Page 34 of Entangled

“It is because you are the holder of my charm. That is why you could hear me.”

“Your charm. You mean the shell that fell out of your hair, right?”

“Aye.” They floated back over to the shore as they spoke to each other. “When an undine reaches one hundred years of age, she is allowed to acquire a personal charm. This can be anything from a shell to a rock or even a feather, but it is usually a shell from the Mystic Reef.”

“Is it hard to find one?”

“Nay. It is something that presents itself to the undine when the time is right. All sea nymphs of age have one and wear it on them at all times. It is best when worn woven into our hair. It becomes part of us, I guess you can say. It holds our thoughts, feelings, emotions, and as you’ve seen our sexual desires. It is a way for us to control ourselves since sea nymphs have extremely strong feelings, emotions, and of course…sexual desires. Our charm watches over us and keeps us balanced.”

“I see.” He hoisted himself up out of the water, sitting on the bank with his legs dangling in the lake. He didn’t miss the fact that her gaze went straight to his waist. He still wore his braies, not wanting to make her uncomfortable by removing all of his clothing to swim, like he usually did. “So,why is the holder of your charm able to control you? I don’t understand that part.”

“It only happens when a human is holder of our charm, and something that we hope never happens.”

“Why just humans?”

She looked as if she was not going to explain, but changed her mind. She hoisted herself out of the water and plopped down next to him, letting her long tail dip into the water, swishing back and forth as she explained more.

“With so many sisters, every one of us feels our own calling and has a need to explore our own life. Some of us choose to leave the others and move on. A few of my sisters in the past have even ended up choosing to marry humans, and have gained souls, but also become landbound. Forever. It is a hard decision to make, and often a marriage between an undine and a human does not work out.”

“What do you mean? What happens if it doesn’t work out?”

“If a human man is married to an undine and he is disloyal to her, either the human man or the undine he married will die.”

“Well which is it?” This kind of talk made him feel very uncomfortable since he’d been having all kinds of thoughts regarding her.

“No one knows,” she told him. “So far, no human has been disloyal to his undine wife, and we hope to keep it that way.”

“Is that so?” He kicked his feet in the water, not knowing what to say to that. “I already saw you have the ability to bring forth legs, but is a marriage between a human and a sea nymph even possible?”

“It’s not common, but is very possible, of course.”

He found himself curious and needing to know more. “After seeing the beauty of underwater life, why would a sea nymph ever want to live on land?”

“Sebastian, it happens,” she told him, twirling the end of a strand of her long hair in her fingers. “It is called falling in love. However, once the decision is made, it can never be reversed. The undine will never be anything but a human from then on.”

“I’ll bet that is quite a hard decision to make.”

“It is a chance that is taken, because by marrying a human, as I’ve already told you, ensures that the undine will gain a soul.”

“It seems like a big sacrifice to make just to get a soul. But I suppose it is an undine’s free will to choose that life if she so wishes.”

“Some don’t have that choice. It is made for them.”

“How so?”

“Someone close to me has had her personal charm stolen by a human. He forced her to marry him, even though she was already married to someone else. She turned human and will never again be able to go home to the sea or to the man she loved.”

“That’s awful. What kind of an ogre would do such a horrible thing?” He reached out and gently placed his hand on her tail, where her leg would be. Her skin felt smooth and soft. He ran his fingers up and down, liking that he was touching her in her sea nymph form.

“That awful man was no other than your uncle, King Leofric Sethor.”

“What?” He pulled back his hand and shook his head. “Nay. That makes no sense at all. My uncle never married an undine. He had a human wife.”

“Your uncle kept it a secret since he was also married to someone else at the time. This sea nymph I speak of ended up as his prisoner when she fell through a portal and landed in Mura. Sound familiar?”

He knew she was speaking about them now, but chose to ignore that comment. “Who is she? What is your friend’s name? I don’t think I know her. And where is she now?”

“Her name is Doris,” she told him.

“Doris? I don’t remember anyone by that name.” He thought hard but honestly couldn’t remember any woman at Macada Castle or even on Mura named Doris.

“Of course, not. Because your uncle disguised her as a handmaid and her name was changed to Dee. You put her in the dungeon. Twice now.”

“Dee? Your handmaid?” he asked in shock, now understanding why she’d been so upset when he’d imprisoned the woman for her bad behavior.

“Yes, Sebastian. That is she. Dee was a prisoner of your uncle and is now your prisoner as well. It seems you are truly following in your uncle’s footsteps.”