CHAPTER 1
Luzia
To venture into the human world was forbidden, a transgression punishable by exile. But as I watched Inaiá’s life ebb away with each shallow breath, exile seemed a small price to pay.
The cool, damp air of our grotto should have been a comfort, but it did nothing to soothe the fever consuming her. I smoothed a damp cloth across her forehead, the skin of her human torso already feeling dry and papery. Her dolphin tail, usually the vibrant pink of an Amazon lily, now held the ashen hue of death where it met the water's surface.
A low moan escaped her lips, a sound that twisted my gut. I looked at her form, the familiar, practiced state of an Encantado at rest, human from the waist up, her powerful dolphin tail submerged in the grotto’s pool. We all lived this way, bridging the two worlds, lest we forget the path of transformation and lose ourselves to the river entirely.
But this fever was a human sickness, and it was threatening to burn her humanity away for good. Her eyelids fluttered butdidn’t open. If she lost this fight, it wouldn't just be her life that was extinguished, but her very self. She would be trapped, a pink dolphin with no memory of my name, of our love, of the woman she was.
Elder Nahla had said it was a sickness unlike any she’d seen, a creeping darkness that stole the life force from within. What could I do, trapped in this watery prison while my sister withered before my eyes?
The only thing I could think of was to fully transform and go to land to find a cure with the humans. But then I’d never be allowed back.
A ripple disturbed the still water of the room in the queen’s castle, built from driftwood, rocks, and shells, nestled in the grotto. Elder Nahla emerged, her gray hair swirling around her like a current. Her usually bright eyes, the color of polished river stones, were clouded with worry as she approached Inaiá.
She rested by the bed, her powerful tail fin slowly moving to keep her still while she gently probed Inaiá’s throat, the delicate webbing between her fingers tracing the line of her gills. Then, with tenderness, Nahla cradled Inaiá’s shrinking dolphin fin in her hand.
Nahla’s brow furrowed with each touch. “The fever burns hotter,” she murmured, her voice low and grave. “And the darkness of the illness spreads.”
She looked at me, her gaze heavy with unspoken fears. “I have tried every remedy, every potion, every incantation known to our people, Luzia. But nothing stems the tide of this illness.” Her voice cracked, and for a moment, the stoic elder seemed as fragile as a dragonfly’s wing caught in a spiderweb spun between river reeds. “I fear we are running out of time.”
“I will find something to help her,” I answered, my voice raw with determination. “Shemustlive.”
Elder Nahla turned and placed her cool hands on my shoulders, a gesture that surprisingly steadied my trembling. “I admire your determination, Luzia,” she said, her voice heavy with sorrow. “But I don’t know what might help her.”
Sorrow, cold and heavy, flooded through me, threatening to drown me in its depths. “Are you saying there’s no hope?” My voice was barely a whisper, the words catching in my throat.
Nahla’s gaze drifted toward the room’s small window, which offered a glorious view of the grotto, where a sliver of moonlight filtered through the water. “There are whispers of old stories,” she said slowly, her brow furrowed in thought. “Of a flower, theFlor da Luasaid to bloom only under the full moon near the human city. They say it possesses extraordinary healing properties, capable of curing even the most dire ailments. But the legends are dark, Luzia. Rumors say the flower demands a price, and it only reveals its true power when watered by the blood of a selfless heart, a sacrifice made to save another.”
She turned back to Inaiá, her hands moving with a practiced gentleness as she adjusted the damp cloth on my sister’s forehead. I remained rooted to the spot, frozen, watching. Nahla’s words echoed in my mind, a fragile hope against the crushing weight of Inaiá’s illness.
But a chilling thought surfaced.I wouldn’t be allowed to go.The thought was a mere ripple against the tidal wave of desperation that surged within me.
I didn’t care.
I would go.
Inaiá’s shallow breaths slowed, a faint whimper lost against the deepening gray that stole the rose from her skin. A chill, sharp and sudden, prickled my skin despite the humid warmth of the water, mirroring the icy fear that gripped my heart.
No.The word clawed its way up my throat, a silent scream that hardened into a fierce, unwavering resolve.
The human world, its dangers and creatures, all the warnings Nahla had whispered were drowned out by the roaring certainty in my soul. Exile was nothing to be feared. For Inaiá, I would burn the human world to ash, face any beast, and tear theFlor da Luafrom its very roots.
“Luzia.” Nahla’s gentle voice broke through my fierce reverie. “Go and rest, get something to eat. I will watch over Inaiá.”
I nodded, forcing a semblance of obedience, but my mind already raced ahead. Nahla’s kindness and care weren’t enough.Inaiá needed more.
Only Queen Nerina had the authority to grant permission to enter the human world. Hope, fragile yet fierce, flickered within me at the one chance I had.
CHAPTER 2
Luzia
A flick of the tail propelled swift movement through the maze of coral and shimmering kelp forests that adorned the underwater castle that was home to our kind. Arms, sleek and strong, tucked tightly against my sides, guided the way through familiar currents and well-worn paths.
I didn’t wait to be announced. Driven by a desperate urgency, I pushed through the shimmering curtain of kelp that veiled the entrance to the Throne Room. Two guards, their dolphin skin flashing silver then pink in the filtered moonlight that reached these depths, turned sharply, their tridents raised in alarm as they swam after me.
