Read Online Son of a Mermaid by Katie O'Sullivan - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Katie O'Sullivan
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oceans would be arriving for the Solstice ceremonies, to celebrate the end of the war between the Atlantic and the Southern oceans.
Kae knew the end of the war was a good thing, but every time she thought about the upcoming wedding her stomach clenched as if gripped by octopus tentacles. There was something wrong with making the Princess wed a stranger, let alone a six-year-old orphan. It shouldn’t matter that he was heir to the Southern throne. He was a mere guppy next to her Princess.
Even more pressing to her mind, she wondered if she’d be allowed to finish her schooling, or would the Princess expect her to travel to the Adluo court? She shivered at the thought of having to live among the blue shadows of the cold Southern Ocean. There were also those scary rumors floating along the current, of the cruelty of Prince Demyan, the Regent for young King Theo…
Some claimed the Prince himself murdered his royal uncle and aunt in order to inherit the Southern throne. That his cousin might not live long enough to attend his own wedding. If Demyan has the audacity to kill royalty, she wondered, will my Princess be safe in the Southern Ocean? Would he hesitate even a minnow’s breath to kill a mere servant like me?
The peace was supposed to quell the uncertainty, and yet it wove its own net full of questions.
Worries scuttled through her mind like darting fiddler crabs poking in and out of their burrows. Rumors concerning her own Princess nagged at her as well. Rumors that Princess Brynneliana secretly married a drylander when she was young. A human. And that they had a child together who prophesies foretold would one day rule the Atlantic.
Her mother appeared at her side, interrupting Kae’s buzzing thoughts. “When you are finished with this section, I need you to swim to the oyster bed to check if any there are ripe. The Princess will need fresh pearls for the engagement ceremony, and the Cook will need plenty of hors d’oevres to feed the foreign royalty.”
“After I have done that may I swim to the shoreline? I could gather more of the wild scallops that grow there.” Kae hoped Shea would be on the beach again today. Her heart beat faster at the thought.
Kira put her hands on her hips, her tailfin fluttering faster. “The King has forbidden contact with humans, especially the ones on those beaches. You must not break his rules again, Kae.” She turned her back on her daughter and swam to the end of the row, picking up a tray of fresh seedlings.
“Why can’t I talk to him, for Neptune’s sake?” Kae argued, her tail swishing from side to side, stirring a cloud on the sandy ocean floor. Several hermit crabs scuttled out of the mermaid’s path as she moved to follow her mother. “The War is over. And he’s only a boy, Mother, not some kind of spy. What danger could there be in talking?”
Kira looked up from the tender plants she held in her hands, her eyes searching the area. Kae glanced over her shoulder to see what it was her mother was seeking. There was nothing. They were alone in the gardens. Her father, Lybio, was out of sight on the far side of the castle, still at work clearing the last of the debris from the cobblestone courtyard where the human trash tended to accumulate over the long winter months.
“You must not talk to him, Kae,” Kira said, her voice low and urgent as she swam back up the row toward her daughter. “Especially not this boy.”
“But why? He seems harmless. And he cares for the ocean. Every day, he clears debris from the shore, just as Father is doing now in the King’s courtyard. In fact, it’s probably the same exact trash, since Father merely dumps it back on the land where it belongs. Shea simply carries it a step further, away from the ocean…”
“You will not talk to the boy again,” Kira interrupted, as she pulled an extra scallop-shell clip from her own long hair. “I forbid it. And you must not talk about him, either. His name will only cause
Kae knew the end of the war was a good thing, but every time she thought about the upcoming wedding her stomach clenched as if gripped by octopus tentacles. There was something wrong with making the Princess wed a stranger, let alone a six-year-old orphan. It shouldn’t matter that he was heir to the Southern throne. He was a mere guppy next to her Princess.
Even more pressing to her mind, she wondered if she’d be allowed to finish her schooling, or would the Princess expect her to travel to the Adluo court? She shivered at the thought of having to live among the blue shadows of the cold Southern Ocean. There were also those scary rumors floating along the current, of the cruelty of Prince Demyan, the Regent for young King Theo…
Some claimed the Prince himself murdered his royal uncle and aunt in order to inherit the Southern throne. That his cousin might not live long enough to attend his own wedding. If Demyan has the audacity to kill royalty, she wondered, will my Princess be safe in the Southern Ocean? Would he hesitate even a minnow’s breath to kill a mere servant like me?
The peace was supposed to quell the uncertainty, and yet it wove its own net full of questions.
Worries scuttled through her mind like darting fiddler crabs poking in and out of their burrows. Rumors concerning her own Princess nagged at her as well. Rumors that Princess Brynneliana secretly married a drylander when she was young. A human. And that they had a child together who prophesies foretold would one day rule the Atlantic.
Her mother appeared at her side, interrupting Kae’s buzzing thoughts. “When you are finished with this section, I need you to swim to the oyster bed to check if any there are ripe. The Princess will need fresh pearls for the engagement ceremony, and the Cook will need plenty of hors d’oevres to feed the foreign royalty.”
“After I have done that may I swim to the shoreline? I could gather more of the wild scallops that grow there.” Kae hoped Shea would be on the beach again today. Her heart beat faster at the thought.
Kira put her hands on her hips, her tailfin fluttering faster. “The King has forbidden contact with humans, especially the ones on those beaches. You must not break his rules again, Kae.” She turned her back on her daughter and swam to the end of the row, picking up a tray of fresh seedlings.
“Why can’t I talk to him, for Neptune’s sake?” Kae argued, her tail swishing from side to side, stirring a cloud on the sandy ocean floor. Several hermit crabs scuttled out of the mermaid’s path as she moved to follow her mother. “The War is over. And he’s only a boy, Mother, not some kind of spy. What danger could there be in talking?”
Kira looked up from the tender plants she held in her hands, her eyes searching the area. Kae glanced over her shoulder to see what it was her mother was seeking. There was nothing. They were alone in the gardens. Her father, Lybio, was out of sight on the far side of the castle, still at work clearing the last of the debris from the cobblestone courtyard where the human trash tended to accumulate over the long winter months.
“You must not talk to him, Kae,” Kira said, her voice low and urgent as she swam back up the row toward her daughter. “Especially not this boy.”
“But why? He seems harmless. And he cares for the ocean. Every day, he clears debris from the shore, just as Father is doing now in the King’s courtyard. In fact, it’s probably the same exact trash, since Father merely dumps it back on the land where it belongs. Shea simply carries it a step further, away from the ocean…”
“You will not talk to the boy again,” Kira interrupted, as she pulled an extra scallop-shell clip from her own long hair. “I forbid it. And you must not talk about him, either. His name will only cause
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