Parting Worlds - A Little Mermaid Retelling (Once Upon a Curse Book 4)

by Kaitlyn Davis

  "Yes, Aeri. She did. For a third and final time, which, you'll see, is how I found myself here, waiting for you."

  Erick leads me across the meadow until the grasses clear as we step upon a sandy shore. The faerie glow illuminates the black velvet surface of a lake I hadn't noticed before, dark and deep, but most of all, so still that when a droplet falls from the ceiling overhead, the ripples seem to extend for an eternity, fanning out, wider and wider, disappearing into a distance I can't even see. We sit in the shallows, uncaring as moisture soaks through our clothes, and fall back, still holding hands. It's so close to the dream we once had, of the beach and the cottage and days spent idling by the sea, yet so infinitely far at the same time. This view is one of unending ebony, so lifeless I hurt from missing the stars.

  Without saying a word, Erick pulls me into one final memory—the one, I know, that means the most of them all.

  I press my hands to the woman's temple while she sleeps surrounded by silk sheets, and cringe at the memories alive inside her head. Children crying. People screaming. A twisted delight at the magic she wields and the control it allows her. Metal bars surround her city. Metal rings encircle her citizens' throats. Metal cuffs clasp around their wrists and ankles. All put there by a power I never meant to give her, symbols of the control she always yearned for, but never should've had.

  It’s been fifty years since I last saw my sister, and I could've gone fifty more without seeing her again. But I've delayed long enough. At last, I've reached the end. I visited her children before her, two girls with traces of her magic in their veins. Now hers is the last mind I need to wipe clean, and then—I don't know. But this work at least will be done.

  I reach for my power and dive deep within her mind, using the words as my guide, letting them lead me back and back and back to the night that's burned in both our souls. After tonight, it will live in mine alone. With a subtle manipulation, I cut the spell from her thoughts, the same way I've done a thousand times before, then retreat, forcing my magic back beneath my skin and slipping my fingers from her brow. They fold into a fist above her heart and hover there, unsure.

  The same thing happens every time.

  This moment of doubt, of choice.

  I could kill her, right here and now, quick before she woke from her dream, and I'm sure the world would be a better place for it. Maybe her magic would go back from where it came. Maybe it wouldn't. Regardless, I would be changed.

  In all my long life, I've only killed one man, under his orders, a command I had no possible way to defy. I don't want to know what would happen to me if I murdered someone of my own free will, even a queen so evil I'm ashamed to share her blood. I'm not sure if I'm still human, but I covet my humanity because it's my last tie to her—the heart she loved, the one still beating beneath the heavy weight of magic, the one I hope she'll recognize if we ever meet again.

  When, I correct. When we meet again.

  I pull my arm back and stand.

  As I turn, a puddle of water forms on the ground behind me, so round as to be unnatural, shimmering with magic. I'm not surprised. Aeri couldn't see me through the aura of my magic, but Priestess Sytrene always seems to know.

  I step through the portal.

  When I open my eyes on the other side, I expect the same scene I've been met with twice before—a priestess drenched in the golden glow of a faerie light while all else is draped by darkness. Instead, the shadows are gone. The cave is illuminated by bright light, so stark I almost shield my eyes, and I'm surrounded by faeries, a crowd so thick I can't see the end.

  "Erick."

  I startle at the sound of my name. It's been years since I've last heard it, decades even. When I turn, Priestess Sytrene is standing there, waiting, an expectant look in her eyes.

  "It's time."

  Time for what, I'm not sure. But I've known for a while that all of this was building toward something, toward a future I couldn't quite see but understood without a doubt was mine. "I'm ready."

  "Good." She lifts her arm, those same pearlescent robes flowing with her movement, and signals out toward the masses around us. "Every faerie left alive in this world is with us right now, ready to sacrifice their magic and their lives on a spell we hope will secure our future. You are the cornerstone of that spell."

  I gulp, but clench my teeth and nod.

  "We've discovered a way to tie the magic to human blood, a bond that will control the power, but more importantly, one that will provide an avenue for freedom. Once laid, this spell will prevent humans from giving birth to children with power of their own. Instead, there will be an heir to inherit the magic and the bond. And when the bloodline runs out, the magic will release back into the world, returning to its rightful place now that you've removed knowledge of the faerie spell from human minds. We tried for years to uncover a way to return Mother's magic to the world, and this is the best chance we have."

  "What must I do?"

  She holds my gaze for a moment, the first look of slight approval I've ever seen aimed at me before, and then signals to a faerie on her left. "First, you must remove knowledge of the spell from our minds and vow to do the same to any faerie you may come across in the future. When Mother first blessed us with magic, she gave us exactly as much power as we were meant to have. It was hubris to think faeries lived outside the confines of her careful balance."

  "I vow it."

  No faerie oath binds my words, but she believes me just the same. Maybe, after all these years, she's learned I'm a man of honor after all. It gives me hope to think she's changed her mind, even if it's only about one human who isn't quite human any longer.

  The first woman steps into the circle, closing the distance between us, and bows her head. I don't recognize her from Aeri's memories, but her glowing skin marks her as a faerie. I lift my fingers to her temple and carve the spell from her mind, taking nothing else, changing nothing else. Then I do the same thing a thousand times over until it's Priestess Sytrene standing before me. My fingers tremble as I lift them to her brow. The urge to peek inside her mind is overwhelming—I can only imagine the things she's seen through her many lives—but I restrain myself. My control over my power has strengthened greatly over the years, and I no longer let its baser instincts control me.

  A few seconds later, with the ancient words removed from her mind, I step back and lower my arm. "What's next?"

  "Once the spell is set, all our dreams will live in you. If you die, the spell will die with you. If our flowers wilt, so will the magic residing within you. To preserve what little faith we have left, you must vow to remain in this cave, protected and protector, until the day finally comes when the world outside of it is the world you and Aerewyn once dared to imagine. With our magic fused to your blood, you'll be able to provide whatever means necessary to survive."

  My heart twinges painfully in my chest, and I glance up to the rocky canopy overhead, taking a deep breath of musty air as I trace the grooves in the stone. No more stars. No more sea. No more wind or rain or sunshine upon my cheeks. They'll be replaced by something better—the slightest hope of seeing Aeri again.

  "I vow it."

  Priestess Sytrene walks closer, reaching out to take my hand. Though we stand in the center of a great gathering, she lowers her voice, speaking only to me. "Now take my memories. All of them. There will be time to sort through them later, but you will need the knowledge in my mind to use the magic you'll be given. And one day, my people will need it too. They'll come to you, one by one, as their magic slowly returns, and you'll teach them what's been lost, as I would've were I alive to see it."

  Magic burns where our fingers clasp, and I dive into her thoughts, dragging them from her mind and pulling them into mine, years and decades and centuries of lives lived, more information than I could possibly untangle. I'm not sure if I should be worried that she believes I'll have more than enough time to sort through it all. A little shiver worms its way up my spine as I release her, pushing her memo
ries to the back of my mind.

  Priestess Sytrene must sense it, because she lifts her palm to my cheek, eying me with sympathy, a sort of affection I never thought she'd send my way. "You were right, Erick. Only from the ashes can a phoenix rise. The darkness will be long and lonely, but one day, a sign will come that your trials are almost ended. Soon after, Aerewyn will return to you—I've seen her here, by your side, healthy and alive. The Mother chose you both, and in her grace, though it may not feel like it at times, you'll never be forgotten."

  I nod as a lump forms in my throat.

  Aeri will return to me.

  She'll come back.

  I'll save her.

  Priestess Sytrene turns back to her people, raising her voice. "It's time."

  Then she takes my hand and draws her nail across my palm deep enough to draw blood. I'm almost startled to see the liquid is no longer bright crimson, but a muted salmon, some spots streaked with deep human plasma while others sparkle opal with magic. I'm still human, yet not, consumed by a magic I hardly understand, whatever spell that priest laid upon me to extend my life. My ruminations end when the priestess wraps her hand around mine, fusing us together through a cut in her own palm. The rest of the faeries do the same, clutching hands. Another nameless face walks up to me, pricks my skin, and takes hold of my fingers, so we're all connected in a never-ending loop.

  Then they pray.

  The words sound vaguely familiar as the priestess's memories stir in the back of my mind, but I don't have the desire to understand them. Instead, as the glowing halo of magic rises all around us, thick and powerful and potent, I close my eyes and picture Aeri. The warm summer rain of her laugh. The bright sunshine in her smile. The evergreen in her eyes. The wind in her hair. The soft caress of her breath undulating like the tide. All the things about the outside world I might miss are alive in her, and the memories will sustain me until I see her again. She lives on inside my mind, growing more and more alive with time.

  The pain makes me gasp when it strikes.

  I don’t expect it.

  When I open my eyes, the world is sheer white, the hot center of a flame, burning the other colors from my sight. I fall to my knees, clutching my stomach as the first thread pierces my heart. Another comes swift and quick, needling through my soul. Then another and another. I convulse with each puncture, dropping to the ground, but they don't stop. On and on, the spell weaves relentlessly through me.

  Eventually, I pass out.

  When I wake, it's done.

  The world is pitch black. Only the drip of water on a lake reminds me that I'm in a cave, underground, and not floating somewhere in the great beyond. Every inch of my body aches. Whimpers escape my lips as I roll to a seated position, trying to peer through thick ebony, wondering if I'm as alone as I feel. Though even as I think it, I realize I'm not alone. Invisible strings extend from my body, drifting off in countless directions, each tied to a human life and to magic—the strands of the spell the faeries laid upon mankind.

  Priestess Sytrene said I was the cornerstone, but I'm just beginning to understand the true weight of those words. My stomach groans with hunger, so I focus on that—on something simple, something I understand. The rest will come with time.

  Light, I think. I need light.

  Ancient faerie words stir at the back of my mind, and as I mutter them, a glowing golden orb emerges above my head, illuminating the cave. For the first time, I see I'm surrounded by flowers. When I touch a blossom, something inside my chest stirs, flurrying with the magic now trapped inside my skin. It's the faeries, I realize. It's their souls, resting and waiting, while their magic resides in me.

  My stomach grumbles again and I shake my head.

  Food. Food for now.

  I press my palm to the dirt the way I'd seen Aeri do, and call a carrot from the soil. It takes longer than her magic did, but I'll learn. I know I will, with Priestess Sytrene's memories to guide me. As I take a bite, munching loudly in the permeating silence of my new reality, I dive into the depths of my mind. I know I should begin the arduous task of unraveling the lives shoved at the outer edges of my thoughts, but I don't. I close my eyes and picture that first moment when I woke in the cave to find Aeri sitting above me, beautiful and bold, with a teasing smile on her lips, and I imagine what it will be like to look upon her face again.

  I open my eyes and drop my face to the side, finding Erick across the moist sand as I grip his hand, squeezing with all the love and affection tightening my chest until it aches. His parting words to me on that night so long ago were a promise—I'll fix this.

  And he has.

  All alone.

  In the dark.

  For Mother only knows how long.

  Erick. His name rolls through my thoughts as the softest whisper.

  Still, the sense of my pain makes him wince. "It was my choice, Aeri, and I'd make it again just to have this moment right now with you."

  How long?

  He glances up to the cavern overhead, studying the grooves in the stones, ones I'm sure he's memorized by now. "Nine-hundred and fifty years, give or take."

  All the breath leaves my lungs in one sharp exhale.

  "They haven't all been bad," he muses, trying to keep his voice light for my sake, and I love him all the more for it, but there's a slight quiver he can't hide. "I've got so many stories even you might tire of hearing them."

  Never.

  He smiles, keeping his face turned up as his chest rises and falls with deep, steady breaths. I want him to look at me. I need for him to look at me.

  Erick.

  Some of my longing must leak into my tone, because he lets his face fall to the side and his eyes find mine, open and honest, lit by a peacefulness I don't understand, one I can’t quite believe. He's gone through so much because of me. He's been alone for so long because of me. He lost everything because of me. Shouldn't he— I mean, doesn't he—

  Do you hate me? I ask, fear bringing a tremor to my thoughts.

  His brows press together and he rolls onto his side. Lifting a warm hand to my cheek, he stares into my eyes, his own filled with so much warmth and fire I almost look away. But I don't, even as a blush rises to my skin. He runs his thumb over my skin, and from the corner of my eyes, I see it glitter from his touch, the glow surging the same way it used to, as though my magic yearns for him, or maybe just my heart.

  "Aeri," he murmurs, voice so tender I want to melt into the sound. "I've never done anything but love you."

  Nine-hundred and ninety-three years ago, I died. Now, staring into my sister's eyes as I finish the story of my life, for the first time, I truly feel reborn. The days with Erick in the cave were but a dream in the dark, so perfect I feared I might have conjured them. Yet as a tear slips down the side of Nymia's face, I realize they were real.

  He's real.

  We're real.

  And our story, for all its fantasies and faults, is real.

  "They're alive?" Nymia whispers, awe softening her tone. "I searched the world for the eternal flames, but I never found anything. I knew where your soul lay, and a handful of others, but I always feared the rest were gone."

  "They're waiting," I murmur, taking her fingers in mine and holding tight. "Priestess Sytrene brought the eternal garden into the caves, and it's been burning there ever since, waiting for the world to right itself before new faerie souls are born."

  Nymia releases a breath I fear she's been holding for a thousand years, and a smile spreads across her lips, as bright as any summer morning.

  "That's not all," I tell her, tugging on her hands. "There's one more surprise I know you'll love, but you have to see it to believe it."

  "What?" she asks anyway, her eyes going wide. "Aerewyn, what?"

  I pull my lower lip between my teeth and shake my head.

  She glowers.

  The sight makes my heart sing, because for the briefest moment, it feels like old times, as though nothing has changed. Nymia must have the
same thought, because as she rolls her eyes, the corners of her lips twitch with the slightest hint of mirth.

  "Come with me to the caves. Come with me and I'll show you."

  "Do you really think I haven't learned my lesson?" She arches a brow. "That I'll just blindly follow where you go?"

  I squint at her. "I'm sort of hoping yes?"

  "Aerewyn."

  "Nymia."

  We stare at each other. As usual, I break first.

  "Oh, come on. Don't ruin all the fun."

  "Fun!" she bursts out. "Fun?"

  "That may have been a poor choice of words."

  My sister snorts and crosses her arms. But I can tell she's enjoying this, same as me, and I can also tell that she's weakening. "Can Frederick come?" She coughs and straightens her spine. "I mean, Frederick is coming, whether you like it or not."

  I like this new assertive Nymia. And I'm quite interested in meeting this human prince who managed to steal her heart. "Let's go find him."

  "He's right…" She trails off as she glances over her shoulder to the spot at the edge of the meadow where he'd been standing after bringing me here to Nymia. I'd bumped into him on my way to find her, but our conversation must've been long, or too obviously private, because he's gone now. "He must be back at the village."

  "The village?"

  Nymia grins. "You're not the only one with a story to tell."

  Despite the teasing tone, shadows dim her eyes, and I wonder, not for the first time, exactly what my mistakes put her through. When did she wake up from her slumber? What world did she emerge to? How long was she alone? My thoughts drift to the motley crew I saw with her on that mountaintop—her human prince, those two human girls, the shifters. How did they find their way to her? And why do I have the unyielding sense it has everything to do with me?

  "Nymia?" I pull gently on her hand to stop her from taking a step. She turns back to me with a question in her eyes. "Thank you."