Starving for Love

by Nicole Zoltack

  Sirena jumped to her feet, more nimble than ever before in this form. She hurried over and began to gnaw on the witch until her loose tooth broke off.

  Still the witch lived.

  The zombie mermaid yanked out the witch's black heart. A feast fit for a zombie. She swallowed it whole.

  Now the witch was dead.

  Sirena fell onto the sand. Coldness entered her body, and she shivered. She couldn't move her arms or her legs. Her body was frozen, yet she continued to quake.

  Had the witch one last curse to bestow?

  Chapter Twenty

  Something wasn't quite right, Kristian could tell. The sky had darkened, black clouds blotting out all light. He ran toward Sirena.

  Her body was shaking. Next to her was a black gown, a pile of bones within it.

  He swept Sirena into his arms and cradled her to him. "No, no, no. This wasn't supposed to happen. You're supposed to be all right now!"

  Kristian closed his eyes. Had he misunderstood the silent exchange between himself and the king? Weren't they supposed to kill the witch? Why wasn't this nightmare over?

  The shaking grew more violent before Sirena stilled without warning. He brought his head to her chest and listened. At first he heard nothing. Then the faintest heartbeat pulsated, sounding like waves crashing.

  A teal light surrounded her body, as if she was glowing from the inside out. He placed her on the sand before moving backward. Her legs changed first, fusing together, becoming one then shifting from flesh-colored to a deep emerald. Her skin reverted to its normal flesh, whole and healed. Her teeth straightened, her hair grew in, black and full and luscious.

  She opened her eyes. Drops of wetness dripped onto her face. The clouds had parted so it wasn't rain. It was tears — his tears.

  Kristian had never cried before, but he wailed now, tenderly holding his love, never wanting to be away from her. The prince planted kisses on her eyes, her nose, her forehead, her lips, her neck, her shoulders — everywhere. He couldn't get enough. She returned his kisses with equal passion and devotion.

  He caressed her back, drinking in her goodness, when she pulled back, gasping for air. "I need to be in the water," she murmured.

  Kristian gathered her into his arms and ran toward the waves, not stopping until the water lapped against his neck. "Is that better?"

  "Yes." She swam close to him, their length of their bodies touching, their lips meeting again and again.

  The green of her lower body shimmered through the water, and he broke off their kiss. "You have fins again."

  The happiness that lit her eyes dimmed a little. "I do," she said sadly, as if she hadn't realized she had returned to mermaid form instead of human.

  "Not if you don't want to," a loud voice boomed.

  Sirena's eyes widened, her fear visible. Or was it sorrow? "Father, I'm so sorry. I never should have—"

  "No, you shouldn't have, but I pushed you away and have no one to blame but myself." King Tritonion rode a horse-like wave forward and stayed above them, the wave continually cresting and splattering them with water. "You killed the witch?"

  "Yes." Sirena bit her lower lip. "I didn't break the treaty, did I?"

  "No. Merlinasea went too far this time." The king shifted his focus from his daughter to the prince. "You're either braver than I thought, or stupider."

  "Father!"

  "He followed me into the witch's lair. Can't say much about his brain." The king snorted. "But if you choose him to be yours—"

  "I do!" Sirena squealed.

  "And he begs to be yours—"

  "I do," Kristian cut in, willing to overlook the word begs.

  "Then I will grant you legs, if you so wish."

  Kristian clasped Sirena's hands. "Think of your family. Are you willing to leave them for me?"

  "Are you asking me to?" Her eyes were shining and bright, and Kristian knew she would do anything he asked, as he would for her.

  "I don't want to." Although he found his mother wearisome at times and his father distant, he still loved them and would not want to leave them had the roles been reversed.

  The king cleared his throat. "You can visit us, you know."

  "Then yes, please, Father, give me legs!"

  King Tritonion glared at Kristian. The look told of the pain and misery he would bestow upon Kristian should he ever hurt Sirena. Then it shifted slightly. Without saying a word, he bestowed his blessing upon them.

  He pointed his trident toward his daughter. She lifted into the air, and her fin snapped in half, and two legs formed. Kristian caught her as she was lowered back to the water. They kissed and hugged and swam together toward the beach, neither realizing when her father disappeared beneath the waves.

  ****

  Kristian fidgeted with his tie. Although too tight, he wasn't about to tie it for a sixteenth time.

  "You look like you're ready to wet yourself," Blaise said cheerfully. His velvet coat and dark breeches were identical to Kristian's, although his cummerbund was red while Kristian's was green.

  Kristian rolled his eyes. "I can't believe you told my parents I ran off with a girl."

  Blaise shrugged. "I figured that's what you did. How was I supposed to know that you had died and came back as a zombie? The same zombie that your girlfriend and I tried to hunt down? How was it she became a hag again? Magic?" He shook his head. "I still can't wrap my mind around that."

  Kristian laughed. "You're the one who thought she was a selkie," he reminded his friend.

  "Yeah, yeah, I know. At least you're giving your mother a wedding. Could you imagine how furious she would have been if you had just upped and married Sirena without inviting her?"

  Two weeks had passed since King Tritonion had given Sirena legs. If Kristian had had his way, they would have been married that evening, but his mother had insisted on a huge wedding. Several days had passed before Sirena and Kristian could persuade her to have a wedding at sea.

  He rubbed his hands together, his excitement growing, wishing the ceremony would start this moment.

  An hour later, Kristian stood on the deck of the ship, waiting for his bride to make an appearance. The sun was only a sliver above the horizon, around the time Sirena had always come to the surface to visit him.

  Several heads bobbed above the waves: Cordula, Marilla, Ula, Diona, Cari, and Nami. It had taken him three days to learn the mermaids' names, and he was grateful they all seemed to understand and approve of his impending marriage to their sister.

  Speaking of marriage … he shifted his gaze toward the captain's quarters. The door opened, and King Tritonion, in human form, wearing a black suit and a tie made out of seaweed, appeared beside his glowing daughter.

  Kristian sucked in his breath. Sirena was a vision of beauty, perfect in every detail. Her once sun-shy face now glowed a healthy, slightly darker color. The skirt of her dress was tight and rippled, reminding him of her slender mermaid tail. Her dainty feet peeked out from beneath it. A ring of sea flowers rested on her hair, several dotting her shimmering gown. She floated beside her father.

  A sparkling glittering ring winked in the fading light. The tooth she had lost during her battle with the sea witch had transformed into a perfect pink pearl that Kristian had had fashioned into her engagement ring.

  King Tritonion kissed Sirena's cheek and placed her hand in Kristian's before clasping their joined hands in his. "Stay happy and walk well."

  Kristian paid little attention to the service, as he was too busy loving his Sirena. She would always be his, whether in the water or on land. For so long he had been starving for her presence, hungry for her love. Now he was satisfied and would continue to be, as long as he had her by his side.

  Cannons boomed, and everyone cheered as the happy couple kissed, sealing their commitment to each other to live the rest of their lives together.

  About the Author

  Nicole also loves to write but refuses to be tied down by genre – she’ll write fantasy/pa
ranormal, horror, YA, romance. She writes novels, short stories, and flash pieces. There isn’t a genre that Nicole would refuse to try. When she isn’t writing about zombies or superheroes or knights, she’s spending time with her husband and three young boys. She loves reading, horses, collecting swords, and going to the Pa Renaissance Faire (dressed in Renaissance garb, of course!). Her current favorite TV show is The Walking Dead.

  Also From Astraea Press

  Chapter One

  Please don’t let him be here today. Please don’t let him be here today.

  He was there.

  Of course he was there; he was always there. Trey didn’t miss class. For a few seconds Scout debated on backing herself right out the door and skipping class, but Kylin shoved past her, nearly knocking Scout into the wall. Scout gritted her teeth but bit back a reply. Getting in a fight with Trey’s girlfriend right before her first class of the day? Not a great way to start her morning.

  It was zoology, and it would have been her favorite period if she didn’t have the privilege of sharing it with Trey and Kylin. Scout pushed her light brown waves over her shoulder, straightened her spine and stalked in, choosing a seat as far away from her ex-boyfriend as she could.

  It wasn’t that she minded Kylin. The problem was that Kylin minded Scout. It made things a tad awkward when they shared a class. Happily, Scout and Trey were both content to pretend the other didn’t exist, so she didn’t have to deal with him much.

  Mr. Zornes, the teacher, breezed into the room. He was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, refusing to give in to the whole stuffy ‘teacher’ thing. “Morning, guys. Get comfortable, we’ve got tests to go over.”

  Almost the entire class groaned. Scout didn’t groan because she was fairly confident she did well on the test. And if she had to guess, she’d say Trey didn’t groan either, but she refused to look at him to check. They were battling over the highest grade in the class and leaving everyone else way behind. Scout planned it that way — because when Mr. Zornes assigned partners for the science fair, he would assign the highest grade with the lowest. That was the way he’d always done it. Scout was making sure there wasn’t a snowball’s chance she’d get stuck with Trey. Never mind the fact she loved every second she was in the lead. Was she bitter about their breakup?

  Not at all.

  They’d broken up over a year ago. She didn’t care. She wasn’t still in love with him. She wasn’t still devastated over his complete and absolute crushing of her heart.

  Not at all.

  “Scout, not surprisingly, got the highest in the class with a 98%. Congratulations.” Mr. Zornes winked as he dropped the test on her desk, and she smiled. She had worked her tail off studying for that test. Mr. Zornes passed the rest of the tests out without comment; he wasn’t cruel, and he didn’t want to draw attention to someone who hadn’t done well.

  “So.” Mr. Zornes leaned on the edge of his desk, scanning the room. “I’ll give you a minute to go over your tests, and then we’ll go through them together. That will leave us with just enough time to assign partners for the science fair.” The class buzzed as they went through their exams. Scout flipped through hers and found the two questions she’d missed. Mentally she shrugged because they were hard questions.

  It was Mr. Zornes’ policy to go over every test and show them the correct answers. He believed they learned better that way. He might have been right, if anyone actually paid attention. Scout tuned out and popped back in when he got to the two she missed, taking notes so she could study for the final. She had to beat Trey on the final. It was still eight months away. She didn’t care.

  “So, the bell’s gonna ring any minute. Let’s hurry and get you paired up. We’re doing things a little differently this time.” He grinned like he should be congratulated, but Scout’s heart started hammering in her chest. “In the past, I’ve always done pairs according to percentages — highest with lowest, hoping that the student with the higher grade could have an opportunity to help teach their peer. But it’s occurred to me that this isn’t the way things are happening.”

  Scout saw where he was going before he got there. No, no, no, no, no, her mind begged. But he ignored her telepathic pleading.

  “So this year, we’re going to pair you with the person closest to you in percentage.” Scout felt like someone had karate-chopped her in the throat. “Scout and Trey, you two are together on this one. Given how you are both excelling at this class, I’m excited to see what you will come up with.” Across the classroom, a book slammed to the laminate floor, the echo bouncing off the walls. There were approximately four seconds of frozen silence, and then as one the entire class turned to stare at Kylin. She glared at Scout like somehow this had been her nemesis’ diabolical plan all along.

  “Kylin, please pick up your book.” Mr. Zornes sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose as if he had anticipated this. Kylin slowly reached down, doing as she was told, but her stormy eyes never left Scout’s face. Scout contented herself with staring back mildly, wondering if Kylin ever ate. The girl was stick-thin and angry. All the time. In Scout’s opinion, she just needed to eat more and her entire countenance would improve.

  Mr. Zornes went through the rest of the class, pairing everyone up without further incident or tantrum. The bell rang and they all got up to leave. Scout waited patiently, hoping Trey and his starving girlfriend would go too, but Trey hung back. Scout frowned, glancing over her shoulder at him, which she never, ever allowed herself to do. His thick eyebrows and unruly black hair, the multiple bracelets-but-not-bracelets that boys wore, the thermal shirt hugging his broad shoulders — these things distracted her, made her forget she hated him ever so much.

  When he didn’t appear to be in a hurry to leave, she sighed and turned back to her teacher. “Mr. Zornes, can I talk to you?” she asked, hesitating near her desk, her finger absently rubbing a broken heart scratched into the wood.

  “Of course, Scout, what’s up?” Mr. Zornes leaned against his desk and gave her a friendly smile. He was her favorite teacher, not because he was young and cool, but because he was nice, and she was counting on that niceness now.

  “Can I do the project on my own?” Scout heard a sharp breath behind her, but didn’t risk another glance at Trey.

  “That is a fabulous idea. Trey and I can work together.” Kylin rushed to the front of the room, her platform heels clacking against the ugly green fake tile. Scout had forgotten she was even still there.

  Mr. Zornes tipped his head, considering Scout and ignoring Kylin completely. “The reason I paired you two together is because you’re my two best students and I was excited to see what you could come up with together.”

  Scout shook her head, chuckling, but viciously. “Nothing Trey and I work on together ever turns out well, Mr. Zornes.”

  “Wait a sec.” Trey stalked past her, his big arms crossed against his chest. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “It means,” Scout said between gritted teeth, “that I would work better on my own.” She turned back to Mr. Zornes, forcing a smile. “I want to be a Zoologist. Doing well on this project would look really good on college applications.”

  Mr. Zornes opened his mouth to respond, but Trey beat him to it. “And what, you think I’m going to ruin that? Having my help on the project would—”

  “He doesn’t even want to be a scientist! He wants to be an architect!” Scout pointed a finger at him like she was accusing him of the worst of sins, because really, she was.

  “What does that have to do with anything?” Trey sighed, turning toward her.

  “Why are you fighting her on this? Just let Mr. Zornes pair you with someone else!” Kylin screeched like an owl, and Scout winced as her eardrums threatened to rupture. Trey said nothing, just continued to glare at Scout. Mr. Zornes finally cleared his throat. “Scout, I didn’t realize you two had… issues, but I think it would be really good practice for you to learn how to work with those you find difficult.” He gave her an encoura
ging smile. “Think of it as character building.”

  “I am not difficult,” Trey muttered.

  Scout bit back a sarcastic reply and nodded, staring at the floor. “Yes sir,” she said instead. Grabbing her messenger bag off her chair, she spun on her heel and stomped from the room.

  She fumed about it all day long — Zoology was her first class, and she was still beyond angry when she got to drill practice, her last class. Scout was on the drill team, so she got to school early to practice, and her last class just continued into practice until five p.m.

  She’d loved to dance since she was tiny, but since the car accident a year ago, it was more pain and less fun. But she couldn’t quit. Her heart wouldn’t let her, no matter how much her body protested. Stupid body. Besides that, her little sister loved to watch Scout dance. She always had. If it made her happy, Scout would do it.

  She tugged on her high tops, glad that they were working on their hip-hop routines. They needed the practice before the football game on Friday.

  “Hey Scout.”

  Scout looked up from her laces, tangling her fingers in the knot as she did. “Hey Andi.” She smiled at the petite, blonde, blue-eyed girl who was currently swearing at her locker. Andi always had trouble with her combination.

  Scout didn’t have close friends. She preferred it that way, after realizing that when she needed them, friends weren’t really there for her. Only little sisters were. But she liked Andi. Of all the girls on drill, maybe all of the girls in the entire school, Andi was probably her favorite.

  “Ready for today? Kamille is going to work us like crazy. She wasn’t thrilled with our performance last week.” Andi said as she toed off her sparkly ballet flats and dug in her locker for her high tops.

  “She was right not being thrilled. We sucked.” Scout sighed, finally freeing her fingers. She pushed herself to her feet. “See you out there,” she called over her shoulder. Scout knew that she definitely hadn’t performed her best. The pain made her afraid. She hadn’t danced her best since the accident, and the rest of the girls seemed to have been dragged down with her.