SilverScale Books

I dove into the clear blue water, luxuriating in its silky embrace, and the sensation of my body transforming. My legs merged together as iridescent emerald scales rippled over tan skin, and my perfectly manicured toes stretched into a strong, yet elegant tail fin. Webbing grew between my fingers, and gills emerged on either side of my neck, just beneath my jaw.

I took a deep breath as I swam into my favorite spot in the cove, where the warm sunlight dappled the water in a way that made my long blonde hair positively glow. Twisting and twirling between patches of crystalline water, I admired the way my tail glittered like a thousand gemstones in the light.

Back home, I had received endless compliments on the sheen of my scales, the luster of my skin, and the perfect symmetry of my fins. Among my own pod, I was one of the finest mermaids; I had won nearly every beauty contest and pageant I entered, and was an object of envy for many of my less well-endowed peers.

Since merfolk valued beauty above all else, those who fell short of symmetry standards were shunned, and were considered fortunate if they could earn a living serving their betters.

My dear mother had ensured that would never happen to me, and I was grateful to her for it. Her strict skin-care, scale-care, and hair-care regimens worked wonders, and her lessons on poise and social skills were invaluable. I may not have excelled at my singing lessons, but I more than made up for that tiny flaw in other ways.

By the time I came of age, my illustrious beauty had earned me a position of influence and respect within the pod. And naturally, my fashionable clothing had only further enhanced my own inherent beauty. I was the complete package; beauty, grace, and my own thriving fashion boutique here in Willowmere.

Bubbles & Bobbins served only the most beautiful customers, and I was proud to say my designs had most certainly elevated the fashion couture of the small magical town. Fortunately, there were no humans within its borders to taint the population, and the witches, elves, nymphs, shifters and fae who wore my pieces were more than deserving of the honor.

If only more fabrics could handle saltwater, I would have an undersea boutique as well. Alas, my research and development for fashionable fabrics that looked as good under the waves as above them was progressing rather slowly.

The sooner I developed some, the sooner I could open a second boutique back home. And perhaps once I did, I could find a handsome merman to swim beside me. I exhaled a stream of bubbles, flipping onto my back to watch them race towards the surface. 

I was the uncontested beauty of my pod; by all rights, I should have found Mr. Perfect by now. He would be much taller than me, have perfectly pearly teeth, polished scales, and a physique to rival those Greek statues carved from marble. Just thinking about this imaginary merman made me want to twirl my hair around a finger like a schoolgirl. How did one find time to run a successful boutique, keep up with a beauty regimen, and go on dates at the same time? After all, I’d like to find a handsome mer to swim beside me sooner, rather than later.

Not that there were many mer in Willowmere to choose from; the handful I had met here were older. Other than an elder water nymph, the only other aquatic folk in Willowmere were a family of selkies, the seal shifters. 

My lip curled. Their plain features and dull brown fur were a selkie’s hallmark, and the exact opposite of what a mermaid would find attractive. Though I supposed the selkie children were sweet enough, so I didn’t mind having them as customers. But if I wanted to find a suitable partner at my level, I would need to socialize amongst the various pods that made up the underwater Emeraldine Mer Queendom.

If I could find the time, anyways.

Speaking of time, I should probably get ready to open my shop for the day. But first… With a powerful downstroke, I launched myself out of the water, reveling in the momentary feeling of weightlessness. The water droplets around me sparkled like diamonds, and I was in the middle of admiring them when I caught a glimpse of golden scales.

Startled, I splashed back down into the water a little less gracefully than I intended. From beneath the waves, my breath caught in my gills as I watched a vision of chiseled abs and golden scales swim towards me. We swam towards each other like two magnets inevitably drawn together.

I hovered for a moment before I mindspoke, simply admiring the merman before me.

But he beat me to it. You must be Coralyn.

I blinked. How did you know?

Had we met before? No, I would definitely have remembered him. That chiseled jaw and those broad shoulders would have surely been engraved in my memory.

He grinned, his sparkling blue eyes even more radiant than the water, and ran a hand through his silky blonde hair, making my fingers itch to do the same. When I saw your beautiful tail, I knew it must be you. After all, every pod knows who has the loveliest emerald scales in all of Emeraldine.

I flushed with pleasure at the compliment. Your manners are only outshone by your own golden scales.

His slow, sensual grin set butterflies loose in my stomach. Thank you. It is quite the honor to receive such praise from an illustrious mermaid like yourself.

What a charmer.

If I weren’t away from home so much, I’m sure I would have heard of you as well… I trailed off expectantly.

Merrick, he supplied readily, from the Auron Pod.

That explained the brilliant hue of his tail, and why we had yet to cross paths. The Auron Pod traveled far more frequently than the other pods, as they were constantly in search of the best sunlit waters.

Well, Merrick, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I held out my hand, and he dutifully pressed his lips to my knuckles.

The pleasure is all mine. He held onto my hand a heartbeat longer than necessary. Would you like some company on your morning swim?

I nodded sagely, attempting not to appear overly eager, even though I felt like grinning from ear to ear. I would like that.

With a flick of my fin, I sped off, certain I would take Merrick by surprise with my speed. To my delight, he matched me stroke for stroke as I twisted and twirled through the water. He kept up effortlessly, and every time his fin brushed mine, it felt like a jolt of electricity fizzled along my scales.

We twirled around each other in tight spirals, perfectly synchronized to each other and the currents around us. When I leaped above the waves, he was right beside, his raised eyebrow a challenge I couldn’t resist. With a laugh, I raced him through a maze of colorful corals, where a single mistroke would chip a scale if he wasn’t careful. But by the time we shot into open waters, he didn’t even look winded.

Was this it? Had I finally found Mr. Perfect?

It felt like I was living out my own fairy tale!

With a giddy grin, I dove low, looping under an arch of stone before rocketing back up towards the surface. I launched myself as high as I could, and was delighted when I saw Merrick leaping up next to me. His momentum started carrying him higher than me even as I reached the apex of my jump, but he surprised me when he wrapped me in his arms and executed a perfect flip in mid-air, before spinning us in a tight spiral.

The feel of his strong arms around me had me melting against his firm chest. He was everything I had ever dreamed of, and I felt like I must be the luckiest mermaid alive to have her perfect merman presented to her exactly the way she wanted him.

We slipped back beneath the waves as smoothly as a pair of dolphins, but his arms only loosened a fraction as we came out of our dive and drifted upright. I turned around in his arms, placing my palms against his firm chest. His heartbeat pounded against my skin, a delicious drumbeat my own heart echoed as I pressed myself flush against him.

You kept up pretty well, for an Auron, I said teasingly. My eyes dipped to his full lips before rising again.

He grinned, flashing teeth as white as the finest pearl in my collection. Not all Aurons sit around sun bathing all day.

One of my hands drifted down to splay over the ridges of his abs. Clearly.

Merrick’s beautiful blue eyes heated, his grin turning sensual. His arms shifted around me, one hand pressing into my lower back, and the other rising until his fingers were supporting the back of my head.

His eyes dropped to my lips, and I instinctively leaned closer, my eyelashes fluttering shut. Just as I was sure his lips were about to brush mine, someone called his name from above the waves, shattering the moment.

“Merrick, if we don’t leave now, we’re gonna be late!” The voice was clearly female, and I felt a sudden stab of jealousy.

Merrick gave an exasperated sigh and released me. That would be my little sister. The one with terrible timing.

The jealousy faded away almost instantly. Ah.

I apologize for the interruption. Shall we continue our…conversation at a later date?

My stomach did a little flip at the word date. I would like that, Merrick of the Auron Pod. You can find me at Bubbles & Bobbins every weekday.

Then I will seek you there, my beautiful Coralyn, he said, taking my hand and lifting it to his lips once more.

I flicked my fin, fanning it out in the perfect rippling display. Don’t make me wait too long.

His eyes heated again for a moment, before he nodded and swam away. I admired his retreating figure, the way the dappled sunlight gilded the strong planes of his back and made his tail glitter like living gold.

Once he was out of sight, I realized with a jolt that I was now running very late. With a few powerful strokes of my fin, I sped through the water, arrowing straight for the shore.

As quickly as I could, I shifted back into my land form, dried off, and dressed. I hurried back to town, letting out a relieved sigh when my boutique finally came into view.

The outside of my shop was bordered in weathered white shiplap, its windows frosted like sea glass and forever catching the light in shifting hues of blue and green. Shell-shaped lanterns dangled from wrought-iron hooks, which glowed beautifully at night. The sign above the door was hand-painted with elegant looping letters and a bobbin of thread trailing tiny bubbles on driftwood.

By the time I arrived at the front door of my shop, my employee was already waiting outside, looking annoyed.

She took one look at my wet hair and flushed cheeks and raised an eyebrow. “Enjoy your morning swim?”

Gemma could be overly dramatic at times, but at least she was good with the customers.

“Something like that,” I muttered, fishing out my keys and unlocking the front door.

The door swung open on silent hinges to reveal the curated interior of Bubbles & Bobbins. Inside, the air remained cool and refreshing, laced with the soft aroma of sea salt and crisp linen. The floor was set with pearlescent tiles that rippled subtly beneath my feet, as if I were walking across the bottom of the sea. Gossamer curtains drifted lazily along the walls, stirring as though moved by a gentle underwater current.

The racks that displayed my hand-sewn garments curved gracefully rather than standing straight, carved from pale driftwood and decorated with embedded shells. Dresses hung from them like seafoam and starlight, made of silks that shimmered with the iridescence of fish scales, satins in delicate shell-pink and luminous moon-blue, and heavier fabrics embroidered with thread that gleamed as if spun from kelp-silver. Many of the pieces carried subtle enchantments, courtesy of my witch friend Clove: hems that never dragged, bodices that warmed or cooled to the wearer’s comfort, and skirts that swayed as though drifting in an underwater current.

Gemma and I went about our opening procedures, stocking the register and making sure everything was in its rightful place. I could feel her staring at me periodically, and when I was drying my hair with the enchanted blow-dryer I kept in the back for occasions like this, she finally spoke.

“Spill the pearls already.”

I glanced at her innocently. “Whatever do you mean?”

She rolled her eyes. “You keep grinning like you won the lottery. So what really happened this morning? I haven’t seen you this giddy since your parents sent you that rare string of pearls for your birthday.”

Carefully, I turned off the blow dryer and set it aside, and ran my fingers through my now fluffy hair. “I met someone.”

Gemma’s eyebrows shot up to her hairline. “A handsome someone, I take it?”

“Yes!” I squealed, unable to contain my excitement a moment longer. “He’s the complete package—beautiful golden scales, abs like a washboard, and blue eyes I could just drown in!”

“And he’s a merman?” Gemma confirmed.

“Yes! I finally found Mr. Perfect!”

“I am so excited for you, Coralyn!” Gemma took my hands and gave them a squeeze. “What’s he like?”

“His name is Merrick, and he’s from the Auron Pod.”

Gemma waited expectantly for a beat before asking, “And?”

My brow furrowed. “And what?”

“Is he visiting? Does he have family here? What does he do for work? Do you have any of the same hobbies or interests?”

“I…” I trailed off, realizing I had no idea how to answer her questions. “He has a little sister.”

“Ooh, what’s her name?”

“I don’t know.”

Gemma gave me a look. “Don’t you know anything else about him?”

“We only just met this morning,” I said a tad defensively. “But I just know he’s perfect for me.”

Gemma raised an eyebrow.

“I told him where to find me; I’m sure he’ll come by the shop today to ask me out officially,” I hurried to add. “When you see him, you’ll understand.”

“Is that right?” Gemma still looked a tad doubtful. “Well, I guess I’ll just have to look forward to meeting him.”

I nodded, my enthusiasm returning. “I’m sure you’ll love him—he’s like a real fairy tale prince! And I’m sure we’ll have plenty of time to learn all of those little details about each other in no time.”

“If you say so, Coralyn.” She gave me a bright smile. “Anyways, now that the Cherry Blossom Festival is over, shall we start ordering more fabric now, in preparation for when all of the Midsummer Night’s Ball start pouring in?”

“Let’s do that.”

Gemma and I pored over websites and catalogues alike, debating which fabrics would be best, as our cart kept growing fuller. I couldn’t help glancing out the window every few minutes, expecting my golden-haired prince to walk in at any moment. But by the time I was getting ready to close up shop for the day, he still hadn’t stopped by.

Tomorrow, I told myself as I sent Gemma home and locked the front door. He would definitely come to see me tomorrow.