A mermaid and a corsair. Natalie Yacobson

haven’t fed us! You haven’t paid the tribute for the passage to the Undersea Kingdom or sacrificed to us! We will report you to the Sea King Seal!”

      Merediana turned around and flashed her tongue at them. Desmond flinched. Her tongue was a bifurcated stinger.

      “They’ll report me to my father!” She pouted capriciously. “My father will punish them himself! I am his favorite daughter… after Yasmin.”

      Merediana frowned.

      “It’s strange that until Yasmin went to live on the islands of the Between Worlds, I wasn’t the foremost of the sea queens. The first seat in the sea court was only vacated by a pirate in Yasmin’s care, that’s the only reason you’re still alive,” Merediana shook Desmond like a toy. “I respect pirates. Without them, I wouldn’t be the most important of all the sea queens.”

      And by far the strongest! Desmond was horrified at how much physical strength lay in the graceful mermaid’s frail body. Merediana could crush not only him, but his entire pirate crew with one fingernail. She could crush a ship and an entire fortress with her hands. Only magic can make a slender mermaid stronger than a giant. Surprisingly, with such strength, Merediana could not free herself from either the cube or the rune-stained chest.

      The runes of the nameless morgen were far more powerful than the mermaid’s magic. Where is this morgen now? Why isn’t he rushing to the rescue? He should have sensed by now that the mermaid had freed herself. So why isn’t he rushing to help his business partner?

      Desmond caught himself thinking that he didn’t want the release. The mermaid’s closeness was so sweet that he wished he could remain captive forever. If the fetters were Merediana’s embrace, he would gladly become her eternal captive.

      That’s how people get dragged into the Underworld! It’s all due to the enchantment of the magical creatures of the sea. Proximity to them is like a magnet or a drug. You can step off a cliff or drown with them.

      Merediana’s purple hair waving in the water was softer than silk. The mermaid’s skin was phosphorescent. The scarlet scales on her tail shimmered. Merediana was the most beautiful creature not only in the underwater world, but in the entire universe! If she wanted to keep him captive, he would be happy. Desmond was ready to give up his career as a pirate (if only criminal activity can be called a career), his dreams of glory, and even his long-standing enmity with the rulers of Mirid. He was even willing to drown for Merediana. He had to fall in love so hard at first sight!

      Desmond thought that if Merediana were to leave him now, he would not return to land. Better to die in the water where she lived than to live on the surface of the water without her.

      Cassandra would explain such a condition by saying that the pirate was bewitched by mermaid magic. Therefore, Desmond would not ask Cassandra’s opinion.

      Beyond the golden gate stretched the underwater gardens. All the trees and bushes here were blue, blue, and rarely white. Pyramids of shells and pearls moved suspiciously, as if whole hordes of monsters lurked inside.

      Paths of pearls twisted around a cluster of underwater flowers. Desmond wondered what the paths were for if the underwater creatures did not walk, but swam.

      The water flowers turned out to be alive and predatory. They greedily caught the passing fry. One large flower the size of a hut tried to catch Desmond’s foot.

      “Don’t dare!” Merediana hissed at him, and the petals of the predatory flower immediately froze.

      “I am the mistress of this sea, and everything and everyone here is subject to me, so no one has the right to trespass on my prey,” Merediana explained to the captive.

      “So I am your prey?” Desmond was flattered. “I’ve never been preyed upon by a pretty girl before.”

      “But the Coast Guard must have hunted you in regiments.”

      “That’s right.”

      How did Merediana know so much about life up there? Did she often swim dangerously close to people? It doesn’t look like it! A miracle like her would only be caught for her jewelry. Desmond’s heart squeezed when he imagined that someone might try to catch the sea queen with a net just to pick the jewels out of her skin.

      He was probably worrying for nothing. Merediana would probably tear the net and use destructive sea magic against the hunters.

      But she couldn’t break the chest, and she didn’t break the cube either. She needed a helper. Probably, fate itself sent her a corsair, who fell in love with the mermaid at first sight.

      The intimacy with the queen of the sea drove Desmond crazy. That’s who he would be willing to do any feat for. He had once agreed to use her himself as a precious cargo. Now if a mermaid sent him to kill the King of Opal himself, he wouldn’t hesitate to do it.

      “I don’t like leaving ghost ships on the surface,” Merediana hummed, “but a ship that dares to take a sleeping mermaid aboard will meet a dire fate.”

      “Don’t tell me I’ll be without a ship. I’m already without one. If you remember, you dragged me to the bottom.”

      “And you, if you remember, you stole me out of the sea.”

      “It wasn’t me.”

      “It was Udo! That’s what I thought! A simple man couldn’t have been so clever.”

      Is it an insult that the Princess of the Sea called him a simple man? He’s not a simple man. He’s a brave pirate captain. Even as a corsair, it wasn’t easy to become a captain. If the mermaid knew how much effort he had put in. The respect of the pirates had to be earned too. However, now that the pirate captain has been kidnapped by a mermaid, it is unlikely that any of the crew will wait for his return or look for him at the bottom. Most likely, he will be put into the drowning and a new captain will be chosen. The enviable spot won’t stay empty for long. The crew might even fight over the rank of captain.

      “So you don’t know how to draw sea runes?” Merediana concluded.

      “You guessed right.”

      “Then you’re perfect for me.”

      “Suited for what?”

      “It is to annoy my father and sisters.”

      “I thought you needed a personal bodyguard.”

      “I already have bodyguards – sea dragons.”

      Merediana whistled musically, and immediately the huge silhouettes of blue water dragons rose from behind the pearly pyramids.

      “These are the Morags – sea dragons,” she introduced. “They are the authorized bodyguards of the Sea King’s daughters.”

      The Morags squinted suspiciously at Desmond.

      “Where were they when Udo kidnapped you?”

      The morgen who held a grudge against Merediana was probably named Udo, though he didn’t introduce himself to Desmond.

      The mermaid was suddenly angry.

      “It is none of your business, corsair!” She hissed, squeezing Desmond’s shoulder painfully. Her claws dug into the flesh to the bone.

      Desmond felt the pain. The dragons sniffed at the smell of blood, but did not dare to attack. Merediana’s presence made them behave.

      “I see, we can’t ask you about your business. You have secrets from the sea king and the bodyguards of the queens.”

      “You talk so much! I should tear out your tongue!”

      Merediana’s eyes glittered in a way that could have frightened him.

      “Don’t you need a companion?”

      “If I do, I’ll talk to the singing shells or the magic psaltery.”

      “But