The Secret of the Emerald Sea (27 page)

He let her fall into the cloud, knowing she would be safe there.

“Remember the words. Use them when you are done down there! They will bring you back to us!” she called out to him, and he nodded to her and began his descent. He closed his eyes, and soon found himself back in the dark night, nearing the shores where the mermen lay dying.

The battle still raged. The mermen were partly human, and they were vulnerable for that reason.

The Cupid hid in a high tree, hoping Pluto had been too distracted with the battle to notice his return. He strung his bow and waited, and as he did so, Jupiter plummeted out of the night and landed softly on the sand. Minerva must have warned him, or perhaps he had been watching and waiting for the perfect moment to do battle against his brother. Jupiter faced his sibling, and they were so alike in the Cupid’s eyes. One brother fair, and one dark. They stared at each other, ignoring the cries of the mermen as they succumbed to the undead.

“So it is you and I,” Pluto said, and the Cupid felt a chill in his heart. “Where is your army, my brother?”

“I have no need of assistance,” Jupiter answered. “Do your best, Pluto, and you will find that it is not nearly enough.”

“Nonsense,” Pluto snapped.

Jupiter turned to the shoreline, and stretched out his hand. The skies lit up as flashes of lightning shot from his fingertips, immobilizing the creatures of death. They stumbled wildly as Jupiter’s magic overpowered their own spells. They spun, confused, and fell into the surf where they seemed to melt into the water.

Pluto looked enraged. He muttered spells and called them back, but they did not come. The Cupid realized that Jupiter and Pluto did not fight because they knew they could not kill one another. Each could only damage the other by lessening their power. They stared at each other, hate plain on their faces, and Jupiter began to reprimand Pluto.

“Look at those bodies,” he said, pointing to the mermen who lay dead on the shore. “All good men, all of godly, royal blood. You kill your own people, Pluto, and that is why you are despised.”

“They are not my people. My people are in the Underworld.”

“You tried to take the daughter of Neptune himself, and you failed. You were too slow, and you were too sure of yourself.” Jupiter was angry, and the air seemed to crackle with electricity as he spoke. Rain was coming down now, and the Cupid knew that Jupiter was unable to control his rage. Soon it thundered, and lightning criss-crossed the sky.

Cupid held on to his perch upon a nearby tree, and wondered if the lightning would kill him. He did not know his father, and he could be just like Jane, a half-creature of mixed blood. Or he could be a full god, and invulnerable. He found it odd that Minerva had never mentioned his father, but he could do nothing about that now. He must risk death. It was his destiny.

He stretched back his bow, for it was time. As Pluto and Jupiter raged and screamed at one another, he swept down out of the sky, an avenging angel once again, and shot his arrow straight into Pluto’s black heart. The god stared down at the arrow and laughed. No weapon could wound him. But then, he looked up at the sky, and he saw the Cupid hovering in the distance, watching him. He crumpled onto the sand.

“Jupiter,” Pluto said weakly. “He is but a half-deity, is he not? He cannot hurt me.”

Cupid waited for his answer, but Jupiter did not answer at all. Instead, he turned and walked to the shore, leaving his brother writhing on the ground. He stopped for a moment, then turned around and walked back to the spot where Pluto lay with his face streaked in sweat. He wrested the flat, smooth onyx ring from his brother’s hand, and crushed it in his powerful fist. The hard onyx shattered like glass. Pluto groaned, unable to move. The arrow had rendered him helpless.

“Who is his father?” Pluto demanded, his voice weak and thready.

“Another god. Not me. No half-deity is Cupid. You best remember that!” Jupiter answered, and he walked away from his brother, who might live or die, without a backward glance. The Cupid sat down on the beach and waited for the Great God of the Sky. He stared out to sea, away from the broken bodies of the dead, and he felt peace in his heart.

Tomorrow, he would go to Jane, if his curse was broken, and meet her above the water. He would go to her, again and again, and he would find a way to show her that his love was true. If she chose to love the boy, and go to him, then so be it, but he must try.

“Hello, my boy,” Jupiter said, striding over to him. “It seems the Great War has not yet occurred, for we are the only ones left and the poor mermen and those wretched river dwellers are the only casualties. You have done well.”

“I don’t think it’s over yet,” the Cupid said. “I am not strong enough to destroy someone like Pluto.” He glanced back at the strong body, which lay crumpled further up the beach.

“You are fully a god, young man, and rather a powerful one, at that,” Jupiter told him watched the smile spread across Cupid’s face.

“Who is my father?” he asked, his curiosity powerful.

“I will show you tomorrow. There will be a great celebration in the Sunlit Cloud, and you shall take your place whether Pluto lives or dies, for you have been brave this night.”

“I am immortal!” the Cupid marveled. “Truly?”

“Oh, yes, indeed,” Jupiter said. “But since you came back, even when you were unsure, you have proven yourself the best and bravest of deities. Your mother will be proud.”

Just then, the sun began to rise, and the Cupid sighed, waiting to change back into his cursed form. Jupiter seemed to read his mind. In an instant, he put his huge hand on the Cupid’s forehead, and the Cupid felt the elder god’s power flood through him, filling him with the strength to resist the curse, or even to break it.

He saw the sun rise, and yet was still a man as Jupiter continued to press his palm tight against his forehead. Cupid felt pleasure run through his body as the sun warmed his skin. This was the best sunrise of his entire life. He stood and looked down at his manly body.

Gone were the death-white pallor and the glowing eyes that made him monstrous. Now, he had only the beauty of the gods and goddesses...

Cupid smiled and Jupiter nodded his head, as though acknowledging his silent gratitude. Then, Jupiter took his hand and stared down the beach where Pluto lay. “Hecate will be devastated,” the elder god whispered with a smile. “All her scheming has come to nothing. And what of my lost Proserpina? Will she grieve, or exult?

“I’m taking you home,” Jupiter said, and then he said the three words, the magical words, that only the full-blooded gods could say.

Chapter Sixty-Four

Jane followed the merman deep into the sea. They held hands as the sea creatures cried out their welcome. Jane felt the joy rise up in her breast as she went faster and faster toward the bottom of the sea. She was not afraid any longer. She was who she was, and she would be happy to see her father again. It was time.

Jane watched as the mermaids waited, their eyes filled with tears. She knew they cried for their men who had not returned. But they welcomed Jane all the same, covering her in necklaces like pretty garlands. They were made of pearls and tiny seashells. They bobbed gently in the water and sang for her as she greeted them.

Neptune came down onto the seabed, his robes swirling around his body. His eyes were soft as she stared into his face. He embraced Jane and held her close, and then stood back from her. He reached into his robes for a little golden crown, blew gently upon it, and watched it float through the waters until it landed upon her head. She nodded her thanks, and he led her to her throne where he said she would rule alongside him in whatever fashion she wished.

“Minerva,” Jane said haltingly, for her voice was choked with tears. “She saved me, Father.”

“I know she did,” he said, and he took her hand as the cheers of the mermaids rose and fell. They chanted her name. She smiled in gratitude. “Is she hurt?” Neptune asked, and his voice was full of pain.

“I am certain that she is well,” said Jane, “for she is wiser and stronger than all of us, and we will all be together soon.”

“But you do
not
know for certain?” he asked her, and his voice was filled with anxiety and pain. “I must go to the Sunlit Cloud and look for her...”

“No, I am not sure,” she said softly. “May I come with you?”

“You cannot,” he said sadly. “It is for full-blood gods and goddesses only, and you would not survive the journey.”

“I will wait,” she said. “I will rule in your place until you return.

Neptune nodded, and then placed his trident in her hands. He called out to his courtiers—or such that remained. “All hail the princess...Princess Jane, of the Emerald Sea.”

“All Hail,” they chanted, over and over and over again, and Jane sat and watched them. She felt their love wash over her and cleanse her soul.

“Thank you,” she whispered to her father, kissing his cheek.

“It will be different now, my daughter,” he said. “You need not fear me anymore, for I will never harm you, and you may come and go as you please.”

“I think I will stay here now,” she said, and her mind turned to Blake, who must be safe with his mother, if all was well. Her heart still ached for him.

“Then fare thee well, and I shall see you as soon as I can. Is there any message you would like me to take to my dearest Minerva?” he asked. “If she is there...and safe...” he added, his eyes filling with tears.

“Yes,” she said, smiling. “I think she will be there, and I would like to you tell her that...she is like my mother now, and I would be honored if she became your wife because I love her so well.”

Neptune smiled shyly. “I will give her your message, if I can find the courage.”

“Find it,” Jane said. “For I know she cares for you, and you should be as one.”

“We must find you a proper groom, but our men...are lost,” he said. The mermaids hung their pretty heads and cried as he said the words, for these men were their lovers. “They are heroes,” he told the mermaids, who nodded in agreement.

Neptune cleared his throat and began to speak to the group amassed before him. “The little children of the sea will be heartbroken when they learn that the mermen are gone. As you know, they have been sequestered in a cave for some time, to protect them from all the dangers around them, and they are guarded closely by three of my mermaids and the reef sharks who do my bidding. Never forget that this new generation will still rise... Our men died to spare us from the rule of Pluto and the Underworld,” Neptune continued, “and not for the Princess Jane alone. Remember that. You would all be dead if Pluto had his way...and your children, too.”

Jane cried as the mermaids nodded and bobbed in the water, smiling at her through their own tears. They said that they could not be angry with her, though their tears poured down for their lost men...for Jane was one of them, and she would lead them and care for them as a daughter of Neptune should.

Neptune floated toward the surface as Jane sat quietly on her throne, taking in the murky beauty that was everywhere around her. She would not live on the land again, she knew. She was certain she belonged in this place. She would let Blake go, to find happiness elsewhere, for she loved him and wanted him to be happy. She would not take his humanity from him for her own selfish reasons.

And, of course, there was something else, too. Something that held her back... She knew it was the Cupid, her mysterious friend, with whom she could be fully herself. It was always the Cupid who seemed to understand her in a way that others could not. She would go to him, if he lived—and she felt sure that he did—and find out if he used his other arrow at last.

He had not always been straight with her, but he was the one who fascinated and intrigued her
above all others
, even above the beautiful human boy whom she still adored.

I cannot love both
, she thought, confused.
It must be one or the other, or none at all.

She told the mermaids to be at ease, and they scattered into smaller groups, talking sadly about their men. And she drifted up the surface where the skies were clear blue, and the air felt heavy and thick to breathe. She floated on the Emerald Sea, staring up at the sky and dreaming.

I cannot love two,
she thought again
. There can only be one
,
and I will wait here for him. If he comes, I will know that it is real
...

* * * *

The Cupid was up in the Sunlit Cloud when he heard her silent call. He had been thinking of her anyway. He was surrounded by love, and his mother was more perfect than he could ever have dreamed. He was the son of Mercury and Venus, a full-blooded god, and he was at peace in the sunshine and the warmth of his family. All his dreams had come true, and yet...he had heard her call, and he knew he could not stay away.

He went to Venus and his strong, charismatic father, who wore wings upon his ankles, and he explained that he must go, but that he would soon return. They listened to him, and then they nodded their assent and kissed him fondly.

“You are my son. You are born to love,” his mother said, smiling. “Go and be in love, but come back to us as soon as you can for I cannot bear to lose my son twice.” Mercury smiled proudly as Cupid unfolded his huge, white wings.

“I will,” the Cupid said, and he smiled like a boy. There was no more cunning and no more curses or spells to spin his head. He stretched his wings, luxuriating in the heat of daylight, and he looked down from the Sunlit Cloud, down to the Emerald Sea, which glittered like a jewel in the distance.

He jumped from the cloud as Jupiter waved goodbye, and smiled at Mercury and Venus. All would be well, for now. Pluto might survive, but he would need time to regain his strength. For now, he could celebrate the victory that had been won.

The sea was smooth and still as the Cupid approached it. His broad wings stirred the surface ever so gently, causing pretty ripples upon its surface. Then, he saw her. He did not need to look for her, for she was just where he knew that she would be. Jane was a part of him, and without her, he was incomplete. Jane was a half-blood goddess, it was true, but her humanity seemed to fulfill him and stimulate him, always leaving him wanting more.

He floated over her and she smiled up at him. He noticed the little crown of hammered gold that rested upon her beautiful pale hair even as she floated. Her tail was blue and green and glistened in the sun. She looked relaxed and happy now. Her eyes were warm and bright as she stared up at him. The joy in her face was all the reassurance he needed. He told her that the battle had been won, and that Minerva was safe. She just smiled.

He floated down to her, moving his wings gently so that he hovered just above her body, and then he reached down to touch her face. She pulled him closer still, both arms around his neck, and she kissed him, closing her eyes. He felt his heart swell with love as he returned her kiss.

* * * *

Oh, how I love him!
Jane thought as they kissed.

In the days that followed, they would meet there, every day, always, and later, when they were nostalgic, they would also go to the island and play in the sand. The curse was removed now, and the island was safe. In time, it became their refuge. It was the perfect meeting point between the sea and sky. Jane could not be with the Cupid every moment, but she longed for him every day of her life, and their love grew deeper and stronger over time. He had told her that they would each be as themselves and live out their lives, and then they would meet and share their lives with one another.

Jane knew there was no need to change and no need to explain. In perfect understanding, they grew with one another, always bewitched, and always in love.

Jane returned to Royalton only once, for her grandmother was gone now: It was too late. Minerva traveled with her, and took her to the grave. Together, they placed lilies upon the grass, and Jane cried. For hours, they rested there, and Jane told Minerva all about her young life and what her grandmother had meant to her. She had never had the chance to say goodbye, and for years afterward, she would sometimes cry and long for the woman that she had left behind.

But Jane knew now that she had truly been bewitched, and so she learned to forgive herself. Still, she would never forget the way her grandmother had cared for her and loved her.

Nor would she forget Blake, the boy she had thought she loved. But she knew he was safe, and she also knew he would be happier with his own kind. Just as she needed the understanding of Cupid, who knew her mind, Blake would need someone who could truly understand him. She knew she was not that person because only the Cupid could fill the empty spaces in her heart.

THE END