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CHAPTER TEN

“Why are you here, Princess?” the Sea Witch asked. Or rather, Nerissa asked. Celeste had almost forgotten that the Sea Witch of lore had a name. Nerissa stared at Celeste with large, liquid-black, pupilless eyes. This, too, was a surprise. Celeste had always pictured her with glowing red eyes, pointed fingers that could tear skin, and shark teeth. The shark teeth had sort of been a common theme.

The siren before her was nothing like that.

Nerissa’s skin was a dark, inky blue, like a perfect night sky. She would have blended into the darkness of the Wasting Waters perfectly, had she not been—somehow—glowing. The witch’s skin gleamed a phosphorescent blue from uneven stripes that covered her body. Dark blue hair, so dark it was nearly black, hung in a sheet behind her, rippling gently as she moved. Two webbed ears protruded from the sides of her head; the webbing moved between four points that grew smaller as they curved down her ear. Her face was all angles: high cheekbones, a sharp chin and jawline. The only remotely soft thing about her was her lips, which were full, black, and bowed. Although Celeste had seen little to no food this deep in the ocean, Nerissa’s body was full and curving all the way down to her tail, which also had the same glowing pattern as her torso. She wore no embellishment or clothing, save for a necklace holding a large pearl. The effect was otherworldly and intimidating. If the Sea Witch did have the power to look however she liked, it was clear why she chose to present herself this way.

“I need help that only you can provide,” Celeste said, trying an indirect approach.

Nerissa cocked an eyebrow at the princess, before returning to her busywork. It looked as though she was organizing hundreds of bottles that were stored on the walls of the cave. Each little jar and bottle varied in size and color. One bottle was green and sparkling, while another was purple and glowing so brightly that everything around was cast in a violet hue, and another held something red and thick as blood. Within them, the Sea Witch kept parts . Fish teeth. Scales. Jellyfish tentacles. And even what looked like siren fingers. This last one sent a shiver down Celeste’s spine. It was rare for sirens to find and keep glass. Such delicate things couldn’t last in the ocean and were often more trouble than they were worth. Celeste had never seen such a collection before. What did the witch use them for. Magic? The only magic Celeste was aware of was a siren’s Song. Could the Sea Witch be using these things as ingredients? Or were they trophies? Celeste drew her eyes away. Perhaps she was allowing her imagination to run away with her. She needed to stay on task.

The witch remained silent as she carefully pulled a bottle from her shelf, checked its stopper, then placed it in a new location along the shelf. It was clear Nerissa wasn’t a strong conversationalist. A characteristic Celeste was familiar with.

“What do you know about humans?” Celeste asked.

Nerissa turned and fixed the princess with her glossy black gaze. “I know many things,” she said. After looking Celeste over, she added, “What do you want?” It wasn’t a demand but a careful question. As though everything Celeste could ever hope for could be hers, and all she’d have to do was say the word.

Celeste swallowed. “Legs,” she said. No point in drifting around the coral about it.

The witch laughed. It was a surprisingly normal sound. “Why?”

Celeste had imagined the Sea Witch would have all the answers. But Nerissa had only questions, and Celeste had plenty of her own questions to deal with.

“I—I want to find a human,” Celeste said. Something in her gut told her that she shouldn’t trust the Sea Witch with the entire story. But when Nerissa did nothing but stare at her for several long moments, the princess finally added, “On land.”

This was going swimmingly .

Nerissa contemplated this for a moment, then swam forward. She took Celeste’s chin in her hand, turning her head left and right to look at her face from every angle. Celeste balled her hands at her sides and attempted to keep her face neutral. What was she looking for?

“And so you ask me to give you legs,” Nerissa said. It wasn’t a question.

“I mean—” It felt like a trap, but Celeste wasn’t sure she wanted to tell the Sea Witch any more about herself or her objectives than she had to. What if as soon as she said yes some sort of magic happened, and she was stuck in a terrible situation that she couldn’t get out of? Maybe her fingers would end up in a jar. “Yes,” she finished. She already was in a terrible situation she couldn’t get out of.

The witch laughed again. “You are funny, Princess. I am not trying to trick you.”

Sure you aren’t.

Nerissa turned and swam across the room, stirring the bioluminescent seaweed that hung from the ceiling in waving tendrils and lit the grotto with a blue-and-purple glow. She lay languidly across the soft pink insides of a massive shining clamshell. One of her numerous sharks swam after her, circling her lazily. The sharks were everywhere. At least a dozen of them, from what the princess could see. Celeste remained where she was, waiting silently until Nerissa at last continued.

“I can manipulate the body,” she said. “Change the fin into feet, remove your gills.”

The princess’s eyes widened. It was at this point that it dawned on her that she would essentially become a human. A fact she should have realized sooner, but in her defense, it had been a rather long few days.

“Will I still have my Song?”

Nerissa turned the question over in her mind. “Yes,” she said at last. “So long as you have your voice, you will have your song. But humans do not have magic. You would have to hide it or risk discovery.”

Celeste nodded, the cold reality of her situation settling in. She cleared her throat and charged forward. “Rumors say you require payment for your services.”

“Of course. I do not simply help any unfortunate who wanders into this grotto.”

“Name your price,” Celeste said.

She expected the witch to take a moment, but her answer came right away.

“A favor,” she said simply.

“A—a favor?” Celeste’s voice came out an octave higher than normal.

Nerissa smiled. “Yes, Princess. Any favor I wish at any time I wish it.”

Silence fell between them. Being in debt to the Sea Witch sounded both better and worse than what she’d imagined. A favor could be anything, and Celeste doubted it would be something simple. What if it was her firstborn? Not that she was considering reproducing anytime soon. Or what if the Sea Witch asked Celeste to murder someone? Countless questions ran through her mind, but she was unsure how to ask them. Still, she couldn’t back down now. She was in too deep. Both literally and figuratively.

“A favor is rather broad,” Celeste said.

“That is by design.” Nerissa smirked.

Celeste fell silent again.

“I can agree to this price,” she said at last. “But I would require boundaries.”

Once more the Sea Witch laughed. Her black eyes crinkled with her smile, and Celeste saw not a monster—but not a friend either. She almost wished Nerissa were a monster. Monsters seemed far more straightforward.

“Name them,” the witch said.

“I will not kill myself or anything else.”

“Done.” She smiled.

“And”—Celeste paused—“I will not break any rules of my kingdom.”

Nerissa’s smile faded. “Done.” The shark paused beside its master, and Nerissa stroked it gently upon the head. “Anything else?”

There really should be more, but Celeste had trouble thinking of anything. Eventually, she sighed and nodded.

“Then we are agreed?” Nerissa rose and extended a long-fingered hand toward Celeste.

The princess wavered for a moment. “And when I am finished, would you turn me back into a siren?”

Nerissa shrugged. “If you wish, I shall return your body to its current form. But after that, our deal is finished. If you ask to become human again, a new deal must be struck.”

The Sea Witch’s hand hung in the water between them, and Celeste stared at it, heart pounding. Unable to think of anything else to add to the agreement, she closed the distance between them. They clasped their hands at the wrist. The witch’s grip was firm, and so Celeste squeezed a little harder to match it.

Then Nerissa began to sing. The Song sounded like a whispered lullaby, except in a minor key. Celeste had never heard it before. The witch’s hand cooled against her skin. In fear, Celeste tried to pull away, but Nerissa’s grip tightened, viselike around her wrist.

“Are you starting this right now?” Celeste asked.

The witch didn’t answer. She remained concentrated, focusing on her hand, which was now growing colder and more painful by the second.

“A warning would have been nice,” Celeste added. Her wrist felt as though it was burning with cold now, and Celeste hissed. At once, Nerissa finished the song and released her hand. Celeste snatched it away, cradling it against her. It was then that she noticed it. On the skin of her inner wrist, just where Nerissa’s fingers had touched, was a black crescent.

“The moon,” the witch explained in her rich, slow voice. “A symbol of promise. It will fade when the price is paid.”

Celeste brushed her fingertips across the dark shape and met Nerissa’s black eyes. “You could have said something before you branded me.”

“I could have,” she agreed.

The princess held her wrist up to the blue light. All pain had disappeared. What remained was a simple mark contrasting against Celeste’s skin. She dropped her wrist to her side.

“How does the transformation work?” she asked, deciding she preferred her information in advance.

With a sweep of her arm, Nerissa gestured toward the large shell. “It is like your healings, except instead of manipulating your skin to be mended or your blood to fight sickness, I will be singing deeper and to all—bone and skin and blood alike—to form anew into human legs, feet, muscle. After, I shall sing to your gills in the same way, closing them so you breathe only air, as humans do.”

Celeste scrunched her nose at that.

“You shall look exactly like them, except your hair?—”

Although Celeste was not particularly fond of the color, her hand flew to her head. “I prefer to keep it.”

“They may notice the color. Only older humans have such white hair.” But seeing Celeste’s insistence, she continued. “Now, are you ready to begin?”

She hesitated. A part of her wanted to go swimming home to her mother, to demand they find another way. Her mother never would have agreed to this plan, to her seeking out the Sea Witch. But another part of her had always wanted to know more about the humans. This was her chance. She could learn what there was to know, glean what information she could about why they had been in Staria’s waters, kill the prince, and return home. But despite her training and capabilities, she couldn’t imagine herself killing anyone. If it was a question of his life or hers, she clearly had chosen him. But seeing her mother broken on the floor—she couldn’t do that to her family. They didn’t deserve it.

“Will it hurt?” Celeste asked, stalling.

“Yes.” Nerissa smiled.

The Sea Witch took her hand and led her to the shell. Celeste lowered herself down onto it, marveling at how soft and comfortable the mouth of the clam was and wondering if it was in fact alive. She ran her hand along her tail. It was beautiful. The glowing light around her glittered against each shimmering silver-blue scale. She waved her fin back and forth, taking a moment to enjoy how it felt moving through the water one last time before it was taken from her. Not for good , she reminded herself. Only until you can come home.

Nerissa pulled something from a bag. What supplies would a healer need? They ordinarily used their Song and hands. Was this where her bottles came in? But Nerissa turned, and in her hands, Celeste saw cooked fish.

Celeste couldn’t hide her surprise. Cooked food was incredibly hard to come by, due to the fact it required a heat source. Beneath the sea, it was a delicacy. Even the palace didn’t receive cooked fish save for special occasions, like festivals. Celeste’s heart twisted in her chest when she remembered one particular meal, where Sephone and Celeste had eaten their food so quickly they got stomachaches. Halia had taken her daughters, laughing, to a healer so they didn’t have to miss the storytellers.

“How...?” she started to ask.

“There is a volcanic area nearby,” Nerissa explained proudly as she pulled some meat off the bones and handed it to Celeste. “Eat. The process is hard on the body. You’ll need energy.”

“Oh, no need,” Celeste said, pushing the offering away. “I have my own rations.”

The witch scoffed. “Eat the fish, girl.”

Celeste’s eyes flicked to the sharks, several of which were still circling the room. But somehow the sharks did not look interested. Odd . If it was a spell, Nerissa was certainly powerful, for she hadn’t sung a note since Celeste arrived, and the sharks remained docile. But Celeste guessed these sharks had been raised by Nerissa and trained accordingly. Perhaps she kept them well-fed on food much more appealing to them than fish. A shiver ran down her spine at the thought of what or who that could be.

Dutifully, Celeste took the fish, thanked the witch, and ate it. It was cod and tasted delicious with its smoky flavor. It seemed Celeste hadn’t realized until now how hungry she was. She couldn’t remember when she’d last eaten. The food was gone quickly, and Nerissa handed Celeste a bit more, before finishing off the skin herself. Now full, Celeste lay on her side within the clam and rested her head upon her bicep.

“Hold still,” Nerissa said, lowering beside her.

Celeste lifted her head, nervous. “Have you done this before?”

The witch ignored her and closed her eyes. The time for questions had passed. Celeste lowered her head, watching as Nerissa’s breathing deepened, chest rising and falling. Then the Sea Witch began to hum. Vibrations started in her throat and poured out of her into the water. Celeste began to feel them. The tune she hummed was unfamiliar, and it didn’t repeat. The notes rose and fell at intervals, weaving around each other until they rose again. Nerissa opened her eyes, reaching her hand to place it at the side of Celeste’s tail, near the hip.

This time her hand grew warm. It heated quickly, and soon Celeste felt a burning sensation. But she felt vibrations too. It was as if every scale beneath the witch’s hand trembled. Celeste sucked in a breath through her teeth. The pain felt like someone ripping the scales from her body, while at the same time, other scales were being pushed inside, tearing through her skin. A purple light radiated between Nerissa’s fingers, pulsing with each hummed note. Nerissa remained still, focused as Celeste was pulled and pushed apart. It took everything she had not to move or cry out.

After what seemed like a lifetime, Nerissa moved her hand down Celeste’s tail to a new location, revealing skin where there were once scales. Celeste sucked in a gasp.

“Be still,” Nerissa snapped.

Celeste fell into silence, staring wide-eyed at the patch of fresh skin connecting her stomach to her hip. The excruciating process continued down the side of her fin, leaving a trail of soft pink skin in its wake. When Nerissa began to work her way back up, the process miraculously got worse. Not only were scales being pulled and pushed and melted and reformed into skin but her tail was being ripped apart, and deep within, new bones grew. Sharp pains shot up Celeste’s tail again and again as the tip of her fin to her stomach were all remade. She turned her face away, trying to keep her composure. Her stomach rolled, threatening to be sick, but she breathed through it.

Long, agony-filled hours passed as Nerissa hummed her Song into Celeste’s body, peeling her apart and reconstructing her. Celeste closed her eyes and lost track of how many times she wished she were unconscious. She was ready to beg for it to end when finally, mercifully, the humming stopped, and the pain with it. Celeste opened her eyes, looked down, and gasped. Legs . She had legs. Two of them. They were long, with bendy parts at the middle, and ended in the horrible second pair of hands. Celeste stared at them, a smile forming on her face. It was the first time she had really seen them. And the hands were just as horrifying as she’d pictured. Where the round palm should have been, it was long and thick. And where long fingers should have been were five stubby little finger things. Celeste wiggled them and watched in glee as they moved in a wave, one after the other.

With a trill of laughter, Celeste sat up, pulling one leg toward her and bending it this way and that. It was so much stiffer than a tail, and there were two to keep track of. No wonder humans were so awkward.

Nerissa eyed Celeste, waiting patiently for the princess to compose herself.

“I still have to remove your gills,” she said, leaning back and appraising her handiwork. “But we’ll find land first. We wouldn’t want you to drown now, would we? ”

Celeste did not laugh at the joke.