Seahaven

Chapter 1

At only eighteen, Flynn Arcturus was the best damn pilot on the ocean floor.

Those skills had grown in recent months as he searched for signs of his missing parents. Merfolk were believed responsible for their disappearance and he scoured the depths every day in his one-man submersible hoping to learn what happened to them. He clung to the hope they might still be alive, but the only clues were a pair of merfolk tridents in his parents' broken ship. As he skimmed over fields of glowing vegetation, he reached under his collar for a crystal pendant on a golden chain. His eyes watered as the memory of his mother giving him the pendant echoed in his thoughts.

Flynn's daydream was interrupted when a mermaid planted a kiss on one of his vessel's crystal windows. Purple hair flowed like water down her back and her tresses hung low, barely covering her breasts. Her glowing blue skin lit up the surrounding water brighter than a school of lanternfish, and her tail reflected the ship's magical glow as though her scales were polished steel. Her eyes glittered like sapphires as she offered him a flirtatious wink, then widened in surprise when he scowled in return.

"Not a chance," Flynn said through clenched teeth. He wasn't going to fall for the creature's charms. Not after his parents' disappearance.

The mermaid stuck out her bottom lip, pouting, and planted her webbed hands on shapely hips. The pout disappeared when Flynn's nostrils flared and his lips curled with hate. With a sweep of her silver-blue tail, she ducked into a nearby cave.

The cave was a mystery to Flynn. After years of cruising the area, he hadn't noticed it before. The opening was twice the height of a man, and the contrast between its dark interior and the glowing vegetation surrounding it made it hard to miss. It was as if the cave popped into existence at that moment for the mermaid's convenience. But the mystery would have to wait—he had a mermaid to catch. She might know what happened to his parents.

Flynn dove his ship, a sleek one-seater construction of steel and crystal, into the cave. Glowing moss and phosphorescent fish provided some illumination, but the passage was much darker than the iridescent landscape along the sea floor. Fortunately, the mermaid's magical glow lit up the surroundings. Avoiding obstacles in the cave was difficult, but not impossible.

The mermaid darted between stalagmites that thrust from the walls like the fangs of a viperfish. Literally speaking, he was right on her tail. He performed barrel rolls close enough to stalactites to dislodge algae and send crabs flying.

"Sorry," Flynn said, peering over his shoulder at the falling crabs that opened and closed their pincers angrily behind him.

The ship's handling was aided by a steering globe, an invention crafted by his genius older brother. The globe was a one-foot-wide sphere of water suspended above his knees and connected to the front of the ship by a thin, liquid column. He laid his palm on the globe and cool water oozed between his fingers like sticky jelly. The globe was soft, like the bell of a jellyfish, and it provided better handling than the wheels and levers used in most submersibles.

But skills and gadgets were no match for the mermaid's agility. She pumped her tail with vigor, gaining a considerable lead. In time, she paused by a stalactite, allowing him to close the distance. She blew him a kiss—releasing a mouthful of bubbles that became a puddle of air on the ceiling—and offered him another wink. He snarled in return.

"That's it, taunt me," Flynn said, glaring at her with cold green eyes. His left hand turned white from clenching the acceleration levers. "Just let me catch up to you and see what happens."

With a swish of her tail, she headed deeper into the tunnel. Before long, she gained another sizeable lead and was out of sight. Unwilling to accept defeat, Flynn continued until he reached the end of the cave. Plain rock walls surrounded him and there were no side tunnels along the way. Somehow, she disappeared.