The Secret of the Emerald Sea by Heather Matthews Read Free Book Online Page B

into something different, something darker, than a mere mermaid and princess of Neptune. She could be quite dangerous...at least in theory.
    “I have a plan,” she told Neptune. “Don’t worry about a thing. I will find a way to locate your daughter, and I will bring her to her senses.” Minerva’s mind burned with the challenge, and she smiled to herself.
    Today has been an interesting day , she thought as she rose with Neptune and walked by his side back to the main council area. One can’t ask for more than that, really .

Chapter Ten
     
    Cupid held Jane tight now, up in the sky. She felt as tiny wrapped in his muscular arms as he had been in her own embrace before the fateful storm. The first light of day would soon streak the clouds with a pale, rosy glow and the sky would turn a bright, clear blue. They had flown over the bad weather, through the long, cold night, and so terribly high that Jane was afraid, but the Cupid held her close, so close, and she drew comfort from the sight of his ecstatic face as his huge wings moved up and down, carrying them forward at an amazing speed.
    He loves to fly , Jane thought in wonder. He looks as I did, no doubt, when the first feeling of being a mermaid came upon me and I moved through the water so joyfully and easily . She smiled at the memory, for it was a beautiful one, and one she would always treasure, although what had come afterward was harsh and unpleasant. She remembered the fish whose eyes had glowed like jewels in the dark water, and the way their lips had moved as they murmured to her in greeting. It had been incredible, and she would never forget it.
    “We are almost there!” the Cupid shouted in her ear. “Not much longer now!” Slowly and carefully, he banked his great wings like a giant bird of prey. They swooped gently downward, and Jane felt like a leaf that floated in quiet circles to the ground, carried upon the cool autumn air. Looking down, she saw a little town, and grass, and trees! It was a village, although not her own, she knew. The many church spires of Royalton were missing. Still, it was civilization , and the vast seas were behind them at last.
    In the distance, she saw farms and the twinkling lights of houses and shops where a few candles burned in the cool pre-dawn, glowing faint yellow-white in the windows of buildings. The town seemed deserted, but she knew dawn would soon bring a flurry of activity, and she could not believe her own excitement as she imagined markets and horses and food and drink after all her months of deprivation.
    “Hold tight!” the Cupid exclaimed, grinning into the wind as he flew. Jane was terrified as the ground rushed up to meet them.
    Seconds later, the sky—just at the precise moment they landed!—seemed to turn to its daytime color. The sun began to beam down on their bodies, and when she had managed to stand up, the man who had carried her was gone. The tiny Cupid stood in his place now. She could not help but smile at the little boy, who was really a magical being—a shape-shifter straight out of a fairy tale. Now that she knew his other self, it was difficult not to giggle at the little boy’s appearance.
    “Don’t laugh at me, Jane,” the child told her, and her giggles ceased as quickly as they had begun. “It’s bad enough being a toddler without your mockery!”
    And so she apologized, took his little hand in hers, and they walked toward the village, stopping only to steal some nondescript garments from a farm’s clothesline—what choice had they?—and to garb themselves as poor peasant villagers.
    “How do you know this place?” Jane asked the Cupid as they neared the town.
    “I saw it in a dream, Jane,” he answered. “I believe there is a reason why we are here, although I am not yet sure what that reason is.”
    “What shall we do for money, and food and shelter?” she asked worriedly. She could already smell roasting meat, and bread. She was starving.
    “I thought we could