Kingdom of Salt and Sirens

by J. A. Armitage

  Sweet Jesus, he’s gorgeous.

  1

  Nix POV

  I’m swimming as fast as I can. I need to get away from Eva. She’s so clingy; that’s why I dropped her. I don’t need a girl to shackle me. Darting between two rocks, I stop and check to see if she’s nearby. She’s not. Thank Neptune!

  Eva is stunning – on the outside. Long blonde curly hair, slim figure, nice boobs. But that’s where her beauty ends. She’s a nasty piece of work. She likes to take what she wants and doesn’t think of anyone but herself.

  I’m sure she performed some sort of magic on me to get me to go out with her in the first place, but I sure as hell know she’s not the woman I want for the rest of my life. I’m too young for that. I’ve got plenty of time to keep looking.

  And, boy, will I enjoy looking!

  As I’m moving my body back around the rocks, I can feel the bubbles tickling my body. I love swimming fast because it’s like everything moves out of my way and the bubbles stick to me.

  I’m about to swim farther out to dive deep to get away from Eva when I see a starfish attached to a rock. There are lots of starfish on the rocks in the sea, but this one is different. I stop and stare at it. This is a special starfish. He’s a beautiful purple colour with orange around the outsides. Somehow, he’s found his way up towards the surface. This starfish is prickly to touch. I carefully peel him off the rock and his eyes blink.

  “Hey, buddy. What are you doing so far away from home?” I recognise his type as one of those that live outside the palace, far away in The Deep.

  He closes his eyes and I pull him closer to me to try and understand what he wants. He can’t talk, but I can hear him telepathically. “Throw me to the shore.”

  “Why do you want me to do that? You can’t stay on the beach for long.” It just doesn’t make sense.

  “Please.”

  I can’t do it; he’ll die if he’s left on the beach.

  “I’m sorry, buddy, but I won’t do that. You’ll die.”

  It looks like his eyes are ready to bulge out and, suddenly, he sticks to my face, over my mouth and eyes. I can’t breathe. I grab his middle and pull him off. He’s sticky, but I need to get him off my face.

  “You asked for it, buddy.” When I have him free from my face, I pull back my arm and throw him as far as I can up and out of the sea.

  As I’m swimming farther and farther away, I start to feel guilty. I shouldn’t have thrown him onto the beach. I need to go back and grab him and bring him back to the sea before he goes hard and dies. If my mam was watching me she would put me on lockdown in the palace for a week and she knows how much I like the freedom to swim around.

  First, I need to get some of the seaweed from the Atlantis field by the palace. If I eat some of that then I can walk on the beach. It only lasts a couple of hours. As it starts to wear off, I’ll start to cough and find it hard to breathe. My legs will be wobbly like jelly and I’ll need to get back to the sea quickly. I’ve only tried it a couple of times, but I need to rescue the starfish.

  Pushing myself forward quickly, I glide down deeper until I can see the palace. It’s a beautiful building. There are turrets sticking up around the wall on the outside. One of them is where I sleep; the other is where my sister, Darya, sleeps. We have some magical plants that grow on the inside of the walls and some that grow on the outside of the walls. I know I have to be quick to get back to the starfish before he becomes hard, but also because it’s illegal to take some of the seaweed from this field. It’s dwindling and I believe this is the last field left in the world of the magical seaweed. I have to be stealthy and stop to look around before I silently glide slowly up to one of the seaweed trees. Looking behind me and to the sides, I reach out and quickly break off one of the twigs, stuff it into the pouch in my tail, and propel myself upwards so I can get back to shore quickly.

  As I reach the surface, I tread water and reach into my pouch to retrieve the magical seaweed. Just as I’m taking a small piece to chew on, something hits me on the head. It hurts. Reaching up, I remove it and see that it’s the little starfish. He’s destined to annoy me today. “Glad you got back in the water. I was just coming to get you.”

  The little starfish smiles at me and, when I let him go, he floats down to the bottom of the sea. Stepping onto shore, I shout out, “What the hell? Who’s throwing things into the sea?”

  This is what happens with the humans they think they can just throw stuff into the sea. Even though I’m happy the starfish came back, it hurt when he hit me on the head.

  Walking out of the sea is always exciting, because I get to breathe through my throat and not through my gills. Also, because it means I get legs to walk on instead of my tail. It takes a while for my brain to remember how to use them because I don’t come out of the sea very often. I’m a little bit wobbly for the first couple of steps, but then I find my feet, literally.

  Looking up and down the beach, I see a girl standing and looking into the sea. She has her hand in front of her face above her eyes.

  Striding towards her, I shout, “Hey, you!”

  She looks around, wondering if I’m talking to her. “What?” she says with her hands on her hips.

  “Did you throw something into the sea?” Walking closer to her, I have to stop and stare. She’s beautiful. Nothing like the mermaids I hang around with. She has long red hair which is tied up in some sort of ribbon that looks like a seahorse’s tail. All my anger disappears.

  “Yes. It hit me whilst I was trying to go to sleep.” She looks me up and down.

  Smiling, I say, “My name is Nix.”

  “Erm… my name is Sophia.”

  “What a lovely name. A pretty name for a pretty girl.” She blushes and the colour really suits her.

  “I’m sorry if it hit you on your head, but the starfish landed on me and it frightened me. I just reacted and threw it straight back.”

  Laughing, I ask, “Did you know it’s good luck to find a starfish?”

  She smiles. “Yes, I did. My granny told me. So… I made a wish before I threw it back.”

  “What did you wish for?”

  “I can’t tell you that because my wish won’t come true if I tell you.”

  I laugh. “That’s true.”

  It’s quiet between us and she keeps staring at me. “Are you new around here?” she asks.

  “No. I’ve lived here for years.”

  “But I haven’t seen you here before. Do you know my brother Jack? You must be his age.”

  “No. I don’t think I know him.”

  “Oh. I thought you might. You must go to a different school then.”

  “Yes, I do.” I don’t elaborate. For some reason, I want to tell her all about my life and what I really am, but I know I could get into a lot of trouble and be sent to the dungeons in the palace. I don’t want that to happen.

  Again, we stand in silence. Eventually she goes back to her towel, sits down to one side, and looks up at me, inviting me with her eyes to sit next to her. I am not one to refuse a beautiful girl.

  “Tell me about yourself, Sophia.”

  “What do you want to know?” Her eyes look up at me and I feel a tug that I’ve never felt before.

  “Everything.” Whispering, I feel like I’m under a magical spell that she has woven around me. I don’t get the feeling she is supernatural though, so I’m not sure what the feeling is.

  * * *

  Sophia tells me about her school, her friends, her life in Kizzi Cove. I can see a lot of sadness in her eyes though.

  “Why do you look so sad, Sophia? There’s something you’re not telling me.”

  “I don’t really like to talk about it much.”

  “Come on. You can tell me anything.”

  She looks at me like she’s trying to decide if she wants to tell me whatever is eating her up inside. I take her hand and my hand feels all tingly. “Please?”

  She looks down at our intertwined fingers and sighs
heavily. “Don’t forget you asked for me to tell you my sorry tale. My older sister died a year ago.” She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. I bet she sees her sister in her mind right now.

  “I’m sorry, Sophia. Tell me about her.”

  When she opens her eyes, they’re watery and she’s looking at me. “Her name was Anna and she was a year older than me. Jack is a year older than her. She had a great energy and she was always being reckless and was a bit of an adrenaline junkie, to be honest. I’m not like that, but sometimes she wanted me to join in.” She looks up and down the beach and a small smile lifts the edges of her mouth. “We loved coming down here to the beach. It was our place to get away from everything. Some days we’d just lie on the beach, talking about everything. Some days we’d play volleyball or whatever other people were playing. We’ve had beach parties and we’ve met boys down here.”

  When she says that, my heart rate increases. I don’t like the idea of her meeting boys; I feel protective of her. I know I just met her on the beach, but I don’t want to think of her with anyone else.

  Woah. What’s happening to me.

  “Sometimes, Anna would come down here by herself and read or lie in the sun. Sometimes she would swim out and around to the caves. Have you been to the caves, Nix?”

  I’m so busy watching her face that I don’t hear her question. There are so many emotions running across her features right now. “Sorry, what did you say?”

  “I asked if you’ve been to the caves around the cove.”

  Laughing, I answer, “Yes, I have. They’re really beautiful.” I don’t tell her that the caves are where we learn to walk on legs in private.

  “Yes, they really are beautiful. The day before Anna disappeared, we swam out to the caves. It was really rough, and the waves were crashing against the rocks. It was scary, but it was so beautiful at the same time. We were both good swimmers so we weren’t too worried and we waited in the caves for the sea to calm down.”

  “It’s dangerous in there, Sophia. I hope you never go in there alone.”

  “No. I haven’t been back since that day. Anna disappeared the next day. We looked everywhere for her. Her friends hadn’t heard from her and it was getting dark before we even thought of the beach. When we came down here, her clothes were with her towel. It was the way we always left them before swimming out to the caves. It wasn’t a particularly rough day so we couldn’t understand where she was. The rescue boats came out to look for her and then I told them about the caves. I jumped in one of the boats and guided them to the one that was our favourite.”

  She stops talking for a moment and tears are running down her face. I don’t know what to do. I’ve never seen a girl cry before; this is all new to me. Reaching out, I run my thumb across her cheek, trying to stop the tears. She smiles back at me.

  Taking another deep breath, she continues. “When we got into the cave, it was calm, peaceful, and beautiful as always. We couldn’t see her, but just as we were about to leave, I noticed something sparkling on the ledge where we normally sat. They brought the boat over to the ledge and I climbed up and her anklet was there. She wore it every day and never took it off.”

  “So maybe she just lost it or something,” I say to try and reassure her, because I dread what’s coming next.

  “No. I think there was a struggle or she got scared or something. I brought it back home with me.” She glances down.

  Following her gaze, I see the anklet she’s wearing. “Is that hers?”

  “Yes. I’ve never taken it off since that day.” It has beautiful turquoise blue beads with a single white angel’s wing hanging off it. It’s really pretty.

  “It suits you.”

  She smiles at me. “Thanks. Anyway, the next day, Anna’s body was washed up on the next cove and she had scratches all over her. They think that was because the weather turned bad that night and her body kept crashing against the rocks. She looked so fragile and scared.” She stops talking and starts to sob.

  “I’m sure it was just the rocks, but it’s not nice for that to happen to anyone.” I put my arm around her and pull her close to me. She relaxes in my arms. “I’m sorry you went through that. Did they ever find out what happened to her?”

  Sniffing, she says, “No. They just said that it was an accident. But, Nix, she was a great swimmer, better than me even.”

  “The sea can be cruel sometimes and the fierceness of its waves can change within seconds. It’s very unpredictable.”

  “What if we swim over to the caves now? I’m an amazing swimmer and I’ll be with you. You need to go back soon or else you’ll never go and the caves are beautiful.”

  “I don’t think I can, Nix. The memories are too hard.”

  “I know, but I promise nothing will happen to you. Do you trust me?”

  She looks me in the eye. “I don’t know why I do, but, yes. I do trust you.”

  2

  Sophia POV

  Where did this guy come from? He’s being so sweet to me that I know I should be suspicious. He wants me to go to the caves with him. I haven’t gone since the last time with Anna and I know it would be a good thing to do, but I think I need to let Jack know or something.

  “I think I should let my brother know, just in case something happens.”

  “Nothing will happen, Sophia.” He reaches out and takes my hand. “Nothing. I promise.”

  Am I being gullible by going to the caves with a complete strange? Absolutely. Do I want to live life more dangerously and have some excitement in my life? Absolutely.

  “Okay, let’s go.”

  Nix stands up and then reaches out for my hand to help me up. “I’ll make sure you’re okay.” I leave my bag on my towel and walk down to the shore. We walk into the sea, just how I did with Anna, and then we start swimming to the caves.

  “Hey, you’re a good swimmer,” I say in between strokes.

  “Thanks. I swim every day.”

  I can see where he gets his muscles from.

  As we get closer to the caves, he turns to face me and treads water. “You okay?”

  “Yeah. Just nervous.”

  “Come on.” He nods his head towards the cave. “Just a couple more strokes.”

  He turns back to face the caves and I follow him in. As soon as we’re in there, he pulls himself up onto the ledge and then helps me up to sit next to him. I’m out of breath, but he seems to be fine. God, he’s fit!

  He rubs his hands over his face to wipe off the excess water and I brush my hair back off my face.

  “It’s so peaceful in here,” I say. I can hear the echo of my voice bouncing off the walls.

  “It is. I can see why you and your sister loved it in here.” He looks around and reaches out to touch the wall. “I’ve really enjoyed myself today, Sophia.”

  “Me too,” I say nudging his shoulder with mine.

  “Maybe I can meet you again tomorrow?” He looks around him before he finally settles his eyes on me. I’d say he was nervous, which is strange because he comes across very confident.

  “I’d like that. What tim….”

  I never get to finish my sentence because a beautiful girl swims into the cave and she’s staring at me.

  “What the hell are you doing, Nix? Darya is looking for you. You’re in so much trouble. Wait until I tell your father what you’ve been up to.” She’s treading water, but she’s hardly moving.

  I can’t stop staring at her. She is so gorgeous and she knows Nix. I feel like I’m in the middle of some sort of drama.

  “Eva, what the hell? Have you been following me?” He scowls and his nice eyes have darkened.

  “No. Of course not! I’ve been looking for you though. You need to get home now.”

  Nix looks from her to me then his leg starts vibrating like he’s moving it quickly. Looking me in the eye, he says, “Sorry, Sophia.”

  He slides off the ledge and into the water. He doesn’t even look back at me as he swims out of the cave. Th
e girl, Eva, just smiles at me smugly. “You’ll never have him. He’s mine. You’re just a plaything because he’s bored. He’ll always be mine.” She pushes away and swims after him.

  It takes me a few minutes to realise that he’s left me. On my own. In the cave where my sister was just before she died.

  Arsehole.

  I start sobbing. What made me come with a stranger in the first place? Now I have to get back and I can feel panic starting to set in. I need to swim back around to the cove. Slipping into the sea, touching the sides of the cave as I go, the coldness wraps around me and makes me shiver.

  Taking a deep breath, I kick away from the cave wall and start swimming back to shore. It takes me about twenty minutes because I’m crying as I swim. When I get to the cove, I run out of the sea and over to my bag. Wrapping the towel around me, I sit on the sand and sob some more.

  It was really emotional going back to the cave. I know I shouldn’t have done it, but I thought I would be okay. I think I would’ve been if Nix had stayed with me. I wonder who Eva is to him and why he just upped and left. He didn’t even give me his number. He told me to meet him tomorrow. Well, that’s not happening.

  No one treats me like that and gets away with it.

  Packing up my things and putting on my shorts, I leave the beach without looking back to sea. When I get to the top of the cliff, I see Jack and Evan still playing football. Jack spots me.

  “Hey, Soph. You okay?”

  “Yes, I’m fine. Why?”

  “You usually spend longer on the beach and you look like you’ve been crying.” He comes over to me and pulls me into a hug. Taking a deep breath so that I don’t cry again, I can smell his body scent and a hint of sweat from playing football in the heat.

  “I swam out to the caves.”

  He pulls back from me, resting one hand on each of my shoulders. There’s a frown on his face and creases on his forehead. His eyes darken. “Soph, why did you do that? You’re not allowed to go out there. Let alone on your own.”