Chapter 10
I’m a mermaid. To stop the slaughter of my kind, I made the ultimate sacrifice: I came ashore to sing my song to friend, Sam Wilkins–now a top–tier scientist and a national sensation in the biomedical field.”
my
For seven days and seven nights, he held me in his arms, as if releasing me–even for a moment–would tear him apart. But paradise was fleeting.”
childhood best
The next morning, still dizzy from the remnants of his touch and the lingering heat of his kisses, I was jolted awake by a searing heat. Something liquid–hot, corrosive–poured over my head. It hissed as it ran down my scalp, tracing paths of fire across my face, neck and chest. The pain was brutal, savage, an explosion that tore through every fiber of my being.
I screamed, the sound ripping from my throat.”
And then I saw him–Sam. He stood there, silent and cold, an empty bucket dangling from his hand. His face was an unfeeling mask, his gaze unblinking, as he watched me writhe in agony.”
“So, even immortal mermaids feel pain,” he sneered, his voice like ice, cutting through the air. He crouched beside me, his words like knives slicing through the silence. “But this pain? This is nothing compared to what I felt when your kind kidnapped my parents.”
He leaned in and I could smell the acid fumes still clinging to him. “This is just the beginning. Until you tell me where they are, don’t even dream of leaving this place.”
****
For the next two years, I was his prisoner.
He threatened to slaughter my people if I ever tried to escape. And I had to watch him marry someone else–Jill Combs. His hand–picked bride.
Over and over, he sliced open my chest and carved out my mermaid pearl–my life force–to extract its essence. He used it to strengthen Jill’s frail human body, prepping her to carry his child.
He chained me by the ankles, forced me to clean up their used condoms night after night while they laughed and moaned in the next room.§.
And when she couldn’t sleep, he made me dance–barefoot on broken glass, grinding my pain into lullabies just to calm her down. When she got pregnant, Sam began slicing pieces of flesh from my tail to nourish her growing child.
He hated me–that much was clear. But each time I hovered near death, he would tenderly feed me the medicine that kept me alive, forcing me to endure just a little longer.}
“You know I love you, Nerissa,” he’d whisper with terrifying calm. “That’s the only reason you’re still alive. So be good. Tell me where my parents are.“>
I never answered.
But I wouldn’t have to keep the secret much longer.
Mermaids can’t survive long out of the ocean. Three years is the limit. And I only had three days left.”
—
At 3 a.m., the wooden door of the storage room was kicked open with a force that shook the very foundations of the house. I was yanked
to my feet, a series of sharp slaps ringing through the air until my lips split open and blood trickled down my chin.
Sam’s assistant dragged me out by my legs, muttering curses under his breath.
“How dare you sleep like a pig when Mr. Wilkins’s wife is hurt?” he sneered, his voice venomous.
The salty, humid wind from the sea carried with it the heavy scent of blood, mixing with the stench of decay. The bloodstains trailed across the floor, winding their way to Sam’s bedroom.
Sam saw the trail of blood, leading to me, his brows furrowing as his eyes narrowed in contempt. –
“Jill’s hurt,” he said, his voice devoid of concern. “Go treat her.”
I lifted my gaze, my eyes falling on Jill. Her face was flushed, a slight sheen of sweat clinging to her skin, her belly swollen with child. Slap!2
Sam’s hand crashed into my face. He loomed above me, his shadow swallowing me whole.
“I told you to treat Jill. Why are you staring at her? Do you think your eyes are worthy of looking at her?”
I dropped my head immediately.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
Then I crawled literally–over to the bed.
That’s when I learned what had happened. Jill had woken up hungry in the middle of the night and tried to feed one of the mermaids Sam kept locked up for research. She got bitten–just a small nip on her finger. Just a small wound on her fingertip, but it was enough to send the whole house into chaos.
Over the years, I’d gotten used to Jill’s constant ailments. It was always something–her headaches, her backaches, her sudden allergies. And now, pregnancy had given her a new list of sensitivities.
Without a word, I pulled up my shirt, exposing the skin over my heart. My nails, sharp and hardened like coral tips, dug into my flesh. Sweat rolled down my temples as I pushed past the pain and pierced into my chest cavity, fingers trembling as I retrieved the pearl–my
core.
My fingers were tom open, nails ripped down to the bone, skin peeled back to nothing but white Blood dripped from my hands like rain. Chapter 2
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8:58 AM J
From my eyes too.
“Sam,” I rasped, voice shaking with hate, “I hate you.“>
He didn’t flinch.
Instead, he grabbed me and kissed me. His kiss was so hard and brutal, it felt like he wanted to bite my tongue clean off.
That kiss… made my head spin.”
Lately, I’d been growing weaker and sometimes I almost forgot how deeply we once loved each other.”
Mermaids have always been drawn to humans. It’s in our nature to come ashore, to fall for them, to bind our lives to theirs.
I was three years old the first time I met Sam.”
The moment he saw me, he turned to his mom and asked with serious eyes,
“Mom, is she the bride you picked for me?“>
Mrs. Wilkins burst into laughter and flicked his forehead.”
Our families became close after that. We visited often, celebrated birthdays together, even vacationed as one big unit.ꞌ
But everything changed when I turned fifteen.
The merfolk were being hunted, driven off by humans who feared and coveted us. We had no choice but to disappear.
