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

by Rebecca F. Kenney

I haven’t kissed anyone, she replies. I’m not sure I know how to do it well. My stomach flips over. “Well, I suppose that’s another thing I’ll have to teach you.”

“My reaction is not your fault or your responsibility,” he growls. “And no one else is going to touch you tonight, do you understand?”

“Amazing.” He grins, eyes bright with pleasure. “You were sent to me by the gods, I swear.” A frown pulls at my brows. Why is he so pleased by my inability to communicate?

I want Kerrin to know that I never loved him. Because I didn’t know what love was until— Until I crouched by the wall and imagined life without the Sea Witch.

But I don’t let go. Because I must see this through, and achieve my revenge. I cannot have betrayed her for nothing.

I love him because I can’t help it. Because in the Sea Witch, I hear the deepest echo of my own soul. Like me he is a wanderer, a risk-taker, a wayfinder, a breaker of rules. He is curious about all things far away and forbidden. He is forever learning, forever exploring. Determined, like me. Proud, like me. Full of heart and humor that he keeps hidden away.

I glance down at her body, grimed with dust and shiny with sweat. Her full breasts sway and her strong thighs flex with every step. If I were not straying near the gates of death, I would have her right now, grime and sand and all. My wild, cunning, lovely, indomitable princess.

“Stop looking at me like that, Averil,” growls the Sea Witch. I give his arm another squeeze. “You’re adorable when you’re soft like this.” “I’m never soft.” “Of course not.

she and I do not belong to any kingdom or ruler. Nor do we belong to the grassy windswept land on my left, or to the glittering ocean on my right. We belong only to each other.