Read Online The Sea Witch (The Era of Villains Book 1) by S.J. Valfroy - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: S.J. Valfroy
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himself a little too much, if you know what I mean.”
Serena smiled, and the old mermaid smiled back,
encouraged. Serena knew she’d talk through the rest of the
application now.
“ The fame started to fade with my looks, but I
was still making a pretty good living until something went wrong in
my throat. I still don’t know what it was. The doctors
couldn’t figure it out. I’d try to sing and an ugly
croak would come out. And it hurt, too. I thought it was all over,
but then I heard about this young sea witch.” Serena’s
finger froze, a small blob of ointment on the tip. “She was
about the same age you are now. What was her name?” Serena
could hardly breathe. It couldn’t be happening again. “Moira!
That’s it, Moira. She gave me a potion and fixed me right up.
Cost me an arm and a fin, though, but by that time I was already
taking care of my grandson, so getting my voice back to put food in
his mouth was worth the price. You alright, dear?”
“ Yes, sorry, I’m fine,” said Serena,
forcing her hands back to work. “I just got wrapped up in the
story, that’s all.”
The old mermaid beamed.
“ Would you believe I only had to take the one
potion? My voice came back and it’s stayed back ever since. I
could even hit some notes better than before.” Serena cringed,
wondering what human girl or mermaid lost their voice so this old
mermaid could have what she thought was hers back. “I’d
probably still be singing in Adamar if I’d been able to keep
my grandson out of trouble. He was in and out of prison so much that
he only spent one birthday at home between seventeen and
twenty-five. I had to get him away from there. Anyways, there I go
telling too much. But that Moira woman, she’s a miracle
worker. Should’ve gone back to her and seen if she could do
anything to set my grandson straight.”
She’d probably make him think he was a sea
star or something , thought Serena. That
would mellow him out. Yeah, she’d think that was real funny.
And don’t forget, ‘No refunds.’
She couldn’t believe someone else in Arcanus had
mentioned her mother. Calling her a miracle worker was new. So far
during her time in Arcanus, she had heard Moira called “powerful,”
“gifted,” “something special,” and “a
rarity among mermaids.”
Annabelle had been the first merperson to mention
Moira. One night, when Annabelle invited Serena over for dinner not
long after they became friends, they had told each other why they
had come to Arcanus. Annabelle grew up in a poor household and had
been mercilessly bullied all through school. She had thought of
running away many times but never had the courage…or the
anger.
“ But then, two years ago, a shark smashed into
our house while it was chasing a seal,” Annabelle had told
Serena. “It was demolished. It really wasn’t much of a
house anyways, of course, more like a hut. My parents didn’t
have the time or the tools to carve a house of stone and didn’t
have the money to commission one to be built with the Trident’s
magic. We had nowhere to go, and it was the middle of winter, so we
couldn’t just sleep out in the open while we rebuilt the
house. We requested an audience with the king and queen and asked if
they could restore the house. We didn’t ask for a better one,
just the old one back. King Poseidon said that magic didn’t
come for free. He said, ‘It’s the rarest resource in the
ocean, and it costs accordingly.’ We couldn’t afford
what he wanted. We couldn’t even afford the cost of having
royal guard members come help us rebuild it by hand. My mother cried
for days, and we did end up sleeping outside. One of the Arcanus
recruiters showed up on the third day. The rest of my family
wouldn’t come, but I couldn’t stay there any longer.”
Serena had felt like she’d been smacked in the
face. Why had she never heard stories like this before coming here? Probably because I had no friends ,
she had thought. But how could
Serena smiled, and the old mermaid smiled back,
encouraged. Serena knew she’d talk through the rest of the
application now.
“ The fame started to fade with my looks, but I
was still making a pretty good living until something went wrong in
my throat. I still don’t know what it was. The doctors
couldn’t figure it out. I’d try to sing and an ugly
croak would come out. And it hurt, too. I thought it was all over,
but then I heard about this young sea witch.” Serena’s
finger froze, a small blob of ointment on the tip. “She was
about the same age you are now. What was her name?” Serena
could hardly breathe. It couldn’t be happening again. “Moira!
That’s it, Moira. She gave me a potion and fixed me right up.
Cost me an arm and a fin, though, but by that time I was already
taking care of my grandson, so getting my voice back to put food in
his mouth was worth the price. You alright, dear?”
“ Yes, sorry, I’m fine,” said Serena,
forcing her hands back to work. “I just got wrapped up in the
story, that’s all.”
The old mermaid beamed.
“ Would you believe I only had to take the one
potion? My voice came back and it’s stayed back ever since. I
could even hit some notes better than before.” Serena cringed,
wondering what human girl or mermaid lost their voice so this old
mermaid could have what she thought was hers back. “I’d
probably still be singing in Adamar if I’d been able to keep
my grandson out of trouble. He was in and out of prison so much that
he only spent one birthday at home between seventeen and
twenty-five. I had to get him away from there. Anyways, there I go
telling too much. But that Moira woman, she’s a miracle
worker. Should’ve gone back to her and seen if she could do
anything to set my grandson straight.”
She’d probably make him think he was a sea
star or something , thought Serena. That
would mellow him out. Yeah, she’d think that was real funny.
And don’t forget, ‘No refunds.’
She couldn’t believe someone else in Arcanus had
mentioned her mother. Calling her a miracle worker was new. So far
during her time in Arcanus, she had heard Moira called “powerful,”
“gifted,” “something special,” and “a
rarity among mermaids.”
Annabelle had been the first merperson to mention
Moira. One night, when Annabelle invited Serena over for dinner not
long after they became friends, they had told each other why they
had come to Arcanus. Annabelle grew up in a poor household and had
been mercilessly bullied all through school. She had thought of
running away many times but never had the courage…or the
anger.
“ But then, two years ago, a shark smashed into
our house while it was chasing a seal,” Annabelle had told
Serena. “It was demolished. It really wasn’t much of a
house anyways, of course, more like a hut. My parents didn’t
have the time or the tools to carve a house of stone and didn’t
have the money to commission one to be built with the Trident’s
magic. We had nowhere to go, and it was the middle of winter, so we
couldn’t just sleep out in the open while we rebuilt the
house. We requested an audience with the king and queen and asked if
they could restore the house. We didn’t ask for a better one,
just the old one back. King Poseidon said that magic didn’t
come for free. He said, ‘It’s the rarest resource in the
ocean, and it costs accordingly.’ We couldn’t afford
what he wanted. We couldn’t even afford the cost of having
royal guard members come help us rebuild it by hand. My mother cried
for days, and we did end up sleeping outside. One of the Arcanus
recruiters showed up on the third day. The rest of my family
wouldn’t come, but I couldn’t stay there any longer.”
Serena had felt like she’d been smacked in the
face. Why had she never heard stories like this before coming here? Probably because I had no friends ,
she had thought. But how could
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