Read Online The Mermaid's Curse (California Mermaids Book 1) by Kristina Ludwig - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Kristina Ludwig
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the waves and daydreaming of Oceania.
I set down my fishing pole, still cast in the water, and hum the tune of the Sonata of the Mermaid under my breath. I close my eyes, imagining Oceania popping out of the water at Point Joe.
I’m just beginning to doze off into a contented sleep when a rough tap on the shoulder jolts me awake.
“You have a fish on the line,” Father says, gesturing to my fishing pole, which is on the verge of being tugged into the water.
“Thank you.” I reel in a large, scrappy salmon, similar to my father’s, and as soon as we’ve unhooked it, he stretches it out next to his. Of course, his is a few inches longer.
“Decent fish, Xavier, but you still have a long way to go to catch up to me.”
Mr. Simonsen and Mr. Roth laugh, and Father winks. But I know the truth. He’s really not joking.
At that moment, The Arabella feels claustrophobic, and so does the life my father is pushing me into. All he wants from me is to work with him—as his minion—and marry Victoria, and give up my dream of becoming a composer. He doesn’t seem to care about what I want at all.
Suddenly, I just want to run away from this place, from these commitments that I’ve never agreed to, and straight into Oceania’s arms.
Chapter Twenty-One: Oceania
I can tell by the long, uncomfortable glance my parents exchange that they’re about to tell me even more horrible news. I’ve had it with this day. Why was I so excited to turn eighteen, anyway? Right now, I’d do nearly anything to go back in time.
“Or is there no way to break the curse?” I ask breathlessly. I twirl my hair around my fingers, my heart pounding.
Mother shakes her head. “There is a way,” she says, looking down at her hands. “But I’ve always thought it sounded nearly impossible to achieve, like a cruel joke from the sea witch Morwenna. I think she made it so difficult in order to appease King Triteus.”
“It was impossible for you, anyway,” Father tells Mother with a smile.
I frown at my parents. Why is Father picking this moment to be in a good mood? And what is he talking about?
“So how is the curse broken?” I persist, pinching at Mother’s arm like a bothersome crab.
She shakes off my hand and turns to me, her eyes suddenly incandescent. She licks her lips and clears her throat. “The curse can only be broken by a kiss between a part-mermaid and a part-merman. The union of the two will fuse the worlds of land and ocean forevermore. The couple, their surviving ancestors, and their descendants will be able to travel freely between the surface and the sea for all their days.”
I gasp. “That would be perfect. Someone needs to find a part-merman.”
“That’s the hard part,” Mother says. “We’re the only part-mers in the entire village of Mar, and in the whole Pacific Ocean, as far as I know. Perhaps there are part-mermen in other oceans, but the voyage would be quite arduous. And I suppose there could be a part-merman living on land, but think of how many people there are in the world. It would be like finding a sea jewel in a typhoon—worse, even.”
“But there is a way out,” I say, suddenly feeling more optimistic. “So what happens when the part-mermaid and the part-merman kiss? Is there a magical glow, or does the witch Morwenna appear to them, or what? How do they know that they are the ones breaking the curse?”
“Your grandmer said that, if the kiss occurs on land, the couple will suddenly be surrounded in a shimmering mist of sea spray, just like the one in which she and Lucas proclaimed their love. And if the kiss occurs underwater, the couple will be encircled by a halo of gold and silver.”
“That sounds beautiful.”
“Oh, I’m sure it will be—if it ever comes true. But Morwenna certainly made the stipulations difficult. Neither Ula nor I were able to break the curse.” She grins at Father and adds, “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
My parents kiss, and I
I set down my fishing pole, still cast in the water, and hum the tune of the Sonata of the Mermaid under my breath. I close my eyes, imagining Oceania popping out of the water at Point Joe.
I’m just beginning to doze off into a contented sleep when a rough tap on the shoulder jolts me awake.
“You have a fish on the line,” Father says, gesturing to my fishing pole, which is on the verge of being tugged into the water.
“Thank you.” I reel in a large, scrappy salmon, similar to my father’s, and as soon as we’ve unhooked it, he stretches it out next to his. Of course, his is a few inches longer.
“Decent fish, Xavier, but you still have a long way to go to catch up to me.”
Mr. Simonsen and Mr. Roth laugh, and Father winks. But I know the truth. He’s really not joking.
At that moment, The Arabella feels claustrophobic, and so does the life my father is pushing me into. All he wants from me is to work with him—as his minion—and marry Victoria, and give up my dream of becoming a composer. He doesn’t seem to care about what I want at all.
Suddenly, I just want to run away from this place, from these commitments that I’ve never agreed to, and straight into Oceania’s arms.
Chapter Twenty-One: Oceania
I can tell by the long, uncomfortable glance my parents exchange that they’re about to tell me even more horrible news. I’ve had it with this day. Why was I so excited to turn eighteen, anyway? Right now, I’d do nearly anything to go back in time.
“Or is there no way to break the curse?” I ask breathlessly. I twirl my hair around my fingers, my heart pounding.
Mother shakes her head. “There is a way,” she says, looking down at her hands. “But I’ve always thought it sounded nearly impossible to achieve, like a cruel joke from the sea witch Morwenna. I think she made it so difficult in order to appease King Triteus.”
“It was impossible for you, anyway,” Father tells Mother with a smile.
I frown at my parents. Why is Father picking this moment to be in a good mood? And what is he talking about?
“So how is the curse broken?” I persist, pinching at Mother’s arm like a bothersome crab.
She shakes off my hand and turns to me, her eyes suddenly incandescent. She licks her lips and clears her throat. “The curse can only be broken by a kiss between a part-mermaid and a part-merman. The union of the two will fuse the worlds of land and ocean forevermore. The couple, their surviving ancestors, and their descendants will be able to travel freely between the surface and the sea for all their days.”
I gasp. “That would be perfect. Someone needs to find a part-merman.”
“That’s the hard part,” Mother says. “We’re the only part-mers in the entire village of Mar, and in the whole Pacific Ocean, as far as I know. Perhaps there are part-mermen in other oceans, but the voyage would be quite arduous. And I suppose there could be a part-merman living on land, but think of how many people there are in the world. It would be like finding a sea jewel in a typhoon—worse, even.”
“But there is a way out,” I say, suddenly feeling more optimistic. “So what happens when the part-mermaid and the part-merman kiss? Is there a magical glow, or does the witch Morwenna appear to them, or what? How do they know that they are the ones breaking the curse?”
“Your grandmer said that, if the kiss occurs on land, the couple will suddenly be surrounded in a shimmering mist of sea spray, just like the one in which she and Lucas proclaimed their love. And if the kiss occurs underwater, the couple will be encircled by a halo of gold and silver.”
“That sounds beautiful.”
“Oh, I’m sure it will be—if it ever comes true. But Morwenna certainly made the stipulations difficult. Neither Ula nor I were able to break the curse.” She grins at Father and adds, “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
My parents kiss, and I
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