Page 26 of Blood of the Sirens
“How many males are here?” I asked warily.
Barrett scratched his chin. “Sixty? More are supposed to come tomorrow.”
I floated for a moment, trying to imagine these males set upon the shores all at once.
“Is that wise?” I asked, wincing.
Barrett frowned. “Well, humans act pretty oddly anyway. Normally, I’d say it’s risky, but with the rite coming up, they’ll blend in more. The crowd gets very large.”
I straightened my shoulders. “They call it spring break,” I informed him proudly.
Barrett lifted an eyebrow. “Seems you’ve been doing just fine on your own.”
I blew a few bubbles into the water. “I need better footwear. Those ridiculous coverings you gave me are not sufficient. I also need something to cover my chest. Most of the males on land cover theirs, and wore blue or brown coverings on their legs.
Barrett blinked. “Jeans, OK. You want some jeans. When do you want to go?”
I vibrated with the need to go now, but I knew that was unlikely. I would have to put in an appearance at breakfast,especially with so many guests. My father would want to know what I was up to.
“Does midday sound agreeable?” I offered.
Barrett sighed. “Sure. I want to be scarce around that time anyway, since they’re moving a bunch of the males into my room next.” He glanced around his space mournfully. I didn’t blame him. As our clan diminished in size, we had grown accustomed to having our own homes and rooms.
That decided, we headed down to breakfast together.
My clan built its home in the valley near a hollowed out mountain that used to be above land thousands of years ago. There were even still tunnels that led to air pockets, where younger males got trained on how to switch from the gills on the sides of our necks to the lungs in our chests. I’d been the last one to use them for my clan. These days we kept to the mer-built houses of coral and stone and seaweed. I asked Father about it once, but he had only murmured something about the pain of the past, and how the spirits of the sirens still lurked in the caves.
Weird.
The largest room in the cave was usually kept for mealtimes or audiences with my father, but with so many males we had taken to eating outside amidst our gardens, which was a decent swim about halfway to the surface. There, the cavernous structure that helped make our homes stretched up toward the surface. Many plants cultivated where the sun could reach, including algae, seagrass, and kelp. The gardens were a vital part of our existence.
I spotted my father halfway up the mountain, entertaining the other clan heads. They reclined easily against a bed of red algae, laughing at something the head of the Spadefish clan had said. Was his name Gerl? It was rare that all of us weretogether at once. If I hadn’t been so anxious over protecting my female, I might enjoy it more.
“Father,” I intoned, bowing my head. The water moved behind me and knew Barrett was offering his respects as well.
“Merrick! Have you eaten yet? We have extra.” My father’s eyes roved to Barrett. “You too, young man. This is the one I told you all about—the one who specializes in walking among humans. He will take your sons out tonight on their first hunt! He even promised them a ride on one of their boats!”
There was much backslapping and guffaws at this as Barrett flushed and sat down in front of my father at a gesture. Seeing no other available spots, I scrunched myself in next to him.
“Merrick has asked to join the party as well. So we will all be attending!” Barrett announced, happily digging into the bowl of offered prawns and shrimp. Fine netting covered the bowl to keep the food from swimming or floating away.
My father’s eyes widened, surprise brightening his face.
“Is that so?” He turned toward me, a spark of something in his gaze.
I looked away, embarrassed. I felt like a guppie, and not a grown mer.
Yes was my only answer. I grabbed a handful of shrimp simply to keep myself occupied.
“That’s surprising,” huffed Aris’s father, shooting me a scathing glance. “Didn’t think you’d want to take a break from your …art.”
I let his insult roll off of me even as my father’s back stiffened. The chief of the Bluefish clan couldn’t be directly insulting to his host, after all.
“Yourclan seems to be his number one customer. Aren’t they, Merrick?” Barrett retorted cheekily, keeping an innocent and playful grin on his face.
I wanted to snort with laughter, but kept that in as well. Barrett got away with so much being a cousin to the royal family. The others gave him respect, but he didn’t have any of my expectations or responsibilities. Regardless, sometimes I felt my father valued him over me. I may have brought trade into our clan, but Barrett was the one everyone relied on to learn how to navigate the surface.
“Mers do like their trinkets.” Waya, head of the Kingfish clan laughed. His comment broke the lingering tension, and I bowed my head again for dismissal. Waya shifted on his bright red tail.
