Pru lay on her stomach on a smooth rock in the sea, which caressed the rock with its small blue waves. The sun made her pink top look even brighter; its light warmed her back. She felt the breeze dancing across fair-skinned face and lifting a few strands of her hair, which matched her shirt in color. There was an island nearby, so she could hear a few loud, exotic birds calling out.

She curved her tail up so that her pink fins pointed to the blue sky. Water droplets trickled off of them. Pru dipped her paint brush into gray ink and touched it to her canvas. She made a long, swift stroke - finishing the piece. She sat up and held the painting at arms’ length. She was satisfied by it.

The painting showed dark waves tumbling in a windy thunderstorm. The giant, black clouds in the painting looked as if they could roll out of the landscape and stir up a storm in real life. She had been inspired by her last name - Tempest.

She heard a loud splash and looked behind her to see a merboy jumping out of the water to climb onto the rock.

“Hello there,” Pru said.

He looked up at her and smiled; he looked like he was her age - seventeen. His white teeth were in contrast with his dark, shimmering skin and his brown eyes seemed to twinkle in the sun. She decided he was rather handsome.

“Oh,” he said, “I’m sorry - I didn’t think someone would be up here.”

“Oh it’s fine,” Pru said, “Sit down.”

He pulled himself onto the rock and sat next to her. His turquoise scales shined and sparkled more than the ocean in the light.

“Whoa,” the merboy said when he saw Pru’s painting, “That’s amazing.”

“Thanks,” Pru said.

“How long did it take?” He said.

“A couple days,” Pru said.

“Man,” he said, “That’s awesome… I don’t think I’ve seen you around. Are you new here?”

“Yeah,” Pru said, “I moved here from the Arctic.”

The merboy’s eyes widened and he said, “All the way from the Arctic?”

“Yep,” Pru said and laughed, “It sure took a while. My grandma and I moved here because she lost her job and found a new one here.”
“Oh,” the merboy said, “I’m sorry. That’s a big change to go through.”
“Yeah,” Pru sighed, “I do miss my friends from the Arctic. And it’s hot down here.”
The merboy laughed and said, “Yeah I’ll bet this is way different than what you’re used to.”
Pru nodded and said, “Funny thing is, I was born pretty close to here. So it’s really like I’m just coming back to where I started.”
“Huh,” he said, “That’s interesting. Uh... this might sound awkward now that we’re so deep into this conversation but my name’s Dathan. What’s your name?”
“Pru,” Pru said with a smile.
“Nice to meet you, Pru,” Dathan said.
“Nice to meet you too, Dathan,” Pru said, “Hey is there anything fun to do in this ocean or does everyone just swim around aimlessly and sit on rocks?”
Dathan laughed and said, “There’s this really creepy ship wreck I like to explore once in a while. Wanna go there?”
“Sounds awesome,” Pru said, “Let’s go to my grandma’s house so I can drop my art stuff off real quick and then we can go.”
“Sounds good,” said Dathan.

***

Pru rushed into her bedroom and dropped her supplies in an old chest before darting out into the hall.

“Young lady,” Pru heard her grandma say, “May I ask where you’re going?”

Pru turned to see her grandma hovering in front of her.

“I made a friend,” Pru said, “We’re gonna go check out a scary ship wreck.”

“Oh,” Pru’s grandmother said, “Well, have fun.”

Then Pru’s grandma leaned over a bit to look out the window. She saw Dathan flicking his tail as he waited in the coral garden.

“A boy?” Pru’s grandma said and raised her eyebrows.

“Aw come on grandma,” Pru said, “It’s not the first time I made friends with a guy. Don’t worry this isn’t a date.”

“All right,” Pru’s grandma said, “Just be smart.”

“I will,” Pru said, “Bye - love you.”

“Love you too, sweetie,” Pru’s grandma called as Pru swam out.
***

Pru and Dathan swam along the sea floor. There were some rocks in the sand where tiny sea creatures crawled and darted around. Pru stopped when she saw something move in the sand.

“Crab,” Pru said and dove down to look at the crab crawling around.

“We don’t have these in the Arctic,” Pru said as she watched the crab, “It’s so cute.”

Dathan said, “Most mermaids think they’re gross.”

“Dathan,” Pru said, “If there’s one thing you’re gonna learn when you get to know me, it’s that I’m not most mermaids.”

Dathan bent down to look at the crab with Pru.

“You’re right,” Dathan said, “It is cute. Look at those little eyes.”

After a little more doting on the crab, Pru and Dathan moved on.

“So how long do we have to swim before we get to this shipwreck?” Pru said.

“Not too long,” Dathan said, “In fact, we should be there by… now.”

Pru and Dathan stopped at a sudden drop off. Below, there was a rocky valley that rested in dim water. A massive pirate ship lay below, its sail hanging in shreds and its dark wood breaking down.
Pru gawked at the view and said, “Wow. This really is amazing. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Dathan said, “Come on.”
They dove down into the valley and made their way over to the pirate ship. Tiny fish pecked at the algae on it and lurched a little whenever one of the sharks hanging around swam by. Pru swam onto the deck and through a door. Objects cluttered the dark room. Some fish swam in and out of it through holes in the wood. Pru picked up a plate and brushed dirt of of it. It was light blue and shiny.
“Come here,” Dathan said.
Dathan led her over to the other side of the room. He picked up a book from the floor. He opened it up and showed a page to Pru.
He pointed and read aloud, “T' Siren Queen be sinkin'. There be no reason t' jump out. I will die here.”
Then Dathan pointed to something behind Pru. Pru turned around and nearly gasped in water when she saw a skeleton lying next to the door she had come in through.
“Stinging manta rays,” Pru said.
Pru swam over to the skeleton.
“Look,” Pru said, “He’s still holding the pen he was writing with.”
“Yep,” Dathan said, “Creepy, huh?”
“Yeah,” Pru said, “That’s really creepy. Whoa!”
Pru had seen a huge great white shark swim by the door in front of her.
“Did you see that?” Pru said.
“Yes,” Dathan said as he swam up next to Pru, “And I think we should swim outta here now.”
“Don’t be a minnow,” Pru said, “Let’s go see that shark.”
“No way,” Dathan said, “Pru that is a terrible idea let’s get out of here.”
Pru was out of the room with a flick of her tail. Dathan followed slowly behind her.
Pru swam after the great white, which began to turn so one eye was looking at her. Its mouth was hanging open, letting its rows of teeth peek out. It was such a big shark that the water seemed to rumble a little as the shark swam through it.
“Hello,” Pru sonalized to the shark.
The shark did not sonalize back, as sharks cannot sonalize, but it slowly approached her.
“Pru,” Dathan hissed from behind her, “Are you insane? Get away from the shark!”
The shark was right in front of Pru. It turned, so that it didn’t run into her, and glanced at her. It waved its tail a little before swimming away. Pru smiled and turned to look at Dathan.
“See?” Pru said, “It said ‘Hello,’ back. It wasn’t gonna hurt me.”
Dathan laughed and said, “You’re awesome. You’re crazy, but you’re awesome.”
Pru laughed back and said, “Thanks.”
Dathan and Pru swam back to their homes. Pru predicted that she and Dathan would be best friends; nothing more and nothing less.
***

School was now dismissed and the mermaids and merboys flooded out of the building laughing, screaming, and joking. Pru felt a little lonely - Dathan had not come to school that day.

“Hey,” Pru heard a mermaid say to her side.

She turned and saw a mermaid with silky brown hair and a coral-colored tail approaching with a smile.

“Are you new?” the mermaid said.

“Yeah,” Pru said and smiled back and added, “I moved here from the Arctic.”

“Goodness,” the other mermaid said, “That’s real far off. My name’s Cari. What’s your name?”

“Pru,” Pru said.

“Pru,” Cari repeated and said, “Nice to meet you, Pru.”

Another mermaid with curly hair and a light blue tail swam up next to Cari and smiled at Pru.

“This is Morgana,” Cari introduced the mermaid who had just arrived.

“Hi Morgana,” Pru said, “My name’s Pru.”

Morgana nodded and said, “It’s nice to meet you, Pru.”

“We’re going to go swim with a pod of dolphins,” Cari said, “Wanna join us?”

“Yeah,” Pru said, “That sounds awesome.”

“Great,” Cari said, “Come along, ladies!”

The three mermaids didn’t have to swim too far to reach the open sea where the bottlenose dolphins swam around. When the mermaids arrived, the dolphins squealed and glided over to greet them.

“Hi,” the dolphins said to the mermaids as they twirled around.

“Hi there,” Pru sonalized.

One of the dolphins spun around when it swam above Pru so she could get a better look at Pru.

“I don’t believe we’ve met,” the dolphin sonalized, “My name is Jewel. What’s your name?”

“My name’s Pru,” Pru said and swam alongside the dolphin.

“Well, Pru,” Jewel said, “It’s good to meet you. I hope you like it here.”

One of the dolphins leaped out of the water and it was as if that was the group’s signal to start having fun. The pod and the trio of mermaids raced through the waters. Then they began to jump out of the sea. Pru laughed and shrieked every time she went into the air, as did Cari and Morgana.

“Having fun?” Morgana asked Pru when there was a short lull in the leaping.

“You bet I am!” Pru said, “I’m having a fin flapping time!”

Morgana laughed and said, “Me too!”

When the pod and the trio slowed to a stop, everyone was laughing.

“That was so fun,” Pru said, “Thanks Cari and Morgana. That was the best.”

“Thanks for coming with us,” Morgana said, “We should do something fun like this again - and soon.”

“Totally,” Cari said, “That really was a - what did you call it? A fin flapping time!”

Pru and Morgana laughed and repeated, “A fin flapping time!” and laughed again because they’d said it at the same time.

The mermaids said goodbye to each other and to the dolphins. Pru couldn’t believe how quickly she was making friends; she thanked Poseidon for blessing her.
***

Pru was relieved to see Dathan come to school the next day. She darted over to him from behind.

“Boo,” Pru said.

“Whoa,” Dathan said.

Dathan turned around and said, “Should’ve known it’d be you.”

“Where were you yesterday?” Pru asked.

“Sick,” Dathan, “I blame the tuna they served at lunch the day before.”

“Ew,” Pru said with a wrinkled nose and flicked her tail.

That day at school was the same as all the others - too much work and not enough time. After school, Cari, Morgana, and Pru swam out the door.

Cari elbowed Pru in the ribs and whispered, “That’s Beck Arlen.”

Cari was pointing at a nearby merboy; Pru skimmed over his appearance, noticing his curly - yet smooth - blond hair, his slim but manly jaw line, his penetrating blue gaze, his perfectly shaped nose, and his rippling arm muscles.

“Wow,” Pru said.

“I know,” Cari said, “And he’s single.”
“But he doesn’t pay any attention to girls like us,” Morgana said, “Only the popular mermaids get to talk with him.”
“Yeah well a girl can dream, can’t she?” Cari said.
Beck glanced at the three mermaids, who immediately looked away.
Cari said to Morgana, “Ooh, I have an idea for what we could do today: I think we should take Pru to see the wild manatees at Sunny Shallows.”
“That sounds fun,” Morgana said and then turned to Pru to ask, “You wanna see some wild manatees, Pru?”
“That sounds great,” Pru said, “I’ve never seen wild manatees before so this’ll be fun.”

The three mermaids started swimming away from the crowd in front of the school, but Pru saw Dathan hovering by himself.

“Dathan,” Pru called to him, “We’re gonna go see some wild manatees. Wanna come?”

“Sure,” Dathan said as he swam over to join them.

As they were swimming to get to Sunny Shallows, they talked about school.

“Ms. Moana gets on my nerves,” Dathan said, “She gives us a bunch of homework and then she just wants us to do it without questions.”

Morgana nodded and Cari said, “That woman just doesn’t know how to teach.”

Dathan shook his head and said, “No all she knows is how to be mean. You ask her one question and she looks at you with those beady little shark eyes and says,” Dathan used a hissing voice to mock Ms. Moana, “‘Figure it out yourself and don’t ask me another question or I’ll give you an F - and then I’ll eat your little seahorse, too!’”
Cari, Pru, and Morgana burst out laughing at Dathan’s parody of Ms. Moana. Pru noticed that Morgana took a little longer to stop giggling and that she blushed a little.

“Oooh,” Cari said, “There’s Eternal Cliff. The stuff of nightmares.”

They all swam over the the edge of Eternal Cliff and looked over a seemingly endless drop into darkness.

“If we had the guts to swim across we could get to Sunny Shallows way faster,” Dathan said.

“You mean if the Last Leviathan didn’t live down there?” Morgana said.

“You guys haven’t ever swum across to Sunny Shallows from here?” Pru said.

“No way,” Dathan said, “That’s way too dangerous for me.”

Cari and Morgana nodded, agreeing with Dathan.

“What’s so dangerous about this?” Pru said, “You said something about the Last Leviathan, Morgana. What’s that?”

“The Last Leviathan,” Morgana said, “Is the last of a species of huge, flesh-eating sea monsters that roamed the seas long ago. The Last Leviathan is different, though. He had a thirst for evil - for causing pain to all living things. He ravaged merpeople’s homes and devoured them. He easily engulfed massive pirate ships in one bite. That’s why this Last Leviathan has survived so long. He had no regard for other life except hatred. He survived by swallowing everything else. A very powerful, greedy, monster.”

“And you all believe the Last Leviathan exists?” Pru scoffed, “That’s ridiculous. It sounds like some stupid fairy tale I would’ve read when I was a little kid.”

Pru Tempest swam away from Eternal Cliff so that she was hovering above the dizzying depths below.

“Pru,” Dathan said, “Pru, stop. Get back over here.”

Pru twirled around and waited for a few moments.

“See?” Pru said, “No leviathans eating me. Now let’s just swim across so we can get to Sunny Shallows.”

“Pru please,” Dathan said, “The shark wasn’t really a big deal but this is different. Get away from there.”

“It’s not just a fairy tale,” Morgana said, “It’s real. Why else would all the adults around here tell their kids to never swim over there?”

“Because their parents told them the same thing,” Pru said, “And they were wrong.”

“How do you know they were wrong?” Cari said, “And why would they all be wrong about the same thing?”

“They probably just told their kids about the Last Leviathan so they could keep their kids harvesting seaweed crops or whatever,” Pru said, “And with all our yelling I would think the Last Leviathan would have gotten angry enough to devour me by now, so I’m pretty sure there is no Last Leviathan.”

It took a few moments of Pru staring at them and flipping her tail for Cari to finally join Pru. Dathan and Morgana looked at each other, sighed, and gave in - joining Pru and Cari. They swam for a while, getting further into the open ocean.

“See?” Pru said, “No leviathans.”

That’s when they heard a deep, rumbling sound from below.

They looked down to see two golden, glowing embers in the dark depths - eyes.

“The Last Leviathan,” Morgana whispered.

Slowly, a massive form began to stir below. Water rumbled from the movement. A growl vibrated the water around them. The form began to rise out of the darkness. A hard, metal-like mountain rose up. That was the tip of the creature’s nose. Morgana, Dathan, Cari, and Pru began to flee when the monster raised its neck and head out of the darkness. It easily moved so that it was inches from Pru, who was about the size of one of its silver, sharp scales. The Last Leviathan opened its mouth and roared, nearly deafening Dathan, Morgana, Cari, and Pru. Pru looked in utter terror at the Last Leviathan’s huge fangs that snapped at the water next to her. The force of its biting the water was so great that it almost dragged her into its mouth. She put her hands out and bumped into the Last Leviathan’s face, right next to its orange and golden eye.

The Last Leviathan looked at her. Looking into its giant black, liquid pupil, Pru felt an overwhelming feeling she could not understand. She felt some sort of realization creeping up on her - as if the Last Leviathan were showing her something from her future. Pru felt a new sort of terror filling her. It was not fear of death. It was much worse than that. It was fear of destruction - of losing her entire identity, or of becoming entangled in a web of darkness and agony in her own spirit. Then she saw her distorted reflection in the eye. Pru Tempest shrieked, not for fear of being physically eaten by the Last Leviathan, but for fear of the vague and dark vision of her future she had seen in the Last Leviathan’s eye.
The Last Leviathan shook its great head, shaking Pru off. She was thrown far away, spinning out of control in the water.
“Pru!” Pru heard Morgana scream as she whipped her tail to gain balance again.
The Last Leviathan was surging toward her. She darted just below its jaw and tried to dodge the Last Leviathan but hit its throat and got the wind knocked out of her when she hit the hard armor. She shook her head, trying to regain focus, and swam around the Last Leviathan’s neck. She swam forward as quickly as possible toward her friends, who were on top of the Eternal Cliff. Morgana swam toward her and grabbed her hand. They both screamed when the Last Leviathan snapped its teeth next to them.
Cari and Dathan rushed over to join Pru and Morgana. Pru saw a small cave tunneling into Eternal Cliff below. She pulled Morgana with her as they all bolted downward and toward the side of Eternal Cliff. Pru’s ears rang and her rib cage shook when the Last Leviathan roared. They got to the cave and clawed at its sides as they frantically made their way in. Just as they got into the crevice, the Last Leviathan’s teeth snapped in front of its opening. The Last Leviathan looked inside the crevice - directly at Pru. Pru heard no telepathic voice in her mind, but she felt the wave of its menacing knowledge and shivered. Then, the Last Leviathan left and dove back down into its black dwelling place below.
They all stayed coiled up in the crevice for a while. Pru needed air, so they finally darted out of the crevice and over to Eternal Cliff. Pru took in a gasp of air and then she and her friends swam away from that place. Cari and Dathan went to their homes, too shaken to be anywhere else. Morgana and Pru needed to talk, so Pru brought Morgana to the smooth rocks that jutted out of the water - the rocks where she had been painting the storm. They agreed not tell their parents what had happened and then talked for a while about the horror of what had happened.
“Pru,” Morgana said, “That really was terrifying. But… Look, I know I just met you so I don’t really know you that well. But it seems to me that you’re a very courageous mermaid. If that’s true then you’re acting more afraid than usual. I feel like something happened to you other than trying not to get eaten by the Last Leviathan.”
Biting her lips, Morgana looked at Pru out of the corner of her eye and flicked her fins.
“...You’re right,” Pru said, “Something else did happen.”
Morgana stopped twitching her fins and relaxed her lips. She looked at the horizon.
“The leviathan looked at me,” Pru said, “And I felt something. I don’t know… It felt like… Hopelessness. Doom. I knew something about my future. Something very bad.”
Morgana was silent for a little while.
“I thought it was something like that,” Morgana said, “In that case, I think we should tell someone. We need to talk to someone who knows more about this stuff.”
“My grandma would know about this,” Pru said, “I’ll talk to her.”
“You think she would know?” Morgana said, “I mean, if she did why didn’t she warn you not to swim over there?”
Pru laughed a little and said, “She probably thought I wouldn’t be stupid enough to do that. Or she probably did and I just wasn’t listening. That kind of happens more than it should.”
Morgana and Pru went to Pru’s house to talk to Pru’s grandma.
“Pru Tempest,” Pru’s grandma said, “I told you about the Last Leviathan.”
“Sorry,” Pru said, “I didn’t hear you.”
It was hard for Pru to feel intimidated by her grandmother’s scoldings - her brown eyes always looked warm and smiling.
Pru’s grandma sighed and said, “The Last Leviathan possesses dark knowledge that it reveals to some people that he encounters. He knows parts of the future and can see into the hearts of merpeople. But you can change the future he showed you with Poseidon. You must stay true to Poseidon and try your best to refrain from greed, hatred, dishonesty, or any other offense to Poseidon.”
Pru nodded and said, “Okay. I will.”
Morgana said, “Maybe we could pray for Pru now?”
The three mermaids prayed that Poseidon would speak to her so she would know how to live her life to avoid falling into whatever darkness she sensed when the Last Leviathan looked at her.
“Thank you so much,” Pru said, “I feel much better now that we’ve prayed.”
After Morgana went home, Pru’s grandma said, “That is a very good friend, Pru. You should cultivate that friendship.”
“Yeah,” Pru said, “Morgana will be a great friend.”

Pru Tempest had nothing better to do, so she decided to see if she had the guts to swim to the bottom of the sea. She went to the surface to take in a deep gasp of air before she dove down into a seemingly infinite trench.
Soon, the water was dark enough that some of the scales on her tail lit up. It became so dark she could only see as far as her scales shone. She used sonalization to sense where the rough edges of the rocky cliffs on either side of her protruded. Sometimes, she sensed gulper eels or ghastly viperfish swim by her. At one point, she saw the floating, lit up orb of an anglerfish.
At this depth, the water was frigid. She like the coldness; for some reason she found it refreshing and awakening. She breathed in the crisp water deeply.
Pru stopped when her sonalization bounced back showing her a massive life form was just below her. She swallowed hard. Even though it didn’t help, she instinctively widened her eyes. She sent another frequency, trying to feel the details of the creature. It had tentacles and one of its giant eyes was facing her. It was a giant squid.
Pru was so surprised she nearly blew bubbles out of her mouth. She had never seen one before. She had only heard about them - she had learned about them in school and listened to horror stories of giant squids strangling and engulfing unsuspecting merpeople. She knew a lot of those stories were probably lies, though. Pru felt her heart beat quicken. Her gut twisted. Pru Tempest grinned.
She was more curious than afraid. She approached the squid. She got close enough that she could see its great, shining, golden eye in the light of her luminous pink scales. She knew some animals could understand mermaids’ sonalizations. Could squids understand?
Pru sonalized, “Hello. I’m Pru. What’s your name?”
She nearly lurched when a voice that sounded like that of a middle-aged woman responded, “Hello. My name’s Darya.”
Pru smiled and sonalized, “Nice to meet you, Darya. Mind if I pass by you? I want to see how deep I can swim.”
“Sure,” Darya said telepathically, “I’ll move aside.”
Darya swam to one side of the chasm and Pru began to swim past her.
“Good luck,” Darya said, “And be cautious.”
“Thank you,” Pru sonalized before resuming her dive.
Pru wished her new friend, Morgana, could have been there to see the squid. She knew she would have to drag Morgana by her tail to get her this deep down - Morgana could be such a wimpy minnow sometimes - but Morgana would have loved to talk to Darya. Pru had met Morgana on her first day at Morgana’s school - that’s when they realized Pru had just moved into the home next to Morgana’s home. Even though Morgana had been a bit quiet at first, they had become close friends quickly.
Pru felt the water pressure increasing. It became so heavy she wondered if she had heard her teacher wrong - maybe she could implode if she swam any further. Before she could regret her decision, her fingers touched the ooze of the sea floor. Pru sighed. She had to admit, she was the most daring mermaid she knew.
Then she felt something slide across her shoulder. She looked up to see a beady eye and a mouthful of sharp teeth. It was a bluntnose sixgill shark. The shark was whipping its tail and darting around her. She backed away slowly, knowing swimming too fast would trigger the shark’s hunting instincts. The bluntnose shark bared its teeth and charged toward her. Its hunting instincts were already triggered.
Pru whirled around and bolted, swimming slightly upward. If she swam up too quickly, the pressure change would injure her. Pru sent out rapid sonalizations, trying not to hit the rocky walls. She yelped when she felt sharp teeth sink into her sensitive fins. She turned to face the shark, which tugged her tail. She reached her hand out and something happened that she didn’t understand.
Some sort of power surged from her hand and hit the shark’s nose. The shark let go of her fins and darted back. It vanished in the darkness. Pru sonalized to see where it went. It was leaving.
Pru looked at her hand. It looked normal. She knew one person who might understand what was going on.
***
Pru and her grandma swayed gently in the current, securing themselves by wrapping their tails around kelp stalks.
“So,” Pru’s grandmother said, “What is this strange power you speak of?”
Pru’s grandma smiled, her brown eyes appearing especially warm in the sunlight shining into the bright green forest.
“Watch,” Pru said.
She held her hand up.
The water stirred in a tiny whirlpool above her palm.
Her grandmother’s eyes widened. Pru watched the whirlpool grow. It reached up and grew larger until it reached the surface.
“All right, I’ve seen enough,” her grandmother said.
Pru released her power on the water, which almost instantly went calm again.
Pru looked at her grandma, who looked shocked. Pru had never seen her grandmother looked shocked. Her brows were raised so that every crease in her forehead folded deeply.
“Pru Tempest,” her grandmother said, “You inherited water morphing.”
“What’s water morphing?” Pru asked, “It sounds like it just means I can change water.”
“That’s exactly what water morphing is,” Pru’s grandmother said, “The ability to manipulate water. It’s extremely rare. But your great, great, great, great grandfather also had it. He used it to help sirens keep human ships away. He became so powerful he was able to create storms in the sky.”
Pru’s jaw dropped.
“I have that much power?” Pru said.
“Yes,” her grandmother said, “Maybe even more - your grandfather didn’t show it until he was twenty-three. You’re only seventeen.”
Pru gawked at her hands. She was that powerful.
“But Pru,” Pru’s grandma said, “You must be careful. Your power is a wondrous gift from Poseidon, but you must use it sparingly - only use it when you need to defend yourself or others. Never use it for greed; don’t use it to look superior to others or take revenge. Do you understand?”
“Yeah,” Pru said as she gazed at her palms.
Then Pru looked up at her grandma and asked, “Where does the power come from?”
“Different merpeople store the powers in different areas. The powers can come from you fins, scales, hair, or heart. Do you want to find out where you’re storing your water morphing powers?” Her grandmother said.
“Yeah,” Pru said.
“All right, follow with me,” Pru’s grandma said.
***

Pru’s grandma told Pru to wait in her garden while she got something. Pru watched a clownfish rest in its pink anenome. She adored her grandmother’s garden because her grandmother had taken the time to make it a habitat for little animals.

Her grandma came out holding something in her hands. She swam to Pru and opened her hands to reveal a smooth stone. It was a dull color of gray.

“This rock,” her grandmother said, “Becomes warm when it touches an area that is storing supernatural power. I call it…”
Pru’s grandma looked up, thinking, before looking decidedly at Pru and continuing, “The Warm Rock.”
Pru nodded. Her grandma first placed the rock on Pru’s hair. Pru’s grandma then placed it on a group of scales on the side of Pru’s tail that always glowed in extremely dark areas. The rock felt warm.
“That is where your power is stored,” Pru’s grandma said, “In that patch of scales. Now, we’re safe because the coral in my garden has grown so tall and thick no one could see or hear what we’ve found out. But outside the garden, you can’t ever mention where your power is stored. If someone finds out, they can take away your powers for themselves. Do you understand?”
Pru nodded and said, “Yes.”
“Good.”
***

Cari began braiding Pru’s hair, moving her experienced hands quickly.

“I wish I was born with hair like yours,” Cari sighed, “It’s such a bright pink. Mine’s just brown.”

Pru laughed and said, “Most people would say my hair is obnoxious.”

“I think it’s beautiful,” Morgana said, “And yours stays straight. Mine is so frizzy.”

While Cari played with Pru’s hair and Morgana watched from behind, Pru wondered how to tell them what she had found. Her fins thumped gently on the sand they sat on. She watched tiny fish shimmer as they swam around the coral reef surrounding them.

“What do you think?” Cari said to Morgana, holding two sections of Pru’s hair in two buns on the sides of her head.

“Cute!” Morgana said.

Cari let go of Pru’s hair. Morgana swam around to face Pru and Cari followed.

“You’ve been really quiet,” Morgana said to Pru, “What’s on your mind?”

“Uh…” Pru said, “I have water morphing powers.”

Pru laughed as Cari and Morgana opened their mouths like gulper eels.

“No way,” Cari said shrilly, “You’re kidding!”

“Nope,” Pru said.

Cari put her hands to her forehead and said, “Stinging manta rays…”

“Wait… Wait,” Cari put her hands down and asked, “What exactly is water morphing?”

Morgana laughed at Cari’s sudden change of reaction and said, “Water morphing is the ability to change water. It’s what it sounds like. She could make a whirlpool right here if she wanted to.”

Cari gaped.

“Excuse me,” Cari said, “I need some air.”

Cari darted up to the surface.

Morgana grinned at Pru.

“Show me a water morphing trick,” Morgana said.

“Okay,” Pru said.

Pru lifted her right hand and sent a current running through the sand. Cari came down just in time to see the sand begin to lift up in the stream of Pru’s current. Pru sent the snake-like stream of sand slithering around Morgana and Cari. She then made it rush quickly around them all. Then she suddenly made bubbles rage in the current, boiling the stream of water. Soon a white, bubbling rush of sand and water was roaring around the three mermaids. Pru let the current slow and lifted her hands to heat up the surface, where steam rose up into the sky. Pru cooled down the water and everything appeared as if nothing had happened.
She grinned at her friends, who were speechless for a moment.
“That was awesome,” Cari said.
***
Pru practiced using water morphing on a ledge of a rocky cliff, where she could watch the hammerhead sharks glide in the open ocean.
Today, she practiced boiling water as her grandma had instructed that morning. She watched the water head up and make bubbles over her palm. She had to be careful - if she lost her control over the boiling water it could burn her or whatever creature happened to be in the way.
“Pru?” a young merman’s voice startled her and she almost burnt herself.
She regained her focus so she could stop the boiling water before she looked up.
There was Beck, hovering in front of her. She couldn’t stop her heart from fluttering like an excitable thimble jellyfish when she looked at his deep blue gaze or his curly, smooth, blond hair. She noticed that the blue shirt he was wearing today made his eyes even more noticeable. His eyes were wide now - he must have seen her boiling the water.
“Hi Beck,” Pru said.
“Hi Pru,” Beck said, “...How did you just boil that water with your hand?”
“Water morphing,” Pru said, “It’s the ability to manipulate water. Only a few people have it… And I’m one of them.”
Beck’s eyes got even wider.
“That’s awesome,” Beck said, “I wish I had water morphing.”
Pru felt herself inflating with pride from Beck’s compliment. Beck swam over to sit next to her on the ledge and Pru felt a wave of warmth wash over her.
“It’s funny - we go to the same school,” Beck said, “but I don’t think we’ve ever really talked much.”
Pru grinned at him and said, “No we haven’t. But we’re talking now.”
“Yeah,” Beck said, smiling back at her, “So what is it genetic or something or…?”
“Yeah it’s genetic,” Pru said.
“Cool,” Beck said, “Could you show me a water trick?”
Pru opened her mouth to say no, but then she looked at those blue eyes.
She forced the words out of her mouth, “I can’t… I mean - I can only use the powers when I really have to. I can’t show off with them. Sorry.”
“You really can’t use them unless you have to?” Beck asked, “Like you physically can’t?”
“No, I mean…” Pru didn’t know how to continue.
For some reason, she felt like it would be embarrassing to say her grandma told her not to use them to show off and that’s why she wouldn’t show him a water trick.

“Okay,” Pru said, “I’ll show you a trick.”

Pru held out her hand, slightly curling her fingers as if she were holding a bowl.

“Put your hand over my hand,” Pru told Beck.

Beck put his fingers above her hand.

“It’s cold!” Beck said.

Beck laughed and took his fingers away before asking, “Can you freeze that water?”

Pru nodded and concentrated, feeling the energy running in a stream from the scales on her tail, up her side, through her arm, through her palm, and into the water. The water soon became ice. It floated to the top of the ocean. She looked at Beck, who grinned.

“That’s amazing,” he said, “How do you do that? What’s your secret?”

For an instant, Pru felt chills rush up her spine. Her first thought was, “How does he know it’s a secret?” But then she realized it was just a figure of speech. It was an innocent question.

“Can’t tell you,” Pru said, “It’s a secret.”

“Aw man,” Beck said, “Well maybe someday we’ll be closer friends and you’ll trust me enough to tell me.”

Pru’s tail curled a little bit as the warm feeling filled her again because of the idea of being close friends with Beck.

“Yeah,” she said with a smile, “I think we will.”
***

Morgana slapped her fins on the surface of the water in shock, splashing Pru in the face by accident.

“You talked to Beck Arlen?” Morgana said.

Pru laughed and said, “Yep.”

“And he wants to be your friend?” Morgana practically squeaked.

“Yeah,” Pru said and squealed, “I’m so giddy.”
Morgana and Pru were sitting on their favorite rocks, which were smoother than most rocks that jutted out of the sea. Morgana smiled and stared at the horizon, seemingly lost in her own fantasy world.
Morgana looked at Pru and said, “You’re so lucky. So what did you talk about?”

“We talked about my water morphing powers, mostly,” Pru said.

“Oh,” Morgana said, “So he knows now. What’d he think of it?”

“He thought it was really cool,” Pru said, “He said he wished he had water morphing powers.”

Morgana sighed and said, “I wish I did, too… If I had water morphing powers, I could probably get a cute merguy like Beck to notice me.”

Guilt tugged at Pru’s heart like a lobster’s claw when her first thought was, “Yeah, probably.” She slapped her fins hard on the rock, feeling like she deserved the sting she felt in them afterward.

“Don’t be silly,” Pru said, “I bet a lot of guys notice you and they’re just too shy to talk to you.”

Morgana said, “Maybe. But it doesn’t matter that much. Sometimes I think it’d be nice to have a boyfriend. But I don’t really need a boyfriend.”
Pru and Morgna heard a splash behind them. They looked behind them to see Nerida rising up to sit on the rock next to them. Pru remembered what Morgana had told her about Nerida bullying her. Nerida looked up and sneered.
“I didn’t know you two would be here,” Nerida said.
“We didn’t know you would be here, either,” Pru said.
Nerida ignored Pru and said to Morgana, “Hey seagull, could you please go away and take your tacky friend with you? I wanna lure a ship without you messing it up again with your hideous voice.”
It wasn’t Nerida’s insult to Pru that made Pru furious - it was Nerida’s insult to Morgana. Without thinking, Pru lashed her hand out and felt energy rush through it. A wave of water loomed over Nerida and hit her, throwing her off the rock. In the water, Nerida spluttered and stared with huge eyes at Pru.
“You little- You- You squidworm!” Nerida shrieked.
Pru stared at Nerida. Nerida screamed at her and dove into the sea, whipping her tail so some water splashed onto Pru and Morgana. Pru looked at Morgana, who bit her lips.
Morgana finally said, “You didn’t have to do that.”
“Yeah I did,” Pru said, “I couldn’t help it. I can’t stand to see her pick on you.”
“I know,” Morgana said, “But it wasn’t really fair… And it was kind of dangerous.”
“Ugh don’t give me that, Morgana,” Pru said, “I already have a grandma, thank you.”
Morgana and Pru laughed. Pru noticed that Morgana’s laugh was weak.
***

“How about you, Dathan?” Pru asked her friend, Dathan, a young merman her age, “Do you wanna come see the old castle in Gray Murk Valley? Cari and Morgana and I are going.”
“Let me guess,” Dathan said, “This was your idea.”
“Yep,” Pru said, “You in or not?”
“I’m in,” Dathan said and smiled.
“Great,” Pru said.
Then Pru saw Beck coming out of the school. Beck saw her and darted over to her side. Pru felt the warm feeling again.
“Did I hear something about going to Gray Murk Valley?” Beck asked.
“Yeah,” Pru said, “We’re going to investigate the old castle there.”
“Can I come?” Beck asked.
“Of course,” Pru said.
Beck took Pru’s hand and held it. Pru felt like she would melt.
Beck, Dathan, and Pru met Cari and Morana at the castle. It was in a valley that deserved its name. Everything seemed gray here. They laughed and joked about ghosts as they entered the broken up stone castle, which was dim on the inside.
Morgana swam next to Pru for a little bit.
“Hey,” Pru said to Morgana, “I want to take you to meet a giant squid I found at Blind Trench.”
“What?” Morgana laughed.
“Her name is Darya,” Pru said, “No joke. She’s really nice - you gotta meet her.”
Morgana laughed again and said, “Okay, you’ll have to introduce me to Darya someday.”
Cari, Morgana, and Dathan saw an old portrait on the wall and went over to it and talked about it, speculating that the man in the painting still haunted the castle.
Pru almost lurched when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She sighed when she saw that it was Beck behind her. She turned to face him. He grabbed her hand.
“Come on,” he said and smiled before adding, “Let’s go explore a little - just you and me.”
“Okay,” Pru said, trying not to swoon.
He took her into a little hallway that branched off the main one and then into a small, cluttered room. It was dark. A lone longtooth grouper hovered in the room.
“Look,” Beck said and pointed at a chest under the fish, “It’s like he’s guarding the treasure chest.”
Pru laughed.
“Let’s see what’s in it,” Beck said.
Beck took Pru over to the chest. The longtooth grouper swam away. They opened it up. Inside there were golden coins. Beck let go of Pru’s hand and dug into the coins, holding them up to see them.
“Yeah that’s treasure,” Beck said, “Too bad it’s not worth anything to merpeople.”
Beck tossed them back into the treasure chest.
“I wonder whose it was,” Pru said, “And what they were like.”
“Yeah,” Beck said.
With Beck bending over to look at the coins in the chest, Pru got to stare at his curly hair. She wanted so badly to touch it. Beck straightened up. He gazed down at her and smiled.
“Could you show me another water morphing trick?” Beck asked.
Pru felt a thrill course through her and she said, “Sure.”
She raised her arms and felt energy surging through her like swarms of mackerel rushing through her. She caused the water to swirl back and forth in the room, and then spin around - tossing objects around. Soon, there was a wide whirlpool rushing around Beck and Pru. Papers, goblets, boxes, and books raced around them. Beck gawked at the spectacle. She then stopped the storm of objects, and reversed their course, making the whirlpool suddenly rotate in the opposite direction. Then she stopped it again. Now, she made the current ripple in bouncing motions. The objects seemed to dance around them. She strengthened the current until even a heavy chair joined the objects in their strange jumping motions. She let the current pick up Beck and herself. Then she isolated the current only to them. Now she made the current surge smoothly forward, carrying them out of the room, sharply turning it so they veered into the hall, and through a door. Pru and Beck laughed as she let the current slow down until they came to a stop in a room with a spiral staircase slithering up inside a tower.

Pru delighted at the sound of Beck’s laughter.

“That was amazing!” Beck said.

“Thanks,” Pru said.

Their laughter died down a little after a bit and they smiled at each other.

“You’re better than everyone else,” Beck said, “You’re like a goddess with those water morphing powers. You could take over the sea with them.”

Pru made a tiny current nudge Beck a little closer to her.

“I think I’d be more interested in taking over your heart, Beck,” Pru said.

“Pru,” Beck said, “You already have.”

Pru looked outside the doorway and saw Morgana at the end of the hallway, who looked away from them and swam off.
***

“How was that not showing off?” Morgana scoffed.

“Okay so I was showing off,” Pru said, tearing seaweed out of the sand on the seafloor, “I wanted to impress Beck with my water morphing powers. So what?”

“It’s not just that you wanted to impress Beck that’s the problem,” Morgana said, “It’s the principle. You keep showing off and you’ll start getting greedy with your powers. It just leads you down a passage you don’t wanna go down.”
Pru scowled at Morgana and said, “What kind of mermaid do you think I am? You think I’m a sea witch or something? It’s not like I’m gonna try to take over the ocean. I’ll admit I was flirting but it’s not that big a deal.”
Morgana thumped her tail, causing sand to swirl up in clouds around her fins.
“You’re not listening to me,” Morgana said.
Morgana put her head on one hand and closed her eyes. Pru had never seen Morgana this upset with her.
“Pru,” Morgana said, still closing her eyes, “Just be careful, all right? I’m just worried for you.”
“I’m not sure why you’re worried,” Pru said, “But okay I’ll be careful. I gotta go. Beck and I are meeting at Coral Circle and then we’re going to a little beach.”
Morgana opened her eyes and managed to smile and ask, “Is this your first date with him?”
Pru grinned and nodded.
“Hey,” Morgana said and turned her head to the side, looking at Pru out of the corner of her eye and smiling before asking, “Does your grandma know about this?”
Pru smiled, feeling slightly guilty as she shook her head and said, “No.”
Pru swam off before Morgana could comment.

***

Pru dug her fins into the soft white sand. Turquoise water rippled gently in front of her, sometimes caressing her fins. A breeze glided across her cheek and made the palm branches above her whisper. Pru could not tame her wild heart beat when she felt Beck put his fingers on her fingers.

“Pru Tempest,” Pru felt as if her scales rippled when Beck said her name, “I’ve never met anyone who I understood so well. It’s like…”

“We have the same thoughts,” Pru helped Beck finish, “Like we were the same merperson once. Like we’re meant for each other.”

Pru felt like she was releasing herself into an open blue velvety sea; she had never trusted someone so much and it was liberating. She looked up at Beck, who looked back. They swam in each other’s eyes. Pru watched Beck move closer and she moved closer, too. Finally, their lips met. Pru felt like flames were coursing across her face, her veins, her tail. She felt Beck’s fingers move into her hair. She wrapped her arms around his neck. Nothing had ever felt more right to her.

Beck stopped the kiss and they sat quietly, their foreheads pressed against each other.

“Do you trust me?” Beck whispered.

Pru shivered when she felt his breath on her face.

“Yes,” she said.

“Would you tell me anything?” Beck asked.

Pru closed her eyes.

“Yes,” she said, “I would tell you anything.”

“Then tell me the secret to your powers,” Beck said.

Pru moved away.


“Why?” Pru asked.

“Because we’re together now, Pru,” Beck said, “We have to trust each other. That means no secrets.”

“Do you trust me?” Pru asked.

“I don’t know,” Beck said, “Maybe not if you’re going to hide things from me.”

Pru and Beck stared at each other. This was a new type of gaze. They looked at each other with masked expressions - like sharks sizing each other up before a fight.

“Not yet,” Pru said, “I’ll tell you some time. But not until we know each other better.”

“All right,” Beck said, “Fair enough.”

They sat quietly for a moment.

Pru focused on a bit of water in front of her and willed it to move in a tiny, sparkling stream into the air. She made it twirl around in the air and then made it splash Beck’s cheek. Beck laughed and Pru smiled, glad she could break the tension.

“You really are superior to the other mermaids,” Beck said, “None of them can make water do what they want it to do. There’s something different about you, Pru. Something better than everyone else. Why else would you be able to control the ocean?”

Pru shrugged and said, “I don’t really think I’m better than anyone…”

“Don’t even try that,” Beck laughed, “You’re better and you know it.”

Pru moved her tail a little. She wasn’t sure she liked the newly inflating feeling she had that he was right.
***

Dathan swam up to Pru as they left the school and smiled.

“Hey Pru,” he said, “Morgana and Cari and I are gonna go see a pod of dolphins Cari saw. You coming?”

“Uh I don’t know,” Pru said, “I might have plans for tonight.”

Dathan swam in front of Pru, blocking her path.

“You always have plans,” Dathan said.

For the first time, Pru saw Dathan angry. His dark brown eyes drilled into her and his jaw was clenched.

“Ever since you’ve been with Beck,” Dathan said, “This whole month you haven’t had time for anyone but him.”

“What do you expect?” Pru shot back, “We’re in love.”

“If he really loved you he would let you be with your friends,” Dathan said.

Pru’s jaw dropped and she felt her fists clench until her nails dug into her palms.

“How could you say he doesn’t love me?” Pru said, her voice becoming louder, “Are you saying I’m not good enough for him? I guess it just doesn’t make sense that a little freak like me could ever be loved by Beck. That’s it, isn’t it?”

“Pru what are you talking about?” Dathan said.

“Don’t ever say anything like that again,” Pru seethed.

“Pru…” Dathan said, now looking at her right hand.

She realized he was looking at the bubbles forming around her hands. She was boiling water. Pru absorbed the energy back into herself. She felt the energy burn her spirit a little before seeping back into the scales they came from. She looked at Dathan.

“...You’ve changed,” Dathan said.

Now Dathan looked as if he were seeing a different person. He frowned as he stared at her.

Then Pru felt Beck take her hand.

“What’s going on?” Beck asked.

Dathan said with a blank expression, “Nothing.”

Dathan swam away.

Beck looked at Pru and asked, “Hey what happened?”

Pru forced a smile and said, “Nothing. Why do you think something happened?”

Beck tightened his grip on her hand and said, “Don’t lie to me, Pru. What were you talking about with Dathan?”

“...He said you didn’t really love me,” Pru said.

Beck’s grip became even tighter as he said, “Don’t listen to him. You know I love you more than anything. He’s probably jealous. He wishes he could have your power and he wishes he could steal you from me.”

Pru said, “Yeah, you might be right.”

“I am right,” Beck said, “Hey. Why don’t we go on a date tonight? That would help you relax.”

“I love that idea,” Pru said, already feeling the muscles in her tail relaxing at the idea.

“Great,” Beck said, “I’ll pick you up at your house.”
***

Pru sat on a rock close to the coral arch entrance to the front garden of her grandma’s house. Her grandma was writing a letter inside.

Pru realized her tail was twitching and stopped it. The sun was beginning to set; Beck would arrive soon.

Pru lurched when she heard a snapping sound. She looked down at the sand and saw a pistol shrimp snapping its giant claw near a black goby. The black goby stopped swimming, stunned by the impact of the sound of the snapping claw. The pistol shrimp moved toward the little fish. Pru snatched the black goby away from the shrimp. She looked at the little fish. Its tiny eyes looked back at her. She smiled at the tiny fish.
She knew the fish couldn’t reply, but she sonalized, “Hello there. I’m glad I saw you before anything bad happened. You should be more careful - pistol shrimps are just out to eat you, you know.”
After a little bit, the black goby moved its tail a little. Pru released him at a patch of coral that was far away from where the pistol shrimp had been. She watched the black goby swim around before she returned to her spot by the entrance to the garden.
Beck came through the coral arch. Pru noticed he was carrying a sack. She felt guilty for guessing that there was a gift for her in it. She rose from her rock. Beck put his hands on her arms and brought her close. They kissed.
“Pru?” Pru and Beck backed away from each other and Pru whirled around when she heard her grandma’s voice.
Her grandma stood with her mouth hanging open.
“I thought you said you were going out with all your friends,” Pru’s grandma said.
“No I-” Pru stammered, “I didn’t think you would come out. Aren’t you writing a letter?”
“I finished,” Pru’s grandma said, “I came out to say bye to you and your friends.”
Pru’s grandma pursed her lips. Her tail was stiff.
Pru said, “There’s been a change of plans. I’m just going with Beck now.”
“Beck,” Pru’s grandma said with a voice as cold as icy seawater as she looked at Beck, “I don’t believe we’ve met.”
Beck cleared his throat and said, “No, ma’am. I don’t think we have.”
Pru’s grandma looked back at Pru and asked, “So how long have you two been dating now?”
Beck said, “About a month, ma’am.”
Pru wished she could bury herself under the sea floor and stay there forever as her grandma gazed at her.
“Pru,” Pru’s grandma said, “May I speak with you for a moment?”
Pru followed her grandma into the garden behind the house.
“Pru Tempest,” Pru’s grandmother hissed, “Were you ever actually going out with your friends at all this month when you said you were?”
“No,” Pru confessed, “I was going out with Beck.”
“Why did you lie to me?” Pru’s grandma said, “And why haven’t you been going out with your friends at all?”
“I- I don’t know why I lied to you,” Pru said, “I mean do I have to tell you everything, Grandma?”
Pru’s grandma sighed, “I guess you’re getting old enough you don’t have to tell me everything. But why haven’t you been seeing your friends?”
“I’ve been spending time with Beck,” Pru said.
“Is he not letting you be with your friends?” Pru’s grandma shot another question at Pru.
“What? No! Grandma can I please go now?” Pru said.
“No,” Pru’s grandmother said, “I don’t think you’ve thought this through enough. Pru, you’ve hardly been at home at all this month. I didn’t think much of it because I thought you were with all your friends but… And you haven’t been yourself, either. You’ve been angrier lately and your performance at school is slipping.”
“Grandma,” Pru said, “Beck loves me and I love him. I’m happier with him than I’ve ever been in my life.”
“Yes but what about when you’re not with him?” Pru’s grandma said, “Is this relationship strengthening you as you live your life, or is it weakening you? How much of you is he controlling? How does he make you feel about yourself?”
“Grandma, please!” Pru said, “Stop asking all these questions! Can I please go, now? Beck is waiting.”
“Does he believe in Poseidon?” Pru’s grandma shot another question at her.
“No,” Pru said, “But why does that matter? Grandma, I’m going now.”
“Pru, wait, think about this!” Pru’s grandma called after her.
Pru left her grandmother and swam up to Beck.
“Come on,” Pru said to Beck, “Let’s get out of here.”
***

The tips of Pru’s fingers turned white as she pressed them on the edge of the rock she and Beck were sitting on. She stared at the red sunset, letting herself be absorbed by the burning colors. Beck wrapped an arm around Pru.

“Relax,” Beck whispered, “It’s okay. I’ve got you.”

Pru closed her eyes and said, “Say you’ve got me again.”

“I’ve got you, Pru,” Beck whispered, “And I’ll never let go.”
Pru buried her face into Beck’s chest. She let herself sob. Beck kissed her hair.
“Your grandmother betrayed you,” Beck said, “But you can trust me. I love you.”
Beck took her face in one hand and wiped Pru’s tears away with the other. Pru smiled as she gazed into Beck’s eyes. When they kissed, Pru wished they could stay there on that rock forever.
“Do you trust me enough to tell me your secret, now?” Beck asked Pru.
Pru hesitated. She looked at Beck, the man who called her his beloved and was able to wipe her tears away.
“Yes,” Pru said, “I’ll tell you.”
She pointed to the scales that stored her powers.
“That’s where water morphing powers come from,” Pru said.
Beck whipped something out of his sack. It was sharp and it gleamed in the red sun’s light. He slid it across the place Pru was pointing to. It was a knife - Beck had sliced her water morphing scales off. Pru gaped at the revealed flesh on her tail. Beck clutched her scales in his hand and the scales glowed with blinding light that trickled through the cracks between his fingers. His eyes were wild and he smiled so that every tooth was showing, like a great white shark in an attack.
Pru fell on her side on the rock and watched as her vision began to blur. Her powers had been stolen from her and now she was too weak to even sit up. She panted, exhausted. She shrieked when she felt a massive, hot wave of water crash into her. The wave sent her flying into the sea. Beck then used the stolen water morphing powers again to make a massive, roaring whirlpool that sucked Pru in almost instantly. Pru heard Beck’s laughter just as she was dragged under water.
The whirlpool threw her around and she saw nothing but blur. She didn’t know what was up or down. Her limbs ached as she was whipped around. She yelped when she was thrown against the rock. She screamed as the whirlpool’s current became even more rapid and the temperature began rising.She felt hot water rushing over her skin and gasped, taking hot water into her lungs. She struggled to regain control, but was helpless.
Two days later, she was still being thrown around in the whirlpool. Agony was washing over her body and she felt her lungs burning. She needed air. For a moment, she thought she saw a merperson-like figure, but it was gone in an instant.
Then, the whirlpool stopped. She hovered underwater, too weak to swim. She felt Beck grab her arm and jerk her over to the rock. He pulled her up and turned head so that one ear was above water. Her nose and mouth were still underwater. She was too weak to struggle.
She could sense Beck’s lips right next to her ear.
“You know,” Beck whispered, “You are the stupidest girl I have ever met.”
Beck laughed into her ear.
What Beck had said was more painful than the flames Pru felt licking her lungs because she knew it was true. She was the stupidest girl she had ever met, too.
Darkness began to cloud her vision.
For the first time in a month, Pru prayed. She prayed, “Poseidon, I thought I could handle life without you. I thought I was too good for my friends, even too good for my grandma. I thought Beck was all I needed. Forgive me. And give me another chance. Please, just for one moment, I want my powers back.”
Pru felt the old water morphing powers rush back into her dying body. She released it on the sky and black clouds rumbled forth. Everything became dark under the clouds. Rain poured almost horizontally in the wind. Pru listened to the sounds of the drops smacking the surface of the sea, which was now churning in big waves from the howling wind. Thunder cracked the air and blinding, white lightning split the clouds. “This won’t just kill Beck,” Pru thought, “It will kill me, too. But it has to be done. Beck will take over the sea if he lives - just like he said I could’ve done. I’m going to die, anyway.” She closed her eyes and let a sudden burst of water morphing energy burst out of her, summoning the lightning toward Beck and her. She felt Beck’s grip tighten and then release as the lightning went through him. Then the lightning hit her.
***
Morgana found Pru and Beck floating in the sea, limp. Morgana swam over to Pru’s beaten body and hugged her. She cried out and sobbed into Pru’s hair.
“Pru,” Morgana’s sobbing voice broke the air.
Her face contorted and she cried with her mouth open in silent screaming. Tears streamed down her cheeks. Behind her, police approached. Also crying, her mom took her away and cradled her in her arms.
“Poseidon,” Morgana’s mom whispered, “Help us.”

Morgana didn’t listen to the pastor’s speech at Pru Tempest’s funeral. She didn’t cry like Cari. She didn’t clench her jaw and blink tears away like Dathan. She stared.
Golden sunlight shined through the surface that day. Colorful fish swam about. Morgana watched a bright pink fish dart by. She shoved the thought that it reminded her of Pru out of her mind.
“A mergirl named Nerida found Pru,” Morgana heard a mermaid whisper
When the service was over, she overheard someone whispering about how Nerida had found Beck drowning Pru, told Morgana, and then gotten the police.
***

Morgana heard Cari at the front door asking her mom, “Is Morgana home?”

Morgana’s mom said, “Yes. Hold on a moment.”

Her mom swam into Morgana’s room, where Morgana hovered idley.

“Honey,” Morgana’s mom said to her, “It’s your friends - Cari and Dathan. Do you want to go talk to them?”

Morgana said, “No, thanks. Tell them I feel sick.”

“Morgana, I think you should talk to them,” said Morgana’s mom, “You haven’t spoken with them since school ended.”

Morgana didn’t answer her mom. She turned her back on her mom and swam over to her column. She twisted her tail around the column, securing herself, and closed her eyes so she could wait for sleep to take her away. She listened to her mom send her friends off.
***

Morgana released the sleep column and darted, waking up because she had heard a scream. Then she realized it had been her own scream. She looked around her room. The dull sunlight that poured in through her window made her lavender-colored walls look more gray. She hugged her torso and shivered, wondering why the water in her room had been feeling so cold lately. It was summer, so it should have been warm.

“Morgana,” Morgana looked up and saw her dad in the doorway.

“It’s time for lunch,” he said.

Morgana shook her head and mumbled, “I’m not hungry.”

Her dad came over and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. He took her out of her room.

“Well,” he said, “It would be good for you to eat something.”

Morgana wrapped her tail around her chair at the table. She poked her fork into the grilled fish and shoved it in her mouth. It didn’t taste like anything and it took a lot of effort to swallow - she felt like she might choke on it.

“What do you think, Morgana?” Morgana lurched when she heard her mom say her name.

“What?” Morgana asked.

“We were talking about your school’s schedule change for next year,” Morgana’s dad told her, “What do you think of it?”

“Oh,” Morgana said, “I think it’s fine.”

Morgana finished her lunch and swam back to her bedroom. Her mom followed her.

“Let us help you,” Morgana’s mom said from behind her, “It’s not healthy for you to keep your grief locked up.”

Morgana gritted her teeth. Her tail stiffened.

Her back was still facing her mom when she said, “I can’t face my grief. I’m afraid of it.”

“Morgana-” her mom started to say.

Morgana went over to her sleep column and wrapped her tail around it again, ready to go back to sleep.

Morgana awoke with a lurch, saying, “It was my fault.”

She looked around. The moon cast white light into her room, creating harsh shadows that seemed to be closing in on her. Her heart was racing. She felt a tinge of something she had been evading ever since Pru’s death - emotion. “No,” she thought, “I can’t take that.”

Morgana let go of the sleep column and raced out of her bedroom, through the hall, and out of the house. She bolted through the coral garden, glancing at the usually gorgeous coral branches which now looked like skeletal fingers trying to snatch at her fins. Morgana swam as fast as she could for as long as she could. A few times, she swerved around big dark figures moving through the water - most likely sharks.
She finally stopped at a trench that stretched deep into the earth. The moonlight wasn’t able to reach into its black water. It was Blind Trench.
Morgana had not taken a breath of air in four days. She had been acting like she was going up for air every day so her parents wouldn’t be suspicious. She would need to surface for air in the morning, or she would die. She knew that if she swam deep enough into the trench, there wouldn’t be enough time to swim back up for air and she would drown. Morgana remembered the last time the thought had crossed her mind, when Nerida had abandoned her. “How silly that seems now,” Morgana thought.
Morgana dove down into the trench. Some of her scales glowed with blue light, showing horrendous shapes in the rocky walls that sometimes looked like the faces of monsters. She swam past angler fish with long, vicious fangs and goblin sharks with cold gazes. The water was freezing. She swam so quickly downward she felt as if she was falling into the dark pit.
She began to thrash her tail more frantically, panicking as she felt the emotions flooding inside her begin to overflow. She cried out when she began to feel tears filling her eyes. Her soul physically ached.
“No,” she told herself, “Stop.”
An image of Pru with her pink hair floating up in the water and her hazel eyes sparkling with mischief struck Morgana’s mind like lightning. She gritted her teeth in agony.
Snippets of past conversations with Pru darted into her memory. Pru’s laughter echoed in her ears. Morgana started bumping into the walls of the trench, scraping her skin. That didn’t bother her. She was trying to escape the pain in her heart.
“Pru,” Morgana whispered.
Morgana let out a sob. The pain freed itself from the prison inside and she stopped swimming and screamed out.
“It’s my fault,” she cried out as she held onto the rocky wall, “I killed Pru. I should have taken her away from Beck! I am a murderer.”
Morgana clawed the rock. Then she let go of it and breathed out, purposefully making herself more dense so she sank for a while.
“Did you say Pru?” Morgana heard a deep female voice ask in her mind.
She turned and saw a giant squid in front of her.
“Darya?” Morgana whispered; her voice was already a little constricted from lack of air.
The giant squid looked at Morgana with her giant, golden eye.
“Yes,” the squid answered through thoughts, “I am Darya.”
“Pru is dead,” Morgana said, “Because of me.”
Darya’s tentacles stiffened a little.
“Dead?” Darya said.
“I should have gotten her away from Beck,” Morgana continued, “I knew there was something wrong. Why didn’t I just tell her to get away from him?”
“What happened to Pru and who is Beck?” Darya said.
“Beck was her… Boyfriend. Pru had these water morphing powers and that’s all Beck loved about her. He pretended she was all he cared about and he got her to depend on him and stay away from her family and friends. I knew she was in danger with him, but I didn’t say anything. Beck stole her powers and tried to kill her… This mermaid named Nerida saw him drowning her. She got me and the police and we found them both dead.”
Morgana’s voice was raspy with misery and slight suffocation.
“This is not your fault,” Darya said, “What is your name?”
“Morgana.”
“Morgana, this is not your fault,” Darya said, “Pru already seemed to me a strong-willed mermaid when I met her. Do you think she would have listened to you?”
Morgana remembered all the times Pru had rejected her advice.
“...No,” Morgana said.
“And that is why you never talked to her about Beck,” Darya said, “You knew she wouldn’t listen to you, and so you thought it would be best to let her come to the conclusion that he wasn’t trustworthy on her own. And how were you supposed to know Beck would try to steal her powers and kill her?”
Morgana thought about what Darya had said.
She shook her head and whimpered, “Why did Poseidon let her die?”
Darya said, “Poseidon is infinitely more complex than the universe he created. We could never understand why He does what He does. Perhaps He did not truly let her die. Perhaps Pru was ignoring Him as He tried to bring her out of danger. That is a tragic mistake we all commit and sometimes it has harsher consequences than other times.”
“Are you saying it might have been Pru’s own fault?” Morgana said.
“I am merely saying we cannot blame Poseidon,” Darya said.
Morgana felt her lungs burning for air.
She wheezed, “Darya, I think… I think I want to live.”
“Then swim, child,” Darya urged, “Swim to the surface!”
Morgana flicked her tail and swam forward, and slightly upward. Swimming straight upward would kill her because of the sudden pressure change. Morgana swam as quickly as she could, whipping her tail like she had never whipped it before. She reached her hands up, desparate for the surface. Her whole body ached and was beginning to seize up. Her swimming was already weakening and she could not see a ray of daylight.
“Delmar!” Morgana sonalized, “Kelby! Someone, help!”
She felt adrenaline pumping through her blood, making her skin and scale ripple with energy. Her swimming slowed down even more and she began to sink a little. She gritted her teeth and kicked, ignoring the agony in her muscles. She saw dim sunlight above. She grabbed a rocky side of the trench and pulled, helping herself move more quickly upward.
“Alamar,” She sonalized, “Edmar!”
Her lungs felt like they would combust. She kept swimming up. Finally, she saw the opening of the trench. Morning sunlight bathed her fingers and face as she swam up. She made her way out of the trench. She could see the ripples of the surface. Her vision clouded with darkness and she fought to keep them open. She could no longer kick her tail, though. Her tail only twitched. She hovered below the surface. “No,” She thought, “I don’t want to die.” She reached her arms up and stretched her fingers out toward the shining ripples on the surface high above her. She closed her eyes. “Poseidon,” She prayed, “I don’t want to die yet. I shouldn’t have tried to die. I know you love me and that you can get me through the pain… Please… I want to be alive.”
She opened her eyes. Nothing happened. She was still in the water.
Maybe it was time for her to die.
She silently mouthed, “No,” for she had no voice left.
She felt tears climb out of her eyes.
Morgana felt her muscles relaxing. She closed her eyes again and prayed, “Okay. Poseidon, if you really want me to die now, that’s fine because… You know what? I know your will is best for me and everyone else. I… I trust you.”
For the first time in she didn’t know how long, she felt herself smile.
As she slipped away into darkness, she felt arms wrap around her. She waited to see light - to see Poseidon. There was only blackness, though. That’s how she knew she had only lost consciousness.
***
Morgana choked up saltwater when she woke up. She watched the water stream over the side of the rock she was laying on while she panted. She looked up to see Nerida sitting next to her.
“Nerida?” Morgana said and coughed before asking, “You saved me?”
Nerida looked at Morgana and said, “Yeah. One of your sharks came over to me. I followed it and found you.”
“Oh,” Morgana said, “Well thank you. Thank you so much, Nerida.”
“No problem,” Nerida said.
Morgana saw something different in Nerida’s eyes since they had last met… They looked more serious. Her mouth didn’t smirk as usual.
“You’re not stupid enough to forget to take a breath of air before taking a dive like that,” Nerida said, “You wanted to die.”
Morgana was silent for a moment before saying, “Yes. I wanted to die.”
Tears welled up in her eyes. “Pru,” she thought.
Then she realized Nerida had tears in her eyes, too.
“Well,” Nerida said in a quivering voice, “You’re not the only one.”
A tear raced from one of Nerida’s eye, and then one from the other.
“That girl’s face,” Nerida sobbed, “Haunts me whenever I close my eyes.”
Nerida looked off into the distance and her face contorted into a pathetic and tortured expression.
“Her eyes closed,” Nerida said, “Her mouth open. So pale… Blood in her hair. And the last time I talked to her, I hurt her. If I swam faster… If I screamed louder for the police, maybe she would still be alive.”
Morgana sat up and moved over to Nerida. She hugged her.
“No,” Morgana said, “You did all you could.”
“But I hurt her, Morgana!” Nerida said, “The last time she saw me, I was vicious to her.”
Morgana cried with Nerida and said, “Well there’s nothing we can do to wipe away the past. It’s done. But we can pray.”
Nerida nodded and whimpered, “Okay. Let’s pray.”
Morgana closed her eyes and said, “Poseidon, we are so tired. We miss Pru. We feel guilty for our mistakes - our shortcomings as Pru Tempest’s friends. We ask for your forgiveness. We desire peace and hope, Poseidon. And strength as we move forward in our lives. We want to change, Poseidon. Thank you. We love you.”
Morgana let go of Nerida, who said with a sniffle, “Thank you.”
Morgana nodded and said, “Neither of us will ever forget Pru. Let’s use that memory to help us be better mermaids.”
Nerida nodded.
“I was so cruel to you,” Nerida said, “I don’t deserve your forgiveness, Morgana. But just know that you’re the kindest mermaid I’ve ever met.”
Morgana tried to contain her surprise as she said, “Thank you, Nerida. And don’t worry - I forgive you.”
Nerida smiled and Morgana noticed that it looked like a real smile, something she hadn’t seen on Nerida since they were little girls.
“You don’t understand how much that means to me,” Nerida said.
Morgana thought for a bit about that and realized that Nerida had almost lost had almost lost her second chance with Morgana just like she had with Pru. They sat quietly for a while before saying goodbye and parting to go home.
When Morgana got home, she saw her parents hovering in the garden. They swam over to her and hugged her, crying.
“We thought you…” Morgana’s mom couldn’t finish her sentence.
“It’s okay,” Morgana said, “I’m here to stay, Mom and Dad.”
“Morgana,” her dad said, “We love you so much.”
“I love you too,” Morgana sobbed.
She cried with them until her eyes finally had no tears left.
They stopped hugging and went inside to talk.
***

It was still the first part of summer when Dathan came to Morgana’s house and knocked on her front door. Morgana opened it and smiled.

“Morgana,” Dathan said, “I haven’t seen you since… In a long time.”

Morgana hugged Dathan and whispered, “It’s so good to see you again.”

When they parted, Morgana fought tears away and laughed weakly when she saw tears in Dathan’s eyes.

“I think we need to talk,” Dathan said, “You, me, and Cari at Coral Circle. How about tomorrow?”

“Sure,” Morgana said.

“Okay,” Dathan said, “See you tomorrow.”

“See you.”
***
On the day of the trio’s meeting at Coral Circle, rain clouds were rolling across the sky. Rain drops hit the surface, making little noises. The friends lay next to each other on the sandy floor, watching the pattern of drops hitting the surface above them. They all knew every one of them was releasing tears from their eyes into the ocean as they remembered Pru.
“We didn’t even know her that long,” Cari said, “We became friends with her so quickly. She was so nice and fun.”
“And brave,” Morgana’s voice quivered when she added, “She used to swim down to the bottom of the scariest trenches.”
Dathan took Morgana’s hand in his.
“She was funny, too,” Dathan said, “Remember that weird song she made up about manatees?”

They all sang the little song’s chorus with voices strained from crying:
Manatees,
Manatees,
Chubby, chubby manatees.

They laughed and cried at the same time after singing the song.

“I have something to tell you both,” Morgana said, “I… I tried to drown myself. Don’t yell at me yet that’s not the point of the story. I realized I didn’t really want to die, so I tried to get to the surface but I lost consciousness. I woke up on a rock above water and there was Nerida. Nerida had rescued me.”

“Nerida?” Cari said, “Whoa. Well I’m not that surprised that she saved you. She’s mean but I can’t see her just letting you drown. Now can I yell at you?”

“Not yet,” Morgana said, “I’m not done. Nerida caught on right away that I had been trying to kill myself. And you know what she said? She said she wanted to die, too. She said she couldn’t stand the memory of Pru dying because she had just been so mean to her. Guys, she was crying. I hugged her and asked her if she wanted to pray and she said yes so we prayed. Then she said I was the kindest mermaid I ever met.”
Cari and Dathan widened their eyes and furrowed their eyebrows.
“You’re sure this is Nerida you’re talking about?” Cari said.
“Yep,” Morgana said.
“Wow,” Dathan said, “That’s incredible.”
“Yeah,” Cari said, “I guess this had changed all of us, really.”
Dathan and Morgana nodded.
***

Morgana knocked on Pru’s grandmother’s door.

Pru’s grandma opened the door and Morgana felt her heart sinking when she saw that all the warmth was gone from the elderly lady’s brown eyes. Morgana hugged Pru’s grandma and Pru’s grandma sobbed. Morgana swallowed her tears.

They went into the house and Morgana comforted her much like she had comforted Nerida. Morgana knew Poseidon was healing her heart so she could heal others’.