And I’m going to fight for Aulani.I was not the prince she was supposed to fall in love with, but I loved her. This wasn’t the way the tale was supposed to go, the trajectory that was set out for us, but one could transform their own tale, right?
Hadn’t we done that so many times while we were together? We’d found a way to communicate. She healed the birds, and I healed her heart. We belonged together. There had to be a reason we, from two different worlds, found each other.
I stood, my mind made up. We probably had a few days left to figure things out with Aulani’s curse, but I’d do everything in my power… even if it meant finding the one person I knew could do magic, the one person who could transform others…
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
AULANI
Isat on the beach crying for so long that the sea salt had dried and my clothes and hair felt sticky and stiff. I wiped my eyes and sniffed, looking up at the stars and the moon.
I traded my underwater life for a sight I could see from the sea.I didn’t need a telescope to see more. I could enjoy the view I had…
But I’ve always wanted more.I felt I was meant for greater things, and being different from the other mermaids didn't help. None of them communicated with the animals and living plants as deeply as I did. So it seemed right that I had to leave.
I thought I belonged in the human world.And now I knew that I did not. Ezra had kept his promise and brought me here, but even he could do nothing for me. I had tangled myself in this mess, thinking I could belong here.
I’m only going to turn to sea foam now…
Pili swooped down and landed on my shoulder. He let out a soft sound, as if aware that I was sad and grieving. He nudged his soft head against my cheek and I stroked his red feathers. Now that he perched on my hand, I couldn’t help but admire just how beautiful he was. All of the songbirds were beautiful, and their songs? Even more beautiful. I would miss them.
I’ll miss everything. I’ll miss him.Because soon, I’d be nothing.
For another long moment, I listened to the waves breaking on the shore. The sea was loud, but it wasn’t annoying or pesky like the coqui frogs from the nearby forest.
They don’t belong here,I thought. They were an invasive species, causing endless noise pollution and eating all the bugs so the native birds starved to death. And then it dawned on me… the coqui frogs didnotbelong here, yet, somehow, I did.
Because of me, the songbirds were thriving again. Because of me, we’d find Cressida’s magic ball and stop the leeching of the island’s life. I also thwarted Tavo and his crew's attempt to steal the throne from Ezra.
I remembered telling Aunty Lorelei that I wanted to come here because maybe–just maybe–it was my calling. She said curiosity was not the same as calling, but it was not just curiosity. Perhaps Ididhave something to offer here.
I looked at the forest in the distance, and my eyes narrowed. A thin pillar of smoke rose into the sky, a sign that someone was setting up camp there.
And I knew who it was.
Tavo said he was going to start chopping down trees. He even had the crew ready to do it. He even had his fleets ready to ship off the wood…
I can’t let him do that.
My fists clenched at the thought of him destroying the forest. Ezra wouldneverdo such a thing… and my heart skipped a beat.
It’s why I love him so much.
Love? I almost laughed aloud at myself.Of course I love Ezra!But I was terrified to admit it because, well, I was supposed to fall in love with Prince Ryker. I never really wanted to from the beginning.
He was a means to discovering the human world, and I hated that I wanted to just use him.
I couldn’t do that to him.And I wouldn’t. Besides, I had no access to my world.
As if a whisper from the sea, I heard a voice:You will need to win the right prince’s heart to stay.
The right prince’s heart? That was the terms of the spell that transformed me.
I gaped.
Prince Ryker was not the right prince for me.
He never had been.
