Page 30 of Sea's Secret

“Please, just, I need to stay with you. He is here, and I am afraid.” A huge wave engulfed us, and we dove, then rose again.

“Fine, we will figure out his issue after the storm. You have to stay close to me. You could get really hurt out here without training. Ships break apart when they sink.”

“Okay,” I said with a nod. Then he dove into the water, swimming toward the ship, and I followed after him.

There was another flash, like the one that caused the ripples on the ship.

“What is that?” I asked Finn as we got closer. There were tubes of lava in the ocean in the southern waters, but they were always quickly cooled and encased, and they only made the surrounding water rather warm. Whatever that was, was far more destructive.

“It happens during storms when a ship is hit by lightning. Fire. It is very dangerous for humans. We have to make sure they do not float right over the castle, and sometimes, we listen to know what they plan to do.”

“You can understand them, the humans?”

“Yes they speak our language, Marren. Remember, just like that book we found,” Finn said with a smile. “Even more proof that we are part human, too. All the humans will be abandoning ship now, because they are afraid of the fire. Dive down a bit.”

I watched as, sure enough, all around us bodies dropped into the ocean. Others were in smaller ships, bobbing upon the waves. Watchers darted through the water, capturing the humans and pulling them up to the surface. I swam down deep enough to where I could still see faintly, but far enough away that I wasn't in the way.

“Meria, you left me.” I turned to see Edmar swimming for me.

I swam up to the surface again, not wanting to be stuck in the depths alone with him. I swam up as fast as I could, but he caught my tail, pulling me under. “Not so fast, my little fish.”

“Why are you here?” I asked in irritation.

“I love you, Meria. You should not be out here.”

“Thanks, but I am fine with Finn.” My frustration had to be obvious.

I watched as the watchers dove in and out of the water, pulling humans and other odd things from the water, shifting them away so they would not fall upon our city.

“Meria,” Finn sang to me from above. I swam up to the surface again. Edmar was still holding tight to my tail, but that time, he was not pulling me down. I popped from the water, and Finn swam over to me. “There you are. I thought–” He looked behind me and saw Edmar and glared at him. “Let go of the Princess.”

“No, she’s mine, my betrothed. I have a right to make sure she is safe.”

“Only if she wants you to save her. I do not think she needs saving or wants you here,” Finn said, swimming closer. We bobbed in the water and ducked under a few waves before Finn reached us. My tail was still in Edmar’s strong grip, and I felt such relief when Finn pulled me away from Edmar, then pulled out one of his weapons and hit Edmar over the head so quickly that I couldn’t do anything to stop him, not like I would have. Edmar needed to learn to listen.

“He is a fool,” Finn said as Edmar’s body sank to the ocean floor. Relief flowed through me. Hopefully, he would sink to the bottom and wake up forgetting the entire situation.

“Thank you, Finn,” I said, finding it hard to speak.

“Of course, Meria.” He looked around, and the waters were filled with more and more humans and human things.

“You really should go. Go to the cave, the one with the book, and I will meet you there after the storm. We can figure out what to do from there.”

I nodded.

“Thank you, Finn, for everything.”

“Be safe.” Finn nodded and swam up to the surface again. I started swimming to the other side of the kingdom to find the cave.

As I was swimming, I noticed a human directly above me. I stopped for a moment, trying to steady myself as best I could as the sea continued to rage. The man, who was by himself, kept slipping under the waves. In the corner of my vision, I saw the watchers who were helping the humans, but that human was too far away for them to notice him. We did not save humans for their benefit. We saved humans because we did not want their remains in our oceans, and we did not want them to find Marren Island. Or that was what was taught. Looking around, though, at the watchers, I could tell that they were happy to help save so many lives. After saving them, we mer had the ability to make the humans forget that they ever saw us. I had never been taught how, but I knew it was possible to do, using our songs.

I hesitated.

If I help that struggling human, I do not know how to keep him from remembering me, I thought, but as the human became fully submerged, I didn’t think anymore.

I acted.

I kicked my tail, pushing me through the water and up to him. I wrapped my arms around his frame and soared out of the water as my force had been so powerful. We dove back under the waves, and I slowly moved him so that his head was out of the water. I knew humans could only breathe air. As the waves sloshed back and forth against us, I worked hard to keep his head above water, looking around for Finn or a watcher who could take the human from me and save him. I kicked my tail against the waves, over and over, and called out with both my melody and my voice. No one heard me over the raging storm. I knew that we were near Marren Island. The human needed land, so I started making my way to the island. It seemed as if I was in the water for hours. His large body was difficult to keep above water, even for me and the excellent swimmer I was. Finally, I saw the small outcropping of rocks where we had welcomed the change of the tide. I swam past it and to the sandy island’s shore, which I knew belonged to us, even though no mer ever went there.