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He could call her to him and tell her of his love.

No, it would be boorish to command her to attend him. She had retreated to her palace already.

He would go to her, to court her on land, where she had power and authority. He would win her by the strength of his arms, the perfection of his face, and the transcendent beauty of his voice, not with his title or authority.

Kaerius darted out of the bay to the deep water and circled far around the place where his father would be before diving deeper into the abyss.

Chapter 6

Lord of the Deep!” Kaerius sang softly, his voice laced with power.

“You dare intrude upon me again, little prince?” The voice startled Kaerius both with its nearness and the deep, quiet mirth in it. “You are brave, indeed.”

“You were gracious to me once, so I dared imagine you might be so again,” the prince said. A Mer of lesser courage would have already fled, but Kaerius’s voice did not even shake, and he smiled, pleased with himself. His heart thudded with fear, but he would not acknowledge it.

“Flattery,” rumbled the kraken, “is boring.”

“It is the truth,” said Kaerius, putting all his earnest excitement into his voice and his smile. It was too dark for him to see the kraken, but if the kraken could see him, he would see Kaerius’s confidence. “I have come to request your aid in a matter of great importance to me.”

Water shifted softly around the Mer prince, as if the kraken were moving beneath and around him on all sides, but he heard no response for nearly a full minute.

“Why should I care about what troubles you?” said the creature at last. “The conflicts of the Mer are of no import to me.”

“I do not ask you to care,” conceded Kaerius. “I ask only for your aid. I have heard the legends of your magic, and I think you are powerful enough even for this.”

The kraken was silent, and Kaerius had the disconcerting impression it was moving away from him, as if entirely uninterested in his words.

“I love a human!” Kaerius said hurriedly. “I wish to court her upon land. Is your magic strange enough and strong enough to give me legs?”

There was a faint rumble, but Kaerius could not decipher any identifiable emotion or question from it. He waited, his heartbeat thudding in his ears, for the kraken’s next words.

“Why should I indulge your impulsive rebellion against your father?” said the creature at last.

“It is not merely rebellion,” Kaerius snapped. “I love her with all my heart, and—”

“All your heart,” murmured the kraken, his soft voice strangely incongruous with the click of his beak. “Am I supposed to be impressed?”

Kaerius’s chest heaved with his offended fury. “I don’t care about your opinion!” he cried. “I want to make a bargain with you! What do you want in return for your aid?”

“You want legs and lungs,” said the creature, with an edge of menace in his soft voice. “That is a great deal of magic. What will you wager with me for the legs you so desire?”

Kaerius’s skin tingled with reckless hope and desire. “A wager?” he asked, trying not to sound too eager. “I had planned to offer you a song to make this dark abyss as bright and magnificent as any sunrise.”

Water shifted, and Kaerius strained to see anything of the beast’s monstrous shape in the inky depths.

“Your voice is rather pretty,” said the kraken, as if conceding a point in an argument. “And I think it would be more than a little enjoyable to sing to myself with it when I am bored. Give me your voice, little prince, and I will give you the legs you wish for.”

The Mer prince narrowed his eyes, imagining that the kraken might be able to see him. “For how long?”

“Forever,” murmured the kraken, in a voice like despair.

Kaerius felt strangely cold. “No.” His voice cracked. “I can’t give my voice away forever. My father… I can’t do that to him. I will give it to you only for a short time, and you must swear not to use it to harm my people.”

A soft laugh sounded, cold and alien, and the kraken said, “Are you in a position to be dictating terms, little prince?”

“You want what I have,” said Kaerius proudly. “I will lend it to you. Give me legs and human lungs and everything else necessary to live as a human for one month. If, at the end of that month, she loves me, then you must give me back my voice, and you must give me legs or tail as I please, whenever I please, for the rest of my natural life, and the same for her, so that we may rule happily on both land and sea and never have to be separated!”

“And if at the end of that month, she does not love you, I keep your voice for myself?” mused the Lord of the Deep. “It is an appealing offer. If she does not reciprocate your love at the end of thirty days, I keep your voice, and you lose your life and title.”