What if wedidfind a way to permanently transform you to a human? Would your heart swim away and I never see you again?
I grinned.What if I dragged you with me?
He laughed again, something I counted as a victory.You’re dangerous, mermaid, you know that?
Only for you,I said and hugged him. No kisses… not yet.
I couldn’t sleep.Even after spending a romantic moment under the stars with Ezra, I tossed and turned. Not only was the sea calling to me, but something just didn't feel right.
Magic.
I could no longer resist the tingling sensation in the air. Someone was using magic, and it wasn’t the comforting, cozy magic that Aunty Lorelei used, nor was it the natural magic that existed in the forest's life or the songbirds.
It was a leeching kind of magic that made the air feel heavy. I wasn’t exactly familiar withdarkmagic, per se, but I was pretty sure this was it.
Where is it coming from?I got out of bed, changed, and slowly made my way into the hallway, tiptoeing barefoot, following my instincts. I walked out of the palace, and Pili circled before landing on my shoulder. He shook his feathers, as if nervous for me, as if telling me to turn around and go back.
But I didn’t want to go back. I had to find whatever was causing this imbalance in the air, and I had to stop it.
The coquis were ridiculously loud, so loud it almost made it difficult for me to sense the tingling, pulsing sensation in the air. I passed through the terrace garden, traversing deep into the forest.
The koa trees were so old they seemed to hold the wisdom of thousands of years. No wonder the people loved these forests, these trees. They had a life all their own. Tavo spoke of cutting them down, and that made my heart ache.
The locals cut them down too,I told myself. Yes, this was true. They used the wood for ships and weapons… but Tavo meant to cut them down at analarmingrate.
Ezra won’t let that happen.He cared for his people, this land, and these trees. A coqui chirped next to me and I jumped, eyeing it with suspicion.
Not Ezra.The normal coquis were a dull color, like white sand mixed with ashes from a campfire. Ezra, in his frog form, had had more of a green color, with a golden tint, as if he were still wearing his green kingly tunics even in frog form.
Suddenly, the air became more charged, and I felt a stinging sensation inside my chest. The trees were sinking–not physically, but the life in them was drifting away to something unseen, something terrifying.
Even the birds and owls hid in the trees, but they could not escape the magic force, sucking their lives like a whirlpool dragging the surrounding water, drawing everything to its center.
That’s when I saw a light. I moved, careful not to step on any branches or rustle any leaves. With skirts hiked up above my knees, I crouched behind a large monstera bush.
My jaw dropped.
In the center of the opening was a light, and it came not from a lantern nor a fire. It came from a ball.
A golden ball.
Cressida.She held it in her hands, trying to conceal the light from the forest, yet it still glowed.
What is she doing?Black magic drifted like ribbons in the air, connecting itself from the trees and nearby life to the ball.
The ball is taking the life from the trees, the birds, and…Not the frogs. No. Coquis hopped around, and even if I had made a sound, they were so much louder. Their endless, annoying chirping hurt my ears.
Cressida suddenly paused and looked around, as if scared someone might find her here. I ducked, knowing she couldn’t see me, but hoping she wouldn’t detect my presence.
Something rustled in the bushes nearby and the princess jumped up, covering the ball with her dark cloak. “Who’s there?” Her voice trembled, and her fingers shook.
A mongoose scurried across the opening, and she pressed a hand against her heart, her face pale with fear. Then she let out a breath and knelt down, the ball no longer glowing.
Cressida whispered some words.
A spell? Aunty Lorelei had said a spell to activate my potion. How was this any different?
The golden ball takes magic from the natural inhabitants of the island. The coquis are not from here, so it doesn’t take from them…I gaped.But this ball… it turns people to frogs!
