Caspian Black had always danced on the edge of danger. Born to the sea and raised on the creaking decks of the infamous ship Sea Serpent, he was no stranger to death. But waking up alive, coughing seawater with the memory of a mysterious girl carved into his soul, felt like fate had twisted its rules.
The island they had washed up on was a speck of green and gold in the endless blue. His crew, what was left of it had gathered in a makeshift camp near the shoreline, nursing wounds and salvaging what they could from the wreck. The ship was gone. Splintered to ruins against the reef. Half their treasure lost, along with men Caspian had known for years.
But his thoughts weren't on gold.
They were on her.
He sat apart from the others, staring out at the tide, the necklace of seashells she wore still vivid in his mind. Her face haunted him fierce, otherworldly, beautiful. No human could breathe underwater like that. No human could shine with such unearthly light.
She was a mermaid.
He'd heard the stories since he was a boy: creatures of the deep who lured men to their doom with songs and smiles. But this one hadn't lured him, she had saved him.
Jareth limped over and dropped beside him with a groan. "Still brooding?"
Caspian didn't answer.
"Mate, you should be dead. We all should. That reef was death itself."
"I know what I saw," Caspian muttered.
"You were half drowned. Probably hallucinating."
"I wasn't." He turned to his first mate. "She was real. A mermaid. She pulled me out."
Jareth raised an eyebrow. "And let me guess, she had scales of silver and eyes like stars?"
"She had eyes like storms," Caspian said. "And she kissed me. Gave me breath. There was magic."
Jareth let out a slow whistle. "Well, if that's true, you're in deeper trouble than you think."
"What do you mean?"
"Mermaids don't save humans. They're forbidden to. And if the sea royals find out…"
"They won't."
"You're going to try and find her, aren't you?"
Caspian's jaw tightened. "I have to."
Jareth ran a hand through his damp hair. "You're mad. You want to go chasing after a girl who might get you both killed?"
"Yes."
Jareth studied him. Then, with a grunt, stood up. "Then we better fix another ship."
Back beneath the sea, Nerida trained in the coral rings with her warrior tutor, Marek. Her arms ached from sparring, her tail whipped with precision, but her mind wandered. Every block, every twist, every strike she saw his face.
"Focus!" Marek barked. "Your mind is above the waterline again."
She lowered her blade. "It's nothing."
"It's everything. Distraction in battle means death."
"I'm not in battle."
"Not yet." Marek stepped closer. "But you will be. You are to be queen, Nerida. A ruler must choose the sea over the stars."
She looked away.
That night, alone in her grotto, she traced the surface maps she had secretly collected. Routes of human ships, currents, landmarks. She couldn't stop thinking about the pirate.
His eyes. The way he looked at her. Like she wasn't a monster.
She needed to see him again. Not just because of the magic though it still pulsed within her but because something had shifted the moment their lips met.
The ocean itself had felt it.
The sea sang a new song now. One of danger. And of love.
And she was ready to risk everything to hear the next verse.
On the island, Caspian and his crew worked tirelessly. They scavenged wreckage and began crafting a small schooner from the broken remnants of the Sea Serpent. It would be nothing like their old ship, but Caspian didn't care. He didn't want to raid coastal cities or hunt royal convoys. He wanted the truth.
As they built, he questioned every sailor, every survivor. Had anyone else seen her? One old deckhand claimed he saw a flash of a tail. Another said he heard singing. But none could confirm what Caspian knew in his bones.
She was real.
Every night, he returned to the reef. He dove into the waters where he had nearly died, searching the shadows for a flicker of her presence. Sometimes he swore he heard her voice in the waves. Sometimes he thought he saw glimmers in the deep. But she never came.
Until the seventh night.
The moon was full, casting silver light across the water. Caspian stood knee-deep in the shallows, staring out into the horizon, when the waves parted.
She rose from the water like a dream. Her hair floated like silk, her eyes fixed on him with fierce clarity. She wore no disguise, no glamour. Just the truth of who she was.
Nerida.
Their eyes met. Neither moved.
"You came back," Caspian breathed.
She tilted her head. "You called me."
He stepped forward, the sea licking his boots. "I had to know your name."
She hesitated. "It is forbidden."
"So is saving a pirate," he said.
A smile tugged at her lips. "Then we are both criminals."
He laughed, and the sound was raw with relief. "Nerida. I'm Caspian."
They stood in silence, waves breaking around them.
"I don't understand what's happening," he said at last. "But I feel like... I've known you forever."
She nodded. "The sea carries echoes. Some older than we are."
"Why me?"
"You were drowning. You were dying."
"And you broke your laws to save me."
"I didn't think," she said. "I just... couldn't let you go."
He reached out, slowly, and her hand met his. The touch sent shivers through them both. The air between them shimmered.
"There's something between us," he whispered.
"There is," she agreed. "But the tides will fight us."
"Then we'll fight them back."
She looked at him, uncertainty in her eyes. "You don't know the cost."
"I don't care."
They stood like that for a long time, the moon their only witness.
And far below, in the dark of the sea, something ancient stirred.
The ocean did not forget forbidden love.
And neither did the queen.