Born in Blood

"You did what?" I shrieked.

"I did what had to be done to ensure Jamie made a wise decision. He was thinking too much with his man parts, and not enough with his brain."

"No," I said, "he was thinking with his heart. He never really stopped loving Lorelei."

"Isla, this could be exactly what we need."

Kieran's excitement matched my own. This was exactly the kind of information Agnes had sent us after. I'd never thought obtaining it would be so easy.

"You have to tell her," I demanded.

Molly's mouth dropped open. "No. I don't have to tell her anything. What would it change?"

"What would it change? It would change everything. Lorelei has been punishing everyone on this Island, especially the men, because she thinks they're faithless creatures. If she knew that the culprit wasn't Jamie, then she would lift the curse."

"And curse me instead."

"I'm not opposed to that," Branna said.

"I won't tell her, and she won't believe you. Not when she knows you're trying to save yourself."

Branna lunged for Molly again, but this time, the Halloran housekeeper was too fast. She fell to the side, her elbow hitting the ground and sending up a spray of sand. She rolled to her knees and tried to stand, but Tara threw herself on top of the woman.

"You're not going anywhere, you traitor."

"Get off of me you stupid child."

Tara grabbed a handful of dark hair and lifted Molly's head only to slam her face back into the sand. When she pulled her up again, Molly's face was covered in grit and tears rolled down her cheeks.

"My brother sold his soul to that woman because of you! You're going to fix it so that he's free. We want all our men free, and we want to be able to swim away from this Island."

"Don't you get it? The curse was born in blood. It's not going to be broken because Lorelei suddenly decides she forgives Jamie. It happened the moment she buried that dagger into his heart, the moment his blood ran down her legs, fusing them into a fin. The curse is inside of her, and it drives everything she does."

"But Agnes said-"

Molly twisted in Tara's grasp and glared at me. "You trusted the words of a sea witch?"

"What reason does she have to lie to us? Breaking this curse is as much to her advantage as it is to ours."

"Is it? Breaking this curse means Isla can embrace her heritage as a mermaid on her seventeenth birthday. An entire kingdom of Merrow will be free to roam the waters again, to rebuild strength, and quite possibly lay claim to a throne and an ocean she thinks is hers."

"No," I insisted, "we made a deal. If she helped us end this curse, I would give up my tail. I'll never be a mermaid."

The laughter pouring from Molly's mouth set me on edge. There was nothing friendly or funny about the sound, and the longer she laughed, the more hysterical it became. Tara let her go and scrambled back, never looking away from the woman trembling on the beach.

"No, you'll never be a mermaid either way."

"What are you babbling about?" Kieran asked, looking between me and Branna with panic in his hazel eyes.

Seeing him unsettled didn't help to quell the fear rising in my breast, but it exploded when Branna's expression morphed from confusion to terror. Molly must've caught it too, because she stopped laughing and peered at her sister with a hateful grin.

"You know the truth. It's your turn to tell them the good news now sister."

"What the actual eff is going on? Someone has to start explaining now," Niko hissed, her dark hair billowing in the wind like a silk curtain.

"Oh, you don't want to tell them? Okay, I'll tell them. You see, a curse born in blood is broken by blood."

"I was told she wanted my legs," I whispered.

"And she does," Molly explained, clasping her hands together as if delighted, "and she'll get them. When she gets your soul."

No sooner were the words out of her mouth than my fear eased. Molly was lying. She had to be.

I replied, "if that were true, she'd already have legs. She has the souls of hundreds of Merrow."

Tara chimed in. "Not to mention all the souls of shipwrecked sailors and passengers she's claimed over the years."

"First off, she doesn't actually possess the souls of the Merrow. It's more like a contract she can call in when they fail to do her bidding, but for all the rest, those aren't the souls who fill the terms of the curse. She got her fins through the blood of your ancestor, and she'll get her legs back with your blood."

"Branna?" I spun around and looked at the pale woman, knowing she was going to confirm Molly's words, but hoping I was wrong.

"I don't know much about curses child. I was never one to study those types of magics, but it makes sense. Curses are about vengeance, and the best vengeance is taking from someone else the same thing they took from you. She's done that through the deaths of hundreds of male Merrow over the years, and the cherry on top would be taking away the daughter of her enemy."

"Isla, look at me," Kieran said, gripping me by the arms to keep me upright. "We will never let her kill you. No one signed up for murder. We'd rather spend another millennia cursed than to spill innocent blood to save ourselves."

"You can't know that everyone feels that way."

"The only way to find out is to spread the truth."

"Why did Agnes lie to us? She made it sound like it was something simple. She said to fix what was broken, and we would end the curse."

"I don't know, but you're going to be safe, no matter what."

Everyone watched us, not speaking. Even Molly had gone silent, though her expression spoke louder than words. How could she hate me so much? Because that's what I saw when I looked at her. A hatred so deep it grew from her bones, boiled in her blood, and burned in her eyes.

Without thinking, my hands moved to Kieran's hips, tracing small circles on his skin beneath his t-shirt. His flesh was so smooth. So human. And if I let them defend me, that's all it ever would be. The nightmare wouldn't end, and my children and the Merrow children would live in fear of Lorelei. Would that really be winning if that happened?

"Kieran, you'd never get to swim in the ocean with your people, with your tail, the way you were meant to be."

"No," he admitted, catching one of my hands and lifting it to his lips. "But I'd get to walk with you. That would be enough."

"We're kids. We think that now, but what happens a year from now? A century?"

"Isla, don't go borrowing trouble. We have enough of that," Niko snapped, but I noticed the sad look she shared with Tara. Would it be enough for Tara to watch her brother become Lorelei's creature?

"Branna, what do we do about Molly?" I asked, drawing away from Kieran. I could feel his eyes boring into my skin, but I refused to look at him.

"I'll put her somewhere safe until we figure out what to do with her. I think some of the Elders would be very interested in knowing about the role she played in this entire predicament."

She snatched Molly up by her arm, and pulled something from the pocket of her coat. When her sister spied the vial, she started to thrash, but Branna popped the cork and forced the opening into Molly's mouth. Within seconds, the Master of Potions stopped fighting, and a childlike smile spread across her face.

"Don't worry," Branna said when she saw our shock, "it's just a little something to make her easier to manage. No harm, and it'll wear off after a few hours. Come along Molly darling. We're going for a little swim."

"Oh, I love swimming," Molly sighed, divesting herself of her clothes as they waded into the sea.

Branna did the same, her lower half glowing everywhere the water struck. Through the sea mist, I could see snowy scales. Molly's were almost identical, but I caught a winding stripe of dove gray around her hips. Within moments, they were swallowed by the ocean, and we were left on the shores, drowning in the revelations of the last hour.

"What now?" I asked turning to walk toward my house. Defeat weighed down every step.

"Now we have to keep you safe, and we have to get you through your seventeenth birthday," Kieran answered.

"That leaves us just a month to then," I sighed. What would he do if he knew what I was really planning.

"Girl, that's plenty of time," Niko said.

Tara looked at her girlfriend with trepidation. "What exactly are you thinking?"

"A party."

"Um, no. That's completely the opposite of what we should be doing," I said. "We might as well declare here's Isla. Come and get her."

To my surprise, Kieran was nodding, but not in agreement with me. "I think that's perfect. Everyone is going to expect us to hide, right? Let's have it all out in the open. Your birthday is Halloween, right?"

"Yeah, but again, this seems counterproductive."

"Except it's going to be a themed party. Involving masks. How about a masquerade with a little bit of an under the sea twist?"

"A masquerade?" I mulled over the idea. It might actually work to my advantage. They would think I was hiding from Lorelei..."That actually sounds perfect."