Title: The Dark Mermaid
Author: Christina L. Barr
Publication date: September 5th 2017
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
“True love is not a myth. It’s mystic. It’s a force in the universe that draws two people together, resulting in incredible power, for either good or complete chaos.”On the day Luna proves that she is powerful enough to be her father’s heir, she is banished for saving the life of an enchanting human boy. Her father, the king, gives her two options: kill Ian and regain her honor by the time she comes of age, or be destroyed.Luna finds shelter in forbidden waters and comes under the protection of her father’s greatest enemy, the Sea Witch. As her ward, Luna becomes a fearsome warrior, but struggles with the fear of turning her powerful magic dark.With only days remaining before her seventeenth birthday, Luna finds Ian sailing the seas in search of answers. Luna is determined to escape her father’s wrath, and the Sea Witch’s plot of revenge, but dark forces won’t allow her to live a human life without making an impossible sacrifice.
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Excerpt:
True Love
When I returned to the lair, the Sea
Witch was much too distracted gutting her catch of shark to care much about my
adventures. She had no idea that I had found Ian and kissed him. I wanted to
keep it that way. For all she knew, I spent my day with Napa, and I most
certainly didn’t fight my sister to the almost death. I made sure to heal my
wounds before she saw me.
I hid the pendent, dagger, and lock of
hair in a satchel and hoped the Sea Witch wouldn’t be able to sense the magic.
I also had to hope that she wouldn’t sense any special magic in me. It was odd
that I wasn’t fatigued from my battle. Instead, I felt energized. My magic was
leaking out of my body. I tried to keep my movements limited and to remain
completely calm.
Unfortunately, somewhere between the
chewing of our dinner, the Sea Witch cocked her brow at me in suspicion. “Did
Napa bring you a new gift?”
“Why do you ask?”
“I sense new magic.”
I panicked on the inside, but I would not allow that panic
to the surface of my thoughts. Of course,
she would have been able to sense the pendent. I reached into my satchel and
handed it to her without any fuss, and I hoped she didn’t ask any questions
about the other item of interest. “Napa didn’t know any better.”
“Interesting.” It only took a moment
for the Sea Witch to analyze what it could do. I don’t know why I was so
surprised when she disappeared. “This would be more useful on the surface
world.” She tossed it back to me and became visible once more. “Quite
interesting.”
“Very.” I grinned hard and continued
feasting, but I had the sense that she knew I was hiding many details from her.
It’s not that I didn’t trust her. I just wanted to make sure she would take the
news well, so I didn’t have to worry about her killing everyone outside of our
immediate sphere.
It wasn’t easy. I wanted to tell her
about Ian’s infatuation with me. It was flattering after my father threw me
away. I wanted to tell my mother how his smile enchanted me, and now, I was
under his spell. I tried to get him out of my head, so the Sea Witch wouldn’t
find out, but while I brushed my hair and stared into the broken mirror Napa
gave me, I began to imagine that I was staring at myself from his point of view,
and I knew I was truly as beautiful as he made me feel. The thought of never
seeing him again was crushing my heart and suffocating my insides. There had to
be a way to see him again beyond tricks, smokes, and mirrors.
“Luna, what’s wrong?”
I saw Ian’s face too clearly in my
mind. She must have known that I was thinking about him, but that wasn’t so
strange. I could still hide the truth for a little while. “Why would something
be wrong?”
She floated in front of me with a
furrowed and curious brow. “Because you never sing.”
I hadn’t even noticed. I was singing
the same song I sang to Ian when I first said goodbye. If he had his hooks in
me that deeply, was there truly any escaping him? “You’ll think I’m being a
fool.”
The Sea Witch surprised me and held me
by my shoulders from behind. “Out of the two of us, I’m the one that made a
blood oath with your father. You could be foolish for a thousand lifetimes and
not end up as foolish as I once was.”
Perhaps I was being unfair to her. If
she were trying to be a real mother, she deserved a chance. As my elder, she
might have sound advice to put my mind at ease. “Napa told me that humans
believe in true love. I know it sounds childish, but I think I’m experiencing
it. I’ve found true love.”
I was so embarrassed that I kept my
eyes focused on the teeth of the comb in my hands. I was responsible for
ruining Ian’s childhood, and I delayed his life afterward. I didn’t deserve to
feel such a consuming joy, especially if Ian were the root cause.
“I’ve heard of true love.” The Sea
Witch nicked my chin up with her finger to force her eyes into mine. “The
humans teach it like a fairytale, but true love is not a myth; it’s mystic.
It’s a force in the universe that draws two people together, resulting in
incredible power, for either good or chaos.”
“Chaos?” I laughed. Frankly, it was
difficult to believe that there was an actual explanation to how I felt. Napa
referred to love as “irrational logic”. I wasn’t sure if having a legitimate
reason was worse or better. “How can what I feel ever lead to destruction?”
“I’m not saying that it will, but true
love is a dangerous magic.” The Sea Witch got uncomfortably close to my face. I
tried to back away, but she swam around to observe me fully. Nothing about me
had changed physically, but I’m sure she wasn’t seeing with her natural eye. “I
can sense it on you. Your magic is stronger.”
I thought of how quickly I defeated my
sister, but then, I quickly pushed that out of my mind. “How is that possible?
Is it just because I have feelings for Ian?”
“No. That would be ridiculous, but it
is possible that you’re drawn to each other for a reason.” She, once again,
became agonizingly uncomfortable. I didn’t back away or cower from her glaring
and curious eyes. I tried to be firm while I blanketed my mind with thoughts of
training battles, meditation, and the past few lonely years of my life. I would
not think of Ian, and I certainly wouldn’t think of the kisses we shared!
Except, I completely did.
I don’t know if my sudden memory of
Ian’s kiss was vivid enough to burrow into her brain, but she certainly seemed
more suspicious after I indulged in it. “You must have seen him again!” I
covered my face. I would have hidden in my clam, but she was already inside of
it with
me. She grew impatient and pulled my hands away from my
flustered face. “I did. Napa found Ian, and I went to see him. He gave me the
dagger I had been searching for, and we spoke.”
“That’s not the only thing you did.”
I straightened out my body and tried to
look a little taller and mature than I had been acting a moment ago. “We did
share a kiss, yes.”
Instead of lecturing me, she twirled
around the cavern, shrieking in delight. I hadn’t seen her genuinely happy or
excited over anything, so I was a little terrified. “Did he have magic?”
“He didn’t seem to have knowledge of
having magic.”
“Perhaps
he’s an amplifier,” she suggested with much intrigue.
“What do you mean?”
“They are extremely rare, but an amplifier can increase your
magic, even without being able to
use it.” She swam to me and clasped onto both my hands and smiled. “If you were
to mate, you could create new magic for your offspring and leave your own power
intact. If that’s true, you should definitely mate him.”
“Uh...” My mouth opened in shock. The
desire to feel and be more of an adult was ripped away from me. “I’m not ready
for this conversation.”
“Why? Do you love him?”
“It’s preposterous that I love him!”
“But you do!” She chuckled. “I see it in your eyes. I feel
it through your magic. He’s made you more
powerful. If Fate is pulling you to love this man, don’t push back. There’s no
sense in fighting what will be.”
Was it truly possible that Ian made me
feel stronger? Was he the reason why I could use my magic to fight my sister so
effortlessly? Even if it were true, what did it matter? I only wanted to
control my magic so it wouldn’t accidentally go dark. I had no desire to be the
greatest sorcerous in the world.
It was silly to think that I could take
human form and live with Ian. I hardly knew him. But, for some reason, the
thought of leaving to discover the world with him began to fill my chest and
gut with a ticklish light that turned into a glorious rumbling. I clutched onto
my chest as I felt it vibrating. My entire body was radiating heat. I tried to
convince myself that I was merely embarrassed, but my hands were tingling.
“The thought of escaping with that
human is causing your magic to burst from you,” the Sea Witch said. “You can’t
deny what you want or may very well need.”
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About the Author:
As the daughter of sci-fi enthusiasts and a pastor, Christina L. Barr has been taught to believe that anything is possible. She's been a serious composer as far back as twelve-years-old, and has had the opportunity to sing her songs around the world.
In 2007, she graduated from Holly High School number nine in her class and attended College for Creative Studies. She started a pop culture website called The Gorgeous Geeks with her two older sisters, and was even featured on Times Magazine.
Her addiction to writing emerged when she was eighteen and started her first novel. To date, she has nine novels published, fourteen completed, and her goal is to finish thirty books by her thirtieth birthday.
She is currently a Creative Director and spends her days making graphics and videos.
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