"UNBELIEVABLE," YASHA GAVE the mermaid a lofty look. "How the hell did you get away from my radar?"
The mermaid did not say a word. Her brave demeanour seemed to be an act. I could tell in her eyes she was nervous—- scared. The girl looked like she was of Aseyana's age. Her eyes were grey. And she had a pale complexion. She wasn't as naked as I expected a mermaid to be. There were glittering silver scales surrounding her body, enough to hide the things that needed to be hidden.
"Don't scare the child," I said, rebuking Yasha.
I received a sneer.
"What 'child'? She's a century year old." Yasha looked at me, smiling. "She's a child in my eyes but certainly not in yours."
I pursed my lips. Alright. Never argue with the seniors. They were experienced.
Yasha took her attention back to the mermaid.
"What's your name?" she asked. "And where is the witch that I imprisoned in this cave?"
"I—-" the mermaid looked at Yasha and me, "I will tell you. But promise me, you won't do anything against me."
Yasha raised a brow. "A mermaid who knows how to bargain," she smirked. "Fascinating. Mermaids, with the exception of that person, are so easy to deceive. Yet, there is someone who trusted no one in the first encounter. However," she narrowed her eyes playfully, "considering you're here in a lake that is not connected to any sea means you—-" she pointed her finger at the mermaid, "—- my dear, have been duped!"
The mermaid gritted her teeth.
Poor girl.
She must have been feeling annoyed.
"Just promise me," she stressed, "you will never harm me. And I will help you find the witch."
Yasha crouched. As for me, I've been sitting on the shore all along.
"Alright," Yasha shrugged. "I won't harm you unless you harm our bloodling here."
The mermaid looked at me. "I don't desire her flesh," she said, her tone earnest. "I'm not weak. I don't need the bloodling to gain power."
"Very well said," Yasha stood up. "You have my word. Now, tell me. Where's the witch? Apparently, we need her for tomorrow's event."
The mermaid swam near us. "A powerful witch saved her," she said. A faint light glowed underneath the water where her tail was, and slowly, she left the water with her feet. And now, she was naked.
I blinked. I quickly stood up, removed my jacket and let her wear it.
"Thank you," the mermaid smiled.
I smiled in return.
"Another witch?" said Yasha, annoyed. "Witches tire me, to be honest. When are they going to extinct?"
"Your niece is a witch," I reminded her.
"Well, there's an exception for everything, of course." Then, turning to the mermaid, she asked, "How powerful?"
"Very powerful," the mermaid answered. "She was the reason I was here. That woman," she gritted her teeth, "offered me to your prisoner. And for months, I became her source of power!"
Yasha frowned. "A mermaid as a source of power?" she muttered. "Who are you?"
"I am," the mermaid's eyes fluttered. Her grip on my jacket tightened as she continued, "I am Poseidon's daughter, Natalia."
"The god of the sea?" I exclaimed in surprise.
"You're Poseidon's daughter?" Yasha uttered in disbelief. "That guy has a daughter?"
"You know my father?" Natalia's eyes widened.
"Of course," Yasha looked at the other from head to toe. Then, she added, "He was one of the cursed. He was cursed the same day we were." She scoffed. "So, he found his mate."
"Curse?" I asked curiously. "Isn't he a god?"
"Of course not. If he was, you can consider me your goddess," Yasha replied. "Little girl, you are so naive. You can't trust someone simply because they promise they won't harm you. You gave your identity without reserve." She shook her head. "That was so foolish of you."
Natalia pursed her lips. She didn't respond, and her head was dropped.
"Anyway," Yasha frowned. "We should go back to the inn before talking about this matter. We need Ase."
"Can't we handle this alone?" I asked.
"Another foolish one, aren't you?" Yasha taunted. I only smiled blandly in response. "Witches are powerful beings that draw their power from the spirits and are blessed by nature. They have abundant power that only their kind can counter," she explained. "I might be immortal. I cannot be killed. But that's just all. I can kill a weakling. But a powerful one will only waste my energy. We will need Ase if we want to defeat this person."
"How can you be sure that you're nothing against this witch? She might be powerful, but might not be that powerful."
Yasha pointed at Natalia. "Her existence was the proof," she said. "Enough with the chitchat. Time is running."
—
It was already evening when we arrived at the inn. And the first thing we did was to tell everything to Aseyana. After that, we finally had our dinner.
I was famished. And I couldn't even ask for food earlier without Yasha glaring at me. She didn't need to eat, but we certainly do.
"We need to unbind you from Penelope," Aseyana suggested. She was looking at Natalia.
The other quickly nodded. "I don't care how you do it. As long as I am no longer connected to that witch, I am fine even if you drain me of my blood."
My hand, holding the glass with the wine Yasha was drinking this morning, let go of it immediately. I should drink water. The water was healthy.
Aseyana nodded. "The spell for unbinding you with her is not that complicated. But I need power. If I'm not as powerful or more powerful than the witch who bound you, then we can only look for her and kill her."
"But where should we start looking for those witches?" I asked, putting a steak in my mouth.
"I told you I will help you look for them," Natalia answered. "I meant it."
"How?"
"Anything that has water in it can become my eyes. And there's nothing in this world that contains no water."
"Poseidon's technique."
I looked behind and saw Yasha leaning on the entrance to the dining hall.
"Yes," Natalia agreed. "But I cannot be as powerful as my father."
Yasha shrugged. "I don't expect you to be. However, I expect you to be more powerful than any other mermaid and creature in this land since your origin is a bit unique." She took a deep breath. Then, her gaze turned blank. "Yet, someone could bind you to another." Her eyes narrowed. I think she was trying to solve an unsolvable question in her mind. Then she suddenly smiled as she muttered, "Things are starting to be interesting, are they not?"
"I don't think it's interesting," I remarked. "If you, an undead, cannot fight against a witch that can be considered a baby compared to your age—- then I think we're doomed."
"You mean 'you're doomed'," she blinked playfully. "The rest of us here could run for our lives. But you would be left behind for the witch's mercy. Hmmm…" she shook her head, "It's so sad to be human."
"Aunt," Aseyana rebuked.
Yasha raised her hands. "I'm not mocking. In fact, I'm stating a fact."
I blew out a breath. "I want to be human."
Instantly, all their attention was mine. And so, I explained, "I want to be ordinary. I want my life to return to how it used to be." Then, looking at Aseyana, I continued, "Can you help me?"
I—-
I have been thinking about it for days. Being a bloodling—- being a part of this world—- the thought was fascinating. But reality speaks the opposite. I would be the subject of hunting. I would be under the mercy of these creatures I found fascinating. And I didn't want that.
"You want to be boring?" asked Yasha.
"I have a family," I told her.
I didn't want to implicate them.
How could I be confident that they wouldn't threaten me with my family's lives? If something terrible happened to them because of being a bloodling that I didn't even wish for, I would kill myself.
There was silence before Aseyana answered me. "There is no written spells or history that a bloodling turned into an ordinary human." My face almost sank, but she quickly added, "But there is a solution to every problem. I will find a way."
I sighed.
"Thank you."
"That's unfortunate, then," Yasha, suddenly on my back, gripped my chair. I looked up and saw her looking at me in disappointment. "We won't be together forever. I would miss you."
"Well," I smiled. "I won't be able to accompany you regardless since I will end up dead. I'm not an undead like you. So, I will grow old, get wrinkles, and die. However," I wiped my mouth with a clean napkin, "I'm glad you're feeling that way."
"What can I say?" Yasha shrugged. "You're a great company, especially when we were in the dungeon." She winked.
"Are they old friends?" I heard Natalia whisper to Aseyana, to which the latter shook her head and answered 'No'.
Really. If they were going to whisper to each other, at least make sure that no one would hear them. What was the point of whispering, then?
"Anyway," said Yasha loudly, taking everyone's attention. "We need to locate that witch as soon as possible. I'm not done with my revenge on her, and Ase needs her to gain the town's trust. And so," she turned her gaze to Natalia, "you have to do your work right after you finish your meal. We'll go hunting tonight."