Prince of Song & Sea

by Linsey Miller

I heard her once, my true love, after she saved me when I was shipwrecked. It’s part of the curse. A true love with a voice as pure as her soul. How am I supposed to be happy not knowing her?” Ariel’s head cocked to the side, and her hand drifted to her throat. “I didn’t know about that part of the curse before. My mother never told me,” he whispered. “It already feels so personal. I’d know her voice anywhere. Is that selfish of me?” It was his choice, but it was Ariel’s opinion he wanted. It was her he—

Ariel had been brave. It was his turn. If she would have him, together they could find a way to break the curse in another way, kill Ursula, or live as happily as they could. Together, they—

His thoughts drifted to Ariel and the way his soul came alive at the sight of her on the rock. How her smile broke through his fear. How passionately she acted without a care for what others thought.

All Eric had wanted for so long was for someone to understand him. He wanted someone who knew all his flaws and quirks and still adored him. He might have known Ariel for only two days, but he knew what she meant with only a gesture and sometimes felt like she knew what he meant even when he couldn’t find the words. It felt as if the last two days had been two decades, and Eric wanted that every day. He had struggled to repress it, to drown the part of his soul that wanted Ariel, but no matter how deep it sunk, it always returned. His feelings had always returned, and he would always return to her. No matter the depths. No matter the distance.

“What about Ariel?” Eric, vision suddenly spotty, rubbed his eyes and frowned at the tears smeared on his hands. He wiped them on his trousers. Grimsby dragged his chair closer to Eric and pressed the back of his hand to Eric’s forehead. “Are you well? Just last night you were ready to court her.” Eric pulled away. “It doesn’t matter if I was taken with Ariel. She’s not my true love. Vanessa is.”

Eric stared at Grimsby in a panic. He had nothing to say to Ariel. He looked at her and his mind went blank. His chest felt empty.

But Eric was too distracted by the announcements in Grimsby’s hands, where he could see his messy handwriting. There were only two words on the page. Help me.

Ariel inhaled sharply, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. Eric reached out to brush them away, and his thumb touched her skin, and— A school of memories—red hair like dawn spilling across pale shoulders, strong hands tight around his wrists as they tugged him from harm’s way, and the shuffle of unsteady feet through warm sand—flickered beneath the surface of his mind. They had nearly kissed in the lagoon, and he hadn’t been afraid at all. He had been so certain that—

It was the first time her voice had been hers, and it was glorious. He was back on the beach, drowning and exhausted, and her voice was the air in his lungs. It wasn’t bells in winter ringing out over the icy waves. It wasn’t like anything he’d heard before. His name on her lips was everything.

It was if they were back on Sauer’s ship with the Blood Tide seeping across the sea before them, red and terrifying, and Ariel diving from the ship, except this time, he dove with her.

A stranger wrapped in nothing but sailcloth appearing on a beach with no knowledge of the kingdom or written language and an endless curiosity focused on things commonplace to most kingdoms—he should’ve known from the start.

strangled shout from the ship caught his attention. “Eric!” He turned back and groaned. Grimsby stood at the rail, expression stricken. “Eric!” he cried. “What are you doing?” “Grim, I lost her once. I’m not going to lose her again!”

“Are you all right?” he asked, pulling her close. Ariel wrapped her arms around his waist. “You have to get away from here.”

He remembered how it had felt to lean in to her when they nearly kissed in the lagoon, before his fear got the better of him. He had wanted to take her in his arms when she dove off the ship after his mother and gone with him onto the Isle of Serein. He had always wanted her and been too afraid every time. This time, he’d be brave. Eric kissed her.

He never wanted to part from her again, not for the sea or curses or politics or magic. This was his choice. Ariel was his choice for as long as she would have him.

“Eric, with Ursula gone, you’re no longer cursed. There’s no way to know if I’m your true love or not.” “I don’t care.” Eric kissed her again and relished how her heart thrummed against his chest. “It doesn’t matter if you were my true love or if you weren’t. You’re who I want. You’re who I am choosing to love. And I do love you.”

“I won’t swim away this time,” said Ariel. “If you do, I’m following,” he said, and spun her around again, memorizing the sound of her laugh. He kissed her again—he would never tire of the feeling of her lips against his—and pulled her into a tight embrace.

Triton inclined his head to Eric. “So you’re the human my daughter’s been chasing after.” “I wasn’t chasing him,” muttered Ariel. “I recall a statue,” Triton said, and Eric winced. That was not an ideal first impression.

Her touch was like the sea, strong and sure, washing the worries from his mind. The world around them sharpened until all he could see was her.