Page 16 of Midnight Waters

Dad had taken me for lots of walks on the beach, following the routes he and Mum took before she died, along the south coast of Dusk. I had gotten to know many of the young merfolk while swimming and made some friends.

Last time I checked, we were still on good terms.

“I would appreciate you reaching out to them,” Mallory said. “Let me know how it goes, and we can start planning a retrieval.”

“Not a problem,” I said.

Mallory showed us out and had barely closed the door before Dad muttered under his breath, “Can you believe that? How brutish of those boys. I can’t say I’m surprised, though.”

“Dad, just leave it.” I was already getting sick of the fighting.

Not that I hadn’t enjoyed throwing Adrian on his ass. I indulged in a secret smile as we made our way back to the car.

The sand crunched beneath my sneakers on the walk across Celestia beach. The breeze played with me, dying into a gentle caress one minute and then whacking me in the face the next.

I had learned to be grateful for the sudden winds. They cleared the clouds and made way for the sun. The sea stretched endlessly under a perfectly blue sky, smeared with a few scattered clouds.

Days like this were the ones I loved to venture outside.

Sammie ran along the shore, darting in and out of the water as he played chicken with the waves. It would have been a crime not to take him with me.

I traipsed across the beach, hugging my coat to me until I got to an old rowing boat wedged between two rocks. Faded crystals lined the pale splintered wood with the telltale glint of magic within.

At the stern of the boat, a large opal bulged.

I whistled for Sammie and heaved him into the boat. He panted and wagged his tail as I clambered in after him and sat down.

“Hopefully I’m still a friend to the merfolk,” I said, taking Sammie’s face between my hands and fussing him.

If they refused me access to the island to speak with their High Priestess, I didn’t know how we’d retrieve the body.

A head poked out of the water at the side of the boat and a mermaid grinned up at me. Her teeth were brilliantly white, and her mossy green hair plastered itself to her head.

Her skin had a silvery sheen so subtle that anyone might perceive it as a figment of their imagination or trick of the light.

“Maeve.” She rested her chin on the edge of the boat, grinning as Sammie licked her cheek. “Where’ve you been?”

“Mylania, you know where I’ve been. I told you before I left, remember?”

Mylania rolled her eyes. “It was a rhetorical question. You said you’d be back in a few years, max.”

I smiled sheepishly. That was the same story I told myself until I actually settled in London.

“Big-city life agreed with me.” I shrugged. “How have you been?”

Mylania cracked a small smile and pressed her hand to the opal inside the boat. With a jerk, the boat got moving.

Excellent. I still had their acceptance.

“We’re much better now that we’ve outlawed land dwellers from our territory. No offence,” Mylania added as she swam along, flicking her tail lazily. “No more unexpected intrusions. We’re all very relaxed. Are you staying on Dusk or are you visiting?”

“Staying for now,” I said.

I didn’t exactly have anything to go back to except a few work friends whom I could still text.

“And what brings you to Magdora?” Mylania asked in a singsong voice. “Is it just to see my beautiful face?”

“That’s always one of my reasons.” I grinned at her. “But I have something I need to speak to Janeira about. Something important.”

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