Mermaid's Tail

By TJ Bell

The need for revenge is as deep as the sea

 

Fifteen years ago, Asia was tossed over the side of a ship and left for dead. Galene, the first mermaid, and Poseidon, the god of the sea, saved her and turned her into a mermaid.

 

For fifteen years, Asia has been biding her time, waiting to seek her revenge.

 

But now that she finally has her chance, she runs into a roadblock in the form of Conall Nowak, a handsome human man who takes her breath away and gives her all the feels…and makes her wish for a future that cannot be.

 

Because she is a mermaid, and Conall has a secret.

He knows who tossed Asia overboard.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tami Lund
• Release date: Nov 21, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223734840

Book preview

Mermaid’s Tail

Mermaid’s Tail

TJ BELL

MERMAID’S TAIL

by TJ Bell

Cover: Raquel Lyon at Crooked Sixpence Book Covers

Editor: Julie Sturgeon

Copyright: 2023 by Tami Lund LLC

License Notes

All rights reserved. This book is copyrighted property of the author and may not be redistributed to others for commercial or non-commercial purposes without express, written permission from the author or publisher. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to purchase their own copy from their favorite authorized retailer.

Thank you for your support.

All entities, locations, businesses, etc. in this book are strictly figments of the author’s overactive imagination and are not to be construed as real.

Questions, comments, or desires to seek permission to use any part of this book for your own purposes should be directed to [e-mail].

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Contents

Author’s Note

About this book

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Epilogue

Try this book next…

Chapter One

Books by TJ Bell

About the Author

Author’s Note

This book was previously published under my pen name, Tami Lund, in the Songs of the Deep limited-release mermaid anthology. With the exception of switching pen names, no other aspects of the story have changed in the re-publication of this book.

About this book

Mermaid’s Tail

The need for revenge is as deep as the sea

Fifteen years ago, Asia was tossed over the side of a ship and left for dead. Galene, the first mermaid, and Poseidon, the god of the sea, saved her and turned her into a mermaid.

For fifteen years, Asia has been biding her time, waiting to seek her revenge.

But now that she finally has her chance, she runs into a roadblock in the form of Conall Nowak, a handsome human man who takes her breath away and gives her all the feels…and makes her wish for a future that cannot be.

Because she is a mermaid, and Conall has a secret.

He knows who tossed Asia overboard.

Chapter One

Generally, Asia enjoyed her job. Thwarting sailors and fishermen who drew too close to that section of the ocean above her home—the pod of mermaids tucked deep beneath the sea—was usually fun.

She had a dark side, naturally—she was a mermaid, after all—and deceiving humans fed her inner bad girl in a way that nothing short of a good drowning could.

And she did it all without ever leaving the water.

The last time she’d been out of the sea was the day she drowned—more accurately, was tossed overboard—and Galene, the original mermaid, had saved her. She’d given Asia the ability to breathe underwater, had turned her legs into a fish’s tail. Then Galene’s magic had forced shimmering, purple scales to grow over most of Asia’s body.

The turning had been a long and miserably painful process, made twofold by the fact that Asia had not understood what was happening until it was over and she was part fish instead of fish food.

You have a new assignment, Bella, the head of security, informed her. Sometimes, it irked that Bella had been chosen for the job instead of her, but truthfully, Asia would rather be out there in the open sea, her tail fin flapping, her body undulating furiously as she chased off sailors, than down here dealing with personnel issues and bureaucracy. She’d only been fifteen when she’d been forced to trade her human life for life as a mermaid, but she recalled enough of the human world to acknowledge that neither world was run all that differently.

I just cleared the waters, Asia replied. Are you saying there’s another ship encroaching already? They had to have been going at breakneck speed, because when she’d left the surface a few hours ago, there’d been nothing on the horizon.

Not exactly, Bella hedged, and why was she fidgeting with her blue-green scales like she had something to say and wasn’t exactly keen to say it? But my intel says they should be near enough by tomorrow. I need you to intercept them.

Okay. This wasn’t anything different from what Asia did every single day.

And I want you to board their ship. Bella glanced up at the dim light that only just filtered down to their depths. We are exactly at the right time in the lunar cycle. You will be able to shift into human form.

Asia shook her head. Dark tendrils of hair floated through the water. Nope. Not happening. I do not go on land.

It’s not land, it’s a ship. In the middle of the ocean.

You mean like the one I was tossed from, fifteen years ago? Was Bella nuts? Why did she think Asia got such a thrill out of waylaying ships, sending them far away from the pod?

She had issues. And they were directly tied to being tossed from a boat in the middle of the ocean and getting turned into a mermaid. And she wasn’t the only one. The only way to become a mermaid or merman was to nearly drown, to be on death’s door, and be awarded Galene’s gift of life. Anyone would have issues after that experience.

Bella sighed, as if she’d expected this argument. I understand how you feel, Asia.

Yeah, you do. So why—

I’ve been working on this assignment for months, for years, truth be told. I’ve exhausted all other options.

You’ve… Why was Asia just now finding this out? She was the best of the best at guarding their piece of the ocean against those asshole sailors. If there had been an ongoing investigation, she should have been part of it, damn it.

Don’t look at me like I just stole your pet seahorse, Bella chided.

Asia jutted her chin and crossed her arms. The action lifted her purple scale-covered breasts.

Back before she’d been tossed overboard, when she hung out near the docks, she’d overheard plenty of sailors as they speculated about the existence of mermaids. Generally, sailors believed they were a myth, a legend used to explain away mysterious occurrences like a competent swimmer or captain falling overboard and presumably drowning even though a body was never discovered.

As with all myths, the tales grew exponentially with time.

Sailors had convinced themselves that mermaids were all naked from the waist up. Half the allure was the desire to see a woman’s breasts, even if the bottom half of her body was a fish’s tail.

Now that Asia was a mermaid, she knew how wrong they were. Every mermaid was different—not unlike humans, she supposed. Her scales, for example, extended up, from her tail all the way to her breasts. It looked like she was wearing a strapless evening gown.

If a sailor were to ever catch a glimpse of her, he’d be disappointed indeed.

There is a reason I was chosen as head of security over you, Bella said.

Asia’s flippers quivered. She hadn’t known Bella was even aware she’d expressed interest in the position.

Bella sighed. Do you want to know the reason?

What she wanted was to be done with this conversation. Just give me the assignment, she snapped.

Conall loved the sea. Out here, on a ship far, far from any shoreline whatsoever, it was so peaceful, despite the memories this trip evoked, the edge of what he supposed was grief—or, more likely, bitterness—simmering just below the surface of his subconscious.

That sensation was a large part of the reason he’d stayed away from the ocean for as long as he had. He’d feared it would be too overwhelming.

He kept bracing…and then nothing happened. And as they were at this point, so far out to sea that he could see nothing but roiling, churning water and endless moonlit sky, he was good. He could quit anticipating and just sit back and enjoy.

Ahoy, matey!

He grimaced. Butch, he said shortly.

Butch Rutgers considered himself a historian. Conall considered him an idiot. Nothing he’d drunkenly spewed since they’d cast off had any basis in fact. And here Conall was, about to endure another onslaught of utter nonsense.

Keeping an eye out for mermaids? Butch asked, clapping Conall on the shoulder before stepping up to the rail. He reeked of beer. The one thing Butch was exceptionally good at was drinking