Emerge Read Online Free Page B

so?”
    “Absolutely.”
     
     

     
     
    An hour and a half later, guests fill the ballroom. Mermaids and Mermen float around the buffet tables, dining on caviar and tuna tartar. A few are already dancing, swimming in intricate circles and figure eights around each other. In one corner, a band plays classical music on turritella shell flutes. And with every passing minute, another guest swims out from the privacy of the antechamber, resplendent in a jeweled tail and their grandest seashell or gemstone accoutrement.
    My face aches from smiling so much at my parents’ friends and colleagues.
    “So, Aurelia, I keep telling your mother she simply must invite me over for dinner so we can discuss instituting konklili restrictions.”
    I nod but inwardly hope my mother can put off MerMatron Drusy for as long as possible. The only reason she wants to spend an evening in our home is so she has plenty of fodder for the rumor tides. Since my parents run the Foundation, my sisters and I are like mini-celebrities. Not in the fun, free designer swag sense, but in the everyone-scrutinizes-our-every-move sense.
    Even Lapis and Lazuli, who usually push the barrier reef as far as they possibly can, are on their best behavior. In the center of the ballroom, they move together flawlessly in a classical Mer dance called an allytrill . As the deep blue tails that inspired their names twirl underneath them in the water, onlookers applaud. I wish I could impress everyone that much. Tonight, it’s up to all of us to be shining examples of land-dwellers who effortlessly blend human assimilation with the preservation of our Mer traditions.
    Just as I’m attempting to construct a diplomatic response to MerMatron Drusy’s remark, something over her shoulder tugs the corners of my mouth into my first real smile of the night. Caspian.
    “Please excuse me, ma’am. I see a friend who I really must go welcome,” I say, keeping my tone as formal as possible. She follows my line of sight and voices her unsought opinion.
    “You don’t mean Caspian Zayle? I have to admit, I’d heard the two of you were friendly, but I never believed it. Dear, take my advice: be careful. A sweet girl like you shouldn’t be mixing with—”
    “I’ll keep that in mind,” I say, cutting her off. She looks affronted, but Caspian is swimming toward us.
    His arrival has the added bonus of making MerMatron Drusy murmur a few excuses and swim off toward a group of Foundation officials.
    “It’s about time,” I say to Caspian as he pulls me into a hug. “I’m dying here. Save me from the small talk.”
    “That I can do.” His deep voice smoothes the rough edges of my frayed nerves, like freshwater over river rocks. “Your parents have done it again,” he says, glancing around the lavishly decorated room. “When do the guests of honor arrive?”
    “I think in a half an hour or so. There’ll be an announcement.”
    He’s listening to my words, but his eyes dart down to take in my siluess . Sure, he’s seen me in bikini tops before, but the siluess is somehow more overt, more suggestive. I fight a blush. This is Caspian, I scold myself. He doesn’t care.
    As expected, Caspian doesn’t say anything lewd. He settles for a straightforward, “You’re looking more traditional than usual tonight, Lia.”
    He’s right. By Mer standards, I am. “Well, we are opening our doors to a whole new group tonight. Might as well welcome them in style. Besides,” I joke, “it’s not like I’m showing any more skin than you are.”
    Like all the male guests’, Caspian’s torso is almost entirely bare except for a thin strand of limpet shells strapped diagonally across his chest that complements his strong, silver tail. My sisters like to tease me, saying that since his tail is silver and mine is gold, it’s some sign we’ll end up together. I prefer to think of it as a symbol of the friendship we’ve shared since we were guppies.
    And that friendship hasn’t