Chapter 405:

Naia

I have never seen the captain laugh.

Not really. Not the way normal people laugh—with their whole bodies, with their eyes, with their souls. I have heard her mock. I have heard her sneer. I have heard her cackle at her own jokes while the crew pretended to be amused.

But a genuine laugh?

Never.

Until now.

I am standing near the main mast, pretending to check the rigging, when the door to the captain’s cabin opens. Light spills out—warm and golden, different from the harsh sun overhead.

And then I hear it.

A laugh.

And it is disarming.

In a good way.

Seeing her like this, soft and human, makes me realize something I have never considered before.

She is lonely.

She has always been lonely.

And now she is not.

It is strange to witness. Like watching a storm cloud suddenly part to reveal sunlight. Like watching a blade learn to soften.

Her shoulders are less tense. Her jaw is less tight. She does not snap at the crew for minor mistakes. She does not threaten to feed anyone to the sharks.

It is like a massive hole in her has been filled.

Even for mistakes she normally would have someone walk the plank for, they are now brushed over.

How interesting.

***

Lorelei

The water feels amazing.

I close my eyes and drift, letting the current carry me, letting the water over my skin. The sea has always been my home, my refuge, my only constant. No matter how much the world changes, the water remains.

I feel a presence next to me.

Close. Watching.

I open my eyes.

A mermaid floats in front of me. Young. Beautiful. Her tail shimmers in the dim light in gold and silver, the colors of royalty. Her dark hair drifts around her face like a veil.

I recognize her. Not personally. But I recognize the glimmer of her tail—the pattern of her scales, the way she holds herself—chin high, shoulders back, royal.

I resist the urge to roll my eyes.

"I left the clan years ago," I say. "Do not expect respect from me."

She flinches,swims closer. Hesitant and careful.

"You are Lorelei," she says.

"I am."

"The banished one."

I do not flinch. I have been called worse.

"The one who left," I say. "Yes."

"How are you still sane?"

I consider the question.

"Well." I raise my hand. My claws extend—webbed, sharp, dangerous. She swims back, eyes wide, tail flicking with fear. "I did go insane. But I learned to control it."

I retract my claws.

She stares at me. Does not believe. Her eyes flick to my scars. To the egg floating in the odd carrier from Daphne that is much more stable than the seaweed satchets I used before.

"I am surprised you know about me," I say. "You must have been nothing more than a tiny fry when I left."

"The elders still speak of you." Her voice is quiet. "As a warning."

"Clearly that did not work." I glance at the ship.

"If you, a princess, are here with the human prince."

She flushes.

I am so curious about what the consequences of this will be. Will the consequences be the same for royal scales? Or will the elders look away because she is their princess?

"You have an egg," she says.

"I do."

"With a human."

"It is why you banned me from the clan, is it not?"

She looks away.

"But... how?"

I run my fingers through the water, watching the ripples spread.

"My beloved tells me you are quite active with the human prince."

She flushes again, how naive and young.

"But he is male." She gestures vaguely. "Your... the Devil... is female."

"The waters might have heard my desperate plea to have my beloved’s egg," I say offhandedly.

She hesitates.

"But is the... egg... normal?"

I raise an eyebrow.

"I may have an egg," she says. Shy.

Oh dear.

This will definitely be interesting news for the elders.

***

Daphne

It sounds like humming.

Not words...not quite. The water carries their voices, muffled and distorted, rising and falling like music.

I lean over the railing and watch them. Lorelei. The princess. Two mermaids, floating in the dark water, their tails shimmering in the moonlight.

System. Translate for me.

[I am not a translator.]

It translates anyway.

Egg.

I assume that means pregnant.

[In the original, the mermaid princess was never pregnant.]

That is because he had to spread his seed to three people. I watch the princess place a hand on her stomach. But now he is concentrated on the little princess. It makes sense that she got pregnant, and probably back at the palace the first wife must have made sure she didn’t pregnant then.

They continue speaking.

The princess is gesturing now, her hands moving to her stomach, her expression shifting from hope to uncertainty to fear.

Lorelei listens. Her face is unreadable.

They are talking about symptoms. Signs. What to expect, what to watch for, what to fear.

The princess is asking Lorelei for my help.

Me?

To dock the ship somewhere safe. Somewhere hidden. Somewhere she can lay the egg without the elders finding out, without the humans interfering, without the prince—

I do not mind at all.

I will happily do so.

Eventually, they swim apart.

The princess disappears into the deep, swallowed by the dark water. Lorelei watches her go for a moment, then turns back toward the ship.

I get to do what I was doing prior.

Watching Lorelei.

She is so pretty.

Her dark tail reflects the sunlight, scales shimmering in shades of blue, a dark almost black blue, with her hair floating like webs. I cannot look away.

She looks at the ship. Her eyes scan the deck, the rigging, the crew moving about their tasks. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

She is looking for something.

Someone.

She makes eye contact with me.

She tilts her head.

I tilt mine.

She almost smiles.

I definitely smile.

I’m so in love with her.