The Seafarer's Kiss by Julia Ember

Author:Julia Ember [Ember, Julia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Duet Books
Published: 2017-02-05T18:27:53+00:00

Nine

When my own screams stopped, I yanked my kelp curtain down from its pins and wrapped it around myself. Then I returned to my pallet and tried to curl into a ball. But my new legs wouldn’t obey, wouldn’t close around me in a comforting embrace the way my tail had done. I tucked the blanket under my body and the legs rebelled, moving as if compelled by a separate mind, seeking freedom from the restraint. I prayed to Odin, Frigga, Ran, Aegir… anyone I could think of who might have the power to undo what Loki had done. But even as my lips mouthed another whispered plea, I knew my fate was sealed. I’d made the deal and in their sadistic way, Loki had honored it.

The gods would not intercede when there was an agreement.

What would the king do? Sickness gnawed at me, and I swallowed hard to keep my breakfast inside. Would he see this as a rebellion? Would I be a criminal now? Exiled to the dungeons and kept out of sight? Havamal could go to hell, but what if I weren’t allowed to see Mama again?

And Ragna, how could I possible go after her like this? Even if the new legs would allow me to walk on land, I was a monster. The other humans would hunt me. I’d die before I found her. Mermaid kisses were lucky. But who would want an abomination?

I took a deep, shuddering breath. I could starve myself until my body withered or find a way, somehow, to live with the outcome.

“Ersel?” Mama appeared at the entrance to my ice cave. Her orca-black fins swept the ice elegantly behind her. “Ersel, are you all right? I thought I heard you scream, but with everything going on outside…”

I folded the new legs as tightly as I could, smoothing the kelp over them. There was no way I could hide my new body for long, but I’d cherish these precious seconds. If the king locked me away, they might be the last ones we’d have. I cleared my throat. “What’s happening outside? Is everything okay?”

Mama covered her mouth and shook her head. “It’s one of your year-mates… That girl with the coral fins. Vigdis? Her mother went to visit her and found a strange merman in her chambers. She said he was handsome, beautiful even … with golden starlight fins and skin the color of midnight.” Mama paused for breath. “She found them kissing, but when she arrived, they fled. She was happy for Vigdis, goodness knows the girl was miserable after the ceremony results… but when they swam away, Croa said, the merman trailed a green mist, and when she looked into it, he appeared like something else, something monstrous.”

“Is she sure of what she saw?” I took a deep, ragged breath. “She must be under a lot of stress, too, after what the mage found out about Vigdis…”

Mama shrugged. “Croa has a good head on her shoulders. She wouldn’t invent. She was sure.

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