and grey jacket.

“Guess I didn’t really think to bring an umbrella.” I mumble, looking down at my soggy sneakers.

“Good job in this weather or you’d end up like Mary Poppins.” Mollie reminds me and I smile at the visual, though in all honesty I wouldn’t mind floating away on an easterly breeze.

“I’m going to go tell Chloe that I’m going home in your car okay?” Mollie explains, and I nod in return as she hops off along the beach. We’ve been sitting for around half an hour and I’ve explained everything as well as I can at this point, without adding in the details about Orion which I’ve chosen to keep to myself. The sun is now peeking out from behind some clouds as the rain becomes a drizzle and the light is ten times more intense as each droplet magnifies it. The orange of the sun is strewn across the sky as the clouds clear. I leave the beach house, locking it behind me, and head toward my little red vintage. When I arrive there, the rain has completely stopped and in true San Diego style, it is already heating up. I slide into the car, feeling a little better than when I exited it. I put down the hood splattering raindrops onto the trunk. Mollie returns sliding in on my left and looking slightly ruffled. I wonder what Chloe had to say about Mollie ditching her for me.

“To yours?” I ask rhetorically and she nods smiling slightly. With that small gesture I punch the car into reverse then drive and smile to myself, feeling so relieved I don’t have to return home I could sing, as we head into the orange filled light of the San Diego day.

I’ve been staying at Mollie’s for a little under a week now and I’m feeling undeniably better about the whole situation at home. I haven’t heard anything from my mom even after Mollies’ mom phoned her to tell her I was staying here. I didn’t want Mrs. James to call, I doubted my mom would even care to be honest, but she insisted so I let her make the call and hadn’t heard anything since. I stare out of the window of Mollie’s pink room from my sleeping bag on the floor. It hadn’t been comfy at first, but I was getting used to the solidarity of the floor after the six nights I had laid upon it. It was like I had become a part of their family. Mollie’s parents are so kind, so giving, but all the while the question still sat in the back of my mind: Was it my fault?

Mollie walks back into her room wearing faded pale denim jeans and a white tank top, holding a bowl of freshly popped and perfectly buttery popcorn. I feel my stomach grumble as the smell of butter hits me. Mollie sits down on her single wrought iron bed, the bars of the headboard twist into roses, and white fluffy pillows scatter the foot of the mattress. If I were to describe this room, I would say that it reminds me of a giant candy land board game as the pink walls are accented by bright splashes of colour everywhere. I am thankful for the fact that Mollie and I are the same size and that by some twist of fate her old phone and my new one take the same charger, or I would have never survived this last week. She turns the large TV, that is plastered onto the wall onto MTV and lies back, passing me the bowl of popcorn. I take a handful and lie back against the wall, munching. Instantly I feel my pocket vibrate and my stomach clenches. I reach into my pocket and flip the cell open and see a text; it’s from my mom.

‘Hi C, can you please come home tonight, we need to talk. Love Mom xxx.’

So what, now it’s ‘love Mom’? Since when? I raise my eyebrows and Mollie looks over at me slowly.

“What?” She demands, concerned. I turn the cell phone to show her the screen and she reads slowly, her eyes scanning the one-line message several times before responding.

“Sounds like she wants to make things right. You should go, she is your mom.” She says these words like they are supposed to mean something to me, like I don’t know I’m supposed to go and work things out with my only living parent. I sigh. Of course I know. Do I want to? No, I don’t. Am I obligated? Hell yes.

I get to my feet and begin to roll up the sleeping bag.

“Don’t … just in case.” Mollie warns. I nod, thinking she is right, but then change my mind and continue to roll the sleeping bag away before her iron glare. I explain not wanting to offend.

“Nah, it’s okay. I don’t want to be any more of an imposition on you, or your family. I’ll just go to the beach house.” She pauses for a moment, about to object before catching onto the scent of something else.

“Why have you become so obsessed with the beach recently?” She asks, interrogating me, hitting the invisible nail on the head; I gulp and begin my denial dance.

“Obsessed? I think that’s a little strong … I just like it there. It helps me relax.” I lie through my teeth; I don’t want her to know about Orion. He is something she would scandal over. I don’t want her to make our relationship into something it isn’t. I am not even sure what it means yet.

“Okay Callie, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say that this had something to do with a guy … but you don’t like guys, ever, so I know that can’t be it. Just know you can tell me okay?” She assures me and I sigh with relief.

“Okay … help me get ready? I have a feeling this is going to be a long weekend.” I predict, grimacing. She nods as we begin to pack my things away, ready for my return home.

As I creep up the darkening street, like a criminal returning to the scene of an only too recent crime, I am reminded of the month prior where I drove up this same road, unaware of the mess I was about to walk into. The stars twinkle as an almost full moon rises above the trees that crowd the sidewalk. The breeze is gentle, moving my hair so it tickles my ears in that familiar way I enjoy; comforting me.

As I pull up to the driveway I notice a new car parked in the garage, it’s blue and cute, perfect for my mom actually. I smile cautiously, forgetting the hurt for a moment as I picture her waving to me from the front seat, smiling at me, finally proud. I shake my head, pushing the image away with my momentary hopes. I bring the little red vintage to a halt, pull on the handbrake and ease the keys out of the ignition. I grab my bag and walk past the rows of petunias and the newly appreciated willow tree that aided in my escape that fateful night almost one month ago. I place my hand on the front door handle, listening intently for that oh so familiar sound of my Mom and Carl talking intently, or laughing about something irrelevant. I hear nothing and so I twist the handle firmly and push forward, the smell of home enveloping me. As I walk into the familiar hallway, I hear a little voice; the one I’ve been missing more than anything, calling my name and coming closer and closer.

“Callie’s home!” Kayla giggles, running towards me. She seems so much happier than when I left; maybe I am the one ruining her and my mom’s life. I sigh and swoop her into a hug. Her smile is massive as I hold her with one arm, dropping my bag in the hallway sloppily. I walk with her on my hip; jeez she’s getting heavy. I contemplate this while realising how fast she’s growing up. It won’t be long before she’s borrowing my clothes at this rate.

As I emerge into the kitchen, I smell the most amazing smell; it’s greasy and succulent all in one: burgers.

“Mmm!” I hum before I can stop myself. My mom turns on her heel to look at me from in front of the cupboard where she is retrieving plates and glasses.

“Callie!” She beams, radiant. Her eyes are big, bright and her hair is full and lustrous once again, curly like my own. She is wearing a vest top, one that shows off her cleavage appropriately and jeans that hug her perfectly. I can’t help but smile. This is my mom, she’s back.

“You look nice.” I mumble.

“We have something to celebrate … but first …” She walks forward as Kayla jumps out of my arms and sits me down, taking my hands in hers softly. I want to hope but somehow I fear for the worst; habit I guess.

“I want to apologise, it wasn’t your fault … you know … about Carl.” She looks worried. I have the power here and she hasn’t ever had to crave my approval before. The whole situation is uncomfortable and as moments pass in silence I come to the realisation … it wasn’t my fault.

I break, sobbing and placing my head in my hands, ringlets tumbling around me as my mom’s arms are encircling me.

“I know, Callie. I’m so sorry.” She croons softly, stroking my hair as I cry, silently now. I don’t want to forgive her, the last month has been hell of a very personal brand, but she’s my mom and I am powerless to her kind words, to her love.

After around twenty minutes of tears, I have managed to pull myself together and my mom is telling me the story of how her marriage fell apart.

“He was cheating you know! With a woman from out of town! Can you believe it? Helen Miriam saw them together in town on Wednesday. Of course, I’m hardly surprised. He was never the kind of man to have any balls!” She rants like this, on and on and all I can do is nod as I droop over my triple stacked burger. It’s the one I love found on the secret menu at In-N-Out Burger. My mother knows me too well; she knows I cannot resist their triple stacked heart attack in a bun.

As I chew, I cannot believe she is talking like this about a man whom one month ago, she would have quite happily bitten her left arm off for. I sigh. I guess love does funny things to people. My mind wanders, as she begins to talk about how she is going to redecorate the house to remove the memory of Carl, to thoughts of Orion.

I wonder what he is doing at this very moment. I wonder if he’s thinking about me too. Kayla yanks me back to the conversation abruptly.

“Read me a story?” She pleads. I see that she’s wearing her nightdress and holding her three most favourite teddies.

“Alice in wonderland?” I ask smiling and she grins with a giggle. I have missed that sound. As I sit laughing with her there is a moment as my eyes meet with my mother’s and a look of knowing passes between us; in that moment we are a happy family again.

My eyes fly open … I am covered in sweat … again! I moan to myself. The dreams are happening again, except now I feel like I know what I’m seeing and its making wakefulness difficult. I used to let them fade, but ever since Orion came into the picture I can’t help but cling to them desperately, lying back against the mattress for as long as I can allow, trying to call them back to me. It never works. I wonder if it’s because of the years I had dismissed my dreams as nonsense, an anomaly of my subconscious.

I sit up, frustrated at the lack of recall, the duvet folded so that my legs are wrapped together in a fin like bond; I feel overwhelmingly tired again and allow my body to flop backwards.

Then it hits me as I catch a glimpse of my calendar on my way back down to the mattress: today’s the day. My one-month sentence has ended. I get to see him tonight! I can’t believe I forgot in my moment of post dream fogginess. I smile to myself as I find the will to place both feet on the cold floor. I walk over to the mirror as usual and my sleepy turquoise eyes greet me. Tonight has to be perfect. I have to be perfect. The anticipation of this night has been welling up inside me like a balloon and I feel like I’m about ready to burst with fear and the possibility of joy in seeing him and feeling his icy hot gaze fall over me. It’s not just his looks that excite me though, it runs deeper, it’s about having someone to be honest with again, having someone who will listen without judging me. So much has happened this month; I just need to be able to talk to someone about everything to make me feel secure again, to make me feel like myself.

I run my fingers through my tangled mane of hair and sigh; jeez, I have a lot of work to do. I look haggard, my cheeks gaunt from my recent lack of desire for food. On the upside, my figure has never looked better, but I know this is evidence of my emotional trials, of my mom’s misplaced blame, and I sneer at the ribs poking out from under my camisole. I exhale again, remembering the loneliness that engulfed me over the last few weeks, how the memory of Orion was the only thing that kept me going. I go back to my bed and sit among the unmade sheets, lost in the memory of him. Is this madness? I wonder as I place a hand on my stomach feeling its flatness against the palm of my hand. The questions flood back to me once again in a flurry: Am I rushing into things with this man? Is it normal to feel this way about someone you’ve met twice? Is Orion really as wonderful as he seems? These questions, which before would have overwhelmed me, I push aside now as I realise what a month without him has taught me. I cannot live in a cave my whole life. Bad things happen whether you want them to or not, and above all, I have learned that I can survive whatever happens next. I have been through worse, much worse than meeting a nice guy. I repeat these facts in my head, slowly breathing, my hand feeling the rise and fall of my diaphragm. I get up slowly from the bed, sure now more than ever that I am in control of my destiny. That this life is mine to do with as I please. Mrs. Belle’s voice travels back into my head softly: You’re so bright Callie, and I feel confident as I remember her kind words. I am bright and I can handle myself. No man can ever make me feel worse than I have recently. I grin, doubtful no more, and get up standing firmly on the floor, ready to face whatever the night has in store.

I get dressed in blue velvet sweatpants and a white tank; I’ll do most of the renovations on my face and hair later tonight, all I have to do for now is choose something to wear. Yeah okay. ‘All’ implies that this is a small task, however for me as the most plain, gawky person in the world, finding something that makes me look ‘perfect’ may take a while. I open my closet and sit looking depressed at the selection of clothes. I have worn them a million times before. I hear a quick-paced step coming up the stairs before my door opens slightly and a flustered mom pokes her head round the door.

“You okay, Callie?” She blurts breathlessly, seeming as though she has a point she wants to get to quickly.

“Yeah sure, what’s up?” I ask casually, squashing down my excitement and listening to her frantic breath.

“I’ve woken up and I’m almost forty-five, with a closet full of frumpy nun clothes …” She pants a little and I grin comically as I see the woman I used to know as my mom reappearing after her Carl lobotomy.

“Yeah, I was just thinking that I have nothing to wear for tonight.” I admit, suddenly wishing I hadn’t said anything as her eyes light up with intrigue.

“Tonight? What’s happening tonight?” She queries, latching on to this little nugget of information smoother than a face-hugger in a sci-fi flick.

“Oh just a night out with the girls, we are going to a party.” I explain, lying quickly.

“I see. Do you want to go shopping?” My mom bribes and I bite the bait. I wonder if this is her way of trying to relieve her guilt over blaming me for Carl’s infidelity. I know it may seem shallow, but I love it when my mom feels guilty; this usually equates to new shoes. I mean, you should have seen the pair of stilts she brought home for me when she told me her and Carl were expecting Kayla. It was like Christmas, my birthday, and Easter all rolled into one; and then there’s my little red vintage she bought me for my 16th when they got engaged. I can’t say having a step-dad who hates you has been easy, but it sure made for a full rack of shoes and a sweet ride.

I smile smugly. Is this the beautiful calm after hurricane Carl that I’ve been waiting for? I nod keenly and my mom smiles knowing me too well.

“Okay, I’ll just go grab my purse and get Kayla’s shoes on, and then we’ll go, okay?” She says this speedily and dashes to Kayla’s room next door before I can respond. I get to my feet once again, close the wardrobe doors, and change into some jeans. As I slide my shoes on, I hear my mom call out for me from downstairs.

“You ready baby?” She sounds impatient. Oh jeez, ‘baby’? Well I’ll be damned; she must be feeling really guilty.

“Oh Callie, it’s beautiful!” My mother gushes as I step from behind a purple satin curtain and out into the dressing room walkway. Kayla looks me up and down from my mom’s lap and claps her pudgy hands together, giggling in approval of my new look.

We are in the dressing room of a shop with a name I can’t pronounce, it’s French I think, and the reason I’ve never been in here before is because the price tags would give any sensible person a coronary. I step in front of a long floor length mirror on the adjacent wall of the walkway, where other shoppers stand admiring their reflections, and take a good look at myself. I am standing in a stunning aqua maxi dress. It is made of gossamer and flows down to the middle of my calf. The bodice is peppered with lilac beading that forms a network of peacock-feather shaped patterns around my torso that trickle down into the long, flowing full skirt. I look beautiful, the colour accents my eyes and the curves of my body narrow within the fabric that is flattering me.

My mother speaks while I stand, mouth slightly open, glaring at my reflection and trying to be critical as the diamond teardrop necklace glimmers, throwing shades of aquamarine and lilac in the light.

“Would this be suitable for the party tonight?” She asks and I look over at her with a cocked brow; I’m one for window shopping and taking suitable advantage of my mom’s guilt, but this is a little excessive for my liking.

“Mom you don’t need to do this you know, I love this dress but it’s so expensive.” I admit, clawing at the side of the dress to retrieve the price tag from the folds of the fabric. The number printed makes my eyes pop out of my head.

“Oh shush Callie. I can afford it. I’ve just gotten a new job actually.” She announces. Surprised, I reach down to give her a hug.

“That’s fantastic!” I reply feeling genuinely happy for her.

“Yes, one of the learning assistants at Kayla’s nursery dropped out as she is going off to Malaysia or somewhere to do missionary work. She asked if I wanted to take up her shifts and I jumped!” Mom explains with a grin and a familiar glisten in her turquoise eyes. It’s the same glisten I get when I look in the mirror and I’m excited.

“Sounds like you’re going to be great at it, and you get to spend time with little monster over there.” I say reaching down to tickle Kayla as she screeches. A snobby shop assistant comes past to investigate and gives me an irritated look. I smile politely back, thinking all the while that if I’m spending as much as they’re charging she can stuff off. My mom and I share a knowing look and then we both burst out laughing as we roll our eyes in sync. The woman only glares more harshly and we both cover out mouths shyly with a hand out of faux guilt. I step back behind the satin curtain and begin to undress.

“So where is this party?” My mom questions, and for lack of inspiration, I go for partly truth.

“Chloe’s new beach house.” I respond lazily. As I begin to redress, I’m feeling slightly bad about lying to mom, knowing full well the party is far more private than I’m letting on.

“So you could do with a new bathing suit then to go under that dress?” She suggests and I hear the smug smile spreading over her lips. It’s the one she had when she passed over the keys to my little red vintage and it warms my heart. I’m glad we’re mom and Callie again.

The rest of the shopping trip passes slowly and with every outfit that I see I begin wondering, ‘Will Orion like me in this?’ He seems to consume my every thought, and to be honest, it’s driving me a little nuts.

As we walk towards the new blue mini in the underground parking lot I can’t help but smile at my little sister’s form as she is slung over my mom’s shoulder asleep. I am carrying a lot of bags containing my new swimsuit, ballet pumps, underwear, and of course, the ridiculously expensive turquoise dress that I love. As we reach the vehicle it’s getting on to late afternoon and I know that as soon as we reach home I must start getting ready if I want to look perfect.

As we pile in the car and mom packs Kayla into her car seat, I am wondering about what the evening will bring. Will I finally get a kiss? It’s a question I’ve been putting off asking myself but this afternoon as we piled around underwear stores, I kept asking myself another question: ‘Would I mind him seeing me naked?’’ This question daunts me and suddenly, after imagining him unhooking my bra with one hand, kissing does not seem that scary. Could it in fact be magical with this mysterious person? I wonder this as I flash back to my drunken snog with Daryl. I remember leaning in slowly and having his tongue invade my mouth, foreign and unwelcome, pushing too hard against me, causing me to almost fall backwards as his lips possessed mine in a vulgarly desperate fashion. I shudder to myself at the thought of that night. My mom climbs into the driver’s seat and starts the engine, we begin our journey home.

When I get home, I’m hungry and feeling nervous as knots tie in my stomach. I wander through to the kitchen and fix myself some dinner. After standing over the stove, nervously hopping from foot to foot, I dish up the pasta and add grated cheese before tucking in and devouring the whole bowl quickly. My mom walks into the kitchen and catches sight of me stuffing my face.

“Honey, are you okay?” She asks and I blush slightly, wiping at the corners of my mouth for rogue cheese.

“I’m okay, just nervous about the party I guess.” I confess, feeling relieved at this small admittance of my anticipation.

“There’s a guy.” My mother says wide eyed with shock. She knows me too well and at this moment I hate that. How the hell could she tell there’s a guy in my life from the way I eat? I look down into the empty bowl and blush. “Oh my God, there is!” She concludes and rushes to sit beside me. “What’s his name?” she begs with her hand in one palm as if she is a teenager once again. There’s something behind the dreaminess of her expression, something sad.

I look up into her expression musing her sadness is because I’m growing up. She mustn’t know. He is my secret right now.

“I don’t want to tell you … I mean I’m not sure about him yet, okay?” I plead for her understanding, knowing deep down I am sure. I’m imagining him undressing me, that’s how sure I am.

“Okay, but you should look at his father, that’s how you know how he will treat you, okay?” She says and then it dawns on me, that I don’t really know that much about Orion’s family.

“Will do.” I agree trying to get her attention onto something else, although now that she knows I like someone this seems highly unlikely.

“I’m going to get ready, okay?” I murmur, putting my empty bowl in the dishwasher.

“Sure, but promise me something?” She raises her eyebrows and I’m half expecting the safe sex speech, my insides clench in horror.

“Yes mom?” I say innocently raising my eyebrows back.

“Let me do your hair?” She says smiling sweetly, knowingly. It is as though she asked me the question just so she could watch me to gauge whether or not I’m serious about my guy; whether I was thinking about the sex talk. I sigh slightly, feeling I have guessed her intentions correctly and wishing she would just butt out a little. I am an adult now after all.

“Thanks mom.” I smile at her, still surprised that the woman standing in front of me was a hot mess not one month ago. She instantly reverts to a shy look and then gushes a quick and sudden apology.

“I will make it up to you Callie; I will always regret leaving you here. Those things I said … I was awful to you. I wish I could take it all back.” I nod.

“I know mom.” I shift on my feet, feeling uncomfortable.

“No really Callie, I want our relationship to change. I don’t want you to think of me as just mom you know. I want us to be friends. You’re so grown up now.” She looks at me with wide turquoise eyes and I feel my heart break a little. I wish I had more time. I would be at college soon, no longer living at home with my family. I knew now I would miss my mom more than I wanted to admit.

“I know mom. You know you’ll always be my friend.” I say the words, hoping to comfort her, relieve some of her guilt but they pull at me too. I do want us to be friends.

“I love you, Callie.” She pulls me back into a hug. I sniff in the smell of her blouse and feel my eyes tear up.

“I love you too, mom.”

I stand in my new bathing suit, scrutinising myself in the mirror; I am a little worried about this to say the least. The bathing suit is comprised of a turquoise halter bikini attached to briefs by three turquoise stones that run from the base of my cleavage. The bikini barely covers my nipples, and my boobs are pushed up and in by the tight halter tie that is fastened around my neck. It is possibly the most flattering thing I have ever worn, and my mom’s eyes nearly popped out of her head when I tried it on in the store. I stand, unsure for a moment … do I want Orion to pass out at the sight of my chest? I smile to myself, knowing that answer already as I pick up the hanger with my turquoise peacock feathered dress on it. I slide the floating material over my head and continue to smile as I watch it accentuate my buttocks and hips further. My legs look smooth as they are newly shaved and I give an approving nod as my mom knocks and then enters.

“Oh Callie you look lovely, he won’t be able to resist you.” She compliments with cheeky sincerity.

“Yes well, with this bathing suit I’d be lucky if he could take a moment to look at my face.” I joke and she laughs.

“If you’ve got it, flaunt it.” She says simply and then takes my hand and leads me through to her bedroom. I walk with her into the lime green room; the walls bounce the light of the lowering sun onto the cream bedspread making the whole room warm. The vanity at the far end of the room beckons as she pulls my hand and I take a seat upon the cushioned cream velvet stool. As she brushes out my damp hair I am taken to a much simpler time, a much safer time, a time where fairy-tales were still real and Carl did not exist to me. She takes a straightening iron to my curls and pulls them into wafer thin locks of poker straight hair; they’re so much longer when straight and it makes my face look angular and my features acute. When she has straightened it entirely it comes down to the middle of my back and she then sets to braiding two locks of hair, one on either side of my parting and joining them at the back so I look like maid Marian from Robin Hood. It is truly gleaming in the sunlight and looks even more blonde when straight, due to lack of shadows cast by each ringlet. I turn and thank my mom feeling relaxed before heading to the bathroom to apply my make-up. I use blusher to make my cheeks look a little fuller and turquoise eye liner that makes my eyes seem more luminous than usual. After applying mascara, perfume, and some body-glitter on the top of my chest, I leave the bathroom and put on my new shoes: lilac ballet pumps that tie up with ribbons to the calf. I then descend the stairs feeling radiant, strong, and beautiful, quite a change from just a few days ago. I float past the living room and Kayla is lying on her belly watching ‘The Little Mermaid’ on the new flat screen. I laugh to myself as she moves her head to the voice of a singing crab and then my mom catches up with me as she comes down the stairs.

“So are you going to be back tomorrow or tonight?” She asks openly and I cannot believe I am speaking to the same woman who forbade me from leaving the house this time one month ago.

“It’s a sleep over for me and the girls after the party, so I should be back tomorrow.” I confirm and she nods looking a little sad. She raises a soft hand and strokes my cheek.

“You grew up so fast, and got so beautiful. I feel like I missed it.” She sighs and looks me in the eyes sorrowfully.

“Mom you kind of did.” I admit and I expect her to get angry, but instead she nods her head in agreement.

“I know. I want to make it up to you Callie. For everything … I have so much I need to tell you, about your father, about everything.” She confesses this to me and my heart becomes heavy. I turn to her and place my hand on her chin, lifting her head.

“We have all the time in the world mom, you can tell me anytime.” I assure her and she gives me a quick kiss on the forehead.

“Maybe when you get back tomorrow?” She asks cocking her head, looking afraid of my rejection.

“Of course.” I smile at her. I want her to be happy, that’s all I’ve ever wanted. She smiles back and my heart squeezes before I turn, walk past the sitting room, and close the door on my family and home.

The drive goes quickly and as the sun dips below the trees, my stomach gets tighter and tighter with the anticipation of seeing Orion again. One month has passed; I have processed, fallen to pieces, and accepted my feelings towards him and God how I have missed him. I sit in my car on the edge of the sand, my hair a little windswept from the drive as the last scarlet rays of the sun disappear below the frothy ocean waves on the horizon. I take one final breath and step out onto the pavement shakily after placing my purse in the glove box with my car and house keys, not wanting to carry anything with me out onto the beach. My dress flows around me, the gentle and inviting warm breeze tickling my legs, this isn’t like the last time I was here and it is as though the elements have combined to ease my nerves and lull me into a place of safety.

As I walk up the empty beach, a black velvet blanket of night engulfs the sky in a sudden and dramatic shadow that falls over everything in a matter of minutes. The nerves become too much and I fear I may fall dizzy with excitement and expectation as I walk forward to the shoreline and sit, my skirt blossoming out onto the surrounding sand.

“Callie.” One word is enough.

I snap my head around and there he is. The sound that left his mouth was a little breathless, almost like a sigh of longing. I see his face and I know he has missed me too. I step up into his arms and he holds me, stroking down the back of my neck. We move to view each other and get caught in what I can only describe as the moment your eyes meet before a kiss. I look away feeling undeniably shy and he touches my face as I step back.

“Your hair … you look so different.” He exclaims, beaming as my insides unfurl in relief.

“My mom did it.” I say a little dumbfounded. Oh God, I sound like a little kid.

“Well she did a good job.” He smiles and takes my hand.

“So how were manoeuvres?” I enquire, trying to break the awkward space between us that is filled with the time we’ve spent apart.

“I missed you.” He confesses, looking a little miserable. I pull his chin up as I did my mother’s not one hour ago.

“Hey, I’m here now.” I smile into his eyes; their glacial blueness takes me by surprise as though no memory I had stored or dream I’d had could do their stunning warm frost justice.

“Did you miss me?” He interrogates, a curious smile creeping onto his lips as though he already knows the answer.

“You know I did.” I breathe coyly.

“You’re right, I do.” He smiles smugly and squeezes my hand.

“You didn’t answer my question.” I accuse, I am going to learn more about him tonight no matter how much he misdirects the conversation towards flattery.

“Oh yes, manoeuvres were boring as usual. I’d much rather talk about you. How have you been?” He looks at me with such sincerity, such caring that I forget about my vow to learn more about him and put it aside for a moment. We sit as I tell him about what happened after I left the beach one month ago, and what I found when I got home.

“I shouldn’t have left.” He pouts simply after I’ve finished explaining the hell of the last month to him. We’re now lying on our sides in the sand facing one another, each taking part in an intensely connective stare.

“It’s not like you had a choice Orion, you would have been, like, arrested or something if you hadn’t gone back. Besides, mom and I worked through so many issues without even talking about it. We just spent some quality time without Carl and his poisonous influences and now we’re practically as close as we used to be.” I exclaim smiling. I feel so comfortable around him it scares me and at the same time I’m in love with the feeling of casualness between us.

“Well as long as you are happy.” He smiles at me and I melt like chocolate. That mahogany tousled hair, those blue eyes, his tanned skin, and impeccably muscled physique is enough to make anyone normal bite their lip, and so I do. I examine each of his well-muscled limbs and continue to bite down hard until he catches my eye.

“Are you checking me out?” He asks incredulously, raising his eyebrows in surprise.

“Got a problem with that, do you?” I reply boldly, releasing my lip.

“I’m just not used to women being so forward … don’t worry, I like it.” He confirms and then gives a cheeky boyish grin, his white teeth aglow under the moonlight. I pluck up my courage further still, feeling bolder under the dark sky, I start to flirt.

“I got a new bathing suit today, want to see?” I suggest, peeking through my eyelashes innocently.

“Sure.” He says rolling onto his back in the sand and raising his arms to support his head, casually crossing his legs. I slowly untie the back of my dress, feeling perhaps for the first time ever, sexy. I lift the dress over my head, hoping to God I don’t fall out of my top, and discard it onto the sand gently. I stand with my boobs, in all their faux glory, under the moonlit sky. I move one foot up slightly, so I’m standing like Marilyn Monroe, my buttocks standing out against the bright night backdrop. Orion’s eyebrows rise and his eyes widen while an approving smile creeps onto his face. He looks down and away from me, as though he may lose control of himself and either take me right there on the sand or burst out laughing; I hope for my sake it’s the second option.

“I can’t say I’m not impressed Callie, because I am … but you know you don’t have to strip down to get my attention. I think you look sexy no matter what you’re wearing.” He says, getting to his feet and taking my hand, strumming his fingers over the backs of my knuckles. He bites his lip and stands close to me, looking down at my boobs and tummy.

“Not that I’m complaining mind you.” He towers above me in such close proximity his chin is almost touching the top of my head. I feel the kiss stirring between us as I look up at him, tilting my head back, but I chicken out. Not quite ready yet, I admit internally before I vow, maybe in a few more tries. Instead of worrying about this, I distract him.

“Fancy a swim?” I suggest coolly, looking up into his eyes once again as innocently as I can manage in my current attire. He nods and leads me toward the sea. He is wearing, I now notice as I tear my eyes away from his face, nothing but a pair of jeans. His tanned chest is bare in the white light as he walks briskly into the waves showing no fear of the ocean at all. He is so confident; I wish I was as fearless as he appears to be. He stands and calls my name:

“Callie!” He waves, waist deep in the ocean. It’s like he’s wearing nothing at all. Naked Orion? I am so not ready for that! I smile to myself; grateful I have found someone who is at least a gentleman. I remember Daryl’s crotch pushing, unwanted, into my leg at my birthday party and cringe.

I dive into the waves and gasp inwardly as the cold water engulfs my upper half; I inhale a lot of water and come up out of the cool waves spluttering like a drowning cat.

“Whoa!” Orion exclaims, coming over to me as I barely keep afloat. He wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me up. “Easy girl.” he coos holding me on his hip as though I were no more than a baby. Our eyes meet and we tip-toe around the beginnings of a kiss. What are we both so afraid of? I wonder this as he pulls away again and rubs running mascara from my face. He places me back in the water gently and I look up into his concerned expression.

“Don’t worry, I won’t break or anything.” I promise, feeling a little patronised by the way he stares at me.

“It’s not my fault you don’t realise how fragile, how precious you are.” He compliments me with a gentle smile, his glacial blue eyes are becoming warmer with hopeful anticipation again. I gulp, worried I will not meet his expectation.

“I’m a lot tougher than I look.” I offer my assurance, trying to turn him back to carefree Orion once again.

“I’ll remember that!” He replies, regaining his boyish grin and splashing me full on in the face with icy water. I gasp like a fish on dry land before we spend the remainder of the night playing in the froth of waves, talking about the little things, and eventually falling asleep in each other’s arms next to the sea.

I stir slightly as I feel warmth hit my back. Orion’s arms are locked around me in a protective embrace, and as I stir he opens his eyes. I lay with my head on his chest for a moment, and his lips touch the top of my head planting a kiss gently on my scalp. As I take a final breath of the salted caramel aroma coating his skin, I lift my head from his chest. He looks up and around, startled.

“Hey.” I mumble gruffly, feeling something is wrong.

“Hey, Callie … it’s nearly morning. I’ve got to get going.” He says hurriedly, getting to his feet, the muscles in his face are taught, panicked. I’m still lying on the sand, groggy from last night’s antics, and I’m scared. Did I do something wrong?

“Orion, hey wait … did I do something?” I beg, getting to my feet and grabbing his wrist as he turns to vanish again.

“It’s not meant to happen like this Callie, I have to go.” As the sun hovers beneath the horizon, the sky blazes red and orange across the dawn and my heart races, frantic in my chest. I can’t lose him. He tries to pull free but I won’t let him go. I forget my doubts, the little voices from last night that stopped me from kissing him and I connect with his eyes on a level so deep that he stops, speechless as I plead with my look. I take this moment as the only opportunity I may get and step closer, breathing hard, so confused and desperate even now.

“I know I didn’t do this before, but I’m doing it now okay?” I whisper, my head coming closer to his, the electricity passing into my skin from beneath his touch. He nods and I breathe the two words of total surrender.

“Kiss me.”

The kiss is not what I expected, it’s better. Earth shatteringly, mind numbingly better. Total surrender to feeling and trust envelopes my body and I can’t move. Orion runs his hand through my hair under the sky that’s set alight with the fire of the rising sun. He looks deeply into my eyes, so deep in fact that I am lost for a moment and the sky is eclipsed in darkness. He pulls me, dominating my motor functions, into his chest and guides my face up to his as his lips encase mine. Not unwelcome like Daryl’s kiss but invited and gentle, his lips push against mine, finding a rhythm together and my heart continues to pound, blood rushing to every part of me that I can still feel. I groan loudly, craving more, a hunger awakening that is so unquenchable I fear I may never stop. It is then that I feel it, my stomach drops and I notice the world hasn’t stopped, but that the sky really has been eclipsed by darkness. By this time though, it is too late.

The knife has already been plunged through my shoulder blade and into my heart, killing me right there: In his arms.

As the last breath leaves my body I feel as though I am stepping out of a dress which is three sizes too small. It is as though the mortal coils in which my soul has lay resting for 18 years has been nothing more than a prison.

I smile to myself, my ethereal lips parting a little as I stretch my ghostly arms out to my sides, breathing in my newfound freedom. 18 years was long enough it seems, as now I am free of my corporeal bondage and it feels like I’m closer to my true self than I have ever been.

What happens to me next I can only describe by saying that I have felt this way so many times before, but only in a dream. I am hovering above the clouds, my skin kissed by their dewy fluff, the sunlight bathing my skin, burning me in all my ethereal glory, each second the light growing brighter. My stomach drops, falling as whatever is keeping me suspended in the light of God, or what I suppose to be God vanishes and I plummet spectacularly with heart stopping abruption, backwards through the sky. The sun is setting behind me as I silhouette before it, a tiny speck, burning and flailing, descending toward the ocean below.

I hit the water with a hard, sobering slap that immerses me in an alien world. I wonder immediately why I am not struggling for breath but rather breathe in the water as if it is air. I guess I really am dead. The phytoplankton give a viridescence to the water and a thickness like jelly which stabilises my fall. I can see each one moving, hovering, and twitching in miniscule detail that only brings home the desperate state in which they exist.

Below I see the darkness, the endless depths of the ocean opening up like abyssal jaws before me, ready to swallow me whole. I’m about to scream, terror eating at my chest, tightening around my lungs which are no longer filled with air, but water.

Then I hear it. An undeniably hollow haunting call that I know, that I have heard before. A whale, an orca I think, comes closer to me with razor sharp teeth and a massive body encased in black and white, materialising through the blue hue that surrounds me in every direction. I feel the water move sensuously around me as this beautiful creature approaches, all the time whispering to me in whale song:

“Welcome …” The voice is female, eerie and alluring though the lips of this mighty animal do not move. Her black and deeply soulful eyes meet with mine and I feel myself drawn to her. I cannot fear her large presence despite what I know to be true about the nature of killer whales. It turns and I see that Greek letters have been grooved into its skin making milk white impressions through the black of its blubber. I smile anxiously, allowing my ethereal palm to glide over the nose of this magnificent killer. As my flesh glides along the smooth surface, I feel peace encase me, my heart rate returns to normal, and I relax.

Now, rather than fearing the depths beneath me I focus on the azure light that filters in from above.

“Thank you.” I say simply feeling so complete in that moment that I cannot hope to hide the grin that is replacing the initial fear of this unnatural experience.

“Come.” The orca whispers again, she appears to be smiling too.

“Where?” I ask, my voice smooth as silk. I am no longer trying to work out how I am speaking or breathing under the water’s surface, relinquishing to the fact that in this world very little makes sense.

“Let me show you the world’s oceans.” She commands and without further question, the whale turns and I glide with her off into the world’s deep waters.

We begin with the Atlantic Ocean, cold winters and warm summers that move the life within, stirring it up from the depths. Octopi and squid teem through the waters being picked off by dolphin that playfully dart through their numbers, picking off the weak, carrying out the toil of evolution. I see the vast shoals of fish, tuna, herring, and sardines packed together, a family clinging together for survival. We move, flying into warmer waters as only seconds pass us. These waters are familiar, or at least I thought they were. They should be. The Pacific brings reefs in a spectrum of vivaciousness that eats at my soul. How have I lived so close to the ocean all these years and never known? How could I be so blind? How could I have wanted to try to study and analyse something this complex, so breath-taking, to reduce it down to numbers on a page with no experience of the life within? This now seems absurd. The ocean has shown itself to be nothing if not unquantifiable and I feel my fear fade as this fact sinks in. The sea wasn’t something you studied; it was something you breathed in and out, something that became you, something that called out to you from deep within your blood. The sea became you and you became it. I knew now that there was nothing to measure, no graph or chart that could display or even begin to understand its realty.

Sharks prowl before me now, majestic and strong with gaping mouths, flat heads and power that can be unleashed in a split second; they cannot rest or falter, they must keep swimming, keep moving forward. I’m not scared of them which surprises me, instead I understand them and they leave me awe-struck with appreciation.

Even the tiniest fish, dancing a cautious ballet of camouflage and inert undetectable movement gather my respect. The sea is not only beautiful, but it has vitality and a savagery that can never be questioned. I know this now. My eyes are wide and my skin is flushed at the continual beating of the water against its alabaster smoothness. I feel more alive than ever as I watch a group of nautilus jellyfish floating effortlessly within an aquamarine mist. They are ancient, complex, and make me want to cry at my own insignificance.

ORION

The change is pulling at me. From deep within my blood and as inevitable as the changing tide, I feel its hold on me. The sun is causing the moisture on the surface of my skin to bubble and I wince. I catch Azure out of the corner of my eye as the dark misty illusion fades that held Callie and I as our kiss consumed us. I turn on my heel, to demand an explanation of my blood.

“Azure! What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” I bite out the words, ignoring my skin’s complaint at the sun.

“What do you think? I’m turning her. You should be thanking me.” She says standing, both feet on the sand.

“Don’t make me hurt you. I know you’re my sister but that doesn’t mean I won’t kill you.” I growl, rage clouding my vision. I’ve never felt this rage before, this pounding in my blood. Is this love? This incessant feral need to protect what is mine above all else? Azure laughs.

“You won’t kill me. You can barely muster a gust these days. Waiting has made you soft old man.” She purrs the words, standing stark nude before me, black scales rippling in and out of existence on her skin. I always wondered how Psirens do that … change at will. It disgusts me, this flitting between forms. As though her calling were no more than a costume in a game to be played.

“Get away from us. Or I will move you out of the way.” The feeling of my calling tugging within me is becoming desperate. I look Callie in the face before I move her, placing her body onto the ground, ready to clear the path I need back to the sea. I swiftly release the knife from her back, pulling it steadily from her skin. I stand and raise my hands, power and rage flowing from my core as I look at her defenceless beneath me. A gust of air musters and shoots forth, rushing Azure like a wall of solid brick. She stumbles back and I watch Caedes coming up behind her, his red scales rippling around his torso as he fights them back under the light of the sun. They barely ever come on land and I know why. They know we will fight them back to the depths from which they came.

I rush another wall of hard, cold morning air toward them both, dragging them in a gust of sand back to the waves. I stand erect, keeping half an eye on the girl at my feet and clap my palms together, engulfing us in a dome of air that continuously flows, creating a protective barrier. I scoop up Callie as I see Azure and Caedes retreat to the sea. I need to leave a message, a message that this girl is not, nor will she ever be, an acceptable target.

I breathe out relaxing and let the protective dome slip away from us. Hoisting Callie over one shoulder to free up my left arm I throw the ritual dagger and smile as it hits my sister directly between the shoulder blades. I continue moving forward to the ocean’s waters, examining the girl in my arms. This precious cocoon that held her essence, preparing her for this moment for so many years, truly is breath-taking even now. I reach up and gently close each eyelid on the now glassy turquoise eyes of the girl I have waited several lifetimes for. I should have known there would be competition for possession of her precious soul, I realise now the last of our kind should have been watched far more carefully. This girl is perhaps not only the signal that there is a great change on the horizon, but also that everything is changing for the better. I sigh to myself as I look down at her lifeless form once more. She is going to be so beautiful, stunning even. I stare into the burning sunlight as the change overtakes me. It is then and only then that I plunge into the waves, saving myself from the light of day and delving deep into the world which I call home.

Beneath the surface of the water, I begin to wonder: What does the future hold for me and the girl whom is now in the process of rebirth? Rebirth into a life she hasn’t chosen, nor was even aware of being destined for. Will she love me like this? Did I speed up the journey that brought us here? Should I have left her? Watched from afar? Let her live out her human life? Watched as she took another man as her own? No. I think to myself. I don’t think I could have known her and let her belong to someone else. Watching that boy with his hands wrapped around her unwilling form was bad enough. I remember the rage that had sparked through me like dark magic that night and feel my hands tense into fists.

It is from this that a hundred questions begin to haunt me just like the touches of women that came before. Women that were not her. I sigh to myself, looking down at her once more, unable to stop studying her, preserving her face in my mind in case she’s a dream.

It is with the image of her porcelain cold face filling my mind that I begin the journey to the chapel of white marble, where I shall lay her body to rest once more.

CALLIE

This stunning world, a world I had never known in life, continues to shock me, dazzle me in ways that I could never imagine. I see colour, movement, love and life all wrapped up within this body of seemingly empty depths, crystal-clear shallows, and forgotten human treasures. I now know as I journey, the orca by my side, that it is anything but. We are at the surface now in a warm bay somewhere near the Great Barrier Reef and I am watching colourful shoals of fish playfully darting in between the vast expanses of coral.

“I wish I could never leave this place … but I feel like I have to be somewhere.” I whisper wistfully as the head of the orca pops up above the bobbing surface of the frothy water.

“You do Callie. You are the vessel.” This revelation shocks me and I am suddenly  sinking beneath the waves. The orca is gone. Icy water fills my lungs and I choke, trying frantically to breathe as I sink into the deep darkness of death’s grasp once more.

I open my eyes spluttering before taking in a breath of warm air; the eyes that meet me are the ones I’ve been looking for since the blade plunged into my back. Ferociously ice blue, stunning, and at this very moment of my rebirth, alight with the promise of forever.

My senses evade me: blurry colours, muffled voices and no sensation in my extremities. It is terrifying and I want to cry out, but my lips wont part. I feel like I have been lying still for hours; my limbs are heavy and weightless all at once. I am brought, oh so slowly, back to consciousness and it is then that I realize everything feels as though it is on fire. I cry out, writhing, and I feel two huge hands pushing me down. I buck, trying to sit upright, but the hands are there, ever strong, pinning me down to a cool hard surface. I writhe awkwardly, agonizingly. My throat feels as though a rabid wolf is clawing at it and my lower half is an achingly heavy mass of non-moveable flesh. I try to move, struggling in my invisible, claustrophobic prison, my eyes screwed shut. I eventually tire, laying still for the moments that follow, gritting my teeth, letting my eyes roll back into my skull, anything to stop this nightmare.

After a while, I come to the revelation of my sudden freedom as the pain evaporates as quickly as it came. My jaw relaxes and I feel the resounding ache in my teeth where I have bared down. I go limp.

The weight lifts from my shoulders as I still and the heat of the once cold surface ebbs as I relax on top of it. I breathe in and for reasons I cannot quite fathom my breath is so much cooler, deeper, and more filling than before. It feels amazing, healing even, after the pain that grasped at my lower extremities and throat. I breathe in and out and as feeling returns to me, a smile spreads across my lips slowly as I allow air to seep into my lungs. I keep smiling and open my eyes; this must be heaven, I think to myself. Breathing never felt this good before.

So many things come into focus all at once. I blink quickly, taking comfort from the dark hood of my eyelids. I dare to open my eyes again, terrified but wondering what they will reveal. I take another deep relaxing gasp of air and open them, this time keeping them that way. Everything is so clear; it is as though up to this moment I have been seeing the world through the wrong prescription lenses from a cheap optometrist’s office in a back alley of a seedy town. The world around me is glorious technicolour and I can focus like a hawk, on any part that I may choose. I see the specks of dust floating before me in a clarity that I’ve only ever seen exist on a high definition television. Then I zoom back out and look at my surroundings more clearly. I am in a large white building with a high ceiling. It appears to be a church with walls made of white marble. Sunlight, more faded than I recall ever seeing it before, is gently streaming in through the windows that contain no glass. The floor spreads out beneath where I lay, which seems to be on a table near the alter of the chapel. The table and floors are made of white marble and turquoise and blue hues bounce from ceiling to the floor. I suck in another deep cooling breath, taking in my surroundings before looking down at myself. That is when I pass out again, losing consciousness before even my head makes contact with the marble beneath me.

“Callie?” I hear the voice calling and I recognize it instantly: Orion. I open my eyes immediately. I am unable to recall why I passed out in the first place until I look down at myself and it all comes flooding back to me.

Where my legs once were lies a stunning, elegant, aqua scaled tail, alien and yet a part of me. I gasp bringing my hand up to my mouth in shocked reverence as it comes into my view again, laid against the white marble beneath me and connected to my waist as skin fades to scale. I breathe in before realizing the specks of dust I was examining were not floating in air at all. They’re in water and are not dust, but phytoplankton, shimmering in the light like miniature-jaded stars.

I clutch at my throat, recalling the tearing sensation that caused me to gasp like a fish on land, and where my once perfect white skin laid upon the muscle of my neck, three slits run parallel to one another down each side. They sting when I place a finger to each of them in turn, cringing as I do so. What must I look like? While I am preoccupied touching these unwanted gashes, a gentle and surprisingly soft hand touches my cheek, pulling my chin up so my eyes meet the stunning, frozen blue gaze that seems ablaze with the colours of sunlight, fragmented by the water, dancing on the face to which they belong.

“I’m sorry, you must be shocked. Are you okay?” The words form on Orion’s lips and travel to my ears where they are received. But how, we are underwater? Then it occurs to me. Why is he sorry? My hand flies to my chest, a thin scaly aqua line has formed in a jagged scar where the knife slit clean through me. I remember the last and first time his lips claimed mine.

What the hell is going on?! I pat my hands over my body without looking at it, too scared I’ll pass out again, running my fingers over the place where flesh turns to fish. Oh God! My legs! My legs … are gone! I try to sit up and try to move off the table, scrambling to get away from Orion. What the hell has he done to me? What the hell is happening? I knew he was bad news! Oh God I’m so stupid … I need to get back home … I need my mom. I’m hyperventilating so hard that bubbles are flurrying up from my face and as I try to get off the table to move away from Orion’s concerned expression, I tilt, losing my balance. I hit the floor with a slam, falling through the water and displacing all the sand. My TAIL, yes … TAIL … is stopping me from moving. Dammit! I drag it behind me, using my arms for leverage, looking back over my shoulder at Orion who is rushing toward me, trying to stop me from escaping.

“No! No … you stay away …” I gasp unable to find any other words to express the overwhelming terror engulfing me.

“Callie … Callie …” Orion starts, looking at me with eyes that are equally as terrified as my own. I continue to squirm along the floor, pulling myself forward slowly, scraping my stomach against the sand dusted marble. I want to cry, run, and scream. I want to be dead. Surely that was better than being trapped in a body that is weighing me down at the waist, trapping me in the sea? It is in the midst of this death wish that I feel something strong, something certain, clutching me from behind. I stop, the pressure calming my rabid blood, which is racing, pulsing through me to the frantic beat of my heart. It’s Orion’s arms. His voice reaches me, soothes me, and makes me collapse to the floor.

“Shh. Just breathe. Breathe for me.” Orion demands and for some reason I obey. Knowing I cannot move from under his crushing, calming weight he clutches me, holding me as my cheek rests against the floor. I breathe, in and out, in and out, over and over. Making my heart slow, my skin cool, and my mind empty.

“Good … keep breathing. I’m going to lift you. Is that okay?” He asks and I nod slowly, unsure of whether to trust him, but realising I having limited options without him.

He turns me over, rolling me into his arms and rising through the water, laying me back down on the cool marble table on which I awoke. I rest my head against his heart, feeling more vulnerable than perhaps the day I was born. He tries to remove his arms from my waist but I cling to his neck.

“Don’t go.” I plead with him, squeezing my eyes shut.

“Okay, I’m right here. I’m here for as long as you need.” He kisses the top of my forehead and I focus on my breathing, not daring to look down at myself. I feel shock resonating through me like the echo after a landslide deep beneath the earth. Instead, I choose to look back to his gaze, startled. I want to run … swim as far away as I possibly can, but his stare reassures me. Sensing the terror rising within me again his lips begin to move, transmitting sound to me in a way I cannot believe is possible.

“It wasn’t me. I didn’t stab you, I swear. I should have known others would be after you. I have enemies and I shouldn’t have put you at risk.” His eyes look sorrowed and his lips press into a thin line.

“I am the vessel.” I repeat in a whisper to myself, half dazed from my death, remembering the words the orca spoke. I understand them less now than ever.

“What?” Orion asks, his voice a welcome familiarity, deeply husky and sensually smooth like dark chocolate.

“Nothing … am I dead?” then I remember, “You stabbed me!?” I accuse angrily again my mind racing, redirecting his attention.

“No! I didn’t! As I said before, it was Azure.” He looks irritated.

“Who?”

“I’ll explain later, Callie … we really need to …” He lets go of me and I let him, finding myself momentarily as a million questions hurtle through my head.

“So am I, or am I not dead? I was murdered, wasn’t I?” I ask staring at him aggressively. He breathes out deeply rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

“Yes. Azure and Caedes, they surrounded us with smoke while they approached and then … I had forgotten how good she is with a blade from a distance. I should have watched the perimeter more closely.” He looks hideously guilty in this moment as his eyes fall and his mouth contorts into a slim line of distaste before continuing. “As for you being dead, you are far from it. You are more alive than you have ever been.” He smiles and cups my cheek again, looking deeply into my worried expression. “And just as beautiful as ever.” he grins leaning in to kiss me on the cheek. I blush silently and think back to the childhood I had watching Disney movies on repeat. As my anger dissipates, my heart still refuses to stop hammering against my ribcage.

“How long was I asleep for?” I pick the word ‘asleep’ not knowing whether this is true, whether I was dead or comatose instead.

“About ten and a half hours.” He replies, blinking with thick lashes. I am surprised at his answer, it felt like longer.

“What am I?” I ask, blushing a deeper red, afraid of what he will say.

“We’ve had many names, but for now let’s stick with mermaid or mer for short …” Orion breathes, bubbles rising between us in the wake of the information torpedo he has just detonated. I shake my head, still so confused, my mind racing, heart pounding.

“A mermaid?” I repeat … looking into his joyed expression as he runs his fingers through his still perfectly tousled hair. This is ridiculous, maybe I’m hallucinating.

“Yes.” He answers simply and then continues after taking a short pause. “You must have so many questions.” He acknowledges as I begin to helplessly freak out. I look down at the scales that bind my legs and make me half fish. I want to take a knife to them, freeing my legs again so I can run as far from here as possible. When did it become okay for your life to end in an instant and for you to become half the person you once were? The voices inside my head that usually calm me are screaming WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?! Yet on the outside, I can barely breathe let alone whisper a single syllable to express my terror. I look up into Orion’s steady gaze and he anchors me to sensibility. I try to keep my breathing normal and concentrate on what he is saying.

“I want to answer your questions, I do. But first I want us to move you off this table and over to those pews over there, just so you don’t seize up.”

“Seize up?” I ask, feeling fear grip at my heart once more. I find myself raising my eyebrows, trying to concentrate on not throwing up.

“Yes, the muscles you have just developed are incredibly powerful; they don’t like to sit still for long.” He answers, all business. I look down at myself, curious as to my new body.

My skin is slightly glowing, as though I’ve used a moonlight moisturizer that has made me gently luminescent from head to foot (or should I say fin). My breasts now transition from flesh to scale in a wide area around where my nipples had once resided, creating some semblance of modesty. I gawp at them as though they’re totally foreign. My gaze lowers and I notice that my stomach is unchanged, my belly button perhaps now the only sign that I was once human. Then of course, as my eyes fall further, my skin fades away and opalescent aquamarine scales bind my legs into a long shimmering tail, full of sinew and muscle. The end, where the body of the tail slits into two fins, looks delicate and it is as though someone has sewn crystals into the fibrous tissue as it sparkles madly in the dimming light. I gape, unable to take in that I am attached to something so beautiful, or so damning. Orion gives me these few moments before taking my hand and pulling me down from the table. I fear I will hit the floor.

“Just keep hold of my hands and try flexing those muscles, it’ll feel strange at first but you’ll pick it up quickly.” He reassures me, but I don’t feel very confident, I’ve always been a crappy swimmer.

“Okay. Don’t laugh, okay?” I mutter under my breath and Orion splutters, hiding a small laugh. “What did I just say?” I ask him with one raised eyebrow.

“I’m sorry; it’s just funny to me that you’re so worried about looking foolish. I am in awe of you, Callie. I would never laugh.”

“You JUST DID.” I say incredulously and he laughs again.

“Okay, okay. No more laughing at your self-consciousness. I’m sorry.” He gives me a serious look but I can tell there’s a twinkle of mischief hiding behind the glacial surface of his irises. I ignore him, concentrating on using the weight that before made me fall through the water like a brick.

Orion isn’t wrong about the muscle seizing up. It hurts for a few moments as I strain, pulling the tensile muscle together, moving my tailfin this way and that. Treading water. He holds my hands still, ready to catch me in case I lose the strength I’ve mustered so far until after a few minutes he let’s go.

“You’re a natural. Bravo.” He smiles generously but I feel pathetic. It’s like I’m learning to walk again at eighteen. Fish can do this and they have six-second memories. I got this! With my newfound determination, I hover a few inches above the white marble floor, flicking my tailfin in a way that comes naturally, just like walking. My tail itches as I flick it once, pushing my torso upright; it is powerful. Orion was right once again. I feel all the cords of muscle pulling together this way and that, and it is delicious. I do not ache any longer but feel as though movement is now effortless to me. I want to go faster so I let Orion’s gaze slip from mine and soar upwards toward the high ceiling of the church. I glide round and round, spinning, doing barrel rolls and somersaults; surprised I feel no dizziness or fatigue.

I hear an unrestrained laugh from the floor beneath me getting louder as Orion joins me, locking me into an embrace with him. It is then for the first time that I recover some sense of observational curiosity and look down upon his body. I realize quickly as my gaze falls upon his long body that he is perhaps more gorgeous in this form than as a human. His rippling, tanned lower body has been transformed into a royal blue tail that seems to never end and his left arm still holds the single banded tattoo that looks like the waves. Around his eyes lies a mask of scales that fade from flesh in royal blue covering the bridge of his nose. The mask gives his face a mysterious and shockingly dangerous edge, while also acting as contrast, causing his pale blue irises to pop out of his face in an icy glow.

I reach up to my own face, feel the scales around my own eyes and I can’t help but wonder how I must look. Do I look as beautiful as him? Do we match now? I wonder why his hair is still so perfectly tousled even though we are under water. I reach toward him and run my hands through it, as I have desired to do for so long. It is not soft as it once felt when we were kissing on the sand, but hard and stiff as if someone has put too much hair spray into it. I run my hands through my own hair, its stiff too, heavier now that I think about it. The blonde curls I once knew are gone as it lays poker straight, falling in long and generous cascades down my back. His tail wraps around mine as he pulls my chest to his. I rest my head on his shoulder and he makes a shushing sound, running his hand down to the base of my back. My spine tingles at his touch and the water surrounding us feels a little warmer. His eyes look down into mine, but before I can let myself get lost in them, I remember I have a lot still to learn.

“I have questions.” Softly the words leave my parted lips and bubbles rise, escaping my tongue. I still cannot believe I am speaking underwater.

“I know.” He murmurs, looking slightly disappointed that I have ruined the mood. He unravels his tail skilfully from mine and with much more elegance than I have yet mastered, he leads me down through the still water to the white marble pews as a million and one questions stir in my mind.

“What do you want to know?” Orion begs an answer of me, his eyes patient as he gazes down into my curious expression from the pew next to me. I feel odd sitting with a tail. It’s not as simple as legs when it comes to staying upright but I rest both palms down on the cool marble and try to focus on my words.

“Why am I a mermaid? Did you do this to me on purpose? Was I born like this?” I ask desperately, waiting for a response, scared of what it may be. He parts his delicate but full lips slightly and I see the slits that run parallel on both sides of his neck open and close more slowly, as though he is sighing.

“You were destined to become what you are, Callie. This is no accident. Mermaids and mermen are no accident. We are chosen.”

“What do you mean?”

“Someone like you … like us, when we die … we return to the sea. Once we come into contact with salt water a transformation begins, one that changes us into our destined self, one that turns us into warriors, defenders of the sea.”

“But … what if I hadn’t have died … like I did.” I ask, hating the word ‘died’; it feels foreign, like I shouldn’t be using it when talking about myself.

“Then you would have remained buried, suspended in time until we found you.” He says it like its common knowledge, like he’s impatient.

“I don’t understand …” My head is spinning; even the topic of conversation is hard to swallow.

“This is a story that begins so long ago, Callie … are you ready to hear it? You may never see the world the same way after I tell you this.” He asks, holding one of my hands with his slender fingers and my gaze with a serious and inescapable stare.

“It’s a bit late for that, don’t you think?” I reply, a sweet smile crossing my lips even though my insides feel like ice with the shock of events beyond my control.

“Okay then.” Orion agrees with a dazzling smile full of white teeth. He takes another deep inhale and begins, reciting the story to me as though it happened only yesterday.

THE SETTLERS

“On the east coast of Cyprus, ten settlers and their wives arrive from their migration across the sea from the Greek islands to their new home. The journey was a long and hard one and a ferocious storm raged. The lead Settler, Atlas, a wise fisherman whom had knowledge of the ocean had guided them. He knew that in order to survive the storm, the best course of action was to respect the sea and not to struggle against it, but rather to move with its thrumming waves. So that is exactly what they did, aboard the ship those men and women watched the sea rage for three days and nights but on the morning of their arrival, found themselves no worse for wear at their destination as the sun shone magnificently above them in the pale blue sky. From this day, the settlers began building new homes and sowing seeds in the fertile soil the island provided them. Each year they received hearty harvests and always ate well. Atlas, who led the fishing troupe each day, had never been happier and the bounty of the sea had never been larger. The years passed and the men grew older, Atlas found himself getting weaker and greyer in the years that followed until one day, a sunny one much like the day he arrived on the island, he closed his eyes and exhaled his final breath. It was then that Atargatis, Goddess of the sea, came to him in a vision and told him that he had led a good life and that because of this she would grant him immortality bestowing upon him the power to protect the seas against the evil its magic procured as Crowned Ruler to an army of mermen who were yet to awaken. She explained that as her gift to him for acting in her service, she would allow him three nights a month, when the full moon shone highly above, where he would be allowed to roam the land and quench his thirst for human pleasures. The only condition was that he must be back in the sea by morning or he would turn to sand in the heat of the day, returning to the hourglass of mortal time, that as we all know, must empty. Atlas accepted this duty being stunned by the Goddess’ choice and belief in his knowledge of her kingdom, he continued to live happily there.

Atlas carried out the will of Atargatis, working together with his brethren who, small in number, slowly began to awaken, many from the island from which he had come. Together they beat back the darkness. But he felt hollow. He kneeled in a sunken white marble chapel deep in the Pacific and cried to the heavens that his empty soul was eating him alive, making him wish for death, causing him to question his willingness to fight for eternity. Atargatis came to him once more, hearing his cry. She thanked him for his devotion, asking him why he looked so sad and asking why he wished to leave his responsibility as crowned ruler of the mer warriors. He replied, telling her he was lonely, having lost his wife who he loved wholly. He understood now that eternity was a long sentence to serve alone. Atargatis pondered this for a moment before splitting his soul in two. He cried out in agony as she held his soul in her hand, looking over it with scrutiny and found it was pure. She admired its shimmering mass and blew it, just like a kiss from a departing lover across the realms and back to the crucible of Gaia, where it would wait to be reborn, encased in a woman’s body as Atlas’ soul mate. It was then that the Goddess realised she had given them the means to fight but not the cause for which to fight. Upon this revelation, the Goddess’ kiss reverberated, reaching across the tides. Each merman at that moment felt a fracture within himself as his soul was ripped in two and was sent back into the crucible, waiting for the birth of those bodies, which would be named soul mates. Atargatis had decided she would give her warriors a gift, a chance to experience a love like she had with Poseidon, that which was divine. Atargatis spoke to Atlas the words

“He who loves must yield thy double edged blade, young warrior. Go forth and seek your maiden and your soul will find its way home.”

So the souls were scattered across space and time.

All they had to do was wait.

And so they did.

However, it cannot be said that this is the end of such a tale; Poseidon, discovering the gifts she had bestowed on her mortal keepers, flew into a jealous rage believing her act to be out of love. He claimed they could not handle divinity such as theirs and neither did they deserve it. He reminded her of the man who had captured her, turned her to sand in the heat of the day. Atargatis, enraged by his closed mindedness and lack of empathy for man dared him to try and do better, dared him to try to create a creature that would protect the seas with only mortal blood. Poseidon accepted her challenge, taking a tortured soul, one of the settlers no less and creating a creature with a more primal edge, a carnal killing machine. He stared upon his creation, the very first, with the tail of a swordfish and the speed and cunning to top even the oceans most deadly predator. Atargatis warned him, told him such an unstable entity would only become destructive, but Poseidon would not listen, and soon he saw the monstrosity he had unleashed as the psiren spread the darkness to another, his brother to be exact. Humans having been overcome with such power and instinct that they had no conscience, banished to the abyssal depths of the sea could not be trusted to keep immortality to themselves. He abandoned them, hoping the darkness would not spread and trapping what he could of  it in demonic flesh, which he banished in a dimensional prison. The mer soon learned of the psirens creation and some were tempted by its power, falling from the grace of the Goddess and into the darkness created by her mate. The others had no choice but to try to destroy them as their numbers began to grow. This battle still continues …

Orion is silent finally; he continues to stare at me, looking concerned as to what my reaction may be. I look down at my hand, which is still firmly in his grasp and I think carefully about what my next words should be, drinking in the water through what I assume are gills.

“That’s a nice fairy tale, but where do you fit into all this?” I whisper quietly, gently tracing my fingers along the smooth skin of his palm I feel him stiffen slightly.

“Atlas is my father.” He clarifies and I stare at him in disbelief.

“How old are you?” I ask, surprising myself and he laughs, a beautiful melodic sound, which rings through the water and makes my insides warm.

“Older than you.” he replies coyly, his gaze becoming playful, but I don’t want the mood to lighten. I am in serious shock. I have a tail!

“So why are you here?” I ask and he looks confused.

“What do you mean?”

“Here … near California. You’re from Europe right?” I question him and he tilts his chin up.

“Atargatis needs us here. This is where the walls are thinnest between dimensions.”

“So you just moved here?”

“Yes. We swim fast, so travelling isn’t too much of a problem. I guess you could say we are kind of nomadic that way.” He shrugs.

“So you’re all from one island?”

“No. A lot of the older mer like me come from the same island, but there are others too. They come from all over. We don’t try to understand, it is the will of a Goddess we are talking about here. She has motives we cannot begin to comprehend. I suppose diversity makes for a great army, and that’s what we have to be.” I sit and frown; he’s starting to sound like a preacher.

“Okay, well, what is my role in all this?” I pry further and his gaze becomes serious again. He moves towards me far too quickly and rolls his arm around my waist pulling my chest towards him.

“You have been … I mean to say you are, a maiden of the Tidal Kiss … that is to say you have been tidally kissed by the Goddess. You are the final piece of a puzzle that’s taken over five centuries to complete. And you are mine … forever.” He whispers, kissing me on the lips with a possessive growl and I struggle backwards out of his arms.

“Tidally kissed?” I feel the term roll around my tongue like magic.

“Yes, the Goddess, just like in the story, chose you to be my other half. I’ve searched for you … waited so long.” Orion looks slightly mad in this second, his tousled hair is still perfect but it’s something more subtle that gives him away, it’s the emptiness behind the glass of his eyes.

“Why, because destiny says so? Don’t I have a choice in this?” I exclaim, feeling as though all the water above us is pushing down on me, exerting massive amounts of pressure. Orion’s expression is instantly worried, startling me. He moves like a lightning strike, cracking his tail down against the marble so he is no longer resting against the marble pew but is floating effortlessly a few feet in front of me. He is upright and I am in a defensive position as he reaches out one hand towards me.

“I thought you felt the same … I’m sorry Callie, I shouldn’t have assumed, it is just for me, there is only you. Not because of destiny, but because you and I were made for each other, we share a soul. Don’t tell me you can’t feel it.” He cocks his head and his eyes narrow so slightly that if I wasn’t studying him with scrutiny it would have gone undetected.

I relax, dropping my shoulders an inch, stunned by the conviction in his voice, the passion in his stare. I look at him up and down, the glistening royal blue scales that bind his legs and connect to his defined abdominal muscles are shining. His arms are bulging as his fists are closed and his lips purse into a tight line once more. His gills open and close at an accelerated rate.

“Well I …” But I can’t finish the sentence because the expression on Orion’s face is so odd. He looks as though he is trying to contain some angry outburst from surfacing and at the same time is taming great excitement. I rise from the pew slowly, flexing my tail with nervous energy. I take a stroke forward, needing him to know how I feel after my surfacing doubts. I do want him right now, no fate or destiny matters. He is my choice.

I place a hand on his chest and he looks up from the floor that he has been staring at, disappointment turns to hope. His eyes burn with something I have never seen before in a man: desire. He takes my wrist in hand pulling me to his chest, wrapping both his arms around my waist. Then he is pushing me down to the white marble floor, wrapping his tail around mine again so I cannot escape his furious kisses. His lips possess mine over and over, making my breast heave and the speed of my breathing skyrocket. We are both in a tangle of hot emotion and passion when it hits me: how do we have sex?

With this thought my lips freeze and my eyes open. Orion’s face hovers above mine, his eyes are so close to mine our noses are touching, he smells amazing even underwater, which I am yet to understand the inner workings of. For now I silence that question and ask the one that stopped me cold in his scorching gaze.

“How do we …?” I ask, hearing how forward I sound and stopping in the middle of my sentence.

“Have sex?” Orion picks up my thought with a joyful smirk. “I believe that is why I am so blessed as to walk on land three nights a month.” He expresses through a ragged, breathless whisper.

“Isn’t that to seduce young women and have your way with them?” I tease with a raised eyebrow, an edge of seriousness in my tone, giggling internally at the thought of mermaid babies. He catches my eye surprised and then unbinds my tail by sliding down beside me, placing his arm over my shoulders and letting my head rest in the crook of his arm.

“That hasn’t been done for a very long time Callie, once it became obvious that the human race was becoming smarter, it wasn’t worth the risk. It’s probably the reason we have managed to stay hidden for so long. We are small in numbers compared with mankind. I remember that many mer didn’t agree with it anyway, thought it was unkind seeing as we have an unfair advantage.” He enlightens me. His voice flows rough like raw silk, husky and sensual as ever. I wonder what he means by unfair advantage, but once again let the query slide back into the recesses of my mind.

“But you did … seduce young women that weren’t me, I mean.” I ask the question, a lump forming in my newly mutilated throat, afraid of the response I might get.

“There was a time … I thought I would never find you.” He admits, his eyes stormy.

“So you …”

“Drowned my sorrows in the arms of strangers.” he admits, closing his eyes as though the memories pain him.

“How many …”

“I’d really rather not Callie, besides, it’s over now. You’re here.” I feel his evasion like a slap across my face, harrowing and brash. He looks sorrowful and I imagine another woman’s arms around his back, clawing into his skin with unspoken pleasure, moaning against his lips. I want to cry.

“So is it rare to find new mermaids now?” I press him, trying to forget the hideous image that had just invaded my mind, bringing a fresh and ultimate fear forth from where before there was nothing.

“You are the first in over 100 years.” He replies with a sigh and then pulls my face closer, placing a kiss on my head. “I have waited a long time for you.”

“I’m sure you had many other mermaids to keep you company though, right?” I pry, unable to stop myself wondering what centuries of loneliness must be like.

“Not an option for me romantically. Nothing ever filled the hole until I saw you sitting on that beach. No matter how hard I tried to make it otherwise.” He smiles again, trying to be sweet but all the while, I know he was not all he had appeared to be at first, he was not a knight in shining armour upon a white steed, but rather a tortured soul thrashing with the weight of the cross he bared for so long. I push the thought aside again. I’m getting really good at denial, I think to myself. I wonder how I can be underwater without feeling wet, distracting myself from the flash of images in my mind of Orion under silk sheets with various naked figures. I decide to try and avoid trivial questions as I have too many without wondering why I don’t feel wet.

Orion sits up and I shuffle sideways awkwardly, not quite used to balancing the weight of such muscle on my lower half.

“I know you have questions Callie, but right now we have somewhere to be.” He soothes, stroking my arm with his fingers.

“Oh and where is that?” I retort quickly, feeling a knot of uncertainty curl in my gut at the recent revelation of his infidelity. It is irrational that I feel so bruised by his seeking comfort in other women, but then maybe that’s because I don’t have any past relationships that will make him feel the same way I do right now. I’m a clean slate, a tabula rasa, and he … well he is tainted by the millions of other invisible fingerprints left by the wanton touch of those gone before.

“The Lunar Sanctum and your initiation of course.” he enlightens me so simply and yet I am nervous with a million more questions heaped onto my already overflowing pile. I am really beginning to feel out of my depth in this moment, my chest constricts and I feel myself flush red.

“Hey don’t look so nervous!” He exclaims, embracing me lightly before he holds me out at arm’s length with a sly smile. “Besides, it’s not the celebration or initiation you need to be worried about Callie. It’s meeting my lovely sister that should make you terrified.” With that sly smile I feel my stomach tie into knots. “That was a joke …” He reassures me, placing a hand on the back of my shoulder.

“In light of the fact that I’ve just sprouted a tail and died all in one day, do you think you could maybe not joke like that.” I try to look angry but fail, trying hard as I might to resist smiling, to let shock swallow me whole, his boyish grin brings me back to myself.

“Sorry … I’m just excited you’re here.” He looks slightly crest fallen, like he knows he is getting ahead of himself.

“I can tell.” I laugh, touching the back of his neck, letting the wisps of rigid mahogany hair fall through my glowing fingers. “It’s just scary. I was murdered, Orion. I don’t quite know how to feel about that.”

“Yes, my sister has impeccable timing.”

“Your sister?” I back away from him slightly, wondering why I’m going to meet the woman who murdered me. I understand his quip about being terrified now. It isn’t funny.

“Yes, I have two sisters, Azure and Starlet. Azure was the one who killed you.” I shift uncomfortably and he senses my unease. He looks me straight in the eye and vows, “I will make her pay. I swear. She shouldn’t have taken your life from you.” I feel my heart start to race again.

“She’s …” I start.

“A psiren. The darkness consumed her long ago.” Orion’s mouth is a hard line.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t feel sorry for me. Starlet was closer to her than I.” He begins but I cut him off.

“Starlet is the one I’m going to meet, right?”

“Of course.” Orion’s brow creases with sincerity.

“Good. I don’t really fancy having a nice get together with the woman who stabbed me.” I admit and he looks amused.

“I understand. I’m trying to make this easy for you. Is there anything you want?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know what I need right now. Or even where we are.”

“Somewhere in the Pacific.” Orion answers me in such a blasé fashion, as if we are two people chatting in front of a local coffee shop.

“Will you just sit with me for a while? I think I need to process this, to get used to this … body.” I gulp in thick mouthfuls of water which are somehow quenching my need for air.

“Of course, take as much time as you need.” Orion sits with me on the pew, holding my hand. He lets silence fall over us as I stare down at my tail for what feels like seconds but is probably far longer.

“I do have something I’d like to show you.” Orion whispers, breaking the silence. I’ve taken time to process and so many things still don’t make sense to me. However, I can’t help but push them aside unintentionally as I get caught up in Orion’s smile. He turns to me hopeful.

“But?” I ask, his eyes making my heart pound as they shine.

“It might be too soon.” The words fall from his lips and his brow furrows. My heart falls.

“Don’t we have to somewhere to be though?” I ask, trying to distract him.

“For this … I think I can make a small detour.”

“Then I’d like you to show me.” I say, stroking my now straight hair behind my ear. I miss the ringlets tickling my ears nervously, but I can’t deny that the long style is gorgeous.

“Okay then, your wish is my command!” He makes a faux bow and I laugh to myself as he grins once again.

“So where is it, where are we going?”

“My favourite place in the whole ocean.” he kisses my cheek, wrapping his tail around mine, the scales creating a delicious friction. I look up into his eyes and he looks back into mine, which are reflected aqua in his royal blue eye mask.

“Liar.” I say and he lets out a bellowing laugh that stems from his taught abdomen, rattling through the waves above us and warming my heart.

We leave the white marble chapel through a high archway, hand in hand. Orion shows me how to move my body in the open water. He demonstrates in the current that had not reached us inside the walls of the place where I had awoken, undulating, rippling against the moving water. His body is lusciously long with the royal blue tail that gives him a speed beyond the imagination of any human.

My new eyes make everything clear as crystal and the phytoplankton shimmer every shade from mint green to jade, magnified to perfection. Outside the chapel, I pause to take in the hundreds of fish that pulsate in the water. I’m closer to them now than I could get in any aquarium.

“You okay?” Orion calls back to me.

It’s then that I realize he has moved a considerable distance forward in the few moments I have been stationary. I turn onto my back so I face the surface and look up at the lowering sun. I see my reflection; wavy and interrupted by the waters end, but undeniably me. I can see my eyes, framed by aquamarine, my lips fuller than I’ve ever seen them, and a waterfall of hair behind me. My tail is glittering, thousands of tiny mirror like scales layering to form a strong instrument of speed and grace, attached to me at the waist. The sight of it shocks me and for a moment, I feel fear cling at me.

“It’s okay if you feel afraid.” Orion’s voice moves from beneath me. I turn away from my reflection and he’s there whispering in my ear, his chest pressed to my front.

“It’s just …”

“Shocking … I know.” He strokes down my spine as I adjust to an upright position in the water. I nod.

“I glow …” I query, raising my hand up to my eye level and examining my luminous skin.

“Yes … it’s the touch of the Goddess, our connection with the moon radiating throughout you.” Orion explains and I almost choke. He keeps giving me all this information and it sounds like total nonsense.

“You aren’t glowing.” I notice, looking at his skin in the rippling reflection.

“I’m a lot older than you. My shine has all but worn off.” He says with a smile creeping across his lips. Like there’s some kind of internal joke I’m not getting.

“Don’t say that.” I scold, wishing he could see himself through my eyes.

“Come on, we don’t have much time.” He continues to whisper though there’s no need; it is only us and the fish for miles.

We swim for what feels like moments, but that’s probably because I’m distracted by everything that surrounds us. Coral reefs pass underneath us and a peaceful silence infects the water. I don’t feel the need to ask questions, I just swim allowing Orion’s hand and the current to take me wherever we are headed.

“Here.” he says suddenly, watching me like a hawk. I can’t decide whether he is trying to guess what I’m thinking or wondering whether he should ask.

“Where?” I ask, looking around. We are in a deep part of the sea, the sandy sea floor shadowy beneath us. Other than this, I see nothing.

“Follow me.” Orion commands, authority seeping into his tone. I do as he asks, taking his hand as we dive together. We move deeper until Orion halts, turning his body perpendicular to the seabed as we come to a single boulder. The sand spreads out before us, flat and desolate for miles. Wherever in the Pacific we are, we have left the reefs and shoals of fish far behind as a consuming silence falls over us and I wonder how the hell he found this place. One boulder in an entire ocean without a map or GPS in sight, how has he managed that? I think to myself as I wait awkwardly, needing to break the tension as Orion moves in front of me, examining the boulder before nodding once.

“This is your favourite place?” I ask incredulously.

“No, patience Callie.” he cocks a brow and I zip my lip as he moves forward and rolls it away, his biceps bulging. The boulder reveals a tunnel opening in the rock underneath the small layers of sand that sweep the ocean floor.

“Down there?” I ask, peering over the edge.

“I know it seems tight, but you have a tail now. You can manoeuvre in ways impossible for a human.” He assures me but I pull a face. Looks too much like an accident waiting to happen to me. “I’ll go first.” He says patiently. “Hold onto the end of my tail fin if you start to feel claustrophobic and I’ll pull you through.” I nod, unable to come up with a response that doesn’t make me sound like a wimp. I watch him as he rotates; folding his body in half at the waist and propelling downward with what would be a dolphin kick with legs.

I take a deep breath, as one would to dive, before remembering this is redundant, and follow his lead. He is right about me being able to manoeuvre the tunnel easily, but the sides close in on me unpleasantly so I grab onto his tailfin, feeling the force of glistening sinew pull me up and into a pool of water. I see something above me and wondering how the starry night sky can exist under water, I surface, popping my head above the barrier of the water and gulping in a lungful of dry air.

“What the …” Is all I can manage as I realize that what I can see from beneath the surface isn’t the sky at all. I have emerged into an air pocket, rock walls surrounding all sides but one, which holds a small trickling waterfall that has somehow eroded its way down through the rock and into the room. It’s like a cave in the bottom of the sea and utterly bizarre. However, the location of this cave isn’t what makes it strange at all, but rather the hundreds of luminescent dots that scatter the slick ceiling, looking down on me like oddly blue-greenish stars.

“It’s … for you.” Orion admits, his cheeks flush with heat. I think this is the first time I’ve ever seen him embarrassed.

“You … you did this?” I ask, looking up in awe at the mini galaxy. I try to take in the rest of the gloomy room before I find another light source.

Around the pool of water that half fills the air pocket are natural shelves, rocks jutting out from the walls, one of them holds a jar filled with a glowing liquid.

“Yes … one for each year.” He rubs his droplet covered hand on the back of his neck, rising out of the water slightly so that his pectorals are just above the water line.

“Each year?” I look at him confused.

“That I’ve waited … waited for you.” He looks shy still. I can’t respond, I just stare, moving my head so I can see the painted stars once more. They take on new meaning. There are just so many. Too many.

“Say something.” Orion pleads with a whisper, but my heart is pounding in my rib cage just as I’d managed to calm it. I try to count all the painted stars. “Almost five hundred,” Orion cuts me mid count and I let out a sigh, it’s like he can’t bear the silence. So many years, and all for me. Talk about patience. I think back to every time I’ve ever felt alone, felt so isolated I could scream. I had always known I was different to other kids my own age, but if I’d had known there was a man, this man, waiting for me… Would I have done it differently?

“I don’t understand.” I hear myself say as his eyes bare into mine.

“You’re the last maiden left to find. Everyone else has somebody. I’m the last merman left looking for the other half of his soul, and you’re it.” He says this without agenda, but I feel guilt wash over me.

“I’m sorry.” Is all I can manage and he looks confused. I feel a tear bubble and fall down my face.

“No Callie! Please don’t cry!” Orion comes forward and encases me in his arms, the luminescent melancholy galaxy watching us from above.

“What am I supposed to do?” I ask him and then I notice something. Where my tear has fallen into the water, something sparkles as it sinks through the water. I fumble for it, distracted from Orion’s confession, locking it in my closed palm and lifting it out of the water.

“It’s a …” I begin looking at the stone in my palm that throws fractured light back onto my droplet covered skin.

“Diamond.” Orion finishes.

“Mermaid tears?” I ask looking at him and then back at the tiny diamond in my palm.

“Turn to diamonds after a few seconds of contact with salt water.” Orion answers my exclamation. I feel a slight sense of revulsion at this as I let the stone slip through my fingers and fall to the cave’s depths. How the hell do I cry diamonds?

“It’s weird, I know. But it’s kept our race financially comfortable.” Orion admits looking grim.

“You mean you sell your tears?” I ask feeling slightly numb.

“Yes.” Orion says this as though it’s common knowledge.

“So humans know about mermaids?” I’m surprised.

“They know enough.” Orion’s answer is mysterious.

“So I can still go and visit my family? I mean if other humans can accept this then surely my mom …” I start but Orion’s eyes flash cold.

“It’s not a good idea to mix with humans. Particularly not family, Callie. Trust me.” I feel the blow, deeply, but can’t help but wonder why he would say such a thing. Did something happen with his own family?

“So I can never see them again?”

“I wouldn’t advise it.”

“So what? My mom just thinks I went and disappeared?”

“For now, yes. Until the police conclude the inevitable.”

“Which is?” I ask feeling desperation building inside.

“That you’re dead. Which isn’t technically wrong.” Orion says bluntly.

“But …” I begin but he cuts me off.

“Please think Callie. What are you going to tell her? That you’re a mermaid? Do you think she would believe you? You’re risking either her thinking you’re crazy, calling the police, or if she does believe you, the exposure of our world. We have a job to do.” His words ring out on the walls of the air pocket and the bioluminescent light falls on his face casting shadows that make him look powerful and intimidating.

“I guess you’re right.” I concede. My heart breaks as I think of Kayla’s face, alone, without a father or a sister.

“You have a new family now.” Orion promises, coming forward and brushing sparkling tear stains from my cheeks. He puts his forehead to mine and I breathe him in. Salted caramel, sweet and salty, fills my nostrils and I relax.

“I didn’t ask for any of this.” I sniffle.

“Neither did I.” Orion reminds me, holding me close, hovering almost invisibly in the water. His skin feels warm against mine. I thought the water would make me cold, but it actually encases me in warmth that seeps into my chest as it’s sucked into my gills and down my throat in a thick cascade.

“I’m glad I met you. I’m glad you’re done waiting.” I say sighing, banishing thoughts of my family to the back of my mind with a twinge of guilt.

“It wasn’t easy.” Orion admits and I feel his heartbeat accelerate beneath the shell of my ear. I know he’s holding back.

“At least you had others … you know, to keep you company.”

“Pfft.” Orion makes this guttural puff of air and the breath from his exaltation tickle the top of my head. I lean back from his skin, looking him straight in the eye.

“What?”

“Those relationships … they weren’t what you’d call conversational.”

“Oh … so what would you call them?” I ask, knowing I’m putting him on the spot. I can’t help, however irrationally, wanting him to feel a little bit of guilt.

“Physical I suppose.” He looks guilty and instead of the relief I thought I’d feel, guilt overcomes me too.

“Is that expected when it comes to you?” I ask looking at him through full lashes boldly. After all this time his expectations remain a mystery.

“Of course not! Callie, I don’t expect anything from you, I swear. I’m just glad that you’re here! I’ve gotten you your own room for tonight for goodness sakes.” he looks angry, like my assumption has wounded him. I pout internally at the thought of putting walls between us. I’ve spent the last month wishing he were lying next to me, even if it turns out only to be for sleep.

“You’re right, I’m sorry. Besides, it’s not like I find you unattractive exactly.” I say slyly, narrowing my eyes and shifting nervously. Why do I have to be so crappy at being flirtatious?

“The room is there for as long as you want it.” Orion nods gravely. I wonder exactly how long I’ll last before I cave and go crawling under his sheets.

In this moment I want so badly to snuggle up next to him, bury my head into that broad, silken skinned chest, and fall into a deep sleep that lasts a thousand years, or at least long enough for all my problems to disappear.

“If I don’t use it … I mean … that is to say if I chose to share your room … I mean if you’d have me …” My cheeks are flushing and I’m hot under my skin. This is so not a normal relationship.

“I wouldn’t expect anything. I’d just be glad to have you.” His eye gleams warmly and I wonder how such a chill colour can burn with such intensity.

“Thank you. Your patience means a lot to me … I mean, this isn’t exactly a normal relationship. I just want it to develop naturally.” I look at him but can’t help but see the slightly crestfallen man behind his expression.

“I understand.”

“However …” I continue catching my breath, “I understand that you’ve waited a long time and I don’t want us to be anymore apart than we have to be. So I would like to share your room, if there are no expectations I mean.” I say it, thinking about what I’m asking carefully. I wonder if I’d be able to stop myself from losing myself in him. If it is perhaps fair asking further restraint from his clearly scarred soul that has waited, seeking mine, for almost five hundred years.

“Really?” he asks, his eyes widening.

“Yes.” I nod and he moves forward, giving the first emotion to a difficult and perhaps seemingly clinical conversation. He pulls me into his arms and plants a chaste kiss upon my lips.

“Callie …” He whispers, my name a prayer upon his lips, his forehead pushed sweetly against mine as we bask in the glow of one another. “You’re really here.” He mutters, it’s almost a sob but I can tell he is using all his strength to restrain himself, trying not to scare me with the intensity of his feelings.

“Shh. It’s okay. I’m here.” I hush him, not unlike how I have hushed my baby sister. He is as old as the hills and yet so completely undone.

“I’m scared.” Orion looks up at me, his eyes trickling liquid diamonds into the salty sea beneath us. I watch them sink, cold and heavy with the weight of his sorrow.

“Why? I thought having lived so long you wouldn’t have anything to fear anymore.” I inquire, his honesty prying me to be nothing less than the same in return.

“Until I met you, the only fear I had was of never finding you.” Orion looks into my eyes miserably and I want to cry too. I swallow, trying not to fall apart.

“And now …” I wonder if I want the answer to this question but I just have to ask it, curious as ever.

“Of falling asleep with you next to me. What if I made you up? What if I went crazy from the loneliness and I wake up … and you’re not there?” his reply strikes at something within me. I remember myself, sitting in a window seat imagining my father, what he’d look like, walking through the garden gate a hundred times. I feel my heart plummet in my chest, needing him to know I am real.

“I’m not going anywhere Orion.” I answer simply with the only response I can think of. I’m not used to having to comfort a grown man, let alone one who is so complex. I want to laugh at the absurdity of his statement but I can’t. I can’t because I realise after a few moments I’m just as terrified of exactly the same thing. How would I feel if I woke up and he was a dream? It isn’t even worth thinking about as my heart palpitates at the mere idea.

“It’s not just that. What if I can’t make you happy? What if I can’t be … whatever you need me to be?” He looks up at me and for someone so old he looks so incredibly young. I sigh and wonder to myself if this relationship will be given the chance to develop naturally. It isn’t exactly starting under normal circumstances.

“It’s okay. We have all the time in the world. We don’t have to rush into this Orion. We can make our own rules.” I promise him these things but I have no idea if I can actually deliver. I’ve never been in a relationship before. What the hell do I know about making up rules or the speed at which I should take things?

“I just …” He starts ready to launch into another worry that’s been plaguing him and I stop him, raising a hand. He pauses looking at me with surprise.

“Here, look.” I move away from him and he looks up, intrigued. I glide gently through the water with flicks of my tail, keeping myself upright as I take hold of the jar of glowing liquid that peppers the ceiling above. A kind of algae I think. I unscrew the lid and his eyes widen. I pour the thick jelly over my hand and turn to him, keeping eye contact as I move and place my hand onto a low, blank piece of wall next to the waterfall.

“Now you.” I state, sure of myself for the first time in what feels like days. Orion smiles, his eyes alight with hope as he moves over to me eagerly. He looks so young like this, and I can’t help but want to keep him smiling. After a few more moments, we stand back and look at our handy work. My small glowing handprint sits next to his larger one, so permanent in their fixture upon the rock.

“Thank you.” Orion turns to me, cupping my chin. He kisses me. I feel a weight of expectation lift and my soul unfurl, stretching itself out and becoming more comfortable in the skin that prickles at the tenderness of his touch.

“No, thank you.” I whisper, my pulse racing in that way it can’t help. Together we hold each other, moving around in slow circles, tails entwined like lock and key, my head over his heart, slow dancing under the lonely stars of years gone past.

We leave the painted ceiling of the underground cave behind us, swimming through the open ocean for what feels like only minutes as we build up an increasing, ebbing speed. Orion slashes through the water much faster than I do and as I watch his form pulsating with the rhythm of his stroke, I observe again that his tail is much longer than mine is. Is it because he is taller than me,? I wonder. We pass over things you would never see with human eyes, secret caverns hidden in rocks, cliff faces covered with reef activity and boats having met a dire end at the sandy sea floor. Fish and tiny creatures pass us by, none the wiser for our presence. A fish the size and shape of a dinner plate turned on its side rises to my eye level.

“An Opah,” Orion says as I watch it move through the water. I am in awe and I vow that if a fish with so little streamlining can swim that gracefully, so can I.

“You know everything.” I compliment and he smiles graciously.

“Not everything. You are still quite the mystery Miss Pierce.” He grins and I smile back, reminding him quickly of what lies ahead.

“We have all the time in the world.” I feel a grin spread across my lips as I realise how true this is. I do have all the time in the world. I am immortal now.

“No amount of time will ever be enough, Callie. I’ll always want more. More of you.” he vows, pulling my hand from my side and placing a kiss upon the back.

It then occurs to me what this immortality means. Whatever I feel for Orion won’t ever have to end. It will live on for as long as the tide kisses the sandy shores. Will I ever tire of his scent? His touch? His kiss? I don’t think that’s possible, I muse to myself, looking over at his body, tense with the effort of swimming, muscles clean cut and defined. I bite my lower lip and he catches me staring. He doesn’t say anything as I watch his eyes glide over me in a similar way and something primal passes under his steamy, glacial gaze. There’s so much we have left to explore of each other and I feel the anticipation of the many firsts we have yet to encounter, like my immortal life stretching before me like a delicious promise. We continue to travel as shadows, a whisper in the oceans boundless volume as the clear waters flow over my skin like hot air. The sun is setting overhead as Orion grabs my hand gently with his smooth skinned palm, pulling me upwards closer to the surface. He flashes me a grin and before I am aware of what his mischievous eyes are plotting and we are caught up in a tide so powerful it sends us shooting forward as though from a giant natural sling-shot. Adrenaline spikes through my veins and my stomach somersaults as I fly through the water. This is better than any roller coaster, better than winning any race. It is as though in this moment, I know that I have always been destined for this. Next to Orion, caught in a rip tide beneath the warm ocean's caress, I am home.

We travel by riptides for most of the journey, catching them, laughing with uninhibited pleasure as we are jolted forward at epic speed by the force of the water pulling us with it. The sun is just about to dip below the horizon as I notice Orion gesturing for me to follow him with a wave of his large hand. I swim using the new muscles of my tail, tensing them deliciously so they propel me towards him as he looks at me with admiration. His hair, through all the commotion is unmoved and perfectly tousled in its normal sexy style, framing his wide brow, which is creased with the thrill. His tanned body makes me sigh a little to myself as he strokes effortlessly against the current. He holds out one hand to me and I take it in my own as together we rise towards the surface, swimming in synchronicity as the last of the dimming sunlight ebbs away from the horizon. We break the water’s surface and the air around me feels too thin, too dry. I choke a little before opening my mouth and inhaling deeply, gasping to quench the aridity of the surface.

“Oops! I should have warned you about that.” Orion apologizes, patting me on the back lightly.

“Why does the air seem so dry? It didn’t in the cave.” I complain, shocked as I resume breathing through my mouth and nose. Even this feels alien now. Gills are so much more comfortable.

“That cave is deep undersea. It’s just your lungs taking a few moments to adjust to the surface because the sunlight dries the air. You’ll be okay, just keep breathing.” He smiles and kisses me on the cheek, as our heads meet atop the bobbing waves. Cheers are carried on the salty breeze among the cry of gulls and Orion grins. Heads still close together, we turn so I can see the shore.

With my new high definition sight, I am able to make out a crowd of strangers standing on the shore, looking straight at us. Behind them is a manor house, perched on top a cliff in all its grandeur. I can’t quite work out where we are, but we can’t be that far from San Diego. You wouldn’t know it with the architecture of the manor though, eclipsed at the edges by tall trees; its design is nothing like any modern San Diegan architecture I’ve ever seen. The roof is a deep bottle green and the outside walls are Tudor in design, stark white with deep black wooden beams criss-crossing over one another. I can’t see how far it extends back from here, but it looks at least four stories tall and the front contains many windows on each side of the double wooden doors. My attention falls back to the crowd of waving people, could they be mer?

“What is this? Are you showing me off to your friends?” I tease with a grin. His eyes glint with the promise of revenge at this assumption.

“No, if I was going to show you off, I’d do this.” He makes the wicked promise, grabbing me by the waist and pulling me under the water. I squeal as the cool water quenches my thirst once more, before feeling the tug of gravity against me as we head back towards the surface. We break the barrier of water with such speed I feel I may fly into the stars as I look into Orion’s amused expression. He begins to twist us through the air in a corkscrew, silhouetting us against the rising moon. Our bodies are intertwined as they fly through the air and the stars twinkle in the backdrop watching our play. I sigh, rolling my eyes in faux disapproval and he cannot help but laugh at my pretend lack of impress.

As we hit the surface and return to the sea he gives me a quick wink and grabs my hand, pulling me so hard through the water I feel my arm may come out of joint. As I watch him, the person who was not one hour ago crying on me, I start to understand the emotional tumult occurring inside not only me, but him as well. We stay close to the surface and every few moments he does what I only imagined a merman would ever do, breaking the surface, arching like a dolphin before returning to my side with a challenging look in one eye. I try to copy him, landing a little less gracefully, though I do notice I hear cheers as I break the surface, making me anxious. As we approach the shore we do not, as I thought we would, emerge onto to the beach but rather Orion guides me into a cave, the entrance to which lies underneath a rock face that towers out of the water and forms the cliff on which the large property sits. We plunge deep beneath where the cliff face ends far below the surface and then make a drastic ninety degree turn creating a flurry of bubbles. We rise swiftly into an open pool of water in the floor of a cave which I can only assume lies within the cliff itself.

“Ok, now hold my hands and look up there.” He instructs bossily and I do as asked. I look to where he has pointed and above I see the moon through a glass panel that has been conveniently placed into the high roof of the cave at an angle. The effect it has on me I cannot describe as I feel a gentle tickle engulf my body. Then, I am falling through the water without any support. I splash for a few moments, struggling to keep my head above the surface before being yanked up by Orion’s strong embrace in one flail swoop.

“Whoa, I got you!” He exclaims, lifting me out of the water using the stairs. I look down and we both have legs. I sigh, legs; I know how to use these! It is then that I realise I am otherwise naked. My breasts are no longer sporting the stylish aqua scales instead of nipples; the scar over my heart is just a puckered pink line of skin. I am in Orion’s arms and I realize that he must be naked too. I dare to peek, but my own body is shielding the most private part of him. I pout quietly to myself trying to ignore the fact that I’m totally nude by concentrating on the fact he’s totally naked too. He sets me down on the stone floor of the cave and hands me a towel from a conveniently placed shelf. I wrap the towel around myself and I watch as he turns to get himself a towel from the rack. Oh my, is my only thought as his beautifully defined ass disappears beneath the white linen of his own towel. He runs a hand through his now wet hair, looking sexy as hell. I bite my lip before catching him looking at me similarly.

“What are you looking at?” I coax, turning from him and then looking back over my shoulder, trying to be seductive.

“What do you think?” He smirks and I smirk back at him, pretending to look him up and down, judging his dripping moonlit form. “Come on, you!” He scoffs, looking exasperated as he holds out his hand once more, beckoning me into my new life. He turns me towards the wall adjacent from the pool of water, I notice now that the cave is held up by strong looking wooden beams and they all converge above an opening that is supported by these same thick wooden planks. He helps me through and inside is a wooden staircase, similar to that which aided us out of the pool of water. We climb the steep passage for five minutes, the stairs twisting this way and that. I can feel Orion’s eyes on my back, so I turn and give him a cheeky grin; he returns the sentiment before urging me forward. My calves burn from the climb and I am relieved when we reach the top. Inside the Lunar Sanctum, the entrance hall in which we emerge is anything but ordinary, it is decadent and warm in colour with plush green carpets sprawling up the double width staircase and covering the cool black marble floor. The walls are white marble with veins of gold spiked through them like a luxurious poison. The room glimmers under subtle candlelight from a golden hanging chandelier. I have never been in a room like this in my entire life and my bedroom has never felt further away. I feel so out of place and the only thing grounding me is Orion’s hand in mine, grasping as though I may flee at any moment. The ceiling above is what I would imagine as being at home in a mansion; it’s painted with an underwater scene, a great battle happening beneath the waves. There are mermen riding giant sea horses and wielding tridents bigger than themselves, they’re fighting back monsters, demented versions of creatures of the deep. I gulp in the dry air, feeling my stomach knot at the thought of seeing monsters like that for myself. I take a moment, breathing slowly and steal a few steps forward, gazing upwards and spinning around trying to take it all in; just in case I wake up back in my aqua walled bedroom. I am becoming used to the ‘dry’ air as I start to feel biologically myself but my mind is struggling to absorb the scale on which this is all happening. The banisters gleam golden, polished and immaculate, and my feet go from cool to warm as I step on the jade carpet runner that climbs the stairs. The room is empty but I can hear chatter contained behind the large door on my right. I’m glad for now that we’re alone, I’m really not dressed to meet and greet.

“This is the Lunar Sanctum, well, one of them. We have these secretly located all over the world so that we have somewhere to reside on our three nights a month comfortably.” Orion explains, taking my hand and leading up the plush covered stairs delicately.

“What, you mean when you aren’t stalking the beaches, looking for girls to seduce?” I say sarcastically and then the logistics of Orion stumbling upon me on that night hits me. Where did he get his clothes from? Did he know I was going to be there? If so, how? While I ponder this, we are walking ever more quickly, as I make sure to keep my towel hoisted around myself, down a corridor that spans westward from the main hall. The walls are a jade green and the carpet is cream, feeling like velvet upon my naked feet as I pace briskly next to Orion. I look at him, wondering why he hasn’t responded to my quick comment. I nudge him as we turn yet another corner and continue into the labyrinth of jade coloured corridors with mahogany doors sporting gold handles lining both sides.

“Oh, yes, sorry. I’m trying to remember which way … ah here we go.” He says half-heartedly and I hope I haven’t offended him.

“Do you come here often?” I pry, tentative as we halt outside a door that looks just the same as all the others.

“To this Sanctum in particular, no. To all of them in general, I have visited occasionally, but I haven’t really had any reason in particular to stay on land for that long. It depends on the occasion really. For a normal ritual, I usually don’t make it my business to attend, family functions yes, special celebrations yes.” I nod in acknowledgment, pondering on how many mer family members he has.

It is then, as he opens the door before me, that I feel an unfamiliar pang of guilt, remembering my own family. Kayla and my mom. Will they think I’m dead? Am I dead technically? I feel so disconnected already from the life I have lived for 18 years.

I sigh and look forward into the room behind the door. It is huge; the ceiling is high and set in the wall furthest away are two double glass doors that lead out onto a balcony overlooking the ocean. I step in through the door that Orion is holding open. He looks impatient, still holding his towel round his waist and dripping onto the carpet. The carpet is white as are the walls with silver specks of glitter dotted here and there. In the centre of the room is a four poster mahogany bed, it looks to be a California King in size and the sheets and drapes are matching in luxurious white. Above, there is a small elegant crystal chandelier that refracts fragmented light onto my face, I am staring, my mouth slightly open.

“I’ve never been in here with anyone before.” He expresses coming in close, still holding the towel around his waist. I am nervous, breathing a little more quickly. He notices my unease and places a strong hand on my arm.

“The room across the hall is yours, if you should want it.” He whispers, smiling down at me kindly before walking toward a mahogany wardrobe and opening it lazily. “Ah, always prepared.” He smirks to himself knowingly and beckons to me. “Get dressed.” He orders, gesturing towards the rail of dresses before me. I look into the wardrobe, while he turns and goes to another on the opposite side of the bed that matches. The dresses are, of course, beautiful; silks and satins in many different colours. At the bottom of the wardrobe are shoes and on the shelf above the main rail are underwear sets.

“How do you afford all this?” I ask before I can stop myself, thinking back to my diamond tears falling through the water. I finger the silk of an aqua, floor length gown. How many tears had Orion shed for this dress? He looks over the bed and smiles at me quizzically, as though it is the oddest question I could ask.

“You have all this change going on around you and you are worrying about the details of how I afford things?” He raises an eyebrow.

“I’m sorry, it’s just this place … it’s just …”

“I know, don’t be sorry. You don’t live as long as us without making friends and building up a certain amount of interest and value on certain assets. Being able to cry diamonds doesn’t hurt either.” He clarifies with a shrug, as though the subject bores him.

I feel tired at the thought of his age. The idea crosses my mind, matures and won’t disappear into its depths. I’m never going to die. I’m going to be stuck at 18 forever. I feel exhausted at the thought as and I turn to Orion.

“So are a lot of mer elderly? If this is something that happens when you die?” I ask, looking at him wondering how he met his own end.

“No, the change transforms us into something time cannot touch; we are restored to our prime.” He replies smiling at me while he places trousers under the towel and pulls them up, buttoning the fly quickly. I turn back to the clothes looking at them wistfully, lots of designer labels and yet nothing I’ve seen on the catwalk before. I am overwhelmed and feel my body shake; fighting back tears I bow my head.

“Hey, are you okay?” Orion sounds startled, I wonder if he has ever had to comfort a crying woman before.

“It’s just … a lot.” I sniffle, seeing that my tears are cloudy as they begin to fall into my lap, waiting for the sea water that will make them crystallize.

“I know … I’m rushing this. I’m sorry.” He apologizes, walking around the bed to sit beside me, I feel the mattress sag and I understand how it feels, the pressure on my shoulders weighing my mood down like an anchor.

“I don’t know how to do this. There wasn’t exactly a class for this at school.” I comment and he smiles. “What?” I query.

“I just can’t believe how young you are. I knew you would look young, we all do, but you are only 18. I’m sorry about all this, how it happened. That kiss on the beach,” He pauses looking guilty, like the weight of the oceans water is bearing down on him. “I should have waited; I should have protected you better. Or maybe I should have stayed away all together.” He runs his hand through his hair, something I’m beginning to see he does a lot when he is anxious or guilty. I manage a small smile, my heart still pounding, straining under the weight of so much change.

“Please don’t apologize for the kiss. I didn’t know …”

“What?”

“It could mean so much.” I admit, biting down hard on my bottom lip, enjoying the pain. He blushes.

“Jesus. Callie … I” He is speechless and I don’t know what he is trying to articulate.

“It’s okay, if it didn’t mean the same to you. It was the first kiss I’ve ever had that felt so …”

“No, No … Callie, that kiss, I … there are no words. I just, I wish I hadn’t put all this on you. You are so young, younger than I was when this all happened for me.” He relinquishes this small personal detail igniting my thirst for information once more.

“Well, I’m glad that you enjoyed it too.”

“Enjoyed it isn’t the word … of course I enjoyed it, but it’s more than that, primal almost.” He glances down at me; I’m still clasping the towel to myself.

“Mmm.” I don’t know what to say to that, a bundle of nerves instantly tying together in my stomach, his look is so … hungry.

“I am sorry. I’m sorry you didn’t get the life you wanted. I’m sorry no one told you about what would happen once your human life ended. More than that, I’m sorry if I seem desperate, I … have waited so long.” He looks as though he may cry, when something dark passes beneath his cool irises.

“Orion …”

“We are going to be late … please, can we go to dinner, I want you to meet everyone, maybe that way you won’t feel so lost.” He kisses my shoulder tenderly and I feel the electricity pick up again, travelling down my arm, creating unrest in my fingertips.

“Okay.” I pull myself together closing my eyes for just a moment savouring his kiss. He returns to dressing and I stand again, looking down at my legs and being grateful for them in a way I never was before. The wardrobe doors still hang open so I flick through the clothes inside; somehow staying calm at the fact they are all my size. I select a floor length gown, underwear set, and a pair of shoes that go together before closing the wardrobe door quietly. I look around and notice a door leading off the main room and head over to change, before stopping a foot from the golden door handle and turning with a sudden urge to know more.

“Orion, how did you die?” I ask feeling brave as he stops buttoning his new white shirt and looks up quickly.

“Later, I’ll answer anything you want to know, after this ritual. But we are running late and you are the guest of honour tonight.” He replies, politely giving a gentle smile, his eyes a calm sea of frozen blue.

“Okay, how long will it take?” I ask curiously, wondering how long it would be before I could be alone with him, before I could grill him about the past.

“About an hour, maybe two, depends how hungry you are and how much my sister wants to torture you, etcetera.” He chuckles to himself, and at the mention of food I find myself immediately ravenous, feeling like I haven’t eaten in weeks. I turn on my heel, a knot of anxiety nestling inside of me at the mention of his sister. I turn the golden door handle and step into a huge bathroom. A large egg shaped bathtub is sunken into the floor, which is made of white marble with tiny flecks of glitter ingrained in the stone. There is also a shower, toilet, and basin. I sigh, letting my towel drop to the floor and I wonder why the mer feel the need for a bathtub. You would think they would be sick of being in the water all the time.

My hair is damp, so I dry it as best I can and it resumes its normal style of curly ringlets, tickling my ears. I walk over to a large, floor length mirror, which takes up the entirety of one of the light turquoise walls that remind me of home, looking at myself up and down. Still the same Callie, hair’s a disaster and my eyes are a little too big for my face. I trace the scar over my heart with one finger and then turn around, craning my neck so I can view the scar on my back just below my left shoulder blade. It is ugly and I feel hatred towards the unwanted mark upon my otherwise flawless back. It is then I notice something else, something that causes me to double take. A tattoo has appeared on my lower back just above my buttocks. Ribbons of turquoise and lilac flow together and intertwine in a sophisticated knot. It is beautiful, but I still wonder when this mark appeared on me. I shrug, noting to ask Orion about it later.

I walk over to the cupboard above the sink and open it, I find a hairbrush and some make up inside. I wonder how Orion is so well prepared, the logistics of him being on land three nights a month and having time to prepare all this just seem a little skewed. I brush through my ringlets, wincing every time I snag a knot with the bristles.

I place both hands on the sink, breathing deeply, I can’t seem to catch my breath anymore and the air is too thin, too dry for my lungs to use effectively. I touch my fingers gently to my neck, there are no scars here at least, only smooth, white skin beneath my fingers. I rummage through the makeup bag and find foundation, lipstick, and mascara (waterproof of course) and apply some quickly. Then I turn and get into the underwear, which fits a little too well. The bra and panties are made of a matching violet satin with black lace atop the briefs and bra cups. Then I turn to the dress and pick it up off the marble floor. It too is violet and as I place it over my head, I am beginning to become suspicious of stalking as it fits like a glove. The gown has a slit up one side of the skirt and is strapless. It fits tightly around my breasts, but then flows downward, hugging my curves. Purple silk is pinched in a knot around my chest and the ugly pink scar creeps out from underneath it. I debate trying to cover it with concealer after putting on the black strappy heels but then a knock disturbs me.

“Callie?” I hear Orion’s voice from behind the door and move to open it revealing his broad outline. His face at the sight of me lights up and a sweet appreciative smile spreads between his cheeks.

“You look lovely.” He admits, looking down at the floor as though embarrassed. I smile now, admiring the view I have of him. He is wearing a tux, and boy can he wear a tux.

“Right back at you.” I beam, covering the disconcerted feeling within as he offers me a hand. We walk from the room, our fingers desperately interlocked, towards the Ritual.

The ballroom in the Lunar Sanctum is, to say the least, impressive. The whole room ends in a stage surrounded by a red velvet curtain. The floor is in the seemingly favoured white marble, but this marble has a gold vine pattern engraved elegantly into each tile that give a mind-blowing macrocosm of gold warmth and shine to the floor. The walls are white and gold, also, with a similar vine pattern creeping up them, the ceiling must be twenty feet high and there are more murals of mer swimming among the waves. A long table is in the centre of the room behind the dance floor that lies just in front of the stage. The table is over flowing with food and a large golden statue of a Goddess with flowing hair and a dress that turns into the waves of the sea, head thrown back smiling, is central to it all. I assume this is Atargatis and I cannot deny that she is stunningly beautiful, her face, though made of hard cold metal, is so full of life and it is not difficult to believe she is responsible for the thriving depths of the ocean. Orion is still holding my hand and he gives it a quick squeeze as I begin to acknowledge the many people that fill this beautiful space, feeling the need to breathe deep, trying to calm the worries rattling inside of my skull. They are all aglow with white light as the windows that span the walls of the hall let moonlight flow in from the luminescent dangling bauble outside, beginning its ascent to the height of the sky. Out of the crowd of colourful gowns and black suits comes a head of platinum blonde hair, bobbing and shoving others out of the way.

“Orion!” the small girl calls and leaps into his arms. He lets go of my hand in order to catch her and rolls his eyes childishly at me as she kisses both his cheeks. I smile shyly as he places her back on her feet and she turns to face me. Her eyes are the same icy blue as Orion’s but these hold not an ounce of his warmth. “Starlet.” she says bluntly, instantly changing from the compassion she had shown to Orion only a few moments before, into icy intensity. She raises an elegantly manicured hand in front of me and I nervously take it, shaking three times gently while not daring to break eye contact.

“This is Callie.” Orion interjects, giving us both somewhere else to look; Starlet smirks at my name, it must seem so simple next to her own. My heart is hammering embarrassingly and my face is flushed red as I examine her intimidating, perfect face. This girl is beautiful, so much so that she makes Chloe look flawed in every respect. Her skin is an effortless tan, and her gown is silk and floor length like my own in hot pink. On her right shoulder there is a small jumping dolphin tattoo, she brushes back her lustrous blonde hair when she catches me looking at it and continues on with the conversation.

“I know, Orion. I’m how you know!” She says exasperated and I look up at Orion quizzically, wondering what the hell she is talking about.

“Starlet can see the future, in bits and pieces.” He explains and it clicks.

“Is that how you knew where to find me?” I ask, looking up at him.

“Yes.” The answer is simple and I want to ask more questions but he cuts across me.

“Would you like to dance?” He asks me, interrupting his sister’s bitchy stare in my direction with his broad shoulders. I turn, noticing that an orchestra has been revealed as the red curtain draws back to reveal the stage. It is small; perhaps a quarter of the size of a regular orchestra, but this makes no difference because they hit every note perfectly as they begin to play a melancholy symphony.

“Okay.” I take his hand once more and he leads me toward the dance floor. The crowd parts before us and he slides his hand around my waist pulling my body close to his.

“Everyone is staring.” I comment as I turn to look around us and catch eyes glancing our way.

“Can you blame them?” Orion asks and I smile to myself. He holds himself proudly, his spine is poker straight as he leads me across the dance floor in an elegant waltz, keeping me willingly trapped within the cage of his arms that connect to his broad chest. The memory of a similar dance drifts into my mind and I wonder how I went from a house party with teenagers to a ballroom with mythic warriors in the space of a month. The music from the miniature orchestra begins to build to a height and Orion speeds up, spinning me around the room like if he stops moving I’m going to evaporate into thin air. His eyes are on me now, as intense as they were when I felt them on the back of my neck in Chloe’s beach house.

“You’re giving me a very intense stare.”

“I’m sorry, am I making it obvious how beautiful I think you are?” Orion questions me, his response leaves me lost for words so I continue to waltz, running my hands through his hair as I put my arms around his neck. I close the gap between us and stop the flow of the waltz, transitioning into a slower pace. I rest my head above his beating heart, my ear against the lapel of his dinner jacket. He leans in kissing the top of my head as I actively ignore the surrounding crowd of people. For a moment, it’s just us two in a warm bubble of music and sensation. The song ends, ending the moment with it and as it passes into the recesses of time, Orion stands up straight and takes a step backward, bowing like all the other men from dancing couples I hadn’t even noticed.

“Another go round?” He inquires as the band begins its next serenade.

“I’m actually really hungry. Can we eat?” I plead, eyeing the table of food ravenously.

“Of course, come.” He beckons and leads me over to the table. I see a seemingly older man tracking me with his eyes, his hair is silver and long, his stare vividly golden, like that of a bald eagle and his face holds three or four scars. This must be Atlas, I deduce, Orion was not wrong about him being weathered by years of fighting as he stands out against the faux youth of the crowd. His body is long, spread out across the chair in which he is sat, limbs lazy like a jungle cat. The face is aged by silver scars that climb like vines across his neck and chin. He looks aged from here, even though he has been preserved like everyone else in the room into something time cannot touch. He sees Orion and me making for the table and gets up from the plush chair he is sitting in. An elegant dark-skinned woman in a lime green dress sits at his side, watching him attentively.

“Attention everyone!” His booming voice reaches out and silence falls over the crowd of people. Orion stops and looks at me apologetically for a few moments. I am frozen to the spot, nervous, wondering what will happen next. “Tonight we are joined by a new face, the first in over 100 years to join our privileged ranks. Please welcome my son’s long awaited other half, Miss Callie Pierce.” He gestures towards me with a large hand and the room turns, hundreds of beautifully youthful eyes staring at me, I feel blood rush to my face, sending me a hideous crimson colour. Orion strokes the back of my hand with his thumb, puts his other hand around my waist, and pulls me into a totally unexpected kiss. It is a business kiss, not like the ones I am so used to that are full of desire and passion, but one purely for show. Suddenly I am irrationally angry. I am not a pony to be dressed up and paraded around like some kind of trophy. He releases me gently and the room bursts into applause, each person raising a glass of champagne that seems to have magically appeared in their hands. I turn from him, not smiling or giving any acknowledgment of affection, feeling used and irritated. The anger inside me dissipates slowly as a rush of people comes forward to greet me. It is like a giant family just as Orion promised; a network of people connected by everlasting life. I spend the next hour shaking many hands, but only a few names stick, a tall man with ivory skin, black hair, and royal blue eyes introduces himself.

“The name is Cole. Cole Masters.” He holds out a hand and his white teeth almost blind me as he beams down at me. I swallow, trying to think of a clever response.

“Well Cole, Cole Masters, pleasure to meet you.” I say smiling up at him trying to be witty. He smirks, giving me a quick wink before heading back into the crowd to mingle. As he turns away I notice his back is broad; come to mention it, I can’t see a male in this place that isn’t stacked with muscle and broad shoulders, they could make a models club I have no doubt, but no one grabs my attention like Orion. His easy charm and grace, mixed with the raw power of his muscle clad physique is second to none, his eyes the crowning glory of his sculptured face. I notice some of the other mermaids checking him out from afar, despite their own partners who have them in a motioned embrace on the dance floor. I notice mermen looking at me too. I wonder if as the son of Atlas, Orion is kind of a big deal. Like royalty maybe? What does that make me? I banish this thought while I shake more hands, women with mint green eyes, black hair, lilac eyes, white hair, men with powerfully strong grips on my delicate palms, and those who have a curious look about them. After I think there can be no more people left in the world who don’t know my name, Atlas and his other half emerge through the crowd. Orion squeezes my hand a little and looks at me encouragingly, I don’t smile back at him, still irritable from the faux kiss.

“Hello young lady.” Atlas greets me, he is ruggedly attractive and I cannot begin to imagine what he must have seen, being the first of his kind. I’m having enough trouble with this and I have Orion to help me.

“Hello Atlas.” I speak, sounding more confident than I feel, and then turn to his partner.

“This is my Shaniqua.” He explains. I do a little curtsy to her and she returns the sentiment, I notice as she raises her head that her eyes are a stunning sea green; they remind me of tropical palm trees.

“I am delighted to meet you.” I produce the sentiment, smiling sweetly; this has to be the oddest social situation experience ever. My skin is crawling with nerves. She smiles back at me and then looks to Atlas who carries on the conversation with polite fluidity.

“We have been waiting for you for a long time Miss Pierce. You must be quite extraordinary.” He muses, taking my hand from my side and placing a poignant kiss upon it.

“What makes you say that?” I ask, feeling myself flush beetroot.

“Well anyone who was made to be with Orion would have to be.” He smiles, patting Orion on the shoulder. Orion smiles and grasps Atlas shoulder back.

“Thank you father.” He says in a polite gush, squeezing my hand tighter still, I can tell he’s pleased at the parental approval.

“Well at least now you’ve found her you can stop moping eh?” He teases with a deep laugh. Orion rolls his eyes.

“You try waiting hundreds of years for the love of your life and see how you do!” He exclaims. I feel my stomach drop. Pressure much!

“Anyway, I must go and start the ceremony, please be seated.” He instructs us in the same authoritative tone I have heard from his son, and we nod in unison. He leaves us taking Shaniqua with him, she sneaks me a sly smile over her shoulder as they walk to the head end of the table and I can’t help but warm to her. We step briskly across the intricate marble floor, shoes clicking against its hard veneer. Orion pulls out a gold chair, showing me his gentlemanly side, I sit.

“Why thank you sir.” I blush nervously, proceeding to tuck the chair into the longest banquet table I have ever seen. It’s covered in a gold and red tablecloth and stacked with bowls of food so decadent it would be an understatement to name this a feast. I find I am sat opposite a tanned young man (or he looks young) with grey eyes and honey wheat blonde hair that is swept from one side of his face to the other. He smiles at me politely over the bowl overflowing with roast potatoes that drip with butter between us and my mouth begins to water despite my anxiety. No one has so much as touched the food yet, so I am bound by etiquette to hold my ravenous appetite even though I am salivating like a rabid dog. We are at the left side of the table and as Orion sits down on my left and the rest of the guests seat themselves, something extraordinary happens over the clinking of many fine glass goblets, calling for silence. Shaniqua, who with Atlas, is only a few seats from us at the head of the table, gets to her feet, clears her throat, and begins to sing.

The sound is more extraordinary than any I can ever remember hearing. Upon the parting of Shaniqua’s lips, I am transported to a sunny island shore and with each note of the melodic lullaby, I swear I can hear the ocean’s waves and smell the sticky humidity that comes from being in close proximity to the equator. I inhale quickly at the surprising affect her voice has on me. I turn to Orion, wondering if I am the only one experiencing this and see he has his eyes locked on the singer and is swaying a little, beaming. The effects of the song are clearly not limited to my virgin ears, but are having a noted impact on everyone around the table. Shaniqua’s voice is so sweet, so pure that when she ends the verse and pauses for breath, I actually feel my heart break a little. While singing, she pours wine into a crystal chalice and holds it in the direction of the rising moon and everyone turns, bowing their heads and doing the same, lost in a tropical trance of white sand, blue waves, and swaying palm trees. When the song comes to an end, she returns to her seat and everybody applauds loudly. I am speechless. I never understood what people meant when they said you could see into someone’s soul when they sang, but now I know, and I can’t help but feel I just experienced the sensations Shaniqua herself had once felt, standing on the very beach that had formed in my mind as an imagined image.

“And now to dinner, tuck in everyone!” She beams, gesturing at the overflowing bowls and plates around us as Atlas places a kiss onto her cheek. So we do. I pile food on my plate and I honestly can’t believe how utterly mouth-watering everything is, I notice a certain lack of fish on the table and smile to myself, thinking how absurd it would seem if there were; crude even. Orion wolfs down food in a surprisingly cultured manner and I form a question I just have to ask. I lean over to him and whisper quietly.

“Do you eat, when you are … you know?” I ask timidly, not sure if I have been using correct or appropriate terminology since becoming a mermaid myself.

“No, but I never feel hungry either, until the full moon rises that is.” He stuffs another leek into his mouth chewing appreciatively and I roll my eyes, making him smirk. It’s nice to see him so at home, less of a mystery and more of a normal human being. I can almost see us being similar now rather than him as Mr. Adonis and me a struggling teenager. I stare at him before remembering he has been alive hundreds of years and that’s something that I’ll never get away from. I do not think I can even begin to grasp how long that is. I hope I was worth the wait, I worry as I take a final mouthful of the juicy braised beef. The glistening china of my plate looks as though it’s been licked clean when I’m done with a dessert of lemon meringue pie and I sit back full and satisfied. I place the heavy silver knife and fork on my plate, and sit, keeping my spine straight in an effort to look impressive upon the red cushions of my chair. I look around, happy faces everywhere; smiles and chatter, and then I see Atlas and Shaniqua at the end of the table. They share a secret glance, one so full of understanding, intuition, and love, that I cannot help but think twice about my doubts toward the fact that perhaps my love for Orion is not my own. Perhaps it is one born of destiny and the fact that we supposedly share a soul. Could it really be the greater plan of some Goddess I have never believed in? I have known him for so little time, and yet I feel like I’ve known him my whole life, like he understands everything about me so perfectly. It really does feel as though I was made for him, and he for me. I turn and place my hand on his leg and he bows his head slightly.

“You know there are some types of hunger that never leave you.” He whispers suggestively and I remove my hand quickly making him smirk. I smile innocently, batting my eyelids before turning my embarrassment and shock into conversation with the grey-eyed man sitting across from me.

There is the clinking of glass and silence falls over the room again. This time Atlas gets to his feet.

“Now that we are all full, I think it is time to welcome our newest member to the family, I mean of course, not only my own heritage, but to our community. I hope that you will be happy within our pod, Callie.” He sighs and I begin to panic, sweat forms in my palms and my breathing increases, what am I going to have to do? Sacrifice a goat or something? Oh, I hope not, goats are too cute! I try to focus on what Atlas is saying though my face is beginning to flush a deep red again as eyes turn to me.

“If you would please, Callie, grace us with the beauty of your new voice.” He holds out one hand as though introducing a comedy act, and as I get to my feet, I begin trying to recall times when I have ever thought it wise to sing in public. I come up with nothing and so stand uncomfortably, not sure of what to do.

“Just open your lips and let it flow, it will come naturally, I promise.” Orion whispers from beside me. If there was ever a time to test my trust in this man this was it, risking public humiliation in front of perhaps the only people in the world that will ever understand me. No, my mind says, Orion wouldn’t let that happen to you. I close my eyes, grab his hand from behind me, open my lips, and begin to sing. The sound comes from somewhere entirely unfamiliar and even to me it is surprising. Soulful and sweet notes drift from my lips as though I am the most innocent child in a church choir. The faces around the table begin to share a look of surprise and some even curiosity as I let the words, which I have never rehearsed, flow from my tongue and into the thick warm air surrounding the table. I think of my little sister, laughing, playing with her. I remember the embrace of my mother, the kiss I shared with Orion on the beach, giggling with my friends. I had never realised it before but as lonely as I felt, I was loved. Loved, I realise, with intensity when you put it all in one place. It is then that a memory I do not expect comes into my head. A man with large turquoise eyes and curly blonde hair, staring down into my face and smiling deeply, I hear myself giggle and I continue to belt out the notes, louder and louder, willing the images to continue for a reason beyond my understanding. Was this a dream? Orion squeezes my hand as I hear people gasp slightly, whispering to themselves as I belt out the final note. I am practically bellowing it into the surrounding air. I let the sound dissolve and then stop, breathing so hard I feel as though I may feint. The crowd applauds, stunned at my voice apparently as I even get a few whoops. Orion smiles at me, flashing brilliant white teeth and for a moment I am lost in his face, his eyes, and the pride that has ignited their glacial surface, and then the memory is lost too.

“Bravo!” Atlas beams, coming over to me and placing one hand firmly on my shoulder, his silvery grey hair swinging slightly behind him, golden eyes glinting.

“Thanks.” I mumble, slightly embarrassed after my outpouring of emotion

“Don’t be so modest, you have a huge heart Callie, there’s no hiding that.” Shaniqua compliments, smiling delicately, her green eyes glinting while surveying my blush.

“Anyway, I’m off to dance my woman into a coma. Have a good night, and Callie, welcome to the fold.” Atlas concludes and I nearly laugh at how odd those modern words sound, coming from his oh-so-literate lips. Orion rolls his eyes and I chuckle at the amusing dynamic between them. People are dispersing from the table and coupling off as the orchestra resumes playing, filling the cavernous hall with warmth and sound.

“Care for another dance?” He asks and for once, there is so much more I would rather do. I don’t feel tired. The words erupting from my lips in song had solved any fatigue that was resting within me and now I want answers.

“No, thank you, I’d rather talk.” I look at him sternly; I will not be side-tracked by his romantic notions tonight.

“Back up to the room?” He asks and offers me a hand. We wave goodbye to everyone as we leave the ballroom, their eyes watching our backs disappear from the doorway and back up the jade green runner that lines the stairs of the main entrance. Orion slots his fingers through mine and I notice myself feeling uncomfortable because my feet are pinching in my shoes. I ask him to wait one moment with a wave of my hand and undo them, pick them up and carry them both in one hand while taking his smooth palm in the other. We reach the foot of the large staircase and he is no longer content with my walking, or so it would seem, as I somehow in an instant end up in his arms.

“Orion! Put me down!” I squeal, hitting his broad shoulder with my fists weakly.

“Hush woman.” He responds in a mock cave-man tone.

“Don’t call me that!” I exclaim again, giving him a faux angry expression.

“Why … you are a woman, aren’t you? Is there something you forgot to mention?” He jokes and I laugh.

“Oh for Gods-sake, YES I’m a woman. I’m about to be a very a very pissed woman. I can walk myself!” I struggle and he tickles me, subduing me. “Tickling can only protect you for so long!” I threaten with a huge grin across my face, glad we’re alone. I’m not sure I could bear being man handled in front of his entire family. After all he has already staged a kiss tonight, which was more than enough showcasing for one day thank you very much.

“I suppose I’ll have to find a more permanent solution for your incapacitation.” He lets the polysyllabic prowess of his years spin out with relish and I smile. He’s so smart.

“You can’t incapacitate me.” I laugh, though I’m not entirely sure this is true. As we reach the top of the staircase, he bows his head, swooping down and kissing me until I go limp in his arms. He puts me down on both feet and my head is light, I’m reeling from his ‘incapacitation solution’.

“Don’t tempt me, Callie. You have no idea what I’m capable of when it comes to you.” He smiles and turns on one heel, sauntering down the corridor and looking back over one shoulder. What could I do but follow?

Back in the room, I eye the bed. Though not tired, I desire to be covered in the cream satin sheets, warm and protected from my own curiosity. I head over to the wardrobe and look for some pyjamas, but all that resides in the wardrobe is negligee and lacy nightdresses. I pout; nothing comfy. I watch Orion as he places his jacket over the cream leather chair in the corner of the room closest to the double glass French doors and then study him unbuttoning his shirt. Oh my, he has a fine chest. All definition and muscle, with that gorgeous band tattoo on the top of his left arm. I feel myself flushing and cheekily snatch up the shirt off the chair. I scurry into the bathroom feeling naughty at my thievery. Once in the safe confines of the turquoise walls, I peel the violet satin dress and bra from my skin before removing my make up with cool water from the basin. The violet and black lace thong will have to do for my underwear. I stare at myself, trying to picture myself from a man’s point of view. I’ve heard people say about men being fans of either bums or breasts and I peer at mine self-consciously. I’ve never been a big busted girl, quite happy with my C cup, and as for my behind, I muse that it looks like a full peach, a small shelf of fat resting under each cheek, making it look full and flush. I don’t quite understand what it is that men find so desirable about it all, but I can’t help but wonder what Orion prefers. I slip the shirt over my shoulders and button it slowly. It is about three sizes too big but it smells of Orion as I breathe in the fabric, he smells sexy as hell and the cotton is amazingly soft against my breasts, comforting me. I leave my dress on the bathroom floor carelessly, too curious and nervous about my appearance. Will I impress him being just me? No make-up or fancy gown, Callie original, no bells and whistles? I sigh at my lack of confidence; I wish I could be like Chloe, confident in her own skin. I take one last breath and step out of the bathroom.

Dim orange light covers the room from candles that Orion has set burning, they are long stemmed and cream, like the type you would find in a church, standing in silver candelabra around the room. He is wearing loose linen pyjama bottoms and no shirt. I watch him from the doorway of the bathroom slip under the satin sheets of the giant four-poster bed and feel my heartbeat start to speed up. I dare to join him, walking slowly, my legs bare and cool underneath his shirt; I reach the bed and have to hop a little to get up into its hold. The silk sheets are cool over my feet and legs and I wiggle down so I am lying flat and then turn onto my side, propping myself up on one elbow and resting my head in my hand, never feeling more awake. He is on his side too, chest bare and rippling with defining lines, his eyes, perhaps the most extraordinary thing in the moment reflecting the candlelight and making an icy flame that burns into me, hot and cold, delicious all at once.

“So Callie, shirt thief, what are you wanting to know?” He asks playfully, calm as he grabs my nose between two fingers and pinches a little.

“Well let’s start with you, how did this all begin for you hundreds of years ago?” I ask looking up into his face, scared he will withhold his past from me.

“I was Atlas’s son as you know; when he died I enlisted in the army to get money to help look after my mother. I was killed in my second battle.” He answers it simply, as though it means very little to him.

“Was it scary?” I wonder aloud curiously, wanting to know him inside and out.

“I don’t really remember. The past is so … grey, until I found you. Now everything is brighter.” He smiles sweetly at me, making my heart race.

“What happened to your mother?” I ask him, worrying I’m going to ruin the mood by making him recall memories that could be painful.

“She’s long dead and buried, Callie. She wasn’t chosen like me.” He sighs and I look up at him.

“I thought, you know, you were a mer because Atlas is your dad.” I admit and he shakes his head, running a finger over the top of my shoulder in a fizzle of sensation.

“No. I was chosen. Nothing to do with genetics.” he looks at me; desire is burning slowly behind the pristine mask of his face, hiding hundreds of years of emptiness.

“Why do you think I was chosen?” I ask him and he smiles looking smug.

“I can think of a million and one reasons.” He purrs his reply.

“Such as?” I ask, trying to understand what he sees in me.

“Such as your wit, confidence … easy grace. Need I go on?” I almost spit on him as I exhale at his response.

“Are you serious?! I’m like the least graceful, most gawky, self-conscious person you’ll ever meet and half the time whatever comes flying out of my mouth is some of the most dumb-ass inspired crap you’ve ever heard.” I rant at him, slightly out of breath and he raises one eyebrow with a smirk.

“I know that isn’t true. Even if it is, I’ve waited hundreds of years and there aren’t return policies on soul mates that I’m aware of. So I guess I’m stuck with you.” He rolls his eyes again in faux disappointment. I slap his arm, but I can’t wipe the grin off my face. I have a question burning in my chest. I just can’t help myself. I need to know the answer. So I ask, feeling my heart flutter.

“What was it like waiting hundreds of years?” I place my hand up on his face and stroke his cheek. I wrap my leg around his and feel his leg hair bristle against the smoothness of my skin.

“Long, and lonely, you don’t know …” He trails off and I can’t work out if he’s distracted because I’m rubbing him up and down with my leg or if it’s because he’s sad.

“So tell me. I’m begging for information here Orion.” I plead with him, feeling desperate to be let into the locked box of his mind.

“It was like … when I saw you on that beach; nothing could have kept me away from you. I went back to that shore a few times after the full moon was over, saw you sitting there looking out to sea.” He admits, looking down guiltily.

“You were there! I knew it!”

“You could feel me, just like I could feel you. I knew you were suffering.” He admits again, eyes stormy beneath the surface.

“I’m not suffering any more though; I’m free of that life now.” I say the words to appease his guilt but as they roll from my tongue, I realize how true they are. I don’t have to worry about my human problems any longer. I’m free from all my prior responsibilities, like college, friends, and family. “Please don’t regret anything. You haven’t done anything wrong.” I add, feeling a weight lift off me I hadn’t known was there. “Besides … this … whatever it is, is …” I begin but he cuts me off.

“Worth it. Seeing you like this, I’d do it all again. You are so perfect.” he says and he traces my lips with his smiling. I move my hand down onto his perfect chest and feel his heartbeat, it’s faster than I imagined, could it be that I’m making him excited? His fingers are running through my curly hair and his face is getting closer to mine. My heart starts to pound and I swallow, licking my lips, trying to satiate the dryness of my mouth. Orion is breathing heavily in my ear and his scent, like that of salted caramel is intoxicating, seeping over my skin like heady opium. He leans in to kiss me again and I obey, cupping his chin with my fingers and tilting his mouth to meet mine. His tongue laps lavishly over mine, making me tremble.

“Your kiss …” I pant and he smiles.

“I know.” He leans in again, gliding a finger up the inside of my arm and gripping me tightly, kissing me in a way so scorching that I fear I may burn in the heat of my own longing. My back arches as I start to shiver in terrified delight, fearing my own need for him, fearing my need to feel him giving all of himself to me.

“Are you okay?” Orion asks, leaning back as he feels the goose pimples rising on my skin.

“I’m … not very good at this kind of thing.” I flush scarlet, my body chill under the white cotton of his stolen shirt.

“You’re perfect, Callie.” He says this earnestly and I flush again, but this time with pleasure.

“There’s that word again.” I comment, trying to get over my excited awkwardness at being in bed with him.

“But you are.” Orion looks me up and down and I feel my stomach flip.

“Not next to you I’m not.” I say the only thing that comes into my head, but I know I think it’s true the second it passes my lips.

“Yes. You are.” Orion says it again in a whisper and places his palm on my waist gently. His fingers proceed to unbutton the top button of his shirt, keeping eye contact with me as he does so.

“Tell me when to stop and I will.” He promises and kisses my collarbone where the shirt has opened under his dexterous fingers.

“Okay.” I murmur, but I can’t help but lose the rest of my response as his lips caress the shell of my ear before fluttering down the delicate skin of my neck.

“You smell perfect.” He breathes me in at the collarbone and I feel my eyelids shut as my head rolls back, surrendering to him. He unbuttons the next button down as he shifts his weight so he is lingering above me, laying me onto my back. “And …” He moves the shirt open exposing my cleavage in a V, moving his thumb over my bare wanton skin. “You feel perfect.” He bends down, encasing me in his shadow, dipping his tongue into my mouth and gently sucking. “You taste perfect too.” I giggle as he winks at me, but I can’t ignore my blood pounding around every inch of my virginally untouched skin. I have never felt this way before and it’s driving me crazy, like hummingbirds fluttering over me. He leans back onto one elbow and smiles down at me looking at my breasts, swollen and straining against the cotton.

“Not a bad sight either.” He comments slyly and I slap his arm playfully.

“Hey!” I protest in mock horror. He looks slightly withdrawn and sighs.

“I’m sorry. This is too much. It’s our first night together … I just want it to be …”

“Perfect?” I finish for him and he looks down in dismay. I feel my stomach sinking, wondering how I can want something that terrifies me so much.

“Yes. It’s the least you deserve.” Orion places a hand on my cheek and I look back at him, questioning my resolve as the candlelight plays shadow-maker on his face.

“I want …” I start and he looks up slightly, readying himself to grant all my wishes.

“Yes?” He is sitting erect in the bed, staring at me with a burning desire, I can’t tell if it’s for my body or my happiness.

“More.” I say looking at his surprised expression.

“Callie … I thought you said …” He stutters, looking like he’s fighting within himself.

“I know what I said.”

“But, I don’t want to rush things either.”

“I’ve been crazy about you since I first laid eyes on you.” I admit, my cheeks flushing. I continue, not wanting to lose my nerve. “Don’t you think we’ve waited long enough?” I press him rhetorically and his eyes close like he’s saying a prayer.

“But what if …”

“What if what?” I ask him, scared he doesn’t want me.

“What if you’re not ready?” Orion says the words I’m thinking.

“I am ready. I’ve been waiting …”

“For?” he looks at me, confused but still sexy as any man I’ve ever seen.

“Perfect.” I say simply, and just like that, there are no more questions. He leans in slowly, sliding his shirt over my head and exposing me to him. He lays me back down, cradling me and climbs on top of me. I feel his heat pushing me into the mattress and his burning, glacial eyes bear down into mine. He kisses me fully, groaning and taking everything I can give him. He pushes his forehead down towards mine and whispers my name, a plea upon his lips.

“Callie …” I place my fingers in his hair and raise his eyes to mine as the next words slip from him desperately. “I’m going to make love to you now, okay beautiful?” I nod, and without warning, he loses himself in me under flickering candlelight, taking all of me with him in a wave of emotion, desire, and longing that has built over centuries to the height of a strange and alien ecstasy. And it is perfect.

We lay together, just mortal bodies, intertwined at every limb we can manage, hot and intoxicated with the scent of each other’s skin. Nothing exists outside the edge of the bed. The cream silk sheets cling to our limbs, the only thing other than the pull we feel to each other to remind us we do not exist in a gravity-evading vacuum, floating away from reality and into a world of peaceful dreams.

“Callie?” Orion says my name out into the cold air that exists outside our cocoon.

“Mmm.” I murmur, not wanting to speak, just wanting to exist in this quiet perfect serenity forever.

“It’s never been like this before.” He confesses and I pick my heavy head up off his chest and look up at his face. His head is lying sideways on the pillow above mine, and he looks down to meet my gaze.

He rolls his hand down my back and starts tracing an intricate pattern across the skin at the base of my spine. I remember something that was bothering me earlier.

“Hey … I have a tattoo now! I didn’t before!” Orion looks at me surprised at my outburst and laughs.

“Yes … I was examining that earlier.” He confesses.

“I bet you were.” I purr lazily.

“It’s from the Goddess. As is mine. You’re marked.”

“I wish the goddess would ask before she went around branding people.” I joke with a half-hearted pout.

“I personally love the tattoo.” He nuzzles the shell of my ear, burying beneath my curls.

“I’m glad; it’s not like its temporary.” I laugh and his gaze falls to my lower back again. Silence falls and I want to speak but he chases my lips into another kiss. His lips taste so sweet upon my own, like salted caramel, and I cannot imagine ever getting tired of kissing him. His arms curl around me and his hands begin to move downward stroking my spine as they go, tracing where the Goddess marked me. It’s like his mark on me in a way, permanent and unexpected but beautiful all the same. I deepen the kiss and roll on top of his chest, he smells so good, of the sea, sweet and salty all at once. I will never tire of this scent, I think as his hands reach my buttocks. He strokes, his fingers trailing round in circles and my throat releases a groan. I can no longer contain my hungry hands. They run down his sides and he lets out a gasp. He pulls my hands up off his sides and wraps them around his shoulders. Deepening the kiss ever still, losing our way and then finding it again in each other’s fingers, lips and skin. It is like a map of our love, tracing its way over our entwined bodies. I cannot help but smile down at him as his fingers bury in my hair once again. It is then that he moves his smiling lips to my neck and our hips begin to move together once again, unaware of the moon that is beginning its descent to the horizon.

Afterwards I am not tired, satisfied yes, ecstatic yes, but not tired. I sit up, freeing myself from Orion’s warm embrace and turn to him, no longer shy or self-conscious about my nakedness. He makes me feel beautiful, like a real woman.

“You should know I have never done this with anyone else.” I confirm nervously in a whisper and he props himself up against the pillow with a small smile.

“Is it okay that I’m happy I’m the only one who has had all of you?” He asks, deadly serious. I ponder this for a moment, feeling robbed of the same experience with him. I wish I was his first. I sigh to myself, chasing the thought away by admiring his taut physique.

“Yes, I just hope I was … good?” I ask, wondering how he will respond.

“Please don’t ask that question. If you couldn’t tell from my amorous reaction, which I find hard to believe, I think you are … exquisite.” He pulls me down onto the bed again and kisses me on the head, letting me rest on his chest, which is by far comfier and better smelling than any pillow I’ve ever rested upon.

“Exquisite?” I ask laughing to myself, we come from such different worlds, how could it be we fit together so completely?

“Yes, you gave me such pleasure Callie, if that wasn’t obvious.” He whispers in a low, purring confession.

“I have never felt this way before.” I confess next in a breathless whisper. I lean back onto the silk sheets in which we have made love for the very first time, and I place one hand up to his cheek, studying his face. I squint trying to ingrain this image in my mind forever. I will never want to forget this, have it turn to grey; I want to preserve it like a photograph.

“What are you staring at?” He begs, looking a little self-conscious himself. How can anyone as beautiful as he feel worried about his looks?

“You. You are the most beautiful man I have ever seen and I never want to forget your face, or your smile, or eyes. Even if I wake up and this has all been some crazy dream, I never want you to fade away.” I look deeply into his icy blue gaze and I think he is touched by my boldness.

“Listen to me, I am not a dream and I will always be here. But there is one very special thing I have to tell you, that I want you to remember every day, no matter where you are, no matter where I am.”

“Oh?” I reply intrigued, my heart pounding as I wait for him to impart some great seed of knowledge. He smiles and leans forward onto his stomach and his face drops so it is level with my own, leaning up on his elbows, eyes locked with mine, he gestures for me to come forward so he can whisper in my ear. I lean in, inhaling his heavenly scent and nuzzling my lips against the nape of his neck.

“I love you.” He whispers, his breath tickling my ear and my lips spread over my teeth in a grin I cannot hold back.

“I know.” I reply simply and he leans back.

“Oh? How is that?” He asks with a sly smile, playfully intrigued as he brushes my nose with his own.

“Because Orion, nobody has ever made me feel so alive before.” I enlighten him and he looks a little disappointed.

“That isn’t me; it’s the transformation occurring in you Callie.” He explains, and it seems banal to me now.

“Then you explain to me how I’ve felt this way since the day we met.” I smile and he returns my silent joy with a deep passionate kiss that possesses my mouth. Slowly but surely we once again become consumed with a passionate heat that could set alight even the darkest night. The only words finding their way into the light being four, uttered from my breathless lips:

“I love you Orion.”

AZURE

The journey from the Californian coast passes slowly despite the speed at which I’m slashing through the water, urging myself forward. This is probably due to the fact that Caedes is riding on my last nerve and causing time to drag out like it has been placed on a stretching rack, just like the one Titus keeps for torture when his power is not enough to break the silence of his victims. Not only have I been subjected to lurking in the shallow depths of the coast for the past month, waiting for my brother’s return to signal our opportunity to catch the girl exposed, but I have had to endure Caedes’ infernal ramblings. If I wasn’t already dead, I’d wish I was, listening to that nut job. I find myself back where I belong, in the darkened shadows of the oceans depths far from the sunlight, which threatened to end me as I murdered my brothers other half. I condemn myself to his ramblings as my punishment for failing to turn the girl as intended. Never mind that, I think to myself, not wanting to feel guilty for too long, at least she’s no longer wandering beaches stuck in a mortal coil she cannot shed. We can still turn her to the darkness; it’ll just have to be done more carefully now that she is in the persuasion of my brother and father. I remember the day the darkness took hold of me reluctantly, feeling the horror of knowing I had not been gifted with a soul mate unknown to me. That my soul mate was to be my sister, the sister who had continued to live as I perished, taking my beautiful Arabella with me. I remember watching my hair turn to black, my pupils dilating with rage, and my skin crawling with power beyond what I could have ever dreamed to achieve as a mer. The visions were the only thing left to connect me to what I once was. To my sister. I feel the place where my own blade hit me square between my shoulder blades twinge as it heals at the usual accelerated rate and I sigh. I probably deserved it. I remember Orion’s eyes, mad and angry, alight with a rage I had never seen within him before. As the ocean passes beneath me, I start wondering if I should perhaps feel guilty for a different reason, taking the life of one so young, but then kick myself, reasoning that I gave her immortality and saved her years of looking for the other half of her soul. She should be throwing me a damned party.

I look out from the window of the Necrocazar, the dark palace formed in the remains of ancient undersea vents that once spewed sulphur out into the ocean above. Small crustaceans crawl around the window frame and settle in the cracks of the rock from which it is hollowed. Below is the glowing, teeming Cryptopolis that silently ticks away, invisible and forgotten but very much alive. The city is held in a crater, and each individual home is carved into the side cliffs of the settlement. Our army teems in the centre of the crater, our armour masters forging weapons in the working vents that line the bottom of the basin. Eels captured in jars spark lights into the streets intermittently, which are paved with a gravel made from crushed animal bones and a million lost souls slink silently from street to street, planning how to capture their next victim from the world above. I can see Caedes from here, beating a dead shark carcass with his fists, turning it into a bloody mess of entrails and guts. I place my chin in my hand and wonder what my sister is doing right now. The dim speck of light from above is visible to me now. Dim, but still there. I turn and head back into the Necrocazar, slashing through the water to the basement where Titus is getting high and communing with the Necrimad once again. In the corner of my sight, I catch a note of movement and swizzle within the water, cutting it like butter to gain traction on my position with my long, knife like tail.

“Azure, you have returned, my beauty.” Titus booms, his voice reverberating against the white calcium covered walls of the cavernous anti-chamber. His lips part over a mouth full of pointed, razor sharp, white teeth with a pleased smile and he looks at me with his bottomless black eyes with expectation. My insides furl at his compliment and I feel my chest inflate with pride. To hold a man with such power as my own was proof in itself that I had grown to be more powerful than anyone could have expected.

“I have indeed returned.” I reply, repeating his sentiment and trying to buy more time before I have to explain the events that have passed.

“And where is the girl? You can’t have left her with Caedes surely!” He asks, cocking his head to one side maliciously, as he moves towards me jerkily, slashing his dragon like tail through the waves. He circles me, running his fingers down from the dolphin tattoo on my left shoulder, past my shoulder blade and in to the centre of my spine, the sight of the tattoo makes me think of my sister, I dismiss the thought as quickly as it appeared, focusing on the moment.

“We didn’t manage to capture her. Orion was waiting for us.” I explain waiting for him to flip. I feel his tail bristle against my own and it sends small shivers upward as fear begins to build within my stomach at the prospect of what he will do next. I see Solustus and Regus in the corner, sensing an impending explosion of anger and they retreat, still talking. Solustus watches us intently, his silver rimmed, black eyes following Titus’s every move. I feel the water move around me, and the tension builds until I hear a mighty roar followed by a loud crack. I turn around only to see Titus has slammed his tail down into the blackened, ashen floor of the anti-chamber, causing the floor to crack into two, an ugly jagged line parting the two halves.

“How could you let this happen? Don’t you know we need her out of the way! Don’t you know what her turning means?” He is all of sudden a few inches away from my face; his long pointed black fingernail is scratching a line down one of my cheeks. I feel the blood let from the opening and then see it pool, immersed in the water before the particles diffuse out of sight. Tingles run down my spine as something primal surges, just beneath the surface of my skin.

“Yes, I know! But Orion was with her, he threw us back to the sea, you know he has power over certain elements.” I try to explain, feeling less inadequate and more pissed off.

“You told me those powers were weak! That he had never bothered training them?” Titus accuses, looking at me slyly. I take in his pale skin and acute bone structure, sighing to myself, in this light he is attractive, his pallor and the sharp contrast of his eyes, making me needy for his touch.

“Yes, but perhaps they have strengthened after finding something he feels is in need of protection.” I suggest and his eyes widen suddenly, as though reason has managed to successfully navigate through the rage and  vent induced high he has been experiencing for what is probably hours in the bowels of the Necrocazar.

“It would make sense.” Solustus interjects, coming forth out of the shadows a little too quickly for my senses to engage with his movement as a fluid entity. His whole body is so acute, sharp even, the way he moves edgy and a little too quick for comfort. His tail mirrors that of a sword fish and his skin is deathly white, draped over his shoulders is a waist coat made from seal skin and slung across his back is a long sword sheath containing his most prized possession. The tail attached to his waist is covered in spines that extend from his back all the way down the dirty grey scales. He has long fingers and uses them to reiterate his point, looking sideways at me as he tries to calm Titus once again.

“His emotional connection to the girl will have given him reason to exert himself more than he usually would against us.” He reasons and places his hand on Titus’s broad white shoulder. Titus looks up at him; his eyes alight with the embers of fury that had raged hot just a few moments ago still dancing in his bottomless black eyes.

“Do not fear, she is young, does not know of her own significance. An easy target for the darkness surely.” Solustus turns and looks at me coldly, clearly irritable at having to calm another of Titus’s rages. I stare back, a cold, hard stare that I can feel chills my insides, letting the darkness consume all worry and doubt in my gut; instead leaving me hardened, an exoskeleton of evil, protecting me from the likes of these men, giving me strength.

“But if Azure knows of her significance, then Starlet must know and by that logic so must Orion.” Titus continues and I move forward quickly toward him, no longer fearing his wrath, I have handled him before, I will again.

“Yes, but my sister will not reveal this information lightly, besides she doesn’t know our plans, she knows only of Callie’s potential, which I am sure she will not reveal.” I say harshly allowing the moving water to vibrate around me with power.

Titus acknowledges my words and turns away from my powerful stare, his long fingers pressing together harshly.

“Recall to me the Prophecy once more Azure.” Titus demands, looking at me with a dark, penetrating stare that sends goose pimples of anticipation up my spine. I regress back into myself, seeking the information he needs.

“Modern mer will finally rise,

Under scrutiny of watchful eyes,

Two Suns will encircle and slay,

But only one can remain.

Beloved one will betray all,

Leading our kind to a deadly fall.

The scythe of Atargatis will bridge the fracture,

Bringing forth a deadly rapture.

The silent vessel hides in sight,

Revealing itself in holy light,

Sacrifice will be its calling,

Followed by a woeful mourning.

The belt will wrap around the scythe,

Leading to this hideous crime,

The vessels end will bring the war,

Coming forth from the oceans door,

Stars and suns, darkness and blade,

The end is near

The game must be played.”

I speak it holding my breath slightly; it is not with ease that I recall this particular prophecy. I hold my breath as his eyes cloud over. Perhaps he will release me, perhaps he will not notice.

“Prophecies … tricky things don’t you agree Solustus?” Titus jerks his head sideways in demented momentum and his body follows in a fluidly jagged swirl.

“I would. You can never quite tell how things will turn out.” He smiles at me. Almost like he knows …

“And that, my dear, is why we don’t follow some stupid Goddess who leaves the fate of her warriors in riddle and ancient scroll. I have implicit instructions from the Necrimad. There is no ambiguity, you see? He has given me two very simple instructions. Track down the scythe of Atargatis, and the vessel to sacrifice with it.”

“Do you know where to find the vessel?” I ask half-heartedly, acting like I don’t care.

“No. That is shrouded, for now.” He smiles wickedly, bordering on psychotic in the abyssal blackness that is left of his soul. That abyss is what I long to wrap myself up in and never return. A total surrender to the shadow.

“I will search through my inner eye. I will search for you.” I vow, longing to please him, to live up to the impossible standards of the madman who I love to hate. To want what I shouldn’t. To find arousal in the most taboo of all things. It proved I was strong. Proved I was invincible. Or at least it did to me anyway.

“Very well, Azure, wait for me in my chamber; Regus, Solustus we have business to conclude.” He orders, still turned from me as Regus and Solustus follow his commands by moving round to face him. I scowl but feel relief, as the scrutiny on my ability to recall my visions dissipates. I am little acknowledged, as though I have not earned my place despite the amount of lashing scars that decorate my pale translucent flesh. It pisses me off so deeply I want to scream and slice into another body with the knife I have stashed in my satchel; I smile to myself remembering that I secretly have more power than they want to admit. My visions allow them to know what the mer are planning. The mer see so very little of how powerful the ocean could be, how they could do so much more than live what half-life they possess. I smile to myself sweetly as I make my way to Titus’ chambers, stroking my stomach roughly with my blue fingernails as I examine my electric blue and black tail vainly. I am sexy and powerful, and one day the others, Titus in particular, will see just how much I am worth. I will make them see. I enter the shadowy chamber fluidly and approach the sheer, jagged rock wall I always find myself drawn to with a dark anticipation. I take the shackles and bind myself to the rock face so I am hanging and waiting, alone in the darkness.

CALLIE

In the light of the moon, which is disappearing over the horizon, Orion and I dress in silence. I stand, picking out something simple and easy to remove from the wardrobe which is full of designer clothes. I place the slinky silk, floor length nightgown over my breasts that glow ivory under the dimming moonlight and leave my feet bare beneath the skirt. Orion places soft denim jeans over his lower half, not bothering with underwear. I examine his silhouette, rugged, hard and at the same time glowing softly as though his flesh is the softest cotton you could ever imagine. The silk on my belly reminds me a little of the sensation of the water over me when I was mer. I look around the room: silk sheets, silk drapes, silk clothing, and silk cushions. Perhaps the sensation is one so familiar that the mer choose it so they remember the feel of the water when on land? Orion steps forward around the large bed and the sky behind him begins to look less navy blue, as it begins to fade pink around the horizon.

“Come.” He commands. I indulge him and let my feet trail across the soft carpet towards the door. Together we leave the site of our first connection and make our way back to the sea.

Down the winding, crooked, wooden staircase that carves its way through the cliff, we descend in the early stage of the dawn. Orion leads the way tentatively, holding my hand and guiding me down each step. We don’t speak, at this moment we don’t need to, everything that we could say would seem redundant compared to the secret symphony we just experienced. The space between my legs aches and I wince a little every time I go to take a new step. Orion smiles sympathetically and I give a mischievous grin back, trying not to worry him with something that is so easily forgotten when I look into his eyes.

We reach the cave that is held up by wooden beams, the glass panel taking up the ceiling shows that the moon has just vanished beneath the horizon and the sun is just beginning to rise over the horizon. We undress quickly, admiring one another under the dull warm light of the rising sun. Naked and alone in the cave, he steps forward and helps me into the pool that sinks into the sea. Arms still around me and water lapping at our waists we embrace the change together, choosing to initiate it this time. I feel the familiar tingling up the lower half of my body and then up my spine. The large muscular tail binds away my weak legs in a rippling of aquamarine sparkle beneath the crystal clear waters, letting me float effortlessly. I feel a slight pinch as the gills upon my neck slit open, but it is gone as quickly as it came and I slip beneath the surface like a ghost. Orion and I immerse ourselves in the cool morning waters, the silky fullness of the breath it brings with it filling me and making me sure once again, that this is where I belong.

As we swim rhythmically away from Lunar Sanctum, Orion turns to me smiling. I am now curious, what now? What do we do until tonight when the moon will be full again? My lower abdominal muscles squeeze deliciously at the memory of last night as I turn to Orion, an unreasonably large smile spreading across my face.

“What are we doing today?” I ask, cocking my head.

“Well, seeing as we didn’t really do much talking last night, I thought I would take you to the hidden city and then I would answer some more of your questions?” He asks, taking my hand beneath the wavy light of the rising sun penetrating the ocean’s surface and making rippling patterns upon his face.

“The hidden city?” I ask feeling confused as to how a city can be hidden.

“Yes, the one built in the early years. It was a gift from Atargatis. We call it Occulta Mirum. I think Saturnus has a more specific history if you’re interested,” Orion explains as we move deeper, towards the floor of this very shallow area of sea. Tiny fish dip in and out of seaweed, not even moving as we pass above them. I watch them with fascination, loving this exclusive view of the aquatic fauna below the surface. We continue to slice through the watery world that encases us as the conversation continues.

“Saturnus? I didn’t meet him last night?” I reply, feeling incredibly inferior; there is so much I want to know.

“No. You see, Atlas was the first mer, closely followed by Saturnus. He set out to prove to Atargatis that he loved her more than any other, and so he has never set foot on land. You will see he has been rewarded for his devotion.” Orion explains, smiling, revealing a shock of porcelain white; I wonder what Saturnus must look like.

“So Saturnus, does he have a soul mate?” I question him with an intense stare, hungry for more information now that the temptation of his touch has dulled.

“That’s the other thing about Saturnus; he has become, perhaps, the exception to the rule. You see, he vowed to Atargatis to prove that he loved her more than any other. So technically she is his soul mate, even though they don’t share a soul.” Orion frowns slightly, his flawless skin creasing, as though pained at the thought of this. I open my mouth a tiny amount; I wonder what my next question should be. I’ve never been religious, but after something as insane as becoming a mermaid has happened to me, I begin to wonder. Does God exist? If a Goddess such as Atargatis is real, are there others out there? What about the darker side to fantasy such as vampires, dragons, and demons? Is it possible that there is a whole world hiding just out of the corner of the naïve, and seemingly unobservant, human eye?

“So is Atargatis a mer?” I wonder aloud, confused as to how Saturnus and her could ever be soul mates.

“Oh no, she lives on another plane of being to us.” He explains, as I look at him puzzled, my mind imploding with a lack of understanding. We continue to swim through the now seemingly empty water and he senses my lack of understanding, continuing with a sigh. It stings slightly, it’s not my fault this is all crazy town!

“You see, Saturnus is unique in the way in which he can get companionship from Atargatis. His faith is what keeps him going and gives him the strength to endure the hundreds of years in which he has been alive. It is of course true though, that he is the only mer who may request an audience with Atargatis in times of great need.” He finishes and places an arm around my waist gently, pulling me beneath his shimmering form so I am swimming on my back and looking up into his eyes. We cut through the water, our tails mirroring one another.

“Great need?” I query, wondering what one could ever be in need of under the water, looking up into the eyes of the one I love.

“Yes Callie, this life … it comes at a price.” Orion makes this statement and he looks fearful at his own words. He places both his arms now around my waist pulling me closer to him as a lump forms in my throat.

What has this beautiful man gotten me into? What do I really know of the life I have been thrown into, the life that will last an eternity? I think back to the myth, mer were created to protect humans from the dangers of the sea. I shudder to think what creatures would require a race as strong as the mer to beat them back.

The dark corners of my mind that I thought were obliterated by the last 12 hours are slowly creeping like a poison through the water, seeping into the parts of my mind housing paranoia and fear. Orion notes my expression and kisses me quickly, deeply, as we continue to race through the warm waters together and he presses his forehead to mine, piercing my eyes with his defiant stare.

“I will never let anything happen to you.” He says a little breathlessly. “Besides you are stronger now than you realise.” He continues and I blurt out the one question that I cannot contain for fear it may eat at my gut, making me hollow inside.

“What do you protect humans from?” I ask, my tone blunt. Orion’s face creases slightly, as though a niggling worry he has had for years has resurfaced.

“Well, there are the psirens as you know, which, though small in number present real threats sometimes. Plus, all manner of sea based demons that we fight. But you have to understand, Callie, these creatures have not caused us problems for over 100 years.” He explains and I sigh, watching small bubbles escape my lips, slightly relieved at the thought that we may have a trouble free existence after all.

The slits in my neck open and close a little more regularly and I enjoy looking up at the surface of the water behind Orion’s grinning face. Removing his arms from my waist, he gives me a competitive look and races ahead. I fall for a moment, left in the sand that he flicks upwards with the royal blue fin he can so powerfully and masterfully work. I grin madly; I like a challenge. Punching into a faster and more gruelling stroke against the surrounding water. I drive through the waves after him, wishing I could move as fast as he can. I catch the beginnings of a riptide out of the corner of my eye and use it to sling-shot me forward, grinning stupidly as I feel the adrenaline spike through me and I catch up to him. He gestures up and we both rise up out of the now calm waves. The sunlight hits my skin and I understand now what Orion meant when he said that we could turn to nothing more than sand under it’s direct rays. I feel my skin drying quickly and my throat begins to burn as I soar through the air before crashing back into the ocean’s depths.

Orion and I swim for a little while longer in silence just grinning, our hearts slowing together from the spurt of competition. I will never be able to swim as fast as Orion I don’t think; his tail is just too skilful. I watch it, envious and fall just a little bit more in love.

We must have been swimming for around an hour when Orion begins to dive much deeper and I follow suit. I wonder where all the other mer are now; surely they must live in this Hidden City too. I don’t think to question it any further as I watch Orion gesturing for me to follow.

I hurry after him, diving deeper and deeper, my lungs expanding exponentially the more I delve. I realise that this is compensating for the pressure building around me. We reach a large stone edifice sticking out of the sand in the middle of nowhere. It reminds me of pictures of Stonehenge that my history teacher had shown us.

The sand beneath us is stacked into a hill that meets the jutting stone just beneath where the tip of my tail ends and I’m curious as to what will happen next. Orion moves his hand up from his side to stroke my cheek, still holding my hand with the other as he turns to face me. His lips part and I think he may want to kiss me but instead he begins to sing. It is perhaps the most beautiful and exquisitely haunting sound that I could have ever imagined. I had thought Shaniqua’s voice had stunned me silent, but this was something else. Something which reaches deeper, something more personal. Where I had felt the tropical breeze enveloped in song by Shaniqua, in Orion’s song, I saw and felt power, pride and more overwhelmingly, emptiness. It makes me want to cry a river, pour out my soul to him through tears. But I know there is no point, for they would only turn to hard, cold diamonds. He smiles gently, coyly, and then continues with the melody that so clutches at my heartstrings.

As the tune progresses the mood changes. It evolves into something less melancholy and somehow more passionate, full of rhythm and life, and as a twinkle of something I cannot quite recognise passes behind the whites of his eyes, he stops singing, breathless, and kisses me desperately. From within the stone a tiny glow begins to appear in random spots toward the centre, eventually forming Greek letters before my eyes. The light travels fast, melding into the outline of a door.

He releases his hands from where they clutch at the back of my skull; there is no longer a rock edifice beside us.

“Our voices are the key.” He reveals mysteriously with a grin. I turn to view where the rock had once towered over me.

Now, a large bowl within the sand that stretches onwards for as far as the eye can see is visible and dominates my field of vision. Within the bowl is the city, and it is so beautiful I cannot help but gasp.

Beneath us, as we hover on the edge of the deep bowl of sand, is perhaps one of the most architecturally unique cities I have ever seen. The buildings are not square skyscrapers like on land, but remind me of a mix of a helter-skelter at the pier and a lighthouse. They are built of white sandstone that is interspersed with different coloured dots that sparkle under the distorted light from the surface. The city is circular with eight main roads leading to a large focal point which, from above, I can see is home to a large golden statue of a woman. I assume it’s Atargatis, because it’s similar to the one on the table in the ballroom of the Lunar Sanctum. Behind the statue is a large building, but I cannot quite make out what is so special about it from this distance. I notice the roofs of the turret-like structures that make up the bulk of the city remind me of extremely delicious ice cream cones, swirling around until they reach soft rounded tips.

“It’s …” I exhale, no words able to describe what I’m seeing. I inhale again sharply, feeling overwhelmed as the dots of coloured light that are contained within the sandstone of each turret gleam like Technicolor stars in blue, red, green, and white.

“I forget. It’s nice seeing it through your eyes.” Orion is looking at me and I blush slightly at the sentiment as it passes through the water between us. I am still wondering how I feel as though I can speak normally without drowning, but this question moves to the back of my mind as Orion takes my hand and leads me downwards in a curve, tracing the side of the sand bowl.

As I descend with him by my side, I notice that there is a small visual abnormality around the city, like a blur. Along with the domed sand bowl, it creates a bubble around this place. I wonder if it is some kind of magic that keeps it hidden. As if reading my mind, Orion follows my gaze and then proceeds to answer my unasked question.

“There is a glimmer surrounding this city, no one who is not a mer could gain access. Saturnus maintains it. We can leave without paying a toll, but you must always pay one to enter.” He explains gently, still leading me downward. I nod, wondering if the psirens mentioned in the myth he told me in the chapel can enter here. He had said some of them were once mer. “The psirens cannot enter; they lose their voices … under the water at least.” Orion explains again. A knot forms in my stomach.

“And above the water?” I ask in a whisper. Orion looks as though he doesn’t want to answer, like he’s worried about scaring me.

“Let’s not talk about that now. You’re going through a lot as it is.” He deflects and I nod, wondering if ignorance truly is bliss. We level out at the bottom of the basin and I see the full grandeur of the city: not sparkling dots as I had originally thought, but rather the bases of hundreds of bottles embedded into the walls of the skyscrapers. The paths that are defined by many tiny pebbles strewn across the ocean floor and the bottles that intersperse them catch the light and refract it in multi-coloured hues. I wonder how long it must have taken to collect them all and cannot help but love the ingenuity of this design.

We continue down the pathway, hovering horizontally a few feet from the sandy bottom of the ocean floor and I notice that other mer are around us too, moving effortlessly and silently through the water, chatting in pairs. It occurs to me as we pass through the streets surrounded by the helter-skelter surface scrapers that this is my new home. But what will I do here three and a half weeks out of the month? How much entertainment is there underwater anyway? The bubble enclosing the city seems a little more cage like at this thought, and the tail connected at my waist becomes heavier. Are there malls underwater? I doubt it very much … and what of my family and friends?

The small round face of Kayla sails through my mind and my heart skips a beat. I frown for a few moments and then wonder if tonight rather than spending it entangled in Orion’s embrace I should go and see my mom, explain to her that I can no longer be her daughter. That destiny has taken me from her. I sigh, feeling the sting of reality after the last 16 hours of my new fantasy life have whisked me away on a rip tide that is now slowing. I’m left wondering what my life will consist of from now on. Orion squeezes my hand, which is entwined with his, and my heart becomes a little lighter, whatever my future at least he will be there.

We are approaching the central circle of the city and I can see the statue of Atargatis a little clearer. As I hover above the bottle-studded street I examine her face, she is beaming, her eyes huge and her face full and round. Hair that resembles the waves tumbles down her back and her body seems like one fluid movement as it curves perfectly within the material that wraps around her form. The statue is magnificent. I cannot help but wonder if this had never happened to me, if destiny had never marked me for Orion’s soul mate, would I have fallen for Daryl like any normal girl would have? Gotten married at 25, had two kids and worked in the same old, same old job for 40 years? Would the feelings I have for Orion exist in their pure unstoppable form for someone else? Or is the magnitude of what I feel because I was made specifically for him, from the other half of his torn soul?

I breathe deeply, wondering if Orion had never found me whether I would have, or even could have, fallen in love with anyone else. The thought scares me.

We reach the circular courtyard and notice a change in the path beneath us; the ground is now made of what appears to be gold ingots. They are a bright yellow and shine brightly around the statue, which stands in the middle of a fountain that releases air bubbles in a circle surrounding the golden body of Atargatis.

“What’s that building over there?” I ask, jerking my chin towards one of the largest and tallest cylindrical towers, which lays on the edge of the city limits.

“That’s the Hydraball stadium. I’ll take you some time, you’d like it.” He says and my mind stumbles, Hydraball? What the hell was that? I feel so out of place, my heart sinks. It’s like I’ve been dropped off in a foreign country with a passport that claims I was born there.

“You okay?” Orion asks, looking at me with concern in his face; lines of worry mark the otherwise perfect forehead that lies beneath his mahogany tousled hair.

“Yes, it’s just hitting me how my life has been turned completely upside down.” I confess and he nods, looking deeply into my eyes with an understanding gaze.

“I think you will enjoy your life here Callie, I promise you.” I smile, feeling slightly better, wanting to trust his instincts.

“But what if … I get bored?” I ask, feeling slightly selfish as his face drops once again. I feel myself flush under his sad expression.

“Bored of me?” He asks and I feel dread fill my stomach a little at his misunderstanding.

“No! Of course not of you! I just mean … there can’t be that much to do underwater.” I explain my fear and relief spreads across his face as he relaxes. I wonder how he cannot understand the depth of my feelings for him. Maybe I need to make more of an effort to show him? I haven’t yet, but then again I have had rather a lot going on.

We stop outside the fountain and Orion takes both of my hands.

“You’ll adjust Callie, I’m going to do everything I can to help you. But it will take time.” I sigh, trying to forget all of my worries and focus on my surroundings again. I have been so inside my head, somewhat short sighted, missing the crown jewel in the diadem of the city. It ascends upwards abruptly about seventy metres from the fountain of Atargatis, and is surrounded by guards. I wonder how I missed it. Little Miss observant, that’s what they should call me.

Towering above the Occulta Mirum in all its splendour is a gargantuan palace, it looks big enough to fit Cinderella’s castle in at least twice and is a stunning shade of bottle green. The walls look fragmented like a giant mosaic and it takes me several moments to realise that the entire thing is constructed from broken sea glass; it throws varying colours from one end of the spectrum to the other and is completely breath taking. The spires that grow to ice cream cone swirls at their peaks must be at least 13 stories and they are numerous, surrounding the central courtyard, which as I swim upwards to get a greater perspective, I can see. I can also see it is hexagonal in shape. The double doors that guarded the entrance with a merman at each side are vast too. I wonder what would require a door to be so large.

“That is where my father, Starlet, and Shaniqua reside. It is known as the Alcazar Oceania, which roughly translated means, the ‘Grand home of the ocean.’” Orion explains.

“It’s beautiful.” I exclaim, unable to take my eyes off it.

“Yes, I think so too.” Orion smiles and I breathe out, finding relief in his gentle eyes.

“Can we go inside?”

“One day soon.” Orion replies smiling kindly at my eagerness, creases forming around his lips.

“You didn’t want to live there too?” I query, watching him turn over this question for a few moments in his mind before replying.

“It’s bad enough, the possibility I may have to live there if anything were ever to happen to my father. I want my freedom.” He states this proudly. I wonder what he did before he met me. Probably skulked the beaches ensnaring beautiful women, my subconscious snaps at me. I slap her back down into the depths of my mind, trying not to dwell on it.

“So you’d have to …”

“Take over as Crowned Ruler. Maybe. To be honest, it isn’t my choice; it is up to the mer community as a whole. There is a vote. My guess is that Saturnus would probably take over. He’s my father’s advisor now for obvious reasons. I’ve never really had much taste for leadership.” He explains this as I stare up at the palace, taking in its grandeur and I sense his hesitation. I wonder how he can say he’s not built for leadership. I’ve never met someone so in control and self-contained. I’ve known his touch, how he dominates my motor function, how he commands me to do as I know not how. I wonder, is he really as self-conscious as he seems? He certainly doesn’t exude it.

“So you’re kind of like a prince.” I ask, a smile slyly taking hold of my lips.

“I’m no prince.”

“So I can’t be a princess?” I faux pout.

“Would you want to be?” His eyebrows rise in surprise.

“Nah, too many forks for my liking. I enjoy slobbing out too much to be royalty.” I dismiss his question with a dramatized wave of the hand and sharp exhalation, blowing out air into the surrounding water.

“Regardless of the forks, you can be my princess.” He pulls the endearment from thin air and I cringe, it’s so sickly sweet, just a little too much. Kind of like how I feel about him actually.

“I’m not exactly princess material.” I laugh, raising my eyebrow provocatively.

“I’m sure I can think of some royal duties.” He purrs back and I bite my lip, desire pooling in my chest. “I think you fit the role just fine. Besides, in my opinion, a princess needs to be two things; sexy and stubborn.” He adds this and looks under hooded lids down at my face. I shiver internally, enjoying the delicious stir of my lust.

“Okay, I’ll do you a deal, seeing as I fit these new criteria. I’ll be your princess. If … You let me have my way with you.” I bargain and I know it’s unsuccessful when his eyes slide suspiciously over my torso. Looking me up and down.

“Or how about you just submit to the idea of being adored?” he suggests, stroking my shoulder. The tension between us has turned sexual so quickly, it’s a wonder my heart still beats a steady rhythm.

“Never.” I vow.

“You aren’t like other girls.” He muses.

“Right you are.” I shoot back and he looks ambivalent for just a fraction of a second. Trying to work out how I tick. How he can break my stubborn streak.

I look back at the palace once more and appreciate it for a few moments. I can only imagine how long something like that would take to construct with the proper tools, and I have absolutely no idea how that would work underwater. Each of the swirling cylindrical turrets that are topped with an ice cream swirl roof glint like a precious stone, reflecting the fragility of the city below and what it stands for. As beautiful as this city is I try not to forget that it is what stands between human kind and the dark, powerful magic that lies just beneath the lapping waves.

We move lower toward the sea floor and I get to admire the palace from the ground. The whole building is surrounded by gardens of colourful coral, small fish, and molluscs, and is vibrant with life on a miniature scale, a city within a city. I see the mermen guards’ closer now, one of whom has a tail green as fresh mowed grass, and the other whom I recognise from the ritual. I think his name is Cole, but I can’t quite remember his second name. He stands with armour holding his body rigid, the metallic panels bound to his rippling muscles. He holds a spear in one hand, and his helmet in the other, his onyx tail glistening with violet sheen.

“I know him.” I say and Orion nods.

“Good people to know those two, both heads of the Knights of Atargatis. Cole is the deputy commander; he translates for Ghazi who is the commander in chief.”

“If he’s commander in chief then why is Cole translating for him? Doesn’t he speak English?” I blurt aloud, sounding incredulous.

“Ghazi doesn’t talk. Period. He’s a mute. We think anyway …” He trails off, turning back toward the central square at the front of the palace that holds the golden statue of Atargatis that is spewing air bubbles with her hands upraised.

“Oh …”

“Would you like to see your new home?” Orion asks, gesturing to a building just off the left side of the courtyard. I am glad we are close to the Alcazar; it’s so beautiful I wouldn’t mind staring at it some more.

“Sure, lead on.”

“I can’t wait to be home.” He smiles and picks me up in his arms. This is the first time in many hours my tail has been still, not working to keep me stationary or powering me through the ocean and I’m glad for the break. The constant movement is something I’m just not used to, and it is tiring.

Orion carries me past the statue and to the first tower on the left behind the courtyard. The heavy door is made of a white material I don’t recognise and as Orion opens it and moves through skilfully, I am surprised by the inside of the tower. I don’t know what I had expected, but the first room in the tower is decorated by a vase on a sandstone block in the middle of the room that contains some coral and sea flowers arranged decoratively. Orion continues to move with me in his arms and I can see above. The ceiling is complete above us except for a narrow opening at the far end of the room. Orion darts over to it swimming above the vase carefully with me still in his arms before we ascend up through the opening. It is then I realise that the tower is segmented vertically, each segment containing an apartment. As we pass through levels in our ascent, creating distance between ourselves and the lobby, I notice many different coloured doors leading into the homes of mer I’ve probably met but whose placards I don’t recognise. We continue to rise through the ceilings of each floor until we reach the top floor.

“Home at last.” Orion whispers in my ear, stroking my shoulder with absent-minded fingers.

“Penthouse suite too, very nice.” I compliment and he grins.

“There are perks to being as old as I.” His grin widens and I continue to smile like a lovesick idiot.

Content at being held in his strong embrace, he moves forward and I notice that upon the pale blue door, which is made of a thick varnished wood, our names are carved in swirly gold font. I smile, seeing our relationship in print, something so immovable and definite; I know that this man cannot be a dream. The sandstone walls that surround the door are bare and the effect of this is one of perfection for the front of my new home. I feel a little anticipation; what must a mer living space look like? My curiosity piqued, Orion pulls open the door toward us and an unexpected view greets me. Rather than being able to see any of what is contained behind the door, my eyes rest upon a mer woman, smiling smugly at both of our surprised expressions.

“Marina!” Orion gasps and drops me in surprise; I gasp a little and then scowl as I hit the floor with a dull thud.

“Whoa, darling!” Marina takes my hand as I set myself horizontal with a flick of my aqua tail. I see Orion flush a tad under his normally cool complexion.

“I’m so sorry Callie!” He gushes and takes my hand in his; giving it a squeeze before turning to the mermaid that he called Marina. I take a moment to admire her; she has lustrous black hair that tumbles to her waist where a scarlet red tail fin connects to her olive skin. Her eyes are a huge pool of dark brown warm chocolate, made even earthier by the surrounding scarlet scales. Her smile reminds me of Chloe due to her blindingly white teeth, revealed by her dark red lips parting in a smile, as she introduces herself to me.

“Ahh Callie! My name is Marina Tuliano, I’m so sorry I couldn’t have met you sooner at the ritual but I’ve been awfully busy preparing things for your arrival.” She explains and I move to shake the hand she holds out to me, before she grabs my hand pre-emptively and pulls me into a hug.

“You are so beautiful!” She exclaims and I blush scarlet, matching her tail, not quite sure what to say to this Italian stallion of a woman. She reminds me of a more attractive version of those mothers you see on the lasagne commercials on TV.

“It’s lovely to meet you.” I reply simply and then my mind registers with what she had just said. “You were preparing for me?” I wonder what kind of preparation she is talking about.

“Yes, I thought I would have a little more time, but The Banished …” I hear her stutter to a stop and catch the end of a harsh glare from the frosty eyes of Orion as he squeezes my hand a little tighter. “Anyway … I have actually just finished the renovations to this place.” She explains, moving to my side to reveal the room behind her.

The walls are made of sandstone, intricate patterns carved into each one making them look ancient and there is more furniture than I would have imagined could be possible underwater. The design is simple; two large white leather sofas take the main space of the room. There are bookshelves pushed against the furthest wall that are packed full of leather bound volumes. A giant gold harp stands silent, much to my surprise in the left hand corner in front of a large, glassless window that reveals the city spread below. I move over to it quickly, my curiosity taking me over and examine it more closely. The body of the instrument is carved to look like the body of a mermaid arching her back and the strings are thick and silver. I run my fingers across the strings gingerly and the notes expelled sound normal. I am confused about the nature of the science behind this, it seems crazy, especially now that I am pretty much a creature of legend, but I still crave to know the inner workings of such magic. I wonder if magic could just be science that is not yet understood. I move over to the bookshelves and pick up a leathery volume from the first shelf. I open it. The pages feel thicker, tougher than in a normal book. This is mad, I think to myself, sofas, harps, and books underwater; I’m going to find out they have televisions next!

“The pages are preserved in a wax mixture so that the water does not affect them.” Orion explains, placing a hand on my shoulder and I realise that he is behind me. I turn to look at him and our eyes meet, passion burning deeply within Orion’s face as he watches me explore his world.

“I’m going darling. If you have any problems with the apartment let me know. Oh and it was lovely to meet you Callie!” Marina calls from across the room feeling the mood between us turn personal and we both break our gaze and turn to look at her, smiling in appreciation of her work. Marina turns and leaves, shutting the door behind her. Suddenly we are alone.

“The bedroom is this way.” Orion gestures and I place the book back onto the shelf it came from. Normally the idea of being alone with Orion in a room with a bed would be appealing, but for now, I’m enjoying the lack of distractions provided by legs and everything that comes with them. I find myself enjoying new dimensions of his company that lacks the pressure added by sexual tension. I am peaceful.

I follow him through an arch in the right hand wall that I had not noticed. Pink shells decorate the outside of the archway; they are beautiful and delicate, defining the space simplistically. I swim, slowly flexing the muscles in my tail as I move effortlessly forward and enter the bedroom, which opens up as a large and luxurious space. There is a large four-poster canopy bed similar to the one in Lunar Sanctum except for a few details. The bed is not made of wood but crystal and the drapes on this bed are pinned halfway down to the bedposts so they don’t float freely in the water. There are no sheets on the mattress but it is stacked with pillows and a few fur throws that look heavy. Orion is hovering above the bed and I watch as he stops moving his tail and allows himself to drop through the water and land on top of the furs delicately. The bed is in the centre of the room but I look around and can see more bookshelves, a few leather armchairs, and a pair of double doors that lead out onto a balcony over-looking the city.

“Join me?” Orion requests in a gentle tone and I oblige. It feels odd once I am lying down, swimming onto a bed, though everything here seems odd so I’m hardly surprised. How did they get all this furniture down here? Why don’t these furs don’t feel wet? Once I’m lying down I notice that the ceiling is painted, a mural of mer fighting some kind of huge squid. I feel a little scared, that squid looks terrifying. Orion rolls onto his side, his tail finding its way around mine.

“Do you like the apartment?” He asks innocently, his pale blue eyes and chiselled jaw leaving me, as usual, stunned.

“Yes, it’s beautiful, I’m just a little confused about how this is all possible underwater.” I reply and he smiles.

“Always with the questions Callie, it’s funny; I just accepted everything as it happened when I first turned.” He elaborates on his past and I listen intently.

“Well I guess you came from a time when science wasn’t such a big part of the world. I learned science in school, and this goes against everything I was taught. It’s so confusing.” I say and he sighs placing his hand on my waist and moving his fingers up and down over the curve of my body slowly.

“Okay … well what is confusing you?” He smiles and I feel glad he is trying to help me understand the ‘how’ behind this whole thing.

“Well firstly, how can I hear the harp?” I reply blushing, feeling like my question makes me look unintelligent.

“I suppose that is a question best answered with a little mer anatomy lesson,” he pauses for a second, licks his lips, and then continues, “Our ears can hear frequencies that human ears cannot, that is why as a human who was destined to be mer you could sometimes hear us singing beneath the sea. You can hear the harp and our voices because under the water, we speak at a frequency that can only be heard by those with denser inner ear hair. The increased density makes the hairs more sensitive to sound. Something which, if you look at your head hair, you will see we possess.” The explanation makes sense and yet I am still wondering about so much; I am not satisfied.

“I have so many questions.” I frown and Orion can see I am not content. He takes my hands in his, and looks at me with a serious expression.

“Callie, I promise I will answer any and all questions you have, but you have to accept that this all began a long time ago, in a world of magic and Gods, not of science. What you have learned of the world needs to be forgotten and you just need to understand that you may not be able to explain everything you see or experience anymore.” He confesses.

“But that’s terrifying.” I admit, biting down on my lip.

“Don’t be scared Callie, you are in a world of power and magic now. You’re in my world.” He smiles and kisses me gently on the lips.

“But I am scared, and I am scared because nothing here follows any rules and anything can happen.” I realise the words are truer than I want to admit as they leave my lips and Orion strokes my cheek. I reach up and stroke the side of his face too, tracing the definite lines of his cheekbones and moving my fingers down his neck and onto his chest.

“This is nothing you can’t handle Callie, just trust me, can you do that for now?” Orion asks of me this one simple thing and I cannot deny him, I find it too easy to oblige.

“I trust you with my life.” I confess and he smiles.

“So what other questions do you have?” He breathes, looking exhausted from all my probing. I can tell he isn’t used to having to explain every little abnormality so I go for something easy.

“I want to know more about you.” I whisper, bringing my face closer to his, feeling the fur touch my palm beneath us as my hand drops from his muscular chest.

“Ask.” He commands, but I sense it will not be as easy as he looks wary and apprehensive. There is darkness in his past, emptiness where I was not. I just hope he will let me fill the void with light.

“Well …” I start to ask the question I’ve been most longing to know, when Orion sits bolt upright with a strained expression.

“What is it?!” I ask, feeling alarmed and on edge.

“I’ll explain later. I’m sorry, Callie, but I have to go and I have to go now.” He looks distressed and my heart rate starts to increase as he rises off the bed.

“Can’t I come with you?”

“Absolutely not.” he replies finally. There is no arguing with this side of Orion; he is broad chested, hard mouthed, and definite. I shrink back against the pillow.

“When will you be back?” I ask, wondering what can be important enough for him to leave when I only just got here.

“I don’t know. Soon I hope. Would you like me to get someone to sit with you?” He asks, trying to be kind but I can’t help but feel insulted. I’m not a child and I don’t need a crappy babysitter.

“No.” The word comes out truncated. I’m irritated when only moments ago I was calmer than I had felt in days.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can, Callie. I promise.” He turns from the bed without so much as a kiss and before I can utter a goodbye, I hear the door slam closed in his wake. I sit for a moment stewing in silence, alone in my brand spanking new underwater apartment. Well hell if I’m sitting here alone, I think to myself angrily rising off the mattress. I move through the water, not once touching the floor of my new home, open the door and head out as I cheer myself on mentally: Come on Orion, let’s see what you’re hiding.

ORION

“Do you mind explaining to me what exactly is important enough to pull me away from Callie the day after she’s turned?” I snap at my father and his eyes are full of concern.

“Demons, Orion, or rather, demon. A big one.” Starlet butts in and I turn to her incredulously, palms down on the long table. I am floating in the most boring of rooms inside the Alcazar Oceania: the small council chamber.

“Demons? But …”

“We haven’t seen any in over a century … yes we already covered that before you got here.” Saturnus looks at me impatiently. I am trying to remain calm. I’m itching internally to return to my soul mate, but as ever duty calls. I scowl.

“Where?” This is the only question I can think of as my mind struggles to focus.

“The fault lines. Where else?” Starlet looks at me impatiently again and I exhale trying not to bite everyone’s head off. I just can’t avoid the skin crawling paranoia that’s taken over me at the absence of a certain blonde. My blonde. Callie …

“Orion focus!” Atlas snaps and I jump slightly.

“Sorry.” I mutter and he looks at me with disapproval, though I can tell amusement is not far behind his official façade.

“Yes. You know the fault lines are the place walls are weakest between this world and the next. It’s no surprise that it’s the first place reappearance would occur.” Saturnus looks at me, scarlet hair in a bloody halo around his head and I nod in agreement.

“So why haven’t you sounded the siren? We do have an army you know.” I look at my father with boredom. Another force of darkness breaking loose from some hell dimension. Same old, same old.

“I don’t want this handled publicly. We don’t even know if what Starlet saw was definitive.” Atlas reminds me and Starlet looks at me, mildly affronted.

“Yeah, blame the seer.” She raises her hands in disbelief at his distrust but I can’t blame him. Her power is hardly reliable, especially with Azure sharing it; who knows what problems that has really caused.

“If Starlet’s right, you know what this could mean?” Saturnus looks at me with seriousness radiating out of his emerald green eyes.

“Yes. Nothing good.” I reply and he nods, frowning. “So you want us to swim out there and check?” I ask, feeling something I had never known when it had come to duty: reluctance.

“Yes. You, Starlet, and Cole.” Saturnus orders but Atlas raises one eyebrow.

“I think you missed me off that list, Saturnus.” He laughs throatily and I watch the two old men stare at each other for a few moments. Tension hangs stagnant in the water between the two old friends uncomfortably.

“I want this party to stay small –” Saturnus starts but father cuts him off.

“So let Cole stay. I’d say I’m a tad more weathered in battle, wouldn’t you?” He looks at me with a wink but I don’t smile; I’m irritable still.

“Fine.” Saturnus looks at my father with a hard-set jaw. I can tell he’s angry. I watch him for a few moments before a mask of calm slides in across his exterior. I wonder what else he hides with that mask. It’s almost seamless how he transitions between rage and calm, it should be I suppose, after all, he’s been bending to the crowned ruler for just under half a millennia.

“Gear up.” My father says to me before turning to my sister.

“Get some armour, but no weapons. We only need you to help us locate the beast once we arrive at the fault lines.” He commands her and she nods, her eyes looking up at him like he were Atargatis herself.

“Yes father.” She smiles sweetly.

“Meet me at the armoury.” I instruct my father and he nods. Oscar still has my armour after my chest plate met an unfortunate end at the hand of Titus and I had to commission a new one. I turn to exit the thickly translucent, crystalline walls of the small council chamber and then move outside of the walls of the palace. I make my way across the gardens but something catches the corner of my eye as I pass. I turn, but it’s nothing but a small flurry of bubbles rising from the side of the outer walls of the Alcazar Oceania. Probably just a shoal of fish. They do so love the castle gardens during the warm swells. I move out into the courtyard and then toward the armoury. Many mer greet me as I pass. I smile and wave back to them but inside I’m wishing they’d avert their eyes. Being the son of Atlas wasn’t always easy. Lucky for me, I didn’t have to take part in any of the politics. I just got to command the part I relished. The part I was so good at after waiting for almost five hundred years just to sight my target. The hunt.

I reach the armoury within minutes, knowing the streets like the back of my hand. Oscar is waiting for me. I don’t know him well, but he is a good blacksmith. Probably one of the only men in the world who can manipulate metal with just the touch of his palm.

“Oscar.” I nod curtly, all business.

“Orion.” he nods back, placing a hand over his heart and bowing his head in respect. I ignore the official greeting. Wishing all the while, I was with the one person who doesn’t treat me like something I’m not, who doesn’t care for my lineage.

“The breast plate is ready. Atlas called, he said you’d be needing your armour.” His expression is impassive but I wonder if he is sensing the possible disturbance of a century in demon-less waters.

“Thank you.” I am official and polite. I should probably be nicer to him. I mean, he has never once let me down with my armour or weapons. In fact, he’s probably the person who I come into contact with most outside of the small council. Something is putting me on edge though, making me feel something I didn’t realise I still could feel. Nervous.

“You don’t have to thank me. It’s my job and pleasure.” We walk into the armoury and he moves upward through the middle of the tall cylinder to retrieve my armour. Every inch of the curved walls are covered in weapons and protective metal-wear of every shape and size imaginable. Oscar had been busy. After all, he and his mate don’t go on land anymore. Especially after …

“I have given you a bit more breathing space, your chest muscles have grown considerably. Ever since …” He breaks my train of thought, but then trails off, not wanting to pry into my personal affairs.

“Ever since I learned about Callie. I have been working out like crazy.” I admit and he smiles.

“I saw you with her earlier. She’s quite …” He starts but then trails off again.

“Yes?” I ask intrigued. I long for another male’s perspective.

“I shouldn’t …” He begins, moving back down from the highest armour rack, my armour in his outstretched palms.

“Oh spit it out, Oscar!” I say irritably and he blushes an unseemly red as I take my new breastplate in hand.

“She’s quite the beauty.” He finishes and I break out into a grin I cannot contain as I put my head through the hole in my armour. Callie’s face wanders through my mind and I admire her internally, strapping the breastplate on using the hooks that connect under my arms.

“Yes, thank you, she is, isn’t she?” I ask the question rhetorically and swell with pride, feeling my pectorals push against the blue tinted metal.

“Yes sir.” So goddamn formal again, I think to myself, as his answer causes my irritation to flare. Oh well, why break the habits of a lifetime, or several in my case. I continue dressing in silence, putting on the bracers and then finally my helmet. As I am wrapping a thin mesh of chainmail around my tailfin, I notice that something is different about me. It’s not the armour, or the prospect of fighting a demon for the first time in over a century. It’s something else. Something far closer to home than just battle anxiety. It’s her. I realise after a few moments of feeling my blood rush around my body frantically, pushing my heart to the limit of its adept capacity. I have responsibilities now, I have someone waiting for me. Someone who needs me, just like I need her in ways she doesn’t even realise. The silence of propriety allows me to examine the conundrum internally as I sheath several knives in the belt from which the protective chain mail hangs. I need to do this, for us. To create a world in which I’m safe to take her out into, but in doing my duty and taking out threats, I’m leaving myself exposed in a way I never noticed before her lips found mine. I shudder to think of what would happen if I met an ugly end at the hand of some demon, leaving her alone. I had waited for her for almost half a millennium, what would she wait for if I were gone? I had a responsibility to take care of myself. For her.

Outside in the courtyard, I shake Oscar’s hand. “Thank you again, Oscar.” I smile at him, trying to hide the insecurities running rampant through me like a poison. He turns and heads back inside and I exhale deeply, trying to clear my mind. I need to focus. Nobody ever does well in a fight with their mind elsewhere. At least Callie is somewhere safe, I reassure myself. I’m not sure how much use I’d be worrying about protecting her and killing hell spawn. It is no wonder to me now that mermaids aren’t recruited to fight. They are too precious. Fighting with them in our ranks would be like walking out onto the battlefield wearing our hearts on our sleeve instead of bracers.

“Oscar did a good job on that chest plate.” Father compliments me and I nod in agreement as he and Starlet join me outside of the armoury. We turn, each of us knowing the purpose of our journey and not wanting to stall our departure any longer. We move silently through the streets and out into the open water past the city limits, trying to avoid being recognised in full armour. The design on my chest plate is like that of the waves in which we ride, but it is none-the-less uncomfortable as it is new. The thin metal which holds the thicker plates of the front and back together has not yet moulded to my musculature and it’s rubbing as I move. I clench my jaw, enduring the pain that comes with a new set of armour with the knowledge that the protection it provides is worth it. I wonder if that’s what the fear that overwhelms me comes down to. Am I simply wearing in the relationship with Callie? Should it be this difficult to accommodate someone I love so deeply?

“Yes. He is talented.” I say after a few moments pause. My father looks at me with an unusual expression creasing his face.

“Aren’t we all?” He comments again as we move through the water, leaving the city behind us as a glinting speck in the distance. He is not wrong, the Goddess did not bestow this life on those who had no useful skill.

“How are you?” He asks, placing a strong hand on my metal clad shoulder.

“I’m fine.” I reply shortly.

“Are you certain, Orion? Not only have I watched you for almost five hundred years but you also happen to be my son.” He cocks a silver eyebrow and I look into his scorching golden gaze. He is right, there is little I can feel without him knowing.

“It’s just harder than I expected … with Callie.” I admit, feeling guilt wash over me the second my concern is aired.

“That is to be expected son. She’s not just your other half. She is your responsibility.”

“I feel like I’m letting her down at every turn, father. I don’t know how to make the tough calls when it comes to her. I just want to keep her safe.”

“I know, but you don’t want to crush her spirit, Orion.” He looks at me with empathy.

“I just thought it would be easier. We share a soul.” I bite out.

“That doesn’t mean she will bend to your will, son. She is her own person. She may be your soul mate but she is none the less an individual.” He smiles, thinking of something I’m not privy to.

“But you and Shaniqua father, you have this rhythm, you’re so … together. I never know what Callie’s thinking.”

“Shaniqua and I have been together for centuries, Orion. You and Callie have spent merely days together. You must be patient. You must give her time.” What he says resonates within me, I’m taken back to Callie’s expression about letting the connection between us ‘develop naturally’.

“I just want to make her happy.” I sigh.

“I know son. But you have to ready yourself for change, both good and bad. You have been the master of your own desire for longer than anyone should be. You must learn to bend to her without breaking and to listen.” My father has his wise voice on. He loves giving advice. I feel grateful; after all, he’s had more life experience than anyone.

“I’m scared.” I admit thinking saying it aloud will take the power out of the emotion. It doesn’t.

“That’s good. Trust me.”

“How is that good? I can’t concentrate. I’ve lied to her about where I’m going. I’m a mess.”

“Its good son, because it means that after all this time, you finally have something to lose.” He imparts this sentiment and I feel something well inside me that I cannot describe. Be patient. The fear is good. I repeat this mantra several times in my head and my father smiles. Knowing he has done his job.

My sister moves in beside me after eavesdropping on my conversation, she has a scowl on her face. I cannot understand it, but she has not taken to Callie as I had hoped. I must ensure she knows she still matters to me, I muse, remembering the close relationship established between us over the last few centuries.

“You look very pretty today, Star.” I admire her long blonde hair and the delicate silver chainmail that coats her tailfin.

“You don’t have to suck up just because Callie isn’t here. You blew me off at the Lunar Celebration. Don’t think I didn’t notice.” She looks irritable, so I back off. Returning to business as we race, like shadows, through the water.

passes beneath the glacier surface of her eyes.

“It’s a snake-looking half dead thing. Or that’s what wormed its way into my skull. I won’t be sleeping right for weeks.” She looks so tortured. I wonder what it must be like, having demons running rampant through your mind.

“Big?” I push my luck and Atlas looks at me.

“Let Starlet focus. I don’t want any surprises.” He states and I seal my lips. My father is not the kind of man you argue with. Especially over Starlet. She is his pride and joy. The shooting star that fell from the heavens just for him. I shudder as the image of her shadow engulfed twin passes through my memory. I feel guilt hit me, filling my chest as I remember the blade hitting her square in the back. She is still my sister after all.

“Here.” Her eyes are cloudy, like milk was spilled over her field of vision.

“There’s nothing here, Starlet.” Father comments, but I feel something stir behind me. I pull my spear from its sheath and turn, the hairs on the back of my neck rising ceremoniously. I circle once but the only thing for miles, other than the great ruptures in the seabed beneath us, is some boulders scattered across the empty sand. My heart pounds, my nerves on edge in a way I had never known before the arrival of Callie. I’m paranoid more than I’ve ever been and I can’t quite seem to keep the cool resolve I’m used to. I feel the hairs rise on the back of my neck again and my heart skips a beat. I can’t help but wonder if … I start to move over to a large boulder directly behind me by around a hundred yards, but before I can reach it, sound is reverberating inside my skull.

“Orion!” I hear my name, bouncing off the bones within my head, my father’s gift of telepathy with his warriors never fails to surprise me, just as it had when I was preparing to lay my past bare before Callie. I turn, spear drawn, ready to move. My father was not wrong to call my name, as from the depths of the fault lines rises the thing that we have been charged to destroy. A demon of the deep.

CALLIE

I want to scream but there is no sound capable of expressing the terror that washes over me as I watch the monster rise from the bowels of the ocean. It is like some mariners nightmare. A rumbling sound erupts from beneath me as the beast moves from within the fissures in the earth below and the smell of burning flesh moves through the water. My eyes water at the chemicals leaking from the unsightly cracks as I cover my ears, shut my eyes, and lean against the boulder, paralysed as everything I know implodes in a second. I want to collapse as the security I had been lulled into over the past 24 hours shatters like the fragile state it really was. I feel myself tremble as I peek above the round top of the boulder, which eclipses me from view. My fingers scrape against the rock, my knuckles turning white as I grip on like the boulder could save me from whatever is coming. A long, skeletal serpentine frame rises, flesh hanging from the alabaster bones like some repulsive ornament of its victims. Colossal jaws spread wide inside the pyramidal skull in a maniacally hideous grin, promising death to all they meet. I feel my blood start to pound in my ears, fear climbing through me, the sheer size of this creature would make Ahab run home to his mommy crying. I watch the beast rise, a hulking, writhing perversion of life and I feel queasy. I want to look away but feel a sick inability to stare anywhere else, or flee, in light of the fact that Orion, Atlas, and Starlet are all floating before it, eclipsed as tiny specks in its shadow, insignificant as ants. The beast looks like a perverse demonic version of a pelican eel I remember seeing in one of my marine biology books. I remember it because I thought it looked hideously warped at the time, but what was in front of me was so much worse. What was before me had teeth.

I watch Starlet back away slowly as the monster spots her, the magenta of her tail picking her out as an easy target. Suddenly something within the beast snaps and she moves away, dodging its gargantuan bite by inches. The bones which make up its enormous length, creak and groan like rusty door hinges in an eighties horror movie and it lets out a high pitched screech that pierces my ears and leaves me reeling, clutching my ears like a small child. My breath gets caught in my windpipe as I feel my nerves shredding with each passing second. I cannot look away as I feel my hand go tingly from the tightness of my grip. Orion, like any seasoned warrior takes the opportunity of the creatures divided attention and makes his move, throwing a dagger from short range and lodging it in the creature’s ocular cavity, which is at a loss for eyes. I wonder how it can see at all, as the deep holes of black drill themselves into my soul, terrifying me and awakening in me the urge to flee. Orion doesn’t quite move in time and the creature makes a hairpin turn, slamming its tail down and narrowly missing him by inches.

My breath hitches in shock. Holy Crap, he’s going to get killed! Is my only thought. It carries through my mind on repeat as I watch him struggle to keep up pace with the creature which is fifty times his length. He dodges this way and that as I see Starlet backing away from the situation and taking cover behind a nearby rock formation. The ground vibrates like an earthquake as the tail makes another slash through the water and into the seabed. Plumes of sand shoot upward, making visibility practically nil. As the sand is held in the air for mere minutes I can’t help but feel myself go numb slightly in shock. Orion is fighting this thing … Is he nuts!?!?!?! I slide down the side of the boulder, my tail folding beneath me under the weight of my own fear. My ears are ringing and as I sit for a few seconds, debating whether or not to continue watching, the only sounds I can hear above my own panic are the rush of my blood and the shallow breathing escaping my lips. I turn as the sand clears and see Orion and Atlas both trying desperately to out manoeuvre the colossal length of the writhing, serpentine skeleton, and struggling. They’re so fast, and now I know why. They have to be. I’d always known Orion was well muscled and adept at fighting, but now I knew what for, and it scared the hell out of me. I watch him, fear paralysing me as he nods at his father and moves instantaneously, whipping his tail behind him and throwing his spear in one fluidly powerful movement. The spear doesn’t travel like I thought it would. I thought the water would have slowed it down, or altered its trajectory somehow. But no. The spear is obviously made of the perfect material, carved into the optimum shape for manoeuvring through the water, lands, lodging itself between two of the creature’s vertebrae and anchoring it to the seabed, making further movement impossible without having it dismantle itself. The beast roars, a sound that could deafen any normal human, and Atlas moves in, pulling a spear from his own sheath and letting it fly, landing it between the two highest bones of the creature’s spine. I realise what they’re doing before they do it.

Anchoring the length of its body to take out the mobility and advantage of its size. The speed with which they move is astonishing, faster than any dolphin, whale, or swordfish. I watch as they zoom, leaving flurries of bubbles in their wake. They move back from the writhing skeletal eel and then look to each other. Orion turns and they look towards the boulders and I know it’s time for me to leave. I swim as they both turn away, fast as I can, heart still pounding against my ribs in terror, leaving an ache in my chest. I hurry back to the Occulta Mirum, swimming as fast as my tail will allow with its untrained muscles. The unwelcome questions enter my head, What if he dies and I left? What if I have to do this alone? Can I do this alone? I’m hyperventilating, panicking as I feel the weight of hundreds of years of life, of fighting, of waiting for him to return from battle bearing down on my shoulders. I wonder now if I can do this. Be in this with him. Did I even have a choice? I don’t think the Goddess Atargatis would accept letters of resignation. I panic again, was I really considering giving up this life? Giving up eternal life? I hadn’t realised it before, but I’d been drafted. Drafted into a war I hadn’t known existed. A war that was as old as the sea itself. I had wondered why Orion had withheld from me why he was leaving and now I knew. I knew he had kept it from me because he wanted to give me a gift after all our love had taken from me. The gift of ignorance. For that, I would always be grateful.

Back in the apartment, I lay out on the bed flicking my tail in tormented slashes down through the water, leaving trails of bubbles behind it. The panic has gone now as I focus on my breathing, but the fear is still there waiting to pounce on me like a panther from the shadows. Orion moves through the doorway and places his helmet down on the sandstone table next to the bed with a thud, dulled by the water. I wonder if he knows I followed him. Why else would he leave on his armour? Maybe he wants to confess? I decide to play dumb, not wanting an argument. I sit up, relief welling up inside me as I look at him. I want to hold him close to me forever, never let him go out of my sight again.

“Hey.” I greet him in a cracked, tormented whisper and he looks over to me. His eyes are burning. Is he angry?

“So what did you do this afternoon?” He asks me, his back is turned to me as he starts unclipping his chest plate and moving to remove the bracers from his thick wrists.

“I should ask you the same question, what’s with the battle gear? Don’t you think it’s a little much for –” I begin my fake innocent interrogation, but he throws one of his bracers to the floor with a clang, cutting me off.

“Don’t lie to me, Callie. You followed me out to the fault lines. I know you were there.” He sounds angry.

“I’m sorry …” I begin but he throws down the other bracer too. It displaces sand from the floor slightly, making a miniature mushroom cloud.

“Did you like what you saw? Did you like finally uncovering exactly what it is we fight?” He raises one eyebrow and bends at the waist, picking his bracers up off the floor, dusting them off and placing them onto the table with his helmet.

“No … I –” I begin again but he cuts me off.

“Look, I’ve been doing this just a bit longer than you. You don’t have to like me all the time or the things I do. I left you alone and I know that was probably unfair. But you do have to trust me, Callie. You don’t know this world like I do. Down here, you don’t know what’s good for you yet. I do. I’m supposed to protect you from the darkness. I can’t do that if you don’t trust me enough to stay put when I have to go and fight. I need to know you’re safe, or how can I do my job properly?” His chest rises and falls rhythmically as he rants. I feel anger spark within me, a dim flame erupting.

“Do you honestly think if I’d known where you were going I’d have followed you?” I ask him rhetorically. “If I had known you were going to fight off creatures from the black lagoon, or Nessie’s demented cousin, I wouldn’t have followed you. You didn’t even think it was appropriate to tell me where you were going or why. Of course I followed you.” He looks shocked at my guts as I retort, trying to make him see my side of things.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to worry you.” He begins his justification but I shake my head and he stops.

“So vanishing for no reason in a hurry is going to make me what … calm?” I ask him and his eyes widen.

“I suppose it was pretty stupid of me to just take off.” He rubs the back of his neck in that way he does when he’s full of regret.

“Just a bit. I worry about you too, Orion. Just because you’re six and a half feet of manly intimidation and sheet rock doesn’t mean you can’t get hurt. Especially by the look of what I saw today.”

“I’m immortal, Callie. It’ll take a lot to finish me off, please don’t worry.” He floats down to the mattress as though he weighs no more than a feather and turns to me, stroking my face.

“I’ll tell you what. I’ll do you a deal. I’ll stop worrying about you, the day you stop worrying about me.” I promise as I watch his hopeful expression turn into a smile and he faux pouts.

“I suppose that’s fair.”

“Yup. Take it or leave it.” He bends and kisses me slowly and I feel the tension that awakened with the rising of the beast unfurl slowly. He pulls away and strokes my hair as I lay back against his arm and I feel myself soften to jelly beneath his touch.

“So … before I left. You had a question for me?” He reminds me and I feel nervous again. The story I want him to recall is old, really old, and I don’t know whether I’m ready to hear it, or even if I want to deep down. I hold my breath and come to the conclusion that it’s not a case of wanting to know. I need to know.

“Yes.” I say quietly. “I want to know …”

“I know.” He says, cutting me off from the final three words.

“You do?” I look at him surprised and he gives a grim smile.

“Indeed. And quite a tale it is too.”

ORION

Philippe canters, his dusty hooves hitting the hard ground repetitively beneath my rocking body. The wind blows gently, lifting my mahogany hair from my face as we reach the village. My heart feels heavy under the fading blue Cyprian sky and the thud of the hooves slows as we reach the house in which I have lived my entire life. It is 1571 and I see ships belonging to the Ottoman fleet on the horizon, my heart thuds at their black outlines, a signal of the death that is to come. My village is a small one and the people within its old weak walls bustle, preparing the fish for sale at the market on the mainland, a trade in which I can proudly say my father, bless his soul, was responsible for. I dismount Philippe, admiring his shiny black mane in the heat of the midday sun while I swallow nervously, fearful of what my mother will say to the news I have to impart. I must be strong, I am the man of the house now, and then there are my sisters to consider, so young and innocent. I swallow again looking out over the cliff top to the horizon where the sea meets the sky, feeling shaky and having to concentrate on standing upright. I stroke through the mane of my steed absentmindedly, calming myself with his inky strands of hair that slide between my fingertips. I can see the mainland from where I have returned in the distance and I close my eyes for a moment before turning away from the ocean and heading into the shady gloom of my home.

The walls are made from large cobblestones, built by my father and the other men in the village on their arrival here. A small opening in the wall homes a fireplace, where my mother stands working. My sisters sit in the corner, both sewing opposite ends of a tapestry that depicts the story of our arrival on this island. They notice me in the doorway, drop it on the floor at once, and rush over to my open arms. They are both seven years of age, twins of course, and my mother is seen by the rest of the village as some kind of miracle for being able to carry two babies within her womb. The twins are loved absolutely also, seen as a gift from the Gods, they are both beautiful too: blonde hair and inquisitively alert icy blue eyes that match my own, they have my mother’s hair, silkily smooth and white as snow it is so blonde. They leap into my arms and I struggle to keep upright at their weight on each side. The light is dim from a candle set in the corner but grows the more I stagger into the centre of the room. Near the fireplace my mother stands, her hunched shoulders indicating the weight we both must bear. Hearing the giggles of her daughters, she turns and a smile spreads across her angular face, she is a mirror of her daughters, icy blue eyes, pale skin, shockingly blonde hair, and a kind smile.

“At last you return!” She cries, holding her arms out as the twins leap from my embrace and run back to sit in the corner, ignoring the tapestry and watching us intently. It is as though they can sense that something big is coming, they are always so attuned to the world for two so young. Before our father died, they kept closer to him than usual. They finish each other’s sentences. It is as if they possess some demonic sixth sense.

“Indeed I have mother, how have you been?” I finish, feeling my nerves grow in my belly like a ball of butterflies. I embrace her, feeling the bosom that fed me for what I know is perhaps the last time.

“All the better now you are home. I need that gate fixing out the back again!” she exclaims, looking hopeful.

“Mother, I have something to tell you of where I have been.” I confess and I see the twins grasp each other’s hands out of the corner of my left eye. The candles flicker in the wind, which has slowly gotten increasingly more violent. I take in a large breath before saying the words I have been dreading.

“I am off to war tomorrow, mother; I have been to the mainland to enlist. I will be fighting for Cyprus.” Her face crumples and a tear rolls down one of her cheeks all at once. I reach to my leather belt pulling a fabric drawstring bag loose and hand it to her.

“This is the money I was given for my enlistment, I will send more when I can but this should be enough to look after you, Azure, and Starlet until then.” She nods, grasps the purse and turns back to the stove, stirring with a large wooden spoon, silent.

I mount Philippe later that night, ready to journey to the mainland before shipping out at dawn tomorrow. My sisters stand in the doorway and my mother behind them, a hand on each shoulder. She says not a word, nor has said a word since I told her, that I, her only son, am off to war.

“I fixed the gate.” I announce from horseback, the moon rising above us and leaving a white melancholy glow over the world I have grown in.

“I love you.” I hear my mother whisper and my sisters burst into tears. I cannot stand it any longer and I click my heels against the underside of Philippe’s black belly. He whinnies and we turn, galloping away at full speed, away from the village in which I was born, away from the house in which I grew up, away from the bed in which my father died, and toward a world of almost certain death. As we climb away from the edge of the cliff on which I have grown up, I look out over the water and I see the stunning reflection of the moon in its glassy surface. The stars for which I was so named twinkle from its reflective depths, and as a tear rolls down my cheek involuntarily and I breathe in deeply, I swear I can hear a psiren call somewhere in the distance.

CALLIE

I am crying; the images in my mind so clear it is as though Orion projected them from his own. He takes his gentle fingers from the temples of my forehead and I gasp as the images fade away, a distant memory that is not my own.

“How?” I stutter, shocked, sorrowed at his tale.

“It’s our connection as soul mates, a mer gift. I can show you my memories, and in time, you will be able to show me your own as well.” He whispers and strokes my cheek, pulling my head against his chest as tears, denser and milkier than those of a human, roll down my cheeks slowly, crystallising and falling as diamonds. He kisses my hair and strokes his expert fingers across my scalp. I groan, feeling more relaxed and cathartic, this is the first time my mind has stopped racing since I left the Lunar Sanctum. His fingers trail up and down my spine soothingly and I calm a little more, the slits in my neck opening and closing more slowly, filling my lungs with air more deeply.

“Do you want me to continue? We can try again if you like. Please remember though, this is my recollection of events, it doesn’t make them accurate. They’re subjective.” He whispers huskily into my hair and my stomach ties into knots. I had been dying to know about his very long life since we had met, but now, when I finally discover the key to the lock on his past, I have discovered not the wonderful life I was expecting, but rather one of pain and loneliness. The thought of hearing what I know is the next part in the story, where Orion dies young, and far from his family, is too much to bear in this moment, especially as he has the power to turn my mind into his very own surround sound cinema.

“No. I’m good for now.” I reply hastily, looking up at him and he sighs a little, looking at me as though I am hopeless.

“It was too much, wasn’t it?” He looks guilty and I nod slowly.

“I don’t understand. You said you wanted to know.” He is right to be confused. Hell, I’m confused. Then I have an idea, a way to make him understand. I trust in my instincts and sit up, brushing the diamonds from the bedspread. I want to ask about the tears but my mind is so full and I know I need to focus. I kneel, curving my tail beneath me as though it were legs and find the position surprisingly comfortable.

I place my hands on Orion’s temples and he looks a little surprised, but stays still none the less. He closes his eyes and then I focus on the memory I wish to show him. I see his eyebrows raise and while focusing on the memory I am projecting, another pops into my head, and another, and another. Orion reaches up and takes my hands from his head after a few minutes, looking troubled.

“What did you see?” I ask as he sighs and sits up slowly against the pillow on the bed.

“A montage of your worst moments.” he admits, looking grim and running a hand through his tousled mahogany locks. His eyes freeze, just beneath their surface, turning colder than I have seen them in a while. I shiver.

“Oh, I’m sorry; I was trying to project just one memory.” I confess, thinking of the past and grimacing internally.

“You will be able to eventually, it just takes practice and control.” He explains and I smile a little at his face, so gorgeous, so stunning, and mine.

“So, I’m guessing you didn’t see what I was trying to show you?” I guess, annoyed that my plan failed. I flop back on the bed.

“I saw you waiting for your dad and crying when he didn’t show up because your mom lied to you. Then it becomes glimpses of you crying, you and your mom fighting, your step dad putting you down.” He lists the events that compile the worst of my life and I realise I have forgotten my family in all of this. How worried must my mother be? I feel guilty as Orion continues, a hard lump forming in my throat. “I see why my past is hard for you … we’ve both known pain, and loneliness.” He says placing a massaging palm on my belly and I relinquish a slight smile.

“The worst kind of loneliness is the loneliness you feel even when you’re surrounded by people.” I conclude feeling reflective. “I’d like to see some other times from your past though, times when you were in good company, even if that’s female company.” I request and he looks suspicious. I don’t care though, I’m burning with curiosity about his other conquests, and in the back of my mind it’s slowly consuming me not knowing.

“I’m not showing you memories of myself with other women, Callie. You can forget it.”

“But –”

“No.” His jaw is set square and his eyes blaze with stubborn resolve.

“I’m probably imagining much worse than anything that actually happened. It would put my mind at ease.” I plead with him.

“I’m not letting you see me that way, Callie. You don’t understand. Those years of solitude, they made me angry. I didn’t handle it well.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I ask, feeling my heart beat like a bird frantically trying to escape my rib cage.

“Look, can we just drop it please!” He snaps and I recoil, scorned by his temper.

“I just want to understand what you’ve been through. I want to try to take away the pain.”

“You do that just by being here next to me Callie. Please don’t feel sorry for me. My life isn’t so bad. Come, let me show you something.” Orion commands and we both float from the bed. I swim into the main room and perch on the sofa, turning over its arm to view Orion as he places himself in the middle of the room. He places his hands out in front of him and shuts his eyes. I see the water ripple almost immediately between them. Instantaneously, heart shaped bubbles appear and float towards me before ascending, their density less than water. I clap unconsciously, how on earth did he do that?

“I have control over the air; it’s the gift the Goddess gave me. I’m known as an Aeromancer,” he says proudly and I wonder how useful this gift is. I watch him displace the water and realise that this kind of ability, plus an ocean full of water to displace and use, could be really dangerous. I then reason that this is a pretty darn useful ability and smile at my own stupidity. Of course the Goddess would never give Orion, the crowned ruler’s son, a useless gift.

I tilt my head thinking over the night I was murdered. “Is that how you saved me? How you killed that demon today?”

“Yes, I’d never done something so powerful before, you brought it out in me. The need to protect you is … overwhelming.” He confesses looking nervous.

“How did Azure get on land?” I ask, realising in order to stab me she must have gotten pretty close to me. Orion and I had kissed half way up the beach. It didn’t make sense that she could have hit me from the water.

“I don’t know. There’s no record of the Banished being able to walk on land, even when the moon is full, but there they were and in the sun no less. They’re evolving all the time. It’s troubling at best.” he breathes looking astonished and then continues on in his explanation. “It could be that she wasn’t human at all, but rather levitated out of the ocean while Caedes gave the illusion of legs so she wouldn’t alert us to her identity.” He theorises and in an instant I have another hundred questions.

“So Azure is Starlet’s twin sister?” I ask, flexing my tail on the leather.

“Yes, Azure passed first, I’m not sure how. She never talked about it. The loneliness of being separated from her sister drove her to the darkness. It’s been hard on Starlet, Azure being her soul mate and all.” He admits and I unwilling, begin to see Starlet a little more clearly. Orion had a soul mate coming, sure he had to wait, but I was always a certainty. Starlet has a  soul mate that chose evil, death, and murder. She sort of now seems a little less bitchy and a little more misunderstood. I smile a little as Orion comes and sits at the other end of the sofa, turning his tail to wrap around my own, connecting us both.

“Maybe it’s her link to Starlet that allows her to walk on land still?” I muse, and his eyes widen a little.

“Maybe, but that would mean she’s not as far gone as I thought. She still gets the visions I suppose. I don’t want to get my hopes up. Losing her once was enough.” Orion’s forehead takes on a divot. “Family, it’s complicated, don’t you think?” He says, shrugging and I nod, chuckling at the seeming unimportance of all my mortal problems.

Something inside me rises from the depths of denial, and as I contemplate letting go of all my mortal problems, I say the words I don’t know if I’m ready to say.

“Orion, tonight … I want to go and see my Mom and sister.” I confess and he frowns, looking concerned and a little sad.

“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea, Callie. This won’t go the way you hope, I promise you.” He warns me and the longing to see my family ignites, burning even brighter, almost an ache within me.

“I know it won’t be easy, but I need to do this, Orion.” I reason with him, widening my eyes and leaning forward.

“What are you going to tell her, Callie? The truth?” he asks, cocking his head sideways, his starry eyes incredulous.

“I don’t know yet. I just can’t leave her not knowing. I know what that is like.” I argue, feeling trapped again by the enormity of this new body I have evolved.

“Okay, if that’s what you feel. But you need to prepare, you may end up getting a reaction you don’t want. It may make your last memory of your family an unpleasant one. Trust me I have first-hand experience with this.” He leans forward and places his hands on my temples again, possessing my mind, and taking me back.

ORION

“But mother it is me!” I cry out and the woman I have known and loved so much slaps my face hard. A tear releasing from my eye, my cheek ringing with the pain. The girls are sleeping in the other room soundly and I want to see them. I miss them. I begin to make my way into the sleeping room and my mother grabs my wrist pulling me away and hitting me as hard as she can, sobbing.

“Demon! Demon! LEAVE THIS PLACE!” she cries as I hear the girls stir in the next room.

“You are dead! Now get out! Leave my daughters and me in peace! Haven’t you taken enough from me, first my husband and now my only son! GET THE HELL OUT!” She screams as I have never heard her scream before and I now know that I shouldn’t have returned here. I run from my home into the moonlight that shines down like that of the night I first left this place, devastated and now knowing that my place is with my father, in the depths of the ocean we loved so much in life.

CALLIE

“Do you see now? Do you see what you are asking; you are asking me to willingly let you go through that rejection. You’ve been through enough.” He says firmly, grasping my wrist gently as he takes his hands from my forehead. I am crying again and through my tears, I choke out the words:

“I am not asking you to let me do anything. I am going. Come or don’t, but they are my family and I am not ready to let them go.” I stand my ground, fierce and strong as I had been in life. Orion rolls his eyes and pulls me in a hug, whispering into my hair.

“Okay princess. If it makes you happy, we leave tonight.”

I smile into his chest as he holds me, but I can’t help but feel dread seep into my core. What was my mom going to say when she saw me for the first time in days? What was she going to say when I returned a ghost? What was she going to say, when she learned that the daughter she raised was now involved in a mythic war she hadn’t started? What was she going to say? More importantly, I think to myself as my mind falters at the impossibility of the task ahead, how can I bring myself to look upon the almond shaped, deep brown, doe eyes of my baby sister and leave?

After I’ve made the decision to go and visit my family, the day passes quickly. I stew and I know what would help if I was human, so I ask a question I was too distracted to ask any sooner.

“Can I sleep?” I enquire, feeling stupid.

“Yes, but you don’t need sleep. It’s a choice, I often do it as it helps me organise things in my mind. Everything gets so jumbled after a while.” He confesses and I nod, heading through the shell-lined archway and into the bedroom to sleep. I pray it will stop my mind from racing. I lie down on the mattress and find it not like falling asleep at all, but rather like flicking a switch that shuts down my mind. It is a whim, rather than need, and I find that in what feels like seconds Orion is shaking me awake.

“Callie, wake up, princess. We need to get going.” He whispers and instantly I am awake like the switch has been flicked back on, I don’t feel groggy or sleepy. Just as awake as I was a few hours ago right before I fell asleep. I see that the light coming through the patio doors leading to the balcony has turned pink and realise that a small chunk of time has disappeared. It is as though sleep has turned my mind into a cinema though. I can pick and choose any memory I wish to see and instantly I can remember it in the finest of detail.

“Whoa.” I say as I turn myself upright and Orion smiles.

“The memory thing finally kicked in then?” He asks and I nod, cocking my head suspiciously.

“You knew about this and didn’t tell me?” I ask accusatorily, if I had known, I’d have slept earlier. I can remember the night Orion and I spent together in glorious detail, my stomach muscles clench deliciously at the thought; now on repeat in my home cinema of a mind.

“Well yes, how did you think I managed meeting you and then not seeing you for a month? I locked myself in this apartment and replayed our conversation, repeatedly, in my mind. My family found it quite amusing actually; there were jokes … something about mental masturbation.” He laughs and I pity him internally. He must seem such a teenager to this society, having to wait so long for his other half, and yet he is probably one of the oldest among them.

“Anyway, are you ready, princess?” He prompts, smiling gently and placing his arms around my waist, angling for a kiss. I stand for a moment taking in his face, a memory for me to keep just in case I wake up and this life has been a dream. I start with his stunningly ice blue eyes, wide and beautiful as ever, his tanned skin that stretches over his amazingly angular architecture and then the mahogany tousled hair that defies all gravity but somehow seems as though he has not a hair out of place. I smile not wanting to forget this face ever.

“Please don’t call me that.” I plead with a shy upturning of my lips.

“Too late. I think it’s stuck already.” He leans in and takes my lips in his; kissing me passionately and I can’t help but groan. I hope this trip to visit my family resolves itself quickly; perhaps I can fit in some time with Orion before the sun rises. I pout as he releases me and he grins cheekily before taking my hand, his face alight with the magic we share.

We journey through the water, the light turning a bloody orange from the setting sun lowering toward the horizon, shutting the door on another Californian day.

Shoals of fish cut through the water, enjoying the lowering light and warmth. The ocean sparkles with clarity, something which I took for granted. I was lucky I hadn’t been turned into a mermaid in murkier depths. I imagine the terror of knowing there are demons in water that is foggy with debris, hindering my eyesight.

“Are we going back to the beach where I …” I’m about to say the word died but I hold it back, afraid of the impact it will have if spoken aloud. I still don’t want to admit to the irreversibility of this change I am going through, don’t want to admit I will never walk to my locker at school again, that I’ll never be sat in home room with my friends.

“No, we are going to the Lunar Sanctum; you can drive us from there.” Orion reveals his plan for the evening and I breathe out.

“Drive us in what?” I ask, wondering which cars mer have at their disposal. I flex my tail behind me, motoring myself forward past a shoal of shiny silver fish.

“Your red convertible of course.” he smiles at me, looking as though this should please me. Instead I’m confused.

“But isn’t that at the beach? That’s where I left it parked.” I insist, enjoying the feeling of silken fluid coursing across my skin.

“No, we had it retrieved. It’s in the underground parking lot at the Sanctum for now.” He acknowledges and I stutter.

“Retrieved … by whom?” I want to know who’s had their hands on my little red vintage and how they started it without the keys.

“By our retrieval team. You had the keys on you the night you turned. I wasn’t going to leave it standing there for the police, or even worse, some thief to find.” he replies and though I’m glad my car has been kept safe, I want to know more about the logistics of the team.

“Team? What else do they retrieve?” I want to know so badly, the hope of understanding more of this topsy-turvy world urging me on.

“We have people in this world, well paid people who know of our importance. Who help us logistically, keeping the Sanctums running, being our legs when we cannot walk on land.” He speaks this as though it is boring, common knowledge. But I am enthralled.

“What else do they do?”

“Anything you can think of, from making the beds at the Sanctum to leaving us packages of clothes on random beaches.” He answers with a wave of his hand, dismissing my curiosity.

“So that’s where you got your jeans!” I mutter.

“Yes and where I have gotten our clothes for tonight too. One of the team, Georgia, is my personal assistant I suppose. She tends to my personal needs.”

“I bet she does.” I mutter.

“What was that?” Orion asks with a hand cupped to one ear, I wonder if he’s giving me the opportunity to have out with my jealousy, knowing full well what I said. I change the subject fear rising in my chest.

“Nothing. Is everyone assigned an assistant?” I ask, looking at him from under hooded lids, wanting him to feel my possession through the water between us. His royal blue scales sparkle like stars in the dying light of day.

“No, just another perk of being me.” he sighs, as though the extra help is rather an added burden.

“Ah I see, son of the crowned ruler and all that jazz.”

“Exactly. I’ll introduce you, and if you need anything you can call on Georgia, she’ll attend you.”

“I don’t need attending to. I can take care of myself.” I correct, puzzled by his lack of ability to see my capable mind. I refuse to be resigned to a damsel in distress.

“Please yourself.” He doesn’t look angry, rather tired. We catch a riptide, which has formed to our left, pushing ourselves toward the shore. Toward the Lunar Sanctum.

Up in our room I hear a knock at the door. I am perched in only a robe and lingerie, which I found in the wardrobe, in the middle of white sheets looking down at my legs. The robe is aqua silk and has kimono sleeves, contrasting starkly to the white and cream of the room, the label reads ‘VW’, and we all know what that means. I get up from the mahogany four-poster bed, letting my heels sink into the plush, fibrous carpet. Taking steps toward the door, I hear Orion bustling in the bathroom. I know he is listening in, but I lack caring as I turn the golden polished door handle and swing it open haphazardly. The absence of dark wood reveals a meek looking girl, her face a spattering of freckles. Her hair is dark and wispy, tied back into a French plait that falls down her left shoulder. Her eyes are a baby blue, innocent and doe like. Holy crap she’s beautiful! My own eyes narrow. Suspicion and fear rising in my gut.

“You must be Georgia.” I say, I know my introduction is curt, but I’m tired.

“Y … Y … Yes. You must be Callie. It’s lovely to meet you. Orion has told me ssss … so much about you.” she stutters; her voice no more than a mouse squeak.

“I am.” I hold out a hand and shake hers briskly, the aqua silk of my robe brushing against my sensitive flesh.

“I have this for you.” She looks up at me; for once, I’m not the shortest person here. She must be only four foot nine, petite and slender. In her arms, I see what she is holding out to me; a garment bag, white in colour with the same VW initials in a swirly font.

“Vivienne Westwood …” I breathe the words like a prayer under my lips. I’d always had money; my father had left quite a reasonable amount to me before he died in a trust fund in my name. I was around fourteen when my mom let me in on this little secret. However, I’d always planned on using it for college, before the whole having a tail thing had kicked in. My Mom and particularly Carl had been pretty strict on keeping it locked up tight until I left for higher education. I’d made my gas money by babysitting and had never even set foot in a designer store with the kind of price tags Miss Westwood was used to dishing out.

“Yes. I was on strict instructions with this dress. He picked it from the catalogue himself.” She says this, looking down at the floor and I wonder what this girl has seen. She probably knows Orion better than I do.

“I’m sure he has excellent taste.” I say with conviction.

“He does. Though … I’ve never seen him take so long over a single garment before.” I warm to her unwillingly as she is clearly trying to point out how much he cares. I bite down my jealousy. What I’m feeling is terrifying me. I’m envious of Georgia and her relationship with Orion. Did she have to be so goddamn attractive? But more than that, I’m scared of the thought that Orion still had women in his life that could take him away. I don’t think I could do this alone. I need him. I’d always known I wasn’t ugly but I wonder as I look over Georgia if I quite stand up to the calibre of women he has been with in the past. It wasn’t about Georgia. It was about me. I was insecure. It was me who needed to address my behaviour, not her. It wasn’t logical for me to feel this way, but then again I wasn’t logical when it came to Orion. Not a drop.

“Open it.” She suggests; the excited anticipation on her sweet face evident. Orion comes out of the bathroom looking cautious, as he has slipped on a white button up shirt over pale faded jeans. The white shirt makes me smile to myself, remembering the fun I had stealing one just like it on my last trip here, and the pleasure I had endured watching him take it off me later that night. I notice Georgia’s expression as she turns to my other half. Her eyes survey him, leisurely taking him in, her pupils widen and she takes in a shallow breath. I’m hardly surprised, but a lump still forms in my throat. I ignore it breathing deep.

“Georgia was just telling me you picked this out specially. Thank you.” His eyes light up with pride and he can’t wipe the grin off his face.

“Well I …”

“Don’t be modest.” I unzip the garment bag and pull out a lilac satin, flounced cocktail dress. The bodice is a bustier and laces in a corset at the back. Silver silk lines the inside of the whole dress, making ruffles that cause the skirt to poof outwards. I gasp a little, taking it in. I can guarantee that it will fit like a glove and as I picture myself stepping into it, I have an idea as I picture Orion taking me out of it.

“It’s beautiful.” I exclaim, reaching up on tiptoe to kiss him on the cheek.

“I’m glad you like it.” He smiles and Georgia shifts uncomfortably from foot to foot.

“I think I’m all done here. As you requested, the red convertible is in the basement level garage. You’ll find the keys in the ignition. But I should warn you, there was police tape all over that thing when we found it. It wouldn’t surprise me if you had some serious questions heading your way.” Georgia, as she leaves with this statement, makes my face drain of blood. The police? How stupid could I be? I’d gone missing for two whole days. My mother was probably a nervous wreck and the police were probably all over the beach where I’d left my car searching for me. As well as that, now my car was gone. Would they start looking for a car thief? Could they tie it back to Lunar Sanctum and to the mer? Had I exposed them all?

I’m stripped down, standing in lingerie as I let the dress fall over my head and around my body in a short cascade of silk.

“Come tie me up?” I ask, pulling my hair up, ready to tie it into a ponytail.

“Don’t.” He murmurs moving behind me and lacing quickly.

“What?” I ask as I feel his lips caress the back of my neck.

“Put your hair up. I love it like this. It’s so soft.” He whispers and I shiver at the brush of his lips.

“Down it is.” I sigh as he finishes lacing me into the back of my dress.

“We have to go.”

“Or what?” I sense the urgency in his tone.

“Or I won’t let you leave this room because I’ll be enjoying you naked too much.”

“I don’t think you’d stop me leaving.” I acknowledge, kissing his lips chastely, he stops me in the middle of the gesture.

“You don’t know the half of what I’d do to be alone with you Callie. I went easy on you last time. You’re new to all this. But when you’re ready and I can have you rough, I will.” He makes the dark promise, running his lips across my knuckles and kissing each one softly, sucking.

“Mmm.” is all I can manage, feeling tickles wander leisurely up my spine.

“Now get some shoes on, and let’s go before Miss Westwood did all that work fitting that dress to you for nothing.” He is bossy today, but I placate him, slipping on some white silk-strapped heels from the bottom of the wardrobe. I stand; ready to leave.

“Ready?” He enquires, slinging a satchel over one shoulder. I eye it curiously.

“Ready.” I say and he places his hand around my waist, leading me from the room.

“I can’t wait to see you drive this thing.” Orion admits, looking as though he feels slightly cheeky for making the statement.

“Like a woman in control, do you?” I tease, the usual click of my stilettos lost in the soft jade runner of the corridor as the door slams behind us.

“I’m realising I don’t have much choice in that.” I roll my eyes at his response and we carry on towards the main entrance, where we descend the double staircase. The Sanctum is quiet and I take in the architecture so before I know it, I’m behind the wheel of my old friend. The little red vintage, which was there for me when my mother wasn’t. The car that took me, however unknowingly, towards my destiny and Orion, and that made my escapes possible, that even now was still there for me, taking me home.

As we approach the familiar sidewalk that is crowded by trees, Orion turns to me with a look of instant curiousness playing on the rose pink lips that are set in his angular jaw.

“You okay?” He whispers as I stare out into the darkness, looking at the house in which I grew up.

“No. I’m scared of what’s gonna happen.” I say honestly.

“I know.”

“What do you say to someone in this situation … how do you deliver this kind of news.” I confess my naivety, bowing my head.

“You just tell the truth.” He looks at me and strokes my cheek.

“What if the truth isn’t enough?”

“Enough?” Orion looks confused.

“Enough to make her let go.” I sigh and he looks at me sympathetically.

“Just take things a minute at a time. It’s going to be okay.” He smiles at me, trying to be supportive but I feel alone, it’s clear he doesn’t have an answer. I am the only one who can deliver this news and I am the only one who can sever the relationship with my mom. I feel like throwing up at the fact that I have to go inside the home I left two days ago and tell my mother that I am no longer fit to be her daughter. I shake and he looks me deeply in the eyes, anchoring me.

“Ready?” Orion asks squeezing my hand tightly. I look up into his stunningly light blue eyes and take a deep breath, I trace the lines of his sculptured face, perfect, flawless in its beauty and I feel my lip upturn unwillingly.

“As I’ll ever be.” I admit and I know it’s true, tension builds in my bloodstream until I can hear my pulse thumping in my head. Together Orion and I step out of the car and pass the willow tree that aided my escape over one month ago. He raises a clenched fist to the door. Knock, knock … knock.

The door opens slowly and waves of nostalgia hit me hard as the familiar engulfs my senses. My mother is standing in the doorway and her brow relaxes in relief as she steps forward and takes me into her arms.

“Callie!” she gasps sounding a little breathless, her eyes glisten with tears.

“Mom.” is all I can manage, as we stand motionless in the doorway, time stopped around us. Orion coughs behind me and my mother releases me taking a step back and turning to him, her eyes widening in awe of his stunning face. I knew I wasn’t imagining how gorgeous Orion was, but jeez, could my mom stop staring for like a second and pick up her jaw.

“Hello Mrs. Pierce, my name is Orion; I think it would be wise to take this inside?” He suggests and she nods. He places his arm around my waist coyly as we step across the threshold and I smell the familiar scent of home. My eyes water and I suck in air deeply, trying to put one foot in front of the other. The second we are all seated in the living room I am thinking about Kayla, I wonder where she is as I see the array of teddies strewn across the floor, then I realise it is fairly late and she is probably asleep. I vow to see her before I leave this place, but first I realise I must concentrate on the task at hand, dealing with explaining all this to my mom. I look into her face and start to speak but she places a finger up at once, gliding from the chair in which she is perched and moving to the mahogany cabinet behind the leather armchair Carl used to occupy when reading his stupid fishing magazines. She bends and rustles around in the bottom drawer, before pulling out a large black box and placing it under one arm. Orion grabs my hand and runs his thumb across the back of my knuckles and I soothe, feeling my nerves dissipate slowly as my mom scurries back to the chair and places the box onto her lap.

“So … I’m sorry I went missing, but I’m here to explain.” I say, gesticulating as though this will soften the blow to come.

“It’s okay Callie, and I already know what you’ve come to say, I’ve known this day was coming for a while now.” My mother confesses, her face contorting in sadness and my mind goes blank … What the hell is she talking about? How could she possibly know what I’m about to reveal to her? “I’ve already handled the police.” She states, nodding. I look back at her, forehead creased, hands twisting together and my mouth slightly agape. Does she think I’ve committed a crime?

“No, but mom you don’t understand …” I start to defend myself and she cuts me off, handing me the box. I look at her quizzically, stopped in my tracks, wondering what the hell this box could contain that would give a reasonable explanation as to my disappearance. I pull off the lid, it is not heavy as the box is made of a strong cardboard. Inside an array of papers and photographs are scattered. I pull out the first thing I see, which is a faded and crinkled photo. Within the white frame of the image, lies my mother in a bathing suit under the stars and a half moon with a stunning merman of her very own lying beside her, I blink slowly and look up, mouth agape … what … the … hell?

“What …” I begin, but cannot finish. I look from the young starry eyes of the woman in the photo to those staring back at me in present time, and I can see a remarkable difference, in this photo, my mother looks ecstatically happy.

“His name was Gideon.” She says and as the name plays on her lips, she cannot help but smile fondly as though remembering a favourite character from a book read long ago.

“My father?” I ask and she nods as my heart begins to thrum heavily within my chest. I look deeper into the image and I see my own eyes looking back at me, and curly blonde hair, though shorter in this photograph, similar to my own. The tail of the mer is also similar to mine in shape, the crescent moon fin, the glistening sinew, but his scales lie snowy white against the sand. I turn to Orion.

“Did you know about this?” I ask him and he shrugs looking as confused as I am.

“We fell in love over the summer one year and continued our relationship up until you were about two. One day he just stopped coming ashore each full moon. After you were born. We had discussed it, thought it was best to protect you as best we could. I didn’t know when he was going to stop visiting. I just knew it wouldn’t last forever.” She reminisces, melancholy, and I feel stunned at this woman sitting across from me. Falling in love with a mer, losing him, raising me without him? It sounded so awful. New questions begin to plague me too. So I wasn’t born in Tulsa? I grew up right here until Gideon left us perhaps? I look to Orion again. How could he not know? He looks concerned, his eyes skimming over me like he’s seeing me for the first time.

“I didn’t know Gideon was your father, I swear. He hasn’t been seen in years, Callie.” The thought of Gideon not waiting for me in the Occulta Mirum makes my heartbeat weaken. Maybe he is dead after all.

“I thought being a mermaid wasn’t genetic?” I look at Orion with wide eyes. More questions bubbling to the surface of my mind.

“It isn’t, I promise you. It’s the Goddess’ calling. Nothing to do with lineage.”

“So we didn’t live in Tulsa from when I was born?” I look at my mother again, trying to put the pieces of my life together.

“No. We lived here until Gideon stopped visiting you. I could never have taken an opportunity to see his daughter away from him. After he left for good, I couldn’t bear the closeness of the sea. So I moved. Moved away from the possibility that I would see him again. I needed to start over. To adjust my expectations of what our life would be.”

“You told me he was dead. That he died.” I whisper slightly, feeling the strength in the lie now, rather than the sting of its betrayal. I look at her, seeing her clearly for the first time.

“I told you he was dead. I did lie to you. It was selfish, but how else could I have explained his absence without keeping some hope alive in you that he would come back?” She looks like she might cry at the thought and I wonder how I would feel, moving away from Orion with a permanent reminder of him clinging to my apron strings, asking questions.

“So how did you know I would be this way? You knew didn’t you?” I ask and she nods smiling.

“The day you were born I had a vision, a woman with lilac flowing hair telling me you would be taken from me young … but that I was not to worry as you would return occasionally and that you were going to be cherished and very important.” She remembers fondly and I wonder why she isn’t more upset.

“Atargatis …” I breathe her name, shock settling over me slowly.

“I think so.” Orion nods at the sentiment in agreement. He places a hand on my knee, trying to comfort me, but all I feel is numb.

“So it doesn’t bother you that you won’t get to see me much anymore?” I ask, looking down into the box further and my mother smiles. I can’t help but feel hurt at her ease with our parting. I had expected her to cry, scream, or maybe even call the police. I hadn’t expected full blown acceptance.

“I’ve had a long time; 18 years in fact, to come to terms with this, Callie … Besides, you are loved and will continue to be loved forever, as I was with Gideon. The biggest gift I could give you is to let you go.” She looks teary in saying this and I know that inside she is sobbing. I feel guilt at the idea of her finding this easy passing through my mind at all.

“If I could’ve stayed with Gideon … had him forever, I would’ve given up everything you are about to in a heartbeat. Now you’ve found your destiny … follow him.” She gestures to Orion and I turn to him and smile. His expression is just as stunned as mine.

“I don’t want you to be alone though mom, you need me too.” I reply softly and her expression creases.

“I have been rewarded for this sacrifice, Callie. I have another beautiful daughter and this one is for keeps.” She acknowledges and I smile, thinking about Kayla. I look back down into the box and I find more pictures similar to the one on the top of a thick waxy envelope, my mother and father smiling and posing, in some Gideon is a mer, in others he has legs but in all one thing is constant, and that is the love they clearly share. I shuffle the photos to one side and underneath I lift the envelope.

“A letter … for you.” She smiles slightly and I wonder how long she has been longing to give me this.

“Why didn’t you give me this before?” I ask, the question burning in my mind.

“He asked that I wait until you discovered your origins. But he did request that I give you that necklace on your eighteenth birthday.” My mom enlightens me as to the origin of my birthday gift. I look down at the necklace I had forgotten I was wearing, not sure how I should feel that I could have been wearing a tear that had once belonged to my father around my neck for the past month. I look next to the letter, wondering if I really do want to know what it says. I don’t think I can handle any more of this so called ‘enlightenment’.

“He said it can be taken with you … you know.” My mom indicating the envelope can be taken back to the hidden city with us. Orion grasps my hand tightly for a moment and I breathe deeply, feeling the thrill of knowing my origins calling, mixed with an encroaching sense of terror at finding something I don’t want to. Knowing what I know now about the nature of my dad, I’m still left confused as to why he didn’t make more of an effort. I look to Orion and he scoops up the wedge of crisp paper, placing it in the satchel that is slung across his shoulder. He kisses my cheek and my mom’s expression melts a little.

“It’s wonderful to see you like this, you look so alive.” My mom compliments and I grin, unable to stop blood flushing my cheeks pink under the curls that surround my face. I get up and I hug her tightly before remembering my vow and the little girl snoozing overhead.

“Kayla.” I say the word and my mom understands instantly. It is funny now, to think that Carl ever changed her the way in which he did, made her so much of a lesser version of herself. Orion stands behind me and places a hand on my back and I know what I have to do.

“Can you please wait down here?” I ask of him with a pleading look, Kayla doesn’t need to remember the last time she sees me that I am with a man, she has enough male villains in her story having had a father like Carl.

“Sure. I’ll be here.” He reassures and moves a hand up to my shoulder, giving it a squeeze. The place his skin trails across mine still creates an electric throbbing pulse leaving me wanting. I ignore it, not wanting desire to ruin this time with my family. I nod and he sits back down on the couch, I ponder this image for a moment, an Adonis, sculptured beauty, in my living room, how absolutely absurd it seems. I follow my mom silently up the familiar wooden staircase hearing the familiar creak of the second to last step before my mom turns to me.

“Oh by the way, what are you wearing?” My mother whispers, looking me up and down curiously, as I remember I am standing in the purple corseted, far too short, cocktail dress.

“Oh, Orion picked it out.” I mumble self-consciously.

“It’s nice he wants to show you off … the way he looks at you, it reminds me so of Gideon.” She sighs and I raise my eyebrows wondering how she ever became Carl’s wife. How could she ever have moved on, settled for anything less than the love of one of Atargatis’ immortals?

“I’m sorry … about everything.” I confess as we reach the landing and she turns to me, tears streaming down her face.

“Don’t ever apologise. This was never in your control. I just wish … I’d been there these last few years … I feel like the fool now, wasting the time I had with you.” She hugs me close and tears trickle down my cheeks too. I wish more than words that I could go back in time, make the most of my mom. I lean back and we giggle, trying to stifle the sound as we wipe our tears away and beam at one another, glad of the cathartic release.

“I love you.” My mom says and strokes her hand through my hair cradling my face.

“And I will always love you … as long as I live.” I vow it to be true, I never want my memories to fade to grey as Orion’s may have done; I will remember her. It hits me as I stand in the darkness of the hallway, engulfed in light shadow with the woman who has nurtured me all these years, what being immortal really means. It will mean seeing everyone I have ever known, get old and die. I recognise now, that through all the sorrow perhaps there is a worse pain than death.

“Ready?” My mom whispers, cutting my thoughts off and pushing Kayla’s door open. I nod breathing in and smiling at the memory of my little sister’s laugh. Once my mom walks across the room and turns on Kayla’s bedside light, I discover that we have been whispering for no reason. She is sitting up; knees hugged to her chest, eyes squeezed shut.

“Hey you.” I say as her eyes fly open and a huge smile dashes across her lips.

“Callie!” She exclaims and launches herself out of bed and into my arms. I hoist her up around my hip and wonder if she has gotten lighter, or maybe I have gotten stronger? She nuzzles her head into my chest and I see my mom indicate she is going to leave us alone for a bit. I pull the body of my little sister against me and sit down on the bed. She adjusts herself so she is sitting on my thighs and she looks up at me, popping her thumb into her mouth. I smile and watch, slowly losing my grin as tears begin to spill from her giant chocolate brown eyes.

“Hey, hey … hush now … it’s okay …” I soothe, stroking her hair as she pushes her face into my chest.

“I … didn’t … think … you … would … come … BAAAAAAAACKKKKK,” she bawls and I continue to hush her, pulling her chin up so her watery eyes meet mine.

“I did come back though, didn’t I?” I remind her and she nods, silencing her cries for a moment.

“Where did you go? Did you see daddy?” She asks, eyes hopeful and I realise that breaking this to her may be harder than I thought. I need her to understand, and I don’t want her lied to. I know from first-hand experience the damage this will cause in the long-run.

“No … But I did see a lot of amazing things … Hey can I tell you a secret?” I ask and in an instant her sniffles are completely gone and she is kneeling on my thighs, totally engrossed in my face.

“Please tell me, I won’t tell anyone, pinkie promise.” She says holding up her little finger. I take my own and curl it round, shaking to seal the deal. I gesture with one finger for her to move forward and she obliges, letting me whisper softly in her tiny ear.

“I’m a mermaid.” I say and she leans backwards with a crazed expression.

“Like Ariel?” She says, placing her pudgy fingers to her mouth, eyes wide with wonder.

“Yes, exactly like that!” I say, smiling at her.

“Where’s your tail then?” She says, looking down at my legs, acute and mystified as always.

“Well that’s the thing … I have to go back to being a mermaid, so you won’t see me much from now on … but … what if I promise to write you letters? Tell you all about my adventures?” She looks puzzled but slowly nods.

“Promise?” she asks with a stern brow much too serious for someone of four years old and I chuckle at her seriousness, trying all the while not to cry.

“Promise.” I vow and she holds up her little finger again which I promptly shake with my own.

“I’ll miss you.” I say, feeling sad as she lays her head on my chest.

“I’ll miss you too … everybody leaves. It makes me sad.” She admits absent-mindedly.

“Don’t be sad for too long, Kayla, you are going to have an amazing life.” I say and she shakes her head disbelievingly.

“Will I get to be a mermaid too?” she asks and I shake my head, mimicking her action.

“Awe I wanted to swim with a dolphin!” she says and I laugh at the absurd image … that is probably a normal day within my new life.

“If I meet one … I’ll tell it all about you.” I promise and kiss her hair. We sit in silence for a while. She lets me stroke her hair and I daren’t move long after I watch her lids droop and close as she is lost in painless sleep. My mom comes back up the staircase and opens the door.

“I think we’d best let her rest. What did you say?” She whispers through the dim light.

“The truth.” I confess, laying Kayla in her bed. She stirs a little but does not wake as I kiss her forehead softly and take a final glance at her beautiful, childish face before turning and leaving the room. My mom looks surprised but does not question my decision to tell Kayla the truth as we head back down the stairs. I see Orion waiting in the hall for me.

“You’d best be off.” My mom announces and in that moment I want to scream and cling onto the banister for dear life. “But before you go, wait here a second, I have something for you.” I wait in anticipation as she heads into the kitchen. Several minutes and a lot of rustling later she returns, something thick and white in her palm.

“This came for you.” She holds it out to me. She’s giving me my mail? I shrug and take it. “You’ll be okay, won’t you Callie?” She looks me in the eyes, almost praying I will put her greatest fears to rest. I try to give her comfort.

“I suppose.” I mumble and Orion grabs my hand from across the hallway, his touch reminding me that with him comes the fate of leaving my family. My mom looks as though she may cry once more and we move in for one last hug, tears fall fast and hard from my eyes.

“You keep Kayla safe.” I order and she nods, blinking through her sobs quickly.

“And you’ll keep my Callie safe?” My Mom looks at Orion and he nods leaning forward and embracing her with his large arms. I am slightly thrown aback at this physical display of affection, but watch as they release one another slowly. It is as though this physical display of affection warrants approval from my mom. Orion is beaming slightly, blinding white teeth bared in full Hollywood glory and I cannot help but feel my lip curve upward. I go to say goodbye but can’t manage the words. My mother, sensing the impending explosion of tears, quickly opens the door and we leave hastily out into the moonlight. We make it to my car before I break down and Orion holds me for a good ten minutes as I cry at the unfairness of it all. Why can’t I have it all: family, friends, immortal life, and this wonderful man who loves me so? Life is seemingly a bitch, that’s why. As I calm down, Orion strokes my hair rhythmically, placing small kisses on the top of my head as it rests on his chest from the driver’s seat. I look down at the letter in my hands, the paper damp with tears. I wonder what is contained within it, the crisp paper holding the last of the secretive nature of my mom. I tear open the back, and pull out a thick stack of papers.

Dear Miss Pierce,

We are honoured after a most successful interview, to offer you a place at Brown University where we feel you are suited most completely. We are impressed by your dedication to the area of biology, comprehensive knowledge and tenacious and enthusiastic attitude toward this field of study. We congratulate you and anticipate your arrival at our campus in September pending your graduation.

I can’t finish the letter, feeling my heart drop through the floor. I got in. I actually got in. I got in and it doesn’t matter. I let out a strangled wail and let the pages catch in the breeze, flying away into the cold night winds of yesterday, sobbing into Orion’s white cotton shirt. “Come on, let’s get out of here.” Orion whispers and I look up at the moon, it still hangs just below the highest point in the sky, the visit didn’t take as long as I expected, probably because there wasn’t as much explaining as I’d thought involved. The tears have run dry, leaving a sparkling stain on Orion’s lap.

“Go where?” I grunt irritated and hopeless.

“Just drive for now.” He whispers and I sit up, starting the engine and pulling away from my old life.

We speed through the streets, away from the neighbourhood in which I grew up, past the swings and roundabouts of my childhood and toward the outskirts of San Diego.

“Where to, Batman?” I turn to Orion as I pull my foot off the gas and we come to a crossroads. Trying to use humour to diffuse the anguish that has overtaken me.

“Batman?” he queries with a creased forehead and I laugh, trying not to snort in a most unladylike fashion.

“Don’t worry about it. Pop culture thing.” I tell him and he looks confused even more. I laugh at him. Taking my hands off the steering wheel and letting the car sit at the junction.

“Don’t laugh at me.”

“Why not? You’re funny.” hysterical giggles rise from my belly out of the pit of despair, which came from abandoning everything I had once known.

“Because I’ll take you on the back seat.” that shuts me up, distracting me from the night’s events. My mouth turns to a sly curve; I enjoy looking at him, his bulging muscles lying across the white leather of my little red vintage. Dream man in my dream car. I had moaned before about not having everything I wanted, but maybe that was spoilt. After all, who gets everything they desire with no consequences. I appreciate him, feeling lucky as his glacial blue eyes bear down onto my satin covered body; I shudder needing him, my insides feel increasingly barren after leaving everything I had once known behind me.

“Okay.” I challenge him.

“Right here?” he raises the bar, licking his bottom lip salaciously. Hungry for my exhibitionism.

“Right here.” I say, but just as he reaches forward to wrap his arm around my waist and pull me across the gearshift, my real hunger gets the better of me. My stomach lets out a real, sorrowful gurgle.

“Hungry, princess?” he says.

“Not for food.” I need the comfort his lips afford; I need it like an alcoholic needs bourbon. I want the safety of his arms, the conviction of his touch to pull me through the desolation I was feeling at the departure of my once simple existence.

“I think the rabid wolf clawing to get out of your insides would disagree.” Orion sits back, letting his arm slide forward to his side.

“Hey, get back here!” I complain, trying to lean in, craving his saltiness. He places his hands up.

“I’m not touching you until you’re fed.” He informs me, a mask of cold control sliding in beneath his irises.

“But …” I request pouting, the emptiness echoing inside me.

“You’re all dressed for dinner, Callie, you look beautiful. Please let me wine and dine you, princess.” He strokes a single finger along my chin bone and I breathe him in, heady and seductive.

“Fine. I know a place.” I say, taking back control, feeling let down.

“I know a place.” he enlightens me.

“You? Know a place?” I raise my eyebrows. He didn’t seem like the kind to dine casually around San Diego.

“I do. Take a left here.”

The restaurant we end up in is a tiny corner Italian place, which is ironic because everywhere I would have chosen would have been classic San Diego, Mexican cuisine. It’s almost like Orion is trying to take me close to where he grew up, even if it is only through my stomach. I’ve never been here before, but that’s probably a good thing considering they don’t print prices on the menu, and the wine glasses are cut crystal. I feel out of place and awkward. I’m glad I’m dressed in the Vivienne Westwood lilac cocktail dress; this isn’t the kind of place where jeans and a hoody can cut it. Orion pulls out my chair before seating himself, it’s weird, being in such a normal situation with a man who is a creature of myth. Anyone looking in on this sees a normal couple having a first, if not slightly extravagant, date. No one would be aware that come the rising sun we will slink, hand in hand, back into the warm waters of the ocean, ready to defend the seas another day. There are several other diners, though they seem to be toward the end of their meals. A waitress comes over and takes our drinks order. Her eyes slipping over Orion in a way not at all unlike the way a vulture eyes a carcass that has already been picked clean, starving and wanton. I don’t hear what he says to her, or what drink he orders for me as I make my stance very clear, locking my eyes with his, letting them heat. I’ve already had him, as crazy as that may sometimes seem. He is mine. He keeps my gaze and the waitress shuffles off, blonde ponytail bobbing behind her.

“I ordered the Pinot Grigio.” He informs me.

“I don’t know anything about wine.” I tell him.

“I should think not, being eighteen. I don’t believe Americans can drink alcohol until they are twenty-one, if I am correct?” He enquires, looking truly unsure about this most simple fact.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“It’s a shame. Where I grew up we had wine a lot.”

“Greece, is that right?” I try to remember, but in all honesty, the details of the myth escape me.

“Cyprus, well an island off the coast. It’s beautiful there. You’d like it.”

“I’d like to see it.” I admit, wondering what it would be like to see his home.

“I could take you. But my home is long gone.” He looks sad a moment and I want to cry. The sexual simmer from earlier has vanished and I feel naked. Without the wonders of the ocean or my new tail to distract me, our relationship seems uncertain, raw and under scrutiny. We are just two people, having a meal in the real world, talking about our lives and discovering each other for the first time. I blush; scared I’ll run out of things to talk about. Thankfully, the waitress brings back the wine, she doesn’t question my age, too busy ogling my man and almost spilling the wine as she pours Orion’s glass a little too full. The scarlet tablecloth catches a few drops and I scowl, placing my hand bluntly over the top of the glass to stop the flow.

“Oh sorry!” she gushes, tilting the bottle back and I scowl again. Orion catches my discomfort and dismisses her.

“You can leave the bottle; we will both have the Carbonara.” He orders the pasta dish and she scurries away, I pity her. I wouldn’t want to be under that icy fury. Being caught in his placated gaze was hard enough.

“You can’t blame her for staring.” I feel slightly calmer at the idea of women checking out Orion.

“I could say the same thing about that gentleman over there.” He jerks his head and I turn with the least discretion possible. There is a young man, presumably in the middle of an anniversary meal. However, rather than staring at his girlfriend, a pretty five-foot red head with large assets, his eyes are bearing into my back.

“What is wrong with people?” I huff as Orion smiles, taking my hands across the table as I reach for the crystal wine goblet and take a sip. “Mmm. This tastes good.” I compliment and he nods as he takes a slug from his own glass, his lips capturing each droplet and teasing them into his mouth with his tongue.

“So …” He begins, but I cut him off.

“How did you know about this place?” I ask, observing the gentle atmosphere, the fairy lights strung from the ceiling. It was perfect, intimate, and romantic.

“I know quite a few places to eat around here. I’ve …” He trails off.

“Did you bring another woman here?” I ask, heartbeat heightening a little.

“I …”

“It’s okay if you did.” I whisper as the waitress comes back, placing two plates heaped full of Carbonara down sloppily on the crisp, scarlet tablecloth.

“Is it?” Orion asks the question as though something inside him is aching. “I … if I could take it back I would, Callie.” He shrugs and swizzles some pasta around on his fork.

“I know; it’s just …” I stop, placing a fork full of food into my mouth, it is divine, the sauce creamy and the bacon strips thick and chewy with salt.

“What? Tell me, princess.” Orion implores me, taking another sip of white sparkling liquid.

“I feel like there’s so much I don’t know about you. Like there are things those other girls knew that I don’t.” I whine, feeling stupid but at the same time determined to get to know him better.

“Nobody knows me like you do.”

“But I don’t know anything about you.” I insist.

“What do you want to know?” He looks impatient, sighing almost.

“It’s not anything in particular. I want you to want to share things with me.” I try to explain, feeling vulnerable now after spilling the darkest parts of myself with him after so little time.

“I just want to forget my past, Callie. You’re here now. I want to look to the future.” I feel robbed. Like I’ve taken off all my clothes and he stands there fully clothed, armoured up and ready to strike.

“But I want to know you, Orion.”

“Can’t you just love me for who I am?” This shocks me. How he can question my devotion? I’ve given him my virginity, my life, and my trust all in one week. I’m hit with a feeling of nausea.

“You don’t think I love you for who you are? I do Orion. That’s kind of what you’re missing here. I love you for YOU. I want to know YOU. Not a perfect picture you want to paint me.” I look into his eyes deeply.

“Why can’t you just drop it?” He asks me and I exhale deeply.

“Why can’t you just tell me?” I retort.

“Why do you care so much?” Orion whispers. He looks like he’s becoming angry. I haven’t seen him this angry before.

“There’s this thing … this thing that happened when I met you. This crazy attraction that told me you were right for me.” I begin, lowering my voice as he looks up from his plate and takes another sip of wine. “Then I got murdered and sprouted a tail and you’re telling me I’m going to spend forever with you? Just like that?” I look at him incredulously and he sits back in his chair.

“Just like that.” he smiles at me like a cat that’s pleased with itself after peeing on the sofa. His anger has dissipated.

“No. Wrong. Not just like that.” I correct him, wanting to wipe the smug smile from his perfect face while keeping my voice low. “I’m not a damsel in distress, Orion. I won’t put up with dishonesty or any other crap just because we are supposedly destined. I won’t put an ideal over my needs.” I say it with conviction but internally my resolve is shaky at best.

“You need to know about my past?” He takes more wine into his mouth and narrows his eyes. I sense a shift in his mood.

“Yes. I do. How can I think about the future when I’m imagining you touching someone else? You’ve had almost five hundred years to be with other women, Orion. That’s the length of ten decent marriages. Fifty meaningful and long term relationships.” I am feeling my chest constrict at the thought of him married. Did he have children running around out there? How can I even think about the next five hundred years when I don’t know about what he’s already lived through? I sit back in my seat, the dim atmosphere in the restaurant has gone flat at the intensity of the conversation. Orion narrows his eyes again and I can tell he is working over something in his mind.

“Okay, what do you want to know?” He concedes and I relax a little.

“Were you ever married?” I ask him and he looks pained.

“No. Absolutely not.” he shakes his head almost in disbelief and I feel my gut unravel.

“What about children?” I ask him and he looks surprised at the question.

“Not that I know of.” he places a finger along the bottom of his jaw and strokes rhythmically.

“That you know of?” I look at him questioningly and he empties his glass to the dregs and pours himself another.

“No. I don’t have any children.” He replies again, starting on glass number two. I decide to drop the issue in lieu of something more pressing in my mind.

“Have you ever loved another woman?” I ask him totally stone faced and he nearly spits out his drink.

“No … For the love of the Goddess … No!” he exclaims looking hurt.

“Okay, it was just a question, no need to choke.” I smile slightly but he looks completely uncomfortable. We eat in silence and finish our pasta. I let minutes pass before asking my next question.

“So can you tell me about some of the women you were with before me?” I am getting bold with the questions that are falling from my lips like tiny bombs. I wait for this one to explode. Orion exhales looking uncomfortable.

“Callie, did I do something wrong?” He looks sad, as though my question has tormented something within him.

“No, I just wish I knew everything about you. I love you so much already. I just want to know you. Inside and out.” I say the words; measure them out with careful deliberation, wanting to convey exact emotion.

“I see. So asking about other women is you getting to know me?”

“Yes.”

“It’s not something I want to revisit, Callie.”

“But …”

“No. You don’t understand. What happened with those women, it was meaning-less. I didn’t know them at all. It was just sex.” He says the words and I wonder when he became a male cliché.

“Please, Orion. It matters to me. I want to know, I’m asking you to tell me.”

“I don’t want my debauchery in your head.”

“If it’s just sex. If it doesn’t mean anything like you said. Then it shouldn’t matter.” I muse, placing my knife and fork onto the empty plate in front of me.

“I don’t want to hurt you, princess. Please don’t make me.” He pleads me with a look so heart shattering, I struggle to swallow the measure of wine I have just taken into my mouth.

“Don’t look at me like that.” I beg him.

“You’re not ready. This is too fresh. With us. Give it time, I’ll give you all of me, past, present, and future. I promise. Please just give it time. Give me time.” He pleads me to relent and I do. I don’t know why I do. Maybe it’s the desperation in his stare, or the way his hand clasps mine over the table, but I relent, feeling his fear.

“Fine.” the word comes out in a bite and I know it’s a female cliché but I don’t care. The waitress brings over a sharing sundae for dessert. We hadn’t ordered it and I wonder if she’s brought it over just so she can stand near Orion.

“Don’t be angry at me. I can’t take it. You’re too beautiful when you’re angry.” He compliments; I fold my arms.

“Don’t try complimenting me; I’m still mad at you.” I grab the ice cream sundae and take a spoon, shovelling in the creamy concoction. I sigh. Ice cream fixes everything.

“And still stubborn it would appear.” Orion watches me spoon down ice cream hungrily and a smile creeps across his lips. I feel angry at his adoration.

“I’m not the one withholding my past.” I retort, feeling the anger rise again. This was not the meal I was hoping for.

“No, but I am the one who waited.” He replies, a good reply, but an infuriating one.

“Are you going to use that against me forever? I wasn’t born.” I say the words truthfully, hating him for using the fact he has waited against me.

“No … I …” He buries his head in his hands, falling apart at the seams. I’m cracking him, slowly.

“You can’t just …” I start to reply and he interrupts me; rising up and looking frighteningly unhinged, his eyes ablaze, frustrated and caged.

“I KNOW!” He bursts and the other diners stir, turning to look at him, irritated. He sits back in his chair with a thud and continues in a strained whisper. “I’m sorry; I’m not handling this well, Callie. I have no idea about women, least of all you, a woman who comes from an entirely different world to my own.” He grasps my hands, squeezing it so tight I’m afraid it may break. “I don’t know what the rules are. I’ve lived alone a long time. I’m selfish, I’m shut off, and I’m controlling. I know all these things. But I can’t just change overnight. I need time. I need your time. Your patience. Please.” He implores me and I feel a tear break from my eye and fall. “Don’t cry, princess.” He begs.

“I’m sorry.” I sob out quietly. I feel like all I’ve done tonight is cry.

“I’m sorry.” He strokes the tear away; I can’t believe I’m having a break down in a restaurant of this reputable nature.

“I love you.” I choke.

“I love you too. I’m trying my hardest. I promise.” He kisses my fingers, his smooth lips caressing the back of my hand, loving me intimately.

“Promise me we will get there. Get to where I know it all. Even if it hurts.”

“I promise, but I won’t hurt you on purpose, Callie.”

“I don’t care about pain. I care about the truth.” I feel my honesty making me vulnerable but I don’t care.

“You wouldn’t say that if you knew what you’re asking.” Orion looks at me and grimaces.

“You don’t realise how much I love you if you think that anything you’ve done in the past would make me run.” I whisper and he looks surprised.

“You can’t expect me to believe you’d be okay with knowing about the hundreds …”

“Hundreds?!?” I exclaim feeling horrified. I watch him smile to himself slightly. I realise that I need to get a grip. Take my own advice and realise what he had done was in the past. He was with me now.

“Yes … Hundreds.” Something is dancing behind his eyes and I wonder if it’s memories. I think back to my own memories … something he said to me after the first time we’d made love. It’s never been like this before. I wonder, maybe my motivation behind wanting to know about his past wasn’t about knowing him at all. Maybe it was about knowing myself. Knowing I was different, that I wasn’t just another fling. But didn’t I know that already?

“So you came here with another woman?” I ask him, returning to my earlier concern but with different motivation. If his relationships were purely sexual, then why was he frequenting romantic restaurants?

“Yes. I brought Star here.” He relinquishes this information and I feel the balloon of tension in my abdomen deflate.

“Your sister?” I ask him and he nods innocently.

“This is for real, isn’t it?” I ask him and he smiles.

“More real than anything I’ve ever known.” He grips my hand across the table and I lean forward. Dipping my head as he kisses my cheek.

“I’m scared.” I admit as I lean back.

“Scared?” He looks worried.

“Of losing my grip … on reality.” I word my analogy specifically. So I don’t have to utter the words. Don’t have to make my fear more real.

“Me too.” he admits.

“Thank you.” I breathe out heavily.

“For?”

“Being human for just one second.” I laugh and feel a tear falling to the tablecloth.

“I don’t understand.”

“I need your weakness and your insecurity sometimes, Orion. I need to know I’m not crazy with how mixed up I’m feeling all the time.”

“You’re not crazy, Callie.” He rubs his hand across the back of his neck.

“I’m not?” I exclaim, raising my eyebrows.

“No, I feel that way too. I’m half burning for you and half frozen to the spot with the fear of losing you.” He admits and I sigh. Finally. The man behind the scaled mask appears, and he’s vulnerable. Just like me.

“Me too.” his eyes meet mine and something mutual ignites between us.

“So back to Lunar Sanctum?” I ask him and he shakes his head as I scrape the last of the ice cream from the bottom of the sundae glass. God that was good. I love ice cream. Especially chocolate.

“No. I have a better idea.” He gets to his feet to pay the bill. He towers above me and I swoon at the manliness of his stature, unable to help myself in light of everything going on around me. He helps me to my feet and I feel the future stretch about before me again as his hand envelopes mine. The night, after all, was still young.

It has been the longest time since I have been into Downtown San Diego. Somewhat bland, cuboid, skyscrapers tower above the road that cuts between them, dividing the city into lots of angular square pieces, each filled with a building representing some multi-million dollar company or another. After seeing the Occulta Mirum, with its jade needle-pointed Alcazar Oceania and cylindrical helter-skelter surface scrapers, I can’t help but feel less than awed by my old city. It isn’t just the city that feels dull in comparison to my new life as I realise even the feeling of being human seems like a hindrance. Orion indicates where I should drive and we end up in the Gaslamp district. The roads are quiet, though packs of people wander the sidewalks, on the prowl for late night satisfaction. The women are all dressed somewhat provocatively in low cut, or high hoisted scraps of fabric in the hope they’ll attract a mate. The men are all wearing t-shirts sporting some sarcastically arrogant or derogatively masochistic slogan slashed across the front in bold lettering. I wonder why I’m separating myself from the people, compartmentalising myself as different when just a few days ago I had been one of them. I realise that I myself am wearing something equally as provocative as anything that can be seen strutting along the sidewalk, the dress may be flouncy but it’s also short and low cut around my chest. Something sparks between my synapses.

“We’re going to a club?” I guess, raising my eyebrows and Orion spreads his lips in a boyish grin.

“Yup, I thought I would take a walk in your world.” He smiles and I exhale with harsh conviction at the thought of him trying to pick up a girl at a bar. They’d probably have to call security to control the riot of women that ensued.

“Well, I’ve never been to a club … I’m not exactly old enough.” I say, trying to appear grateful to the idea, but still putting a dampener on his plans. He nods and forages in the satchel that lies at his feet in the passenger seat, as I pull forward keeping one eye on the road, he delves deeper into its contents.

“I mean technically, I’m plenty old enough for both of us, but for the purposes of tonight, you are now 21.” He smiles and pulls out two fake ID. I smile at him, mischievous in my intent and wonder how he really does think of everything.

“How?” I query, exasperated, taking the ID in my hand as we pull to a stop at a crossroads in the centre of four of the tallest buildings in the city.

“Georgia, of course, that woman never ceases to amaze me.” He replies and I feel like I should have guessed. I scowl to myself, the thought of her handling personal details to do with our date makes me possessive. For all I know, she’s the one picking out my lingerie. Orion senses my hostility and places a hand on my knee, tickling the inside of my thigh. We pass the rest of the journey in comfortable silence, neither feeling the need to ruin the mood with unnecessary questions or yet another argument as his touch placates my temper. I sit, anticipation of the night ahead stirring in my groin, animalistic and hungry for him, heating my blood against the cool air.

We finally pull to a stop under the star studded sky, the moon hovers about three quarters of the way to the peak above us so I estimate the time to be about 10pm and breathe, realizing we have plenty of time left. As I pull on the parking brake, Orion gets out of the car and runs unnaturally quickly around to my side, opening my door before I can reach the handle.

“That is quite unnecessary you know.” I castigate him, feeling a little insulted that he doesn’t think I can open my own door.

“I’m courting, indulge me please.” He begs and with a smile of surrender I take the hand he has held out to me and he helps me from the white leather of my little red vintage. He lays a kiss upon the flesh of the back of my hand and I feel waves of ecstasy roll up my arm.

“You know you don’t have to do all this. You already have me and I’m not going anywhere.” I say, worried that he doesn’t know the depth of my devotion.

“I know, but you deserve no less than any other beautiful, intelligent woman of your age. To be treated and courted and doted upon.” He says and I cringe inside. He is so sweet to me, too sweet almost; I know he would never allow me to treat him this way. I just want to take him right here in the street as I blush, smitten. Instead, I take a deep breath and as we begin walking towards the club that is emitting a vibrating pulse of sound through the concrete pavement, I roll my eyes.

“You really have been away from the world for too long if you think that’s how women are treated these days.” I snort, thinking about the strings of loser boyfriends my friends had in the time that I knew them, the floods of tears and the longing for the other person to understand.

“I don’t want to be in any world where I can’t adore you.” He says and in an instant I’m irrationally angry, how can I ever be as romantic as him? He has had years to plan this. How will he ever know I feel the same with all this grandeur?

“You’re so old worldly gentleman sometimes. You know that?” I say kindly trying to extinguish the flame of anger in my chest. I look at him with heavy hooded eyes.

“Yes Ma’am. Would you prefer something different? Pain and misery perhaps?” he rolls his eyes and looks exasperated.

“I was thinking maybe we could go for extremely raw and unquenchable physical passion.” I take my ID from his pocket smoothly and make sure I squeeze just the right part of his groin before strutting up to the front of club ‘Inferno’ and flashing it at the balding bouncer. I flounce forward in my heels, shaking my hips and flipping my hair over my left shoulder. I catch Orion’s slightly bewildered, turned on look out of the corner of my eye. I grin to myself, a Cheshire cat playing hide and go seek in the crowd of dancers, I slink, seductively vanishing at certain points, reappearing at others within the thrumming mass of bodies. My hooded lids promise him something darker than what we’re used to, but that’s okay. I want him to shudder and fall to his knees. I’m going to make him want me, and then when I’ve got him begging, I’ll be able to show him exactly how I feel.

The inside of ‘Inferno’ is positively the most sticky and claustrophobic place I’ve ever been. The air is a mildew of sweat and lust. Mirrors on the walls and ceiling trap the multi-coloured disco lighting, bouncing them from one surface to the next frantically. Smoke machines are fitted in the floor, along with vents that shoot out hot air and the DJ is up on a pedestal shaped like a volcano, with fire around the decks. The thing that makes this place feel claustrophobic isn’t that it’s particularly small, but that so many people are packed, grinding and drinking, into the space that I can barely breathe for the closeness of so many strangers. Orion moves quickly through the crowd after me and grabs my wrist, giving me a confused look after my quick flee into the club. I don’t look at him, afraid if I catch his gaze I’ll lose my nerve, but instead lead him down the stairs from the platform on which we are standing, into the den of ‘Inferno’ and onto the dance floor.

The music is hypnotic and as I see Orion’s body through his shirt and jeans, I salivate as I begin to move my arms and hips in time to the music, bending my legs and partaking in a dance so provocatively erotic I would have never thought myself capable of it a week ago. I look up through my long, thick lashes and shoot him a glance of foreboding as I grab the fabric of his shirt and pull him towards me, popping off three of the buttons. He looks at me, loving the challenge, his eyes smouldering. The pulsating of ‘Speed of Love’ by Owl City takes over my body and as I continue to grind against Orion, I stare up into those icy blue eyes wilfully and finally he gets it. He lets go and joins me in movement to the pounding baseline, wrapping his arms around my waist and bending my torso backward, kissing my bare exposed neck and making my eyes roll back into my head as I groan into the din. I am tilted back upright and I turn, pressing my back into his body as he grabs my hips and pulls my behind so it’s in line with his crotch. I part my lips, singing carelessly to the lyrics and releasing the tension that has been slowly mounting ever since we had driven into La Mesa. We grind like this for a while, his hands creeping up and down my waist slowly and tentatively until he leans forward and kisses behind my ear, leaving a tingle to skate down my spine with his lips and fingertips in quick succession. I turn on my heel feeling full of a desire, dark and sensuous, that tempts me, that I begin to look around, trying to find distraction from the sexy thrall of my soul mate before I burst.

The night’s sexual energy has reached a fever pitch and I feel like I should’ve known this kind of build-up was inevitable. It’s then that I notice that we have space around us, and in a club of this size and capacity there must be a reason behind it. The crowd of people that enclosed us now surround us, a ring of space clear around us. The people don’t dance but instead watch. The men, their eyes on me, looking at me like I am a piece of meat, the girls focused on Orion and his stunning physique, I swear some of them are drooling. I am unnerved.

“Orion?!” I yell out into the cacophony of sound, looking around at him before observing the change in his expression; he has noticed too. “What’s going on?” I ask nervously, feeling as though perhaps I am imagining this.

“It’s us … we’re making them lust.” He whispers through gritted teeth, he grasps my hand tightly and the hairs on my back stand erect all at once.

“Lust?” I bite out the word like it is dangerous, but before he can give me an explanation, I am being yanked towards the exit. I hear it as we reach the door, the crowd disperses and as I look back, I see that some have returned to their drinking and grinding, but others are moving swiftly through the crowd in pursuit of us. Orion and I make a quick exit out onto the street, past the bouncers and run, feet slamming the concrete hard, back to the safety of my little red vintage.

“What the hell was that?” I exclaim, out of breath from the cold night air that is being pulled into my lungs at the fear of being pursued.

“Not now! Just drive!” He orders and I oblige without question. As I pull away from the curb, I look in my rear view mirror and see a crowd of maybe ten men sprinting towards us, I catch a view of a few straggling women, but they are either too slow or too intoxicated to keep the pace. I slam down on the accelerator as we speed away, gradually losing the brutish looking pursuers.

“Okay, I think they’ve gone.” I state, checking the rear-view mirror every few seconds out of paranoia and brushing errant curls from across my eyes. It is then that I think about what could have happened if they had caught up with us. Wouldn’t Orion have just beaten the crap out of them anyway? I wonder about his strength in a fight against humans and ask the question that’s hot and heavy like molten lead in my throat.

“What the hell was that about, Orion?” I snap, feeling the fear still icy in my chest. Orion looks at me and begins to answer; I glare back and forth between his thoughtful blue eyes and the road.

“There have always been tales of mermaids attracting sailors with just their looks … but it is something deeper than that; a part of our magic that we barely understand. It is never usually much of a problem, as we spend our time surrounded by those of our own kind. But we cause humans to lust. They become fixated with us if you like, hypnotised by their own desires, we become a kind of mystical platform. It’s like they can sense and covet the connections we have with our soul mates. The strongest connections are formed when they hear us sing.” He elaborates and I begin to wonder, does this explain the reaction to Orion from the multitude of females I have witnessed in the past few hours? Georgia and the waitress certainly seemed fixated, but wasn’t I too?

“Oh, okay so they’re attracted to us in a crazy psychotic kind of way? I was singing in the club … I guess that’s what set them off.” I raise my eyebrows in disbelief and he nods shrugging.

“It’s something we’ve never understood, and continue to wonder about, though we believe it is some kind of mechanism put in place to make humans complacent about mating with mer. It is, however, dangerous especially for females. You saw how aggressive those men looked back there.” Orion pauses and as though the image of them catching up to us also enters his mind as it has mine, something primal and dark passes beneath the surface of his eyes. I shudder at the thought of what he is imagining. I can’t help but wonder about the relationship between my mom and dad too, was that the result of this lusting? He played her until he got bored maybe? I vanquish the thoughts from my mind, vowing to revisit it later, letting my heartbeat slow.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t want to be in the middle of all that.” I confess, glad of the cool air hitting my skin as we speed away from the city once again.

“Okay, so clubbing wasn’t a great idea, I kind of forgot about the whole lust thing. Sorry. I was going to explain about it at dinner, but it kind of slipped my mind when you got angry at me.” He apologises and I breathe a sigh of relief and smile. “Why are you smiling? I could have gotten you killed … or worse.” He acknowledges and I gulp slightly at the thought, before continuing to grin to myself.

“You screwed up!” I inform him and feel my heart get a little lighter, a smile spreading across my cheeks.

“You’re happy about this?” Orion asks, looking a little shocked, his sculptured rose petal lips parted in disbelief and his icy blue eyes sparkling under the grey light of the moon above. “You weren’t so happy when I screwed up in the restaurant.”

“Yes! Oh my God, Orion, do you know how hard it is to be with somebody as perfect as you? It’s so intimidating!” I confess, feeling good at the honesty of my words.

“Oh. Well …” He shrugs and pouts, looking robbed of my approval.

“I don’t need all this courting stuff, the life we have is magical enough. I just want to chill! You know … put on some sweatpants and slob out!” He reacts to my words looking mystified.

“Sweatpants coming right up!” he teases and I laugh a huge guffawing laugh that stems right from my belly. We turn onto a road that I am familiar with; it runs right past my old school.

“Look, I fell for you, just you. Don’t get me wrong, this romance is any girls dream. But … it’s a lot, and it’s all at once! I feel totally inept at this; I’ve never even had a boyfriend before!” I glance at him out of the corner of my eye and begin to form an idea. We move down the road and I pull over a short stint away from my old school, with its pale-bricked walls and wrought iron gates, you would think the students were convicts.

“See that building in there?” I point and Orion nods.

“That’s where I used to go to school.” I say and think back to laughing in homeroom with Molly, Manda, and Chloe, just doing normal girls stuff.

“It’s very … nice.” Orion smiles at me; clearly indulging what he thinks is some form of nostalgia.

“No, it isn’t nice. High school is horrible, Orion. You have to sit and learn things you don’t really care about. Things you will never use, all in order to be tested to be able move on with your life; there are groups of kids that think they’re better than you. Boys who just want to get into your pants, and in general, you are lucky to get through it all without being involved in some kind of food fight.” I say and he frowns looking even more confused, his eyebrows are pinched in the centre of his forehead and his chiselled jaw is hard set.

“Okay … your point?” He smiles gently, encouragingly, and I wonder how anyone can be this patient.

“My point being … my idea of romance, is sharing a hot dog with someone.” I laugh and Orion looks even more bewildered.

“I hate sharing food.” He shrugs and I giggle to myself a little more, realizing how different we are.

“Look, all I’m saying is, you really don’t have to do all this to impress me, Orion. We’re from different worlds. Why don’t you let me impress you for once?” I ask, longing for control, to be impressive.

“You do impress me. This isn’t how this is supposed to be. I’m supposed to be your protector.” He claims and then I really do throwback my head right there and let out a hysterical laugh.

“Fat chance!” I say and start the engine again.

“I suppose this self-sufficient attitude you’ve got going will mean you won’t want the picnic I have in the trunk?” My ears prick up at the mention of food. “It’s a shame as Georgia is a fantastic cook.” He lets his voice trail and I turn and grin a little. Despite the fact I ate dinner not two hours ago, the dancing and my adrenaline fuelled escape had driven me to burn through what I’d consumed at the restaurant.

“I suppose that wouldn’t be terrible.” I reason, biting my lip.

“Oh, in the mood for romance now, are we?” Orion teases and I turn and reply quickly and simply.

“I’m hungry.” I respond and wink at him before turning back to the road and pushing the accelerator downwards. “Where to then?” I ask once again and he smiles at me crookedly, like a playful thought is dancing behind his eyes.

“I thought we might revisit the beach where we met. But then again, I didn’t realise you were so opposed to romantic gestures.”

“Explain to me how the location where I was stabbed in your arms is romantic again?” I tease him, but there is a real knot in my stomach at the thought of returning to the place where I passed from this world.

“It’s the place I first laid eyes on you. It’s the place where I watched you sleep. It’s the place where we became us.” He utters the words, breathing evenly with wide eyes, gauging my reaction carefully as his tongue slides over his bottom lip. Will I respond with cynicism or will I melt into his tender gaze?

“Well argued councillor.” I blush. The night air cools my skin, the breeze diffusing a salty taste over me. Gulls cry overhead as I turn a corner and we head into the darkness, back to the place where it happened. Back to the origin. The origin of the kiss that killed me.

When we reach the beach, I pull onto the tarmac that leads to the dunes at the edge of the sand. I turn off my engine and put on the parking break before getting out and slamming the door of my little red vintage behind me.

“Is this going to be okay here? Should I park it somewhere more discreet?” I ask not wanting anyone, least of all my friends or the police, to spot the vehicle.

“I’ll call Georgia.” Orion nods as I throw him my keys.

“I won’t need these. She has a copy.” He enlightens me and I don’t know what to say to this.

“She has a key to my car?”

“And the beach house.”

“How?” I ask him looking suspicious.

“You left your keys in the glove box of your car. She retrieved them and had them copied.” He states bluntly.

“But …”

“I have to say leaving your keys in a convertible with the top down is bad security Callie.” He has a cocky semi-serious smile still and I roll my eyes.

“Oh shut up.” I say. My mom had said the very same thing, but I hadn’t ever really thought about it.

“Do you not think that Georgia maybe has something better to do at this time of night?” I ask and his lip upturns, he looks mischievous and at the same time guilty.

“No. Not where I’m concerned.” He runs his hand through his hair with a cocky smirk. Getting out of the car and moving around to the trunk.

“Are you telling me that Georgia is under the influence of this lust thing?” I ask, looking at him slightly shocked. There is something that seems wrong about all this.

“I can’t say I have solid proof, and considering that we pay them a very large amount to work for us, I would expect the same level of service anyway. But yes, I would imagine part of their compliance has something to do with it.” He nods, pulling a cell phone out of the wicker picnic basket he pulls from the trunk. I wonder for a moment how it got in there and then decide not to worry about it.

“So she’s just going to come running out here, at God knows what hour, to pick up my car? Seriously?” I question him with a disbelieving stare. What the hell is going on? If I’d have known Orion had a woman practically enslaved due to his lust, maybe I would have worried slightly more about his effect on me.

“Seriously. She’s here to make my … correction, our lives better, Callie. Do you really want to spend the one night we have left on land for a whole month sorting out where to park your car? Or cooking for ourselves, or finding clothes? Trust me I’ve done it and it isn’t a whole lot of fun. Isn’t it better this way?” He places a hand on my shoulder and we move together over the sand as he makes the call to Georgia, passing me the picnic basket so he has a hand free, I muse on this point for a few moments. Would I want to give up this time to deal with trivialities, no, I don’t think I would. Maybe Georgia, in fact, is something I’m going to have to live with. After all, her staring at Orion is a small price to pay for the smooth transition from sea to land. I remind myself that everyone stares at him anyway, including me. I wonder as we step across the sand if Orion would cheat on me, I cannot fathom it for a second, and I’m dumbfounded as to why I’ve been so damn jealous. The man waited an eternity for God’s sake, am I really going to throw my toys out of the pram because he’s so attractive other women can’t help but look at him? I kick myself mentally, trying to tackle my emotions, which seem as of late to be in a continuous state of tumult and remind myself of the core of the matter. I love Orion and he’s trying his best. Maybe I need to try harder too.

“Hey, you okay? You look pale.” Orion puts the back of his hand to my cheek and I shudder, I’m colder than I thought, the Vivienne Westwood riding up in the salty kiss of the breeze.

“Yeah, I’m okay. I’m sorry I overreacted about Georgia.” I look at him, peeking up under the moonlight into his stunning features.

“Hey, it’s okay.” He hushes me, putting the cell into his back pocket, and pulling me into his chest. I inhale deeply, tears pricking my eyes.

“No, it was selfish. You’re trying to help me, treat me well, and I’m complaining like a brat.” I admit it and heaviness settles in my chest.

“Callie, please don’t cry. I’ve been sick inside watching other men looking at you tonight too. I know how you feel. It’s just something we have to learn to live with.” He in an instant looks so much older than me. In this moment when the night casts shadows upon the angular lines of his face, I see it; the years that have gone before, the loneliness that carved out invisible wrinkles and scars that magic has washed clean.

“I love you.” I whisper it, listening to his heart beat beneath the shell of my ear. We are standing in the sand, stone still, the wind moving around us. We are immovable, forever lost to time.

“Always.” he whispers the single word breathlessly, kissing my forehead with pursed lips as though he cannot contain his feelings and is trying to keep them in. I shiver involuntarily. He runs his fingers through the tangled strands of my hair absentmindedly and I hear his heart rate slow, almost like I’m calming him as I begin to feel goose pimples rise on my arms.

“Are you cold?” He queries me sincerely and I nod, teeth beginning to chatter.

“I would offer you my jacket … but … no jacket.” He pulls at the thin linen of his shirt, demonstrating it as flimsy.

“I’ll just go up to the beach house, I’m sure there’s blankets and stuff I can steal.” I mutter, he looks up the slope of the bay to the house. The lights are out and all the curtains in the topmost windows are drawn. Looks like nobody is home.

“Okay, but be careful and make sure you don’t disturb anything you shouldn’t. You don’t want your friends getting suspicious. You never know, they may contact the police if you leave traces of yourself behind.” His expression is serious and I nod, understanding the magnitude of what a police investigation might do.

“Okay, I’ll be right back, wait here.”

“Like I’d run away from you.” he chortles.

“Like you could, I have the mean machine over there; you know it goes nought to 50 in only three extremely noisy seconds.” I muse the possibility, thinking of his speed in the water. I wonder how fast he can run.

“I’d hear you coming a mile away. I’d hide before you caught up.” He jousts back and I chuckle.

“You couldn’t hide from me, Orion. I know your scent. And I just so happen to be very good at hide and seek, I always used to find Kayla in a matter of seconds.”

“I’m so flattered you equate my stealth with that of a four year old. You wound me.” He pretends to stab himself in the heart, falling to his knees in an over dramatic spray of sand.

“Get over it.” I smile widely, baring my teeth, letting him soak in my joy.

“Yes your Highness.” He salutes with a mock flourish of his hand and I turn on my heel walking away from him, up the grainy sand and toward the beach house.

“You know saluting a princess is kind of redundant. You really need to bow when addressing royalty.” I call back over my shoulder and I swear I can feel him bow, I smile to myself. Not a bad sense of humour for an old dude.

Inside the darkness of the house, all is quiet … or so I expect, but after a few moments, I catch a faint grunt from overhead. What the hell is that? I wonder to myself, hearing the floorboards creak once more. Thoughts of finding something to keep myself warm lost, I head up the stairs, taking off my shoes and padding across the wooden boards, trying to be as discreet as possible. On the top floor the noises get more frequent until I can discern they belong to two different individuals, one is high and the other low and guttural. I can’t hide my curiosity anymore, concluding that the lower voice belongs to a man and barge forward. I open the door, throwing it open and peering into the candlelit room, my jaw hits the floor. From underneath the sheets two heads appear, one belonging to Daryl and the other, to Mollie.

“Callie?” Mollie’s voice is high pitched and she looks shocked. I feel fury bubble through me, I’ve been gone two days and rather than them mourning my supposed missing status, they’re getting it on.

“Mollie!” is all I can manage, as I stare horrified into the clammy room. I knew she liked Daryl but it’s only been two days and she’s jumping into bed with him already? You can talk! my subconscious sneers at me but I brush it aside, Orion and I are different. Destined.

“Callie …” Daryl slurs his words; I wonder if he is drunk, which makes this whole situation so much worse.

“What the hell is going on here?” I ask, as Daryl’s gaze locks onto me.

“Nothing … I … We …” Mollie stammers and I wonder what the hell she’s thinking, Daryl was mooning after me not a week ago, doesn’t she see how screwed up that is?

“Forget it, Mollie. I just hope you’re smart enough to use protection.” I spit out the words and turn on my heel. As I walk down the corridor, rocking from heel to toe over the wooden floor, I hear a ruckus from inside the room. I had left the door wide open and assumed one of them was scrambling to close it so they could carry on their extracurricular activity. I reach the end of the corridor, heading toward the room I had chosen to be mine at my party. I’m about to turn into the room when a force knocks me off my feet, lifting me from the ground and slamming my face with malice into the wall that ends the hallway.

“Aghh!” I cry out, feeling my cheek crunch against the drywall.

“That’s right, take it bitch!” The chillingly familiar voice turns my blood icy in my veins.

“Daryl, what the fuck are you doing!?” I cry out, his hands round my throat.

“You thought you were too good for me, didn’t you. DIDN’T YOU!” he spits it into my ear, breathing vile hurried breaths into the skin of my neck, crushing my body against his and using his weight to restrain me. I’m terrified, my heart hammering against the wallpaper, my back slammed against his pectorals. I want to scream, scared of what he’ll do to me. He moves one of his hands down my body, stroking it, searching for the underside of my too short skirt, enjoying every second of my agonised helplessness with a malicious grin on his face.

“Please … Daryl …” I choke out the words but before I can worry about what he plans to do to me next, I hear fast-paced footsteps and a large muffled crunch. The weight lifts from my back and I fall to the floor, emotion flooding me and tears spilling from my eyes. I sit there and sob before his arms find me, I don’t need to open my eyes, and even if I wasn’t terrified of doing so it would be redundant. I know its Orion and I know he’s used those tautly muscled arms to inflict some serious pain.

“Shh.” He soothes, wrapping me up in his arms and pulling me to him. He sits on the floor, rocking me slowly for a few moments. We lean against the wall together, my flesh trembling.

“Are you okay? Did he hurt you?” I open my eyes and assess myself, trying to calm my breathing by focusing on his face.

“No … You got here before …” I burst into new floods of tears, weeping salt, shocked beyond belief.

“It’s okay … Shh.” Orion hushes me. I don’t want to speak so I bury my head in the soft cotton of his shirt. He releases me after a few moments, moving into the bedroom to my left and returning with a blanket. He wraps me up, cocooning me and picking me up like I’m no more than a baby. I hear Mollie.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing? You can’t just come in here and …” Then I hear her voice trail off.

“What the hell did you do to him???” I assume she’s looking at a passed out Daryl. I hear her feet moving against the hall carpet quickly. Tending to her wounded lover … or potential rapist … whatever she wants to call him.

“He attacked her.” Orion says the words, a hurricane force of fury being released in just three words. I pity the person on the end of his savage gaze, which I observe, peeking out from under my lashes.

“Don’t be so ridiculous.” She retorts. I hear the incredulous tone of disbelief and I bury my head deeper into his chest. Orion doesn’t answer, he just continues walking at a smooth pace, carrying me away and cradling me.

We sit down on the beach a while under the moon. I find it calms my nerves, which after the last three days, are officially in tatters.

“I don’t understand what made him so violent, I mean, when I barged in on them together he just got this look …” I explain, feeling my skin crawl.

“It’s lusting, it affects everyone differently, some people, like Mollie have hardly any noticeable reaction at all. Some …”

“Go psycho and try to kill you.” I finish and he nods, looking away with sadness in his eyes.

“I shouldn’t have let you go alone.” He self criticises and I can’t stand it.

“You didn’t know what would happen. Besides I can look after …”

“Callie, I swear to God that if you tell me you can look after yourself one more time, after what just happened, I’m going to lock you up.” He looks at me with an angry expression and a cocked brow. I swallow, avoiding the response I know I want to give.

“Fine. I just don’t understand what made him act so crazy.” I reply, wrapping myself tighter in the blanket.

“As I said, everyone reacts differently.” Orion shrugs but the question still niggles at me.

“Yes but, he knew me, like, he was in love with me before … I’ve never thought of him as violent.”

“Did you reciprocate his feelings?” Orion is in an instant bolt upright, his face now turned towards me and no longer staring out over the open ocean.

“No, I never …” I begin as he visibly exhales, sagging, deflated.

“That might explain it then, if he wanted you while you were human and all those feelings were unrequited, it makes sense that he would have a strong reaction to you now.” Orion puts an arm around my shoulder and I wince, still jumpy. He reaches over to the picnic basket that is by his left side and hands me a sandwich, I reach out from my grey blanket cocoon and take it, the bread soft to my fingertips.

“Eat and then tell me what else can I do?” He begs my response, wanting so badly to make sure I’m okay, my heart thaws, coming back a little from its shellshock. I eat the sandwich, taking small bites until it is gone, I still feel empty.

“Make love to me …”

“Callie, I don’t think that’s such a good idea.” He frowns and a large tear falls from my left eye, dribbling pathetically down one cheek.

“Please Orion, wash it away … my skin is crawling, please, make it stop.”

He cups my cheek, wiping away the liquid sorrow. He puts his lips to mine, moving me, pulling me closer and I relinquish to him. By the edge of the sea, a long way away from the house where I was attacked, Orion takes me into his strong arms and kisses me all over. As the tide washes away the day from the sand, Orion washes away my fear, makes me certain, makes me strong. I was lucky, because for what was to come next, a month in the life of an ancient undersea warrior, strength was exactly what I would need.

The night is diminishing into dawn as I lay, thoughts scattered about in the surrounding sand. “Well I don’t know about you, but I feel better.” Orion smiles, leaning over and placing a soft kiss upon my cheek.

“Me too.” I grin and he laughs.

“I love it when I get to see you like this, all mussed up and sexy.” He holds his head in his hand, propped up on one elbow.

“I gathered.” I tease back, seeing the fading stars reflected in his beautiful blue stare.

I sit up and hold the blanket to my chest, covering my modesty as Orion looks over lazily at the upturned picnic basket lying in the sand.

“Guess that’s a rain check on the rest of the food?” He shrugs and I laugh, secretly feeling my stomach squeeze. I feel the events of the night fading into the past as the moon begins to kiss the horizon goodbye, but that still doesn’t mean I’m not shaken by Daryl’s unsolicited attack.

“Guess we got a little carried away.” I admit and scramble around, searching for my discarded clothing.

“Don’t bother with getting dressed again, it’ll be sunrise soon.” Orion gives me a pleading look.

“Suuure … that’s why you don’t want me to get dressed!” I raise my eyebrows in amusement, tossing the scraps of material away, lying back down into the powdery sand and placing my head upon his chest.

“Does it ever go away, this constant craving?” I wonder aloud, looking up at him with wide eyes.

“I hope not.” He smiles sweetly and I return his look without hesitation or restraint. “Come on, back into the ocean! I want to see that gorgeous tail fin of yours again.” Orion commands and I raise one eyebrow and widen my eyes.

“Did you really just say that?” I ask, getting to my feet and wrapping the blanket around myself, feeling grains of sand falling to the ground. After stealing his cover, Orion is stark nude, not that I’m complaining of course. I admire his washboard abs and the tattoo around his left arm which leaves him looking even more muscular and defined.

“Callie, if you think it’s only this human form of yours I find sexy then you are deeply mistaken, princess.” He purrs, caressing each syllable with his adept tongue while placing one hand on my behind and squeezing hard. I squeal and run forward, dropping the blanket and feeling glad of the soothing waves against my skin as I bare myself to the night. Orion follows giving a hesitant look back towards the beach house and then together we are immersed in the deep body of the sea.

ORION

The love I have found is not what I expected. I feel on fire whenever she touches me, looks my way, smiles, and yet I am almost certainly terrified of her. The power she holds to destroy me and her carelessness with it staggers me, leaving me more defenceless than I have been in just under half a millennium. As the waves wash over us, she looks back over her shoulder at me, giggling wildly as a rip tide catches her, mussing her hair and causing her eyes to sparkle with novel excitement. In this moment she is alive, alive with a childish vibrancy that makes me feel so old I can barely stand it. As we journey once again to the hidden city, I watch her momentum through the water, so unpractised and raw with new power that has been awakened within her for less than a single percentage of my lifetime. I smile at the gorgeous pastel of the aqua scales that coat her lower half. I always knew she would be beautiful, that belief confirmed within me as soon as I met her, sitting, singing softly to herself in the sand, but I did not expect the mer blood within her to transform her to such a transcendently stunning creature. I place my olive hand onto her lithe back, skin like silk of the finest quality to touch and I feel the desire passing between us. She turns as we descend toward the floor of the ocean, passing hued coral and timid sea life silently, simpering gently. Her aquamarine eyes are on fire with longing.

“What ya thinking about?” She demands playfully and I inwardly chortle at her words. She is from another world entirely, where language had adapted to be such an expressive entity, to elaborate on every emotion and to be shared amongst all, not horded by few.

“The way you speak.” I reply simply, wondering how my use of language must come across to her, do I seem so terribly stagnant?

“Oh really, what’s wrong with how I speak?” She asks self-consciously, always the worrier, not yet able to conceive the length of time I have waited, not knowing she can do nothing wrong under my infatuated gaze.

“Nothing, I like it, I can always tell how you’re feeling. It’s kind of infectious.” I admit, remembering the rush I had felt at her excited and happy tone in the car as we had driven to her home in San Diego.

“Oh. I like how you speak too.” Callie admits and I sigh, relieved inside that I was not coming over pretentious in my, now seemingly old, diction.

We reach the hidden city in a timely manner and Callie turns to me, looking anxious.

“What’s wrong?” I enjoin, completely disarmed by this sudden change in mood.

“I’m scared.” Callie admits, though I had already guessed this would be her response. I move down a little so our eyes are on the same level, I cup her face with my hands trying to appear strong, though I am in knots of fear and terrified I cannot be enough.

“Whatever of?” I query, thinking perhaps underplaying my concern will help her confidence.

“This … life, what if I don’t fit in here?” She asks, looking seriously concerned as I exhale; she is as I forget, still so incredibly human.

“You are … crazy.” I beam, exasperated and using the terminology I had heard pass from her very lips, feeling how it tastes; I enjoy the expressiveness of it, the pure unnecessary nature of so many words for a single phenomenon. I bend down to kiss her, as she relinquishes a tiny smile. “And you’re going to be fine.” I comfort her, wishing she could see herself through my eyes, see her own strength.

“Thanks.” She says timidly, not catching my eye. I wonder if she is still questioning herself inwardly. As we reach the edifice laid down by Atargatis that marks the entrance to the hidden city, I take her hand within my own, examining it. It’s so small and fragile and I cannot help but wonder if she is really as fragile as she appears. As we intertwine our voices they race through a set construct of notes, while giving a passionate and original flare, complimenting each other and rivalling one another in equal proportion as the glimmer of the city rolls away.

The next week is an interesting one, as we both settle into some semblance of a routine. I begin to realise that just when I think Callie can’t challenge or surprise me anymore, she goes and raises the bar. I watch her pouring over copious books in our lounge, hungry for information. I wonder why she doesn’t ask me and then feel slightly grateful as I never quite know how to explain things in a way she accepts. I wonder also if I should take her out into the city, show her the military facilities, the Hydraball stadium, the public library and mermaid Spas, but I’m selfish, I want to keep her to myself for a while in our home. I watch her as I allow my fingers to glide over the strings of my harp, feeling fearful that this hunger for information that drives her into the depths of so many pages, will also lead to her discovery of the prophecy I have tried so hard to keep from her. I sigh, looking at her beautiful face as I pluck the last string; she looks up at me upon the ceasing of the melody and smiles dreamily.

“You play wonderfully.” She compliments and I grin lopsidedly, helpless against her sweetly honest nature.

“Thank you, princess … What are you reading about today?” I question, moving softly through the water toward her and the pile of leather bound books that are strewn across the floor.

“The silent times.” she elaborates and I think back. Remembering them well; I shiver a little.

“Ah yes, it should have been called the ‘hideously cold times’ if you ask me.” I joke, trying to mimic her modern sense of humour.

“Living so far north was a sensible move strategically, to evade human discovery but I can’t imagine it being too warm.” Callie agrees with a soft curve of her lip as her eyes light with a tiny familiar spark, like her soul has connected with mine.

“The city was made of ice you know.” I recall, thinking back to the frozen turrets that encased us for half a century.

“I bet it was beautiful.” Callie places her chin in her palm, lying on her stomach between two piles of books sprawled on the leather sofa. Her tailfin flicks out behind her playfully; I watch her eyes cloud as she imagines the city made of ice that our kind left so long ago.

“It was different … I did not like it.” I admit, smiling at her as she gives a quizzical look, her hair lying in thick tresses down her back. I wish I could run my fingers through it … I do so love the feel of her hair falling through my fingers. “Well I knew I would never find you being stuck there.” I continue, stroking the rough textured hairs that frame her face, calming myself. She nods and then her eyebrows pinch together as a thought occurs; I hold my breath wondering what she will come out with next.

“There is a lot of mention of The Guardians, what are they?” She asks and I exhale slightly, this question I can easily answer.

“They are kind of like our armed forces special unit, I’m a member. Many of the mer you meet are signed up to The Knights of Atargatis, but it requires vigorous training and special skills to become a member of The Guardians. We are the elite. Most knights are involved in fighting on a frequent basis, but it’s become less the last century or so. It would appear the forces of darkness are relinquishing. The actual Guardians unit is very compact and reserved for those with special skills or a talent for fighting.” I watch her face contort slightly into a frown filled with questions.

“Are there more things like what I saw you fighting before?” She asks the questions, and I can see them turning fearful.

“There are all manner of beasts, I couldn’t name them all if I tried, some come from other dimensions of their own will, some are summoned, and some, like The Banished, were made in this very dimension and are almost as humanoid as we are.” I pause and she looks yet more concerned.

“Where do they come from?” She presses me for an answer.

“The ring of fire is what the humans have named it, but we know it’s something bigger than tectonics. The fault lines and trenches, they constitute a break between this dimension and all the others. Creating a kind of hole into our reality. They break through, and it’s our job to stop them.”

“That sounds important. How can I help?” She asks it innocently, so full of good intention, but I feel my soul dying, perishing at the thought of putting her in harm’s way.

“Princess, we’ve already had this conversation, I want you kept out of all of that, I want you to be happy and safe and I want you here for me to come back to.” I express as her expression turns from no longer fearful but to somewhat angry.

“I’m not a housewife.” She snaps bluntly.

“I know that, I’m just saying …” I begin my defence, but she cuts me off.

“Well you clearly don’t know, Orion, I can take care of myself, I don’t need you to be a hero for me, and I’m not some poor weak damsel in distress. If you think I’m going to sit around here doing nothing while you go over and fight the good fight, you’re wrong! I can handle this stuff too!”

“Like you handled it when Daryl attacked you?” I question, knowing the second the words pass from my lips, I would have been better off saying nothing at all. She looks indignantly shocked, her mouth parted in a small ‘o’ and rather than arguing, she is immediately horizontal and moving towards the door.

“Callie!” I say alarmed, not wanting her to leave. I grab her arm, placing my fingers to her temples and focusing on every horrific and ghastly beast that I have ever fought back from the oceans. She gives a tiny inhale of breath, as though in pain, and I realise then that I’ve gone too far.

“Oh my God.” she whispers out, eyes widening, brimming with fear. I reach out to her but she recoils. I’m not sure whether she’s disgusted with me or the demons I just infected her mind with.

“Just don’t!” she replies forcefully, swimming out of the apartment and slamming the door behind her. I place my head in my hands, running my fingers through the knotty tousles, thinking all the while that the reason she won’t let me protect her I will never understand.

CALLIE

I quickly descend through the column of space that allows access to each of the floors in the helter-skelter skyscrapers. I feel hot under the skin and nauseated with anger after the argument with Orion and the images in my head. I can’t believe he forced all those vile images into my head and I feel slightly sick at their memory. By the time I reach the hall segment of the vertically arranged building I am fuming. How can he treat me like such a child, I got enough of that kind of treatment from my stepfather, a voice inside me whispers: he’s only concerned for you because he loves you. I shudder remembering the hideous beasts that now swim leisurely through my psyche. I cannot help but be afraid of them; they look so incredibly violent and destructive. I wonder if this gives him the right to control me, before realising I don’t want to be rational at this moment and castigate myself at even stopping to allow this voice into my mind. I burst with force from the front of the building and find myself hitting something fleshy. With surprise, I lose all tension in the muscles that innately keep me suspended above the ocean floor. I eat sand as I crash to the ground and breathe in the disturbed grit, releasing my anger as pain grips at the skin as it is slammed into the rocky seabed.

“Oh my Goddess! Are you okay?!” I hear a soft yet startled female voice asking timidly. I look up from the ground feeling completely embarrassed and eyes so familiar greet me I inhale in surprise.

“Yes … I mean I’m sorry; I wasn’t looking where I was going.” I regain my posture in the water, moving my body so it is parallel to the young mermaid who floats before me. She has eyes that remind me of Kayla’s so deeply that for a moment I thought I was actually seeing my sister. Her tail is the softest lilac and beautiful against her pale, glowing white skin. Her lips are small and rose-petal pink, a similar colour to my own, contrasting to her head of fiery, auburn locks. She looks very self-conscious.

“I’m Sophia Charleston, pleased to meet you.” She holds out a hand and I take it, shaking gently.

“Callie Pierce, it’s a pleasure.” I say formally.

“Oh, so you’re Orion’s?” She enquires and I screw up my eyes, distain flowing through me.

“Uh no, I’m my own.” I’m trying not to sound brash, but I feel a little like I’m losing my identity the longer I live in this society of pairs.

“Oh …” She doesn’t know quite what to follow this up with, so I butt in with a question, feeling my anger return.

“Do you know where I can go to talk to someone about joining ‘The Guardians’?” I question impatiently.

“Well I suppose the person you would have to speak to about that would be Saturnus. He has the direct link to our Goddess, so it’s really him who decides who joins, etcetera.” She rambles and I watch her anxious nature overtake her mental function.

“Can you take me?” I demand, looking into her large hazel eyes and feeling a little guilty at being so curt. They are so like my sister’s.

“Of course, I’d be happy to.” She smiles and I return it graciously. As she turns to lead me to Saturnus, I see a beautifully elegant tattoo on the back of her right shoulder, a sparrow soaring through the air; I admire it momentarily before taking after her, drifting through the water as I dreamily watch her floating before me. She makes her movements look effortless, but unlike Orion, it is not the power that does this but the carefulness with which she holds herself.

“You swim very well.” I comment, catching up to her and wondering if I would ever be as elegant as she in the way I move through the water. We hover a few feet from the ocean floor, horizontally now, and swim through the city together as she turns to me and smiles. The surface-scrapers tower above us, glorious and coloured with jewel colours.

“Thank you, I should, I’ve had a long time to practice.” She looks a little sad as though she is remembering something but I don’t pry.

“So what is Saturnus like?” I question, changing the subject.

“He has truly been blessed by the Goddess.” She replies somewhat mysteriously and I notice that she speaks with a British accent.

“Everyone keeps saying that, it’s like you’re all afraid to tell me how.” I comment feeling frustrated at the lack of communication in this damned place.

“You’ll see when we get there.” Sophia promises, smiling gently. Her hazel brown eyes creasing in the corners with warmth, her voice like soft caramel to my ears.

We arrive at the surface scraper and it looks like any other, made of sandstone, large and cylindrical. As we enter through the doors created from the material I cannot recognise, I see that this building is slightly different, rather than it being stacked with apartments the area behind the doors is a lobby of some kind, the walls stacked with hundreds of books. Leather armchairs are dotted around the circular room and I note that the entrance to the only apartment in the building is about three quarters of the way of the height of the tower, giving a high ceiling for the first room. I look up and Sophia leads me quickly to the open hole in the ceiling of the high room. We are then suspended in front of a large door and I feel nerves spreading through me as I lean forward and knock three times. Sophia and I hold ourselves stationary in silence for a few moments. I flick my tail absentmindedly, admiring the opalescence of the scales in the light, feeling the tension mount. Then in what I can only describe as an instant of clarity, the door opens, revealing the mer, who I can honestly say, has truly been blessed by the Goddess.

His hair is scarlet and deeply feathered around his head, giving the effect of a lion’s mane, and his eyes are a deep emerald; but these things aren’t what stun me. His tail is a radiant gold and is encrusted with diamonds, those on his tailfin are pear shaped giving the effect that it has been collecting water droplets and I wonder if they were once giant tears. His body is covered in tattoos of the finest gold design, reminding me of the floor of the Lunar Sanctum. His body looks as though a vest of cloud, studded with stars, has been drawn in gold pencil upon his chest and a gold crescent moon embraces his Adams apple within its curve. His arms have gold vine and wave designs moving up and down them as though he is encased by nature itself. Finally, my assessment of him deduces his skin and features make him look not only young like all the other mer, but as though no amount of time could ever cause his flesh to wrinkle.

“You must be Callie.” He smiles and his mouth is transformed into a curve as I gape like a tourist at a zoo. As I stare into his face, it is like the clouds on a dreary day have parted and the sun is shining bright before me, I cannot help but smile back as Sophia ushers me forward and closes the door behind me politely, leaving us alone.

“I …” I begin but he holds up a large, strong looking palm.

“I know why you are here, come.” He beckons me further into his apartment, where somehow, even though the furnishings are impressive, they seem to pale in comparison to the merman himself. What I feel when I look upon him goes beyond attraction … it’s as though my mind cannot believe that somebody so full of the essence of life itself exists. Or that perhaps they could not, or should not exist. I wait as he ruffles a few papers on a mahogany desk that stands on an elevated platform at the far end of the room; he has a globe and many more books behind it. I look upwards, following the books and trying to find the ceiling as I crane my neck. I realise that the bookshelves that encase the curved walls of the room extend to the very top of the building, a personal collection of texts that must have taken a lifetime to compile.

“So you want to join ‘The Guardians’, yes?” He looks at me as though giving me permission to speak, which I can’t help but wonder if I require. It’s like I am back at high school, sitting in the principal’s office, although compared to my principal this man is a God. I look down at my hands and inadequacy washes over me. Even breathing in the same room as him seems like some form of blasphemy: he comes over to me, a prophet in flesh.

“Do not look from me. You and I have been blessed by our Goddess. We are kin.” He acknowledges and I nod.

“Yes, I want to join The Guardians. I want to fight.” I say, finding my voice as I drink in the room. Behind him, I see lavish silks and velvets draped from most of the walls shielding away some compartments of the never-ending bookshelves, and many places to sit. If I had to describe it in the way of a human, I would compare it to a grand study from a piece of Edwardian English literature. The finery of it takes my breath away but I still cannot deny it pales next to Saturnus himself.

“And why is it you wish to risk your life for our great people?” He asks with superiority in his voice, anyone else I’d think he was pompous, but it seems a little under exaggerated compared to the superiority he excreted from only existing in the same place as me.

“I want to prove I belong here. I need to show Orion that I am strong.” I admit and he looks disappointed.

“This isn’t the answer I am looking for. Being a part of The Guardians, or for that matter, The Knights of Atargatis, isn’t something you choose out of personal insecurity. It is something you are made for, something you undertake with pride out of love for our Goddess and her mission, something which began in the very making of our race.” His words pierce my heart and I wonder if I really do believe in Atargatis. Then it hits me. Of course I believe in her, just look at the very man before me. I want so much to be in her loving grace, to see this world which she has nurtured. I want to glow with her very essence; I want people to see her magnificence through me, just as I am seeing it through the glorious physicality of Saturnus. I had thought that it was the love I had for Orion that had brought me to this place, and physically, yes, that was probably true. But she had made me, perhaps not my body, but my soul was of her creation, a part of Orion that had been carved out in my image. The mer blood running through my veins was like her mark on me. The body I now inhabit is infused with the very power I see exaggerated by Saturnus. Her power. I also now understand why whenever I had questioned any of the mer about Saturnus, they had been so lacking in descriptions. It was because what you felt in being around him was beyond all words, not something that could be explained, but rather something that had to be felt. I look up at Saturnus mid-epiphany and his expression changes.

“You feel her?” He asks, raising one eyebrow seriously, his emerald eyes scorching me with their scrutiny.

“In this moment, here with you, yes I feel her.” I admit, feeling a little silly as though I was going to get teased for my beliefs. Like I was that same girl in high school, who would have done anything to get by without being the centre of attention.

“Let me get Ghazi … hang on.” He flicks his tail once and he is gone, I am knocked back a little with the force of the water displacement and wonder how much faster these mermen can get. Just as I think Orion is speedy I am taught that there is always more power, more speed.

He is back after a few minutes and he is accompanied by a mer I believe I have met before. “Ghazi, meet Callie Pierce. You are going to be testing her to see if she is blessed.” At the word ‘blessed’ my ears prick a little and I wonder what kind of testing he is talking about. I examine the merman that is suspended before me, he looks practically dull in comparison to the radiance of Saturnus, but I can see in his strong features that he is as all mer seem to be, which is attractive. He has dark chocolate eyes and coffee coloured skin; I assume him to have origins in the Middle East as his black hair teases his shoulders and gives away his lineage. He has a small goatee and moustache consisting of black stubble across his face and his skull gives him defined cheekbones and an angular jaw. His lips are large and look incredibly soft as he smiles and takes my hand in his. I look down, drifting through the water forwards and see his grassy green-scaled tail matches the green eye mask that surrounds those deep brown eyes.

“Hi.” I say shyly as he shakes my hand with such force I wonder if my arm won’t fall off at the shoulder socket. He nods in return before Saturnus breaks our eye contact with his words and ushers us outside.

“Good luck young lady.” He offers as he bows his head in parting and retreats back into the large apartment, leaving me alone with Ghazi. I look up at him, our height fairly similar. He is shorter than most mermen I have encountered but I am hovering a little closer to the ornate rug on the floor. He does not speak still but rather gestures to the porthole through which we descend. I swim with him in pursuit, no clue where we are headed, and pass Sophia who has waited loyally in the small lobby for me.

“Hey, what happened?” She questions as we move towards the exit at the base of the turret.

“Don’t ask me, I’m being tested now, apparently, by Mr. Silent over there.” I whisper and she giggles slightly, her hazel eyes full of amusement.

“He isn’t silent, he’s a mute. Or at least we think he is. Nobody has ever heard him speak. His wife is too we think. It does give him incredible focus though when in battle. He has immense strength.” She assures me and as we move outward into the bright light of the street. We turn and wait a few moments to allow Ghazi to take the lead from us and then follow him, I feel a knot of anxiety forming and I sigh: I always did hate tests.

We travel for a few minutes before exiting the city and Sophia explains, “We are leaving the Occulta Mirum so we can truly see any natural blessing. The way in which the city is protected somewhat enhances the blessings for individual mer. This way we will be able to see the bare bones of your power.” She says this matter of fact as though all this is totally normal, not the world of mystical unknowing that I so perceive it to be. I keep the grass green tailfin of Ghazi in my sight and ask her a question, which I am slightly afraid to have answered.

“How long did it take you to get used to all this?” I ask timidly, feeling incredibly inexperienced.

“A few years, it’s a strange way to live. Don’t worry, you will get used to it. You were born to be this way, remember? You were made for Orion and he is pretty special, so there is no doubt you must be too.” She speaks as though this is fact and it makes me feel comforted for the first time. Orion had said this before, but in some way, I felt as though he was always biased by his love for me. Hearing it from someone who is practically a stranger, makes it all the more real to my ears. I am about to respond and thank her as we swim rhythmically side by side, not quite as in sync as me and Orion but fairly in time, as I see Ghazi halt in front of us. We are on the outskirts of the Occulta Mirum, just beyond its protective shield and there is a lone, gargantuan, cylindrical building towering above me. It is made of sandstone just like all the others, except this isn’t speckled with glass bottles that glint in the light, but is rather covered in runes, carved into its constituent stone.

“The runes make this invisible to people who are not brought here. You’ll be able to see it from now on. But if we hadn’t guided you, you would have been looking forever.” Sophia tells me and I wonder why they don’t use this for other things.

“Why don’t you use them for the city?” I ask her and she smiles.

“We’ve never had to. Saturnus never goes on land and his power to project a glimmer is better than any rune.” She enlightens me and I smile back at her, not one to argue with a seasoned pro. Ghazi looks at me and nods, beckoning me inside with his stare. He exudes brutish power, and I cannot help but believe his voice would be a deep one if I could hear it. We swim inside and I note that this building has a larger circumference than the others, the walls are stacked from floor to ceiling with weapons, and a few ledges; presumably for viewers to perch and observe. Natural sunlight falls down from the building’s highest point, bathing me. It reminds me a little of a coliseum, as spears, axes, knives, nets, tridents, and all manner of other terrifyingly sharp and dangerous objects stand hooked onto the walls via curved racks and restraints. In the centre of the floor are three boulders, each increasing in mass. Ghazi swims, haphazardly slashing his tail behind him and leaving me in a torrent of bubbles. Behind me, Sophia laughs at my disconcerted expression, the bubbles tickling my nose. As though he is going to demonstrate what he wants me to do, Ghazi begins by picking up the largest boulder, which looks as though it could weigh nearly quarter of a ton. I don’t know how he does it because he is not a large mer by any standard but is rather tightly compacted. He places it down again, displacing a little sand that covers the ocean floor and then he rises above it and looks down at me gesturing for me to do the same. I give a quizzical look, is this guy crazy? I get tired carrying my school bag between classes, there is no way I can actually lift that huge piece of rock! He persists in a stare, the dark brown of his eyes bearing into my flesh. I roll my eyes and speak aloud, exasperated.

“Fine! I’ll try.” I shoot Sophia a look and she nods encouragingly back, ascending high above me and perching on one of the ledges. I edge forward, moving my tail so the bottom half of me is at a 70 degree angle to the floor, allowing me to get my hands on the base of either sides of the ocean worn chunk of rock. I pull and then realise how massively strong Ghazi must be, having no legs means that I have no leverage on the ground, nothing to strain against. It should be easier than on land though surely I muse as I recall that it’s supposedly easier lifting people up in the water. I try for another few moments before giving up, feeling hot under my skin, an odd sensation considering I’m immersed in cool water. I look up at Ghazi and he demonstrates lifting the next boulder in the line, this one being slightly smaller than the one I just attempted to lift, but not by much. I sigh and roll my eyes once more. It’s going to be a long afternoon.

I am panting, and if I could noticeably underwater, I think I would be sweating too. Every inch of me aches and I can’t help but wonder if it weren’t for my newfound mer form if I would have collapsed from exhaustion hours ago. Sophia has loyally stayed, watching each pointless test that has resulted in the same conclusion: that I am one hundred percent completely useless and that a teaspoon is more blessed by the Goddess than me. Sophia is sat on the ledge still, hugging her tailfin up as though she has knees and resting her chin upon the curved portion of her softly shimmering lilac scales. She gives me a warm and loyal smile and I wonder if perhaps, I may have found a friend in all this madness. Ghazi, seems (frustratingly enough) as though he has exerted little effort, less than perhaps one would taking a casual stroll around the park on a lazy Sunday afternoon. The sun is hanging low in the sky and I hope to God as he indicates that he is going to attack me for his latest ‘test’ that he goes easy on me, as I have already seen him crush one boulder into dust this afternoon. We circle one another, like lions fighting for their kill and just as I think I spot him relax, he is behind me in an instant with my neck between his hands. I reach up to his arms and as my skin meets his, two out of this world phenomenon happen simultaneously. The first is that I swear for a moment I can hear Ghazi speaking, his voice awkward with an accent from Iran.

“Come on Callie! Fight back damn it!” his words will me on, as the second effect of laying my fingers upon his flesh takes hold and I feel his strength flow into me. I do not hesitate as my fatigue dissipates and I am filled with his power. I pull his body through the water easily overcoming the drag caused by its displacement and smash him into the sea floor. I fall backwards, letting go of him and feeling the strength leave my body. Shock washes over me as I notice that I’m breathing hard and that the three slits on either side of my neck are opening and closing quickly. I hit the sand beneath me with a cringe as coarse grains plume up into the water like dust.

“Whoa … what the hell …” I pant, bewildered. Sophia is in-between me and Ghazi in an instant. I sit up and see Ghazi returning to a horizontal floating position in the water, his eyes chocolaty brown, wide, and surprised. He moves through the water towards me, hands outstretched and I move backwards quickly away from him.

“No! Don’t!” I cry out, fearing that next time the strength won’t leave me and I will be stuck, crushing everything I touch. I flee from the training coliseum, away from Sophia and Ghazi, and back to the Occulta Mirum and Orion to seek comfort in the safety of his arms.

It is not until I reach the outside of the training building that I remember Orion and I aren’t speaking after our argument earlier. Damn my dependence on him! I’ve barely known him a few weeks and already he is the only person I can think to run to. Of course my life now makes it a bit more complicated than that, being that I don’t really know that many other mer yet. Well okay, it’s a lot more complicated, but still, I wish his love for me hadn’t infected almost every part of my mind. It’s like no matter what I’m doing, a part of me is always thinking about him; this to me right now is infuriating. I still for a moment outside the entrance to the city, stewing and weighing up my options before looking at the setting sun; deciding I cannot go back and admit that I am sorry quite yet; I need to calm down first.

I swim out into the ocean, admiring the sea life: tiny fish and shoals of larger ones, their scales glimmering in the dimming light. This is my first solo swim out in the open ocean, and I try to let it clear my head. I swim, catching rip tides and letting them slingshot me forward through the ocean, I close my eyes, wanting to remember this feeling, the weightlessness of it becoming intoxicating. Visibility becomes a bit lame after the sun has set, but sure enough, I recognise that I have somehow brought myself back to the very beach where this all began and the last place Orion and I connected before our fight. Maybe it’s because it’s the only route I know other than that to the Sanctum. I swim into the shallow water and know that tonight, because there is no full moon, I have no choice but to drag myself a little way up into the sand, the waves lapping over my tail so I may sit and breathe, and emptying my mind of all things troubling for a while. I pull my tail up to my chin, mimicking how I had seen Sophia sitting earlier while I had been tested. I shiver at the memory again, stopping to really think about what had happened. In a way, I felt like I had touched fire and been burned by the intense power of its flame, but as I looked back, I couldn’t say that I hated the power. It had scared me that much was true, but was that because I had been so completely shocked by it and had not been prepared or expecting it? My mind, while I sit bathed in moonlight and looking around to make sure the beach remains deserted, flicks back to Ghazi and his voice inside my head. Could it be that he was in fact not mute but rather communicated in a different way that no other mer could tap into? I’m then reminded of what Sophia said about his wife as we left Saturnus’ apartment, and I wonder if they can communicate with one another telepathically. I ponder this for a long time, letting the cool San Diego night air wash over my skin, before resigning the voices to my imagination and the strength to an unnatural surge of adrenaline at the shock of imagining such things.

My flesh does not burn as it did upon my flight out of the water in the sunlight with Orion, but now hums delicately in the coolness of the moonbeams that shine from the night sky. I examine my tail as its scales shimmer, opalescent in the light pouring from above. I touch it gingerly. It seemed so foreign at first, but now I realise that I can’t help but adore its beauty; the million pearlescent mirrors outwardly exuding the light once trapped within my mortal coil. I am more myself now than I have ever been and in a situation that feels like drowning, I have never felt more alive, more myself. I lie back, tail in the air as I make patterns with the light upon its many mirrors, allowing the waves to lap at my hair, contented for a while before seeing lights turn on in the beach house up the shoreline and realising that it is time for me to return to the sea. As I wiggle back down the sand and into the waves I smile at the easiness of breathing within their depths. Though not as harsh as during the heat of day, my throat still felt dry when ashore and as I take a deep lungful of air in through the slits in my neck, I become fully submerged. I return to the hidden city and to Orion, feeling more at peace than I have in a while.

Back in the Occulta Mirum the streets are aglow with lamps fuelled with bioluminescent algae, giving the whole space an aqua glow. I see patterns of light from the surface above moving across the ocean floor in wavy illusions, catching the bottles embedded in the path, and making them glisten. The city seems to be most beautiful at night: hundreds of twinkling, dimming, and multihued lights making it seem as though the Milky Way has come down from the sky and made a new home for itself beneath the waves. I move quickly back to Orion and my apartment, ready to apologise for how wrong I was in getting upset at his overprotective nature earlier, especially after what he showed me of the demons that he has battled. As I embrace the peacefulness of the total silence that the water provides at this time of night, I hear the chimes of harp strings being danced over by Orion’s fingers, growing louder as I ascend up through the levels of the surface scraper, and I smile. I can’t help but wonder if the sadness of the tune reflects his mood, and my heart patters sadly. I enter through the front door and as his eyes set upon me, I watch relief take him as his shoulders, which were acutely upright as I entered the apartment, slouch with a large outward breath.

“Where have you been?” He asks, sounding sulky.

“Training this afternoon and then for a swim up to our beach.” I reply smiling, a carefree smile. He looks instantly concerned but I watch him restrain himself.

“Saturnus told me you went to see him. I wish you’d told me you were going so far.” He acknowledges with a cold expression. I ignore him and try not to let him ruin my mood.

“Yes, I met Ghazi and then we discovered I have absolutely no natural blessing whatsoever. So I suppose I won’t be joining The Guardians after all!” I lie a little, seeing as imagining voices and getting an unnaturally strong rush of adrenaline seems hardly worth mentioning.

“Are you okay?” Orion asks, swimming over calmly from the harp stool.

“Yes, I think I could do with having a bit of a sleep to be honest, to sort everything out that’s going on in my brain. But first, I am sorry about earlier.” I apologise as his arms wind around my waist and I look up into those oh so familiar icy blue eyes. He places a kiss gently upon my lips and sighs out a little.

“I’m sorry too. I just love you so much, I can’t stand the thought of anything happening to you. It would break me.” He confesses looking down, clearly still upset. I place two fingers on his angular jaw and lift his eyes so they meet my own. I stare into them determinedly.

“Nothing is going to happen to me. Stop worrying!” I try to convince him and his lip curves before kissing me once again as some kind of acceptance of this fact. He states, his eyes are weary.

“I think I need a mental sort out too. I haven’t really slept since I met you in all honesty.” He admits and I look at him quizzically.

“You have so slept; there was that time on the beach before we first kissed!” I accuse raising one eyebrow teasingly.

“I didn’t sleep. How could I when I had the one person I had been waiting for finally in my arms?” He mimics my casual tone and his caramel soft voice wraps around the words with sensual prowess. I roll my eyes and catch the bookcase out of the corner of my eye.

“You go sleep; I’ll be there in a bit. I want to do some reading for a while first.” He rolls his eyes back at me, exasperated at my indecision over what I’m planning on doing next and then kisses me on the forehead.

“It’s okay, I’ll wait up. I wanted to continue playing for a while anyway.” He whispers as I nod my head gently and closing my eyes at the touch of his lips.

I’ve been looking over the books for a little while now when I come across a particularly interesting passage on mer mortality or lack thereof. It reads:

‘Mer are as strong and immortal as the sea itself. They cannot be killed other than by beheading, de-scaling (which is most painful of all), and by prolonged exposure to direct, undiluted sunlight. Their strength is rivalled only by those who possess a direct link to a magical source as powerful as that of the oceans of this world.’

So the sea itself is what gives mer their power, well I suppose that kind of makes sense when you think about it. I can’t think of many things older in this world than the seas. I am also interested in the idea of beheading a merman or mermaid. I mean what kind of terrible creature has the power to even out manoeuvre a mer? I shudder at the thought and then picture someone de-scaling my gorgeous tail and shudder even deeper. I continue reading and find that the next paragraphs are dedicated to The Banished:

‘Though few have ever rivalled the power of the sea, there still remain a group who are in league with a power that is even greater than that of Atargatis. ‘The Banished’, consisting of those few mer who have become infected with the dark magic set loose by Poseidon in his rage, have aligned themselves with a beast known to most as Necrimad, giving them a link to the power responsible for death itself and thus allowing them to be equally as hard to kill as the mer themselves. The Necrimad, a beast created to contain the darkness unleashed by Poseidon, has been trapped in a dimensional prison, in the hope that the darkness he had unleashed would not continue to spread. He did not, however, foresee its power seeping in through the dimensional seams that became weakened by Atargatis’ time on this earth. Those who worship it are no longer referred to as mer but rather psirens, as they take on bizarre half-mer half-demon forms that have never been known to set foot on land. Each of them makes up for this handicap with a set of magical skills that they utilise with deathly accuracy and foresight. We cannot be sure how they established first communication with the demon Necrimad as we are most certain that the beast resides in another dimension quite unlike our own. But we do know that should he ever be freed into our own dimension, mass terror and genocide would most likely ensue. This is why ‘The Banished’ are ‘The Guardians’ and ‘Knights of Atargatis’ main priority even to this day, in the hope that Necrimad will never see sunrise or sunset on this earth.’

Below there is a picture of five mer, or what appear to be at first, until I focus more carefully on the detail of the black and white image. Where teeth should be, razor sharp edges reside and their tailfins are not like mer at all on closer inspection, but are rather some kind of concoction of other sea creatures that come from deeper depths. One of them has the lower body of a hammerhead shark and another looks like he may be a mix of some kind of eel and a sea dragon. The image taunts me, and even though the artist is not the most talented, I feel as though even after closing the leather bound volume with a slam and closing my eyes for a few moments to regain my peaceful state, the image of each psiren is firmly burnt into the back of my eyelids. I recall the images Orion input into my mind, and among the flashes, rapid and terrifying, I see their faces. I sigh and go over to Orion after placing the volume back on the bookshelf, with the others that are tightly packed together, to stop them wildly floating away in this underwater world. I touch him on the shoulder as I am brought back to the beauty of his playing after being so engrossed in worlds of demons, beheading, and death.

“Come to bed with me.” I whisper into his ear and he smiles slightly, turning and embracing me for a few seconds. He is immediately upright and at around the height he would usually be if he were standing and, instantaneously, I am in his arms and we are on our way into the bedroom. We lay together and he curls his tail around mine. I reach out to touch it and cannot bear the thought of anyone even scratching a single scale from its beautiful blue surface. I sigh and then look up into his eyes.

“Your tail is so beautiful.” I admire and he smiles stroking my own.

“As is yours, although you couldn’t understand why I thought it desirable not so long ago.” He teases lightly and gives me a dreamy look.

“I understand now. “ I whisper again as I snuggle down deeper into his chest inhaling his comforting scent. I close my eyes, feeling safe in his arms, as I let myself drift into the mer sleep which, beautifully enough, brings me so much clarity.

When my eyelids open once again, Orion is watching me as though he awoke just moments before, feeling me stir. I look up into his glacially blue eyes but cannot focus as the subject of my memories niggles within my chest. I rise off the bed, words eluding me as Orion sits upright.

“Callie?” He says it quietly, as though it is a thought rather than a question. I ignore him, the images from the last few days, fresher in my mind than ever, as I drift into the main room and find his satchel by the side of the harp. I rummage inside it and pull out the letter from my father. The paper is thick and waxy and on the front, in italic sloping handwriting, is my name with a long line slashed underneath it. I turn it over in my hands, at first I question whether or not I actually want to know what my father, who somewhat abandoned me, has to say for himself, before remembering that this niggling curiosity woke me from such peace as his face swam in and out of my earliest memories. I place a long nail underneath the seal, which is some kind of wax with a trident crest plunged into it and the paper lifts, allowing me to reach inside and pull out the paper within. A few sheets folded neatly, I open the letter and begin to read while I sit back into the leather sofa, heart beating like that of a hummingbird.

Dearest Daughter,

It is in greatest hope that I write this letter, in the hope that it will find you, in the hope that you finally know who and just how special you are, and also in the hope that shortly after, or before, reading this letter we will have finally met in person.

Firstly, I want you to know that I love you, I always have, ever since the night you came into this world, under the full moon. It was as though the Goddess wanted me to be the first one to hold you. I will never forget the night I walked up the garden path to your mother’s home only to find a note telling me she was at the hospital, and that you were coming. It was a wonderful two years after that. I would come to the shoreline behind some rocks that sheltered us from prying eyes and she would bring you to see me, you loved touching my tail and running about while your mother and I talked. It is now that you are wondering how I could ever give up someone like yourself? The truth is, it was a decision that myself and Patience, your mother, came to together. We knew that as you grew, you would have more questions and as you may know, children are not the best secret keepers. We also didn’t want you to spend your whole childhood waiting, as your mother did so well while we were together, for my return. It was my deepest regret that we were separated before you even really knew me or had any memories of my existence, but I promise this will soon be made right by me, as once you have awakened to your true form, I will be there. I am writing this hoping your mother, bless her, will keep her promises and hand this over to you shortly after you turn 18, which is when I predict you will meet Orion and fall in love. He is a wonderful man, perfect for you, and I wish you both happiness should I be prevented from reaching you. The tide is always changing, as are the directions in which our lives take us, but stick with Orion and you won’t go far wrong. I hope we will meet soon Callie, and I hope the time I have to wait for your real home-coming passes as quickly as those two years in which we made sandcastles and collected sea shells under the full moon.

All my love, your father,

Gideon.

I do not cry, I just sit, my soul aching deeply. I was loved, never abandoned really, just allowed to have the childhood anyone would want for their child. Then it hits me that my mom’s lies really were for my protection. I mean the truth would have made me look crazy for believing it, or angry at her for, as I would have assumed, lying to me further. I recall the number of times I thought of her as weak, but the strength she must have had to leave Gideon, as I now knew through my bond with Orion, must have been insurmountable. I hold the letter to my chest, as the questions begin to rise within me. My father, Dad, said he was going to meet me shortly after I changed, so where was he? Mid thought, Orion moves through the water and into the sitting room, glancing at the letter within my hands.

“What did it say?” He whispers, stroking my arm gently. I cannot bring myself to speak so I simply pass him the letter and he reads it quietly for a few moments before sighing.

“Callie, I think I know what happened to your father.” He looks down into his lap before turning to me and taking my hands in his.

“Close your eyes.” He whispers slowly.

FLASH

I see Saturnus and my father Gideon laughing together. FLASH. Gideon is trying to explain something to Saturnus, desperately gesticulating with a sobbing female mer floating behind him. Saturnus orders Gideon to get out with a stern and singular finger pointing to the distance, away from the Occulta Mirum. FLASH.

I am back in the sitting room gasping for breath, tears streaming down my face. “What was that? What did you just show me? It was all jumbled!” I ask, desperate for answers.

“If I could guess, I would say your father was being exiled.” he replies.

“If you could guess? What’s that supposed to mean?!” I raise my voice getting angrier and angrier by the second, desperate to know of the truth.

“Well, I have been thinking about how I didn’t realise that Gideon was your father. I’ve been trying to remember the last time I saw him. I think that was the last time. I walked in on Gideon and Saturnus having some kind of fight. I didn’t want to get involved so I got out of there as fast as I could. That’s why it was a bit jumpy, what you saw. If I had of known it was regarding you, I would have stayed. But this was sixteen years ago. It’s all a little foggy.” Orion admits, rubbing the back of his neck with one arm.

“We need to go and see Saturnus about this. I need to know the truth.” I express and he nods gingerly, looking slightly afraid I may combust with desperation any second.

I find myself standing before the radiance of Saturnus in less than five minutes, his study surrounding me with my heart pounding. I feel the slits on my neck opening and closing as I suck in water, trying to keep my pulse steady and calm. I begin to wonder if maybe I’m letting this affect me a little too much. After all, I barely know my dad, but then again, he is my dad, I’m made up of half of what he is and I want to know him. Maybe it’s because I’ve always had a big question mark over my head about who I am, because I don’t know where I come from, or maybe it’s because we are all genetically engineered to care about our parents regardless of who they may be.

“So you want to know about your father?” Saturnus queries, raising a scarlet eyebrow, his skin giving off its usual ethereal glow.

“Yes, it is important to me. I’ve been wondering about him my whole life.” I respond and Orion squeezes my hand, which I barely noticed him holding.

“Very well. I will tell you what happened, but you must promise that you will not go looking for Gideon.” his emerald green eyes pierce mine and my insides tremble a little, his tattoos never looking more beautiful.

“Why?” I ask.

“The rules of exile are barely ever enforced, but they are very clear. Once exiled, any mer who go looking for an exiled party will not be welcome back into the Occulta Mirum again.” He replies, looking stern.

“It is for our own protection.” He adds, trying to make me understand, I stand faced with a terrible choice, would I rather not know what had happened and move on, or would I rather know the truth, but be helpless to do anything about that information anyway, and have it possibly eat away at me. I ponder this for a moment, each of us in the room suspended in the water and surreally still.

“I want to know.” I conclude, finally taking a breath out.

“Take a seat.” Saturnus gestures and Orion and I position ourselves on the deep green leather loveseat which stands against the sandstone wall. It’s was draped with deep coloured fabrics that made the study seem intimate and if nothing else, safer than the open water I am used to.

“Your father and his soul mate, Alyssa, were together for a long time, Callie, they were looked up to, as an example for the rest of our society. The thing you have to understand about our kind, well your kind now, is that one of the reasons Atargatis gave each mer one soul mate was because we have such a lonely existence, we keep each other strong and provide comfort throughout our lives which can, in theory, last an eternity. So then your father fell for that human.” He stops as I open my mouth.

“Her name is Patience, and she is my mother, not just ‘some human’.” I interject and he nods.

“I apologise, that was very crude of me.” He looks me hard in the eye as though he is not sorry at all. I pull an accepting expression and he continues.

“Anyway, then your father met your mother and, well, they fell in love, this is never supposed to happen among our kind, especially for one who already has a soul mate. When we found out, which we eventually did, we exiled him. His partner Alyssa killed herself, which as I’m sure you understand is also a great crime among our people. We cannot stand for the mer that live within these walls knowing that true love, and not just lusting, with a human is possible. It will only breed fear of loneliness and paranoia, leading to many more problems than it solves. Do you understand Callie?” He asks, tilting his red mane of hair to one side and I sit, pondering for a moment.

“But because he fell in love with my mother, my existence was made possible. Doesn’t that mean it was sanctioned by the Goddess?” I ask looking confused.

“Possibly Callie, but regardless, we cannot have any more mer losing faith in the Goddess and abandoning our cause. The Banished are strong enough as it is. You understand what it would mean if our soul mate status lost all meaning, don’t you?”

“Doesn’t that mean we would have the right to choose who we love? Not have our hands, or even hearts, forced by this destiny crap.” I ask, cocking my head, feeling fury stirring within me.

“Our life isn’t about choice, surely you should know that by now.”

“So you’re telling me if I didn’t want to be with Orion, I would have to leave?” I ask and Orion’s eyebrows shoot up.

“I’m telling you if that were true, it would be better for everyone if you did.” He enlightens me and I want to hit him, unfortunately he still has information I need.

“Where is Gideon now?” I ask, feeling a little numb.

“I couldn’t tell you. We don’t keep watch over those who leave us.” He admits and I don’t quite know how to feel. Do I feel angry at how casually he seems to see the loss of my dad? Or do I perhaps understand what he is saying about only spreading the fear that the other mer may lose their partners in eternity to human hearts? I think for a few moments before nodding my head.

“Thank you, Saturnus.” I say and Orion and Saturnus share a knowing look that I can’t help but feel is more than simply my acceptance of the tale he has told me. Still grasping his hand, I get up and Orion and I move fluidly through the water filling the empty spaces in the room as Saturnus opens the door we return silently, and with all this new information weighing on my chest, back to our home.

As we journey back through the city together, Orion looks at me questionably. “You aren’t just with me because I told you about our souls?” He looks worried.

“No Orion, I already told you, I don’t believe in that stuff. What I feel for you is real, whether you are the other half of my soul or not. Being with you is my choice. No matter what Saturnus believes.”

“So we’re okay?” he asks for my assurance and I nod.

“We’re okay, I can’t say being told that the only reason I’m accepted into this community is because I’m enforcing some ‘destined’ morality with you is what I want to hear. But my feelings for you are real, they aren’t myth, Orion.” I say it with conviction.

“Oh.”

“Just know this though, I won’t stay in this with you just because we’re supposedly ‘destined’ either. If I’m not happy anymore, I will leave.” I’ve said this before, but I feel it needs reiterating.

“I better keep you happy then.” He says the words, unsure but with an upturned lip. I wonder if I really could come up with the guts to leave him, expelling myself nomadically out into the open ocean. I knock the thought back. I’m happy with him, that’s what matters right now.

“Good plan.” I smile as we head back home.

“Callie, wake up.” I hear the three words penetrate my recollections of the conversations with Saturnus about Gideon, my father’s exile. About the stupid misconception he had about the people of the city, about how they love blindly, without choice. I’ve been sleeping a lot recently, going over everything that’s happened, trying to find some peace.

“Mmm.” I open my eyes, connecting with the breath-taking depths of Orion’s.

“I have a surprise for you, princess.” He croons.

“Surprise? For me …”

“Yup …”

“Is it shoes … oh wait …” I laugh slightly to myself.

“It’d be slightly redundant if it was, don’t you think?” He teases.

“I’m a woman, Orion; shoes will never be redundant, even if I don’t have feet to put in them.” I smile to myself defiantly.

“Ah, I see.” He smirks with mock understanding.

“So if it’s not shoes, clam bra?” I ask with a lopsided sloppy grin, the nap has refreshed me, allowing my sense of humour to return.

“Clam bra?” he queries the term, mystified.

“Oh come on, don’t tell me you haven’t ever seen ‘The Little Mermaid’?” I chuckle and his mouth contorts with amusement.

“I’m looking at MY little mermaid, does that count?”

“I don’t think it counts until you’ve experienced the magic of a singing crab.” I comment, and he laughs with a deep rumble that shakes his pectorals up and down rhythmically.

“So if it isn’t a clam bra, then what is it?” I ask.

“I’m taking you to a game.”

“A game?”

“Yes, Hydraball. The season starts today. I thought it would get you out of this apartment.” He grins, enthusiastic like a small child.

“If you’re lucky I might make out with you behind the bleachers.” I mumble remembering how tacky I thought it was when all the girls at school were bragging about their Friday night, post-game conquests.

“And if there were bleachers then I would absolutely take you up on that offer.” He promises.

“Ah, so if no bleachers then do we at least have good seats?” I press him, dying to know more.

“Pretty good, we’re sitting in the royal box with my father and Shaniqua.” He smiles wryly, making me think he is underplaying the importance of our seating arrangement.

“Royal box?” I give a suspicious glare.

“Yes.” He nods, watching me intently, gauging my reaction.

“So I really am a princess?” I ask, raising my eyebrows.

“Well as far as I’m concerned, yes. But the ‘royal’ hierarchy hasn’t really been enforced in a long time, least of all by me. I can’t stand it. Atlas might be crowned ruler, but that’s because he was the origin of the species more than anything else.”

“Ah … but technically?”

“Technically, if anything were to happen to my father, which I severely doubt, and we were voted into power, yes I suppose you would be … queen.” He moves from the mattress and I sit stunned from his blasé response. Me … Royalty … I slap myself mentally, Orion didn’t act any different from anyone else, so why should I expect the title to affect me. After all, it was situational and not birth right. I rise from the bed with a single flick of my tailfin and follow him, wondering what the day will have in store.

“Come on, this way.” Orion commands and I submit, allowing him to usher my body inside the colossal stadium that holds the ‘pitch’ within. I remember noting this structure on my first visit to the city; it’s on the outskirts away from the epicentre, and towers above all the rest. It stands out, one because it is taller, and two because the frequently equally spaced partitions that serve as entrances into the building give it the look of a physically corrected leaning tower of Pisa. We ascend to the middle level. I wonder why the royal box isn’t situated at the top or the bottom. Then query exactly what the rules for Hydraball are, realising I know nothing.

“Hey, what are the rules of this game?” I feel nervous, I want to know what’s going on in case I have to make small talk with Atlas.

“Well, it’s quite complicated but basically each team has eight players. Two anchors, four interceptors, one sling-shot, and one netter. The goal is for the members of each team to get the ball in the opponent’s hoop. The game is played vertically. Getting it through the hoop at the top of the stadium gets you a point, if the ball touches the sand, you lose a point.” He explains it and it reminds me of soccer a little, but vertical.

“Okay so what do, like, interceptors do?” I ask timidly as we emerge into the tunnel leading through the wall of the stadium and into the hollow, narrow column of space inside.

“Well let’s start at the bottom of the stadium. You have the anchors, which stop the ball from touching the ground. The interceptors get the ball up to the sling-shot’s, who have to shoot the ball in the net at the top of the stadium. It’s a lot harder than it sounds, you’ll see why in just a second.” Before I can ask what the ‘netters’ do we reach the end of the tunnel and I can see what he means. At each section of the massive hollow inside the building there are nets with gaps in them, preventing the ball from moving upwards at certain points. It amazes me the amount of mer who are already here and I can’t help but fall stationary, craning my neck upward to see the two hoops at the height of the stadium, one pink and one blue. Orion moves me out of the way of more mer who are becoming backed up as I’m blocking the exit of the entry tunnel. I apologise in a mutter and move with him, coasting the side of the stadium where there are stands at each level.

“The royal box is at interceptor level. You get the best view from there.” I hear Orion telling me this, but I cannot help but stare down, through the layers of transparent net to the bottom of the stadium’s narrow column, it’s massive and the sand has been dyed a bright green. I wonder if this is to give the best view of it when it is disturbed.

“Green sand?” I give him a questioning look as we approach the box, which is carved from sandstone and decorated with a trident shape consisted of red bottles, they glisten like bloody rubies.

“So we can see when the sand flies up.” He confirms my suspicion and I respond.

“So no instant replay?” he looks confused and I shake my head as we reach the box, swimming up and over the walls and down into its interior. There are two high backed chairs bolted to the floor and two smaller ones either side. It looks like Orion and I won’t be sitting together.

“Starlet isn’t sitting with us?” I ask, counting the chairs again.

“She hates the sport.” Atlas smiles, beckoning me to sit with him. Orion gives me one last look and kisses the back of my palm, rather formal etiquette for what seems to be the equivalent of a soccer game. I take the seat next to Atlas and he beams at me, golden eyes glowing. Shaniqua sits at his side, her chocolate toned palm caressed over and over by his olive toned fingers. And they both turn to me. Orion shoots me a pitying look and I smile back, trying to appear at ease. my eyes however, tell a different story.

“So, has Orion explained the game to you?” He asks and I nod.

“Um … yes. But I do have one question. What do the netters do?”

“They protect their teams hoop, try to stop the sling-shots if you catch my drift.” I smile at him, thanking him for the explanation. Feeling self-conscious, I look around, trying to distract myself and notice that the stadium is split into two very distinct halves, the first being pink, and the second being blue. The two teams I assume.

“Which teams are playing?” I question Atlas, feeling dense.

“Maidens versus men.” he says it shortly with a smile playing on his lips and I query it internally for a moment.

“You mean men versus women?” I ask, finding the concept interesting.

“I do indeed.”

“Isn’t that unfair?” I question him again, thinking about how most sports events were sexed in the human world.

“Why would it be? After rebirth, we all pull our strength from the same source. Human limitations of gender are meaningless.”

“You try telling that to Orion.” I murmur and Atlas’ head jerks to face me. Damn he has good hearing.

“What do you mean by that?” He doesn’t look mad, his golden eyes and silver scales shimmer like precious metal. I gulp and continue.

“Orion … he … he’s overprotective.”

“I should think so.”

“He won’t let me fight.”

“Oh is that right?” Atlas turns to Orion, who looks sulky. I hadn’t realised he was eavesdropping on our conversation.

“Yes father.”

“Well, let’s see what we can do about that Callie. After the game, why don’t you come help me carry out my half month address to the Knights of Atargatis, you can at least see what’s required.” He looks down at me stroking his chin, wise as an eagle and yet gorgeous too, in a weird older man kind of way.

“I’d like that very much.” I say, glad that I feel as though he will answer my questions honestly. Behind his head, I see Orion talking with Shaniqua, however I catch his eyes flickering to try and catch mine. I ignore him, leaning back in my chair, observing that the stadium is almost full.

“You know Callie, if you have any questions, I’d be more than happy to answer them. I know Orion is overcome with your arrival, if you need someone else to talk to you can confide in me. As far as I’m concerned, you’re family.” Atlas, raises my hand and kisses it, grasping my fingers tightly. I smile up at him shyly, awed by his kindness. He was comforting me in a way Orion could not. With unbiased acceptance not based on romantic involvement. It made me long for my father.

“You miss your father.” Atlas states. It is not a question.

“Yes.”

“I am sorry about it. If I’d have been here at the time, I would have intervened. Saturnus, he is my right hand, but that does not mean we agree on all things. I believe in mixing blood with humans. Saturnus, however, does not.”

“Oh?” I’m interested, suddenly, I’m thinking Saturnus’ spiel about causing mass panic among the mer may not be all it seems.

“Yes, I was in love with a human woman for some 40 years. Something which Saturnus has never experienced. She gave me my son and two beautiful daughters.” He sits back, shoulders square and he truly looks regal. I notice the gold flecks in his long silver hair, a crown of golden plaited seaweed, buried within his thick mane. His face, though scarred, is beautiful, full of knowledge, years, and above all respect for life. I feel more at ease next to him than I expect, as though, if he is nearby, nothing can go wrong.

“It’s starting.” I hear Shaniqua whisper in a tone laced thick with excitement. A hush falls over the arena. Atlas rises. Something extraordinary happens next. Atlas’ voice is inside my head, reverberating around the inside of my skull.

“Welcome one and all to the official start of the Hydraball season. Today we have Maidens versus Men. May the best team win!”

I am startled, jumping a little as the voice fades away. He smiles at my bewildered look. “Don’t tell me Orion didn’t tell you about my abilities!” He exclaims, looking slightly irritated. Orion cocks his chin.

“I’ve been slightly busy, she’s not been turned long. Plus, I didn’t want to drown her in information. This is difficult enough as it is. Especially for someone who transitioned from the modern world.” Orion defends himself and I feel sorry for him. We have been rather wrapped up in each other, and I keep pushing my questions away, fearing the answers I may get in return for asking them.

“That’s no excuse.” Atlas bites out, looking at me with pity. I dislike his stare on me, as though I’m being used against Orion.

“It’s my fault. I don’t quite know what to ask I suppose.” I pipe up.

“Callie knows she can ask me whatever she likes. I’m not keeping things from her. It takes time to communicate all this you know.” Orion argues and Atlas nods.

“I suppose, I haven’t been on land outside of the Lunar Sanctum for many years. It must be quite different than I remember.” Atlas comments and Orion snorts.

“No kidding, the last time you were out there on land they had chamber pots!”

“Okay fine. But can we at least keep Callie up to date with everybody’s powers? I nearly scared her half to death.” Atlas mutters and I smile at his exaggerated tone.

“So what can you do?” I ask as Orion looks about ready to explode.

“I can transmit my thoughts into the minds of everyone in this city, which is useful for military purposes. I can also read auras.” He enlightens me and I wonder what my aura must look like, I dare not ask. Then another thought hits me.

“So you can read my thoughts?” I feel slightly horrified.

“No, not at all, just transmit my own.” He acknowledges and I breathe out.

“Ah okay. Phew.” I respond and he lets out a small laugh.

“I apologise for my son. Truly.”

“No need for that, please, your son is wonderful.” I promise and his eyes sparkle, pride welling inside them. I can tell he thinks so too, not that Orion would ever agree. Before I can be caught up in any more of this family drama, I hear a harrowing blast from a mer, with a striped black and white tailfin, blowing into a conch shell. The game is getting underway.

I have never experienced anything quite like Hydraball. The speed and strength it must take to even attempt to play is sheer, mind-boggling torment. The ball is a pearlescent white and shines like a moon. Atlas informs me that it is weighted, making it harder for the players to keep it afloat within the water. I watch them and start to see the rules I have been told in action. I watch the anchors scrambling at the base of the tower, stopping the ball from causing the sand to spray up in green plumes, looking not unlike toxic mushroom clouds. The interceptors are kind of like soccer mid-fielders, they keep the ball off the ground too but they’re also trying to hit it upward to the team’s sling-shots. The sling-shots are ridiculously well muscled and their tails are longer than even Orion’s. They are the most powerful of all the players, I decide, as they frantically try to hit the ball upward within the column and past the Netters defences. The players have their tails encased in a lightweight silicone sock. The Maidens in pink and the mermen in blue, these fin socks reinforce the hard slabs of muscle as they fly through the water, tossing their heads backward and revolving in back somersaults that contact the white orb with a large slapping sound, propelling it from one level to the next with massive force. The streams of bubbles and chanting from the crowd make for a sensory overload, made up of moments of pure screaming from fans, along with instants of fogginess over the pitch before the masses of bubbles rise and disperse. The players are fast, really fast, so fast in fact that it’s hard to keep up, but I can’t help but dangle over the edge of the box, unable to take my eyes away. This is so awesome. I catch Orion watching me, amused as I cheer with the crowd.

I had never been one for football games, especially seeing as Daryl wouldn’t leave me alone afterwards, but this, this was intoxicating and left me on the edge of my seat. The sling-shots were my favourite, watching their speed and power, from stationary to sprint in under a second, left me in awe. The sun shines down on the pitch, the game taking place on so many levels it’s impossible to catch everything that’s going on. There’s a commentary being played by Atlas inside my head, allowing me to keep score, now used to his voice penetrating my mind. But it wouldn’t matter if I didn’t know who was winning or not. I am stunned and in love with this world, in this moment, as the immortals spiral and race against each other, smiles wide across their faces, we are not here to serve, and we are not here to kill. We are living, living the most incredible life.

I watch a Maiden netter deflect the ball for the third time in as many minutes. I feel slightly sorry for the anchors, as I haven’t seen the ball fall below my eye level since the first ten minutes and wonder if they must be bored as they circle the floor like sharks. The interceptors are fast, skilfully shooting the ball up through the gaps in the netting as though we were on land. I clap enthusiastically with each goal that is scored regardless of who wins.

My stomach knots as the ball gets higher and higher in the water, rising with the tension of the crowd as people move to float rather than perch, screaming and singing the most exotic and beautiful chants. Their combined mer voices are the most amazing thing, the most powerful thing I think I have ever heard and I wonder why I haven’t seen them sing together before. I wonder if it’s something to do with lusting. Or maybe the combined memories and thoughts conveyed are just too much to bear. I mean it was intense when I heard Shaniqua sing on her own. What would that be like if there were thousands of stories, thousands of memories swimming around in my head? Regardless, I wish I knew the words to those songs. I longed to sing along, I needed to after all, and I didn’t want to be the new girl forever.

Sometime later, the ball falls past the royal box and my thought is lost as a male interceptor swims past me at epic speed, just inches away from the ledge I am leaning on. I watch him, examining the taut muscles that are straining to keep up such speed. If there’s one thing to be said for Hydraball, you’re right there with the action. I jump slightly as a flurry of bubbles that follows the interceptor tickles my face. He races after the ball, getting himself in prime position to make contact. He is moving on to his side and bringing his tail around in a whirling motion as I admire his grace in the water. His shot easily scoops the ball from the path it was following, and slams it toward his teammate. His teammate, a dark haired merman with enormous arm muscles, is ready to propel it upwards to the blue team’s slingshot before a mermaid with a fox-like face and black hair intercepts the shot and slaps her silicone encased tail against the ball. I lean forward wondering what will happen next, my blood pounding with excitement as the rest of the crowd, particularly the women rise once more. I watch as the pink tailed sling-shot takes no prisoners and smashes her lower half into the weighted ball. My breath catches as we approach the final few seconds. The ball rises, rises, rises and then narrowly misses the male Netter’s grasp, flying upward and through the pink hoop in one fail swoop. The crowd roars, screaming and flailing their arms in either disappointment or joy. The women in the stadium clap a quick victory song. I can’t help but pick up the easy rhythm and find myself clapping right along with them, smiling to myself as I fall a little bit more in love with the world that I’m living in.

At the end of the match, which lasts a full ninety minutes, I wonder where the time went. Atlas looks at me, amusement in his eyes.

“I think we have a real fan over here, Orion.” I flush and Orion smiles back.

“I think you’re right,” Orion states, then looking to me, “You couldn’t keep your eyes off the game the entire time.”

“Well … I … thought it was really cool.” I say and they both twist their mouths at the expression. I blush scarlet, overwhelmed.

“So you’ll accompany us back to the Alcazar Oceania?” Shaniqua requests, her lime green tail fin moving hypnotically.

“Yes. I’d like that very much.” I want to squeal, for the first time all day I haven’t been anxious. While watching the players I stopped worrying and enjoyed myself, letting go in a way I haven’t allowed in a long time.

“Come along then. I have to congratulate the Maidens before we leave.” Atlas acknowledges. As the mer disperse from the stadium, I let my mind relax, Orion takes my hand and I look at him beaming.

“You know, I didn’t realise I wasn’t answering your questions properly. You should have said.” He says, a crease in the middle of his forehead.

“Shh. I don’t want to fight. You’re fine, don’t listen to Atlas. We are exploring our thing together. It’s hard, but I think it’s going to get better.” I smile at him and he gives me a gigantic boyish grin back, squeezing my hand.

“We do have our own thing, don’t we?!” He says it like the phrase has lit a firework in his mind. He yanks me straight and pulls me close, kissing me deeply as I groan into his mouth, hovering inside the royal box. He releases me and I breathe into him.

“Thank you for bringing me here today. I loved it.” I admit and he smiles.

“No thanks needed, it’s my pleasure. Come on, we better find my father.” Orion kisses my forehead. As we head after the crowned ruler and his beautifully Caribbean other half, I am glad for the first time I can remember, that I, Callie Pierce, am a mermaid.

It doesn’t take long before I’m staring up once again at the Alcazar Oceania, its jaded hues glinting mythically from the sun above.

“Come on, let’s get inside.” Atlas encourages me forward, and I glance back over my shoulder, there are a large number of mer-folk looking in our direction, still roaming the city after the exhilarating game.

“Why are they looking at us?” I ask, thinking aloud abruptly.

“They are nosy, please ignore it. They’re just curious about you.” Atlas says it to me and I shrink, a violet among the seaweed gardens that line the front of the palace.

“Why?”

“Don’t you know about the bloodline of our people? Please tell me Orion hasn’t omitted everything about our culture?” He looks surprised.

“Orion told me not to worry about it.” I say and Orion shoots me a warning look from beside me, I worry I’m overstepping my bounds.

“Well, of course my son would say such things. Having been rogue for the last few centuries.”

“I haven’t been rogue!” Orion argues and I can’t help but feel slightly amused. I am so used to seeing Orion being alpha male, right now he was being smacked down, treated like a child. I probably shouldn’t find it so funny, but I smile to myself anyway.

“You call scouring the shores for girls to …” Atlas trails off as Orion exhales and my heart drops through my stomach to hit the floor.

“I’m sorry, Callie. That was crude of me. I just, I need you both to understand, I may not always be here. The fate of our people, and more importantly the world, may one day rest in your hands.” He looks sternly as we approach the guarded front doors and I nod in agreement. I feel seriousness taking hold of me, I wonder how Orion can be so blasé with the responsibility of it all.

“I think maybe we all need to calm down a little. You’re scaring her honey.” Shaniqua purrs the letters in her thick caramel voice.

“I know. I’m sorry. But we will discuss this, when you’re ready.” He turns away from me and waves to Cole, who does not smile at me but rather has a stony expression. I wonder if it’s part of the role and I assume so as I see a slight twinkle of kindness behind his eyes. The doors are huge, but he and Ghazi hop up and push them apart, propping their streamlined spears against the walls. The inside is cavernous and unlike any structure I have ever seen. The floor looks like a giant stained glass mural of a mermaid, with deep jewelled multi hues filling each segment, and creating a mind-blowing macrocosm of colour and warmth. The inside is not what I expect of a palace. The main body of the room is a doughnut shape, with the centre being home to gardens I observed once from above. Columns of glass keep the structure standing strong.

“This level is the ball room, for our functions, such as the masked-ball, which we hold here sometimes if we cannot decide on another venue.” Atlas explains. “The upper levels are more segmented: we have a personal armoury, an alchemy lab, the viewing room, a large library, and of course sleeping and living quarters for myself, Shaniqua, and Starlet. There is room for many more, but for now it’s just me and my family who reside here. Except Orion of course.” Atlas says this large comment with contempt and I remember Orion telling me about why he didn’t want to live in the Alcazar Oceania with his other blood relations.

“Okay, what’s that?” I ask, peering upwards as we drift across the stained glass floor and toward the central garden. Above it, I see a high round room, central to the front of the structure, jading the flowers below.

“Come.” Shaniqua says, lifting my hands with hers gently and ushering me upward. This place has no stairs, but why should it? Nobody here has need of them.

“This is the throne room. It’s where I find my husband on nights where he refuses to sleep.” When we reach the level of the archway entrance, which looks clean cut into the glass, we move forward. Yet another stained glass mural, but this one is not of a mermaid, but rather of Atargatis, with her body moving into the waves, lilac hair flowing behind her under a full moon. At the far end of the room is a large panoramic piece of clear glass, which is barely noticeable from the outside but gives a complete view over the city. Standing before it are two of the most ornate thrones I could have imagined. The two seats are carved from the most beautiful wood that has been lacquered to within an inch of its life to prevent rotting from the water. The thrones look as though they have grown out of the floor, with various strands moving upward to make a kind of cradle in which to sit. They look ancient and they extend upwards to around twice my height, they are tall and are encrusted with sea-life. It is the perfect melding of land and sea, a reminder of the charge to which the mer give their lives and a stunning centrepiece to the room which is flooded with light.

“The thrones, they’re …”

“Made from the wood of the olive trees native to my birthplace.” Orion informs me, coming up behind me and wrapping his arm around my waist. Shaniqua smiles serenely.

“We must hold on to our origins.” Atlas says, his voice reverberating from the glass walls. I turn to him, my mind moving back to my home, sitting on the same quiet street but minus one blonde American teenager. I nod swallowing hard.

“What now?”

“Now we prepare to greet the Knights of Atargatis,” Orion states it simply, as though it’s totally banal.

“Come.” It is not a question, but a resounding authority from Atlas. I do as I’m told, following the couple across the stained glass floor with Orion at my back. I stand acutely straight. Beside the two olive thrones are two smaller chairs, made from a golden hued metal, they are draped with furs and look comfortable. Atlas gestures to one and I sit in it, draping my tail across the stained glass floor beneath me. I am facing the panoramic glass panel and enjoying my view across the city when he speaks.

“Here they come.” Shaniqua says, looking at me with her beautiful face. I can’t hear what I expect of an army, because there are no feet stamping in militant time. However, I sure as hell can see them. Before me are around five hundred individuals, each one encased in metal armour, swimming high above the ground level of the city in a cuboidal formation. Atlas rises as they halt before the Alcazar Oceania. He swims forward, his muscular arms bulging, and pushes outward against the panel of glass. An invisible line down the middle becomes evident in a second and the two halves of the enormous glass split open, swinging on invisible hinges. It’s a wonder to me the entire thing doesn’t shatter, or more likely, hit the side of the building and shatter the whole thing. But in that mystical way I’m coming to expect, nothing smashes and silence falls over the room. I inspect an individual soldier at the front of the cuboid as they move forward, not five hundred individuals, but one solid cube of muscle, perfectly formed. The merman is stacked, probably from the rigorous training I imagine he has endured. His tail is scarlet, the colour of blood, and it is dulled by the sock of heavy looking chainmail that encases each and every scale. His chest is covered by an armoured plate that is silver and looks rigid across his pectorals, the metal doesn’t stop there, a silver cuff lies around each wrist and a helmet of the same shining silver comes around his head and down over his nose. I notice silver is not the only colour which the armour is made in, as every other soldier wears gold. They look like a giant scaled organism when I appreciate the macrocosm of it all. Each soldier holds a shield, glimmering and tear drop shaped, and a long, aerodynamic looking spear. The shape is sleek, and looks sharp enough to plunge into the heart of any beast. Atlas moves through the space, which is now free from the moving glass panes and out into the open water of the city. He rises slightly, his muscular back to all of us and I have to crane my neck to watch him finish his ascent to the centre of the cuboidal formation. He says nothing, he doesn’t need too, but I feel his voice reverberating off the inside of my skull.

Attention! What are you going to present today?

I can tell all the Knights can hear him, they look stone-faced and serious. A force of nature to be reckoned with.

“Sir! Formational assault Sir!” I hear one voice call out, I know it immediately. Somewhere in the mass of bodies, Cole has spoken.

Very well. Proceed.

The troops bow with synchronised perfection and Atlas returns to his throne. Below in the city, I can see a few mer perched on the outside of their windowsills watching the display of power with interest and pride. I can’t help but wonder if I would feel pride at seeing Orion amongst their numbers or just stomach churning terror. I push the thought aside, not wanting to admit that I can see his point of view regarding the issue of my safety. I can feel Orion’s eyes on me as the soldiers disperse and I choose not to meet his gaze, concentrating instead on the display about to begin before me. The Knights of Atargatis, I cannot deny, are impressive. The display begins with simple formations, like spheres, pyramids, and lines of mer all of them keeping themselves within an inch of the same place within the water, it requires immense control and discipline. I am awed. However, as they progress, the battle formations become more and more complex and full of motion, my favourite, as the shimmering shields close around them, is a formation where they spoke outwards at all angles, looking like a spiked anemone. I wonder why The Banished would ever consider going up against such a tightly knit unit, the thought makes me worry. They must be pretty powerful considering there are so few of them. When the formations have all been executed, the Knights knit back together into a cube quickly. Atlas rises again and nods to them, he is pleased.

Wonderful progress. You are dismissed.

The words may seem distant and cold to anyone else, but I saw his eyes, full of pride, swelling even. I rise with the others and we clap as the cuboid disperses in organised lines and the Knights return to whence they came. I am surprised at their number, and at the level of their organisation. I certainly wouldn’t want to go up against them in a fight. Atlas turns to me, using his words this time, “What did you think?”

“I think that they’re amazing.” I reply, unhindered, speaking my mind.

“I think so too, they’ve come a long way from just a few of us with wooden sticks.” He admits and I laugh slightly.

“Was it really that bad in the beginning?” I ask.

“Oh yes. No race progresses anywhere without struggle and we’ve had our share.”

“Indeed.” Orion agrees and I wonder what it was like all those years ago. I wonder if I could have toughed it out with the rest of them.

“Thank you for letting me see the Knights.” I rise from the seat in which I have been perched.

“You are quite welcome, young lady.” Atlas smiles at me and Shaniqua speaks up from behind him.

“Please visit us any time, Callie.” I thank them both and Orion whisks me from the room, I have a lot to absorb, and the open arms with which I have been welcomed by Orion’s family, his father in particular, make me long for my father even more. I sigh out as we head home and wonder if I will ever fill the void that Gideon has left in my heart.

Later that day when we are both back in the apartment, Orion is sitting at his harp playing and even though we are underwater, everything that once seemed so strange now seems so ordinary. He finishes off the melody he is playing with a flourish of his able hands and opens his eyes that were closed as he became lost to his own song. He rises through the water gracefully and elegantly swims toward me, dropping his height so he lies on his stomach beside me on the couch as I am surrounded once again by old leather bound volumes, reading and absorbing as much of my new world as I can.

“What are you reading about now?” He asks intrigued, all sexiness and muscle beside me, his tail flopping lazily behind him.

“Just about rituals and customs.” I reply, sighing as he leans over and kisses me on the cheek softly. I look over into his icy blue eyes and once again find them full of worry.

“Are you still thinking about your father?” He asks, pressing the matter further.

“Yes. Sorry, I know it’s no use, but I can’t help it.” I admit, placing my chin in my palm, heart heavy. Orion shifts over to the left so he is lying on top of my back, his chin in my back. He reads over my shoulder and lays gentle kisses across the breadth of my shoulder blades.

“Maybe you could use a little distraction.” He mumbles, his lips tracing my spine now.

“You know we can’t, it’s another two weeks before the full moon.” I groan, in that moment hating the fact I no longer have legs.

“I was thinking more along the lines of taking you out: to this.” He says, stabbing the page I’m reading with his long index finger and raising his eyebrow at my previous comment. I look at where he is pointing on the thick page and read the words aloud in a questionable tone.

“The Half Moon Masked ball,” I ask, looking at him surprised and he nods.

“Yes, I think it would be good for you. Maybe you could get ready with some of the other mermaids?” He suggests and a knot ties in my stomach. I think about the first day of high school and how hard I found making new friends. Having to start my social life from square one has never felt less appealing. I scrunch up my nose.

“Come on Callie, having me as your only social outlet isn’t healthy. Making friends will be good for you.” He rubs my shoulders convincingly and I sway.

“I suppose eternity is a long time with only you for company.” I say snidely and he gets a lopsided grin.

“That’s the spirit!” He nods looking at me, taking little offence to my intended insult and grinning in a way that is just a little too adorable. My nerves dissipate.

Orion knocks on the door and kisses me goodbye outside Marina’s apartment. I feel like a little kid being dropped off at her first sleepover and I cringe internally. She agreed to let me come over to get ready and I feel the knots retying themselves as she pulls open the door swiftly.

“Callie! Darling! Do come in!” She expresses in her fearlessly strong Italian accent.

“Hi, thanks for having me.” I mumble, quickly moving across the threshold.

“No worries, I understand what it’s like being the new girl.” She calls back over her shoulder as she glides through the water filling the apartment space and I follow her into the sitting room.

“Now, I’m assuming you and Orion have been pretty wrapped up in each other?” She asks, her massive brown eyes glittering with the idea of our fresh romance. I feel my cheeks heat as I flush from her directness.

“Well, uh yes.” I answer hesitantly, feeling slightly intruded upon.

“Ah well, we’ve all been there darling. My point is, I was thinking you probably don’t have any formal wear.” She continues on, un-phased, in traditional Italian gusto.

“Formal wear? You mean like a mask?” I ask uncomfortable, wondering why Orion hasn’t provided me with a mask.

“Among other things.” she rolls her eyes and gives me a dazzling white toothed smile. “Don’t worry Callie, when it comes to fashion and interior design, you came to the right place. I decorate for the ball, you know?” She boasts gesticulating wildly, scarlet tail looking more and more vivid as the enthusiasm of her speech grows. I nod politely.

“No, I didn’t. Orion said you decorated our apartment though.” I add quickly, trying to keep the conversation on her.

“Yes, all in a day’s work I’m afraid.” She sighs dramatically and I can’t help but smile at her, she is so warm and full of passion, sort of like how you imagine an Italian mother with a family of seventeen or something crazy like that.

“Shall we get you ready then? I’d usually suggest taking you to a salon but I think we can manage just fine here.” She asks sighing again, giving me a large grin.

“Sure.” I nod again, feeling nervous for a reason I can’t quite put my finger on. At the mention of a salon my ears prick, I can’t help but be curious about what a mer salon would be like. I’m assuming you can’t go for the usual pedicure as you would on land. I laugh at the thought.

“Let’s make sure we have Orion drooling, yes?” She suggests, giving a wink. As we journey through into her bedroom, I cannot help but giggle at the thought of Orion, jaw on the floor, in awe of me and what I have become.

An hour and a half of hair pulling, styling, and modelling some of the most unique garments I have ever seen later and Marina tilts her head at me.

“Oh Callie, you look perfect!” She cries, clapping her hands like a delighted child.

“Really?” I ask, feeling less than confident.

“Would I lie to you?” she asks rhetorically and inside, I can’t think that she ever would lie to me, I feel like we have definitely grown closer over the time she has spent wrapped up in creating my look. I have been worried since arriving that the other mer would find me childish in comparison to the vast expanses of time they have spent on this earth, yet she treats me like a sister.

“Thank you so much.” I gush quietly.

“Don’t mention it, I had fun, didn’t you?” She questions loudly.

“Yes, much more than I thought.” I admit and she smiles at me again.

“I have been where you are, Callie, and it gets easier once you get to know people and make yourself known to the other mer.” She looks wise in this moment and I am slightly in awe of her confidence.

“I know. It’s just difficult.” I whisper, feeling inferior by far to her many years, more so now than ever.

“Don’t feel inferior dear.” Marina says and I frown.

“How did you know that?” I question, bewildered as to her beyond accurate telling of my mood.

“Oh, I’m empathic dear, didn’t Orion mention it?” She says half-heartedly and I gape at her in shock.

“So you can feel what I’m feeling?” I ask, wondering how the heck she manages that plus being her bouncy self.

“Oh yes, you’re really bummed out, no need for that. We have it all Callie, don’t you see? We get to live forever. Be beautiful and young eternally. Don’t be so down on yourself. Orion loves you, and that is all we can ever ask for. Is to love and be loved in return.” She makes this little speech while correcting my chest piece. I turn and look at myself in the mirror quite unsure of what to say and try to upturn my mood. This comes more easily once I gaze upon my reflection. Fish net fingerless gloves in aqua that have tiny diamonds stitched into them at random intervals climb up to my elbows and I am wearing a constricting metal chest piece in aqua and lilac. The chest piece swirls so it looks like flames encase my torso, highlighting my waist and making it look tiny. My midriff is bare still and tiny droplet shaped crystals hang from the base of the chest piece and touch the top of my belly button. I have a wrap of more crystallised, lilac fish net wrapped tightly around my waist that encases my tail to just below where my knees would be. It would be impossible to wear with legs, restricting my movement beyond belief, but with a tail it makes no difference and is simply stunning. The top of the net wrap has shells mixed in with the material and makes for a kind of belt where my flesh meets my scales. I sigh inwardly, who knew a tail would make for fabulous up cycled chic?

“You like it then I’m guessing?” Marina smiles and I pout.

“Is there any point me even agreeing, you already know I love it. So unfair!” I quip and she smiles gently, giving authoritative instruction, all business now.

“Orion will be here in a moment, hand me that mask will you.”

Orion arrives promptly and knocks in a melodic rhythm on the door. Marina ushers me forward as I blush with the anticipation of seeing him. How can it be that someone I have known only a few weeks gets me so hot under the skin? I drift through the water that fills the apartment with Marina urging me onward from behind. I become stationary as she opens the door at the end of the front room after overtaking me swiftly. The door, of a material I still cannot distinguish, swings forth and reveals Orion, standing and looking suave in a royal blue eye mask that matches the scales that ring his eyes beneath. It has pearls up one side of a deep gold, and I see he wears a waistcoat with tails made of some kind of metal, much like my breastplate. The waist coat is gold with blue, exactly the opposite of the eye piece from which his icy blue eyes linger on my appearance and his lips spread into a smile which is not unlike a lion’s who has just spotted its latest meal.

“You look … stunning.” He breathes and I watch him puff out his chest and I laugh. This man trying to impress me, I can scarcely believe that.

“Not so bad yourself, Mister.” I reply, trying to be seductive. I saunter through the space between us and he slides a hand around my hip where skin fades to scale, leaving tingles in his wake. We both bid Marina a swift farewell goodbye, she smiles a knowing smile at me, and I blush feeling slightly unarmed by her empathic ability.

We travel through the Occulta Mirum together and I take in my surroundings. It stuns me that the buildings towering around us go unnoticed by the human world. Perhaps this city is this world’s best kept secret. A part of me feels a little special that I am living here, witnessing all this splendour, and that I have become entwined in this magical community. Maybe Marina was right, I should make more of an effort to get to know the other mer. After all, nobody else can ever understand what I’m going through. I smile, feeling contented as we head beyond the city limits.

“Are we not going to the ball?” I ask, turning and looking through my mask I see Orion smiling back at me, studying me almost.

“Yes, but it’s at a location outside of the city’s protection. A sunken cathedral in fact, I’m sure you’ll like it.” He smiles and I am immediately curious.

“I thought it was at the Alcazar?” I ask and he smiles at my shortening of the Palace name.

“Only when we can’t find another venue, Marina has outdone herself this month.”

“So what kind of thing goes on at this ball?” I question, observing a shoal of fluidly moving silver fish that pass us silently.

“Well, I think you’ll find it’s more to your taste than you think.” Orion smirks knowingly and I my curiosity mounts.

“How so?” I query, enjoying feeling the movement of my tail pushing me through the water.

“Well, the mer community, believe it or not, is quite up to date with the music scene of today.” He explains examining my expression carefully, his icy blue eyes practically glowing through the dim water as the sun has just lowered below the horizon on the surface. We pass over a large field of sea grass and I can see all the tiny fish below in excruciating detail. They would not have been visible to the human eye, but for me with mer sight, I see them clear as day even in the underwater din of twilight.

“So what, Rock ‘n’ Roll?” I ask, cocking my head in mock amusement.

“Something like that.” He responds quickly with a smirk and I’m slightly taken a back. My mer is seemingly full of surprises.

The journey takes just over an hour, though my mer vision is exceptional, I can tell the sun has well gone from the world above the surface, and as my surroundings are bleak and strange, new marine life begin to appear. Orion and I talk about everything, he asks me about how it feels to be experiencing life beneath the waves as a new mer. I tell him about the loneliness I have been feeling, trying not to make him feel as though he is not enough. He nods in agreement; telling me how I must begin to make a whole life here, friends, even start finding more uses for myself than floating around the apartment.

Out of the darkness, I see lights, speckled and star-like, up ahead and as our conversation comes to a halt, I begin to feel a little excited. My first underwater ball with a gorgeous companion at my side and draped in oceanic finery, I feel like this is perhaps the height of my time as a mer so far. Never really the party animal as a human teenager, I wondered whether it was the idea of being in the arms of Orion that was making this night so appealing or whether the boredom of life, confined to our apartment for the last two weeks, was driving me to extremes. We swim through the oceanic night together, his hand in mine, toward the lights.

As we get closer, I see that the lights are coming from jars of bioluminescent algae strung around the outside of an old, sunken gothic cathedral. It is beautiful and sand laps up the side walls, showing how time has passed since the cathedral originally fell through the depths to this spot. The building is made of uneven grey stones, which shine dully under the moonlight. The cathedral is tall, and the spires sweep upward from the triangular arches through the water. It looks so immovable it seems impossible that it fell from above. The stained glass windows remind me of the white marble chapel in which I awoke as a mer for the first time and the floors in the Alcazar Oceania. A blue glow surrounds the building from the algae collected in jars, giving it a somewhat ghostly and mystical aura. Orion smiles at my awed expression:

“I know. Fit for a princess, don’t you think?” He smiles coolly, running his thumb across the back of my knuckles. I catch him glimpse at me sideways and those icy blue eyes stop my heart momentarily as my breath hitches and my pupils dilate. The constraints of physics seem to lift in his gaze and I wonder if it is not too farfetched to want to burst above the surface and glide across the star filled horizon. I smile back and look at his chiselled masked jaw, sighing a little half-heartedly as I realise it is still another two weeks before I can be with him wholly.

“Come on you.” He faux complains, rolling his eyes and pulling me toward him so his hip is touching mine and his arm is around my waist. Our scales slide over each other smoothly and I feel him where I do not expect.

“I’m nervous.” I admit, biting my bottom lip.

“Don’t worry, princess. I’ve got you.”

“I know.” I smile and I see him exhale. I wonder if he’s melting for me like I am for him. We’re thawing away years of loneliness with each touch, each kind word.

“Let’s go.” He commands turning his head impatiently and I nod in agreement sensing his agitation at his lack of legs. We move together, my hand in his now, through the night blanketed ocean and I take a deep breath, calming my trembling nervous flesh. A pair of double doors are exquisitely carved from dark wood which now crumble from water damage and I’m reminded how miraculous the sparkle of the Occulta Mirum really is. I expect us to move forward but instead Orion and I rise through the water steadily. Now that we are closer, I can see that parts of the roof have collapsed, they reveal mer in large numbers socialising and laughing in groups inside the hollow building. I swallow, anxious, but Orion squeezes my hand feeling my discomfort and together we descend into the gothic cathedral holding the members of my new family.

The masked ball is something more decadent than any human function that I have ever attended and Marina has outdone herself on the decorations. Even though parts of the ceiling are no longer there, some of the stained glass has been smashed clean through, and the spiral staircases up to the second floor balcony that lines the walls of the rectangular building are teeming with seafloor vegetation and life, the cathedral holds a kind of ethereal glory. As Orion and I enter, I feel over two hundred masked faces turn to us. The bioluminescent glow of algae filled jars fill the room with aqua light that rebounds beautifully off the scales of every tail in the room. It is still early but I’m encased in the reverberations of many voices of the mer that surround us. Still, for a ball it is surprisingly quiet.

“No music?” I turn to Orion and question him with an eyebrow raised and he smiles.

“Impatient, aren’t you?” He teases me and I frown.

“Says you, the man who waited almost five hundred years, a saint looks impatient next to you!” I retort and he smiles a smug smile that makes my heart relax. He places an arm around me and we turn together to face the mass of half human, half fish forms that hover around the building. It never fails to surprise me the way in which mer hold themselves, not being constrained by the laws of the human world they are stationary in the water with a seeming effortlessness and on so many different levels of height, not just the one I was used to on land.

The dress of the other mer is interesting to me, whereby metal and fish netting used inventively to create styles I would never have imagined as a human. I notice that some of the mermaids have chains that connect to a naval piercing and wrap around the waist with delicate charms of nautical design dangling flatly against the skin of their stomach. Some of the charms are even long enough to reach their scales. The mermen are dressed mainly in thick belts, cuffs, chokers, and some are wearing metallic corsets round their waists to make the muscles in their chest bulge with supreme masculine strength. The thing that everyone has in common however is the eye masks, both extravagant and extraordinary, each one is unique and I find it hard to believe such exquisite beauty of an object has been created underwater. This seems so normal to Orion, and as I turn and stare into his happy and content expression, I realise that I really am in his world. I am so baffled by everything that I have experienced, but nothing baffles me more than the fact that the man next to me was really made for me. Out of the glitter and sparkle of the crowd, Starlet emerges through the finery, alone as always, one half of a pair that can no longer exist. I pity her for a moment, and then as she wades through the water, her fuchsia pink tail speckled with baby cyan starfish, she opens her mouth and I lose whatever pity I had.

“Callie! Don’t you look … festive.” She faux compliments through a somewhat forced smile and gritted white teeth. I hold out my hand politely and she meets me in a harsh and slightly too tight handshake, both our tails moving stiffly as we maintain our position in the water, keeping the distance between us as large as possible.

“Why thank you, Starlet.” Is all I can manage back, knowing that creating conflict with someone who is going to be in my, now very long, life, probably permanently, will only hurt me in the future. What happens next is quite odd but luckily it distracts me long enough to stop my skin from crawling under the stunning Starlet’s scrutinising stare. A group of mermen, who all sport a metallic band around their left arms, begin to play various nautical instruments and sing together. The sound produced from them isn’t entirely modern, but the bass line is. It reminds me of a Celtic sound, pan-flutes, harps, and shells all being utilised to create a hypnotic rhythm that has my hips stirring. The mer in the church disperse into couples and begin to dance together, twirling and darting through the water under the light from the stars and half-crescent moon that hovers, hundreds of miles above the surface of the water. In that moment, while I am looking up through the hole in the cathedral’s ceiling, I am sublime, awed, not just by the moon, but by the universe, heavens, and the Goddess that fills them.

“The music you were so impatiently eager for is finally playing, care to dance?” Orion asks and holds out a hand. I look at it, and then at him. His scales and mask combined are as striking as his glacial blue eyes dominate above all his other features. As they bear into mine and I wonder if I’ll ever be able to keep his gaze for longer than a few moments. Their disarming nature makes me feel self-conscious and I don’t trust myself to speak. I simply nod and allow Orion to pull me into his arms and away from the souring expression of Starlet. Her expression actually makes me realise how pretty she would look if she just smiled once in a while, but before I can ponder on this too long, I’m becoming engulfed by the pounding hypnotic beat that is thrumming through the water and over me and Orion.

It encases us in a sensual cocoon of our own movement and connection with the waves and I breathe out, relieved that social interaction with new faces can be postponed a little longer. I look around and see the other couples moving in strategic and deliberate time like pieces on a chessboard. That is one thing that I still can’t get used to, the three dimensionality of the mer world. No longer am I dancing on a solid surface, but floating at a great height. As I look down from about three metres from the roof of the cathedral, I see the mer below us and I notice that they form a whirling cylinder of bodies. I smile as I look down and then back up, to the man who holds my body in his strong arms. I catch Orion staring at me with a slight and adoring smile. We continue to join the highest layer of the whirlwind tornado of bodies and then I realise what the mer are doing, the movement of their bodies in the confined space of the cathedral is creating a typhoon in the water. The faster and faster we move, the more rapidly we are flung around the circular dance formation together. I cling onto Orion and work my tail as he picks up pace.

The music builds, and out of the corner of my eye, I catch Starlet, alone and brooding in the corner, looking sourly between Orion and I. I pity her, unable to help myself before I am overcome once again by the immense speed and I lose her in the spinning torrent of bodies. With one final and definite drumbeat and a howl from the conch shell that is placed firmly against one of the mer musician’s lips, the song falls to a halt. In that second the whirlwind of mer dissipates in a way that shocks me as the water immediately stills and I continue to move, unable to slow my own momentum. With force, I am thrown out of Orion’s grasp, through the water and into the brooding Starlet with a thud. That is when it happens: That is when the veil is lifted from over my eyes. After that moment, everything was different … For I had been changed forever.

The fog rolls away as quickly as it covered the space in my mind I did not know existed. I am looking like a silent, formless spectre down on Saturnus, Orion, and Atlas as they hover around the large desk in Saturnus’ office, which is covered in waterproofed papers that look aged.

“You are certain of this, Saturnus?” Orion asks looking concerned.

“I am not certain of anything, Orion. Prophecies are tricky beasts at the best of times. It is to do with your soul mate that is for sure. But the extent of her involvement and what it means, I could not tell you.” Saturnus replies and despite his crystal encrusted physique and stunning tattoos, I can see the ugliness of worry behind his sparkling emerald eyes.

“May I?” Atlas asks, reaching toward a brown and crumpled piece of paper from the table surface, his tail twitching slightly. Saturnus nods gently, looking dreamy and thoughtful as he turns from the table. He swiftly moves to the window and stares out into the deep blue ocean outside. Atlas glares intensely onto the words on the page for a few moments as I watch, my heart racing and my mind transfixed.

“This prophecy talks of a war that can be prevented by the sacrifice of something known as the ‘the vessel,’” Atlas says with hesitancy as he runs his hand through his long silver hair.

“Yes, I do not know what ‘the vessel’ is, it could be a weapon, some human we have no knowledge of, even a creature of the deep.” Saturnus replies coolly and Orion, who has been in deep thought speaks in an urgent tone.

“Where does it mention Callie?” He asks, taking the prophecy from the hands of an engrossed Atlas. Saturnus is suddenly, with just one flick of his glittering tailfin, behind Orion who cannot help but look slightly boyish in comparison.

“See this line here?” Saturnus points to the prophecy, which from the angle I am imprisoned in, I cannot see the content clearly.

“The modern mer it refers to is Callie; there isn’t anyone else it could be. It says here that her arrival will set into motion a chain of events that leads to the sacrifice of this ‘vessel’, whatever it is.” He explains seriously. The contrast of his red hair against the clear water reminds me of blood pluming outward in thick tendrils.

“And the psirens? Where do they fit in?” Atlas asks eventually, looking tired.

“This ritual they are going to perform … I still have no idea as to the purpose or the location.” Saturnus admits, placing his hand to his chin with a scowl on his face.

“Well whatever ‘the vessel’ is, we need to find it and protect it, if we want to use it in order to stop this war. I think we can safely assume it will take part in this ritual. Which we ideally want to stop occurring to begin with. We are not ready for war.” Orion thinks aloud.

“Yes Orion, but you must vow you will not tell Callie of this. We have no idea what this ‘vessel’ is, if it is a living person, Callie may feel responsible for their sacrifice if she learns of her role in setting this prophecy into motion.” Saturnus scolds and Orion opens his mouth to argue back in disbelief but Atlas gets there first.

“Surely you can’t want to sacrifice a person, Saturnus? It is not our place to end one life in order to save another, it is not our place to decide who should live or die and neither do I believe should it be the Goddess’.” He seems startled and it looks frightening on his wise face.

“The Goddess has mysterious ways, Atlas, but we must trust that they are for the good of us all.” His words sound harsh and cruel considering he has such a close bond with a loving Goddess.

“I don’t want to lie to Callie. How do we even know this prophecy is legitimate? I mean, we have seen fake prophecies before.” Orion asks with a confused look marring his beautiful face.

“It is not your place to question my relationship with the Goddess, Orion. It is a gift that I am given this guidance and anything that prevents this from coming to pass, including you, will pursue this path at great personal cost. The ‘vessel’ must be found, and we must sacrifice it for the good of our people. We have the weight of this world’s magical security on our shoulders; we cannot justify sending the world to hell for one life, whether that be human, mer, or animal.” His words are final and as I see an argument break free between the three of them, the fog rolls back, hiding them from view.

It takes me back to the sandy floor of the abandoned cathedral and Orion’s worried stare, with the knowledge I was in fact ‘the vessel’.

When I open my eyes, my veil of innocence has been lifted. Clarity overcomes my mind, crashing down violently like the wave of a stormy sea, drenching me, chilling me instantly to the bone. The air has been knocked from me with the impact of the fall and I draw in a shallow, sudden and painful breath as I feel familiar arms around me.

“Callie! What happened? Are you okay?” Orion’s voice reaches me but I find myself no longer receptive.

“No!” I snap. I pull myself upright violently and Starlet’s crumpled form enters my blurry rage fuelled vision. Starlet, upon hearing my movement in the water surrounding her, looks up, eyes terrified and shocked. She squirms onto her back in the sand, tiny particles of it spraying up into the water as she begs for distance from me with every struggling pull against the ground.

“What are you looking at?!” I growl through gritted teeth. Orion places his hand on my shoulder and I turn viciously with a slash of my tailfin.

“Don’t.” I spit. This is all I can manage and he looks hurt and confused. I am about to let my love for him neutralise my anger, but before I can reach out to touch him, I hear a stutter from behind me.

“You … You stole my vision! How?! Why would you do this?” Starlet sputters, looking scared and unnerved. Her white blonde hair makes her look even paler and the magenta tail more vivacious as she lies in the sand, stupefied. Her blue eyes are cold and wide with surprise. I notice the crowd that has gathered, hairs standing to attention on the back of my neck, the silence they emit and their eyes falling on my face and back of my head. The eyes hold varying looks, some frightened, some full of pity, and some just confused. Sensing the unrest among them, I turn and do the only thing I can think of, swimming up rapidly and out into the open ocean.

I am too involved in my thoughts to even hear the voice that is following me until I reach a large portion of coral reef. Nudibranch undulate, making the coral vibrant with bioluminescent neon. I turn around in the cool night ocean, only to see Orion swimming quickly after me in desperate confusion.

“Callie!” His voice finally reaches through my inner monologue and it registers that I cannot beat him in a test of speed, so conversation is probably my best option.

In seconds he is floating, blocking my path in the dark water looking frustrated.

“What’s wrong, can you just talk to me please? I don’t understand!” His confusion pulls at my heartstrings, but the anger returns and bursts forth like venom.

“I saw it! You, and Saturnus, and Atlas reading that prophecy about me! You lied to me! How could you not tell me?” I yell, not feeling the cathartic release I had expected. I am panting and I watch Orion’s face as it becomes both guilty and curious, he runs his fingers through his thick mahogany hair nervously and the expressions that pass over his features are sad and guilty, making me go limp.

I sink through the early morning waters to the centre of the reef. Normal human eyes would not have noticed the teeming nightlife, but my mer eyesight doesn’t miss a single sea slug. The crescent moon hangs above, casting a cold and melancholy mood.

“So it’s true? You did steal Starlet’s vision?” Orion whispers, sinking down to my level. His eyes are blazing inquisitively.

“That’s really not the point.” I sigh.

“Okay look, Callie, I didn’t tell you about the prophecy because it doesn’t really have anything to do with you.”

“I should have been told.” I retort, folding my arms.

“Okay, well you becoming mer is supposedly the catalyst for events that start a war. There, I told you.” He replies.

“That’s it?” I ask, and then I realise, he doesn’t know I’m the vessel; he doesn’t know it is me that is to be sacrificed.

“Yes, Callie. You see the thing is: prophecies are tricky. They’re difficult to interpret and we rarely take notice of them. We don’t want to know the future, and it won’t do any good even if we do.” Orion places his hand in mine and squeezes. “I just want to protect you.” He whispers and places a kiss on my forehead.

“Well stop it. I’m not a little kid.” I complain at him. All the while, my mind takes me to dark places, wondering how it will happen, how I will die. After all, if visions, mermaids, and psirens all exist, then what’s to say that prophecies don’t come true? Now that I think about it, everything that has happened so far has been destined, even my mother falling in love with a merman. It seems obvious that someone had this great design written down in riddle. I look into Orion’s hurt expression and think of his destiny, with me dead he will spend eternity alone.

“I love you though.” Orion mumbles, his hand rubbing the back of his neck uneasily and with self-consciousness. The silence between us is thick, each moment feels like I’m wading through syrup. He is stuck in his ways and I’m immovable in my longing for him to see me as more than just a china doll.

“I know, but look around, Orion. We live in the ocean and we’re both immortal, what exactly are you afraid of?” I ask, forcing the images that he revealed of monsters and demons back into the recesses of my psyche.

“Immortal doesn’t mean you can’t be killed, Callie.”

“And how exactly am I going to get killed, Orion? I can’t join the Guardians, I’m not strong enough or disciplined enough to be a Knight, and I don’t even have any powers, other than beating the crap out of Ghazi in some freak adrenaline spike!” I rant and his eyes widen.

“You did what?”

“Didn’t Saturnus tell you?” I query and he shakes his head. The sea life surrounding us is rhythmically thrumming with the tide-wave connection.

“You know, Callie, I can’t beat Ghazi in a fight. So even full of adrenaline, I doubt a mer of your size could without some serious mystical help.” He explains, rubbing his forehead.

“Two things. One, I take offence at you calling me small! And two, I think you would notice if I had super strength, Orion!” I argue and his forehead creases again. He paces, swimming lengths of about two meters over and over again, ignoring my rage at the small comment. Then he looks up, eyes wide.

“You’re right, Callie, you don’t have mystical powers of strength … but Ghazi does.” He looks at me with awe in his pastel blue stare and his implication finally clicks inside my mind. He floats immovable as a statue.

“So let me get this straight … you are saying, Ghazi gave me his power?” My eyebrows are sky high with scepticism.

“No, Callie, I’m saying you TOOK his power. Did anything else happen while you were fighting with him?” His icy stare bears into me and I swallow hard, remembering the events.

“I heard him. Ghazi I mean.” I admit, looking at the surrounding reef and I realise it isn’t only Orion who hasn’t been totally forthcoming.

“Well that makes sense I suppose, we knew he and his soul mate were communicating somehow, telepathy seems as good a way as any.” He reasons with a sigh, still looking concerned.

“That’s how I got Starlet’s vision.” I realise, feeling the shock hit me. The coral beneath my scales feeling less present than ever. My mind is racing. Then another thought hits me. I have to borrow powers? How lame is that? Disappointment enfolds me. I didn’t feel power hungry, but maybe if I had been blessed with a cool ability Orion wouldn’t be so over protective. I wished in that moment that he saw me as strong, rather than fragile. More than that, I wish he saw how he makes me strong.

“Take my power.” Orion orders and I fall back through the water from him.

“No, Orion. You didn’t see Ghazi after I took his strength, I could hurt you. Besides, I don’t even know how. It’s not exactly something I can control.” I watch him frown as I explain and begin to feel scared. What if this means I can’t touch him anymore?

“Maybe we should go and see the experts?” He says and I think about what Saturnus and Atlas may say. Will they think I’m a threat? Banish me like they did my father? Orion notices my alarm and as I collapse onto the closest bed of white and orange coral, he comes close and cups my face with his hands.

“It’ll be okay. Don’t be scared.” He kisses me softly. Shoals of fish sensing our presence move away sleepily.

“You may want to keep your hands to yourself.” I say, expelling an oily and cloudy tear, which crystallises and falls away sparkling. He does the exact opposite and sits down beside me, the crying mermaid of the deep.

“You may have my power if you want it, but you should know by now that you have greater power over me than any I can give you.” He smiles and I look up at him. I can’t help but laugh.

“Promise you won’t let Saturnus banish me?” I ask.

“Of course not, besides if they banish you, I’d follow. We come as a pair now remember?” He looks down through besotted blue eyes and I turn to face him, melting into his softening chest. We sit in silence amid a moonlit bathed field of bright coral and Orion speaks as if relaying his thoughts mid dream.

“You know, Callie, I always knew you would be extraordinary, but I know now, you aren’t just extraordinary, you are blessed, and I honestly believe the Goddess has a plan for you.” He looks into my eyes and I turn away, looking into the darkness, unable to tell him the truth of what is to come.

SOLUSTUS

“TITUS!” I bellow. The sound reverberates crisply from the bleached white walls of the cavern, constituting the main chamber of the Cryptopolis vent construction. I suppose you could call it a castle, or a palace, but none of us ever do. Azure is lying in my arms, motionless except for the slight open and close of the slashes around the pale skin of her neck that allow for breath. She rests, pale and stiff against my seal skin waistcoat. Titus slinks from the shadows that encase the passages leading into the other chambers of this most chill filled lair in which we reside. He moves slowly and without normal angry flare, I can tell he has been entrancing again, communing with the Necrimad.

“Yessss …” he hisses, with a most snakelike slither of his lips. He slides through the water towards me, with a wide and deeply unnatural smile.

“She’s had another vision … something different than I’ve ever seen before. It was like she was fighting off someone who wasn’t really there to stay present.” I say. I may as well be talking to a drunk for all the good it is doing me. Titus has been spending far too much time communicating with the Necrimad recently. We all know how it’s done, the deepest layers of this cave have deep undersea vents that release a steam infused with a dark magic, seeping in from its holding dimension. Titus would lock himself in that cave for hours, with just a flick of his tail, by covering the entrance to the dungeon with a large boulder, encasing him and his torment inside.

“You know, Titus, I don’t know if you should be …” I begin as I place Azure onto the large, white slab in the centre of the room. Suddenly, the figure that has been slowly drifting through the water away from me is before my eyes in just a fraction of a second. If I was a young creature I would have been impressed, but the fact I could easily beat him but was choosing to appear weaker for the now, is what gives me power.

“What was that Solustus?” He bites, and I begin to feel the slight tingle of the neurons within my body, he is testing the waters. A sobered Titus would have me writhing on the floor like the pitiful human bastard I once was, but in this trance like high state, he simply toys with the boundaries of my body’s central nervous system before backing off and circling the body of Azure. We stare at each other for a few moments and within the black pupils, I see the white lightning bolts that only strike when the electrical manipulation of his mind by the Necrimad is in progress. I stare into those black pits of abyss as his black tail and my swordfish-like, sharp, lower body tense and relax, gambling with each second that passes, analysing who will make the first move. I feel my beloved rapier, Scarlette, pressing against the flesh of my hip below my sealskin waistcoat, and I know that if he should attempt to harm me, I could do little. As I am determining whether or not to back down to the creature, drunk on primal power before me, when I hear a cough that makes both me and Titus lose focus on each other.

“Azure?” I ask, glad she is awake as I am eager to hear what she saw. To make her faint, it was clearly no normal vision. Azure stirs for a few moments before she opens her electric blue-rimmed eyes, her large black pupils dilated beyond the norm. The large black and azure tail connected to her at the waist, the design of which I could only describe as eel like, twitches as her eyes open and within a few minutes she is alert and talking to us both as though nothing ever happened. I can’t help but admire her a little, I mean she has these visions put there by that stupid Goddess and they take over her mind. It is an invasion of her privacy, a perversion of nature.

“I … I don’t know what happened. It was like there was something invading the field of my vision, someone that shouldn’t have been there.” She explains, not her normal impatient and angry self, she is confused and from what I can tell, more rattled than she should be.

“Was it Starlet?” Titus muses, knowing full well the link between the two sisters.

“No, she can’t stop me from seeing, that’s the deal with sharing our visions. Neither one can hide from the other.” Azure shakes her head, takes her two long nailed fingers and begins to rub her temples.

“What about the Goddess?” I ask cuttingly, wondering whether she may be becoming cured of her so called ‘blessing’.

“No. Not now, not after all this time of being estranged. Once the Goddess gives, she never takes away. Not only that, but if I was going to have lost my ability, it would have been when you first found me.” I nod curtly at her response, taking her wisdom as sound. Out of the corner of my eye, I watch the rune covered torso of Titus circling Azure as though this is more of an interrogation than anything else.

“So what did you actually see?” He demands, getting up close to her body. It glows white and anyone can see her nakedness hums with the closeness of his presence, tantalised and terrorised.

“Well, from what I actually could see wasn’t much. But it was to do with the prophecy. The same one that told us the new girl, Callie, would be the signal that the time for the ritual is nearing. The prophecy referred to the sacrifice of something known as ‘the vessel’. It would appear we cannot just use anyone as the sacrifice in this ritual, but rather need to find this ‘vessel’ for it to begin the war of which the prophecy speaks. Which we already knew.” she words this concisely and exactly, knowing that anything less will cause the paranoid Titus to question whether she is being fully forthcoming. She sits wide-eyed, staring at him directly. Knowing as well as I how you handle a man like Titus, by showing no fear of his power. Of course me and Regus both know that Titus can not only bring pain, but pleasure, as we hear Azure calling out in ecstasy from his chambers as he whips and tantalises her alabaster flesh and onyx scales without mercy. The thought makes my skin crawl and I flinch for a fraction of a second within the chill water of the room.

“It would appear we need to find this ‘vessel’ then. I will be in the deep chambers consulting with He Whom We Serve and trying to uncover its identity.” Titus slurs and disappears into the shadows that have become so homely over the years to us all. The shadows on the walls represent the darkness within and, for a moment, I can’t help but wonder if I have, perhaps, become too comfortable and lost the mission object I set out to complete. To have ultimate power, rule the seas, and supplant Titus. To have the Necrimad serving me instead of us begging for scraps worth only a thousandth of its power. To be one half of the greatest power in the world, causing the ultimate massacre, as master manipulator. To be the only one left standing on the day of rapture. But first, I sigh, I need to remove Titus. I needed to get the threat of the agony he can cause within a few moments out of the way. Without that threat to me, and my connections within this watery domain, I can easily manipulate the others to do my bidding and help me harness the power of the Necrimad, rather than bowing before it. It should be easy to achieve Titus’ downfall, because his anger makes him reckless. I will bide my time patiently, until the opportune moment comes to rise above and rule over the pitiful that live on this godforsaken planet. I will rule.

CALLIE

The glowing wonder of the Occulta Mirum is soon upon us. We swim, feeling the water move over us like silk, silent and soft, from the melancholy moonlight of our revelations and toward the rising sun and our people. We hold hands as the auburn glow hits the surface of the world’s early hours with a glint, like the first melting snowflake of spring. The rhythmic flow of our forms undulates against the current, beating heavy together like our hearts. My mind is finding calm among the bustling shoals of fish, newly awake and eager to start the day. Our voices harmonise, revealing the city below us, a magical key in the only lock I ever want to undo. The magical bauble enclosing the city slides away for just us two, and the bottles embedded in the buildings catch the sunlight, throwing it like a hundred rubies, emeralds, and sapphires, hidden from the world in a glimmer. Stained glass throws a kaleidoscopic mirror of colour across my world, and for just a moment, everything is still, a grain of sand suspended in time, unable to pass through the hourglass’ slender waist, falling and bringing what comes next. We enter the sand bowl together, most of the mer are enclosed in the towers that make up the city now, but a few line the streets, chatting and going about their business until they notice me, swimming powerfully down the helter-skelter, surface scraper lined street. Eyes are scared; some are curious and once again pitying in what they enclose. Orion squeezes my hand as he observes the seizing of conversations and the staring blank faces.

“Just keep swimming.” He whispers as we both move forward through the streets, closing the distance between us and the golden statue of the Goddess. It stands like the cluster of diamonds in the tiara of a princess, the crowning jewel of this culture to which I now belong, and yet cannot call home. I take deep breaths, feeling the gills in the side of my neck opening and closing more widely than usual, my chest rises and falls, still encased in the aqua and lilac metal chest piece that Marina fastened me into what seems like days ago, and yet it was only hours. Finally, we arrive at the inner ring of apartment buildings, that houses the office of Saturnus. The Alcazar Oceania stands like a shard of misshapen, multihued glass, towering above and glistening majestically. Orion shoots me one last look from his icy blue eyes, they comfort me, but also set me on edge, he looks sure of himself, a little too sure. He doesn’t know all the facts here, and I wonder if I should stop him as we ascend towards the door of Saturnus’ office, to confess what I know about the vessel. However, before I can do this, my stomach lurches, my instincts telling me to keep my secret. I stay silent as we come to a halt outside the office door and Orion announces our presence with his signature melodic knock.

“Come in.” Saturnus beckons forth, the emptiness and power in his voice makes my heart drop and my stomach flip. We open the door of unnamed material and glide inside; the water is warm within the room, bathing my skin in a light heat that heightens my senses.

“It’s me Saturnus, and Callie.” Orion announces as Saturnus looks up from the papers he is examining on the desk. His emerald green eyes immediately flick to me. The ball has been over now for a few hours, I don’t even know how long Orion and I were sitting out at the reef. His eyes tell me he already knows of the events that have passed, and my blood pounds a frantic tattoo.

“Callie. You’ve returned.” He says cautiously, licking his lips a little and smiling gently, as though not to spook a horse.

“Yes.” I whisper nervously and Orion places his hand at the base of my spine, comforting and at the same time creating a thrumming electric pulse up my spine. I gulp in air from the surroundings, my gills opening and closing quickly.

“She knows about the prophecy, Saturnus.” Orion nods slowly, his royal blue scales shimmering as his tail slowly beats against the still water in the room, keeping him afloat.

“I see, well Callie, it doesn’t really concern you. You’ve only been here a few weeks, it’s all very complicated, surely you would rather be concentrating on fitting in here, adjusting to life underwater, and taking in the beautiful surroundings of our oceans?” He looks at me with a tilted head, eyes burning like a fire in the deep Amazonian emerald of his pupils. My eyes narrow.

“I know. I would like to request to see the prophecy, if that is okay with you?” I ask sweetly, wondering why he is trying to distract me. I sense his power and I want to quiver and silence myself, but the secret that I am the vessel burns within me, igniting my resolve.

“See the prophecy? Why on earth?” He asks, looking startled.

“I’m just interested, I think I might be able to make sense of it, that’s all.”

“You? Why do you think you would be able to make sense of it?”

“I just have this instinct. I believe the Goddess has shown me this vision for a reason,” I am feeling the heat rise under my skin, why is he being so difficult, why is he being resistant? What can it hurt?

“I’d keep that instinct to yourself.” he turns around and heads toward the red couch draped in gold and I have an idea. Inspiration hits me. Letting Orion’s hand fall from my own, I dart forward with an artful flourish of the tenuous tissue that binds the end of my fin together, placing one hand on the back of Saturnus’ torso. I hear a voice, more heavenly, more comforting, and warmer than anything on earth, it sings to me, like a mother crooning to her child:

“Modern mer will finally rise,

Under scrutiny of watchful eyes,

Two Suns will encircle and slay,

But only one can remain.

Beloved one will betray all,

Leading our kind to a deadly fall

The scythe of Atargatis will bridge the fracture,

Bringing forth a deadly rapture.

The silent vessel hides in sight,

Revealing itself in holy light,

Sacrifice will be its calling,

Followed by a woeful mourning.

The belt will wrap around the scythe,

Leading to this hideous crime.

The vessel’s end will prevent the war,

Coming forth from the oceans door.

Stars and suns, darkness and blade,

The end is near,

The game must be played.”

I sigh, oh my Goddess. It was her, it was Atargatis.

“Callie?” Orion’s voice penetrates my heavenly trance and the prophecy fades. My soul mate’s glacially blue eyes are startled and his expression slightly confused as I exhale, the spiritual orgasm releasing me from its possession.

“Orion. Oh my Goddess, she’s real. Atargatis,” I hear Saturnus’ head snap, eyes blazing. Suddenly his hands are round my throat, choking me.

“WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?” He growls, face cruelly beautiful and ferocious, his golden encrusted tail is stiff and acutely tense, pushing mine toward the wall of his office.

“Saturnus!” Orion cries and from over Saturnus’ left shoulder, while his hands cover my gills and leaving me gasping, I can see Orion pushing air through the water. I feel the displacement before I see it, a wave underwater, crashing towards us. Saturnus turns, releasing me and I duck sideways before the wave crashes into him full force, leaving his form slumped against the wall in surprise.

“What the hell?” I yell confused. Why is he strangling me? What did I do that justifies violence? Orion moves forward, eyes cold with fury and his sculpted mouth drawn in a hard line. The papers on Saturnus’ desk are scattered across the sandstone floor and the atmosphere crackles with the furious power of the two men.

“Are you ready to discuss this prophecy sensibly now, Saturnus? I will not have you raise so much as a finger against her. You hear me? I don’t care if you are the Goddess herself, you do NOT harm Callie! Are we clear?” He has his voice raised and Saturnus puts himself upright after this small confrontation.

“She … she used my gift!” He stutters accusatorily, his gold tail blazing heatedly in the early sunlight that seeps in from the glassless window behind him.

“Yes, Saturnus, that is her ability, had you allowed her to look at the prophecy in the first place, I would have been given the time to explain to you that she can absorb our magic.” Orion says; the lack of sympathy in his expression makes me love him even more. He isn’t afraid of my power, I’ve had his all along.

“So Starlet wasn’t lying, you took her vision?” He ogles me, slightly unnerved and panting from the force of the water displacement.

“That is correct.” I fold my arms defensively. What is he going to do to me now, I wonder? I feel Orion’s presence dissipating, his anger returning to simmer beneath his deliciously cool exterior.

“Orion, can you please go and get your sister and father please?” Saturnus asks and Orion looks at me worriedly.

“I’m fine, go.” I implore, giving him a strong stare of independence. He looks at me reluctantly and after giving Saturnus one last stare of warning, he turns and exits the room, leaving me and Saturnus alone with the soft hiss of the closing door, displacing the fluid in its path.

“I apologise for my outburst. You have to understand; my gift is of a very personal nature, that kind of intrusion … it startled me. I worried the Goddess was at risk. I am her guardian on this earth; our connection is one that must be protected.” He waves his hand, dismissing his earlier outburst and I nod, wanting to raise an eyebrow but not daring.

“I understand. I should have warned you, to be honest I didn’t know if it would work. I haven’t got full control of this yet.” I admit and shrug.

“Take a seat.” He invites me to sit next to him and I do so, feeling nervous about the sudden formality of this occasion after the previous chaos that has occurred. He puts my hands in his cold and strong ones. I see the tattoos that litter his palms and knuckles, blessed indeed.

“Now, Callie, I have to ask you something.”

“Go ahead.” I respond, eyebrows furrowing and tail twitching in the still waters of the room.

“You’re the vessel, aren’t you?” He asks, his expression part sadness, part glee. I nod silently, making a tiny gasp and exhale.

“I thought as much …” he sits for a moment, red hair floating absently. I sit with my hands crossed on top of the opalescent scales of my tail.

“Please don’t tell Orion. You know what this means.” I plea, my eyes welling up at the thought of him alone for hundreds of years more.

“Of course not Callie, however I think you should know that your sacrifice will save our kind from a devastating war. It is not in vain.” He looks deeply into my eyes. The man who moments ago was throttling the life from me is now imploring my death, yet I cannot help but warm to him, a helpless overcoming my better judgement. What a strange day.

“Tell Orion that.” I say grouchily, feeling glum and distraught, oily tears prick my eyes like daggers.

“We need to prevent this war, Callie. I can’t condone saving you if it means risking my people. It is an impossible choice.” He looks sad and I want to cry all the more. He is painstakingly beautiful, but then I remember her voice, Atargatis, and I understand why.

“I heard her, Atargatis. Will I be with her … in the end?” I ask quietly, flicking the end of my tailfin and looking down at my scaly, plated breast, falling and rising with my every breath.

“Yes, Callie, you are special, you are destined to be at her side. I can feel it. My instinct comes from her, you know?” He says with a smile on his rose petal lips.

“I didn’t know that, but I can relate. My instinct has told me to keep the truth from Orion all this time.”

“It is wise that you listened. He will not let you die easily, Callie, even if he does not see it coming.”

“I know. I don’t quite know how to deal with this myself. I thought I’d be sad or something, but I’m just kind of, comforted by the thought.” I admit to him, thinking deeply about my feelings. His face remains impartial but his eyes are gleeful.

“Maybe it is because you know there is something better waiting for you?” He asks intently, the largest diamond in his tail glistening.

“I don’t think that’s it, Saturnus.” I whisper, a tear falling from my cheek.

“Why?”

“Because for me, there is nothing better.”

A little while later, Orion returns followed by a pissed off looking Starlet and calm faced Atlas. Saturnus and I turn to face the door from the couch and rise accordingly, the water swirls around our forms seamlessly.

“Ah there you are.” Saturnus greets Orion who is leading the trio. I cannot help but continue to marvel at the way he seamlessly glides through the water. It might as well not be there, and he may as well have wings rather than fins and be flying among the clouds. Easy Callie, I curse myself, now was not the time to be admiring my boyfriend, though boyfriend seems a banal title in itself.

“Yes, here we are. You know, Saturnus, I really don’t appreciate being summoned by you and this thief. I’ve got a rather monumental headache at the moment.” Starlet hisses and Atlas turns on her.

“Starlet, silence.” She looks as though she wants to argue, but doesn’t, the magenta scales around her eyes make them look crystalline with cold contempt. Hmm, so daddy is enough to shut her up? I consider this, and then wonder what it must be like to be her, having her father and brother around for eternity. It seems hardly fair, she’s had hundreds of years with her father, and I can barely get five memorable minutes with mine. I sigh to myself as silence falls across the water between us. Orion moves across the circle to float beside me, placing his broad, rough hand across my spine discreetly.

“So why summon us, Saturnus?” Atlas asks, no matter what this man says, the burning eagle gold of his pupils fills his tone with wisdom, I can only imagine the things he has seen.

“I have a mission for you.” Saturnus says sharply and with authority, the authority you would expect from the mate of a Goddess.

“Don’t you have the Knights of Atargatis for that?” Starlet barks, glaring across the gathered circle at me. I glare back, like hell am I letting her intimidate me like everyone else in this town.

“I’m asking you.” Saturnus says simply, his expression aggravated.

“Yes, but why are you asking us?” She spits back in retort.

“Starlet, we don’t have time for your attitude. Either shut the hell up and let Saturnus tell you what he needs to, or get out.” I burst forth from my self-contained silence boldly. She looks surprised and frankly, I surprised myself. I feel my cheeks flush with colour. Orion moves his hand to grip mine, squeezing. Starlet remains silent but her eyes are screaming ‘who the fuck do you think you are bitch?’ from depths laced with familial resemblance. I want to blanch, but can’t quite bring myself to fear them.

“Thank you Callie, anyway, the mission needs not concern the Knights, this requires discretion. Besides, Callie and I have discussed the prophecy she heard using her gift …”

“Yes, SOME GIFT THAT IS! How dare you steal visions from me!?” Starlet bursts out with vengeance. I look at her confused, where the hell is the logic?

“Hey, this may have escaped your notice, but I didn’t choose this gig, okay? You haven’t lived in the modern world, so maybe you think talking to someone you barely know like a spoilt petulant child is acceptable. I’m telling you right now … it isn’t. You don’t like me, I get it. But I’m stuck here, and I love your brother, so stop causing a scene, shut the hell up, and step off! We clear lady?” I rant at her, realising how much I have changed; Orion has made me strong … scratch that … I have made me strong. Becoming a mer was maybe the scariest thing that has ever happened to me. Wannabes like Chloe and Starlet seemingly no longer intimidate the way they used to. If I’m going to die for these people, I’m sure as hell not taking her crap. While my inner monologue silences under the surprised glare of Orion, I turn to Saturnus with another polite smile.

“Please continue.” I beg of him sweetly. Starlet, rigid in form stares deeply, concentrating on Saturnus, not looking at me; her pink lips form a harsh thin line of frustration.

“I need you all to journey to the Temple of Atargatis.”

“But that has always been lost to us, Saturnus.” Atlas reasons, looking confused.

“That it not strictly true, Atlas. Our great Goddess came to me in a dream, I know the whereabouts roughly now.”

“What’s the temple of Atargatis?” I demand, wondering what the hell he’s talking about. Starlet smirks at my lack of knowledge.

“It’s a temple that was built on the coast of South America hundreds of years ago. It fell into the sea, and has been lost ever since.” Atlas acknowledges.

“How did it fall into the sea?” I ask again.

“It’s a long story.” Orion says, clearly trying to stop my questioning looks. I wonder why he thinks generalised brush offs are going to cut it.

“So you know the location?” Atlas says with an eyebrow arched.

“Roughly, as I said.” Saturnus nods.

“Roughly?” I ask sceptically.

“The Goddess doesn’t always make these things obvious. After all, what fun would that be?” Saturnus smiles at me as though I am a child. Young, so very young.

“So why aren’t you using the Knights?” Starlet demands again, reiterating her question as though none of us heard her the first time she spoke it.

“I require discretion, as I said. Besides, the five of us combined should be sufficient to retrieve one scythe.” He reasons.

“We’re going for the scythe?” Orion looks intrigued.

“Indeed. After discussing with Callie, I believe it is better to be safe than sorry regardless of the prophecy. We need to protect the scythe, despite its potential use in the prophecy; it is still an heirloom to our people, and a powerful weapon if wielded correctly. According to legend anyway.” he speaks fluently, as though he is saying little more than a teacher asking his students to complete a homework assignment. His golden scales glisten in the light seductively. I imagine the number of sailors longing to remove them and sell to the highest bidder, retiring comfortably in a remote island near the equator.

“You think this scythe could be ‘the vessel’?” Orion questions. Oh Orion, I think to myself. So acute, so worldly, would even eternity be enough? Is it not the better thing to cut this intensity short in just a few weeks? The deepness of the connection rivals even the sea and I wonder how I have managed to fall to this depth in such a small space of time.

“Quite possibly.” Saturnus gives the answer, clipped, cool, and looks sideways at me.

“Starlet, you will of course keep us updated as to what is going on with the psirens on our journey. Orion you will act as defence, and Callie, Atlas, and I will search for the scythe. Are we clear?” He asks with a stern glare as though he does not want to be questioned.

“But Callie surely doesn’t need to tag along for this Saturnus? She is still settling in here.” Orion asks nervously, I feel his pulse quicken but his breathing remains calm and controlled.

“Callie needs to see how we operate as a culture and society, Orion. If she is ever to understand how important our, and now her, role here is. I think it would be good for her to get out and see the darkness we fight.” As he rounds off his sentence, and I’m thinking: Holy shit, darkness? I’m not sure I’m ready for that. Then I scowl inwardly, you’re ready to die but you aren’t ready to stare into the evil you are saving Orion and everyone else from? I breathe deeply vowing to face what I need to. Atlas looks at me and I feel uncomfortable under his eternal gaze.

“Don’t be nervous, Callie, I can’t imagine my son will let you even succumb to a jelly fish sting on our travels.” He laughs deeply from his abdomen. I am at a loss. Orion turns to me and quickly whispers in my ear.

“We don’t succumb to jellyfish stings, they kind of tickle actually.” He reassures me and I smile awkwardly back at Atlas. A small sickly sweet cough passes through the air and I breathe inward, irritated, as Starlet raises her hand.

“May I just bring to the attention of this group that this girl STOLE my visions from me?” She points at me accusatorily, like a child on a playground placing blame.

“Yes, she tapped into my gift as well.” Saturnus acknowledges.

“What?!” Atlas and his daughter say this in synchronisation, one in outrage and the other in disbelief.

“Yes, Callie can absorb, or tap into other mer powers.” Orion explains it proudly and I look down at the sandstone floor, trying to be anywhere but the centre of attention.

“We don’t fully understand her powers yet. But I have no doubt she has been sent them for a reason.” Saturnus nods at me smiling, his aura truly is amazing, covered in the tattoos of a Goddess’ hand and embedded with the precious jewels of the sea.

“Just stay the hell away from me, freak.” Starlet whispers shooting daggers at me across the room. For God’s sake, somebody grab me a fishing rod, this bitch needs to get reeled in. Atlas looks at a loss giving me an apologetic stare; however, I think the time limit for him to discipline the living daylights out of his daughter has long since expired.

“When do we leave?” Orion enquires, his icy blue eyes overly intense when staring at Saturnus, trying to break the awkwardness that is present within the circle.

“We swim at dusk.”

AZURE

The light is a pinprick from high above as I look up from the depths of the Chasm that holds the Cryptopolis. Greater in number than any of the mer realise, this is where the psirens seethe, bottom dwellers, too afraid of the light and the wrath of the Goddess to journey to higher ground. I am not afraid; I know what it is to be blinded by the light. My true sight never came from my eyes though, even if now they are bottomless and cruel. I can sense what is about to happen before it does, as the rock faces that tower around me seem to close in. These rock faces skilfully hide the caves that house the body of people that makes up the psirens, and their colossal blackness never fails to intimidate. I have often thought that our ability to recruit anyone makes us strongest, we don’t have to stick to pedigree, we accept anyone, make them feel at home. We may not be naturally gifted by some Goddess, but we learn fast, train hard, and earn our power. Not that I can talk, my visions aren’t exactly a learned ability. As if the very thought has stirred the magic like a metal spoon in a simmering pot, the vision washes over me, fog rolling in like an unusual and comforting friend.

“We swim at dusk.” The voice echoes around the inside of my skull, reverberating and bouncing from all its walls like that of the caves I spend my days encased in. As the fog falls back leaving me alone once more, I move from my contemplation at the base of the deep slash, a crack in the ocean floor. Titus will want to know. It’s time to collect.

CALLIE

The light covering the bottle studded glitter of the Occulta Mirum fades into the deepest, bloodiest orange. I wonder if I will bleed when I’m sacrificed and the grim thought makes my heart palpitate wildly. The sky looks too bright from the window of our apartment, high above the ocean’s sandy bed, as the sun gets lower toward the line of the surface that separates my old world from new.

“You okay?” Orion’s concerned tones reach me and my heart slows, calming immediately at the rawness in his voice. I turn around, away from the blinding and painful light, wondering if it’s my new mer features that make looking into the sunlight painful, or if it is just too bright for my melancholy mood. I recalled the dryness that hit when I leapt from the surface and the relief that swallowed me as I hit the water once again. Like air, I needed the ocean now. Orion hovers, a sash dividing his ripped abdominals diagonally. I see that it holds a spear. I swim slowly as he watches me over his shoulder, without a word, to view the weapon in full. This is no caveman-like crude attempt at weaponry. This is a thin, smooth metallic rod; carved from one piece of solid metal. The aerodynamics of such a piece are mind-boggling. The end of the hilt came apart into a four-sided diamond that sharpens to an elongated point: deadly, lethal, and beautiful.

“Will you need this?” I ask, gulping in air as my fingers reach up and trace the end of the blade.

“Hopefully not … but it’s better to be safe than sorry, especially where you are concerned.” He smiles at me but it does not reach his eyes. This kind of weapon is not intended for even a great white shark, that which humans fear most absolutely, but something much more deadly. The spear moves from my touch as Orion swivels round in the water effortlessly to face me.

“Don’t worry. Nothing I can’t handle, besides I’ve made it this far remember.” He grips my chin and pulls my mouth up to meet his, covering my lips with his, gently lavishing me. I pull away slowly, mind numb and look up into the blue of his eyes. It’s hard not to trust in his certain tone and gaze.

“Yes, but you have something you would risk yourself for now.” I gulp again.

“Always.” he closes his eyes and brings my palm up to his mouth, planting another kiss in the centre. “There is no sea I would not cross, no beast I would not slaughter in the name of keeping you safe, Callie Pierce. No more worries okay?” He vows himself to me, a staccato interrupted by his insistent kisses.

“Okay …” I promise breathlessly, my tail moving involuntarily to keep me at his eye level.

“Come on, the sun is about to set. Time to go.” he whispers, placing a final kiss on my forehead and leading me from the room.

The pouting face of Starlet sets the tone of the group, as the five of us set out into the darkening waters of sunset. I can see above that the red light is interrupted by blackness which can only be an encroaching dark cloud. Saturnus, with his glistening scales, looks as though he is on fire, a golden, flaming, glistening edifice, capturing the light with the crystals that are embedded in his flesh, the rest of him so white he could be porcelain. Atlas watches me intently, out of the corner of his eye with a faint smile upon his lips and Orion holds my hand tightly. Starlet lags at the back, seeming so much like a spoiled child that I can’t deny that the urge to slap her has gripped me several times. I am scared, I won’t lie. We are directly intervening in a ritual that is important to the psirens. This was not going to go down well if they found out. Saturnus and Atlas carry spears just like Orion and I can’t help but wonder where the weapons were for me and Starlet.

“Do I get a weapon?” I ask timidly, peeking under my eyelashes as we pass a shoal of bright blue ring angel fish. I smile, remembering looking at pictures in library books when I was a child, the ocean fascinating me. I wonder now if that’s because I knew deep down that’s where my father was from, where I belonged.

“Do you know how to use one?” Orion asks, cocking his head as he pushes through the water hard.

“No.”

“Then what would be the point?” He concludes pointedly and I can’t fault his answer. He’s probably right.

“Can you teach me?” I reply curiously, watching his face.

“Sure. Just not right now. When we get back if you’d like?” His answer surprises me, but I nod, wondering if the ease of getting him to agree is because of Atlas’ proximity. The light above is becoming dim, darkened by the oncoming clouds that seem to roll in from all sides.

“Where are we going, Saturnus?” Atlas asks, this is a question that I’m sure we are all thinking.

“I’ll know it when I see it.”

“So you have no idea?” I mutter in surprise, looking startled.

“Now, Callie, do you really think I’d bring us out here if that were true? I have things I’d rather be doing, you know.” Saturnus raises a scarlet eyebrow and his emerald eyes glisten. I can’t work out if he’s irritated or not.

“I don’t know.” I say honestly.

“Your faith in me is astounding.” The sarcasm drips from his tone and I smile nervously at him. Is it possible I have earned this God-like man’s respect? I can’t help but wonder if the only reason I seem to have it, is because I have agreed to die for his cause. I have to wonder as I smile back politely, my face heating as blood rushes to my cheeks.

We swim for a few hours, the sky above us darkening as each moment passes. Starlet stays silent and as each instant is erased into the past, I become more and more impatient. I feel like a small child in the back of the car screaming ‘are we there yet’ internally. The swim is tiring, I’ve never been this far away from the Occulta Mirum before and my tail is aching as though it were one, heavy muscle, weighing down my abdominals and draining my energy.

“So, Callie, what do you know about the psirens?” Saturnus asks, looking at me from over his shoulder. I think he can sense my unease; maybe he will answer some of my questions.

“Only what I’ve read and a little that Orion told me.” I admit, biting down on my bottom lip as my tail muscles pinch. I didn’t expect to tire like this, maybe it’s because I’ve used my powers twice today.

“Ah, I see. So you know how they came to be then, yes?” He questions me intensely, eyebrows rising on his pristine face.

“Yes, they were created by Poseidon?” I ask feeling self-conscious, as though I’m talking to someone about an imaginary friend.

“That is true. In his anger toward Atargatis he created Solustus, he chose Solustus because he had a tortured soul. He had nothing to lose. He was the perfect warrior. What he failed to realise, and what Atargatis knew, was that if you have nothing to lose you also have nothing to fight for. So he was consumed by the darkness, uncontrollable and dangerous, consumed by a lust for revenge. He wanted to make everyone suffer, just as he has.” His eyes are stormy and his face grave. Like he’s telling a horror story, but this one is real.

“Ummm …” I ponder this as a million and one questions float into my mind, meshing together in a giant ball of silent stupidity.

“I can tell you more about them as a species, if you like?” Atlas asks. I think he can see right through me, see how overwhelmed I am. He watches me, his wise eyes smiling as he leisurely moves his tail up and down, lying as though the ocean is a soft mattress on his back. Fish stir around us, it seems that there are more and more as we get further away from the Occulta Mirum. Or maybe that is just because the night is covering us from above.

“That’d be nice.” I admit and Orion looks at me with a frown.

“Orion, she needs to know.” Atlas scolds.

“I know, but right now?” He clicks his teeth and his eyes reflect cold distaste.

“There is never a good time to hear about such things.” Atlas replies, not with anger but with calm unwavering determination. We pass over a wrecked ship; I was never too far from reminders of the dangers of the waters in which I lived. I feel my skin tingle with nervousness at the thought of putting myself in danger.

“Very well.” he waves a hand carelessly as though swatting a fly on a lazy afternoon in late July. My tail cramps and I feel myself wince facially.

“What’s wrong?” Orion demands. I don’t want to complain as I feel Starlet’s silent gaze on the back of my neck, mentally castigating me.

“My tail it’s …”

“Fatigued.” he finishes and calls forward to Saturnus who swims two lengths in front of us.

“Saturnus! Callie needs a break.” he turns to me looking apologetic, “I’m sorry, I should have warned you. This is the longest trip we have been out on so far and I should have known you would get fatigued quicker than the rest of us. It’s only natural.” he smiles and Saturnus comes to my side.

“You okay?” He asks and Atlas shares his concern. They’re sort of like the two fathers I never had in a weird way, so wise, so powerful, and at the same time oddly human and God-like all at once.

“Yes, just aching.” I admit, not wanting to distract from getting the answers I long for.

“Okay. Let me just find somewhere for us to rest for a moment.” Atlas scans the area, his eagle eyes becoming little more than slits glowing orange against his grey facial scales before he nods and we follow him for about five minutes. Orion carries me, swimming and bunching my tail up as though it were legs and my scaled butt falls through the gap between his veined, tanned forearms. We swim for five minutes and then descend maybe half a mile before coming to a rock face. The rock face looks solid and under is covered in underwater algae. However, a few minutes of searching and Atlas demonstrates his keen eyesight. He moves across what appears to be a curtain of seaweed, revealing a hidden cave towards the top of the underwater cliff. Orion puts me inside and I was expecting it to be dark. However, the cave has a large hole in its ceiling and light from the rising moon blares down through the natural skylight in spurts, as clouds moves across the sky.

“Looks like a storm.” Orion notes, smiling and kissing my cheek. I am wondering why he is smiling at the prospect of crappy weather, when Starlet sighs behind us moodily. I catch her shooting daggers at her brother’s back through the same icy blue eyes and wish she wasn’t with us. Orion sets me down on a large flat rock that is low to the sandy ground of the cave; I wonder how sand has gotten up here, so far from the ocean floor. I shouldn’t really wonder, since becoming mer if there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s that sand gets everywhere.

“You okay?” Atlas asks, cocking his wise head. Not a single wrinkle plagues his skin and his golden eyes are stunning.

“Yes, fine. I’d like to talk about the psirens while I rest?” I ask and Saturnus nods, his expression grave.

“Keen for information I see.” He says the words like they have secret meaning, but I am clueless. The cave throws shadows onto his face and reminds me of the time I went camping and we told ghost stories.

“There’s a lot I don’t know.” I acknowledge, trying to match the tone of the two men floating before me. Orion seats himself next to me, holding the hand that rests in my scaly lap. Starlet stands beyond the curtain of algae, separate from us, indifferent because of me.

“Well, I think we should start with numbers then, don’t you agree, Atlas?” Saturnus deliberates to Atlas and the silver haired figure nods.

“Seems sensible to me.” he agrees.

“You see, Callie, the thing that makes The Banished such a threat is the fact that we have no idea how many psirens exist.” He imparts.

“I thought that psirens were mer that had been corrupted by the darkness?” I ask him looking confused.

“We have a theory, though we don’t know how accurate this is, that The Banished and psirens have the ability to kill and turn humans to their cause. As you know, mermaids and mermen can only be created by the Goddess.” He explains slowly, with the smoothness of tone that is often reserved for therapists or those who hypnotise.

“Wait … I’m confused. I thought The Banished and psirens are the same thing? I also thought that blood was what created mer, I mean I’m related to one and so is Orion …” I ask, my forehead creasing in misunderstanding.

“The Banished are those who have abandoned Atargatis and were originally mermaids or mermen. However, if our theory holds true, humans can be turned to psirens without ever knowing of Atargatis. You see, it isn’t so much about not following the Goddess as it is about being infected by the primal power of darkness. This, as you know, was put into a human by Poseidon.” Saturnus is gesticulating now, his muscles rippling and tattoos glowing in the interspersed moonlight.

“But I thought that power was banished by Poseidon.” I query feeling stupid.

“It was. But it was banished by containment within another beast. Or so we believe.” Atlas looks grave.

“Which is?” I ask, feeling the hairs on the back of my neck start to rise.

“The Necrimad.” they reply in unison with grim expressions.

“So who is the original … you know psiren?” I ask and they look at each other.

“Solustus.” they reply again in grim unison.

“And the dark magic or whatever that created him … The rest of it is now in a demon in another dimension?” I feel like the words coming out of my mouth are stringing together in a ball of crazy … What the hell has my life become? I fight back the urge to laugh at the absurdity of it all, but then feel myself remembering that I have a tail. I’m a freaking mermaid for God’s sake! Who the hell was I to laugh at absurdity?

“By all accounts, yes, but accounts are fuzzy surrounding these kinds of mystical creatures. They pre-date the written word, and aren’t easily findable as they tend to exist in other dimensions.” Saturnus says and my eyes widen.

“Other dimensions?” I ask swallowing hard, my muscles unfurling slowly, my recovery rate seems to be shorter than I was expecting.

“Yes. Our world, it is tenuously linked to others, some like Earth, some not. We don’t know much, but we know that the majority of them contain beasts more ferocious and more powerful than we can comprehend.” Atlas explains, taking up the baton from Saturnus. I can’t help but feel small under the moonlight.

“So, if we are linked to all these other dimensions … how come I never knew about it? How come nobody knows about it? That kind of stuff is front page news wherever you are in the world. Where are all the demons?” I ask feeling breathless. Orion sighs a little, as if to say that he knew I would react badly to this. I swallow my panic, not wanting to give him the satisfaction; I can deal with this.

“That’s the thing, demons do exist in this dimension … just not openly, and they are half breeds, no pure demon has walked or swum into this world since before the dinosaurs walked. Some would even argue that humans themselves are demons, when you examine their behaviour. The psirens certainly have a little demon blood in them from what we can tell. We are not concerned with the demons on land, Callie, it is our duty to protect the oceans, and we were placed here because this is where the magic that holds up the walls between worlds is thinnest.” I wince a little at the comment about humans as Atlas strokes his arms dreamily as though caught in a long lost memory. I see the wiry silver lines of scars, and wonder if they could be from netting, the kind used by humans to trap marine creatures perhaps?

“So all this goes on without human knowledge?” I ask, flabbergasted as I shift on my tail uncomfortably. I wonder how the mer sell their tears to humans without them knowing until I realise that there are humans who know about them. Their team of assistants.

“You’d be surprised how unobservant humans can be. I mean we’ve existed hundreds of years and apart from a small period of one seventh of that time, we’ve been lucky enough that they’ve left us alone.” Saturnus picks up smiling slightly, glancing sideways at Atlas, whatever the history he is recalling, it is clear Saturnus is aware of it. Orion moves his hand up my spine slowly; I feel the electric current of his touch in my neck and in my tail, everywhere.

“So, what is the ritual for then?” I question, shifting a little on the rock, my aching tail slowly returning to its normal heavy self.

“As I’ve said to you before, we don’t know. Maybe the weapon will help us find out, but we can’t be sure.” Saturnus nods at me smiling in the eyes.

“There’s a lot you don’t know.” I state and they look at each other.

“Yes, it doesn’t help that the only original copies of the myths surrounding the Gods and Goddesses have been lost.”

“Where are they?” I ask still confused.

“We …” They start but I finish.

“Don’t know …” They grimace together. I wonder if they really are as wise as they seem.

“We do the best we can, we have lived a long time, but there are many limitations to this life. It would appear getting our hands on human artefacts are one of them.” Atlas admits, running his hand through his hair. I don’t want to make him self-conscious, so I change the subject.

“So the psirens, their leader is Solustus?” I ask and they shake their heads. I stretch out the muscles in my tail by flicking it slightly to and fro, letting it relax and tense to try and rejuvenate myself.

“Titus.” Atlas cuts me off with a grimacing chill in his tone. I wonder why they look so worried; after all I’d watched them take on a beast thirty times their size that looked as undefeatable as anything I’d ever known. How could they be so affected by the psirens? Were they really that powerful? I worry to myself momentarily. The mer were stronger and faster than any creature and if they were struggling with the psirens, I dread to think that I could run into them tonight.

“So what’s so bad about him?” I ask feeling a little alienated, all these men, they’re like a family, even Starlet with all her bitching, knows their intimate secrets, because for the most part she has lived through it with them.

“Well, he’s got quite a temper; he has speed on his side. And then there is his ability …”

“Which is?”

“Titus, he is special, he used to command the oceans creatures, befriend them and talk to them … or at least that was his only ability until he became a psiren. He can now manipulate electric currents, through all things including the human body. He can make your neurons turn against you in a moment. He is lethal and highly dangerous. He learned this new magic from the darkness, barely uses his Goddess given gift now … such a waste.” Saturnus looks grim, and Atlas stays silent, I can tell there must be history between Atlas and Titus too, but once again, I am too new at this game, too young to know the tricks of the trade. I must remember to start grilling Orion more often. I look over at him and see he is staring up, my eyes follow his gaze. Through the roof’s opening, I can see that the sea above is unrecognizable and my mouth drops a little. Atlas and Saturnus smile at me, as my face moves back to look at them and I turn to see the same mischievous smile on my lover’s lips.

“Have you ever seen an upside-down storm?” He asks, taking me in his arms and moving forward, past the crowned ruler and his right hand. He pulls aside the curtain of thick green seaweed and Starlet retreats away from us, taking a few strokes back with a smile. Even she is clearly excited, however begrudgingly, and I soon see why: the water is alive.

Puffing above in a fury of clouds, the water swirls with a life of its own as the storm rages on, angry and alive.

“Wow,” is all I can manage and Starlet smirks a little, laughing internally at my immaturity. I ignore her.

“Do you want to take a ride?” Orion propositions me and I feel not only awed, but slightly afraid. The power of the water is intense, I remember fearing the same power from the shore, but seeing it from the wrong side makes it look even more formidable.

“Won’t it hurt?” I ask, breathing in air deeply, sucking it from the surrounding water, so calm at this deep level, but thrashing in cloud like formations on the surface. The water feels slightly more chilled than before with the unrest of the storm, and all I can see is the blackness of the clouds above the water.

“No, I won’t let you get hurt, don’t worry.” Orion smiles at me, his eyes glistening with immortal mischief, his prior experience clearly building his anticipation toward riding the storm.

“Okay, I trust you.” I say simply, a knot of anxiety forming in my stomach.

“Come.” He commands so in control, so at ease here beneath the shifting waves. As I take his hand, I hear a deep crack, like a gun shot through a pillow to muffle the sound and my heart stops for one moment, looking around frantically.

“It’s just thunder.” He soothes, running his fingers over my knuckles with a shy smile. I breathe out and smile into his face, feeling a little more relaxed. He urges me upward through the water with him; I go willingly. I know Orion will take care of me. My tail has seemingly recovered from the fatigue it felt earlier, now stronger than ever and I am barely able to believe it felt so heavy not one hour ago. As we reach the surface of the ocean, I begin to feel the pull of the storm on the water that is just below the surface. Starlet, Saturnus, and Atlas have all followed in our wake, wanting to join in the ride. I wonder how often storms like this rattle these depths. How many times have they ridden storms before? How many times has Orion ridden a storm alone? The questions stop as Orion looks back over his shoulder at me.

“Ready?” He grins mischievously at me as I blink slowly and nod, my anticipation growing. “Hold on.” He demands and races upward in three stout flexes of his tailfin. I am yanked upward and the speed of the stormy ocean grabs me more powerfully than any riptide. The masses of water beat on my flesh, numbing it as though I am paralyzed under a power shower. Blood rushes to the surface of my skin and I flush pink, the only thing keeping me anchored being Orion’s hand. I let out a scream of delight at the forceful speed, as my breathing rate spikes and the cool water sends me flying away from the cave. This is not as smooth as the riptides Orion and I rode on my first swim as a mer, but more brutal, much faster, and increasingly powerful. The dark sky above encloses us below the surface in shadow creating an inability to tell up from down. Another bolt of lightning strikes through the darkness, I scream, and in my fear let go of Orion’s hand. Without his anchor I fall, being caught by the angry water which is in an instant not pushing me in one direction, but is pulling me to and fro with two opposing forces, unable to compromise.

“Callie!” I hear a worried yell, but the darkness of the sky and seemingly endless depth below, paired with my inability to focus due to the speed and ferocity of the stormy waters means I cannot tell from which direction it has originated. I try to see Orion, but other than flashes of magenta, royal blue, fiery gold, and silver, I cannot make out anything of use. The tide becomes my worst fear, unmanageable; I try to use my tail to get away from its hold, but it has a vice-like and inescapable grip on me. I have no choice but to let it carry me, helpless and hoping that Orion can follow. Why did I have to let go of his hand! I want to kick myself, but then consider this might be difficult with a tail. I relax for a moment, and allow the fighting currents to do their worst. I find once I stop fighting their opposing forces with upward motion, the speed is easier to handle. The sky above lights up again and again with lightning, followed by cracks of thunder. Eventually, I allow the storm to do its worst, tossing me from side to side and pounding my skin red raw under its power. I screw up my eyes and will myself to focus on moving my tail to minimise its crazed possession of my body, while continuing to have little choice but to let it carry me where it would. I see a burst of bright white light from above and hope to God it’s the moon and that the clouds are finally parting. The ocean finally goes from tearing me apart to almost still in only seconds and then I am falling. Falling like an angel expelled from heaven. Through swarms of fish, away from the light of that oh-so- bright moon above and down. Down, down, down until suddenly … I crash through the sea floor … wait … what?

“Callie!!!” I hear the bellowing before I see Orion’s head pop out from the left side of the hole that my body made in the ceiling of the building that now holds me. I am on my back, splayed out in a beam of light that falls down upon me, either a beacon of hope, or alien abduction beam from above. I sit up slowly and wince. Damn, that fall hurt. The back of my head throbs and I want to hurl. I take in my surroundings, now illuminated from the moonlight that falls over me. The walls of this room are old, really old, and the columns that hold up the ceiling are larger than any tree trunk I’ve ever seen. From the shadow, I see a large black eye staring at me, unblinking, it slowly moves forward revealing that it belongs to a vast sun fish, hugely sprawling in body. It has two fins, one on the bottom and one on the top of its body and a bulbous skull. I swim upward a little to get a closer look as it approaches me silently. As I place a hand across its scaly flesh something from behind it catches my eye, so rather than pondering upon its queer framework, I swim right past it. The walls of this place are old too, and covered in drawings, symbols, and an old language I cannot recognise. Orion and Saturnus descend into the room, curving their bodies in an arc to turn them upright and facing me as I turn from the wall.

“Well you found the temple!” Saturnus mutters, looking glad and yet mystified as to my luck.

“She could have been hurt!” Orion scolds Saturnus’ lack of concern as to my graceful entrance.

“Yes, but I wasn’t.” I say smiling slightly and ignoring the throbbing in my skull. I can’t deny that I feel slightly infantilised at this moment. Orion’s eyes meet mine, full of concern, and the blue stuns me into a small shy smile, my cheeks flush red.

“Let’s look around.” Saturnus suggests, breaking the silence between us as Starlet and Atlas enter from the Callie-shaped hole in the ceiling.

“Will you keep watch?” Saturnus asks Starlet, looking at her with his deep green eyes and a stern brow.

“Can I have a spear?” she requests and Atlas pulls his from the holster on his back.

“Be careful. We don’t know who might turn up if they are aware of what we are retrieving.” Atlas warns and Saturnus nods as Starlet turns, flicking her blonde feathered locks over one shoulder.

“I don’t even see why we need someone to keep watch! Not even we would have known this place was here if Little Miss uncoordinated hadn’t smashed right through the roof!” She is talking to herself as she ascends back up through the ceiling, I don’t want to admit it, but she has a point.

“I wish she would get over whatever is bothering her.” Orion rolls his eyes and rubs his finger along my spine. “You sure you’re okay?” He asks, looking me up and down with concern.

“Yes, I’m fine, I promise.” I assure him with a quick smile. He returns my smile and I wonder momentarily what my life would be like if I was not a mile beneath the ocean in an ancient temple, would I be sitting at home playing tea party with Kayla? In that moment, I miss her so much that my heart squeezes, needing her desperately.

“Let’s spread out.” Saturnus suggests as his emerald eyes sparkle under the dim light of the chamber that seemingly sprawls outward into other rooms. He looks excited but there is an edginess, as though he is controlling himself, trying not to express whatever emotion it is that’s simmering beneath his mess of scarlet hair. We nod in synchronization and spread toward each of the walls. The atmosphere of the chamber is sort of creepy, the stillness and the feeling that nobody has been here in a long time combine to make me feel as though I am somewhere I shouldn’t be, and yet have been before. The water feels stagnant, unmoving and this adds to an air of the uncanny about the place, as even in my apartment the water gives slight shifts every few moments. In this place, there is nothing and it is as if it is here and yet a ghost of what came before.

I move once more to the walls and look at the symbols and pictures feeling a slight familiarity toward them. There are mermaids carved into them, lots of mermaids, and animals, lots of animals. The mermaids in the primitive carving are on two sides of a divide … one side has animals and the other doesn’t. Could this be the upcoming war perhaps? I wonder if I will be there. No, of course you won’t! I snap internally, reminding myself that if I die there will be no war. I follow the wall downward, continuing to decipher meaning from the jumble of symbols and pictures, from which I gain no insight. There’s a reoccurring symbol, a circle with four half-moons that align around its diameter, but it means nothing to me, so I look away. I turn around and notice an archway to my left, the surrounding wall is ornately covered in gold filigree that twists in vines reminding me of the floor in the Lunar Sanctum. Keeping my back turned on the chamber where Orion and Saturnus also examine the opposing wall, I venture through the archway and into the dim light that covers an opposing room. I can’t explain what happens next but something calls me over to the wall directly in front of me. There is a handprint that is discernible in the dimness and it looks familiar, small with short but spidery fingers, it looks like my own. The surrounding wall is covered in script, except the area directly above the central carving of the handprint which holds another carving, this one of a long handled axe with a blade curved like the end of a mermaids tail turned horizontal. There’s another symbol below one, the one I picked out before, a circle containing four crescent moons within. I look back to the symbol above. It’s a scythe. Instinctively I move forward toward the wall and place my hand on top of the handprint, it fits perfectly like a glove, but nothing happens.

“What did you find there?” Orion asks as he emerges through the archway behind me. I turn to face him as a hammerhead shark passes beside me ominously, my instinct is to flee but it barely notices me and I wonder how I have managed to avoid sharks for as long as I have, living underwater. I also note how Orion’s icy blue eyes glow slightly in the grey light, contrasting against his royal blue facial scales.

“I think this is a drawing of the scythe.” I tell him and then move slightly to the left with a simple flick of my tail.

“I think you’re right … Saturnus. Atlas!” he calls back over his shoulder. Saturnus and Atlas come through from the chamber of which I crashed through the roof. And after a few moments of discussion, the general consensus is that the drawing is definitely depicting the scythe.

“What about that handprint?” Orion asks looking at it with knitted brows and a suspicious forehead wrinkle.

“That’s the weird thing … it fits my hand.” I explain looking at him cautiously.

“Show me.” He demands and I do, placing my hand into the palm shaped groove. Saturnus stands back and looks at the mural with one hand cupping his chin.

“This looks like the entrance to the Occulta Mirum, the material is similar.”

“You think song magic?” questions Atlas, looking suddenly inspired and elated at this conclusion.

“I would say so, and Callie’s in particular by the way that handprint fits her hand so perfectly.” Saturnus nods.

“That’s impossible, why would we need Callie’s song to get to the scythe? This weapon was sealed away years ago!” Orion exclaims in disbelief.

“Who knows?” I say quickly, not wanting him to pursue this line of questioning.

“But –” He begins and I cut him off quickly.

“So I just sing?” I ask feeling relieved. Blood sacrifice really wasn’t my thing.

“Exactly!” Saturnus encourages me with a smile.

“Okay … Here goes.” I place my hand into the groove on the wall. The stone is cool to touch. I part my lips, heart hammering, wondering what will happen next and sing a few bars, embarrassed by the eyes on me. At the first few notes, the wall begins to glow a bio-luminescent cyan, seeping out from the seemingly impermeable surface. The bright blue light shines deeply across the room, blinding me but I manage to spit out the rest of ‘somewhere over the rainbow’ from ‘the wizard of Oz’. I feel like reciting ‘there’s no place like home,’ wishing I was wrapped up in Orion’s arms in our bed, but even if I had feet I still lack the mandatory ruby slippers and therefore have no such luck. The dreaminess of the song is eerie in the darkness and I feel something stir in the shadows.

“Keep singing!” Orion shouts over my voice, yielding his spear from its sheath and heading back into the room behind me. My heart is in my throat, I wonder where he’s going and I watch the back of his form until he disappears from view. I look up at the mural and the entire piece, including not only the handprint but the image of the scythe and the script on either side have illuminated in this neon blue. I gasp a little as the rock cracks unevenly down the middle and the two halves slide backward and away from me revealing a passage enclosed in darkness as the bright blue light dies away, seemingly seeping into nothingness.

I float for a few moments slightly alarmed at what has just happened. “Did you see how that rock cracked? That was not normal!” I exclaim, slightly shocked at the brutal fissure that had torn the impervious rock in two.

“I know, seems slightly grand for a simple weapon. It must be important.” Orion concludes swiftly as he comes behind me and enfolds my hand within his, comforting me in the darkness that has fallen upon us once again.

“Where did you go?” I ask looking at him curiously, my heart still hammering.

“A shark got startled by all that light; it looked like it was going to get aggressive.”

“You killed it?” I ask slightly horrified.

“Yes, but only because it posed a threat.” Orion explains with a swiftness that borders on nonchalance. I frown slightly; I don’t like the idea of killing animals now that I’ve seen the ocean life up close. “Shall we?” Orion suggests sweetly, planting a comforting kiss on my cheek. I am glad Starlet is keeping watch as I flush slightly in the blackness. We begin to move into the dark, my eyes not adjusting as they usually do, this is real darkness. I look back over my shoulder before I am totally encased in the blackness, and I catch a glimpse of the shark, limp and dead on the stone floor.

We swim for several moments until suddenly I feel the corridor widen slightly and in the darkness, I feel a pull towards a single glint as my pulse starts to race. It looks to be a reflection from the end of a blade. I move toward it, wishing all the while for some light,

“I wish it was brighter in here …” I blurt aloud for a moment, frustrated, when my wish is instantaneously granted as something huge smashes through the ceiling from above. As the sand clears as though it were dust, the room is illuminated and a chilling voice can be heard reverberating through the room.

“Your wish is my command, my dear. Let me introduce myself, so rude when I know so much about you and you so little about me.” I look around frantically, feeling Orion’s hand tighten on my own. I know who it is I am hearing even before his next sentence falls in the calm but silent water between us. I scramble to see him through the water, but in an instant he emerges from the shadow behind the beam of light that falls from the partially destroyed ceiling. Black eyes, pointed fangs spread wide in a smile, pale skin mapped with black veins and dark symbolic tattoos shock me silent.

“My name is Titus, and it is lovely to make your acquaintance.”

It takes a few moments for me to process the scene before me as Titus’ lips fall still and the last of his words dissipate into silence. Now that light is shed over the hidden chamber, I take a glance around, trying to place myself. In the centre of the room is what looks like an anvil, except it is made from a transparent turquoise crystal that sparkles under the dull moonlight raining down on us from above. The truly extraordinary thing about the anvil though, is not its constituent at all, but rather the long, sleek weapon that is embedded in the crystal at an acute angle. The blade itself is awe-inspiring, the edge is tainted turquoise, contrasting against its body which glimmers in silver steel, tracing the outline of a mermaid tail, curved like a half moon, that makes the weapon look even more deadly. The handle is long, made from a kind of white marble, inlaid with aqua filigree much like the floor of the first chamber I encountered within the temple. It has a grip made from lilac tinted alloy with ridges cut into it for the user. The next thing I take in is the psiren before me. Titus. His name sends reverberations through me and I wonder how long he will taunt me before he tires and sends my nervous system screaming with agony. Perhaps his power only works like mine; through touch … maybe if I could just get close enough I could … His voice cuts my thought in half, as he is suddenly behind me with an inch movement only just perceivable to the eye. Damn he is fast. The hairs on the back of my neck rise as I watch a red haired psiren twitch as he watches me, lips spread in a lunatic grin, fidgeting with gleeful anticipation.

“Don’t you want to introduce yourself?” Titus asks simply, his voice full of painful promise.

“Why? You already know who I am.” I reply, feeling sick as the smell of blood from his breath curls around my neck.

“Who knew manners would die out in the human world after all these years?” He chuckles to himself, immediately moving around me again so he eclipses my field of vision. “Didn’t your mother teach you simple etiquette?” He asks me pointedly, I feel Orion stir at my back, simple flicks in the water allowing me to feel his defensiveness growing.

“My mother taught me not to trust strangers.”

“Your mother was right, Callie, you shouldn’t trust strangers. Especially not those who are willing to kill for what they want.”

“And what do you want?” I ask, knowing full well the answer, as a girl with an eel like tail descends through the roof.

“Well for a start, this weapon will do nicely.” Titus says, turning to face the black haired pale-skinned girl. She looks somehow familiar but I do not know how to place her face.

“Azure … Where’s Regus?” Titus demands like a snake, spitting out the words as though they were venomous.

“He has secured my sister; she tried to skewer me right through the back, would you believe? He’s subdued her and is removing her as we speak.” I can’t help but tense as I realize where I know this girl’s face from. This must be Starlet’s sister, the one who became a psiren and left Starlet without a soul mate. Then I tense again, what are they going to do to Starlet? Where are they taking her? I think of Orion and Atlas behind me but dare not look around. Titus turns back to me and moves forward slightly, his tail like no creature I’ve ever seen; it’s black and violet and reminds me of a dragon. I tense my fists, my nails digging into my flesh in order to channel the fear flowing through me. His black eyes, body covered in odd symbolic black tattoos, and eerily white skin makes me want to flee, and yet I stay, floating innocuously among the anonymity in the water.

“That’s not meant for you.” I say simply, moving forward to counter him. I wonder if my gifts as the vessel will work. Do I trust them enough to take this risk? For all I know he could kill me in a moment, thrusting the barb like end of his tail across my throat and beheading me.

“I don’t see your name on it.” He counters as we approach one another. I hear spears being drawn behind me, being released from their sheaths slowly. I watch as the red headed psiren, Azure, and another psiren, perhaps the most lethal looking other than Titus, appear from the darkness beyond the beam of moonlight capturing me. This psiren has long grey hair, but unlike Atlas he does not have the gold warmth in his eyes, he has black eyes, with grey lightning strikes forking within their abyss. His tail is long, that of a swordfish, and I watch him pull a vast pointed broadsword from his back, a vest of what appears to be sealskin covers his heavily muscled torso. Everything about him is sharp, his cheekbones, his chin, even his smile, which he shoots at me subtly as he watches himself catch my attention. Titus and I are getting closer and closer as our backing parties ready for a fight. I wonder momentarily why it is me that is facing off with him; surely it should be one of the elders. Saturnus or Atlas … someone with experience. Well there’s no going back now. Titus and I are nearly nose to nose.

“So you want to fight me? For this weapon … you don’t even know what it’s for.” He mocks me, sneering. His black eyes are extraordinary, deep as anything I’ve ever known, more empty than even the dark chasms of the ocean floor.

“I know you aren’t getting it.” I say through gritted teeth, having no idea where this boldness within me has come from, my heart is racing and I’m terrified. Do I really want to die over a pretty piece of weaponry? I don’t even know how to fight. I take a deep breath and as soon as Titus sees me visibly relax, he makes his move. His tail wraps around me and he pulls my helpless form into his grasp. We are now floating above the anvil, inches from the weapon. He places both long fingered hands upon my face and suddenly I want to die.

The pain is so intense, I think my skull might explode and I’m immediately regretting my decision to fight him for the scythe. Pain is crawling like a cancer through my neurons, infecting me, multiplying in strength with each passing second. I writhe and squirm; my eyes squeezed shut. I faintly hear Titus’ voice above my own scream …

“Not such a smart idea now, is it?” I feel angry at this remark and immediately decide my only option is blind faith. I force my eyes open against my agony, which seems infinite as his arms shake and they embrace my skull. My lips part and I taste blood from where I have bitten down and mutter the four words that require all my strength.

“Smarter than you think …” With these visceral sounds I launch myself toward him, grasping his skull within my hands and breaking his grip on me.

“AGHHH” he cries. I feel his power running through my fingertips, addictive, electric, and oh-so-strong. I keep his head in my hands, his greasy black hair sliding back in the water as he becomes paralyzed from the pain he was, just moments ago, inflicting on me. The other psirens take a moment to realize what has just happened, but as soon as they work out Titus needs help, they spring forward, probably twice as fast as I’ve seen even Orion move.

The fighting begins around me in a clatter of swords and spears, grunts and groans, but all I can do is focus on keeping the connection with Titus and using his power against him. His flesh is trembling and his mouth is an open orifice of astonishment, his eyes are closed and I notice two tiny symbol tattoos etched onto each eyelid. His tail is thrashing and not in an intentional way. Titus has become like a fish out of water under his own power. I cannot help but grin. However, this grin is soon knocked off my face as something hard and warm hits me across the head, knocking me off balance and onto the floor, releasing Titus. He sinks, his body landing draped across the far end of the anvil. I look up from the sandy stone and see the red headed psiren standing over me and looking pleased with a vacant grin pressed upon his lips. In each hand, he holds a long crab claw shaped blade, they catch the moonlight and glimmer with a bloody red tint. He moves forward abruptly, quicker than lightning and I only avoid being stabbed in the chest by rolling quickly to my left and immediately pushing myself upward, swimming with all the power I can muster. Before he catches up to me near the broken ceiling, I catch a glimpse of the fighting going on below. Atlas is in a duel with the silver headed psiren just below and it looks as though he has obtained Orion’s spear, they are moving with unbelievable speed, circling each other, constantly having to be one move in front of the other to avoid being sliced in half. Orion is holding Titus, thrashing in a ball of fast moving water, using his power over air to manipulate a mini cyclone type effect. Saturnus is fighting with Azure, presumably because neither father nor brother want to fight a blood relation. She cackles, chasing Saturnus with a large leather whip strung with black and blue pearls. Saturnus uses his spear to catch this weapon and pull her toward him before using his tail to slash red marks across her chest and stomach brutally.

This is what I manage to gauge in the few moments I have before my attacker realizes I am no longer on the floor before him, and looks upward. Catching me in his sight, I see something red flash through his eyes and in an instant, just like on the day I was murdered on the beach, kissing Orion, the world around me turns to black. I cannot see anything and my heart pounds, terrified and paranoid in the darkness. I try to keep moving anyway, wafting my way through the black, as though the surrounding water has been polluted with ink or oil. I reach what I think is a wall of the chamber as I bang into something hard the darkness clears and I am looking into familiar icy blue eyes. I know what I have crashed into isn’t a wall but rather Orion. I gasp, turning around, my gills opening as I pull more water into my gullet, reviving my empty lungs. I see Titus dropped to the floor and looking pissed. I have clearly halted Orion’s attempt at containing him. He hisses like a feral animal and his tail slashes through the water, his eyes wide as they catch a glimpse of me, so clearly shocked at my turning his power into my own and using it against him. The silver haired psiren is still in a deadly dance with Atlas, and as they get closer to me and Orion, I see his gaze shift to mine again. However, this time it is not smug, but curious. It is gone in a flash. Once again, my attention shifts to Titus, whom I am now looking at straight in the eyes. I can feel the resonance of his power leaving my body. I feel fierce and, if I’m being honest, a little scary. Titus turns from me and places his hands on the hilt of the scythe, pulling with immense exertion to himself. I can see his trip to agony alley has weakened him, and certainly dented his confidence. He pulls a little harder but still nothing, no give at all. I rise, figuring out once again why there is a specific grip laid into the lilac metal.

“Like I said …” I move forward and notice the five tiny moon indents leaking blood from my palms. Remnants from the agony of Titus’ assault on my nervous system. I place my hand in the grip and hum a few bars casually. He watches as I pull the scythe from the stone, like a knife from butter. “This is not meant for you.” I smile cockily as I feel the immense power the weapon is endowed with, I swing it leisurely, cutting through the water like it were air. The blade slashes across his tail lightly.

Titus looks shocked and backs away as black blood spurts into the water, he turns quickly and barks.

“Caedes, Solustus, Azure … we have a mermaid to torture … NOW!” They immediately stop what they’re doing, much to everyone’s astonishment, and rise, in a matter of seconds, back through the ceiling and out into the open sea.

I look out the window of my apartment once more, the light nowhere near as bloody as before we left on our quest to find the Scythe of Atargatis. White light from the world above falls on the sand below, shimmering in slivers of geometric silver. I turn, looking back into the lounge and find it propped against the thickest side of the golden harp, glimmering in a pretty yet lethal light. It makes me feel comforted for some reason, a feeling I don’t understand in lieu of what’s happening. After the psirens had left the hidden temple, I remember the silence they left behind, along with a Starlet shaped hole in Orion’s family. I feel myself tentatively, stroking the scales connecting to my waist slowly, noticing their smooth hardness beneath my touch, they could have been armour. I reach up to the place above my heart where scales line the scar left by the event that had changed my life forever, the kiss that killed me. My mind was full, full to the brim of things seemingly too complicated to compartmentalize.

I turn back to the sunset, looking out over the glimmer of the Occulta Mirum, it’s beautiful and I cannot help but wonder if wherever I am going after this life will be as beautiful. I drift over to the couch, still in shock that it is able to endure the constant torment of the water. A group of bicolour parrot fish glide through the window; I wonder if that’s the equivalent of having a bird fly unwanted into your home on land. I decide to let them be, watching them as they cautiously explore the inside of my new home. Their scales glimmer in the light and they look so beautiful as they swim. As they reach the harp, I move my tail so I am lying on top of the couch, and find myself staring once again at the scythe. The scythe that responded to my voice, the gorgeous turquoise tainted metal that curves into the shape of the tail I find completing my body. The lilac grip on the white and gold veined marble of the handle makes me want to hold it, feel it’s cool heavy weight against my skin. The door grates against the sandstone floor loudly, just as I contemplate getting up and taking it in my palm.

“Hey.” Orion’s voice travels to me, weighted with the strain of yesterday’s events.

“Hey, you okay?” I ask anxiously, hating that he is unhappy.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” He says moving fluidly over the sofa and plopping down on the adjoining half.

“You’re sure?” I try to edge closer to him. Wanting him to know I care.

“Yes.” He practically spits out.

“Don’t take your anger out on me, please.” I say, short with him. I get up, wounded but not entirely blinded as so I couldn’t see why he was upset. I mean his sister had just been taken prisoner.

I look down at my hands … what has my life become? People being kidnapped, people getting killed, Goddesses, and seemingly beautiful weapons of destruction … it sounds too bizarre to be real. Even to me.

“I’m going to bed.” I tell the brooding Orion, my eyes softening at his lost expression. “Are you coming?” I ask, throwing him a line.

“No … I’m okay, you go.” He says simply, staring at me as if his world has crumbled. I turn and swim through the archway into our bedroom; the four-poster bed has never seemed so inviting. I lay on the anchored sheets, allowing my heavily muscled tail to sink into the mattress. I close my eyes and within seconds, though I have felt no fatigue as a mermaid, I fall fast asleep.

AZURE

“What the hell happened, Titus?” I bark across the chamber, my voice echoing harshly. We have returned to our dwelling, far from the Occulta Mirum, it stands in darkness and under deep pressure, crouching away from the sun above, shielding us from vulnerability. The cavern we are floating within is large and small bio-luminescent fish flutter meekly on the ground beneath my eel-like tail, caressed by azure lightning, breaking up the darkness of the black scales surrounding it. Titus is still, as though frozen in time, the smallest movement from him is gone. He is suspended, his long dragon like tail rigid as the phallus he so misses.

“Do not take that tone with me, Azure.”

“Why not.” I spit back, laughing a little. “You go on about being so powerful, but you got beaten by nothing more than a girl, a girl who is not even one tenth your age.”

“That is indeed true, but you however failed to notify me that she had the ability TO DRAIN MY POWERS, YOU INSOLENT, USELESS BITCH!” He has me by the hair in an instant, smashing my forehead into the cavern wall. Pain shatters through my skull like broken glass, sharp and jagged, coursing through my veins and sensitive tissues, my brain vibrating within its bony prison. I scream out, momentarily shocked and terrified. Titus has played rough before, but this is different. This is unhindered, raw rage and so much worse than any sensual assault I have endured in the past.

“Whh …” I begin, but he just laughs, deep and evil.

“Don’t you think if she was just a little girl, she’d be long dead by now?” He asks, cutting me off before I can mumble my disgust at his violence. I see the blood spurting from the cut on my face; see it billowing out in osmotic waves through the water. I close my eyes and breathe slowly.

“I am sorry. I don’t see everything. You know there are limits to our power, even yours.” I apologize and bite my lip, there is blood in the back of my throat, and I swallow it down hard.

“Yes … well … I am sure that I now know your limitations. Maybe I will have to break them.” He strokes his chin with a long finger, white and bony. I cower on the floor feeling for the first time, completely helpless. Perhaps it was my imagination running wild with me, but I had believed Titus and I had real passion. The way he touched me those long nights in the darkness, made me writhe with unhindered pleasure, interspersed with infinite agonies. I guess that really hadn’t meant anything, even though it had required such trust on my part. I sag, my breasts touching my rib cage as I bend over, my skull throbbing from the pain of his abuse. Solustus’ voice reaches me and my head jerks upward in response, his sharp accent piercing the air as he enters the cave.

“She’s subdued. In the dark anti-chamber.” his silver swordfish-esque tail and grey seal skin vest are dull in the water, as though he has become one with the shadow.

“Ahh …”

“Would you like me to do the honours?” He asks, his grey eyes filled with acute excitement. He sees me staring and he glazes them over, he is impenetrable. I wonder how much he is concealing from us behind them daily.

“Of course. No wait… I have a better idea.” Titus purrs, turning his head to me with a wicked, pointy toothed smile.

“Azure, won’t you go to see that our prisoner is co-operative?” He asks.

“You want me to … No!” I gasp. He wants me to torture my own sister. I refuse point blank.

“Azure, you know why we took her, are you honestly telling me you’re okay with someone else doing the job, but are too lazy to do it yourself? Why? She’s your sister for heaven’s sake.”

“Please … don’t make me do this.” I plead as he moves toward me. I watch Solustus, his face remains impassive but his body tenses, his hand twitching in that way it does right before he reaches for the rapier he most prizes.

“You mistake me … Just because some girl took me down for mere minutes, I am not weak, Azure. I am not merciful.” He places a finger on my cheek and I feel painful promise sizzling beneath the skin.

“Now … run along and be a good girl. Do what I ask.” The command is no more than a whisper. I glide upright and put distance between the cavern floor and myself. The water is milky where I have disturbed the earth. I move quickly across the space between Solustus and me.

“You’re a real bastard. I will get you what you want … but I won’t hurt her.” I spit back over my shoulder.

“We will see about that.” Titus laughs. “The thing you fail to comprehend, Azure, is that Starlet has no desire to be your family now. You betrayed her, left her alone in the world, and all because some dark, handsome, powerful stranger told you some pretty lies.” He smiles wickedly, the blackness of his eyes becoming hollowed.

“YOU BASTARD!” I cry and launch forward. Solustus grabs both my arms and restrains me viciously. I am pulled, straining, screaming, and writhing to get free, wishing to rip his skin from bone, into the darkness and towards the room which holds my unconsciously sleeping sister.

CALLIE

I find consciousness at the sensation of Orion’s cheek to my spine. He nuzzles me slowly, putting small kisses up my back; the feeling is divine as my eyes crack open and find the dim light too bright.

“Mmm.” I murmur and he stops.

“What?” He asks as though he misheard me.

“I said Mmm.” I repeat the sound in demonstration and he gives a small laugh, and then a sigh of relief, as though his worries are leaving through his chest.

“You okay?” He asks as I roll over to face him with a small smile.

“I should be asking you that.” I complain with a frown, reaching up and placing my fingers through his hair, stroking gently. He sighs again, his skin shimmering in the dim golden glow coming from the glassless windows.

“I’m okay, there’s just a lot going on.” He is holding back from me and the distance is evident in his eyes. I cup his cheek, removing my hand from his mahogany locks.

“Any news on Starlet?” I ask, hopeful.

“No.” He says, a secretive look in his eyes.

“Orion, please talk to me. I know you’re hurting, but you keeping things from me is hurting me too.” I plead as he rolls onto his back.

“You don’t like my sister.” He states bluntly.

“No, I don’t. But that doesn’t mean I want her kidnapped.”

“You don’t understand, Callie, she acted awful to you, I know. But you don’t know the whole story. Azure, her only soul mate left her. I didn’t have anyone either, we were close for hundreds of years, and then you come along. She feels left out. It’s not her fault.” He explains and I feel rage bubble through my blood.

“Oh, so what? This is MY fault now? In case you’re wondering, Orion, I didn’t ask for this! You were the one who walked into my life and screwed everything up!” I spit, not worrying about the repercussions.

“I’m not saying that, what I’m saying is that perhaps you could be a little understanding …”

“Oh boohoo for Starlet! Getting you to herself for hundreds of years and then having to share you for five minutes … and yeah her sister left her but so what? People leave Orion … I should know. You just get on with it. You don’t turn into Queen Bitch of the seven seas!” I yell, gesticulating. I rise in my fury and storm out. How had our post-sleep bliss turned into this?

I swim from the apartment, grabbing my scythe and slamming the door behind me, ungraceful in my stroke.

Orion doesn’t come after me.

Out in the circular plaza of the Occulta Mirum, where the fountain gushes air upward from the Goddess’ outstretched hands and the Alcazar Oceania towers as a jade shard, I have a moment of déjà vu. I spot Sophia across the water. It’s her beautiful soft lilac tail and white skin that turn my head as unmistakably belonging to her.

“Sophia!” I call out waving.

“Oh hey, Callie!” she calls back swimming over to me in a hurry, looking flustered as she leaves bubbles in her wake.

“Do you just, like, hang out round here waiting for me to have an argument with Orion or something?” I joke and she looks startled.

“Oh … I … I just like the fountain.” She’s worried she’s offended me.

“I’m joking, Sophia, don’t look so worried!” I exclaim, feeling all the anger leave my chest after butting heads with Orion.

“Oh, yes of course, sorry.” She smiles easily.

“It would not be a small truth to say we are not from the same generation. I joke a lot.” I grin trying to put her at ease. It was easy to like Sophia, her eyes and cautious polite expression reminded me so much of Kayla.

“Yes, I can’t say that was a big custom when I was young.” She admits. I nod feeling the distance between us. “So what happened between you and Orion?” She asks looking concerned.

“A lot has gone on, ever since …” I stop, not knowing whether or not to disclose the details of the events that have passed.

“Not here …” She whispers looking sideways. “Come on.” She takes my hand and together we disappear beyond the outskirts of the Occulta Mirum, under the once more setting sun.

The waters are cool as the sun lowers beyond the horizon.

“Are you sure you should be carrying that around?” Sophia asks, gesturing to the scythe that I still grip in one hand as we glide through the water side by side.

“I feel better with it here. Just leaving it sat in my apartment, you know the one with no locks and glassless windows? It just seemed like I was asking for trouble.” I justify my irrational taking of the weapon easily, the cool water caressing my lips. “Where are we going anyway?” I ask, curious. We pass stilling shoals of blue tangs, their pursed expressions looking at us disapprovingly.

“Just a cove I like to go to sometimes. Don’t get me wrong, I love Oscar, but I need time to myself, you know?” She looks at me as a wise old woman would look at another and I feel as though she is possibly the only person who treats me like an equal.

“Ah right, how far is it?” I ask, feeling impatient and mentally drained despite being asleep not an hour before.

“Not far from here. You know, you sure are impatient …” She smiles at me and I think for a moment about the difference in our origins.

“I come from a world where you can find out any piece of information or news within seconds by just a few clicks, and where you can get pizza delivered at 4am within 20 minutes or less.”

“Wow! You are impatient!” She smiles at me, her large brown eyes twinkling in the light of the closing day.

“Yeah, guess it’s just a symptom of too much 4am pizza.” I smile back at her feeling comfortable.

“The thing you have to know about the mermaids of the Occulta Mirum is that most of them have been doing the same thing and behaving the same way for hundreds of years. It’ll take a little adjusting for you I suppose.” I think on her words for a moment.

“Has it ever occurred to anyone that maybe there are more efficient ways of doing things?” I ask, feeling out of my depth as I look down at the blackness of the ocean beneath me.

“No, never.” she smiles at me, brown eyes crinkling in the corners. Her expression creates a longing within me. A longing to hear the childish laughter of my sister that runs so deep my chest tightens.

“Maybe if they went into the human world on the surface …” I begin and she shakes her head again.

“Humans and mer have no place living together in the same world, Callie. The sooner you accept this and see yourself as different from them, the easier this transition will be for you.” Sophia shakes her head, as though she is disappointed in me … I scowl.

“Hey, that’s easy for you to say, you don’t have a mom and sister that you left behind.” I feel defensive as the moon overhead illuminates over a swarm of black fin barracuda. I watch them and my anger dissipates at the situation, perhaps Sophia has reason for hating humans.

“No, but I do have a partner who was captured and experimented on for days, barely kept alive, and then returned to the sea much less than when he left it. Humans can’t handle our immortal beauty, Callie. They want to dissect it, take it for themselves. I suppose you’ve never experienced lusting before either? If you think they’re so noble.”

“Oh, no, that I’ve experienced.” I say dully, trying to hide my shock at her statement about Oscar and what had been done to him. I shiver, wondering what the experiments entailed.

“Really? Fun was it?” she smiles crookedly, her beautiful white teeth and skin dazzling me. She looks pure in the moonlight.

“Uh … no, I could stand not having to deal with that again.” I admit, smiling back. She laughs as I do, remembering Orion and I running back to my little red vintage. My smile disappears at the memory of the incident with Daryl that followed. “I’m sorry about Oscar.” I blurt out, wondering after if I should have said anything.

“Don’t be, it was a long time ago. Just don’t expect me to be going ashore anytime soon.” she says, her face straight and unreadable. I think back, I hadn’t seen her at my initiation at the Lunar Sanctum, I guess now I know why.

The surface above ripples, a beautiful barrier between us and the supposed cruelties of humans. I wonder if there is darkness within every human being. Would my own mother be willing to sell me off to the highest bidder? I banish the thought from my mind. Sophia touches my arm gently and gestures upwards, we surface together, my breath becoming strained at the dryness of the air. The water is still, throwing moonbeams in multiple directions. I spot where she is pointing and she smiles slightly to herself, as though the place before us holds fond memories for her.

It’s a tiny spit of land that juts out from the side of a cliff. It shimmers in the night, slick with sea-spray. I notice her hair straight away as I turn to face her, the auburn locks look practically black above the water, and it lies pressed against her skull before falling straight along her spine. I reach upward and touch my own, she smiles, noticing my curiosity.

“Mermaid hair is strange, don’t you think? It goes stiff in water, to stop it floating all over the place, and then goes soft when taken out of water almost immediately. It’s worth something in some parts of the world, particularly South America.” She touches a piece of her hair and fiddles with it, twirling it into tight knots around her finger. I look down at my long locks that fall over my breasts, dark from water saturation but still unmistakably blonde.

“Well, my hair was super curly before I changed …” I say and she cocks her head trying to picture it mentally.

“I don’t see it!” she giggles, more Kayla in her laugh than I could ever express. I wince, as though the absence of my little sister physically pains me.

“What’s wrong?” Those brown eyes fill with concern.

“You just remind me of someone, that’s all.” I say not wanting to share, I don’t know her well enough to be exposed, laid bare, and with all my emotions spilling out of me like bloody guts quite yet.

“Oh, someone nice?” she says, seeming not older than 15 in that moment. Her cheery optimism is like a snake in the grass of my pain, sneaking up on me, and ready to strike deep and true.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” I admit and she nods turning to face the cove again, her auburn hair catching the light.

“We are heading for that cove over there.” She points and I nod back, glad of the change of subject. Slowly the silhouettes of our tails disappear beneath the calm surface as we head for the cove.

Sophia and I drag ourselves up the beach and onto the sand, the warm night air making my skin immediately clammy.

“Don’t you ever worry you’ll get stuck?” I pant as I pull the now heavy mass of muscle attached to my waist up the beach a small way. The waves still reach the end of my fin, but barely.

“No, you just have to shuffle using your rear end and the last piece of muscle before your fin flutters out at the end.” She demonstrates and I copy her, finding the movement easier immediately.

“I guess Orion didn’t think that was important to teach me!” I growl slightly. She laughs.

“Give the man a break; he’s totally undone now that you’re finally here.” She smiles a little and I don’t understand why. I find it less than convenient that I seem to be getting little, if any, help from the man who is supposed to be my other half.

“Yes but I need help right now … this is all a lot to deal with.”

“Look at things from his point of view though, he waited centuries to find you Callie, and now you’re here … it’s so obvious he doesn’t know what to do with himself. Imagine the anticipation at meeting your perfect mate. You are no longer a possibility, you’re an actuality … and he’s terrified of losing you.” She looks out from the white sand at the moon and I notice it’s getting closer and closer to being full.

“Yes well, that doesn’t excuse caging me in like an animal.” I sigh, wondering if I should let him protect me or whatever he feels like he is trying to achieve. Maybe he would deal with my death better if he thought he had done everything he could.

“So, did you want to explain the scythe?” She queries. I look down at it, glinting and deadly, the turquoise edge of the blade giving no hint of blunt inadequacy.

“Yeah, about that, how do you know what it is?” I ask, narrowing my eyes suspiciously; I hug my shoulders as the breeze nips at my arms.

“Oscar … my partner, he created the spears you took on the trip with you. He’s the chief weapons forge. The metal master. The things that man can do with steel, you have no idea.” She looks dreamily out to sea, her white skin glowing alabaster.

“Seriously? So Saturnus told you what was going on?”

“Me directly? No. But the mer he needed to forge those weapons? Yes.” She looks proud, her chest puffed up, breasts smeared with lilac scales that capture the light, hold it prisoner, and release it more beautiful than when it fell on her.

“Saturnus sure has some double standards … he’s a hard man to figure out.” I admit and she smiles slightly.

“I don’t think he is used to being questioned. I’m sure you, being new and all, have had no trouble doing that.” She grins slightly.

“Well, where I come from we do nothing but question those in charge. That’s kind of a part of what a democracy is.” I retort.

“Yes, well we are a society built off the worship of a Goddess. We have a hierarchy, it may seem senseless to you, but it has worked for hundreds of years.” Sophia looks at me and I sense a slight bitter undertone. I change the subject.

“So Oscar built those spears?” I ask, wondering how long it must have taken him.

“Yes.”

“Do you know what happened out at the Temple of Atargatis?” I ask, prying to find out how much she already knows.

“Oscar said it was a retrieval mission, to keep the psirens from getting their hands on the scythe. But I don’t know any more than that. What happened out there?” The breeze stirs deliciously, sending tingles up my spine, my lungs finally getting used to the dry land air.

“Starlet was kidnapped and I fought Titus. I think I won.” I say looking at her as her jaw falls open, leaving her mouth agape like that of a dying fish.

“You?” she looks incredulously at me and I feel slightly smug inside. Yes, I, the newbie, actually did something noteworthy! I am not a china doll as everyone seems to think.

“Yep.”

“How?” is all she can manage.

“I absorbed his ability to cause pain and used it against him.” I admit and she looks confused for a moment and then something in her clicks.

“That’s how you beat Ghazi!” She looks stunned but has a massive smile on her face.

“Yes. I believe so, and so does Saturnus.”

“I wondered what had happened that day, you disappeared!”

“I was scared!” I blurt, wanting to giggle a bit.

“I bet!” She looks at me strangely, as though she is fond enough to want to say something sentimental and yet doesn’t know if I will accept it. We sit in silence for a moment until her eyes change, there is awe mixed with urgency behind her their glassy surface.

“What?”

“What’s it like? Having power?” She asks, looking shy.

“To be honest, I couldn’t tell you.” I say, feeling relaxed I flop my fin into the edge of the water, making a small spray that coats the rest of my scales which shine aqua from waist to tip.

“Come now! You beat Titus!” Her expression is incredulous.

“And if you asked me how I did it, I couldn’t tell you. I’m totally ill equipped for this.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m a girl from a world where, as I said, I can get pizza at 4am, I’m not built for all this life and death stuff.”

“To tell you the truth, I don’t think many mermaids could handle what you are handling. But we weren’t meant to.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“You didn’t know that only mermen were supposed to exist? Mermaids didn’t come along until Atargatis blessed Atlas with Shaniqua. After her, Starlet and Azure were the first as far as we know.”

“So mermaids are just supposed to sit around and look pretty?” I sigh. What kind of backwards misogynistic world had I swum into?

“Yes, we certainly were not meant to fight, that’s why the only offensive powers are contained by mermen.”

“Until me.”

“Until you.” she mimics me and sighs a little. “You wonder why Orion is struggling to let you do the things you want to do, but you must not forget Callie, that he is an old fashioned man. He wants you to be comfortable, not out on the front lines fighting. That’s not what you are supposed to want.”

“Perhaps not, but I’m stronger. I have a stronger will than he expected.” I argue, feeling as though my gender surely does not warrant this behaviour.

“Times have changed, I suppose.”

“I think that’s true. I can do anything a man can do.”

“I hope that’s true. If Atargatis really has given you an offensive power, you’ll have a greater purpose than any mermaid before you.” She comments looking pitiful. I smile slightly, if only she knew. The moon begins to lower in the sky.

“You will need all the help you can get.”

“I think this weapon is the key, I need to know how to use it, why it responds to me, why it called out to me, why it wanted my song.”

“Luckily for you, I know a weapons man.” Sophia smiles and yet it does not reach her eyes.

“Thank you for tonight, I needed this. Orion … he doesn’t understand.”

“I don’t think he can and that’s not his fault, Callie.”

“Why do you say that?” I ask, wanting to blame him and not circumstance. I can’t be angry at circumstance.

“Well, if Starlet’s been captured it means her sister is making it personal, that puts you directly at risk. I mean if you wanted to hurt him …”

“I would go at it through me.” I acknowledge and then I wonder, perhaps, just maybe, Orion wanting to protect me was okay under the circumstances. Then it occurs to me: who was protecting him?

“Come on! We have to get back.” I say hurriedly, scooting down the beach and grabbing the scythe that lay in the sand between us.

“What? Why, Callie? What’s going on?”

“If you wanted to get back at me after I drained your powers, how would you go about it?” I ask and immediately her expression changes from one of confusion to one of concern.

“Let’s go.”

We arrive back at the Occulta Mirum just as the sun is peaking over the horizon, throwing gorgeous light across the ocean floor that quivers with the movement of the water above. Sophia’s lips part and the protective dome of magic that encases the towering sandstone city slips away and allows us into its glistening depths. Sophia’s voice is beautiful, like a meadow of freshly cut grass. We undulate hurriedly, our bodies writhing, powering down into the bowl of sand that surrounds the Occulta Mirum. My heartbeat races frantically at the thought of Orion’s life being in danger. What if he did follow me after all? What if he was out in the open water and the psirens had already done something to hurt him?

“I need to go and see Orion. Make sure he’s okay and clear the air after our argument earlier.” She gives me a simple and calm smile, her face remaining serious. Her auburn hair looks as though it is on fire with the early morning light and her brown eyes turn to a clay red as they reflect the rising sun back at me.

“Are you going to warn him?” She asks, her mouth twisting into a grimace with concern, her long straight nose twitches as her nostrils flare. I flare my own in distaste, breathing in the water deeply, an experience which had I been human would have sent my eyes watering and my head aching for hours.

“I don’t know. I think we need to sit down and have a proper discussion first. You know, the honest kind.”

“I don’t think that’s a bad idea.” She acknowledges. “I’ll be at my place, I’ll tell Oscar you will come round soon?”

“Yeah, that would be great.”

“Bring the weapon.”

“I will.” I begin to swim away from her, my shadow moving above the bottle lined pavements that are the circulatory system of the city. I hear her call back to me in her melodic tongue.

“Callie …” I turn at the mention of my name and in only a split second she has her arms around me, soft and light as we hang suspended in the water.

“Be gentle with him.” She smiles at me and I laugh a little. “They are more sensitive than we can ever know.” I nod, maybe I will never understand men, but that is surely the truest thing I have heard of late.

We turn from each other and I feel a warm glow, not of love, but of compassion, of a kind of friendship that runs deeper than movie dates and sleepovers. The kind that is born of companions who have lived through complicated and dark times.

The apartment is not empty when I arrive and the knot in my stomach unravels slowly in delicious relief as my eyes meet Orion’s. I place the scythe against the door, as though it were no more than a wet umbrella after a rainy day.

“Where have you been?” He asks, not looking up from where he sits at the harp.

“I went for some girl time with Sophia.” I respond, feeling nervous though I can’t fathom why.

“Girl time?” he asks, raising one eyebrow. His chiselled jaw twists his lips into a crooked and reluctant smile.

“Yeah, just talking … moaning about how my boyfriend is a jerk and the likes … you know, the usual.”

“Oh … I see.” He moves through water between us, I tuck my stiff hair behind my ear and move over to the couch to rest my weary tail. He slips through the water and takes my lightly tanned hands against his coffee coloured ones. “You ran away again.” He mumbles, lifting one palm to his lips and kissing the inside of my hand. I shiver, and then pull it away; this is no time for kisses that make me melt.

“I needed space. You said some kind of hurtful things.” I admit, folding my hands in my lap. He lies back against the couch and places one arm along the length of it between us, gently touching my hair with his fingertips.

“I know … It’s just not easy being in the middle of you and Starlet. I love her, she’s family … but I love you, too. I am going crazy right now, I want to go to her, save her, but you need me here.” I sigh.

“You see, that’s what I don’t like, Orion. You’re acting like I’m the problem here.” I say, pointing to myself and shifting my weight on my tail uncomfortably. I was in a way wanting to take the offensive and in another terrified of being too harsh and losing him. Everything was more complicated once you became emotionally involved. I had always known this, and yet with him I couldn’t resist. He was like a beautiful flame and I was Icarus flying too close, burning and turning to sand.

“How am I?” He asks with a frown, placing his hand lower and onto the bottom of my spine.

“You’re saying I’m what changed, and therefore it’s my fault that Starlet treated me unkindly. That’s not my fault. I didn’t ask for this. I would have been nice to Starlet if she had been nice to me, but all she’s ever been to me is awful.”

“She feels threatened by you.” He places a hand on the back of his neck and rubs. I think he’s seeing my point.

“So she should.” I say, scowling and folding my arms.

“Callie …”

“Has it not occurred to you that maybe she’s more than a little intimidating herself? She knows you so much better than me, what chance do I stand of winning in a fight over you?”

“Don’t say that.”

“Why not? It’s true.”

“You’re both just strong personalities, you clash because you’re both opinionated and you both care about me.”

“Yes and I’m happy to deal with that, but you can’t blame me for her attitudes. I’m not responsible for the fact I came into your life. You were the one who came after me, remember?” I explain, piercing him with an incredulous stare.

“Yes, okay … I screwed up. I’m sorry.” He reaches forward to kiss my forehead. I move backward to avoid him.

“We still have things to discuss, Orion.”

“Such as?” he cocks a brow; his icy blue eyes and mahogany hair stunning me into silence as he looks at me, almost pleading with me for my inquisition to be over.

“Such as …” I blink myself away from his face and try to focus. “Such as all this ‘I need you, you have to protect me’ crap.”

“Huh?”

“I’m serious, Orion, I can’t take it anymore.”

“I don’t understand.” He looks at me again with those eyes; I shut my own and continue talking, afraid I’ll lose my bottle if I don’t.

“I don’t come from 18th century England, I don’t wear corsets, I have never been waited on hand and foot. I’m not the kind of girl who sits by and waits for prince charming to ride up on a handsome steed and take me away to get married and have babies. I am an independent, strong, modern woman and damn it if you don’t try to start treating me like one … I don’t know what I’ll do!” I get so angry I am out of breath by the time I finish ranting, but he is smiling.

“I just want to keep you safe, angel, if anything ever happened …” I place my finger up to his sculpted lips.

“No, you don’t get to think like that, and please don’t call me angel, it’s: A) Gross, and B) you know I’m far from innocent.”

“That I do.” He nips the pad of one of my fingers with his teeth and I giggle a little.

“I’m not the same as the other mermaids around here. I can look after myself. I took on Titus … and won, Orion.”

“I know,” he runs his hand through his hair and blows outward creating a few bubbles in the water before him. “I guess I just need to get used to the idea that you are your own person, not just an extension of me.”

“I’m not an extension of you. I choose to be with you. No Goddess can make me stay. I’m here because I want to be.” I lean forward and kiss him sweetly.

“But –” He starts but I cut him off and he breathes out heavily, his massive body sagging like the water’s pressure is weighing him down.

“Please, Orion, don’t baby me.”

“I’ll try, from now on. I promise.”

“On the other hand you also need to be careful. You know if Titus wants to get revenge for my taking his power he will come at me through you.” I explain my reasoning and he looks surprised.

“I hadn’t thought of it that way. Mermen aren’t used to having such strong mates … we don’t usually have to worry about the enemies of our women.” He says in a sly tone.

“Well, you had better get used to it.”

“I suppose I better had.” He breathes towards me and I lean in for a deeper kiss, the heat between our lips growing. I feel a slight need for him, to be close to him. I curl up against him tucking my tail underneath itself, bending at my would-be knee. His chest is solid sheets of muscle bound together, encasing his heart. I lean against it, hearing its muffled steady beating. I am surprised, assuming that surely someone who has lived as long as he would have stopped having a heart beat years ago. I place my hand over the scaly line that lies over my own heart, the beat matches with his, stroke for stroke, pulsation for pulsation, synchronized in more ways than one.

We lay quietly for a little while before I realise I have something I need to do. “I need to go and see Oscar.” I say as I lean upright and Orion looks surprised.

“Oscar?”

“Yes, Sophia said he would take a look at the scythe for me, seeing as he already knows about it from Saturnus.”

“Oh, I see. You sure that’s what you want to do?” He questions me, seeming unsure of whether showing Oscar the scythe is a good idea.

“I need to know why this weapon is linked to me, it’s important.” I hold his hand as I rise from the couch through the water filling the room.

“Okay then.”

“Really?” I ask, feeling surprised at the fact he is conceding to my will so easily

“You asked me to let you be you. So I am.”

“Thank you.” I look up into his icy blue eyes, my heart constricts at the depth of concern and love for me that is held there. I kiss him and wrap my tail around his, loving the feeling of his scales against mine.

“Can I come with you?” He asks my permission, respecting my right to go alone. My heart constricts again at this small gesture of trying, trying to be what I need.

“Sure.” I smile happily, holding his hand in mine.

“I can’t wait until the next full moon.” He smiles at me and my heart pains to hear these words, I want him, and yet I want to keep him forever. Will the next full moon be the last I experience? Or will I have to wait another month until my foretold end. I smile at him, feeling devastated at the prospect of my death hanging over me like a storm cloud. In that moment I want to tell him, but I stop myself, saving him the grief, not wanting to colour the time we have left together.

“Me neither.” I agree. I kiss him on the cheek and then grab the scythe while heading out the door.

I am immediately glad Orion is accompanying me as I realize I have no idea where Sophia’s apartment is. He shows the way, his sculpted back making a fine view as we glide, suspended, above the streets that sparkle.

“Thanks for showing me the way.” I say shyly, amazed at how he can still make me feel ugly against his simmering masculinity.

“No worries, princess.” He puts his hand through mine and pulls me along, I enjoy the tugging sensation, the speed from his spectacularly powerful tailfin increasing the water’s resistance against my skin, which slides across it like a knife through butter. I am aerodynamically sound, built for this new world. I am in every way reminded by Orion’s build that I myself am built to be more than mere mortal, but now a killer in service of a Goddess.

“Here we are.” Orion says and gestures to an apartment surface scraper. It is more modest than our own but still spectacular in both height and decoration. We head inside together. As I am observing the translucent jellyfish, trapped in jars in the foyer, he places his hand on my lower back and ushers me through the entrance archway and up the various floors. I feel an increase in pressure on my back and I halt at a door, not dissimilar to our own.

“All the apartments here look the same.” I comment, surprised.

“From the outside maybe but everyone indulges in their own individual tastes and the insides look quite different.” He points out and I concede that this must be true.

“For example, I had the harp put into our place recently, so I could play for you.” He reveals and I feel a giddy kind of surprise as he leans forward to knock on the door.

“Really? You didn’t have it there before?”

“No, I didn’t feel much longing to play before.” He explains.

“And now?” I ask as I hear a stir inside the apartment.

“Now I have something worth writing music about.” He says with a slight smile, his gaze penetrating me as he leisurely takes in my face. The door opens and we are still looking at each other intensely, it takes me a moment to look away and into the green eyes of a merman who I presume to be Oscar.

“Callie! Hello!” He seems glad to see me and I wonder how much Sophia has told him in the short time I was away. I see her head pop around an archway within the flat, her auburn hair and pale skin distinct as ever. I wave over Oscar’s shoulder before leaning back to an upright position where I am able to take in the merman before me.

He is tall, taller than Orion even and his tail is long and violet in colour, his hair is sandy blonde and wavy, framing his triangular face. His chin is pointy and his grin wicked. His green eyes dart immediately onto my weapon.

“That’s some scythe you have there.” He comments and reaches to take it from me. I decline and move backwards a little defensively. “Hey, it’s okay! Sorry, why don’t you come in and we can have a look at it inside.” He looks at me apologetically and I find it hard not to immediately feel at ease in his presence. He is well muscled, but not as muscular as any of the other mermen that I have seen and he moves quickly, dreamily even, into the apartment, allowing us to move beyond the threshold. Once inside I can see Sophia everywhere in the rugs and dog-eared pillows that scatter the room on sofas and chairs. There are hundreds of books, pristinely kept on the shelves that line its walls, more even so than in my own home or in Saturnus’ study.

“Wow, Sophia, you have so many books!” I comment, feeling like I am walking through the gigantic city library where my mom used to take me as a kid. I smile, remembering how we always used to read together in the children’s department, the walls lined with hot air balloons, angels, and other mystical creatures that were not half as mystical as the one I had become. I peer into the room to my right as Sophia moves from the doorway and I spot something within the confines of what would have been mine and Orion’s bedroom in our place: The anvil.

“Yes, well mostly they are books on weapons. This isn’t where we live, more of a work space that Saturnus deemed prudent. Oscar works in the armoury too, but this is a private workspace. I didn’t think bringing that scythe in front of the entire weapons forge would be a good idea.”  I nod but then remember that I had leisurely swum right through the centre of town with it out for all to see. I condemn myself internally, I really should be more careful.

“Ah, so Saturnus appoints all the housing?” I ask.

“Among other things, yes.” Oscar replies looking at me curiously, as though he can sense how I was feeling despite my words saying differently.

“I guess you want to look at this?” I say holding out the scythe, this time feeling comfortable as I look into his grassy green eyes. They remind me of the colour of the grass in the meadow I had pictured when I heard his soul mate sing earlier.

“Yes, if you’ll let me.” He says, reaching out gingerly to touch the cool lilac grip wrapping around the white marble.

“Just give it back, okay? I went through a lot to get that.” I say, not breaking eye contact, trying to look fiercely into his face but failing. He seems so genuinely nice, not that this surprises me seeing as he is paired with Sophia. A girl with a smile as lovely as her insides, something you wouldn’t so easily find on the surface world these days. I wonder in that moment if I am suspicious because people had become fake over the years, maybe these people were just who they were, because they came from a time when being yourself was acceptable and inescapable. I am quickly distracted from this line of thought as Oscar starts swinging the weapon and nodding his head. Orion, who is hovering in the water two feet behind me, reaches for my hand pulling me backward, wanting me to get out of the way of the mer who is fluidly swinging my scythe through the water. I hold up my palm, so sure of myself and just like I had suspected the scythe does something incredible. The weapon leaps from Oscars grasp, leaving him stunned, and directly into my palm in a way that seemed as though nothing in the world could have stopped it from returning there.

“What the hell was that?” He asks, looking amazed.

“Here, you can have it back.” I hand it back to him, the weapon going where I will it. He looks at it with interest, holding the blade’s end up to his eye level and running his finger down the edge. “Ouch!” He winces.

“It’s not blunt.” I comment and he nods, licking his finger with reverence.

“This is really incredible, Callie, Sophia tells me it responded to your voice?” He asks, looking at me and then back down at the turquoise and purple scythe that he holds in his hand.

“That’s right, I sang a little tune, grabbed the hilt, and the thing came out of the stone like I was sliding it out of butter.” I explain.

“Hmm, can you leave this with me for a bit, just half an hour or so, I’d like to run some tests … and I think it’d be best, just because of your effect on the weapon that I do one lot of testing without you and then do the same tests with you present. Is that okay?” He asks and I feel a little strange about it. It’s weird, this weapon is an object, and yet for some reason I’m clinging onto it like it’s my child.

“Okay.” I say. He senses my reserve as my words carry little conviction.

“I’ll take good care of it, I promise.” I look at Sophia as he says this reassuring me. She moves around the back of her mate and smiles at me, calming me with her earthy charms.

“I’ll come back in half an hour?” I suggest and he gives one firm nod, not really looking at me, immersed in the colour of the blade.

“I’ll come with you; there’ll be no talking to him until he’s finished now.” Sophia laughs rolling her eyes. Orion smiles at her from my side and I wonder if they were friends before she and I became friends.

“Okay, we’ll see you in half an hour.” I repeat, turning reluctantly from Oscar and the weapon, he doesn’t reply, absorbed in the metal blade and its handle that had also captured my imagination. I can’t help but wonder if knowing what it was for would be more trouble than it was worth.

We return after taking a leisurely swim around the coral gardens surrounding the city, I am pleasantly surprised having lived in the city for little over a month that I have not noticed them before. They are quaint, with tiny shoals of angel fish, blue tangs and blue-striped Fangblenny, with larger creatures such as bow-mouth guitar-fish scouring the sea floor for hidden morsels to eat. We pass the time talking about menial things. It turns out Sophia has seen Orion at a few of the half-moon ceremonies, but had never found the courage to approach him. I notice now how people treat him differently; probably being because he was the closest thing Atlas has to a successor. I am surprised how easily they get along, not that I should be and they are laughing about some fashion disaster with fish netting when we decide to head back and see what Oscar has found out. As we arrive at the front door of Oscar’s private workspace Sophia ushers us inside with a warm smile, however it fails to appease me as I feel far from calm.

“You’re back!” Oscar moves into the main room to greet us. His hands are empty.

“Where’s the scythe?” I ask, feeling a jolt in my stomach.

“It’s fine, just through here.” He guides us through to the anvil room. It is dimmer than the bedroom in my apartment as the window is blocked by dark silken fabric tied from ceiling to floor, keeping it from floating inwards with the gentle current. The room is lit eerily by glass squid captured in jars that hang from strings like Christmas lights, and the anvil in the centre glows. The scythe rests against it at an angle: shimmering in deadly fashion under the chill light.

“What did you find?” I ask impatiently and Orion places a gentle arm on my shoulder.

“It’s okay, give him a moment.” He whispers, sensing my tension.

“It’s all right, Orion, she has a right to be concerned,” he acknowledges, looking up calmly.

“She does?” His head snaps around, eyes wide.

“Yes.”

“Why do I have the right to be concerned?” I ask listening intently, my heart beating hard beneath the scales of my breast.

“Because this weapon has a purpose, and that purpose is to harness a large amount of power and siphon it through from the heavens to the earth.” He looks over the top of half-moon spectacles that he wasn’t wearing earlier, his handsome face looks stern, green eyes piercing me.

“What?”

“You see … I believe that this scythe is the very same weapon that Poseidon created to hold Atargatis’ power when he trapped her in mermaid form. But now that power is gone, as it was released when she was reinstated at Poseidon’s side.”

“What does that have to do with siphoning power?” I ask interrogating him with a scowl, impatient and worried.

“The thing is, this weapon is still here, and so is its capacity to hold a massive amount of power. So even though Atargatis’ magic is gone, it could still be used to absorb massive, and I mean massive, amounts of magical energy from the heavens and trap it on earth. Or to be used for God knows what.” He looks serious, so serious in fact I’m worried I may cry.

“But this weapon is linked to Callie …” Orion looks confused.

“Yes, it may have something to do with the fact she and it have similar powers. I wouldn’t advise being near this thing when it is being used for its intended function. Any living being attached to this … well it would be like being struck by 1000 bolts of lightning at once.” Oscar explains and I hold my breath. Holy crap that’s a lot of lightning.

“So you’re saying this thing is bad?” Sophia asks, looking at her partner with conviction.

“I’m saying that it’s powerful. You don’t want something like this falling into the wrong hands.” He replies looking at me with a frown.

“I guess now we know why they need it for the ritual; I mean they must need a large amount of power to bring the Necrimad here … maybe this weapon is like a kind of mystical battery?” I ask, looking between the three other mer floating at eye level with me.

““That makes sense. Is this the vessel then?” Orion looks between Oscar and Sophia: clueless. I nod.

“Maybe” I bite my tongue, punishing myself for the lie. I curse mentally.

“Thank you, Oscar.” I say, expressing my gratitude for time spent. I call the scythe to me and then hold it in my hand, looking at the tool of my destruction with a mixture of admiration and terror.

“Are you mad?” Orion looks at me incredulously, his eyebrows arched. His eyes emit an angry glow under the eerie light.

“Excuse me?” I ask, looking at him confused.

“You can’t carry that thing around Callie. You could be killed!” I laugh mentally as he spits out this last sentiment. I may well get killed, but it wasn’t the getting killed I was worried about. It was the getting killed at the right place and time so I could save them all. I scowl.

“What? You think you’re any safer from thousands of bolts of lightning than I am?” I ask with wide eyes. I move my tail, raising my height slightly, not enough for anyone to notice, but just to make my presence more definite.

“I don’t know …”

“No, you’re right, you don’t know. Neither do I. I want to.”

“You shouldn’t say that, I’d rather have you safe.” Orion says, biting his lip and crossing his arms.

“Orion, look around, I’m attracted to a piece of weaponry that can siphon magical energy with the power of thousands of lightning bolts. Stop trying to protect me, teach me to protect myself!” I beg him and his shoulders sag, he turns to Oscar.

“Can you teach her to use this weapon?” He asks, his brow knitted and eyes piercing. I see the caste system of the Occulta Mirum here for perhaps the first time, Oscar bows respectfully.

“I can try. It would be my honour.”

“Very well. Do it. I’ll teach her hand to hand.” he turns to me, “I know Ghazi taught you a few basics or as much as he could manage in an afternoon, but I want you to know I won’t hold back with you if that’s what you’re asking. I will teach you to kill.” He looks grave and I nod. I will not be a victim of my own situation.

“Let the games begin.” I say in a mock tone of voice.

“Do not misunderstand me, Callie, this is not a game. This may just end up getting you killed. I hope you know that. You’re playing with fire here, and I’m not happy about it, but I can’t stop you.” Orion retorts, looking enraged but annoyingly, still gorgeous. I nod in acknowledgment. I know only too well what he says is true.

AZURE

The stalactites and stalagmites of the dark anti chamber grow from the floor and ceiling like sharp teeth, making the cavern appear as though it’s the jaws of an enormous beast. Solustus has left me in the darkness and I can see a glimmer of magenta in the shadows as vampire squid illuminate the room with subtle and inconsistent glows protruding from their rear ends.

“Star …” I whisper and the figure stirs.

“OW! What the …” I see her bloodied head pop between the protrusions that make up the natural prison that she is encased in. Regus must have manipulated the earth to create this. There is no way to free her.

“It’s okay …”

“Azure …” Her icy blue eyes reach through the darkness … my heart swells, I had forgotten her face when she was conscious. The astute features that make her betray such powerful anger and fear. I am taken back to Orion returning home, his argument with our beloved mother, Starlet’s face, the fear as he galloped away into the moonlight, that we would never see him again. If only.

“Starlet listen …”

“No! You left me … I don’t want to hear anything you have to say!” Starlet spits out, blood pooling in the water around her face, one of her teeth looks chipped and her lip is split open. I have seen this before. Regus is not just well muscled, he is brutally violent, leaving the flesh of his victims multi-coloured. Her expression is colder than the ice blue of those eyes that we used to share … before I fell in love; in love with a liar.

“Look … you have to listen to me! I did something … I lied. Please you have to listen!” Starlet looks down at the sandy floor, I see a gash in the magenta tail attached to her slim waist, almost invisible against the bright pink, it oozes scarlet. I wince, knowing the pain of a slashed scale too well.

“What could you possibly have to say?” She spits this again, more blood spilling into the water. It is a wonder the water of these caves is not permanently tinged scarlet.

“Listen … it’s about the prophecy!” I say and she cocks her head and her eyes widen, mouth open a little. I start to talk and slowly she begins to listen to what has been happening ever since the day I left her.

CALLIE

The week following Orion’s decision to give me the training I feel I so desperately need is odd to say the least. We talk over the information we had found with Atlas and Saturnus and they both agree we are doing the only thing, and best thing, that we can. Saturnus is particularly interested in the information we have found about the scythe too and he has a hundred and one questions, most of which we still cannot answer. Orion still doesn’t feel totally okay about it all though, and if I’m honest, he has become less my lover and more my own personal tyrant. He drills me hard, makes me swim over lengths I can’t imagine, fight with weapons I have never even heard of, and tasks me with absorbing his powers over and over and over. I am left mentally drained and disappointed as I have not once successfully absorbed his power over air despite being able to successfully absorb Oscar’s power to manipulate metal. Oscar is on hand to supervise, but he mainly does what Orion asks him to. I find myself surprised at how little instruction I need on the one weapon I understand the least: the scythe. It moves from me as though it is a limb I had grown, fluid and well oiled. It is, undeniably, a part of me. I practice with it, now more wary of it as I feel a dizzying rush every time I handle it and swim away unscathed. It is like I am playing Russian roulette, exhilarating but also terrifying, the ultimate gamble.

“That’s enough for today.” Orion says finally after I have been racing him around the city backwards, just us two. Oscar had taken the day to be with Sophia, almost as though he knows something big is coming and he is scared. If I could sweat I would be drenched, but seeing as that is impossible, the point is moot.

“Really?” I say, tilting my head in surprise and breathing hard. We usually train until well into the early hours when the moonlight rebounds off the blades that clash and clatter together as I fight him or Oscar. Orion hadn’t been kidding when he said he wouldn’t hold back. To put it simply, I no longer wondered how he had survived so many years in The Guardians, fighting alongside The Knights of Atargatis.

“Yes. It’s the full moon tonight.” He says, not cracking a smile; his expression is as it has been for days, impassive, icy and unfeeling.

“Ah, I see.” I comment, waiting for him to crack. I slither forward, moving my hips in a flowing movement, trying to excite and entice. “Got any particular plans for tonight?” I ask, approaching his slab like abs, and looking up. I bite my bottom lip and flutter my lashes suggestively.

“Perhaps, depends if you want to take a night off from playing hero …” I scowl at that comment and I see in his eyes that he immediately regrets it.

“You really think that’s what we’ve been doing? Playing?” I ask feeling hurt.

“I think I wish you would let me look after you.”

“That’s not who I am, Orion.”

“I know.”

“Do you? I’ve been working hard this week to please you.”

“I know you have, but I worry. Just because I’m preparing you to defend yourself against death doesn’t mean I wouldn’t die for you.”

“And I would die for you.”

“Don’t say that.” He mutters looking down at me, eyes terrified.

“Why? You just said it to me.”

“Because you are beautiful and strong. You deserve to be cherished as you are, not hardened into something unrecognizable.”

“What? Are you worried I won’t be me anymore?” I ask, feeling an inch of understanding, only an inch though.

“No … I”

“What? Spit it out.” I demand, crossing my arms and waiting to hear his latest excuse.

“What if you don’t need me anymore?” He asks, looking up at me. I almost laugh, stifling a giggle between tightly pursed lips and choking a little on my own watery breath.

“Are you serious?” I ask, raising my eyebrows, feeling as though I’ve just been thoroughly tickled all over. “Orion, I’ve never needed you more! Can’t you see that?” I question him, putting both of my hands on his shoulders almost wanting to shake some reason into him. I catch a glimpse of our tails, almost touching, royal blue on pale aqua, beautiful both together and apart.

“No.”

“Well, what can I do to show you I need you?” I question him again, unrelenting, wanting him to realize how ridiculous he sounds, willing him to falter on his response so I can show him how little sense he is making.

“I … don’t know.” He sighs, shrugging. Instead of satisfaction, I feel empty, perhaps because I didn’t know if I had the answer to my own question.

“How about …” I inch upward and place my hand on the side of his face, curling my arm around the back of his neck and pull his lips to mine, adrenaline spiking in my veins and making me hungry … must be the full moon. I finish the kiss and we are both out of breath.

“That … helps.” He admits with a wry smile, the first I have seen grace his beautiful, statuesque features in longer than I want to admit. The bright royal blue scales around his eyes crease a little and the ice blue of his eyes are deliciously ignited with passion, making them shine out against the surrounding mask. I hadn’t realised I had missed his smile so much.

“Good.” I smile back at him. “So, what have we got planned for tonight?” I ask, wondering if there are any official events that will postpone the intimate hours that I so covet. He taps his nose with a cunning grin and leads me by the hand.

“It’s a surprise.” He admits. My insides, despite all that has happened in the month since we were last on land together, curl deliciously at the prospect of his hands on me.

SOLUSTUS

“Ready them.” Titus says this to me from across the room, not bothering to grace me with his eye contact. I am glad of it. I feel so utterly energized, wanting to get out there, start the fight and initiate the war.

“Yes, of course.” I respond acutely, sharply, like I do almost everything. I am about to disappear into the shadows to send the signal when I hear his hissing from over my shoulder once again.

“Solustus?” he slurs. I can tell he is high again, drunk of the power of the final hours he has had alone with the vents before he will go for the ultimate hit. The eternal fix: Raising the Necrimad.

“Yes … Sir?” I reply, wondering if he can really expect me to call him that.

“That’s better.” He hisses back after me. I hear the smile on his lips; he thinks he has me whipped. I turn and leave the room, letting him live out his vent-fuelled, delusional, psychopathic fantasy.

CALLIE

The dripping of the water from the cave ceiling onto the floor has a soothing effect on my ears as Orion and I surface into the entrance of the Lunar Sanctum. He holds me close to his chest as we both peer upward into the hole through which the moonlight slips into the dark space. We feel the change long before we see it in each other, a tingling over the body as the moon’s powers take us back to what we had been: human. I step up the stone steps and onto the cool floor. After the last month I am surprised and a little unnerved to see the legs that stem from my naked waist. Oh well, I think, at least my leg hair hasn’t grown back in since last month. I step, feeling a little shaky as unsurprisingly I find walking a little less than natural. Orion, also known in my head at this point as Adonis, steps out of the water behind me, his tanned skin and sculpted ass emitting a beautiful sheen as the water turns to droplets on his skin. Yum. He hands me a white silk robe from a shelf.

“We get robes this time? That’s a step up from towels.” I comment and he laughs.

“We got here earlier; it’s one of the perks.” He smiles, slipping a terry cloth robe over his own shoulders and fastening it. I do the same, the silk kissing my skin. He takes my hand and my pulse quickens, my legs feeling stronger now as he leads me up the narrow and twisted staircase and through the door into the foyer. The black marble floor glistens under the dull moonlight and the bottle green velvet runner that leads to the double sided staircase looks as grand as ever. The banisters glimmer a warm gold and I feel relaxed. The familiarity of this place after everything that has happened makes me feel a bit more like me as I remember Orion carrying me up the staircase in my purple dress before the night when we first made love. We walk together, hand in hand, up the staircase, the jade velvet soft on my naked feet and slowly journey toward our room. The enormity of the Sanctum is starling and I think back to Georgia and the other employees, wondering if they are left with the clean-up. I’m sure whoever it is gets paid to stay quiet about the comings and goings of the Sanctum’s inhabitants.

We open the door into our room and I step inside, the cream and white of the space reminding me of the heavenly light that had engulfed us as we explored one another with relish.

“Are you hungry?” He queries and I look up between my lashes as we stand facing each other at the end of the four-poster.

“Not for food” I lie, despite my growling stomach.

“How about if I order something to the room?” he suggests, sensing my impatience, I rub my thighs together suggestively.

“You mean they do that?” I ask surprised.

“Oh yes, we have plenty of staff here other than personal assistants.” I pull a face at the mention of Georgia but Orion rolls his eyes and continues, “And lots of people don’t want to leave their rooms during the only intimate time they get with their partner if you catch my drift.”

“So this place is a kind of glorified sex palace?”

“Huh?” He looks amused, a wry smile spreading and his eyebrow rising across his face.

“Never mind.” I say, laughing at his lack of understanding.

“Did you just compare this Holy place with a sex palace, Callie?” He crosses his arms with faux disapproval.

“I would never do that. I am shocked at the suggestion!” I feign innocence.

“Well, what can the sex palace serve up Miss to satisfy her hunger?” He asks and I’m not sure if we are talking about food anymore.

“I could murder some chicken wings.” I say seriously. Mischievousness and amusement passes under the whites of his eyes.

“Chicken wings? Coming right up. I love that you love food, by the way.” He saunters over to the phone that hangs on the pristine wall, grinning, and I admire his calves that are coated in a thick spattering of dark mahogany hair. I walk over to him, closing the space between us, wrapping my arms around his waist and pressing my cheek into his terry cloth covered back.

“Yes, I’d like to a get a platter of chicken wings … yes southern fried … room 451. Thank you.” He hangs up the phone and turns to me, cupping my face, swooping down, pulling me into his broad chest. He crushes me against him as his tongue tickles my bottom lip in a playful, yet passionate, kiss. I pull him into me too and he moans a little.

“I missed this.” He admits and I nod in agreement.

“Me too.”

“You know I had an idea …”

“Have a lot of those do you?” I ask, mocking him gently as he stands with me in his arms.

“I do, but I want to run this one by you.”

“Okay …” I feel a little nervous.

“What do you say to us taking a little trip around the world once all this drama with the psirens is over?” His eyes darken and I can tell he is thinking about Starlet. I am surprised he is not more active about trying to find her, but I guess he figures she can look after herself and I need him here. If I ever had a question about who he would choose, I realize I already have my answer.

“The world? Can we do that?” I ask mulling over the word. It’s such a large one.

“Yes, I’d love to show you Europe. Anywhere you want to go.” He smiles a little, his eyes lightening, dancing with the possibilities.

“But we wouldn’t see much … I mean from the sea.” I feel a little confused.

“Well, not during most of the month, but we could choose what you really wanted to do and I will make it happen during the three nights we can go ashore.” He continues, “Plus, there’s more to see in the water than you think. Please Callie, we really deserve this.” I admit that he’s right internally as I nod.

“I’d love that.” I say. It doesn’t really matter I suppose, I’ll be long gone by the point in time that he is referring to.

“Good, we can leave for as long as you want. I want to show you so many places, Callie. You’ll love it, I promise.” I smile again into his chest and I hear a knock on the door.

“Damn, that was quick.” I comment and he nods.

“If this were a hotel it would be five star.” Orion’s face becomes serious as he opens the door and takes the large silver covered platter from whoever is responsible for the knock, I can’t see their face, only a suited pant leg around Orion’s outline. He closes the door quietly behind him and I instantly feel ravenous. The smell of crispy batter escapes from beneath the lid and my nostrils flare.

“Can we eat in bed?” I ask, feeling slightly cheeky, my face heats.

“Of course, princess.” he places the platter down on the white linen of the sheets and I launch myself up onto it. I pull the lid back and a mountain of golden brown chicken wings sit before me, steaming like a cartoon steak imagined by a starving bear. I lick my lips and pick up the first one I can reach as I lean back on the giant fluffy white pillows. I bite into it and moan.

“This is better than sex.” I comment and he looks incredulous.

“I’d like to disprove that theory.” He bites his lip and I melt, his mahogany locks tousled within an inch of perfection.

“Do you want one? Maybe then you can see for yourself.” I ask, pushing the platter towards him.

“No thanks, I can guarantee you I won’t think chicken wings are better than sex.” He walks around the bed and drops his robe to the floor, opening the wardrobe door. I stare a little too long, nearly dropping the wing I was previously devouring.

“I lied … I forgot about …” I can’t get my words out, admiring his naked body.

“Eat your wings, Callie. After all you claim they exceed my sexual skills.” He grins salaciously, like a Cheshire cat, his white straight teeth almost too bright.

“You don’t play fair.”

“I never claimed to.”

“You were a lot sweeter when we first met.” I faux pout, pretending to be upset as I take another bite into the crispy batter surrounding succulent white meat.

“You hadn’t had the opportunity to show off your smart mouth at that point.” He smiles.

“I admit, I was slightly shocked, you know finding out my crush was half fish.”

“Crush? You wound me!” He slips on a pair of silk pyjama bottoms, sliding them over his endowment slowly in order to distract me again.

“Well I didn’t think I was any more than a girl you scoured the beach for to randomly seduce … ah how times change.” I laugh a little.

“Yes, I’m sure you realised your mistake when you found out I had a tail all but three nights a month.” He sits on the bed beside me, pulling me closer; I am still engrossed in a wing, getting the provided barbecue sauce around my face like a small child.

“Yes, have to admit that one did sort of put a kink in my theory.” I retort as I lick my lips and he kisses the top of my head, my hair has dried in the humid heat, the springy curls have returned.

“Nothing wrong with a few kinks.” he says, playing with my hair and I laugh as he swizzles one around his little finger. “I missed these.” He comments, a sweet smile passing his lips.

“Get used to it, I prefer my hair straight.” I comment, munching away. I am now on my fifth wing.

“Good job the night you turned you had straight hair then.” Orion comments.

“Is that why?”

“Yes, you were preserved in that state, it’s how you stay.” He says and I absorb this information. I eat a few more wings and our naked feet play, moving around each other over the sheets.

“Finished?” Orion queries about ten minutes later, the hunger won out, we haven’t spoken, just sat in silence while I fill the gnawing emptiness inside my stomach.

“Yes.” I lick my lips and he removes the platter of bones, balancing them gracefully on the bedside table.

“I can’t believe you ate all that, there must have been at least thirty wings there.” He smirks.

“I thought you said you liked my love of food?” I remind him.

“I do … especially when I get to do this.” He leans in to kiss the side of my face, licking slightly. “Mmm, barbeque …” he laughs huskily and I flush crimson.

“You could have told me I had sauce there.”

“Ah but Callie, where would the fun be in that?” his eyes sparkle, their icy blue depths still stunning despite the lack of scales surrounding them. I shrug and it doesn’t seem to matter anymore. I go to answer and he puts his finger to my lips.

“Shhh. No more talking.” He demands in a dominating tone, I scowl. “Not a word, princess. I’m not wasting any more time talking. You’ve been using your smart mouth far too much lately; so let me introduce you to mine.” I relax into the mattress as he leans over the top of me, the moonlight drips in through the window covered in cream gossamer curtains leading to the balcony. He is on top of me and his mouth is dipping down to meet mine, slipping his tongue inside and with another hand artfully pulling my robe open. He looks at me with a joyous expression, one of longing and love all at once. He starts to kiss my breasts and I surrender to him under the moonlight, forgetting for a moment what is to come, and giving him all my pleasure.

Several blissfully long hours later, I lay in his arms, our naked bodies side by side. The moon is still high in its orbit so I can’t have been asleep for long.

“You’re awake.” Orion whispers in my ear. I feel his hard body at my back and I smile.

“You weren’t watching me sleep again, were you?”

“How can I not, it’s the most beautiful thing.”

“Sweet talker.” I accuse him, smiling to myself. I can’t wipe the happiness and content off my face.

“You’d think the things we just whispered would have you saying the opposite.” He smirks again, that wry smile gracing me with a private joke. It was true, the love making I had just experienced had not been as it was last time, there was no caution, and it was desperate, causing me to claw at the sheets, struggling to take what he was giving to me over and over. I turn over, wanting to face him, giving a chaste kiss along the line of his jaw, which is, as always, flawlessly smooth.

“I love you.” I say, I feel like it’s been an eternity since I said those words for the first time, so much has happened, especially within me. I have evolved into something unrecognizable from a month ago. I feel as though I have lived a hundred years and so I can only imagine how Orion feels. I am too warm so I rise from the bed, looking back over my shoulder in the silence. I walk forward, pulling the sheets from him, leaving him naked as I wrap them around myself.

“Callie?” He asks into the darkness, my silhouette eclipsing the moon. I step forward, my feet sinking into the plush carpet as I make my way over to the double, white French doors and open them. The air from the sea hits me in a rush of salty refreshment. I don’t reply to him, I just breathe. Standing under the moonlight. I hear the bed creak as I step out onto the white wrought iron balcony and then I feel him, his arms around my waist, and his chin on my shoulder.

“You okay, princess?” He whispers, kissing my ear.

“Don’t you ever wish you were human again?” I wonder aloud, looking out at the sparkling waters.

“I wish I could have you like this every day, but I don’t wish I was human again, no. I have a much more important job to do.” He answers. It’s the honourable response I was expecting.

“Don’t you ever want it to be somebody else’s problem?” I want to cry suddenly, my hormones racing round my body, twisting my thoughts against me and making me emotional.

“Why would you say that?” He asks and I wish more than anything that I could come clean.

“I just wish I could freeze this moment.”

“Well I can’t do that, but I can promise many more amazing ones just like it for years to come.” He kisses my cheek.

“That sounds wonderful.” I don’t let him see, but a small tear leaks from my eye, rolls down my cheek quickly and then drops into invisibility.

“It’s a nice temperature out here; would you like to go for a wander?” Orion asks and I nod. I can’t allow myself to get lost in him again, if I let that happen, I fear I’ll never return to the ocean as I must do for the good of everything the mer have worked so hard to protect. “Great, I have someone I want you to meet.” He says mysteriously.

We turn and move back into the muggy darkness of our room before getting dressed and slamming the door on the bed, dirtied with our sex and the heartbreakingly romantic view of the moonlit sea.

The Lunar Sanctum is still as we return to the lobby, walking out of the towering wooden double doors. I hadn’t expected them to be there if I’m honest, assuming all the guests entered through the secret cave that Orion and I had arrived in. Outside the weather is cool and the floor length lilac nightgown that I dressed in clings to me. I didn’t want to appear over dressed for whoever we were going to meet but I wondered if I should have put on at least a bra. Orion seems hurried as we walk through the palm trees that line the sand covered path that soon turns to rock. After a few moments, we arrive at a wooden building, I can’t imagine a mer living here and so my curiosity piques.

“These are the stables.” Orion explains, seeing the curiosity on my face. Had he waited a few moments more I would have realised this because as we approach I can smell the earthy moistness of hay and horse muck.

“You have a horse?” I ask, looking surprised.

“Not just any horse.” He looks childish with delight; his eyes alight with glee and excitement. He leads me down the line of stables, all of which are empty, until we reach the one at the very end. Within the stable is an enormous black stallion, with flanks that shine with the oily promise of masculine power.

“This is Philippe.” He explains and I immediately warm to the stallions brown eyes.

“The horse from when you joined the army?”

“The very same.” he responds proudly and unbolts the gate.

“How is that possible?” I query, stepping back and feeling confused as the giant horse, which stands a few inches taller than even Orion, canters out into the open space in front of the stables.

“Long story, in short, I was thrown off him in battle when he was run through with a sword and killed. He and I are connected. He’s the only one of his kind. We call him Equinox.” He explains, moving forward confidently and patting the horse’s neck, whispering sweetly in his ear. I wonder if he looks like that when he whispers to me, his mouth curving slightly and hiding the eye watering white smile from within.

“Wow.” I exclaim, slightly disarmed. He disappears for a moment and returns moments later carrying a saddle for two and bridle.

“Care to take a midnight horse ride on the beach with me?” He says, grinning as he slings the black saddle over the back of the horse.

“You want me … to get on that thing? You’re joking right?” I gulp, looking at him as if he is mad.

“You don’t like horses?” He asks.

“No sure, I went through the ‘I want a pony’ phase just like every other self-respecting eight year old, but he’s huge, Orion!”

“I’ll let you go in front, but I’ll steer. I won’t let you fall, I promise.” His assurance is less than competent, but he moves around the side of Philippe to where I stand and helps me put my naked foot in the stirrup. He pushes me upward, cupping my behind.

“Easy sailor.” I comment and he cocks his head, exasperated at my cheeky grin.

Atop his back I thought Philippe wouldn’t seem so huge, but I was wrong and the floor seems a million miles away. Orion gets up onto the horse after bridling his beautiful black face and slipping the straps over his twitching ears. Philippe moves impatiently from one foot to the other, shifting his weight; I hope I’m not too heavy. Orion pushes his chest to my back and reaches round to grab the reigns, clicking his bare feet against Philippe’s belly. The horse lurches into forward movement and I move back a little. I start to yell but Orion’s back stops me solid.

“I got you.” He soothes. Clicking his teeth and tongue as signal, the horse responds and breaks into a canter as we leave the stables behind, taking to a rock path that leads down the cliff on which the Lunar Sanctum is perched. The clipping and clopping are rhythmic and I feel the gyration of the animal beneath me in every step. I relax a little, seeing the moon where the trees break apart on the edge of the path that ends in a shear drop to the beach below. Orion clicks again and the horse gets a little quicker, approaching a gallop. I inhale deeply, stomaching my nerves.

“You okay?” Orion asks.

“Yes, could we perhaps slow down a bit?” He clicks his tongue again in response and the horse whinnies, slowing to a trot. I exhale, relieved.

We reach the beach below the cliff in what feels like no time at all and the sky opens up above us as the trees are left in the sand spray that blows up from under Philippe’s hooves. As Orion continues to hold the reigns around my waist from behind, I can feel the horses breathing and hear the sloshing of the waves getting closer. I see the waves over the head of the stallion soon after their call reaches my ears. It astounds me, as the silk, loose fitting nightgown blows in the sea breeze, that I actually inhabit such a massive amount of water. I’ve seen its secrets and if I’m honest, it wasn’t only Orion that I fell in love with when I became a mermaid, it was the sea.

“Thank you for this, Orion, it’s amazing.” I say, leaning back and nuzzling his cheek with mine. He is about to say something when a loud, hallowing sound interrupts us. It is like an air raid siren that we learned about from world war two in school, except this is much deeper, hollow and more harrowing.

“The psirens are attacking!” He whispers, breathless. My mouth forms a small O, my eyes widen.

“No!” I think of the scythe, we had stored it beneath the bed in our apartment. I need to get to it.

“We have to go back to the Occulta Mirum now, and fast.” Orion says and I wonder how quickly we can swim the journey back.

“How fast can we swim, I mean accounting for riptides if we catch them all?” I ask with urgency, realizing my heart is hammering, thudding in my ribcage.

“No swimming. I have a better idea.” He pulls back on the reigns in his hands quickly and I expect us to make our way back up to the cliff path. Instead, the horse tips backward and if it weren’t for Orion I would fall off. We continue to tilt, how on earth he isn’t falling backwards is beyond me. I marvel, shocked by the events occurring around me. There is a fast whinny, a horse cry that breaks the night and Philippe starts to full out gallop, sand flying up around us under the moonlight as we head towards the sea.

“Orion?” I call back over my shoulder, confused as hell as to what will happen next. I hear a slosh and spray cools my feet as Philippe breaks the shoreline.

“It’s okay, I know what I’m doing. Besides there’s only five of the banished, and we have a whole city. It’s going to be okay, Callie!” He’s almost yelling over the sloshing of the water. He clicks and all of a sudden the horse leaps. My heart jumps with it, finding itself in my throat as I can hardly breathe. I see the moon disappear as the shallows fall from beneath us and we find ourselves on horseback, galloping at some speed beneath the waves. I see the horse has changed. Its eyes covered in royal blue scales just like blinkers, leathery scaled wings expanding in front of my knees, they too are coated in royal blue scales, just like its rider. My tail has returned and I worry for a moment that I will fall, but Orion slides an arm around my waist. He yanks my nightdress over my head; I no longer have need for it and so let it be lost to the tide. Leaning back into the saddle he lets go of the reigns.

“The Occulta Mirum, Philippe.” He commands and the mad horse-mermaid combination whinnies, his wings moving forward to back, propelling us through the dark waters of the night.

“I should’ve mentioned Philippe changes just as much as I do.”

“Yeah …” I whisper, enjoying the fullness of the underwater air once again despite my racing pulse. I can’t help but laugh, I’m riding a horse underwater … or should I say, I’m riding an equinox underwater. The whole situation seems so incredible I want to just slow for a moment to take it all in, but we don’t have time. Our people need us.

We reach the outskirts of the city in ample time thanks to Philippe, the gills that had slit open on his neck opening and closing with the quickness of his breath. As we dismount, I pat him on his flank in thanks before turning and letting my mouth fall open in horror. I can see them coming a mile away, a black swarm of what could have been anything, but I know it is the psirens. There aren’t five of them though. There’s an army.

The Occulta Mirum looks as though it is being over taken by a dark cloud as the psiren army approaches and Philippe gallops away on the order of his rider. We are not alone, other mer have returned from the land to the city too. I can see the terror on their faces.

“The scythe … we have to protect it.” I murmur under my breath half-heartedly as I watch the commotion.

“It’s okay; they can’t get into the city. We have a song toll, remember?” Orion says in a hopeful tone.

“Yes and they have someone who can pay it.”

“Starlet.” he remembers, her name a curse on his lips. We swim forward toward the edifice at the entryway to the city and I cannot help but look up, the swarm are almost upon us and my heart is hammering, intimidated by their mass. Hundreds of writhing swimming monstrosities, half-man and half-horror. Orion quickly sings a few bars, other mer coming in behind us before the seal shuts itself. Then another behind them paying once more as we race into the city centre. Orion looks at me desperately.

“I’ll get the scythe, you stay here. Watch what’s happening, be my eyes. Keep hidden though, if Titus gets the chance, he won’t hesitate to kill you, ritual or no ritual.” He says and I want to argue but he glares at me forcefully, his eyes half-angry half-terrified.

“You’ll find me?” I concede.

“Always.” his hand slips from mine and I wish I could grasp it back again, but I don’t, instead I let him swim away towards our apartment. The army that accompany The Banished is substantial to say the least, and as moments pass, they only seem to gain more in number, the black cloud of bodies growing as they approach. The city is in mayhem, mermaids hurrying to their homes, slamming their doors shut, and boarding up the glassless windows while mermen hurry to their battle stations, looking every few seconds at the swarm above.

I see Sophia heading into her home but she doesn’t see me as I move upwards to just beneath the edge of the roof. The night light makes the whole scene increasingly eerie. Silence engulfs me as I watch the mass come from the dim moonlight covered ocean beyond the city, the dome seeming to offer little protection as I know they have the key to enter.

After a few minutes, I decide to move, I duck behind a surface scraper roof, feeling the need to gain height in order to get good visibility on the approaching threat. I see a glimmer of magenta at the front of the mass of bodies as they reach the edge of the dome. There is commotion and then it’s done and they enter the city. I wonder for a moment how Starlet could be so selfish, and then I remember it’s her. Orion theorizes we are similar, but how can we be if this is the price she is willing to pay for self-preservation?

The army passes in a wave into the city. They are mellow though, waiting for the command that will allow them to strike. I wonder how their number has gotten so big; I don’t think anyone expected their army to be this great. If only we had known. I doubt even if the city holds enough people to beat a force this size. Orion clearly hadn’t known. Was there another way of making others like them than turning mer to the dark? If so, when had they started building such an army? It seems that stopping the Necrimad might not even be enough. I scan the crowd. The city seems empty of mer from the outside, people huddled indoors or hiding, waiting to surprise the enemy as I lower myself behind the roofing of the cylindrical tower, ducking my head so as to stay invisible.

Titus all of a sudden becomes more visible, he is leading them. If one were to see them and not know who he was, you would immediately know he was boss as he gesticulates wildly, slashing through the water like a knife. The army behind him filter in as he, Starlet, and others whom Orion had identified for me during training as Azure, Solustus, Caedes, and Regus make their way to the central plaza.

The army is beginning to spread out and I realize that if I do not move I will be spotted and captured as they begin to encircle the outskirts of the sand dome in which the Occulta Mirum lies.

I wonder for a moment what to do, my aqua tail propelling me forward on instinct as I realize I need to find the two men who have the most experience and power in this place. I have to find Saturnus and Atlas, and I just have to hope to the heavens above that Orion gets hold of the scythe and remains safe.

It is not difficult to swim around the back of the tower that holds the study of Saturnus. Despite being in close proximity to Titus and the others, they’re too busy discussing things in hushed voices among themselves while hovering above the fountain to notice me. I slip inside the archway and up to the door of the study. I could have chosen to enter the Alcazar Oceania, and it was probably more likely I would find Atlas there, but it was a long shot trying to get past the sturdy doors and towering turrets unnoticed, so I went with plan B. I knock three times and enter, not waiting for a reply and find who I hope to. I exhale in relief thanking the Goddess for my good fortune.

“Saturnus, Atlas, Orion has gone to get the scythe, to keep it safe; we have to protect the city!” I babble, so worked up.

“Callie, calm down.” Saturnus says, looking tired through emerald green eyes.

“NO! Have you seen the size of the army out there? We’re going to get massacred!” I argue.

“We sounded the alarm, everyone is safe. We are trying to work out how their numbers have grown.” Atlas explains to me and I want to hit him.

“No everyone is not safe! If you two had been outside you would have known that Starlet has granted them access to the entire city!” I bark out, my eyes narrowing and brow furring in frustration. They both perk up at that sentiment looking at me shocked.

“Look out the window if you don’t believe me.” I order. Silly old men, I think, grumbling as they peel back the scarlet drape from the window and peek outside. They turn to me.

“We have to get out there. Try to negotiate somehow. We can’t allow a fight to break out here; they somehow outnumber us three to one.” Saturnus looks to Atlas and they both look at me.

“We need to tell her.” Atlas says to Saturnus and he agrees with a nod.

“Callie, before you go out there, there’s something you need to know.” Saturnus confesses.

“Regarding?” I snap, frustrated that they’re still keeping secrets.

“It’s about Azure.” Atlas says with a smile.

We emerge after the conversation that informed me of what is to come. My stomach is in knots. We swim from the surface scraper entrance together, and the sight that greets me makes it all the worse. Orion is on his side in front of the statue of Atargatis, he has been pinned to the floor using a large, metallic looking fisherman’s net that makes it impossible for him to move. The sight is heart-breaking and I want to scream at them to let him go. My heart is pounding in my chest once more, desperate to aid him, help him escape somehow. He mustn’t have realised they had infiltrated the city so quickly. He must have run out of time just like I was about to.

Solustus has him at sword point and I want to cry out, but Saturnus gives me a fair warning glance that, quite frankly, makes me want to punch him. I really need to get my violent tendencies under control, as hitting people is becoming an all too common desire.

“Titus, what have you done to my son?” Atlas demands, his eagle like eyes give nothing away, not even fear. I wonder if he really is as fearless as he seems.

“What? You mean other than capturing him underneath a heavy duty, state of the art steel net? Why, nothing.” His teeth, razor sharp, part in a menacing zigzag between his lips. His eyes are a black abyss and his white skin is covered in slashes that form his chillingly symbolic tattoos.

“Let him go.” Saturnus barks, it is not a request.

“And why would I do that?” Titus replies, mocking the right hand while looking at me out of the corner of his eye.

“You have no use for him Titus. Be reasonable.”

“Life is not reasonable, Atlas. You and I both know that, though perhaps I know that a little better than you do.” Silence hangs between them like a noxious gas, before Titus makes a long gash through the water with his dragon-esque tail, closing the distance between them. “As a matter of fact though, I do need your son. You see he is the vessel and I need him to complete the ritual that, as you may or may not already know, will change everything.”

“How do you figure he is the vessel?” I ask, blurting out the question before I can stop myself.

“After Starlet here wouldn’t tell me who it was, even after an extreme amount of painful prodding. I asked myself the question you see … who would Starlet, of all people, protect? Seeing as the list consisted of exactly two people and one of them already answers to me, Orion was the obvious conclusion.”

“Ah I see.” I silence myself, trying not give anything away as Titus turns a creepy grin.

“So you see, you are going to let me do my little ritual, or my armies will overrun this city on a single command and slaughter your women.” Titus boasts cruelly, smiling at his self-assured intellect, looking down on us all through his blackened eyes that look like orifices into nothing.

“What about Orion?” I ask, feeling like a small child who has had their teddy bear threatened.

“He dies. The ritual requires it. The sacrifice of the all-powerful vessel so that another all-powerful being may rise and bring the army of the dead to life again.” Titus says it so casually I want to hit him once again, drain his powers and leave him for dead.

I look at Azure and wonder, if I hadn’t received the information Atlas and Saturnus had just imparted on me, how would I feel about her? I mean she is Orion’s sister after all … there are still strokes of the genetics there, the dark hair, the tanned skin, the icy blue lightning that streaks across the blackness within. Did I trust her? Absolutely not. Did I understand her? Never. But could I see her as being Orion’s sister? Of course I could. It was all over her face, the square jaw, the broad forehead. This girl was definitely a part of Atlas’ family. She grips a large staff in one hand and a pearl beaded whip is fastened to a belt around her waist. I stop for just a moment to survey all their weapons.

Regus holds a gigantic stone hammer and I wonder if I would even be able to lift it. I think about the logistics of the stone, crushing bone to dust. Solustus grasps a rapier, the slim blade sharp just like his skeletal body and the bony fingers that grasp at its handle. Lastly, Caedes, who had a joyous and eerily maniacal grin on his bony face holds in each hand a handle that are connected to a blade in the shape of a crab claw. I am only too familiar with these weapons as I remember our confrontation in the Temple of Atargatis.

My eyes finally land on Titus again and in his hand lies a weapon deadlier than any of his counterparts: my weapon. I want to show my hand, is it too soon? I look at Orion on the ground, trapped beneath the metal links struggling to move, his freedom taken from him, because they think my power is his. It’s with this realization that I’ve had enough. I hold out my hand and the weapon flies to me through the water as though it were air. It lands in my palm with a soft yet dramatic thud and Titus looks shocked. I breathe in deeply feeling my nerves rattling in my skull.

“I’m the vessel, Titus. Are you dense?” I cock my head smiling and he recovers his composure with a small smile.

“Oh, Callie, this just gets better and better.” He sneers.

The moments that follow feel like an eternity.

“Let Orion go and you can have me.” I bargain and my back straightens as I try to look more powerful than I feel.

“How about we don’t do that? How about you come with me, or I kill him?” Titus looks at me maliciously and Solustus moves closer to him with his sword, ready to carry out the threat of his boss.

“Let him out of the net.” Titus barks, following my panicked gaze. He knows he has me at a disadvantage. My muscles visibly tighten as I think of the many ways in which Solustus could kill Orion with just a few slices in the right place.

“But …” Solustus questions him subordinately, his black eyes stormy with grey lightning.

“I want him to watch as she dies.” Titus spits out and Regus and Caedes are instantly behind me grabbing my arms. I let them take me, only fighting to get a last look at the mahogany hair and icy blue eyes that are now filling with grief.

I wonder if I should have told him. But I know I did the right thing. He has some wonderful memories of me that would have been marred by the prospect of my sacrifice. I just hope those memories are enough for eternity.

Caedes and Regus hold my elbows, their fingernails slicing my flesh at the joint. Regus tries to take the scythe from me, his shark like tail massive in girth.

“You could try, but that thing and I come as a set, it’ll just come back to me.” I say and shrug as he looks at me with his black eyes; they’re sparked with lime green and get lost somehow in his large head.

“No funny business or I’ll make you wish you’d stayed dead.” He threatens and I wince looking up at his bald, fat head.

“No.” I vow. I’m not going to run. This is what I was made for. I was made to save this city so they can carry on protecting people just like my sister. Giving her a world to grow up in and stopping all hell from breaking loose.

The duo, well-muscled and crazy, pull me upward. They are flexing their hybrid bodies until we are high above the city but not astray from the point directly above the fountain of Atargatis. I see her open palms that reach to the sky and the spout of air that emerges from them as tiny points of glittering gold below.

The entirety of the Occulta Mirum is spread out beneath me and I wonder why I never thought to come up this high before; the city looks beautiful, like a jewel of the sea beneath the full moon. I take the moment to relax, despite the overwhelming evidence suggesting I should be fighting for my life; I feel a calm fall over me. However, the same cannot be said for everyone else as I watch Orion using his power over Titus below, trying to keep him at bay, trying to save me. We hang for a few moments, watching the fighting below. Saturnus goes down hard, or at least I think he does. It’s hard to tell from up here.

Solustus stares at me intensely as he rises, driving himself at a sharp speed that is quite beyond imagination to my eye level. He is holding something dark green. It is seaweed, but this stuff has the tensile strength of something far stronger. He ties me to the scythe.

“Just to make sure you don’t get away.” He winks at me and I wonder what I’m seeing behind his eyes, he appears pleasant on the surface, but maybe that’s because he is getting his own way in killing me. “It’s funny … you remind me of someone.” He says, after the binding is complete. He places a skeletal finger on his chin, stroking its acute structure leisurely.

“Really?” I say, playing along. I wonder why I don’t feel more afraid, have I always been leading up to this moment, have I always had a death wish?

“Yes, your father has the very same nose.” He looks at me intensely, watching the information bomb he just let loose spark fire in my eyes.

“You know my father?” I snap out at him. This is no time to be playing personal games.

“Ah, I can see I’ve said too much. Time to start the ritual, must hurry.” He points upward and I see that the moon is approaching the point directly above us. Titus joins us and takes a book that Regus has procured, it looks old, bound in black leather, I see the pages, and the ink is red. Maybe it isn’t ink after all; it could be blood for all I know. I look around for Azure; she is nowhere to be seen. I am floating, surrounded by the others, their weapons poised to kill in an instant.

“I’d stand back if I were you, from what I understand the power this thing generates is not something you want to be near … unless of course you have no choice.” They all look at me, wondering why I’m not fighting back. I have to say I’m asking myself the same question. I ponder this for a moment and then I see Orion coming up from the depths of the sea, fighting his way back to me and I know. I know because I’ve seen real love in the mer people of this city. The way they wait, how they try for and achieve relationships that last an eternity. The way Orion’s eyes sparkle and the very mention of my name and his unending and raw instinct to save my life. They say it’s magic, but I know different. I know now it both can’t be and is magic because love itself is magic in its purest most awe inspiring form. The love two sisters have for one another, the love of a mother for a daughter, and the love of a man for a woman colliding in messy, spectacular bursts of magic throughout the world. That is something worth dying for.

Atlas and Orion have risen, like warrior statues in their silence, until they are surrounding all five of the banished and myself, ready to defend the city and me with their lives. Having procured spears, seemingly from nowhere, they begin to attack, Regus and Caedes keeping them busy. Titus isn’t stupid enough to take the risk of them rescuing me so he nods, and as he does, a section of the black swarm of psirens pour forth. Hideous hybrids of man and creatures of the deep surrounding Atlas and  Orion.

“You handle the boy and his father. Leave the rest of them to me.” Titus barks and they bow their heads in respect. I feel bile form in my throat as Regus and Caedes join the small group of psirens. Titus looks over and begins to chant, Solustus moves away from me with a wary gaze, pulling his sword from its sheath and dives, heading behind me to where the fight is taking place. I want to move but I’m scared if I see Orion I won’t go through with this. The language I hear from the mouth of Titus is not one I have ever heard before, it sounds like a hundred voices speaking at once and I begin to feel the metal of the blade I am attached to vibrate. My heart begins to flutter as fear seeps into my stomach like a poison, if I thought I’d escaped the fear of dying I guess I’d been wrong. I could move up or down, but I know Titus will stall me with his power to inflict pain or with his army, and without my hands free, I can’t defend myself. I then see something I couldn’t have ever predicted happening.

Azure, with her staff poised to clobber, appears behind Titus as the other members of The Banished fight with my lover and his father. She puts her fingers to her lips and I realize she is warning me not to give her away. I turn my attention away so Titus doesn’t follow my gaze and hear the crack of wood on skull. Saturnus and Atlas must have been right; she really was watching The Banished for us the whole time.

It is then that I know Starlet has joined the game too, letting out an eye-watering high-note. I watch as The Knights rise from the city below where before they were invisible and all hell breaks loose. There is a commotion and I whip my head back again, finding them grappling desperately. Titus grabs Azure and she starts to writhe, convulsing in vile agony. I want to help but I’m still tied to the scythe and the metal is really starting to vibrate, getting hotter and hotter by the second. I am startled when something grey shoots past my ear and then Atlas is on Titus and they’re thrashing in the water. My heart is pounding, my blood rushing hot against the metal that is starting to burn.

As I take a second to watch the two mermen fight, I expect the ritual to cease but it does not and my arms begin to ache with the constant vibration of the scythe in my hands. Behind me, I can feel the movement of the water as The Knights meet with the psiren army, they outnumber us and Titus clearly knows this as I watch him grin maniacally when the first clangs of steel on steel can be heard.

Fury emanates around him as he lashes out against Atlas, grabbing at him, clawing at him, and fighting with dirty, conceited moves that leave Atlas struggling to gain the upper hand. I watch the two of them, whirling in the water, Atlas clearly having fought him before as he is careful to avoid his touch. I blink, my eyes watering with the heat of the scythe and in that fraction of a second, Titus has his lips around Atlas’ throat and all Starlet and Azure can do is look on in horror. His death isn’t calm, and it certainly isn’t painless. I watch as Titus makes him convulse, moments before the grip of his mouth on the flesh of Atlas’ neck tightens and he bites savagely, ripping the tendons and veins from the neck of his opponent.

“NO!” I cry as I hear my own voice echoed by Orion’s. For a moment, the fighting stops behind me. The Knights are shocked at the defeat of one so old, and their opponents gaping to see what all the fuss is about. I pause, mind reeling, arms aching, blood racing, and the world seems to stop as Atlas’ blood plumes in the water, scarlet and thick.

Atlas can survive a simple bite, can’t he? I find myself hoping this in one moment, and in the next, Titus’ bloody face is staring at me, the head of Atlas in his hand, its eyes lolling, long grey hair still attached. The body and head turn to sand silently in a moment no different than any other. It’s like watching someone dissipate in a vampire movie as he becomes nothing more than particles, sinking to the floor of the Occulta Mirum. A being of hundreds of years, gone in an instant.

Titus turns, his jagged teeth look like razor blades now more than ever. He’s looking past me and I know he’s staring at Orion, he doesn’t say anything, but his silence speaks abhorrent volumes as a cat like smile spreads across his scarlet lips. His face is even more terrifying under the moonlight as the scarlet blood sticks to his skin, the water refusing to wash it clean.

“Regus, Solustus! Bring the boy forward! Restrain him. The rest of you, restrain their so called Knights!” The tag team brings Orion to the forefront of my field of vision, he looks empty, the death of his father over taking him. Now he will lose me too. I can still hear movement behind me as Titus’ eyes stir with impatience.

“This is what you get when you bring younglings to do an elders job.” He whispers in my ear, gripping the back of my neck and yanking my head backward with long clawed hands. He pulls me up, allowing us to tower over the carnage below, isolating me from any hope of rescue. I can just about see the remains of the psirens whom he set on the Knights. Their bodies are numerous and unrecognizable, some cut in half, some beheaded, and all falling through the water like dark angels.

“Still, they were built to be fodder, and that is how they died. A means to an end, don’t you think?” He whispers, running his tongue perversely down my neck. I shudder as he continues, “Kind of like you … Callie Pierce. Atargatis … that bitch … gave you this life, but for what? For me to bleed you dry. I don’t recall doing her any favours lately … but I suppose I’ll just have to settle for carrying out your destiny for her as thanks for putting the vessel in such a pretty package.” He kisses me on the shoulder and I feel agony where his lips leave my skin. Almost enough to make me forget the aching in my arms at the scythe’s continual shaking.

“Solustus, retrieve Starlet and her sister, the traitor, please. Oh and make sure Saturnus is still unconscious where we left him.” Titus calls down and Solustus nods and darts away, seamlessly.

“Now where was I?” He has lost the book; he must have dropped it in the fight with Atlas. I see Orion through the water, he is writhing, but Regus and now Caedes, who takes Solustus’ place, look immovable, holding his hands so he can’t use his power.

“I seem to have lost my book, but I have to say, I never was much of a reader.” Titus muses. I hate his speeches.

“Can we just hurry up and sacrifice me already?” I ask, looking him in the eyes, my shoulders are burning.

“Right you are, Callie! As I was just saying, I’ve never been much of a reader; I’m always too impatient and skip to the end.” He grins maliciously and this last piece of the ritual he says in perfectly clear English.

“Master of death, ruler of the dark dimensions, I bring you forth this night, in honour of your almighty power. Rise from the depths and be born into our world of the very moonlight that your oppressor so cast you to your dark prison. With a sacrifice of this pure blood, you are anointed and so in my name, so shall you be in this place.” The sea around me seems to rumble at that, and Titus moves a knife against my flesh, a knife procured by the hand of Solustus who looks into my eyes as he ascends to our level, returning emotionless and dead inside.

It is then the amazing happens, as Titus moves to slit my throat, spill my blood, there is a terrible crack like a gun. The light that erupts from the moon up above is beyond bright, like looking into the sun. It is siphoned into the scythe, which illuminates with white light and inside I am on fire. Hours if not days of agony must go by, but this isn’t Titus’ poor imitation of pain, this is real pain. This is death.

The final things I remember before darkness claims my last breath is my palm finding Titus’ chest, in the place where his heart should reside and hoping above all else that I am lucky enough to take him with me. As I close my eyes, it calls to me from outside the torturous beam of magical energy that binds me. It’s barely audible but I hear it: Orion’s voice calling to me.

“Callie …” I grit my teeth, maybe I can survive this for him. I open my eyes and through the blinding light. I see Titus’ eyes, the black abyss calling to me. In those last moments, I have but one thought, and that thought is Orion.

ORION

Callie! Callie! Callie! The inside of my head is screaming her name over and over like a record that’s gotten stuck. My father is dead and I am helpless, bound by Solustus and Regus. They let me go as the brightness of the magical energy field, the field that supplies as much power as thousands of lightning bolts recedes. I am sobbing, mer tears streaming down my face, oily, heavy, and valuable, turning to diamonds and sinking with the weight of my sorrow. My chest is full of despair, swallowing my heart whole in a symphony of grief. The light dies and only the moon is left to light the way. I see her in the dark, still a whole body … Could this mean she is alive, maybe she survived … no I dare not think it. I need to make it safe for her. I hold out my palms, summoning the wave of my despair from within, manifesting such power as I did not know I was capable of before this grief rained down on me like lethal knives. The tidal wave of air starts with me, dense as brick and as tall as a mountain and ripples outward, sending the outer ring of the psirens armed forces from the city and out into the open ocean so they cannot re-enter this place. Only Solustus remains within, his tail making him, unbelievably, fast enough to out swim the colossal current. I look around for the other psiren I expect to be able to withstand such force, but can’t find him. Where is Titus? I search for him as I move from the place where my two captors left me. It’s then that I see her once more. I swim desperately as she starts to fall, meeting her after around 30 seconds. Her face is cold. Oh God … oh no. No! Callie! She is like ice, I hold her to me. I look up from her face and see Solustus open his mouth and howl, an awful sound that stings the ears as he darts from the city limits. The psirens got what they came for. Rage consumes me. I want to go after Solustus, tear him limb from limb, devour him and cause him the suffering he has caused me. But I am holding her and I wouldn’t let her go for all the vengeance in the world. Her tail is still, as though she is dead. Yet she is not sand. I feel a hand on my shoulder … I turn, Azure’s dark eyes meet mine, and Starlet is at her back.

“LOOK WHAT YOU DID.” I cry, wanting so much to kill my sister in that moment, despite the fact she manipulated the prophecy she told Titus to save us all.

“I tried! I didn’t know, Orion!” She begs me and Starlet looks stony behind her. I swear I see a tear trickle down one cheek.

“You couldn’t have possibly told me she was the one they were after!”

“This needed to happen, Orion, it was for the greater good.” I gape at her. The urge to kill rising within me.

“How the hell is this the greater good? You think offering up some poor innocent girl for the slaughter is better? It makes us no better than them!” I scream and I am immediately exhausted. I turn away from my sisters looking down into Callie’s face. She is porcelain. Still and perfect.

“Orion, I …”

“Leave me alone …” I manage to make the guttural sounds into words.

“Orion …”

“I WANT TO BE ALONE WITH HER.” I cry out and she backs off looking shocked, retreating into the dark.

“Callie … what have you done …” I shake my head and bury it into her hair; she is so cold. I move down towards the city and I do the only thing I can think of that may reach her beyond death. I sing … The song is a lullaby I heard once, a long time ago from my village:

Hush my little mermaid.

You’ve had a busy day.

Lay down on seaweed pillows,

Let the waves take you away.

Sweet dreams my darling mermaid.

May the sea become your bed

Let the starfish sing you off to sleep

And the tides caress your head.

Be tranquil loving mermaid.

I’ll kiss you on the cheek,

I’ll lay me down beside you,

As my fins they feel so weak.

Hold me beautiful mermaid.

I need you more than ever,

I need to feel your scales on mine,

To stay with you forever.

I’m singing this as I swim through the streets and people are coming out from their houses at the sound of my voice. The Knights are falling through the water to the streets, the lament of the avoided conflict that signals more to come reaching them all in melancholy rhythm. As I move deeper into the city, I see the sun rising overhead and the golden light hitting the buildings.

Hundreds of our people line the streets and bow before me. Paying their respects, and praying for me to the Goddess. I can see the words under their breath. I start to sing again as I carry the body through the city. I don’t know where to take her. I want to take her away, where nobody else can see her, where she can be mine and only mine. Where no one can take her from me.

I think of all the times we shared and more tears flow, her laughing while eating all those chicken wings, her sleeping in my arms, her sitting on that beach, her eyes as she kissed me while the sun rose above us … Oh Goddess … What have you done? I’m terrified I’ll never see those aqua eyes alight with excitement again. How can she be gone? Her chest isn’t moving and neither are her gills. Oh Goddess … More bows, more prayers as we pass from mer that line the streets, I hate how they look at her, a display, an exhibit, something to be examined. Saturnus is at the end of the road and I spot him as my eyes move upward. Somehow he has found consciousness again. I hear him say something but I don’t look at him. He knew, he must have. I can hear it in his voice but I no longer care what he has to say. I swim faster now, hoping maybe if I swim fast enough, sing loud enough, it will bring her back. I make my way out of the city and into the melancholy gold of the ocean’s morning waters, her body like an icy statue in my arms.

CALLIE

My eyes fly open, my body is soaked in sweat … gross. The alarm blinks neon green to my right as I turn over under the simple white duvet that clings to my perspiring form. I sit up, the white ceiling looming overhead; I want to scream out for him, the icy blue eyes that invade my dreams. Yes now I remember I think instantly as all becomes clear. My bedroom is exactly as I left it; turquoise faded walls, white furniture, too many quilts on the bed. The vanity even holds the mascara I applied in the last hours I was alive here on land as a human. The turquoise feathered dress, in which my heart was run through by Azure and Caedes when Orion held me, is hung up on the wardrobe. I slip into it; no damage is visible on the part that covers my breast. Good as new. Talking of new, I look at my chest, no scar, just smooth white skin, smoother perhaps than the day I was born. Then something else strange reaches me as I move to touch my skin gingerly. I can feel; so this must be real? Mustn’t it? There is no sound, the alarm clock on my beside table faces me, blinking, but no sound emits. There is no breeze, not a whisper to be had in the air. I walk across the wooden floorboards and the one that usually creaks remains mute. I pull open the white wooden door, there is no sound as it brushes across the wood floor either. I open my mouth to speak, wondering if I can,

“Hello?” I call out; my voice echoes gently back at me, the whiteness of the walls looking sun bleached, everything a little too bright, grainy even. I walk down the steps, one foot in front of the other, my toes cooling against the wood. I move through the house like a ghost, it is empty and seems to have been used recently, Kayla’s toys are strewn across the floor in the lounge, and a pot of freshly brewed coffee steams on the kitchen counter, I notice it doesn’t smell as it should, in fact it doesn’t smell of anything. Kayla’s favourite teddy is on the sofa, I sit, and the turquoise and lilac dress floats, billowing out around me. I hold the bear to my chest hoping for the love of God I’ll know what’s going on. Surely nothing can hurt me if I’m holding a teddy bear, right?

I move through the lounge, on my feet again, restlessly phantasmal. Outside the sun is high in the sky, shouldn’t I be turning to sand right now? Was I just dreaming that I swam the seas? Was I fantasising that Orion and I really were together? It would make sense; I always thought he was too perfect anyway.

Outside underneath the willow trees and beside the petunias that line the front of the house, I see it. A glistening in the corner of my vision, I turn to view it, my heart expanding slightly. My little red vintage, on the tarmac and ready to go, there is still no sound and no people as far as I can see. I feel like there’s something I’m missing, I need to go and investigate. I walk in bare feet over to my car, open the door soundlessly and slide into the driver’s seat. The white leather cushions me, the blazing sun making me squint, on the dashboard are a pair of sunglasses, I slip them on, the grainy whiteness of everything dimming considerably. I put the car into drive after turning the key, which I already find in the exhaust. Every movement seems to take forever. Pulling out of the driveway, I drive out into the road, smoothly passing the curb. It had never driven this smoothly or quietly before. Maybe my mom had taken it into the shop; I wonder absently. I want to see her. But something inside me is urging me to drive.

I move through the silent city, there is no one anywhere and now I’m sure I’m stuck here, in a ghost city. Am I a ghost? I drive to the only place I know I feel truly safe, and as I pass the school and head onto the cliff top roads that lead down to the beach, I feel neither a whisper of sea breeze nor a whiff of the salt spray that I so crave. The only thing I feel is the grainy white sun beating down relentlessly on my back.

I get to the place where Daryl attacked me that night so long ago, and then it comes back, as though the act of recalling the memory opens a flood gate. The scythe, Titus, the ritual, it all becomes clear. Oh God! I AM a ghost. I died, didn’t I? I panic and go to get out of the vehicle, to run back to the sea.

“Hello, Callie.” A voice I’ve only ever heard once clearly sounds through the silence, the break it causes is mercifully sweet. I turn, and there she is, all lilac hair and turquoise eyes, her skin a glowing golden, her lips a silent prayer.

“Atargatis …” I breathe and collapse back into the white leather, she’s here, and she’s sitting in my little red vintage.

“Yes.” She smiles.

“I’m dead, aren’t I?” I demand, looking at her with a raised eyebrow, feeling ripped off despite this being what I signed up for.

“Well, that’s all up to you.” She says waving a manicured hand, I wonder if Goddesses frequent the salon.

“How? Isn’t this heaven?” I wonder aloud, she smiles, her hair has so much volume it seems to become her, I notice the sea stars in her wavy lilac locks.

“Ah, no. This is just … what comes after.”

“After heaven?”

“No, just after, it is a place that materialises depending on what you wish to see, to be comforted, in order to recuperate, or make choices.”

“So, you mean I’m, like, in a coma?” I feel stupid against her, she is so beautiful, so smart, but I guess that is how one is supposed to feel when in conversation with a Goddess.

“Not a coma, more like magically induced ethereal state. Your soul has left your body. But it cannot move on until you decide what you want to do.”

“What are my options?” I ask feeling hopeless; the icy blue eyes still haunt me.

“You can drive from this place … or you and I can take a swim.” She says simply.

“That’s it. You mean I’m stuck here?” I feel my heart sinking.

“No, that’s not what I mean, you can move onto something new, Callie, or you can return to where you have always belonged.”

“The sea?” I ask looking at it, silent beyond the windshield across the beach.

“Well, if that’s where you believe it is that you belong.”

“Do I even have a body to go back to?” I ask, wondering if, like Atlas, I am now simply sand along the bottom of the ocean floor.

“Well, of course.”

“Shouldn’t I have turned to sand?” I ask, her turquoise eyes look calm, surreally calm.

“You are not just any mermaid, my dear. You are ‘The Vessel’, do not underestimate yourself, you are one of my daughters, and a special one you are indeed.”

“How do I choose? When I don’t know what I’m giving up by driving away.”

“I suppose that depends on what you want, life, or happiness?” She asks musing, her fingers stroking the bottom of her chin as though she is deep in thought.

“Aren’t they kind of the same thing?” I ask confused, a divot appearing in my forehead.

“Not exclusively.” Her reply is vague. I frown.

“Don’t look so sad, child, this isn’t a punishment, this is a reward. There have been less than a handful that are faced with the choice you are about to make. It’s a gift.”

“A gift?”

“Yes, the gift of choice.” Atargatis says it so calmly, though there is a hint of impatience.

“I’m sorry; it’s not every day I’m put in this situation.” I feel the sun hot on my back as the words leave my lips. I look up at her, “What would you do?” She turns her head to me, looking surprised, turquoise eyes widening.

“I’d choose life.” She says without a break for pause.

“Why?” I ask and she smiles.

“Because you can affect change, not all of us had the choice you have, Callie, some of us weren’t allowed to choose to turn the job down. It’s not all it’s cracked up to be. Yes, you are all powerful and everything, but you can’t feel, can’t change, can’t experience all those emotions that you humans so despise.” She looks out at the sea again, a melancholy line forming from her lips.

“So, you’re saying if I choose to drive away, I become a Goddess, just like you?” I gape.

“Don’t you think you’ve earned it?” She looks at me, cocking her head, purple locks of her hair falling over her shoulders. She is wearing a blue satin floor length gown, kind of like sky blue, but I can’t describe it in such simple terms, it was deeper than the very ocean I had swum in.

“I don’t know.” I mumble, my ringlets tickling my ears in that way they do.

“You don’t?”

“I don’t think I want that much power.” I mutter.

“Ah, coming from one who has never possessed it, I can see the fear.” She nods, accepting my response, her eyelids hooding her turquoise pupils. “Life isn’t the easy choice.” She muses. “But the right choices never are.” I smile a little; oh, don’t I just know that to be true. We sit for a few moments in the little red vintage, allowing the eerie silence to cover us completely.

“No matter what you decide, Callie, just know, life is not a foregone conclusion, cherish it.” Atargatis imparts this little nugget of wisdom upon me. I get out of the car. “Ah, I see. Well, before you go. I have another piece of advice to give you.” She says, licking her lips, getting out of the car, wow she’s tall.

“Which is?”

“Even those who live in the most direct light of my love can be corrupted. Don’t think it makes them invulnerable to darkness.” I wonder what she means.

“Uh, thanks I guess.” I say and she smiles.

“Come on we have to hurry, I have a favourite son of mine I need to greet.”

“Atlas?” I ask.

“Yes, of course.” She gives me a knowing smile, curving her beautiful lips up into a smile and I know Atlas is going to become a God, I just know it. She holds out her long fingered hand to me and I take it.

“There is something else daughter. Before you go.” she says looking with a smile.

“Yes?” I ask her and she leans forward and kisses my forehead quickly. She cups my chin in her smooth hand and stares into me as if I am no more than glass; transparent and fragile.

“You are not alone.” Her voice seems to echo in the silence that surrounds us. Together, we walk across the stark sand and back into the sea. I could have chosen to be a Goddess, but in a very yellow brick road like manner, I have chosen instead to follow my heart, and I do.

I follow it all the way home.

I breathe and it hurts, my lungs on fire, my neck aching. I choke.

“Callie!” I hear the voice and my heart constricts. I don’t want to open my eyes; I don’t want to break this beautiful dream. I stay for a moment in suspended time, focusing on breathing in and out. There is something cold on my back, cold and hard. I sigh slightly and open my eyes. There before me, is what I so desired to see, a chiselled jaw, golden tanned skin, mahogany tousled locks, white teeth, and royal blue scales. In the centre of it all, I find what I’ve truly been seeking, ever since I stood on the balcony with him at my back shedding a tear over what I was to lose. The icy blue eyes, deeply in love, deeply mine, alight anew with our vow of forever.

AZURE

Little has changed in the time that has passed since I last drifted down the halls of the Alcazar Oceania, the light still drips in through the stained glass lazily, falling on the floors like puddles here and there and the ceilings still tower above me. There is one thing that’s different however, and that something settles over me in an empty stillness heavy with regret, and that’s the death of my father. I turn a corner discovering that I have unintentionally floated through the still warm waters and into the throne room. I find as I examine the scene before me, that I am also not alone.

“Star.” I sigh her name, glad it’s her. I can’t quite stand the looks on the faces of the other mer. They don’t understand, they are suspicious of me even now, after I killed who I had loved, and who I thought had loved me.

“Hey.” My sister sounds tired. She’s leaning against the back of our father’s throne, which grew from the roots of our past. An olive tree from our homeland.

“What are you doing in here?” I ask her, looking into my own eyes that stare back at me.

“Just …”

“You’re thinking about that vision, aren’t you?” I pry. The time with the psirens has not made me patient, and social etiquette was never my forte even in life. Star looks at me surprised as her eyes widen. She nods, her lustrous blonde hair settling over her shoulder like a white halo of goodness, I envy her that purity.

“It’s not over with the psirens.” I state bluntly.

“It’s never over with the psirens.” Starlet sighs again. Momentarily, the anger I am so used to using for warmth curdles in my blood, turning my heart to ice as I will her to toughen up, discard her grief and embrace what is to come.

“They are powerful. The master they serve is seductive.” I muse this aloud, swallowing down my anger.

“You should know.” Star doesn’t sound angry, her eyes are glazed.

“It’s not so black and white, you know.” I want to tell her everything about why I fell for the darkness, the rush of choosing my form, channelling my power, and exerting my will. Putting a stopper to destiny, controlling my life for once. But I keep it back, knowing she won’t understand. My sister who fell victim to fate when I left her as half of what she was. The connection between us I feel is tenuous even now. It’s there, but fragile and I fear any wrong word will shatter it forever.

“I’m well aware of the blurred boundaries between right and wrong in the paths of this life.” My sister doesn’t smile, but she doesn’t purse her lips either and for someone who shares part of her soul, I find her unreadable at best. She has hardened over the centuries we have existed under different masters.

“So you saw it too … Callie.”

“Yes.”

“I couldn’t tell …” I begin but she cuts me off mid-sentence with intrigue.

“Which side she will choose?”

“Yes.”

“Me either, it was like I was seeing two events happening simultaneously, but I couldn’t be, because Callie was in both.” Star moves forward through the water above the throne, rising and then flopping into its wooden hold.

“I think she has a choice to make. It’s like ever since she died … she’s outside of destiny. Like, she’s what everything is revolving around.”

“Agreed.” Star looks concerned and I move closer to her.

“You know what the rest of the vision means too … and with the psirens discovery that they can turn others through the mixing of their blood …” I start thinking of the day Titus first kissed me, sent me writhing in agony until I submitted, letting him mix his blood with mine by biting over where my heart lies, still beating after all this time in my chest.

“I know what it means.” Starlet looks me in the eyes and a tear falls slowly from her cheek, crystallizing into diamond as it descends. She rises once again, turning to face the city, which glistens like a thousand sparkling jewels in the light of a new day. The words leave her lips and echo through the room, coldly.

“It means war is coming.”

CALLIE

I’ve been sat down at the writing desk as the moon has arced across the sky. It’s been a while since Orion’s let me be alone this long, but I know what I have to do and I’m glad of the silence while I do it. I think back to that night as I turn over the last page of the letter that I’m writing, the amethyst fountain pen clutched between my fingers like a sword. Each stroke on the paper is a deep cut to me, but I continue to strike down black markings onto the blank white, marring its creamy purity with knowledge, putting the finishing touches on my story.

The days that followed that night have passed slowly, I’ve regained my strength, we’ve talked with Saturnus, we continue to mourn Atlas, and gladly forget Titus, who was killed in the magical stream of power just as I should have been. We are questioning Azure too, after all her secret agenda is not to be trusted immediately. It would appear that while she did fall in love with Titus (only the Goddess knows how that ever happened) she couldn’t break the most fundamental bond in her life, that bond which she shared with her sister. Starlet had been communicating with her secretly, and together they had manipulated the prophecy so only the mer knew the original version, knew that the sacrificing of the vessel would stop the Necrimad from coming forth while they thought it would cause it. We wonder now if the psirens have noticed that it is not yet present within our dimension, but we’re also worried. Worried about their growing numbers, about their ability to grow, and about our lack of one. The scythe is nowhere to be found, after all it has served its purpose and I wonder if it has turned to sand just like Atlas. It seems I, too, have served my purpose, while I still retain my ability to take the powers of others, I can’t imagine having any higher purpose than what has already passed. I have turned down being a Goddess. There has to be a price for that. The price is life, long and simple and with the man I love, one which I am more than happy to pay. I think I am free, I thought it was over, my life. Now I know it’s just beginning and I’m being left to enjoy the pleasures of Orion and the years that spread before us, years in which we can grow together, learn about each other, and explore the world which I have been so blessed to be part of. I hope one day we can meet again, sit down when you’re grown and I can hear all about your life. I hope too that you know, if nothing else, that you are the reason I’m sure that I’m doing the right thing. I want you to have a world to grow up in; even if that means it’s one I can’t be a part of. I’ve told mom to let you read these when you’re old enough, so please, take care of her and most importantly yourself.

All my love,

Calliedile

xxxxxxx

SOLUSTUS

The darkness of the sky under the waning moon is all engulfing as I surface against the abyssal blackness of the night. I look out, upon the shore, surveying the pitiful human land over which I want power. A figure with broad shoulders stands out against it. I look upon him, waiting.

I bide my time, letting the seconds tick past me as though they’re worthless, which they are to me. They become that way when you’ve lived as long as I. I feel the time is right and rise, willing my form to change into that of a man once more.

“Whoa! What the hell man!” The man with broad shoulders exclaims as I rise from the depths, stepping backward from the edge of the black waters.

I move forward, scales rippling in and out of existence with the cool marble of the scythe caressing my palm. It’s not Scarlette, but it’ll do. I didn’t have room with my clothes and the scythe.  I slip on the pair of jeans that Alyssa had given me, taken off one of her victims no doubt. They’re sodden, but I lack the ability to care.

“What would a boy like yourself be doing on a night like this, alone, staring at the sea?” I demand. Walking from the water and onto dry land for the first time in years. Stars radiate dimly, merely pathetic specks of light.

“How did you –” The man with broad shoulders begins but I cut him off. Impatient now I’ve shown myself.

“Answer me!” I bark, shifting my stance and turning the weapon in my hands.

“Okay, Okay, I’m waiting for a girl, she comes here sometimes. About yay tall …” He puts up his hand to his shoulder. “Blonde, curly hair, really cute smile …”

“You are, of course, talking about Callie Pierce, are you not?” I command him to speak to me, enjoying the new regality of my position.

“Yeah, Callie, that’s her!”

“Why are you waiting for her? She has no interest in a mere human like you.” I spit. The thought of someone so close to the goddess being interested in a mere mortal is laughable at best.

“Yeah. I think I hurt her though. I can’t exactly remember, so I’m waiting, I want to apologise.”

“You … Hurt Callie Pierce?” I find my interest piqued. If I wasn’t bored of him already I might even be curious.

“Yeah …” The boy’s eyes fall to his feet in shame.

“Well, why didn’t you say so? My name’s Solustus.” I hold out a hand, the man with broad shoulders looks down at my weapon cautiously, and rightly so.

“I’m Daryl.” he says, smiling slightly and shaking my sodden palm twice.

“I see.” I smile salaciously, relishing the moment.

“Nice to meet you. I better be going anyway. I guess Callie isn’t showing up tonight.” Daryl sighs and looks down again, shuffling his feet, twitching like an amoeba.

“I don’t think you should leave just yet.” I suggest. Daryl turns back to me. Stupid boy. He should have run when he had the chance.

“I have something of hers and I need to send her a message to let her know I have it. I think you’re just the boy for the job.” With lightning speed, I use the end of the white marble handle to slam into the jaw of my victim. I lunge forward, sinking my teeth into the boy’s chest, leaving a sick love bite above the place where his heart lies helpless. I use the scythe in my hand to slit my wrist, gasping outwardly with pleasure at the pain. I push the wound into the place where my teeth were just moments ago. My victim groans, confused and shocked under the cover of the night. I smile, blood dripping down onto my bare chest.

“Come on, lover boy.” I purr. Placing Daryl’s body over my shoulder, I return into the darkness of the waves from which I came.

END OF BOOK 1

A huge thank you to my wonderful other half Mark, without whom this book would never have seen the light of day. Thank you for always listening to my most crazy ideas and my rants and telling me that they’re just the right amount of crazy to work. I also want to thank my parents and my Nanny who have always been and continue to be pillars of support for every endeavour in my life and to who I owe everything. I will say outright that I am lucky, lucky to have found such an increasingly growing network of support. A network which started with the wonderful Kristine Schwartz my editor fairy, who is never afraid to give the most undying devotion to any project she is confronted with and has helped mould my story into something I could only have dreamed of. I also want to lend thanks to my street team, The Tidal TellTails, who never fail to make waves in that ocean we call the interweb that whisper my name. My beta readers, who have been truly amazing, have my undying gratitude and who can forget the incredible Tonya Ridener, who made the book cover of my dreams a reality. I also want to thank the incredible author/typesetter/ mistress of horror Sam Stone, who has guided me through this process and made the inside of my book look just as beautiful as the story itself.

So many people have inspired me along the journey that is writing a novel, but the one who stands above them all is Miss Nicola Trippick, for whom making the dreams of little girls around the world is not just a job, but a calling. She really is the most kickass ice-skating mermaid Princess the world has ever seen, and has truly made me believe in the magic of making dreams come true.

Want to know what’s next for Callie and Orion?

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Photographs by the fabulously talented Trish Thompson

ABOUT THE QUEENS OF FANTASY SAGA

Kristy Nicolle's Queens of Fantasy Saga is a collection of 3 trilogies, following the lives of three extraordinary women and their journeys, both personal and fantastical, into three unique but interconnected fantasy worlds. The first trilogy in the saga, 'The Tidal Kiss Trilogy', captures the fantastical underwater world of the Occulta Mirum and its scaly tailed residents as their world, which seemed stable for so long, begins to shift.

The following two trilogies in the series are yet to be announced.

Stay tuned for more information.