The Sea Witch: A Little Mermaid Retelling (Beloved Villains, #1)

by Rebecca F. Kenney

This great room is full of familiar things, precious things. Items I’ve spent years accumulating. Heavy, ornate frames feathery with green growth. Shining cups and bowls. A chandelier with crystal pendants—I remember how long it took me to drag that back from the wreck where I found it. I was nearly lunch for a giant squid. My fiddle is there, bracketed to the rocky wall. It will never play again, of course, but I used to like looking at it and imagining the sounds it might make. Now I know what a fiddle sounds like. I never have to wonder again. “How did you know about all this?” I say quietly. “How did you find it?” “Ylaine is deeply invested in your happiness,” Zoltan says. “She told me.” “She used to go with me sometimes, to explore shipwrecks.” I drift forward to a piece of human furniture he has placed against the wall—a sideboard, I think it’s called. When I pull a drawer open, my collection of mismatched silverware winks back at me. Another drawer holds jewelry and baubles and trinkets I’ve gathered. “Zoltan,” I murmur. “This is—it’s beautiful. It’s more thoughtful than the soup thing.” “The soup thing?” “When you took me to the all-you-can-eat soup place. Flay’s Kitchen.” “Ah, yes. I should hope this is more meaningful. It certainly took longer.”