Page 25 of Mermaid on Heels
“We can transform into a human when we are out of the water and back into ourselves when we get back into the sea.”
“Wow…” Bianca gushed in a low voice, looking breathless, as though all the air was sucked out of the room and she was close to choking. “What kind of world am I living in?”
Liriya smiled with an amused glint in her eyes. “A kind of world filled with never-ending mysteries that you happen not to know, my friend; though that makes us even.”
Bianca laughed. “So, how many of you are there?”
“Here? Just the three of us. Underwater? Let us say, we do not really keep count.”
Bianca chuckled, shaking her head. “Goodness, I cannot believe this.”
“I know,” Liriya said with a slight frown. “How are you so calm with this? You have just been told that the three girls in your house are sea creatures and not humans.”
“I told you I’m as silent as a grave.And,the girl sitting in front of me looks nothing less of a human.”
Liriya felt her heart melt at those words and she didn’t hide her bewilderment about thegravethis time. Finally, her mask dropped; no more pretending. Bianca just made clear that their newfound friendship would be the same as how it began just yesterday; nothing would change between them just because she was a mermaid who grew a new pair of limbs and transformed into a human.
Liriya’s face pinched into a confused-nervous expression before she asked, slyly, “What is a grave?”
Bianca laughed, throwing her head back, her eyes shining. “It’s where the dead are buried, and nothing is as silent as a grave. But tell me, what else don’t you know?”
* * *
Liriya told Bianca everything; her parents, and their royal heritage, at which Bianca went rigid with shock, but Liriya rescued her from it and told her never to call her anyYour Highnessnonsense,ifthat was the term humans used. She also told her about Faelina and the reason why she and her sisters were on the land besides their exploring—to go to the ball, see Prince Luke and ask his help.
The bread and stew were ready by the time her tale was finished, and Bianca called Kitty to help her set the table and serve, since Liriya couldn’t—didn’tknowhow to—do it. Liriya and her sisters sat around the wooden table of six, with plates and cups in front of them. Kitty poured steaming tea while Bianca served the stew with sliced bread. She showed them how to pick a piece of bread, dip it in the stew—bring it to the mouth—and eat.
Kitty stared at Bianca wildly, as though she had gone crazy, and asked, “Why are you telling themhowto eat it?”
Bianca shuffled down her laughter and turned to Liriya. “Can I tell her? I assure you, she’s more than mature for her age, pretty responsible, and intelligent. So much so that sometimes I feel like I’m a fool in comparison.”
“Of course.” Liriya offered her a soft smile. “I would never ask you to keep something from your only family, Bia.”
It was at that moment they looked, truly looked, at each other as friends. Open friendliness with no lies, no secrets between them.
After sending up a prayer of thanks for their food, Bianca told Kitty about their new friends’ true but secret identity and made her promise not to tell anyone.
“I won’t tell a soul,” Kitty promised, as astonished as she was about the information, and kept asking them question after question. Some of them even made Liriya nearly cry from laughing.
“But what can Prince Luke do, to help you overthrow your half-siren, evil, half-sister and break the spell?” Bianca asked suddenly.
“Oh, you know, Prince Luke can—”
“Can give us his advice,” Liriya interrupted Sessa from revealing Luke’s secret. At least thatseemedlike a secret, from what she figured from his conversation with his brother. She didn’t want to spill it to Bianca, as much as she trusted her with her own secret, and shot Sessa a meaningful look that she hoped fused some meaning. “I mean. You know, he is a ruler, so he would know what to do—or something. We are just hoping he can.”
Thankfully, Bianca believed it, but Liriya immediately felt bad. But this wasLuke’ssecret, and she felt like it was entrusted to her—and her sisters—that she shouldn’t betray it no matter the cost.
“So, you’re going to tell him who you are?” Bianca asked with wide eyes. Liriya couldn’t tell if she was eager or shocked.
“Yes,” Liriya said simply.
“And—and… would he believe you? Do you think he would?”
“He would, hehasto; he is going to be the king. He will not turn down the chance to make allies with underwater species and create harmony between our races.”
Bianca hummed thoughtfully. “I guess he would, and he’s definitely not going to lock you up or anything for who you are. Prince Luke is, from everything I’ve heard from every person as long as I can remember, the kindest a person can be.”
Her words made Liriya smile, and she felt her heart rest—even though it wasn’t restless. “I am sure he is.”