The Little Morgen

By Miranda Grant

SHE KILLS WITHOUT MERCY

On her thirteenth birthday, Thalliya watched her entire family get slaughtered. The humans cut off their fins and hung their heads from their Viking ships. Left cradling what few pieces remained of her twin, Thalliya screamed to the gods for vengeance.

Answered by the Goddess of Love and War, Thalliya now guards the seas without mercy.

HE FIGHTS WITHOUT FEAR

Ragnor is hired to take care of the mermaid terrorising the western seas. With seventeen kills under his belt, he thinks little of venturing into the Mouth of Hel. It'll be a quick job with a quick pay...

But when his ship is wrecked and the majority of his crew is drowned, Ragnor realises that it's not a mermaid he's hunting. It's a morgen, a dark mermaid, that's hunting him.

And there's only one way to kill one of those.

You have to get her to fall in love.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Miranda Grant
• Release date: Jan 16, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005657789

Miranda Grant

I am a fantasy/paranormal romance writer because when you are imagining the perfect man, you might as well make him a sexy, immortal bad***.

Book preview

The Little Morgen

A steamy, dark retelling of The Little Mermaid

Miranda Grant

BY MIRANDA GRANT

WAR OF THE MYTH SERIES

Elemental Claim

Think of Me Demon

Tricked Into It

Rage for Her

FAIRYTALES OF THE MYTH STANDALONES

Burn Baby Burn

The Little Morgen

What People Are Saying About the

Fairytales of the Myth

Definitely not your average retelling, I didn't see a few things coming. I loved the twist & really looking forward to the next book.

I loved this story and struggled to put it down!

Great story! I couldn't put it down and I read the whole thing in about two hours!

What an epic twist on the Cinderella tale. Such tragedy and heartbreak, such love. So many fabulous twists I didn’t see coming.

One of the Best Books I've read this year. I've never imaged Cinderella as a dark warrior…

Definitely not a Cinderella story like you've ever read before. Action, revenge and some steamy moments are the name of the game for a unique story.

This is definitely my new favorite retelling yet.

The Little Morgen

This is mostly a work of fiction. European cities, ancient tools, historical timelines, and cultural information are all based on what research I could find. The characters, mythical creatures, monster-slayer guild, and incidents are all products of my imagination and should not be seen as having any more credibility than fake news does. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living, dead, or stuck in purgatory, is entirely coincidental.

Then again…very little is known about what really happened back in the day, so who can say for sure?

Copyright © 2021 by Miranda Grant

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All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Chapter header font by Graham Meade. Subtitle font by Dieter Steffmann.

Cover and inside artwork by Jamie Dalton at Magnetras Book Covers.

Hey, you. Yeah, you:

Where were you during the superhero meeting?

I had biscuits and everything.

Pronunciation Guide

People

Al-Hakam…………..el-ha-keem

Bjerner……………bjer-nahr

Thalliya…………………tal-ee-uh

Ragnar…………………rag-nar

Eirik……………….I-ric

Erikson…………………eric-son

Places

Malaqah…………………mal-lah-ga

Al-Andalus………………..al-ahn-duh-loose

Terms

skipari (first mate)…………………skip-er-ee

styrimann (captain)…………………stoo-rih-man

Characters

Eirik – The Viking chief that holds all the answers, but he never gives out information for free. He’ll only reveal his secrets if Ragnar kills twelve monsters… a feat unknown to man.

Ragnar – A cold, heartless bastard believed to be cursed with the blood of the elves. He’ll let nothing stand in his way of rescuing a loved one from the depths of Niflhel.

Thalliya – A young mermaid who watched her entire family get slaughtered. Consumed by her grief, she struck a deal with a god: give up her heart in exchange for the power to kill anyone that dares venture into her domain.

Freya – The Vanir Goddess of Love and War. After hearing Thalliya’s cries, she gifted her with the strength to never be a victim again.

Al-Hakam II – The sayyid of Al-Andalus, a ruler in dire need of a monster hunter. He’s already lost six slayers to the mermaid terrorising the western seas. Will he lose another?

Jaiden – A mermaid expert hired by Al-Hakam II to figure out why the mermaid is suddenly attacking his people.

Delentia – The Incarnation of Madness. Having this goddess’ interest is rarely a good thing…

Prologue

The Birth of a Monster

942, Sea of Darkness (Atlantic Ocean)

Thalliya swam through the deep blue sea, a smile stretching across her face. She flicked her tail faster and faster, gaining speed as she cut through the water like a dolphin. The sun shone high above her, its rays sinking into the dark depths of her home.

Angling up, she breached the surface and laughed. Her high-pitched giggle resonated in the hot morning air. Flopping backwards, Thalliya threw her arms out wide, allowing herself to float on top of the waves. The gentle lap of the water against her skin helped soothe the burn of the sun. She peered up at the sky, knowing better than to look at the bright yellow orb directly. The last time she’d done that, she hadn’t been able to properly see for ages.

Ta-ya!

Smiling at the shout of her name, the little mermaid dove back underwater. She waved at her baby brother as he swam towards her. His blue and white striped tail cut through the water with a smoothness that belied his usual clumsiness.

Ketea! she gushed, her eyes shining brightly.

Her little brother smiled widely. Racing towards him, Thalliya grabbed his arm and dragged him backwards. He squealed in pure delight, loving the speed at which she swam.

Looking up, Thalliya spotted the rest of her family. Her twin sister vibrated with the same excited energy as she did. Her mother and father both smiled warmly as their dark blue tails propelled them forward.

Are you ready? I’m so excited! her twin gushed as she swam towards Thalliya. I can’t wait to wiggle my toes. Ariel said we get ten of them. Ten!

I –

And I want to move through the humans’ portals. All of them. Ariel says you have to learn the right magic first, but she said a guy-she-spoke-to-there’s buddy absolutely said it was possible to do. Like for anyone. Even for you and me. Don’t you want to learn magic?

Marina, their mother said with a small chuckle.

Turning with wide eyes, she looked at their parents. Did you learn magic when you went to land?

It’s not magic; it’s something they call reading.

Reading magic?

No, it’s – She stopped as she shared a loving look with their father. Yes, reading magic.

I can’t wait!

Neither could Thalliya. She’d dreamed of walking on land every night for the last year. She was finally of age. In another few minutes, she’d feel what it was like to have legs!

Hey, doofus!

Their father rolled his eyes before turning to face his brother, who was also their king. Ariel waved at them from beside him. Thalliya and Marina waved back.

You heading off? their father asked.

The king nodded. Ariel has a recital at two. Turning to face her and Marina, he smiled. Make sure you try this thing called honey. It’s delicious.

Her sister nodded enthusiastically, her eyes practically popping out of her head. Thalliya giggled. Sharing a glance with her twin, she silently agreed not to say anything. The faster this conversation was over, the faster they could get their legs.

Laughing, their uncle shook his head. Okay, okay. We’re off. You two be good. As he swam away, he shouted over his shoulder, And don’t forget about the honey!

She wouldn’t.

Eyes shining, Thalliya grabbed her sister’s hand and dragged her through the water. Laughing, their parents followed suit, holding Ketea between them.

The last one to Malaqah is a rotten crab! Releasing her twin’s hand, Thalliya swam as fast as she could.

But Marina was faster. She blitzed through the water like a dolphin, sticking her tongue out as she passed. Showing off, she turned around and swam backwards.

Thalliya’s eyes narrowed. As much as she’d practised