Seaweed (13 page)

And I realized I didn’t know where I was.

Of course, I didn’t know where I was. I was swimming far under the surface in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, propelling myself with a
tail
. I’d hardly been out of Eastcove, much less to some foreign destination under the sea. I felt a little distressed and I squeezed Tor’s hand harder.

He turned back and smiled, oblivious to my growing irrational fears. Like people who were afraid of heights, was I afraid of depths?

Yet, I couldn’t deny the call of the ocean, and when I thought of returning to land, especially without Tor, well, that sort of anxiety was greater.

Even though I felt bad about lying to my mom, I knew I’d made the right decision. I needed to know more about Tor, his family and his world.

My world now.

Plus, I couldn’t face being without Tor. Again, I was amazed at how fast this had happened, like an inner switch flicked on without asking. I mentally recited all the things I liked about him: of course, he was gorgeous, but also strong—I felt safe with him; he was thoughtful, he got my jokes, he made me feel special. I could be myself around him.

My true self. Now that I was merfolk, no ordinary boy would ever do. I was ruined.

As he led me confidently to wherever we were headed, I was overwhelmed with the strength of my feelings for him.

Wait, could he
hear
what I was thinking? I felt my face flush red, even in the water. How exactly did this talking without speaking thing actually work? I wished I would’ve asked Tor more questions about it when I could still use my vocal chords.

I noticed him glancing back at me. His lips pulled up in a tender grin.

Because he heard me
think
? Did that mean none of my thoughts were private anymore? This was definitely problematic, because I never stopped thinking and mostly, lately, I thought about Tor. Not good.

But, I couldn’t hear Tor think. Was it because he knew how to control his thoughts? How to keep his mind blank? I’d heard this was a skill that guys had. Or, what? I decided I had to try it out right now. This couldn’t wait.

Tor?

Yeah?

I was so stunned, I pulled up short, my hand slipping out of his. Tor hovered in front of me, concern on his face.
Are you okay?

Do you hear everything I think?

That’s what’s wrong?

Just answer the question?

He smiled sheepishly.
Not everything.

What do you mean, not everything? How does this think-speak work?

He chuckled and I wanted to kick him. Which was difficult when you didn’t have legs.

When you want to say something to someone, you address that person, or that group with your mind. Then everything you say after that is transmitted to them.

You mean, I just have to think about that person, and he can hear me?

His eyes sparkled and I could tell he was trying to hold in laughter.
You may need to work on your communication transmission skills.

I punched him in the arm (which was highly ineffective underwater) and he swam away, laughter bubbles escaping from his gills.

I was officially a mortified mermaid.

My mental agony worked well at helping to pass the time. I reviewed everything I’d thought over in my mind, wondering what it was that Tor could’ve “heard” and then realized he was probably listening in right
now
. This was a vicious circle. I didn’t really notice the vast mass of liquid blue all around me, or the creatures that blended in and out.

Tor’s voice drew me from my misery.
We’re here
. He pointed to a network of underwater caves in an undersea mountain range. My jaw dropped as I gawked at it in awe. I’d never even seen mountains on land. Not real mountains like the Rockies, and I’d bet these underwater mountains could challenge them in mass and splendor.

We dove deeper, through the pinks and purples of cold water coral. I confessed to being more than a little unnerved by a distant encounter with a school of pointy-nosed spiny dogfish sharks with their odd cat-like whiskers They weren’t large, only a meter long, but traveled in intimidating packs. Tor circled wide when we spotted them.

Tor made that clicking sound I’d heard him make on the first day I’d seen him. Except that I heard it in my head rather than with my ears. I guessed he was announcing our arrival.

I couldn’t tell where exactly we were headed, but soon a dark speck on the side of a mountain grew larger until I could see that it was the opening of a cave. We paused along a nearby ridge. Two large, solid looking mermen hovered along either side of the cave opening. It was weird to see another merperson other than Tor. Tor’s eyes moved from one to the other, and there seemed to be some kind of communication going on, though I couldn’t hear anything

Who’s that?

Tor didn’t respond. Then I remembered I had to address him.

Tor
?

Before he could answer me, we were joined by a merfolk couple that had to be his parents.

Like most reunions when the son came home from a faraway journey, his mother greeted him with much emotion. She was a flamboyant, beautiful mermaid with porcelain skin and thick wavy auburn hair. Her upper body was (thankfully) covered with mounds of necklaces, sparkling jewels and pearls strung together; I could only guess where they’d come from. Her tail was a lighter shade of green, almost pinkish.

She had Tor in a strong embrace, moving her head from side to side, touching both of Tor’s cheeks. I waited for her verbal burst of joy, but then realized, to my dismay, that I couldn’t hear what they were saying to each other, and they were clearly communicating. Obviously they hadn’t
addressed
me. In fact, she barely gave me a sideways glance.

Tor’s mother was followed by a massive merman with huge bulky biceps, his entire torso covered in extraordinary tattoos. His bushy black hair reached midway down his back, and his face was almost hidden with facial hair. His eyes were deep pools of emerald green—like Tor’s—and they were fixed on his son.

Again they spoke and I couldn’t hear. I felt like the deaf guest at an all-hearing affair.

I awkwardly stayed off to the side, waiting for introduction. I got the feeling they hadn’t expected their son to bring a girl home.

Just when I thought the introductions were finally forthcoming, two more merpeople swam to Tor. The first one was a younger merman who greatly resembled Tor, though bigger and older. I gathered this was Tor’s brother. Missing was the familial warmth that had come from Tor’s parents. They shared a congenial handshake and quick parting.

The second creature was female, petite, pretty with flaming red hair. A mini alarm went off in my head. She, too, had a collection of exotic necklaces that covered her chest. I glanced down at the t-shirt I wore, all stretched out from the weight of the water, and suddenly I felt like the ugly girl at the dance who was pitifully under-dressed.

When I looked up, the redhead was lip-locked in a kiss with Tor. If I’d had knees they would be buckling. As it was I felt like someone was plugging up my gills, and I vacillated between wanting to faint and disappear and wanting to tackle that mergirl to the seafloor.

Hello! Tor!

To his credit, he did look like he was trying to pull away from her, but obviously not hard enough. I was ticked off. This whole thing reeked of rudeness and something else I was afraid to find out about. Like, who was this mergirl, (though I had a sick feeling that I knew) and why did Tor just let her kiss him like that?

Tor swam over to my side and drew me in to this sicko love fest.

This is my friend, Dori of Eastcove.
Awkward silence. I could only fixate on his choice of words. FRIEND. His family squinted and stared at me and my t-shirt like they didn’t know what to think or say. As if Tor had just brought home a beluga whale or a sea turtle and wanted to know if he could keep it as a pet.

Dori, this is my mother, Queen Alia, and my father, King Playo.

What? Queen and king? He never told me that? And did that make Tor a prince? I didn’t have time to process this information as each of them took my hand and shook it.

Hello
, I said not sure if they could hear me, and wondering if I was supposed to perform some kind of tail curtsy, with them being royalty.

Welcome to our clan
, Tor’s mother said.
At least the small part represented here today.

Thank you.

We are glad to make your acquaintance
, King Playo said.

Tor continued,
Over here is my brother, Kon
. Kon gave me a polite wave, though I didn’t hear any words. But if I could read anything from his expression, he wasn’t entirely happy to meet me.

And this is Shava
.

Freak, I knew it. The redhead who started all the trouble in the first place.

Shava swam over to me and did this delicate mermaid curtsy (so now I knew). I didn’t hear her say anything, so I just mimicked her move (poorly) and offered a weak smile.

I was afraid to think anything, because as Tor said, I didn’t quite have a handle on my communication transmission skills. I was afraid they were all going to hear how uncomfortable I was with these introductions and how angry I was about that kiss.

Queen Alia motioned us to go inside the cave. Close up I got a better look at the two oversized mermen that waited on either side of the door. They had bulky muscular arms crossed over defined pectoral muscles. Unlike Tor and his family, these two mermen had leather belts around their waists, each with a knife sheath with a bone handle sticking out.

I questioned Tor with my eyes.

My parent’s royal sentinels. Bodyguards.

Like caves inhabited by transient dwellers above the ground, these caves were sparse in décor. It wasn’t like you could hang a picture or throw a rug under water. Plus it was dark. Obviously, no oil lamps to shed light. I felt Tor’s hand on my arm and I wondered if I was the only one who couldn’t see anything. Great. Now I was deaf and blind. My chest tightened with frustration and anger and something else. I wanted air. My lungs were starting to rebel. I wasn’t used to not using them. In the blackness, I felt kind of panicky and I grabbed on to Tor more tightly than usual.

Are you okay?

I don’t know. I can’t see. I can’t hear. And I’m finding it hard to breathe. What do you think?

Dori, you’re worked up. Just relax. Focus on your gills. Your eyes will adjust in time.

I found his neck with my chin and nuzzled in. I focused on my gills taking in oxygen and on the strength of Tor’s body next to mine.

He was right. My eyes began to adjust, like someone had plugged in a nightlight. Two feet ahead of me was Shava’s face.

I startled backward.
What’s the matter with her?

Shava,
Tor said gently,
you need to give us some space, okay? Dori’s a guest.

Shava’s eyes said it all. She was heartbroken.

Tor?
I turned from Shava and tried to whisper with my think-speaking, not sure if Shava could hear me or not.
You said you were cousins.

Tor moved us to the far side of the cave, away from Shava and all the members of his family.
We are cousins.

Then I remembered what Dex had said about their small world and cousins mating.
Are you two an item?

Tor looked away, clearly uncomfortable. Then he met my eyes.
We were. We’re not anymore.

Are you sure? She doesn’t seem to agree.

It’s really hard for Shava. If I hadn’t decided to go ashore, we’d still be together. But I made my choice. I can’t be with someone I’ll have to leave all the time.

Obviously, she doesn’t agree with your choice. Is that why she surfaced in the bay? Did she mean to get spotted?

Yes, she came to the bay to find me, but she didn’t mean to be spotted. She’s a gentle soul and would never purposely cause anyone any harm.

I folded my arms. I hated how he sided with her. And I didn’t believe for a second that she didn’t mean to be spotted. A slithery coil of jealously wrapped around my heart. Tor was mine now, and I was going to make sure that Gentle Shava knew that.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Queen Alia swam over to my side.
You must be exhausted, dear.