The Mermaid's Curse (California Mermaids Book 1) by Kristina Ludwig Page B

shoots Father a pained look. “No,” she says softly. Father places his hand on her arm, his eyes gentle and full of pity.
    “I couldn’t meet him,” she continues. “Lucas was so devastated by life without my mother that he hurled himself into the ocean one day, before I was even a year old. He was only seventeen, and he just couldn’t live the life that he’d been forced into. My mother told me that she found his body floating among the waves one day, when she was watching for him at sunrise. She buried him at the bottom of the ocean, and mourned him secretly, only telling me the story when I was older.”
    A single tear trickles down her cheek, glowing brilliant aqua, and Father wipes it away. My eyes fill with tears of their own at the tragic story.
    Confused thoughts swim through my head like brightly-colored fish scrambling to avoid a shark. “So Grandmer Genevieve’s immortality was taken, but you’re immortal. And so am I.” I hesitate for a moment, swallowing hard. “That is true, right?”
    “Yes,” Mother says. “The immortality was revoked from my mother, but not from me, or any of my descendants. Apparently, the witch Morwenna told my mother that her indiscretion should not cost future generations the gift of immortality, since it was her sin alone, not ours.”
    Interesting. I’ve always avoided Morwenna, mostly because I find her terrifying—but at least she’s fair.
    Mother continues, “However, Morwenna did put one curse on your grandmer that affects future generations—you included.”
    A shiver runs up my spine, starting with my tail. “A curse?”
    “Yes,” Mother says in a hoarse voice, not quite meeting my eyes. “Once a mermaid of Genevieve’s lineage reaches age eighteen, she may travel to the surface freely, as all mermaids do. But then, she has only twelve full moons to decide whether she wants to live in the ocean or on land. And once she decides, she can never go back. If she tries to cross to the other side after committing to her choice, she will disintegrate instantly.”
    My breath catches in my throat. I’ve only just met Xavier, and already I can’t imagine life without him. But to never talk to my parents or Ula again? Unthinkable.
    Mother reaches out, squeezing my hand. “I wish that love always had a happy ending, but sometimes it just doesn’t. That’s why, when you brought the human here, I felt that it was time for you to learn the truth. I can tell that, even though you’ve only just met Xavier, you care about him deeply. That’s the only way you would kiss him. But you must know that a relationship with a human is doomed for failure—that is, unless you are willing to leave us forever.”
    I yank my hand away from my mother’s, dropping my head into the crook of my arms. I wish I’d never ventured above the surface. If I’d never met Xavier, my life would be easy. I wouldn’t have to choose—I would just continue to live the way I always had, completely ignorant of my special talent and my sad heritage.
    Suddenly, I’m furious. If my parents had told me sooner, I never would’ve gone to the surface to begin with. I snap my head up, glaring at them. “Why did you keep this a secret from me for so long? Ula knows, doesn’t she?”
    “Of course,” Mother says. She seems unaffected by my violent reaction; she probably expected it. “She learned the truth at age eighteen as well, at which time she was permitted to venture to the surface and make her choice. It’s a rite of passage that every mermaid descendant of Genevieve must experience.”
    I look down at my tail, speechless. I’ve just learned so much that my mind is churning like a whirlpool.
    Father finally speaks. “Do you understand now, Oceania, why we don’t want you spending time with that land boy? Attachments to humans will only complicate your decision, and everyone knows that a mermaid’s true place is in the ocean.”
    “Of course I understand,” I say in a flat voice.