A Thousand Salt Kisses Forever (Third Book in Salt Kisses series)

Divine

The following morning, we swam to The Jewelled Kingdom, where we would meet with Ri.

My stomach was in knots, I had not been there since I accidentally crashed Llyr and Kara's engagement party. This was then succeeded by a miserable few days where I was banned by Ri from leaving a small segment of the palace. Ri was absolutely mortified by my appearance just weeks before the big wedding, and especially by my new mer-form.

He was actually so rude to me; I was surprised I was even willing to speak with him again. I mean, in all fairness he had been under that spell, but I did wonder how much his reaction was down to the magic and how much the actual mer himself. He had always been enraged by our relationship, right up until recently.

Llyr said it wasn't too far away to The Jewel, but it felt like we'd been swimming for ages. Although I had been swimming super slowly; deliberately prolonging our arrival.

During the journey, we spoke briefly about human weddings. Llyr wanted to know what Jemima's big day would entail. I explained about churches and white dresses, how Jemima's father would give her away, and then the dreaded speeches over dinner.

"You must speak?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes," I sighed, realizing guiltily I had not even thought about it yet.

"That is an honour," he said. "I wish I could hear you talk."

I smiled, as I thought about Llyr sitting in a tux at a table cheering me on. It was a strange thought. I half-wished it could be so, but even in my imagination, it didn't quite seem right.

I looked up across the seabed and saw a twinkling mass in the distance. We were near now, I realized, my stomach lurching all over again. I slowed down even more and Llyr honed in on my emotions and laughed.

"You are swimming at the pace of a turtle," he said, grabbing my hand and pulling me forward. "I don't think you should worry; I will do all the talking."

I nodded gratefully. "That would be good," I said. I had been mulling over what I should say to Ri and had not managed to think of anything particularly mind-blowing.

After some time, we penetrated the kingdom, passing by the wonderful sparkly houses. They were carved from huge rocks of beautiful gem stones; rose-quartz, topaz, and jade.

Inside, mers could be seen bustling about, some coming to the openings to greet us. I smiled and waved back, relaxing a little. Llyr was right; they are okay with me after all. It was really good to feel a bit of warmth; given the apparent disapproval, we were facing from the outskirts.

I gazed around the wide sandy streets. Mermen and mermaids were swimming in different directions - right, left, up, down, diagonal. They gasped and waved when they saw me, but they were cool enough not to crowd us or to stare, I acknowledged with relief.

I frowned, I had suddenly realized something.

"Llyr," I said.

"Yes," he replied, still gently holding my hand in his.

"They're wearing bikinis!" I whispered, watching as a mermaid sailed past, sporting two triangular fabric patches on her chest, strung together and tied into a halter neck, with some spangly seaweed.

"Oh, yes," said Llyr, laughing. "You have inspired them. They have been tearing up sails and any material they can get their hands on to make them."

I turned to him wide-eyed. "How cute!" I squealed. I never imagined I would ever become a style icon.

He squeezed my hand, and I continued to look around me when all of a sudden we glided into a shadow. As I looked up to see what cast it, my pulse rocketed. It was the Amethyst Palace. We were here, and traveling across its sprawling moss lawns.