The Mermaid Princess Who Won’t Cry

Every Merfolk Queen possessed the gift of weeping tears that turned to pearls, amassing fortunes to rival the wealth of kingdoms. After bearing eight sons, the queen adopted a sea serpent shape-shifter and named her our Holy Maiden, intending for her to inherit the throne. Then, a century later, the old queen, against all expectations, conceived once more and gave birth to me. My eight older brothers adored me. Our entire kingdom hailed me as their future queen. However, I was born without tear ducts. I could not cry, which made me a worthless mermaid who could not produce a pearl. In the original timeline, my adopted sister told me of an enchanted spring on land that could make me weep. I trusted her blindly and followed her ashore. I let my tail turn into legs. She set fire to every path I could have taken back to the sea, then strung me up beneath the blazing sun. My scales cracked and peeled away. I could not even shed a tear as I was left to burn and shrivel in the sun until I died. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day of her coronation as the Holy Maiden. She was holding my hand and smiling with sisterly affection. “Don’t be afraid, little sister. I’ll shed the tears you can’t. I’ll look after our people for you.” I saw through her false affection, but I did not expose her. Instead, I obediently fastened the Pearl of the Sea God, the symbol of our sovereign’s power, around her neck. Everyone believed a mermaid who could not weep was worthless. Though none of them knew why I could not shed a tear. Even before my birth, I had turned every tear into deadly quicksilver, a poison that could corrode even a divine soul. I touched the burning corners of my eyes. I could hardly wait to see her face when she used that enchanted spring to force me to cry, only for my tears to blind her. Chapter 1 The agony of my flesh cracking and peeling away under the scorching sun was still fresh in my mind. I opened my eyes. Zyphira Torvalith was standing beside me and holding my hand on the altar dais. Below us, a vast crowd of merfolk elders and subjects stood before the altar. “Honored elders, Mirelle may have been born without tear ducts and may be unable to produce pearls, but she’s still the queen’s own flesh and blood.” Zyphira raised her voice. “I may be an outsider, a sea serpent by birth, but our mother has shown me great kindness. Today, as I’m crowned Holy Maiden, I offer to wear the Pearl of the Sea God in Mirelle’s place. “I’ll weep for her and shoulder the burden of providing for our people!” The elders immediately voiced their approval. “How selfless of you, Holy Maiden Zyphira! That useless princess enjoys all the privileges of her birth and gives nothing in return. She can’t squeeze out so much as a tear. How is she supposed to provide for our people?” “If Her Majesty weren’t in a coma, that girl would’ve been cast out of the royal family long ago.” My eldest brother, Althirion Aquarion, stepped onto the dais. Clad in golden scale armor, he towered over me and looked at me with disdain. “Did you hear that? Zyphira is taking on all this responsibility for you. Be a good sister and think of our people. Don’t let jealousy get in the way.” I touched the corners of my eyes, which felt faintly hot. The poisonous quicksilver churned through my veins. Good. It had not taken effect yet. I looked at him and obediently removed the Pearl of the Sea God from around my neck. “You’re right, Althirion.” I fastened the pearl around Zyphira’s pale neck myself. “Zyphira is better suited for this than I am.” The tension eased from Althirion’s shoulders. My other seven brothers rushed forward from behind him and surrounded Zyphira. My second brother, Blysar Aquarion, draped a shawl of cloud silk around Zyphira’s shoulders. “The Pearl of the Sea God gives off such a chill. We can’t have you freezing.” My third brother, Ceruleth Aquarion, poured a cup of hot broth and handed it to her. “You must be tired. Here, have something warm for your throat. Don’t bother with that useless girl.” My youngest brother, Haelthar Aquarion, stepped in front of me and blocked my way. “Get lost, you useless leech. You’re nothing but bad luck.” I stood alone at the deserted edge of the dais. Surrounded by my brothers, Zyphira smiled at me through the crowd. Her smile was smug with triumph. The coronation was over. I was pouring water in a side chamber. Zyphira came in and shut the door behind her. She walked up to me and dragged a long claw on her serpent-scale gauntlet across the back of my hand. My skin split open. Blood welled from the wound. It hurt very much, and I bit down hard on my lip. However, my eyes remained dry. Not even a hint of moisture. “Oh, Mirelle! I didn’t mean to do that!” Zyphira covered her mouth in a show of alarm. “Why aren’t you crying? Does it not hurt?” She leaned close to study my face. There were no tears. Satisfied, she let her guard down and dropped all pretense. “Mirelle, our annual tribute to the dragons is almost due. If you still can’t weep pearls of the finest quality, the elders might show you no mercy and offer you up as a sacrifice.” Zyphira sighed. “Don’t be afraid, though. I know of an enchanted spring on land. One dip, and even someone with a heart of stone would cry.” I looked at her dry, irritated eyes and smiled. “All right, Zyphira. Take me there.” Chapter 2 At dawn the next morning, the dragon envoy’s flying ship came to rest on the sea. “Ten thousand pearls of the finest quality. If there’s even one pearl missing, I’ll tear your palace down!” The dragon envoy smashed his wineglass on the floor. An uproar erupted in the great hall. The High Elder jabbed a finger in my face and began shouting abuse. “This is all your fault, you cursed girl! Her Majesty exhausted her power giving birth to you and fell into a coma. Our treasury is empty, yet you can’t produce a single tear! “Hand her over! Strip off her royal scales and cut out her sinews. Give them to the dragons as payment. They can put them to use!” The crowd closed in on me. Standing in the center of the hall, I let them rant and spit at me. My poison coursed through my blood and spread throughout my body. The more they cursed me, the better. The hotter my anger burned, the faster the quicksilver fused within me. Zyphira pushed through the crowd and stepped forward. “Please, honored envoy, calm yourself! Elders, wait!” She drew a dagger and slit her wrist without hesitation. Blood gushed from the wound. She began chanting a forbidden spell of the sea serpents. Her blood mingled with the tears she shed for show, then hardened in midair into thousands of strangely colored blood pearls. There were exactly ten thousand. Satisfied, the dragon envoy accepted the pearls and left. Zyphira’s knees buckled. She fell straight into Althirion’s arms. He caught her and shouted in anguish. “Summon the royal physician! Now!” Zyphira struggled to catch her breath. “Althirion, don’t blame Mirelle. For her sake, and for our people, I’d gladly give every last drop of my blood.” Ceruleth lunged at me and seized me by the collar. “You cold-blooded monster! You just stood there while Zyphira cut herself and bled for you! She’s sacrificing herself to keep you alive, and you don’t even care. Have you no conscience?” He hurled me to the floor. Haelthar walked over and kicked me hard in the stomach. I let the force of the blow send me rolling several yards across the floor. Shattered shells littered the floor of the great hall beneath me. Their sharp edges dug into my back and palms. Warm blood spread across the cold floor. “Even a worm is more useful than you!” Haelthar bellowed in fury. “If you fail to deliver the tribute again, I’ll make you wish you were dead!” I lay face down, fighting the pain as the shell fragments ground into my flesh. Resting in Althirion’s arms, Zyphira gave me a taunting smile. I lowered my head and made my voice tremble. “Zyphira, take me to that enchanted spring on land. I want to do my part for our people, too.” Zyphira gave a feeble nod. “Of course. I’ll take you tomorrow.” That night, I swam alone to a reef in the deepest reaches of the ocean. The wound on my palm had yet to heal. I pressed my hand against the rock and released the faintest trace of my power. It carried the scent of poisonous quicksilver. Several leviathans lurking within thirty miles of the reef let out terrified cries and fled the waters in a frenzy. At dawn, we set out for land. The underwater currents were vicious. Althirion brought out the Warding Dome, our people’s only enchanted relic that could protect against both water and fire. He lowered it over Zyphira’s head. “Making those blood pearls took too much out of you. This will keep you safe.” I had just used a shapeshifting spell to turn my tail into legs. My scales had peeled off during the transformation, leaving raw, open wounds that burned unbearably. I stood where I was. Althirion did not even glance at me. “Keep up. If you fall behind, no one’s coming back for you.” They surrounded Zyphira to keep her safely in their midst. I stumbled along at the rear. Saltwater seeped into my open wounds. Every step I took hurt. We were halfway to shore when a swarm of low-tier swordfish ambushed us from the reef. “Keep them away from Zyphira!” Althirion drew his sword. My brothers formed a tight ring around her, guarding each other’s backs. An enormous swordfish broke through the line and came straight for me. Chapter 3 Althirion saw it coming. He could easily have knocked the creature aside with his sword. Instead, he turned away to shield Zyphira from the churning water. The monster’s claws tore into my shoulder. The sound of flesh tearing was especially loud underwater. I let out a muffled groan and staggered back, clutching my shoulder. The guards behind me hacked the swordfish creature to death. The fighting ended. Blysar stormed up to me and slapped me. My ears rang from the blow. “You’re nothing but a liability! The smell of your blood nearly brought high-tier sea monsters down on us! Are you trying to get us all killed?” Zyphira poked her head out of the Warding Dome. She tore off a strip of filthy cloth and tossed it at my feet. “Blysar, don’t be angry. She didn’t want this to happen. Mirelle, dress your wound.” She did not even bother to hide her disgust. I bent down, picked up the rag, and pressed it against my injured shoulder. No one noticed as I dipped my fingertips in my own blood and let a drop fall onto a hardy stalk of ironweed growing at my feet. The green plant blackened from the roots up and collapsed into sludge. My quicksilver tears had grown so potent that I could barely contain them. All it needed was one more spark. We surfaced and made our way ashore. After crossing a stretch of scorched rock, we reached a volcanic crater. A pool of murky, scalding water churned at the bottom. Zyphira pointed to the spring. Her smile was strangely gentle. “Mirelle, this is the enchanted spring. Once you bathe in it, you’ll become the pride of our kingdom.” She had barely finished speaking when she clutched her chest and collapsed. “Ah!” Her face went white as she gasped for breath. “It’s Mother! She’s calling for help!” Althirion scooped her into his arms. “What’s happening?” Zyphira gripped his arm desperately. “Mother’s soul flame is fading! Althirion, all of you must go back and give her your magic. Go before it’s too late!” All my brothers panicked. “Two of us should stay to keep watch!” Ceruleth shouted. “No! The magical backlash is too severe. All eight of you must combine your magic to save her!” Tears streamed down Zyphira’s face as she pleaded. Althirion lowered her to the ground. “Stay here and make sure she bathes in the spring. We’ll be back soon!” My brothers used their magic to speed back toward the sea without looking back. Only Zyphira and I remained at the crater. Zyphira dropped the act at once. She straightened and brushed the dust from her clothes. “Good. They’re finally out of the way.” She raised her hand and sent a dozen or so runestones flying from her palm. The stones embedded themselves in the ground and raised an impenetrable barrier around the crater. Flames erupted from the ground. The air grew hotter by the moment. “Go on, Mirelle. Take your bath.” Zyphira kicked me over the edge of the crater. I tumbled down the scorching rock and came to rest beside the murky pool below. This was no enchanted spring. It was stagnant water tainted by lava and poisonous gases. “Enjoying the sun and the fires below?” Zyphira stood above me, looking down with contempt. “Don’t worry. This spell will roast you slowly until the pain finally makes you cry! Once you shed your first pearl, I’ll finish you off and take your place as the true princess!” The heat scorched my battered body. The wounds on my shoulder and palm crusted over with charred blood. My lips cracked and peeled. Memories of being roasted alive in the original timeline came flooding back. It was so hot. I lifted my head and looked up at Zyphira’s smug face, and I did not struggle or beg for mercy. I reached for the last intact royal scale on my left wrist before tearing it out and ripping away the flesh beneath it. The blood evaporated in the heat before it could fall. I pressed the bloodied scale squarely onto the central rune beneath my feet, the anchor of her spell. The spell faltered, its red glow wavering. Then, the magic reversed course and gathered beneath Zyphira’s feet on the rim above. I touched the burning corners of my eyes and laughed softly. As the scale sank into the rune, the lava that had been about to engulf me suddenly changed course. The fire beneath me twisted into countless chains that lashed upward and bound Zyphira’s arms and legs. Her smug smile froze. She fought to break free, but every movement drew the burning chains tighter. “What have you done?” Zyphira screamed as she lost control of her human form. Her long serpent tail reappeared, thrashing wildly in midair. I rose slowly and let the quicksilver poison break free of the seal that had held it back for so long. A silvery tear began to form in my eye. I looked at her terrified face. “You wanted my tears, right? Think you can handle them?”