Ink: A Mermaid Romance
by Melanie Karsak
Publication date: June 2nd 2015
Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Romance
Publication date: June 2nd 2015
Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Romance
A mermaid princess destined to wed a
handsome king…
It sounds like a fairy tale, but the
reality is far murkier.
Ink, Princess of the Florida Atlantic
mers, is slated to wed the ancient enemy of her tribe, the King of the Gulfs.
After years of war that led to countless mer deaths, as well as the genocide of
aquatic shapeshifters and the freshwater mers of Florida, Ink’s marriage will
bring lasting peace.
Or so it seems.
Mere hours before she’s supposed to
leave the ocean for her customary year as a drywalker, Ink meets Hal, an
alligator shifter who warns her that a storm is brewing. There is malicious
intent behind Ink’s marriage—and worse, meeting Hal has also caused a storm to
rage in Ink’s heart. Nevertheless, loyal to her tribe, Ink will put aside her
feelings and journey to Miami to marry the decadent King Manx.
Ink soon learns that her only hope of
surviving the crashing force swelling around her is to tap into a power deep
inside—a forbidden power that might destroy them all.
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“Who are
they?” I whispered to Indigo.
“The Gulf
tribe,” she replied excitedly. “You’ve missed half the discussion. Apparently
some deal has been struck.”
“What kind
of deal?”
“I don’t
know,” Indigo said with a shrug. “They talked about the contaminated conditions
in the Gulf of Mexico and a plan to find a new home for the Gulfs. Did you see
their young king? He’s handsome.”
“His name is
Manx,” I told her. Seaton, who had met the new king of the Gulfs the year
before in Pensacola, had not been impressed. He’d called him an overgrown and
spoiled child. I hadn’t been interested enough to ask more. Nonetheless, I
looked him over. Sunlight slanted through holes in the cave walls above the
grotto and fell on Manx. His long, dark hair floated in the water around him. I
studied his muscular body. He was a drywalker like me. He bore swirling tattoos
on his arms. His tail was a dark blue, the color of the deepest pockets in the
ocean, each scale trimmed with a filigree of red. His body was athletic, and
from this angle, I could see he was handsome. But what of it? It wasn’t like he
had the rugged charm of the nagual. A creature like Hal could make any
mermaid’s heart beat faster. The nagual was a fine creature, not an overgrown
child.
I looked
away from Manx. I was an orphan of the war between the tribes. The Gulfs were
our enemy. Peace or no peace, these people had killed our kind, my parents. It
left a bitter taste in my mouth to see them in our grotto.
Indigo,
however, was staring at him. I followed her gaze. We must have been eyeing him
too intensely because this time Manx looked at us. Even from this distance, I
could see his eyes were bright, green-blue. He smiled at us. I looked away.
“Well,
that’s embarrassing,” Indigo whispered behind her hand.
It was then
that I realized why the Gulfs were there. Something told me that the Gulf tribe
was there for more than just a friendly, diplomatic meeting. Something told me
there was a reason I was sent, with haste, to round up Indigo. Something about
the way Manx held himself so gracefully before Creon told me that a bargain
had, indeed, been struck. Something told me, when I saw the glimmer in Indigo’s
eyes as she gazed at Manx, that my cousin suspected the same thing I did. All
the words yet unsaid spoke a truth: the Gulfs had come for Indigo.
King Creon
moved from his dais. All attention turned to him. I gazed back at Manx and was
surprised to find him staring at me. He grinned, a bemused expression on his
chiseled features.
I then saw
an elder woman among Manx’s group motion for him to turn his attention back to
the Atlantic king. Manx did as instructed, looking dutifully in front of him.
The ancient-looking mermaid set her gaze on me. She had long white hair adorned
with shells and bones. She was a frail looking thing, her skin deeply wrinkled.
Her tail had started losing its green-gold pigment. The old mermaid was dying.
She must have been the Queen Mother, the renowned ancient lady of the Gulf. Was
she there to help broker the young king’s future? I held her gaze. She
softened, nodding politely to me, then turned her attention to Creon.
“Noble
king,” Manx said then, “We thank your highness for affording us this official
visit to your court to discuss the joyous agreement drawn between our tribes.”
“We, too,
are pleased with our negotiations. All will come to fruition in time. But today
we shall share a special announcement.” Creon motioned for Indigo to come
forward.
I was right.
My cousin squeezed my hand, rose tepidly, and then moved toward the gathered
troupe. In the very least, my cousin would be happy with a handsome king.
Indigo’s tastes had always been very different from mine. I had no use for a
puffed-up merman. Until that very morning, I’d never had use for any male save
the friendships I shared with Seaton and Roald. Now, however, I couldn’t shake
the nagual from my thoughts.
As Indigo
moved forward, Lady Isla’s expression change from serene disconnect to worry.
She rose quickly and motioned for her daughter to stop. She shook her head at
Indigo who paused.
Creon
cleared his throat. “My apologies, Lady Indigo. I had intended for Ink,
Daughter of Dauphin and Coral, to come forward.”
Me? What in the hell did they want from me? I sat
frozen.
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