Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 102166 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 511(@200wpm)___ 409(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102166 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 511(@200wpm)___ 409(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
Considerate and forgiving.
Those were not exactly the qualities Iris envisioned for a life partner.
She wanted heat and passion.
She wanted a love that scalded and soothed in equal turns.
But she was going to get consideration and forgiveness.
Something she shouldn’t need just for her very nature and personality.
Her heart felt as fragile as a seashell picked up by a careless hand—beautiful but bound to be broken.
Having no choice, Iris took her book and swam down the hall toward her own room.
Her mind was consumed with all she was losing: her home, her friends, her family, her beloved ocean, her tail. Even the annoying singing eels. And the squid ink that would stain her skin for weeks.
Still, she couldn’t seem to stop herself from turning her attention back to the book Finn had gifted her. Though she suspected Finn himself had nothing to do with it. The man didn’t appear to have a singular, unique thought. It was more likely a peace offer from his campaign manager.
Regardless, it had been the perfect gift for her.
There were only fifty fiction books in the royal library. Iris had read each of them a hundred times, getting swept away in intrigue and romance. There was something comforting about revisiting already loved characters. But it had been many years since she’d gotten a chance to fall in love with new ones.
So, despite knowing she should be spending her night packing, mourning, and trying to come to terms with her future, she opened the cover and got lost in a new book.
5
Iris
“What is that?” Iris asked as she surfaced at the sandbar, eyeing the absurdly large suitcase Monty was perched on.
“My belongings.”
“But why?” Iris asked, hefting her own luggage onto the sand.
“Because I’m coming with you, of course.”
“So, you heard.”
“Shelly was sitting on a rock this morning, ranting and raving about your move and how ungrateful you are.”
“Ungrateful,” Iris scoffed. She pulled herself up onto the sandbar. She’d been up all night reading, getting swept away by a grand romance between a princess and the knight from an enemy kingdom. Then she’d spent the morning swimming, trying to soak up as much of the ocean and the things she loved in it while she still could.
When she couldn’t stall any longer, she grabbed her luggage and left her home. She hadn’t said a single goodbye, since her mother was in a meeting, Shelly was off sulking, and Juna was MIA—likely too angry with her sister to offer a proper goodbye.
Perhaps that was for the best. If she had to look in their eyes, knowing she might never live under the same roof as them again, would not be able to sneak into their rooms at night to gossip, to share in their inside jokes anymore …
Yes, better not to have to face her sisters. She wasn’t sure she would be able to leave if they were there. And she was in enough trouble already.
“Stop gloating,” Iris grumbled, brushing wet hair from her face.
“I prefer to look on the bright side of life. And on the bright side, I am going to be living in the lap of luxury. Do you think your betrothed has the silver spoons I’m always hearing about?”
“I’m not going to be a fun companion today,” Iris warned him.
“You’ll come around. There are so many things to love about city life.”
He launched into a list of those things, but Iris was distracted, watching her tail and scales shimmer once—twice—before they vanished completely.
Before she was bare, she slipped into the same shorts and shirt from the day before.
“Hmm,” Monty said, giving her a disapproving look.
“What? I’m … covered.”
“Did your mother happen to send you with a clothing budget?”
“Oh,” Iris said, brows furrowing.
She’d never had to consider clothing before. But even in her books, the characters spent a lot of time thinking about and discussing clothing. Iris couldn’t figure out what was wrong with the bodies everyone was born with, though. Why they felt the need to cover up so fully at all.
“I know what you’re thinking, but you have to wear clothes. Land folk get real weird if they see a nipple in the daylight. Instant pearl-clutching scandal. I mean, flash a fin, fine. Flash a boob? The mayor resigns, the stock market crashes, and someone’s grandma writes a furious letter to Congress.
“Besides, if that naked body is yours, they’ll arrest you, worship you, or propose. Possibly all three.”
At Iris’s eye roll, he flapped his wings.
“You don’t get it. You’re a mermaid. You’re not just pretty; you’re ethereal. You’ve got the flowing hair, the mythical glow, the skin shimmer. Beauty influencers would pay a fortune for that shimmer, by the way. But what do you think the land folk would do when a living fantasy saunters around the city with no pants on? They’ll crash their cars. They’ll start new religions. And don’t get me started on the poetry—it’ll be terrible. Odes. Limericks. Maybe a few tragic musicals.” Monty cringed. “You have to put on clothing. For the good of all mankind.”