Page 122 of Cursed Waters

“Yes, I am a beautiful lady who is quite lost,”I called back, and the water glistened with the sympathetic shaking of their little silvery heads.“Have you seen any other merfolk swimming around?”

The herring nearest to me drifted close enough I could see the pattern of old scars lining its silvery skin. Although weathered and wizened, it didn’t seem even the least bit afraid that I might gobble it up.

“No, my lady. You are the first lady mermaid we’ve seen traveling these waters all season!”the fish announced, and its words echoed through the ranks.

“In ages! Ages, yes, in ages!”

So they were useless to me after all.“I see.”I flexed my jaw, wondering how many I could scoop into my mouth before the bulk of them scattered. Three or four, at least.

“But why not follow the circles? They are sure to lead you to the others,”the old fish offered just as I was deciding which direction to lunge.

Curious, I looked around.“Circles? What circles?”

“Ah, you do not remember the circles, lady mermaid? Come along, everyone, for circle time.”

They all shifted direction in the water together.“Circle time! Circle time!”the group chanted in unison, and I had no better option than to follow their lead.

“See the circle of rocks, lady mermaid?”the lead herring asked when he dropped behind the others.“Swim along with the spot in the circle where a rock is missing until you come to the next, just like the lady mermaids who follow these circles every season. I’m sure they’ll lead you down the right path.”

A large circle of rocks came into view underneath us, and I found the spot where a rock was missing right away. Were fish smarter in this part of the ocean? The lead herring seemed more seasoned than the rest of the school, but still… Fish did more screaming and darting away than chatting me up back home.“I appreciate your help.”

“You are most welcome, beautiful lady,”the fish called, and the school changed directions. The silver cloud swam away, but their little chanting voices carried even after they disappeared.

Feeling ready for some air, I swam up to catch a breather before diving back down. The merfolk had spaced the circles just right for me not to get completely turned around before the next came into view, and I wondered how long it had been since Kai and the others had swum by them.

Determined to find them, I passed circle after circle. The longer I swam, the more it felt like circle time would never end. Circle. Circle. Circle. Even when I blinked, phantom rock formations strolled behind all three of my eyelids. Surely I would reach the kingdom soon?

I was about to go crazy from boredom when I caught sight of a peculiar light hovering over the bottom of the sea floor.

My nose dived, and I nearly went into a spiral as Ren’s voice pushed into my mind.

“Laverne?”

Leveling out, I drifted closer to the light until a ridiculously bulky fish came into view.“Ren?”

Even more ridiculous was the source of the light. A faintly glowing pearl shone in Ren’s mouth as he butted Kai through the water using just the top of his head. Was this a game they were playing?

…Wait.

Kai’s eyes were closed. And why wasn’t he moving?

“He’s wounded,”Ren answered like he could hear all my thoughts.“I need you to get him to land so he can recover. He can barely breathe down here. Can you do that for me?”

He butted Kai toward me, and I scooped him straight up into my mouth.“Of course.”

The pearl’s light dulled as Ren whipped back around.

“Wait. Where are you going?”I called after him, but he was already swimming away.“If Kai can’t breathe down here, how are you going to? Come back with us!”

I knew by how fast his tail moved that he wouldn’t listen.“I can’t leave them.”

Them? So the other two were still out there somewhere. As much as I cared for Ren, Kai needed me right now. I didn’t have time to convince him.“Thank you for bringing him back to me,”I projected as I turned back to the never-ending chain of circles.“Good luck, Ren.”

Bounding through the water, my tail moved faster than it had ever moved before.

My heart was pounding so fast. This was exactly why I didn’t want them going without me. This right here! And now Kai was hurt, and Ren was swimming off, barely able to take a breath for himself.

“Kai?”I projected softly, but there was only silence. His gills fluttered weakly against my tongue.“… Big Brother?”Still no answer.

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