“Keep him busy!” All he saw was Isa’s back. Adrian figured it was best to do as he was told and just rollwithit.
“You heard the young lady!” Poseidon screamed. “Distracthim!”
It took everything the soldiers had to get Stavros’ attention. The minute they were sticking him in one place they had to move to jab him in another, before one of Stavros’ massive tentacles grabbed them. Adrian looked for Isa. He noticed with horror that she was steering the boat toward thekraken.
Adrian wasn’t quite sure what Isa was doing, but he knew he had to help. He cut ahead of the boat and chopped away at what tentacles he could, clearing a pathwayforher.
Isa was next to the kraken’s head now. She let go of the wheel and reached for something on the floorbelowher.
“Izzy, look out!” Adriancried.
Stavros’ tentacles wrapped around the boat and snapped it in two. Isa slid downward, then climbed up to the top of the boat, crawling onto the very tip in order to avoid sinking into the deep. Adrian saw her raise a large and rustyharpoon.
With all her might, Isa leapt from the boat and onto the kraken, bringing the harpoon slamming down. It pierced straight throughStavros’head.
Stavros screamed in horrible pain. His grip on the boat tightened, and Isa was propelled off of the kraken’s head and into the stormywaves.
“Isa!” Adrian cried, and Celerwhinnied.
The kraken’s body twitched. Blood poured out from the wound where the harpoon stuck, and it didn’t heal. Stavros’ body went limp, and his tentacles slid off of the pieces of the boat as his body sunk slowly to the ocean floor in amassiveheap.
He wasfinallydead.
The soldiers cheered, but Adrian didn’t notice— he was lookingforIsa.
“Isa!” he called. He jumped off of Celer’s back and swam in every direction he could. He didn’t seeher. “Isa!”
“Over here!” He whipped around. Moona was supporting Isa and helping her swim against the rough waves, which were already starting tocalmdown.
“Isa,” he said again, as a finality. He picked her up and put her on a piece of wreckage. Isa sat on the board as the waves became calm again. The clouds cleared into a blue sky. The sun came into a new dawn, brightening up the span of the sea with orange-yellowlight.
It was finally over. But there was no facing the undeniable truth. She was a human, and he was a merman. They still couldn’t be together, even after everything they’d beenthrough.
“Adrian…” Isa startedweakly. “I’m…”
He couldn’t reply. There wasn’t anything that he could say back except the cold, undeniabletruth.
“Well now, what do we have here?” Poseidon approached. As he opened his palm, a new trident formed, proclaiming him as kingoncemore.
Adrian took Isa’s hand and turned toward Poseidon. “Dad, this is Isamaria.Mymate.”
“Young lady, you were spectacularly brave out there,” Poseidon said. “I don’t know any mermen, or merladies, that would’ve had half the courage to do what youjustdid.”
“I thought all humans couldn’t be trusted,” Adrian said in atease.
“Well,” Poseidon chuckled. “Not allhumans.”
“I had to do something, sir,” Isa replied. “I couldn’t let anything happen to Adrian. I’d never forgive myself. I… I wouldn’t be able to livewithouthim.”
“Nor would I,” Poseidon said gruffly. “And if there was any question of if you deserved my son, I think the question now is if hedeservesyou.”
Adrian laughed, and Isa tried not toblush.
“Sorry I don’t look my best,” Isa said. She played with the tatters of her soaking, ruined gown. “This isn’t how I imagined meeting the parentswouldgo.”
“I think there could be a way to change that.” Poseidon smiled. He dipped his trident downward, and through the water spread a light blue, sparklingmagic.
The magic touched the edges of her frayed dress. It began to knit back together, but not intofabric.
