More than a Mermaid (Shifty Book 4)

by Sara Summers

  “But if we’re trying to make peace, the truth needs to come out. We can’t be expected to accept not understanding the dangers of people who want us to trust them.” The man argued.

  “Prime minister, please.” The president tried to calm the situation.

  “It’s alright.” I nodded at the president, having decided what I’d say to explain our magic. “Sometimes,” okay, all the time, thought I wouldn’t have admitted it to them, “mermaids and mermen are born with talents, what you call magic. Some can make human things work in the ocean, others can form sand into great buildings without any tools. I, for instance, can heal injuries.” I explained.

  “And are people ever born with talents that could hurt humans?”

  This time, I’d have to straight-up lie. They couldn’t know the truth about anyone, me in particular. If they knew that the ocean answered to me, all h—hotdogs would break loose.

  “Of course not. Our people are born with talents that will help mermaids and mermen live longer and prosper more, nothing else. Each talent is a gift from the Creator, intended to bless our ocean kingdom.”

  I made it up as I went, and I thought it sounded pretty good. Of course, it was completely false, but that didn’t matter.

  What mattered was that humans weren’t going to attack us, which meant neither of our people would die. It was a win-win situation, so I was comfortable with the lie.

  “I see.” The man nodded. He still looked a little suspicious, but I hoped my charming smile would stop his worries.

  The servers brought out the next course, so we went up to grab our food once again.

  Chapter 13

  After dessert, the president stood up to speak again. He spoke for a few minutes about equality and peace, while my mind still raced to figure out what I should say to all the people behind me.

  “Without further ado, here’s Queen Ava of the mermaids.” The president smiled as he sat down, and I walked up to the front of the room to stand in front of the microphone.

  “Hello.” I forced a smile, looking out at the crowd. Brooke gave me a thumbs-up from her seat at my left, and my smile became a little more genuine. “Like the president said, I’m the queen of the mermaids. I may be queen, but I’d really rather go by Ava.” I smiled, and Jazz caught my eye with her cup raised.

  “I’m sure most of you have questions about my people, and I have questions about your people too. Why do you believe in putting up walls to keep people out? Why do wars happen when all they bring is destruction? Why do you abort your babies rather than raising them to be people of value to society?” I shrugged. “My people don’t understand your people much more than you understand us, so I hope that gives you comfort when you don’t like my answers to your questions.”

  I took a breath, and noticed Leah’s grin. My smile grew a little, and I refocused on the speech.

  “We all come from different cultures, different places, and have different beliefs. However, our differences shouldn’t drive us apart. Our differences should bring us peace, because this world is such a big place. If everyone on this big wide planet was exactly the same, we would all have to be perfect. We wouldn’t make mistakes or do anything weird—we would always be worried about fitting in.

  “But because of this big, beautiful world, I can stand up here and tell you all that I’m a mermaid. I’ve been to the depths of every ocean on the planet, I’ve seen things that none of you could possibly imagine exists. And the more places I go, the more things and people I see. The more things and people I see, the more I understand this one concept:

  “Everyone is different. Whether you have white skin, or black skin, or scales, or fur. We are all different. And you know what? Our differences should bring us closer. Our differences make us wiser and stronger, and I know that if we all work together in peace, we can make this world an even more beautiful place.” I looked out at the crowd.

  “My name is Ava, and I believe in peace. Thank you.” I slid back into my chair, and a blush blossomed on my cheeks. I couldn’t stop it.

  Sam leaned over and whispered,

  “That was really good.”

  “Thanks.” I gave him a small smile, pulling my still-unruly hair over one shoulder so my neck would cool off a little. It’s funny, I was more nervous after my speech than I was before it.

  “Thank you for your remarks, Ava. Now, we will hear from the Stringy Trio. Please, feel free to converse. You may go back to your rooms whenever you are ready.” The president announced.

  As soon as he stepped away from the microphone, I was surrounded by people that I vaguely remembered meeting earlier that day.

  “That was a lovely speech.” A woman in a heavy accent told me with a big smile.

  “I want to hear about some of the places you’ve been. What does the Marianna’s trench look like to a mermaid?” an old man asked.

  I gave them a sly smile and shrugged.

  “Now, I can’t be giving away all our secrets. You’ll have to wait until humans can get there to know.” I told them.

  “I’ll die before that day comes.” The man grumbled. I bit back a laugh.

  “I’m sorry, but if I tell one person I’ll have to tell everyone, and that would stop people from exploring the depths of the ocean. It would be a shame if a mermaid caused that, and would disappoint my people. You’ll just have to wait and see.” I smiled, and Sam gently took my arm.

  “I need to talk to my mermaid for just a second, so if you’ll excuse us…” he towed me away from the group of people, stopping me at an empty place a few feet away from everyone. “How are you feeling? Do we need to go back to the room?” he checked.

  I gave him a weird look, then smoothed out my expression before anyone noticed.

  “What are you doing? Why are you asking me if I’m okay? You don’t want me, remember?” I folded my arms but tried not to look too angry so no one would know we were arguing.

  “I don’t know, I just…” Sam folded his arms too, and I put my hand on the side of his arm to make us look less angry.

  “Just what?” I whispered, noticing someone staring at us from across the room.

  “Just… I don’t know.” Sam admitted.

  “Look,” I stepped closer and gave him a small smile. “We’re soulmates, okay? That means it’s natural for us to develop feelings for each other. Since you don’t want to be a merman, you just have to think of us as family, like a brother and sister maybe.” I told him in the best way I thought he might understand. “Just play along and don’t worry about me.” I instructed.

  “Alright.” Sam nodded once. “We’d better get back to socializing.” He gestured toward the crowd.

  “Yeah.” I agreed. “Take my hand so we look more like a couple.”

  “Okay.” He took my hand, and our fingers laced together immediately, like we had done it a hundred times before.

  And that was good, I guess, because everyone in the room had to think that we had held hands hundreds of times before. What they didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them, right?

  Unfortunately, as Sam and I walked around with our fingers locked together, I was clueless one. I had no idea how not to fall in love with the man who was the other half of my soul, and in my case, what I didn’t know was definitely hurting me.

  What I didn’t know was going to break my heart, but even knowing that, I didn’t know how to ignore Sam or my growing feelings for him.

  Chapter 14

  I was in the shower, humming and rinsing conditioner out of my hair, when someone pounded on my door.

  “Ava,” Sam yelled.

  “What?” I peeked my head out the curtain, making sure the door was still closed. Yep, it was closed and locked, so I was okay.

  “Everyone is in Marley and Beau’s room hanging out. Alena wants you to come.” Sam yelled.

  “Okay.” I called back, hurrying to finish washing my hair.

  When I stepped out of the shower, I realized the mistake I had made….

&nbs
p; I didn’t bring any clothes with me.

  I bit back a groan.

  I could put on the t-shirt and skirt I’d been wearing earlier, I guessed. When I looked out at the clothes, though, I saw that the shower had soaked them.

  Great. Wet clothes or a towel.

  This sucks.

  I swallowed my pride and wrapped a towel around me, trying to cover as much skin as I could. Showing off my stomach and legs wasn’t a big deal; in the ocean, we naturally had what looked like a bandeau-bra wrapped around our chests. It was hard to get off, and would grow back if you did take it off.

  My other shifter friends thought that was weird, but it was normal to me. When we shifted, the bandeau shifted with us. If we cut it off in human form, it didn’t come back until we had a tail again. So, I was used to showing off my stomach, and I didn’t mind flashing people some leg. The rest of me though? Not so much.

  I tightened the towel and forced myself to walk right out the bathroom door.

  Sam’s eyes jumped up to me as I walked out, widening when he saw what I was wearing.

  “Go to the bathroom, please.” I pointed over my shoulder, and he stood up.

  “Ava…”

  “Please.” I repeated, and he walked away without another word. I watched him go, waiting until he was safely inside the bathroom.

  He stopped before going in.

  “You’re beautiful. The most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.” He said, before stepping inside the bathroom.

  I blinked the shock out of my eyes, shaking my head before I started changing.

  When I was done I called for him to come out, then led him down the hall to Marley’s room without waiting for him to say anything else that may or may not surprise me.

  I knocked on the door, and a second later Alena opened it. She threw her arms around me when she saw me, and I realized that we had still only known each other for a few days. It was weird, because I felt like I’d been close with my sister for a long time.

  Alena pulled me into Marley and Beau’s room, and Sam followed. He shut the door behind himself, and I looked around to see what was going on in the room.

  On one side, Jazz, Brooke, Kennedy, and Cosette were playing Just Dance. Their movements were a bit violent, but they were laughing so hard I had to smile.

  On the other side of the room, Everyone else was gathered. Some of them were playing Mario Kart, and some were talking to Lyssie, playing with toys with her.

  I wasn’t sure what side I belonged to, but Marley looked over her shoulder with a smile on her face.

  “Ava, come play Mario Kart.” She offered.

  “Oh, I’m okay…” I shook my head, remembering the last time I had played a video game. Suffice it to say, I get way too much into videogames. Especially with Marley.

  “Come on, I bet you haven’t played in a year.” She teased me, and I smiled.

  “Alright. But if I start screaming at you, it’s your own fault.” I chastised her, and she laughed.

  “Deal.”

  I sat down, and Merla handed me her remote.

  “Marley and Beau are serious about their gaming.” She warned. “Be careful, I got whacked in the head already.”

  I laughed.

  “Thanks, Lala.” I teased my old friend. When she smiled, I realized again how much I had missed being around the girls. We had been so close before, and it was sad to me that I was so different after just a year away.

  Well, maybe not so different, because as soon as we started racing in the videogame, I started screaming.

  “Stop trying to smash me, Marley! Stop if you want to live!” I shrieked.

  “Whoa, whoa whoa!” Beau called out to me as I started to take over his first-place spot.

  I shot him with a red shell, and he groaned as I took first.

  I cackled as I shot ahead of everyone, keeping my first place spot until I drove through the finish line. When I won, I lifted my remote and cheered.

  “Woo! I’m the winner!” I exclaimed.

  Marley laughed, shaking her head at me.

  “I knew the old Ava was in there somewhere.” She grinned. “We’ve missed you.”

  “I’ve missed me too.” I admitted, still wearing a massive smile. “Sorry if I was laughing too loud. I can’t control myself when I play intense games.” I apologized.

  “Don’t apologize.” Sam said. “It was cool.”

  Everyone looked over at us, and I blushed again. I knew what they were all thinking. Sam thinks Ava’s cool? Is he falling for her? Is everything going to end in a happily-ever-after for them?

  “What happened to the Ava that believes in peace?” Brooke broke into the conversation, teasing me and breaking the tension.

  “She turned into the Ava who would give anything to win at Mario Kart.” I grimaced, but laughed when my friends laughed.

  “Want to play again?” Marley checked.

  “Of course.” I smiled. “I’m just getting started.”

  Someone handed Sam a remote, and he took their place in the race. I didn’t win every round after that, but I won a solid portion. Whichever ones I didn’t win, Beau took. Marley focused on smashing people off the road, and I don’t think Sam had ever played the game before so he struggled a little to catch up to the rest of us.

  It was a fun night, filled with games, jokes, and friends who felt more like family. When the time came to leave, I wanted more than anything for the night to just keep going.

  That game night was enough to make me wish I had been born as something other than the mermaid queen, but I was twenty years too late to change anything. My fate was sealed, and I thought that meant I could never have this close relationship with my friends anymore.

  I was the queen of the mermaids, and my duty was to my people. There was no space in my life to consider anyone but them, because everything I did affected them. If I wasn’t back in Capitol City in a few days, the council would start doing whatever they wanted.

  I couldn’t let them do whatever they wanted. They followed some traditions, but for the most part they thought they were above the law.

  So, I was stuck.

  Queen Ava, stuck.

  Royalty is supposed to have the most fun, right? The most freedom and the most money and the most respect? All I had was a soulmate who wanted nothing to do with me, a council who repress me in every aspect of my life, and a sister who was too young to be allowed to live in Capitol City.

  No matter how much I wanted a life on land, it wasn’t meant to be. My place was the ocean.

  The ocean that I loved more than anything else on the planet, although Alena was starting to come in close second.

  So, that night I played games and had fun with the friends that had been my everything while I was in high school, but when the morning came around, I knew I had to go back to being Queen Ava who believed in nothing more than peace and equality.

  Chapter 15

  After everyone went back to their rooms, I laid in bed, staring at the ceiling above me. The room was dark and quiet. Sam wasn’t moving or making any noise, so I figured he was asleep already.

  I closed my eyes and rolled onto my stomach, trying to find a comfortable position to sleep in. A few minutes went by, and still, I couldn’t sleep.

  Turning onto my side, I forced my eyes to stay closed as I stared at the wall.

  Just breathe. Just breathe. Just breathe.

  I repeated in my mind, trying to level out my breathing and convince my brain that it was time to go to bed.

  It was no use. My brain stayed wide awake no matter how hard I tried to get it to believe that it was bed time.

  Maybe it was the adrenaline from the video games. My heart hasn’t pounded like that in ages.

  I tried to figure it out, then gave up and went back to chanting,

  Just breathe. Just breathe. Just breathe.

  I rolled to my back and groaned quietly. Maybe it was Sam’s fault, he was laying right beside me, the soulmate that was mine but wa
sn’t.

  A few long minutes later, I smelled salt in the air. I knew it could only come from one thing.

  The ocean? What is it doing here in the middle of the night?

  I wondered. Sure, the ocean and I typically worked as a team, but in the middle of a hotel room? That was a strange place for me to feel it.

  A few more minutes passed by, and I was getting tired of lying in bed awake. If the ocean needed me to do something, I wanted to get it done.

  Then again, I knew it was silly for me to try to put the ocean on my timetable. Who was I to tell it how to function? I was just some twenty-year-old girl who was born with a special marking on my side. The ocean had been doing its thing for a lot longer than I had.

  So, I waited for it to make its move, focusing on my breathing and laying there patiently. If the ocean wanted me to wait, there was a reason.

  Finally, twenty long minutes later, it spoke to me.

  “Get up.” The ocean whispered.

  I slid out of bed, making as little noise as possible. If Sam woke up and found me listening to the ocean, he would think I was crazy. And since he didn’t want to be a merman, it definitely wasn’t his place to know that mermaid royalty had a close relationship with the ocean. Alena didn’t even know that yet.

  I padded over to the door that led out to the hallway, putting my hand on the handle. Pausing for a second, I tried to figure out if there was a way to open the door without waking up Sam.

  Yeah… there wasn’t. I would just have to go for it and hope for the best. That didn’t seem like the greatest idea, but what other option did I have?

  “Go.” The ocean urged.

  I closed my eyes and pushed down on the handle. As I went to pull the door open, an arm wrapped around my waist while a hand reached up and covered my mouth. I shrieked into it, using the water inside my attacker to shove him backward and away from me.

  Whirling around, I found Sam staring at me with wide eyes.

  “What the h—“

  “Hotdogs, remember?” Sam whispered, pressing a finger to his lips to shush me. “What are you doing?”