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

by Kaitlyn Davis

  Her head tilts to the side as her brows pinch. "For what?"

  "For…everything," I answer, the word coming out like a sigh because I don’t even know where to begin. "I never should've left that night without saying goodbye. I think maybe I was too afraid to face the idea of leaving you, so I thought sneaking away would make it better. Or maybe I knew that if you'd asked me to stay, I would've. Either way, you deserved more from me. You deserved better. And I can't imagine what it was like to wake up to find me gone, to find humans in the sacred grounds, to die knowing I'd somehow led them to you. I'm sorry for what I did and how I did it. I'm sorry for my recklessness and my naiveté. Most of all, I'm sorry I hurt you. I know you had something to do with bringing me back to life, so thank you for loving me, and fighting for me, and believing in me, despite my many failures. I only hope that one day I can make it up to you."

  She steps forward and wipes a teardrop from my cheek, one I didn’t realize had fallen. "Don't be silly, Aerewyn. You saved me before. I saved you now. That's what sisters do. We love each other, no matter the circumstances, no matter the cost. That's the only thing I'll ever need from you. Oh." She pauses as a sparkle fills her bright eyes. "And maybe a faerie vow that you'll never lie to me again."

  I snort, and the tension in my muscles flees as quickly as it came.

  She grins that impetuous grin I know so well, the one I always hoped the rest of the world would one day see. And maybe they already have. She's changed. The nerves that used to hang like a weight around her neck have been cut free. All that confidence I loved is on full display, proud and powerful, no longer damped by doubts. The time apart has done her well. All I can hope is that the future together will do us both even better.

  Nymia looks to the sky, eyes flashing with the lightning alive in her heart as the soft boom of distant thunder echoes across the field. She finds my gaze. "I know a promise you can make me. Promise that one night, when the moon is high and the air is wild and Mother's might draws fire across the sky, you'll come find me so we can dance together beneath the storm."

  "I promise."

  "Good." Her face clears and she looks over her shoulder toward the mountain peak at our backs and the valley nestled out of sight, the one I assume hides her village. "Then come on. Frederick must be going mad wondering what's happened. Just as mad as I'm about to go wondering what this secret is you won't tell me."

  For the first time in our lives, Nymia leads and I follow. We run across the meadow, happy and light and carefree in a way I almost thought I'd never be again. We dash through the trees, up and over the peak, down the other side to a small village only half-built, yet it brims with life. Magic carries on the wind, and I breathe it in, invigorated by the sweet tang of the Mother in the fresh mountain air, so different from my first taste of this new world. Shifters line the streets. Wolf cubs roll around on the grass. Men hammer wooden frames for houses. Women tend to gardens. Bears roam the cobblestones. A hawk flies overhead. And a girl I recognize from that first sight of Nymia runs toward us. I'd thought she was human, but now, being so close, I realize there's some sort of magic in her skin, something I hadn't noticed before but can't quite place.

  "Nymia!" she yells, a wide smile across her lips. "Nymia! Is it her? Is she here?"

  "Yes." My sister laughs, a joyous sound filled with love not only for me, but also for this girl racing toward us, full of life. "Aerewyn, this is Ella. Ella, this is Aerewyn."

  "I've heard so much about you," the girl chimes as she throws her arms around me and hugs me close. I glance at Nymia over the top of her head, unsure what to do. My sister seems all too happy to make me the uncomfortable one for once. Ella releases me in a flurry of excitement as she spins. "Freddie! Omorose! They’re back. Come quick!"

  Two humans turn a corner and approach us, one a man with rakish blond hair and a charming smile, the other a woman with long auburn curls and rosy cheeks. It warms my heart to see the shifters act so nonchalant as they pass by, hardly noticing them, just going about their work as though it's no big deal to have humans in their midst. I glance at Nymia, surprised to find a note of pride gleaming in her irises.

  I wonder if she's thinking the same thing I am.

  Maybe Erick and I weren't alone in dreaming of a world built on peace and understanding. Back then, yes, but not anymore. Nymia sees it now, and her prince, and everyone in this village, magic or no. With each slab of wood and each clay brick, they're building the future Erick and I always hoped to see come true. They're living in harmony together. I could look at it as an anomaly, one tiny star in an infinite sky, but I'm choosing not to. I see it as the beginning of something greater than Erick or I could've ever imagined.

  "You seemed a little preoccupied before, so I'll introduce myself again," the man says, smiling as he glances between us. There's an impulsive air about him I like, one that almost reminds me of myself. "I'm Frederick, though you can call me Freddie. Most people do."

  Nymia rolls her eyes.

  He ignores her and sticks out his hand in a human greeting I recognize, so I take it, allowing him to shake our palms up and down in a solid grip, still amused after all these years by how odd humans can be.

  "By the Mother, Frederick."

  "I'm Omorose," the girl adds. She sticks out her hand, then rethinks, moving back, then pauses before finally drawing me into her arms for a quick hug. "So nice to meet you."

  "You as well," I murmur, though in truth I have no idea who she is. I do, however, intend to find out. But first, I need to show Nymia my surprise, before I burst from keeping it inside. "Shall we go?"

  "Go where?" Ella blurts.

  "Aerewyn has a surprise for me."

  The girl's eyes go as wide as sunflowers. "Can I come? I love surprises!"

  "Well, you're the only one." Nymia sighs and looks at me. "Can she come?"

  "Sure. I don’t see why not."

  "Pardon the interruption," Frederick says, glancing at the ground with his brows pressed in a curious knot. "But could anyone explain why there's a puddle of water seemingly forming by itself on the dirt behind you?"

  "Oh! That's Erick," I say and turn, finding the portal he must've formed, far more reliable than any I could've made on my own.

  "It has a name?" Frederick asks.

  "No." Nymia shakes her head. "That's a faerie portal. Erick is the person waiting on the other side. It's…complicated."

  "Right." He nods, pursing his lips as though he understands. Then he narrows his eyes. "The other side of what, exactly?"

  I laugh softly to myself and find my sister's eyes. "See you there."

  Then I dip my toe into the magic and disappear, leaving her to explain the rest to the humans, wondering who, if any, will be brave enough to come along.

  Turns out I underestimated them.

  A few minutes later, Nymia appears in the middle of the meadow at the center of the cave, followed by Frederick, then Ella. Omorose is the only one to stay behind.

  Erick tosses me a questioning glance.

  I just shrug.

  When they open their eyes, Ella jumps to her feet with a cheer. Frederick grins, glancing around the field in wonder. My gaze goes straight to Nymia as she rises to her knees, staring reverently at the flowers that surround her. Tears glisten in her eyes. She reaches a hand hesitantly forward, stretching for the nearest blossom, and exhales as the petals graze her fingers, connecting her to the faerie soul residing within.

  Over her head, I meet Erick's eyes and nod.

  It's time.

  He flicks his fingers and the glow in the cavern brightens until it could be midday, illuminating every stretch of the vault that extends as far as the eye can see, holding the most valuable treasure of all—life.

  At first, my sister doesn’t understand. She stands, peering across the meadow and over the lake, searching the depths for her surprise. It's not until a phoenix flies across the distance, flaming tail leaving a smoldering trail for her eyes to follow, that she gasps
. All at once, she sees everything. The siren head bobbing in the center of the lake. The centaur's swishing tail. The fluttering pixie wings. The smoking breath of a sleeping dragon. The beaming unicorn horn. On and on it goes. Her fingers tremble as they rise to cover her lips. Her gaze darts everywhere and anywhere, jumping from one spot to the next, bright with disbelief, as though she can’t quite believe it’s real.

  I didn’t either when Erick showed me.

  But now I know the truth.

  The priests and priestesses weren't standing idly by as the humans turned our world to ruin. They were fighting in the only way they knew how—fighting to preserve our world and its precious balance, fighting to save all the souls they'd been born to protect. They turned my little cave of curiosities into a bustling haven, a vast underground hideaway, and Erick has been watching over this secret world ever since, protecting it until the day comes when we can all rise to the surface again.

  Nymia sways on unsteady feet and I catch her before she falls.

  "I thought they were gone, Aerewyn," she confesses softly, voice barely there. "I thought they were all gone."

  "I know," I murmur, brushing her hair from her face so she can look into my eyes and understand I speak truth. "But they weren't, Nymia. They were here. They've been here the whole time. And together, we'll build a home for them—for you, for me, for all of us. One without walls and without boundaries. A place where we won't need to hide any longer."

  "It's done," Erick murmurs as he takes his hand from Nymia's brow.

  "Good." She blinks, clearing her eyes as a shiver visibly works its way up her spine. "The only thing that spell ever brought me was pain."

  I try to meet her gaze but she stares pointedly away. One day soon, I hope she'll tell me what she went through in the years we were apart. There's a fear in her eyes she doesn’t want me to see, almost as though she's afraid what I might think. It's the same panic that filled my heart when I first saw her across that field—the dread of the unknown. I want to tell her nothing she says could ever change my opinion of her, that nothing could ever dull my love for her, but I think she knows that by now. With time, she'll open her heart to me again.

  "You'll come back soon?" I ask instead. If I push, she'll only run farther away. Instead, I must be the one thing I've never been—patient. It’s a good test of my newfound maturity.

  Nymia finally looks up.

  "Yes." Her gaze slips sideways, scanning Erick up and down. "I have to admit, when I first saw you in the woods, human and hesitant, I never imagined that one day, I'd come to you to learn the secrets of my people and the true extent of my power."

  "Nor I." Erick laughs with a shake of his head, magic flooding off him in waves with each small movement. "Life can be a funny thing, I guess, when you live long enough."

  "Truer words have never been spoken." Nymia releases a humorous puff of air. They're not friends—yet. Though I'm starting to hope maybe one day they will be. "Good—"

  "No," I cut her off. "Don’t say goodbye. Please, anything but that. I don’t want to hear those words on either of our lips again."

  "Okay," she murmurs, rolling her eyes even as they warm with an inner glow. "How about this, then? May the Mother's light shine on you."

  I grin and take her hand, sending a soft wave of power into her palm, one she sends back to me, tingling with the glory of our gods. "May her blessing warm your days."

  Then she's gone, vanished through the portal, leaving Erick and me alone. Not really though, I remember as I glance around the cave at all of Mother's creatures living peacefully beside us. In her grace, we're never forgotten, just like Priestess Sytrene said.

  "Are you ready?" Erick murmurs, taking my fingers gently in his.

  I nod.

  My gaze goes blurry as his magic shoots beneath my skin, but a moment later, it's done. When I think of the spell, it's like trying to grasp the ocean with my palm, the words slipping right through. I don't remember them. I can’t fathom them. They're simply gone.

  Good riddance.

  "You could go with her," Erick whispers.

  My gaze drops to the portal still open by my feet, but for the first time in my life, I have no urge to run. I want to stay right where I am. Close it.

  "Are you sure?" He raises his brows. "I made a promise to stay down here indefinitely, but you didn’t, Aeri. It doesn't have to be your prison."

  It’s not, I tell him and step closer, lifting my free hand to his cheek and brushing his skin. I tenderly press my lips against his. It's the sort of kiss that simmers with the unspoken heat of forever. He sighs against me as I run my fingers through his hair, across his shoulder, and down his arm, until both of my hands hold his. When I pull back, magic glimmers in his eyes, the sort that's always blossomed between us, stemming straight from our hearts. There's nowhere else I’d rather be than here with you.

  A long time ago, I remember thinking we never should've left our cave, our little slice of paradise, and now we won't. We'll stay here until all our wrongs have been righted. And when we finally do emerge from hiding, we'll step into the world we always dreamed we could make—one where humans and faeries and all Mother's creatures live together in harmony.

  I think of the tales Erick told me—about an earthquake that merged our world with another, all the lives lost, all the hopes dashed, all the people now counting on us to build a better future. I'm not sure what Mother saw in me, in him, in us that was so powerful she'd rest the fate of so many on our shoulders. Everywhere I look, there are ashes. The world weeps from so much darkness. But I have faith in her. Somehow, Erick and I will be the embers burning bright enough to spark the world anew. Somehow, we'll see her wish made true.

  Do you think there's anything we could've done differently? I ask, running over the choices we made. There were mistakes, yes, but when I look back, there's not a moment shared between us I'd ever want to change. Or do you think this was Mother's plan all along? That this is how it was always supposed to end?

  "Why would you think this is the ending?" Erick asks, lifting the corner of his lips into a lopsided grin that makes him look like the boy I once knew. He strokes my palm with his thumb and presses his forehead to mine, breathing in my magic and my touch. "I promise, Aeri. This, right here? It's only the beginning."

  ***

  Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed my twisted take on The Little Mermaid!

  If you have a moment, please consider leaving a review. Even a few words can make a huge difference in someone deciding to give my book a chance.

  If you want to learn more about Erick and one of the many stories he plans to tell Aerewyn, don’t miss the prequel novella, Granting Wishes! It's available now on Amazon and free in Kindle Unlimited!

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  She's about to discover a whole new world...

  "His words come back to me—magic is the law. I guess I'm making my own set of rules."

  Alanna thought rock climbing in Yosemite National Park would be the trip of a lifetime. Until an earthquake strikes and she finds herself plummeting to her death. But instead of slamming into the forest floor, Alanna drops into a secret underground cave where she's confronted by the impossible—magic.

  A mysterious man named Erick uses incredible powers to save her life, then tells her that his magical world has collided with earth, merging the two together. Alanna writes it off as crazy, until he shows her a vision of her brother being dragged down a sandy cobblestone street in chains. Crazy or not, she'll do anything to save him.

  As Alanna and Erick team up to rescue her brother from the clutches of a decrepit sorcerer king, fate intervenes in the form of a handsome prince. Alanna doesn't know who to trust, but in this foreign land, flying solo just might get her killed...

  Keep reading for a free preview of the first chapter!

  I’m falling.

  I’m not entirely sure why or how, only that I am. One second, my fingers had a solid grip on
the cliff I’d been climbing. Then the world shook, the air shimmered, my eyes clouded with dust, and the ground fell away. An earthquake—it had to be. I’m a California girl, so I know a quake when I feel one. I don’t remember letting go of the rock, but I must have, and now I’m plummeting toward the ground. I wait for tension to tug at the harness strapped across my midsection, but it never comes. Either the rope broke or the safety carabiners came loose—just my freaking luck. I blink rapidly, clearing my gaze.

  Think, Alanna. Think.

  But there’s nothing I can do to slow my fall. Through the curtain of rock cascading all around me, I catch a glimpse of the sky and stare at that endless speck of blue, holding on to the beauty in its vibrant sapphire hue. I wish I could say I was having some sort of profound out-of-body experience in the last few moments of my life, but in actuality, the only things going through my mind are, I can’t believe I’m going to die a virgin, my mom is going to kill me, and, Oh my gosh, I’m so close to landing my full-twisting double tuck off the uneven bars—this isn’t fair! Moving stuff, right? I wince as I wait for my body to crash against the boulders lining the forest floor below.

  Only it doesn’t.

  The world goes dark, and then water breaks my fall—water I’m positive wasn’t there before. I plunge into a deep pool, spinning head over heels as liquid engulfs me in a cool embrace. Muffled splashes echo beneath the surface. A sinking rock scratches my leg. Then another brushes my arm. Something heavy presses into my stomach, dragging me down—a boulder. If I don’t get out from underneath it, I’ll be pinned. I slide my arms through the water and kick my legs, fighting against gravity’s pull. Propping my feet against the bumpy surface, I shove myself free of the sinking weight. My chest aches from lack of air. I swim, not really sure where I’m going, just hoping my body will know the way. A light catches my eye. I chase it, pumping my limbs as fast as they’ll go, then I’m there.