The Faerie Curses

Chapter Twenty-Four: Song Spell

The Protector pursed her lips.

"How touching," she mocked me. "They're both willing to die for you, faerie. So who will it be?"

The mermaids seemed to edge closer, their laughter ringing like sickening bells. I felt as if I would be swallowed by the withering tails and their suffocatingly sweet auras of magic. I slowly stooped down and retrieved the trident, my mind whirling in wild fear. I felt like a cornered animal, ready to lash out with its claws. But I knew that fighting against the crowd of mermaids would be hopeless. Their singing would overpower me instantly, and The Summer Scepter would be lost to me.

Diandre glared at The Protector. "You shouldn't have to force Marissa to take one of our lives. Why don't one of you just kill me instead of her? It looks like any of your sisters will throughly enjoy it anyway."

The Protecter was unfazed by his suggestion.

"No," she responded from her throne. "It must be the faerie girl and only the faerie girl."

My logic pounded against my compassion, sweeping away my emotions. There was no way out. I had to kill one of them. But who? And how could I ever forgive myself?

The thought of driving the trident through either one of their hearts was enough to send me collapsing to the floor with horror.

"I guess I really am going soft." I muttered bitterly to myself.

It was all a test. Everything in this moment was a test. But was murder really the right answer?

I looked down at the razor sharp points of the trident, and that's when I knew what needed to be done. I took three strides closer to the throne, my head held high as I swam. It seemed as if the entire cavern was waiting for my decision, a collective silence.

"Diandre." I said, throwing as much certainty as I could into his name. The chains binding him rattled as he looked up at me. I could feel salt stinging my eyes, but I convinced myself that it was the water of the harbor and not my own tears. "Do you remember the last thing that I said to you that last night...that last night three years ago?"

I watched his face very carefully as he slowly nodded.

"Yes." He whispered. I leaned forward. I wanted him to say it.

Diandre paused for a moment, and on her throne I sensed The Protector stiffen.

"You told me...you told me that I was your best friend." He replied softly.

"Your best friend." I echoed. All of the onlooking mermaids were still.

It was then that I knew how to pass the test. My lips tugged upwards in a triumphant smile.

"Wrong answer."

I gripped the trident in my hands, and grinning at The Protector, I spun the weapon around until the sharp points were pointed directly at my chest. There was a collective gasp of shock from the mermaids, and The Protector's eyes widened in astonishment.

"What are you doing, faerie?" She roared.

"The test was never about who I killed," I exclaimed. "it was about whether or not I would figure out your illusion."

My pulse drummed victoriously at the priceless expression on The Protector's face. Every mermaid's lips were parted in awe as I continued.

"It was a clever trick, too." I grinned. "But these two phantoms in front of me," I gestured to Diandre and Glen. "Are not real." I glanced down at the trident. "And neither is this."

Without hesitation, I drove the weapon into my chest. The moment the sharp points connected with my flesh, the trident dissolved into foaming bubbles. They bobbed past my face and towards the ceiling of the underwater cavern. I watched them vanish with a stab of pride. The look-alikes of Glen and Diandre also evaporated into bubbles, and I watched their faces become orbs of air that drifted away along the current. They had looked so real, down to the very last detail. But Diandre's answer had confirmed my suspicions.