The poachers didn't think it was as hilarious as I did. "What's so funny?"
"IwishI could do that," I said.
The sound of my voice startled one poacher so badly he jerked backwards. His face flushed. "What the hell? It talks?"
But the other one didn't seem surprised. He was the same one who saw my defiance in the cage when I refused to offer my hands to be tied up. I guessed he'd already realized I was more sentient that he thought. "Guess so," he said, narrowing his eyes. "That doesn't change anything. It's still a mermaid, no matter what magic it's casting. Don't let its appearance fool you."
Since I was no longer hiding the fact that I could speak, I scoffed. "Didn't you hear what I just said? I can't cast magic on you."
Castor stiffened. I wondered if he thought this was a bad idea. Unlike me, he was still keeping his identity under wraps. Maybe that was the smart thing to do. Now that I'd spoken, I’d opened a new can of worms, but I couldn't help myself. The humans were pissing me off too badly. My voice was the only weapon I had and I intended to use it.
The scared poacher shivered when he heard me talk again. He seemed to be at a loss for what to do. The other man grabbed his arm roughly and dragged him a few feet back to mutter in his ear.
"Stop freaking out. Listen to me. It's not a person. You saw it swimming in the water with its tail. No human can hold their breath underwater for that long."
"But it talks! And it has legs now, not a tail!"
"It's fake. An illusion. Haven't you heard stories about how mermaids cast illusions on sailors in order to kill them?"
I choked back a gasp. I'd never been so offended in my life. It was sirens that did that, not mermaids—and hell, I wasn't even a mermaid! I couldn't take it anymore. I had to say something.
"You're thinking of sirens," I spat. "Mermaids don't do that. And in case you haven't noticed, I'm not a mermaid. Themaidpart is for female mer. You know, likemaiden?"
The men glared over their shoulders at me, annoyed that I'd spoken. Even Castor looked concerned. He shot me a nervous look from the corner of his eye. He wasn't doing the best job acting like an animal right now, but I doubted the poachers even noticed. They were too busy focusing on me.
The aggressive poacher stormed up to me. I shrank back, suddenly afraid. I knew I was being reckless by talking back to them.
"I don't care what you are," he growled, "but you're gonna turn back into what you used to be right now."
His face was twisted with fury. He was trying to intimidate me into obeying him. Even though I was frightened, the idea of buckling under this bully disgusted me.
"No," I said.
He gave no indication of hearing me. He went on like I hadn't said anything. "You're going to stop casting your spell. Those human legs are going to disappear. And the next time I see you, you will have a mermaid tail again."
His tone made my blood boil. How dare he speak to me like that? He ordered me around like my future was written in stone, like I had no input whatsoever. I supposed in his mind, I didn't. He'd already confessed that he didn't think of me as a person, just his property. I was an object him.
Just like I was to Jim.
When I realized that, angry defiance fell over me. I'd never been so furious. They were treating me exactly the same way—dehumanizing me. To them, I wasn't a person, I was athing.
I opened my mouth, ready to spew all my anger into a vile insult, when I suddenly felt Castor's furry body nudging me.
His touch was enough of a distraction to calm me down for a second. What was he doing? I looked down and saw him sniffling around, acting like an animal. But I knew he wasn't playing dumb without a reason. He must've nudged me on purpose.
The aggressive poacher stood up, shaking his head in annoyance, and stomped out of the room. "Like I said, it's all a trick. Don't fall for it."
"Pretty damn good trick," the other muttered.
"Just ignore it. It's going to be out of our hands soon anyway."
"Seriously? We got a buyer already?"
"I told you this thing was worth a lot. Tomorrow you'll have enough money to forget about mermaid magic for the rest of your life."
They slammed and locked the door behind them.
I whipped my gaze down at Castor. "What did you do that for?"
