Ariel Slick writes original fiction including short stories, novels, and memoirs to spread the joy of imagination and creativity. She also helps clients achieve their fiction writing goals with her ghostwriting skills on Upwork.com and Guru.com. 

Rory the merman wants just one thing in this life: to become a good king and lead his tribe of mer-people who live in the ocean, but when a mysterious illness strikes and mermaids start dying, he begins to investigate why, and who is behind it. 

When he discovers that it is humans who are dumping toxic waste into the water, he is spurred by tragedy to go ashore and speak with the human king himself. When he makes a deal with the evil Sea Warlock, he receives a magic spell to turn him human for seven days.

There’s just one catch: he must kill a human. That will be pretty difficult to do considering he just fell in love with the king’s daughter...


The King and His Sea

"I only have one more lesson, Rory," said Rani. "And I promise that it will be at least a little more exciting than math."


Rory only fidgeted with the hem of his shirt. He glanced out a window, and saw the sun was almost at its zenith in the sky. Nearly half the day was gone already, and he only had five more days to go before Skelmis came back to collect his side of the bargain. 


"Please, Rani, can we just leave?" he asked. 


Rani sighed. "Not until I go to at least one more lesson. Father knows that I have been skipping them again, and he threatened to marry me off to the first earl he saw if I don't go to them today."


Rory cocked his head. "Strange," he murmured. 


"Don't worry, he was only joking," she said. "I'm pretty sure he was only joking."


Chapter 27