How to be a Mermaid (The Cotton Candy Quintet #1)(41)

He gave me one more suspicious look, and then took the package from my hand. He chewed on it and then gagged.

“It’s terrible!”

“I don’t care, it’ll help you.” I glanced up, knowing that too much time was passing. If these humans didn’t get to me first, Kai’s reluctance to finish eating the package and then doing the jump would take far too long. The sun was nearly setting, meaning that Levi’s deadline was fast approaching.

The aquarist Tim was jogging over towards me, shouting something about halting. At this point, I didn’t care what he was saying.

“Do the jump, Kai,” I pleaded. “Please!”

He submerged and then swam in a counterclockwise circle, trying to build up speed.

“It’s...too far!”

Strong hands grabbed at my shoulder. It wasn’t just Tim, it was two security guards too. They hoisted me up as I kicked and screamed.

“What are you saying?” Tim hissed at me. “What language is that?”

That’s right, I was speaking Mermish, so of course no one knew what I was saying.

“Do it, Kai!” I gritted, still speaking in his tongue. “You’re not going to have another chance!”

And I wasn’t going to have another chance to be back here ever again. I glanced back, seeing Christine looking absolutely shocked, as were the other mermaids. Neptune had a different expression. He was staring at me intensely.

Kai kept swimming in that counterclockwise circle, building up more and more speed. Was that potion ever going to start working?

Then I saw it. He was moving so fast, a whirlpool had started at the top, swirling to the bottom of the pool. Water sloshed around the sides, soaking everything around it. Kai was certainly swimming faster than any dolphin I’d ever seen.

Please let this work.

“Now!” I shrieked.

At first, I didn’t think that Kai was going to do it, that maybe he was going to chicken out.

Then, as if I was watching it in slow motion, he was flying. A full thirty feet up in the air, sailing towards the edge of the landing.

Miraculously, he had judged the direction correctly and went over the edge of the fence and dived into the ocean below.

Everyone was stunned, including myself. Seeing a dolphin fly like that tended to do that to you.

The grip on my shoulders lessened enough to where I could push away from them. I half-stumbled, half-ran over to the fence and looked out, hoping that he had made it past the rocks and in the ocean. I didn’t see his broken body on the rocks, and off in the distance, I saw three dolphins breach, one enormous, one normal-sized, and the last a baby calf.

Kai was back with his family. I looked at the horizon, seeing the sun hang over it. Just in time too. We wouldn’t have had much more time to meet Levi’s deadline.

I closed my eyes and sighed in relief. When I opened them again, I saw a familiar figure in the ocean, far below and out of reach of the pull of the waves.

Finn.

He was looking at me, but other than knowing he was there, I couldn’t see his expression because he was so far away.

Go! I wanted to shout. I couldn’t have anyone seeing him.

As if reading my mind, he dipped under wateronce again, disappearing from view.

I let out a breath. They were all gone. Now that the adrenaline was leaving me, I wanted to lean against the fence and sob about everything that had happened. From talking to dolphins, to finding out about my heritage, to finally meeting a guy that I liked—and to be back where it all started. I wanted to lie there and cry.

Someone put a hand on my shoulder, not in aggression like Tim or the security guards from before. This one was gentle, sympathetic. I looked up, surprised to see Neptune.

“You met them,” he said, low so that no one else could hear him. “You met the mermaids.”

I panicked. The secret was out, and that wondrous, magical world was going to be leaked all over the internet. They’d never have a normal day again. Their way of life would be obliterated in an instant.

I looked at him, trying to plead with my eyes not to reveal it to anyone.

“We’ll talk later,” he muttered.

I didn’t know if there was going to be a later. After all, I had just effectively kidnapped a dolphin in front of Mr. Stevens’ eyes. I was sure that was a fireable offense, if not one that would land me in prison. And based on Mr. Stevens’ expression, he was determined to have me arrested, although I didn’t know if he truly was able to.

“YOU!” he screeched, pointing a finger at me. His voice reached octaves that I never knew a man could make. “You stole my dolphin!” He flailed in a way that would have been comical had I not been terrified. “Arrest her!”

The security guards, still stunned by what had happened, gaped at me.

My mind went to fight or flight. I could jump over the fence into the water and rejoin that world, submerge myself and not be seen from above. I could live as a mermaid. I could be with Finn and Kai. The thought was tempting, as it seemed I was going to be suffering the consequences of what I did. However, I also had my mother here on land. I couldn’t leave her. Not yet.

Neptune must have seen the indecision on my face, because he reached out and grabbed my hand while placing himself in between the aquarium president and me.

“How could she steal a dolphin?” the old man calmly asked. “You saw what happened.”