Claimed by No One the Sea Takes Me Back

"What are you doing in the shadows?"

Alaric's voice cut through the soft waltz.

I leaned against the pillar. The four of them were bathed in light from the crystal chandelier.

Evelina's brooch glittered. Three golden scales. My lifeline. Cruel.

Grandmother told them. Before she died. They had to press the scales to my heart on the Night of the Tides.

A sharp pain shot through my legs. Bones fusing. Like a thousand red-hot needles stitching my flesh together.

I knew this feeling. The mermaid's curse.

It was turning me into a monster.

And I couldn't tell a soul. That was part of the curse, too.

I tried to lift my right foot. It was nailed to the floor.

"I can't move my legs," I told Alaric. My voice was a whisper.

He frowned, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Seraphina, this is Evelina's coronation ball. Can't you be reasonable for once? We still love you, but that’s no reason to bully a poor girl."

My brother Caspian turned. His eyes were full of condescending pity.

"We let you get away with your tantrums, Seraphina. But the royal artist is here tonight. Appointed by the Queen herself."

"Just a few scales. After her portrait is done, I'll put them on you myself. Okay? Like when you were a little girl."

He spoke to me like I was a hysterical woman.

The Crown Prince, Lucian, didn't even look at me.

He was busy arranging the hem of Evelina's expensive dress.

"She just can't stand us being nice to Evelina," he said, his voice bored. "She was even using some illusion magic earlier, trying to scare us with fake scales."

"Does she really think the world revolves around her? This isn't her personal parlor trick."

Evelina covered her mouth, her eyes instantly welling with tears.

"Is Sister Seraphina mad at me? Because I took her scales?"

She reached for the brooch. "I should give them back. I don't want to make her upset."

Alaric stopped her hand. His touch was gentle, but firm. "Don't. You'll mess up the brooch. The artist will have to start over."

He finally turned and walked toward me. He stopped two steps away.

"Seraphina, we will finish this portrait with Evelina. Then we'll go have your favorite rose wine with you. You know you're the most important person to me."

"Be good. Don't ruin the night for everyone."

Before, his soft words would have made me smile. I would have run into his arms. But now... I looked down at my feet.

My legs were merging. Blue veins tangled under the skin. Fusing together right before my eyes.

The blood moon was sinking.

Once my legs became a tail, the tide would drag me away before dawn. I’d be nothing but a bone statue at the bottom of the ocean.

I didn't say a word. I just bent down and grabbed my ankles.

Alaric froze, confused. "Seraphina, the palace floor is cold. What are you doing on the ground?"

I took a deep breath. And I ripped.

Sssshhhk.

The sound of tearing cloth. And flesh.

A patch of tiny scales, still attached to my skin, peeled away.

Warm blood gushed out. It filled my heels.

A shocking red stain bloomed on the pure white carpet.

I stood up. I took a step forward.

The pain of dislocated bones shot through me. Every step was like walking on knives.

Alaric's pupils shrank.

Shock flashed across his face. Then, it was replaced by deep annoyance.

"Fake blood?" He pulled out a handkerchief that smelled of pine. I had embroidered his family crest on its edge myself. "You'd go this far for attention?"

He gestured to the floor with his chin.

"Clean it up. Don't stain the royal carpets."

Caspian set down his wine glass, frowning at the blood.

"You used to pretend to be sick for sympathy. We fell for it. We worried about you. But this cheap trick? It's just pathetic."

Lucian stood up. He ignored the blood completely.

He turned Evelina to face the artist.

"Look this way. Chin up. Don't let irrelevant people ruin your mood."

I didn't take the handkerchief from Alaric.

A strange itch started behind my ears.

My skin split open. Gills bloomed from nothing.

Air rushed into them. It felt like breathing in shattered glass.

I turned. I limped away.

Blood dripped, drip, drip.

A long trail of red footprints on the polished marble floor.

"I'll send spiced wine to your room after the party," Alaric's voice followed me. A concession. A prize for a good dog. "Stop this tantrum. I'm inspecting the knights tomorrow. I'll bring you your favorite frost-roses."

I didn't look back. The last bit of hope in my heart died. It dried up on the floor with my blood.

A sea salt wind blew down the long hall.

After tonight, I wouldn't need to drink anything from the land ever again.