Total pages in book: 51
Estimated words: 48407 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 242(@200wpm)___ 194(@250wpm)___ 161(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 48407 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 242(@200wpm)___ 194(@250wpm)___ 161(@300wpm)
Darin shifted. His body twisted, and then the human was gone. A merman looked at me with turquoise eyes, his body flowing into a powerful fish tail. Darin spun me around, and we shot away from the Emerald Wave as if dragged by a speed boat.
The sea gripped us, not wanting to let go, trying to pull us back toward the cruise ship.
Darin sped up.
We flew through the ocean depth, trying to fight against the current.
There wasn’t enough air.
Suddenly the pressure vanished. Darin stopped and pulled me up. We surfaced. The sandy beach was only twenty feet away. I dropped my feet and touched the bottom.
The sky above us glowed gently with the promise of sunrise, pink and lavender brightening the deep indigo of the retreating night. The Emerald Wave was gone, and the strange nexus of magic had vanished with it.
I took a deep breath and lay on my back. I was so tired.
Something splashed through the water toward me, but I was too exhausted to react.
Curran’s face appeared above me. “Hey, baby.”
I reached out and touched his face. Real and warm. “Hey.”
“Went swimming without me?”
“I thought you might catch up.”
He wrapped his arms around me. “I was delayed.”
“They showed up?”
“They did.”
The first sliver of sun broke the horizon. The water sparkled. A couple dozen feet away, Antonio and Leslie staggered onto the beach, holding hands. A tan, naked man with red hair paced up and down the surf, looking nervously in our direction.
“Is our son okay?”
“Yes.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yes.”
“Good.” I snuggled against him. “Who is the naked guy on the beach?”
“Troy. He’s a medmage. He says he trained with Doolittle.”
“Oh good. I think my left arm is broken.”
Curran made a low growling noise. I put my good arm around him and kissed him.
A beautiful mermaid slid past us in the water, her dark, curly hair streaming behind her in wet spirals, her eyes bright red, and I realized it was Solina. She was smiling.
“Ready to go home?” Curran asked.
“In a minute.”
In the distance Darin leaped out of the water, his tail a brilliant, heart-breaking blue. Behind him the rest of the kids jumped like a pod of dolphins, their tails, fins, and scales glistening.
We floated in the warm water, while the sun rose and the mer-children from a dozen myths played in the waves.
THE END