Page 87 of Sworn to My Heart
“So, we have a wedding to organize. Let’s get to it,” Pedro announces, standing up from his chair with a scheming smile. Luca, like me, doesn’t seem genuinely happy about this. He understands that many things could go wrong, yet he still manages a smile in response.
I hope the plan works. I’m not ready to let go of either of my families just yet.
Alin
“Will you be okay?” Luca asks, his voice no longer radiating confidence as I open the car door and step onto the sidewalk.
I know he understands, just as I do, that there’s a chance I won’t come back to the surface. The sting in my heart is painful, but breaking down now won’t help either of us. I have to believe we’ll succeed.
Who would have thought that one day I would join a crime organization on land and decide to kill merfolk so easily? I must have delved into their world deeper than I thought, but it’s too late now. The depths are calling me home again... this time with a plan.
“I’ll be fine. Just make sure everything is organized at the apartment. You have two days,” I say quickly, trying to hide the uncertainty in my voice as I pass him the new phone he got for me.
“If I don’t make it back, don’t wait for me,” I add without looking at him. This is our only chance to get rid of the problem that has been looming over me like a dark cloud for months.
I lean back into the passenger seat, stretching my body to reach Luca’s face, and give him a quick kiss on the lips, hoping it won’t be the last.
“It will work,” he declares, placing his hands on my neck andturning my gaze up to him. It seems like he’s trying to convince himself more than me.
I nod in agreement and step out of the car, slamming the door quickly, and run toward the beach where Abert took me the last time.
I recognize the rocks where I left my clothes, and I throw off what I’m wearing now at the same spot, leaving only a small shoulder bag hanging on my body as I run into the water.
My legs quickly transform into my tail as I adjust to the water. The appearance of gills on my neck tickles me slightly, maybe from the excitement of returning home after so long, or the panic of what it means.
I have to succeed; it’s the only way for me to bridge the two worlds I love so much.
I swim at top speed to the familiar depths. The deeper I swim, the more the longing for home hits me with every reef, rock, or coral I recognize from the times I swam here with Miguel. The familiar path slowly starts to bring back memories. It’s been almost a year since I swam this close to home. As the water gets darker, my body is glowing brighter, lighting the way in the abyss.
Before long, I spot my city’s gate from afar, just as magnificent as I remembered. Two giant, pearl-glowing shells open like a fan, welcoming those who come and go. The path leading to the gate is lined with colorful, glowing corals and gems that dispel the darkness outside, stirring excitement in my heart. Everything appears exactly as I recall.
A vibrant coral reef encircles the city like a massive wall, and the familiar schools of fish still roam nearby. Spotting a gate guard swimming in my direction, I quickly hide behind a nearby reef. The urge to swim back into the city is strong, but I must remain patient a little longer.
Once inside, all eyes will be on me. First, I need to obtain the venom.
When the coast is clear, I dart away from the city gate and swiftly head toward a nearby underwater cave—the usual haunt of the hunters’ pod.
I halt at the mouth of the cave, shivering as its eerie atmosphere envelops me. The entrance resembles a giant shark’s open jaw, jagged rocks forming menacing teeth. Darkness cloaks the interior, and only the glow of my body illuminates my path.
Once again, I realize how insane this idea is. The hunters’ pod comprises of mermaids who betrayed their pods and live in perpetual survival mode, forever banished from returning home alive. The pod was created under a curse to hunt sailors, requiring the merfolk within the pod to hunt monthly or risk losing their tails and drowning as humans to replace the sailors they failed to capture. The hunters’ pod instills fear across merfolk in all oceans, and here I am, tempting fate. Just the thought of the bodies hidden here sends a shiver through my scales.
Would my parents really send me here for my betrayal? A small spark of fear ignites in my chest.
There’s no time to dwell on that now; I must act swiftly. I have two days to return to the surface with the venom.
The hunters capture everything and trade it for their own price. I’m confident I can acquire the venom from them. I can offer food supplies, gold, even the golden scales from the castle’s luck fish. I just hope the trade won’t demand too much from me this time.
“Alin? What are you doing here?” A familiar voice from the cave entrance pulls me from my thoughts, and I tense up. Here they come.
I lift my gaze to the hunter approaching me, my body freezingas I recognize the familiar face that swims toward me.
“Bay?” I ask, surprised to see my cousin, whom I haven’t seen since the day I escaped. Why is she in this cave?
“What are you doing here?” she repeats her question, the shock in her voice unmistakable. We both stare at each other, lost.
“What am I doing here? What are you doing here?!” I throw her question back at her, and she looks down in embarrassment.What is going on?
I scan her body and see that she’s completely stripped of all the jewels she used to adorn her scales with, even the necklace with the royal emblem is no longer around her neck. I can’t believe she’s been exiled. She may be mischievous, but she’s definitely not a traitor.
