The Sea Witch (The Era of Villains Book 1) (12 page)

When
Poseidon had cleaned his plate of his second helping, the merman who
had escorted the mermaids appeared again and said, “The palace
band will be your entertainment for the evening. Please, do not
crowd or…” he cleared his throat, “
stampede
the Prince. Mingle amongst yourselves, and he will make
his way around the room.”

“
Poseidon
must be really desperate for grandbabies,” said Hazel as she
and Serena did as they were told, moving to float next to one of the
stone dolphin pillars as the band appeared and started playing.
“This is just awkward. This isn’t how normal palace
dinner parties go, is it?”

“
I
guess we’ll find out,” said Serena with a wink, her hand
going to the locket again. She rubbed it nervously with her finger,
and the cool gold became warm as the magic inside it responded to
her touch.

Poseidon retreated to
the far corner of the room where his chair was brought to him. He
sat with the Trident in his hand, observing silently, his eyes
always on his son. Serena and Hazel stayed close to one another,
talking to no one else. Serena could hardly speak at all. Her heart
was pounding a fast, steady beat in her ears. Hazel looked torn
between pity and scorn as she watched Serena fidget. Just looking at
Serena, being there at a party with her, confused Hazel. She loved
Serena, sometimes loved her fiercely, but the jealousy was powerful
and unforgiving. It clouded her affection with a smoldering rage.
The two emotions were always at war, tugging Hazel along for the
ride.

Triton too looked torn
as he made his slow rounds through the throng of eager mermaids. His
displeasure with the arrangement his father had made for him was
clear in the occasional wrinkle of his nose or baleful sigh, but
some of the mermaids present were quite beautiful, and his
flirtatious smile, almost like a smirk, presented itself every now
and then, particularly when he came across a redhead.

Finally, he approached
Hazel and Serena. As he swam over to them, recognition crossed his
face. He locked eyes with Serena and gave her a sheepish, somewhat
sad smile. Her heart jumped to her throat, and she feared she
wouldn’t be able to speak to him. He remembered her. He might
just turn away, thinking he shouldn’t waste his time because
there was no way he could marry her. The thought made her want to
cry, but she bit the inside of her cheek and held herself together.
He did not turn away, and his sad smile did not fade. She returned
with a small smile of her own.

“
Serena,
right?” he said.

Serena thought she
might faint. She could not speak, so she nodded instead. He had
remembered her name. He actually remembered. She wasn’t “maid”
or “you there.” He knew her name.

“
And,
you are?” Triton said, his eyes on Hazel.

“
Hazel.
I’m Serena’s sister.”

“
I
can see the resemblance. You both have lovely smiles. Very pleased
to meet you, Hazel.”

“
Likewise,
Prince.”

“
Oh,
please, call me Triton,” he said. He turned to look Serena in
his eyes. “Please, I insist.”

Serena nodded again,
dumbstruck, and Hazel suppressed a giggle.

“
It’s
a pleasure, Triton,” said Hazel, “for both of us I’m
sure.”

Triton smiled at Hazel
and then turned back to Serena. Hazel didn’t mind that his
attention was on Serena (much to her own surprise); she appreciated
the smile.

“
Serena,
ever since you returned to the palace, I’ve been wanting to
speak with you.”

Serena’s heart
soared. He had noticed she was gone. He had noticed that she came
back. Perhaps she didn’t need the potion hidden inside the
locket after all. She mentally scolded herself. It wasn’t
enough. It was a good sign—a wonderful sign—but it
guaranteed nothing, and Triton’s affections had been placed on
a deadline.

“
I
would…,” Triton hesitated, drawing in an uncomfortable
breath through his teeth and rubbing the back of his neck, “I
would just like to apologize for the way my m—” He cut
the word off suddenly, as if he had been slapped. He looked up at
the ceiling, biting his lip. He seemed to be fighting back tears,
and Serena felt a horrible stab of guilt. She didn’t want him
to go on. When he looked back at her and seemed like he might
continue, she cut in.

“
Oh,
your Highness…I mean, Triton.” She said his name
lovingly, softly. It felt right on her lips. “There’s no
need. I accept your apology gladly, though I don’t think it is
needed in the first place.”

The smile he gave her
broke her heart with the sorrow imbedded in it. She wanted to touch
him, comfort him.

“
Thank
you, Serena,” he said.

At the sound of his
name on her lips once again, she knew she had made the right choice.
He could love her. He would love her. The love potion was a
necessary step because of her station and Poseidon’s deadline,
but she would not need it forever. And Moira had been right; the
price she paid for the potion was a mutually beneficial one, for
Triton as well.

“
Triton,”
said Serena, holding herself with confidence now, preparing herself
to harness her inner power, “there’s something I’ve
been wanting to say to you as well.”

Hazel tensed and held
her breath. Triton looked at Serena expectantly.

“
Storms
of the ages and winds of the sea,” said Serena, closing her
eyes and focusing on the warm sensation in her gut. Triton looked
puzzled. Serena continued, “Shall have only half the strength
of the force ‘tween you and me.” Triton’s
quizzical smile slackened along with the rest of his face. His eyes
never moved from Serena’s, but his mind seemed elsewhere.
Serena’s skin felt alive and tingly. Hazel’s eyes darted
between the two of them as a thin, pink tendril of liquid smoke
seeped from the necklace and reached out towards Triton. Serena
continued, “One shall live for two, and two shall be one. Only
by true love’s kiss may this spell be undone.”

The small wisp of pink
smoke was sucked up Triton’s nostrils, and he breathed it in
with a happy smile. Serena put her hand over the locket, concealing
it, as it glowed a soft pink and grew warm against her skin. Serena
and Hazel had their backs to the dolphin pillar, and Triton had his
back to the pack of mermaids still waiting to speak with him. Hazel
looked at them, trying to tell if they had noticed the potion seep
from the locket. They were all studying the back of Triton’s
head, pushing each other and craning their necks to get a good look
at him, whispering amongst each other, wondering if he actually
liked the two brunettes he had been talking to for quite some time.
They looked frustrated, but they did not look suspicious.

Triton blinked rapidly
for a few moments and then focused on Serena again. His eyes grew
wide. His jaw went slack. He blinked again, as if trying to decide
if what he was seeing was real. He seemed to decide that it was
because his flirtatious smile came on full force. It was so
enthusiastic, in fact, that it looked a little lopsided and goofy.
Hazel giggled softly behind her hand. Serena was barely breathing,
afraid to believe it had worked.

“
You
look absolutely radiant tonight, Serena,” said Triton. “Has
anyone told you yet?”

“
No,”
said Serena with a small laugh, her joy overwhelming her. “I
don’t know if you know this, but everyone here is prepared to
bite off heads for your attention. They aren’t exactly handing
out compliments.”

Triton laughed. The
happy, rumbling sound made Serena smile so big her cheeks scrunched
up against her lower eyelids. Triton said, “Well, it’s a
shame. You should be told you’re beautiful at least every
hour.”

Serena blushed, and he
took her hand gently in his. Every mermaid in the room was watching
now. Poseidon swam up towards the ceiling to look over their heads.
Hazel smirked at the livid expressions on the other mermaids’
faces. A few looked as though they might start crying and screaming
curses all at the same time.

“
I
don’t know what it is,” said Triton softly, his face
inching closer to hers, “I feel like I may have lost my mind,
actually, but I can’t stop looking at you. I…I want to
know everything about you. I hope it’s not too forward of me.”

“
Not
at all,” said Serena, her voice coming out with difficulty as
her heart threatened to burst out of her chest.

He wrapped the hand
that wasn’t holding hers around her waist. “What do you
say we leave this dreadfully awkward party and find somewhere to
talk and get to know each other?”

“
That
sounds wonderful.”

A pang of jealousy
jabbed at Hazel’s stomach. She hung her head with the
beginnings of a scowl on her face and turned to swim away. She was
no longer wanted or needed here.

“
But
I can’t leave my sister all alone,” said Serena, making
Hazel freeze and look over her shoulder.

Triton looked away
from Serena and towards Hazel with great effort. He still kept his
hand on the small of Serena’s back.

“
Oh,
of course not,” he said, looking a tad disappointed. “We
can escort the lovely Hazel home together first.”

“
Perfect,”
said Serena, summoning up her courage and placing a shaking hand on
Triton’s smooth back. He was pleasantly warm, and she leaned
into his side.

“
Oh,
really, that’s not necessary,” said Hazel, the smile
back on her face. She felt guilty for assuming Serena would abandon
her and wanted to make up for it. “Casius said he’d be
hanging around nearby, remember? I’ll find him, and we can go
back home together. I won’t be alone. Don’t worry about
me.”

“
You
sure, Hazel?” said Serena, secretly praying Hazel meant it.

“
Yes,
Serena. I mean it.” She gave them a playful smile and a wink.
“You two have fun. I think I’m going to stick around a
little bit first and watch the circus after you two leave together.”

Triton laughed, and
Serena gazed up at him with adoration. She felt buoyant and
unsteady. It all felt like a wonderful, vibrant dream—his
touch, his laugh, the way he was looking at her. Her joy was so
consuming she could hardly think straight.

“
Should
be great entertainment for you, Hazel,” said Triton, “as
long as you don’t get trampled. Maybe I can make it even more
amusing for you, as a thanks for lending me your sister. I think
they’ll really go nuts if I do this.”

With his free hand, he
cupped Serena’s face and gently wrapped his fingers in her
hair. He lifted her face up to his using the arm around her waist
and kissed her. Serena gasped softly against his mouth. Blood
pounded in her ears, and her whole body tingled. She felt her magic
sizzle in her veins, worked up by her feelings of ecstasy and
surprise. She tried to contain it, but she couldn’t think
straight. It surged into her hands and even her lips, but it did not
shock either of them. Instead, it buzzed against their skin, warm
and exciting. Triton pulled her closer, deepening the kiss for a few
moments before pulling back, breathing hard. His eyes were bright;
his skin was flushed. Serena imagined she looked about the same. He
smiled at her, and she laughed. Never had a laugh felt so good.

“
Uh,”
said Hazel, a laugh threatening to cut off her words, “I think
you two might want to swim out of here fast.”

Serena looked over
Triton’s shoulder at the other mermaids filling the room. Many
had their mouths wide open. All of them looked capable of murder.
Poseidon, floating above them, looked stoic. The mermaids’
glares didn’t bother Serena. The hard scrutiny of Poseidon’s
eyes did. She also felt a twinge of sadness as she touched the
locket at her throat and felt the magic still thrumming inside it.
The spell had not broken at their kiss. But it was just a small
disappointment. True love would take time.

— — —

“
You
were right, Father,” said Triton. “It’s time for
me to settle down and start focusing on my royal obligations. I need
a smart, kind, and ambitious mermaid to rule at my side and to
continue on the family bloodline, and I’ve found that mermaid.
I don’t want to have any more dinner parties or wait until the
end of the month to choose. There’s no need.”

Triton held Serena’s
hand. They were in the throne room, floating in front of Poseidon—
sitting in his octopus throne—like merfolk requesting an
audience. The only difference was that they were up on the throne
pedestal instead of staying humbly down near the open floor below.
Light poured in through the many windows carved into the stone,
feeding the anemones and various sorts of coral (some yellow-orange
and tube-like, others pink and fan-like) growing in pots hung on the
walls. Serena leaned into Triton’s side, at ease, unspeakably
happy and in love after the dream-like night before. They had talked
into the early hours of the morning, learning each other’s
likes and dislikes, dreams and fears. Triton had more to learn than
Serena; she had been observing him from afar for years, while he had
never even noticed her until the day she had “accidentally”
bumped into him in the atrium. But observing from afar could only
tell her so much. Last night, she had learned that he loved clams,
but hated sea grass. His favorite battle technique was using a
trident (though he wouldn’t be allowed to hunt with the
magical Trident until he was king) and a net. He loved to swim with
dolphins at play. He did it every weekend in the early morning. She
had been correct about his sense of duty and his caring heart. His
tone changed when he talked about his people. Normally, he spoke
loudly and happily, with lots of enthusiasm and hand gestures. When
he talked about taking care of his people, his tone grew serious and
gentle, his hand gestures more subdued. They had discussed
magic—Serena’s and the Trident’s—and
Serena’s heart had warmed when his eyes grew bright and he
nodded his agreement with vigor as she talked about using both forms
of magic to help the merpeople, not lord it over them and force them
to pay extravagant sums for it. And talking hadn’t been all
they’d done. His touch set her on fire. His kiss made her feel
lightheaded and powerful all at once, her magic singing in her veins
each time his lips met hers.