Breathless: A Little Mermaid Retelling Read online

  Breathless

  Twisted Fairy Tales #1

  Megan Linski

  Copyright © 2018 Gryfyn Publishing

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  The reproduction or utilization of this work in part of in whole including xerography, recording, and photocopying is strictly forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

  BISAC Category: New Adult/Fantasy

  This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Cover Art by GermanCreative

  Formatting by Megan Linski

  Distributed in the USA by Gryfyn Publishing

  For information about custom editions, special sales, ARCs, and premium and corporate purchases, please contact Gryfyn Publishing at [email protected]

  Manufactured in the United States of America

  Contents

  Other Books by Megan Linski

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  LOST - Twisted Fairy Tales #2

  The Witch’s Curse

  About the Author

  Other Books by Megan Linski

  Alora

  These Starcrossed Lives of Ours

  The Kingdom Saga

  Kingdom From Ashes

  Fallen From Ashes

  Redemption From Ashes

  Prince of Fire

  The Rhodi Saga

  Rhodi’s Light

  Rhodi Rising

  Rhodi’s Lullaby

  Creatures of the Lands Series (co-written with Krisen Lison)

  Kiatana’s Journey by Natalie Erin

  Vera’s Song by Natalie Erin

  Wyntier’s Rise by Natalie Erin

  Vixen’s Fate by Natalie Erin

  Midnightstar by Natalie Erin

  Angel’s Rebellion by Natalie Erin

  The Shifter Prophecy

  Court of Vampires

  Den of Wolves

  War of Witches

  Heir to Russia

  Song of Dragonfire

  Song of Smoke and Fire

  Change of Wind and Storms

  World of Gods and Men

  Chapter One

  Adrian

  It was a green fin… too large to belong to any fish. Only a few feet below the surface, a merman swam.

  He had black hair and blue eyes, with a rugged chin and a devious smile. His warm ivory skin contrasted with the brightness of his tail, which was green in color, and translucent in the sunrays breaking through the water, scales gleaming like gemstones. The end of his tail drifted downwards in the water, wavering back and forth like a proud banner.

  A bag hung around his bare chest, made of tightly-knit netting. He was darting around the remains of a recent shipwreck, a yacht that had sunk in last week’s storm. In his left hand he carried a golden trident, which he used to poke through the shipwreck’s ruins.

  Next to him, a manatee floated, swimming as quickly as she could keep up. She was young , and very cute, but her whiskers wrinkled in irritation as she watched her friend dive within the mess of the shipwreck.

  “Adrian, we shouldn’t be here,” she worried. The manatee swam anxiously back and forth, twiddling her fins at her sides. “It’s too close.”

  “Moona, you worry too much. The humans aren’t going to see you and faint,” he said with a laugh. The boy was carefree, and careless. He knew as much, but it didn’t bother him. He wasn’t king yet.

  Most knew him as Prince Adrian, son of Poseidon, heir to the sea. To Moona, he was just a pain in her very large rear.

  “I’m okay. I’m a manatee. They know I exist,” Moona grumbled, but Adrian didn’t hear her. Moona swam as close to Adrian as she could, but got stuck in a round doorway. She wiggled and writhed, but she couldn’t get out.

  “Adrian, help!” Moona cried. Adrian rolled his eyes and swam toward Moona. He rammed his shoulder against her backside and pushed.

  Moona popped through the doorway and smashed into one of the yacht’s bedrooms. Adrian tumbled after her and smacked his head into a headboard.

  “Ow,” Adrian said, and he rubbed his temple. “Really, Moona?”

  “I told you I was going on a diet, I didn’t say it was working,” Moona snapped back. “Stop taking me into places you know I won’t fit.”

  Already, Adrian wasn’t listening. Something had caught his eye. He moved off the bed and swam downward.

  “Look at this.” From beneath a blanket Adrian pulled out a square, plastic object. He shook it and smiled, playing with the buttons.

  “It’s a video game console.” He grinned. “I can’t believe I’m lucky enough to find one of these.”

  “It’s not going to work underwater,” Moona said, poking it with her nose.

  “Doesn’t matter. It’s still cool.” Adrian put the console in his bag and continued searching the room. He took various objects: a designer shirt, an old journal, a pair of shoes.

  Moona swam up to the surface for more air. When she came back down, she was grumpier than before.

  “Adrian, we really have to go,” Moona said. This time, she sounded truly worried. “Your father will send people to look for us if we don’t head back.”

  Adrian pocketed the shoes inside his bag. “All right. Let’s go.”

  They swum out of the wreckage and away from the yacht. Adrian was swimming so close to the surface the tips of his tail rose and fell with the waves. Moona did this smacking thing with her lips that gave away her anxiety.

  “Rules were made to be broken,” Adrian said teasingly, and he smacked his tail out of the water. It made Moona wince.

  “It’s not about that. I don’t care about rules. I care about you,” Moona replied. “If your father was to find out…”

  “Dad isn’t going to find out.” Adrian rolled his eyes. “I’ve been outside the city thousands of times without his permission. What makes you think he’s suddenly going to wise up now?”

  “It’s not just Poseidon. Humans are scary. Who knows what they’d do if they knew mermaids exist?” Moona questioned.

  “Humans aren’t that bad,” he said. “They wouldn’t hurt us.”

  “Oh, yeah? How can you be sure?”

  Adrian dodged the question, because he didn’t know the answer.

  “You know, we wouldn’t be friends if I didn’t come close to the surface so often,” Adrian teased. That shut Moona up. Manatees usually stuck to rivers, bays, and the coast. They didn’t wander far out to sea often… and Adrian’s adventurous nature was the reason they had met in the first place.

  Adrian turned downward. Waiting by a large collection of coral was his seahorse, Celer. Celer was larger than Adrian, and had the body composition of a regular seahorse, but his color was spectacular. His body was turquoise, and he had
a dipped nose with two large ears on the top of his head. He had a mane, and it waved as soft tendrils in the water.

  “Hey, boy,” Adrian whispered. “Look what we found.”

  Adrian pulled out a piece of seaweed from the bag. He fed it to Celer, who ate it happily.

  Adrian climbed astride Celer’s back, sitting at an angle with his fin off to the side.

  “We’d better get back. The party’s already started, I bet,” Moona quipped.

  “Oh, goody.” His nineteenth birthday— a day he’d dreaded the arrival of since last year.

  “Cheer up, Adrian. You get to pick out your queen from a bunch of babes. What’s not to love?” Celer whinnied.

  Adrian made a face. He wasn’t ready to get married, even if it was to a babe. The minute he said “I do,” to a mermaid, all his exploring would be brought to an instant halt. He might as well be handing his life away.

  A shadow from above caught his attention. There was a boat sailing above them. Not a big one, but a thirty-footer, a tour boat that tourists took out on the water in search of dolphins or whales. Adrian’s curiosity peaked.

  “We should go up there and get a glimpse of the leg-walkers,” he mused. “What do you say, Moona?”

  Moona had gotten distracted and was happily chewing on a spare bit of seaweed she’d found in Adrian’s bag. She didn’t care.

  Adrian shook his head and got off of Celer to swim upward. “Whatever.”

  The seaweed fell out of Moona’s mouth when she realized what he was doing. “Adrian. Adrian!”

  Adrian wasn’t listening. Moona anxiously weaved back and forth, unsure of what to do.

  But Moona wouldn’t leave Adrian’s side, not for anything, so she paddled up to her friend as quickly as she could and joined him at the surface.

  Adrian poked his head out of the water, and Moona’s nose appeared beside him. He remained silent as he crept up to the tour ship, trying not to make noise.

  Adrian had always been fascinated by humans. He wasn’t sure why. There was just something about the leg-walkers that was special to him… like their technology. Humans were constantly evolving and on the move, onto the next big thing.

  The city of Aquatica never changed, and neither did merpeople. Adrian didn’t think his kind had any advancements or excitement since the Middle Ages. But humans… there was always something thrilling to see and do on land.

  A girl was talking at the head of the boat. She was the tour guide. Though she was supposed to appear chipper and bright, she sounded bored.

  “And over there is one of the biggest coral reefs in the region,” she said monotonously, like she was reading from an old book and not explaining one of the area’s local treasures.

  Adrian liked the way her voice sounded. He wanted a closer look. He swam a little nearer, and Moona held her breath.

  “Look, a manatee!” someone shouted, and everyone ran to the side of the boat that Adrian was under. He went to slip underwater, but something saw him first.

  Someone.

  It was the tour guide. The girl. Her eyes had flickered downward before the man had said anything, but she’d spotted Adrian.

  Their gazes connected for a singular moment, a millisecond. It was all Adrian needed to burn her shocked expression into his mind forever. She had green eyes, like the shallow waves upon the shore, and blonde hair that was wavy, like it’d just dried after she’d gotten out of the sea. Her skin was tan, like she couldn’t help but soak up the sun. Her round lips curved as he took in her long legs and shapely hips.

  He liked what he saw.

  Moona tapped him, and he woke up. Adrian dove downward before anyone else saw, giving the girl a glimpse of his tail.

  Adrian swam downward as fast as he could. He spun onto Celer’s back, and said, “Get us out of here, boy.”

  Poor Moona struggled to keep up. By the time the boat was out of sight, she’d had to go back for air again.

  Adrian’s head was spinning. He couldn’t get the image of the girl out of his head.

  He wished he knew her name.

  “What. The. Hell,” Moona moaned. She slapped her fins against her sides. “This is bad. This is really bad.”

  “It’s no big deal, Moona,” Adrian said, irritated with her. Why had he brought her along? She was annoying him.

  If it weren’t for Moona you’d have been pulled onto that boat and be in a lab by now, he reminded himself. He’d been stuck frozen in that girl’s stare. A fisherman could’ve run a harpoon through his middle and he doubt he would’ve felt it.

  She was… wow. Incredible.

  “Hello! Adrian!” Moona poked him again. “This is serious! A human saw you! This is a big deal!” Moona hissed.

  Adrian tried to shake it off. “Humans have seen merpeople before. That’s why they have stories about them.”

  “Yes, but they have phonies now! Technology. If they get a video of you on one of their phonies and post it to the Intraweb, you’re done for!”

  “It’s called a phone, Moona, not phonies. I’m not even going to correct you on what you call the Internet. And also, humans make up a lot of things now. Everything in their world is fake. They would never believe it, anyway.”

  His father would find out, however… someway, somehow. And what would happen after… total tidal wave catastrophe.

  “Calm down, Moona. You heard Adrian. Nothing happened,” Celer replied coolly. “Now let’s get back to the palace, so Adrian can go check out those babes.”

  Celer, apparently, was obsessed with babes.

  Moona let it drop and said nothing more. They swam back to Aquatica in silence. Over and over, Adrian kept replaying what had happened in his head. Though it’d only been a moment, staring into the girl’s eyes had seemed like a lifetime.

  Though it wasn’t satisfying, and it wasn’t enough. If he didn’t have obligations today, he’d swim after the girl, and use his magic to go on land for a few hours and look for her, before the sea forced him back into the water.

  It wasn’t meant to be, though.

  His destiny lied in Aquatica, with his merpeople. He belonged under the sea, not on land.

  Adrian desperately wished that would change.

  Chapter Two

  Isamaria

  Isamaria really hated her summer job.

  She didn’t need the money— her dad gave her everything she needed. Sure, she would’ve preferred to earn her own income, but at a job that she chose for herself… not one her father picked out for her.

  Isamaria hated her summer job because it came tied with promises and obligations.

  Being a guide on her uncle’s dolphin tour boat wasn’t exactly a bad gig. She enjoyed looking out for ocean creatures, and it had been what had gotten her into the Marine Biology program at Florida State. They wanted people with experience, and Isamaria, having grown up around whales, manatees, and coral reefs, was their perfect applicant.

  And besides… she was out on the water. There was nothing Isamaria loved more than being in or on the sea. She’d spent more time in the ocean than on land, that was for sure. She was practically a fish herself.

  But— and it was a big but— her dad had told her this was what she was going to do this summer to make money, and she wasn’t given a choice. He didn’t even ask her about it. That’s why Isamaria hated it.

  Her dad seemed to forget that she wasn’t in the Navy, too. He couldn’t always dictate what she wanted to do.

  Except when he could. He still paid her college tuition. So she did as she was told, and that meant every Saturday for five hours, she was here. It was only made slightly more bearable that she had a second job, an internship at the local aquarium— something she actually enjoyed doing.

  She usually did the same thing on her uncle’s boat. Did two tours, gave the same old speech, and tried to put up with the prying questions of the snowbirds from the Midwest, whom she really couldn’t stand.

  However, this time was different.

  Isa
maria had seen someone in the water, and yes, she was certain it was a someone. It was a boy: at first, she’d thought he was a tourist who’d fallen out of the boat, but she knew from the moment she’d laid eyes on him she’d never seen him before in her life. He was different— and he was just like her.

  She didn’t know how she knew that, but she was ultimately convinced that the two of them were the same, and nothing anyone could say would change her mind. Their souls just connected on impact. She could feel it, and she bet he could, too.

  But then the boy panicked, and before she could say anything more to him, he’d dived. Isamaria had expected to see legs, but she didn’t.

  She saw a tail.

  Isamaria convinced herself she was crazy. She had to be seeing things. There was no boy in the water. There couldn’t be. A triathlon swimmer couldn’t keep up with the waves and the undertow out here, so far away from the shoreline… not for long, anyway. They’d drown. Unless he’d hung onto or hidden away in the boat somehow… which was unlikely… there was no such boy out here. Her eyes were playing tricks on her.

  Isamaria dropped off the tourists at the dock. She tapped her fingers on the steering wheel of the boat before backing it up and whirling it around.

  She steered the boat out to the same spot she saw the boy. She dropped the anchor, then pulled off her shorts and tank top. Isamaria always wore a bikini, never underwear or a bra-- she didn’t see the point when she’d always end up in the ocean at one point or another in the day.

  There was a harpoon on the boat. It was an antique, one her uncle only used to exaggerate fishing stories. It had been an old weapon to kill sharks and whales hundreds of years ago. Isa considered taking it with her to defend herself just in case there was something scary down there, but she berated herself for being crazy. Unless it was a shark, she really had nothing to fear.