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  Song Of Seas

  Once Upon An Academy #4

  Laura Greenwood

  Contents

  Keep Up To Date

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Epilogue

  Author Note

  Also by Laura Greenwood

  About the Author

  © 2021 Laura Greenwood

  * * *

  All rights reserved. This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or otherwise – without prior written permission of the published, except as provided by United States of America copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher at “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at the email address; [email protected].

  Visit Laura Greenwood’s website at:

  www.authorlauragreenwood.co.uk

  Cover by Vampari Designs

  Song Of Seas is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Keep Up To Date

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  Blurb

  Matilda's dream of attending the Academy and practising music have come true, but that doesn't stop the sea from calling her name.

  * * *

  When she saves a handsome officer-in-training from drowning, she finds herself embroiled in the prophecy she's been trying to avoid.

  * * *

  Can Matilda save herself from turning into seafoam? Or is she another doomed mermaid?

  -

  Song Of Seas is part of the Once Upon An Academy series and is a retelling of the Little Mermaid.

  Prologue

  Six Months Ago

  The water feels so good against my skin after a long week in the castle attending lessons and wearing the clothing preferred by humans. Even the looser style I've adopted since coming to Grimm Academy is tighter than I'd like them to be compared to how it feels when my body is covered in scales and there's nothing between me and the cool water.

  At least I have the lake. I've never been officially told I'm allowed to use it to transform and swim in, but the Headmistress is aware I'm mer, and she knows I can't do this in the bath. Not that I haven't tried. It just ended in disaster when I freaked out another girl with my tail.

  I roll my eyes at the memory. I don't know what bothered her so much. It's just a part of my body. She wouldn't have been as spooked by my feet.

  Maybe. I don't actually know that. But I know people, and a lot of them seem to have a problem with what I am for one reason or another even if that makes no sense at all. I have the same kinds of problems as humans do, even down to the stupid prophecy I have hanging over my head. That's the main reason I'm here and not being taught by a governess like some of my sisters.

  I sigh and dive down into the lake, letting the action chase away my thoughts as I flick my tail and propel myself even deeper. The lake is beautiful in its own way, but it's nothing compared to the depths and treasures the oceans have to offer and I find myself still longing to feel salt against my skin. It's refreshing in a way that freshwater isn't. That's where baths do help. I can dump a small heap of salt in when I fill the tub and soak for as long as I need to.

  I'm not sure how long I spend floating around beneath the surface. It almost feels as if time works differently here, though I know that's not true. While the lake may not be a good replacement for the sea, it does have some advantages. No one needs anything from me here. There are no parents, or sisters, or anyone else who needs me. Everything can be about the swim and the water.

  I sigh, letting little bubbles of air escape from me and travel up towards the surface. I love the way they float, even if it means I'll have to return to the surface sooner. It's a common misconception that mer can breathe underwater. We can't. But we can hold our breath for a long time, not unlike the way dolphins and whales do.

  Something disturbs the top of the water, making me freeze in position as I try and work out what's caused it.

  A stone plummets through the lake, narrowly missing me on its way to the bed.

  Uh oh. That's not good. Someone must be skimming stones, and while that's not bad in itself, it isn't great for someone like me who is floating around in the lake and definitely doesn't want to get hit by one.

  I debate whether to risk going to the surface or if I should dive further down to try and avoid getting hurt. That's probably the best option. If I pop up unexpectedly, I'll probably scare the students hanging around the lake and manage to start rumours about a monster living here. Somehow, I don't think that's the best option for me. Especially if anyone puts two and two together and comes to the conclusion that it's me causing it.

  Before I can dive deeper, a bigger splash follows the small ones. It takes a moment for me to realise what's happened and propel into motion.

  With a couple of flicks of my tail, I'm powering towards the surface, searching with my enhanced vision for the person who must have fallen in. While I don't want anyone to talk about me swimming in the lake and getting the wrong idea, I also don't want someone to drown while I can do something to stop him.

  Someone thrashes back and forth in the water, trying to get to the surface, but they clearly don't know how to swim and their clothing is pulling them down more. I don't know why they don't teach humans more about what to do if they fall into a body of water and aren't lucky enough to be in the presence of a mer who can save them.

  I reach the body and wrap my arms around him tightly, recognising his clothing as one of the uniforms worn by the officers-in-training who sometimes call Grimm Academy home. I'm not sure how it works, only that they're here sometimes, and not others.

  My tail gives me more power than I have in my human form, letting me swim us both up to the surface. The officer in my grasp seems to have either realised what I'm doing, or he's running out of air, as he isn't thrashing around as much. I hope it's the former, but fear it isn't.

  I break out of the surface and haul him along with me. I don't shift my form back to human yet. It would be easier to move if I did, but this way gives me more power to try and push the officer out of the water and to safety.

  He splutters, spewing water out over him as he coughs and turns onto his side.

  I breathe a sigh of relief. At least I got to him before anything bad happened. I glance around to see if I can locate whoever he came here with. People don't often come to the lake on their own.

  Unless they're me.

  But no one is around. I hope it's because his friend has gone to go and get help and not because he wants to avoid getting into trouble if anything went wrong.

  The officer I've saved reaches out to me.

  I pause, tucking a strand of dark hair behind my ear as I try to make a decision about whether or not I should stay.

  He catches my eye and the two of us stare at one another, neither of us saying a word.

  I break eye contact and delve back into the water. I don't know whether or not he's really noticed me, or given any thought to what I might be, but I don't want him to think to
o hard about it. As it stands, no one is going to believe what he's seen considering he almost drowned.

  Even as I approach the deeper waters of the lake, I know that he isn't going to be the only one who is going to keep thinking about this in the weeks ahead. I'm not sure I'm going to be able to close my eyes without seeing his face.

  Chapter One

  The seawater is so much better against my skin than the freshwater of the lake at the academy, but I know I can't complain too much with how the academy has been accommodating towards my need to swim.

  The currents change, announcing that someone is approaching my room. It's the only warning I have thanks to the lack of doors in the underwater complex. They're impractical under the waves, but are something I greatly miss about living on land. It's so much better to have privacy.

  I relax at the flash of golden scales which announce my younger sister. At least it's not Mother. She's been trying to convince me to leave the academy and come back to the sea to study with our governess, and won't take no for an answer. I've been under the impression that she wants me to attend Grimm until now. But it seems that isn't the case.

  "Mother and Father request our presence," Cordelia says as she rights herself with a few deft movements of her tail.

  "What is it now?" I ask in the same series of clicks and whistles she's used to speak. While we all speak human tongues fluently, they're highly impractical under the water, meaning we have to use a different way to communicate when we're together in the sea.

  "I don't know. Another event? You know what it's like at this time of year."

  I sigh. "I thought yesterday was the final day of the New Year celebrations?"

  "Officially. But maybe they want to do something just with the family?"

  I raise an eyebrow. Since when have they done anything with the family that couldn't be trotted out in front of the masses? Father is too under the control of Mother for that, and she has her eye on the future election. While we're technically royalty at the moment, that can change in a few months when Father has to be re-elected in order to stay King. I don't think I've ever come across another system of governance that works this way, but it's what I've grown up with and know.

  "Let's get this over with," I mutter.

  Cordelia lets out a small laugh. "Maybe you can convince Mother and Father to let me visit you at Grimm."

  "I don't think they'll agree to that, Delia," I say sadly. It's not that I don't want her there, the two of us will have a lovely time. We've always been close, and being away from her is one of the things I dislike the most about living away from home.

  "But they let you go..."

  "Barely. And I won't be surprised if they don't let me go back."

  "They will. They won't want to see the tuition they've paid go to waste."

  I grimace. I hope she's right, but with the way Mother has been talking, I fear she isn't.

  She reaches out and takes my hand. "Come on. We can get it over with and then we can go see the coral reefs. They're looking particularly lovely at the moment, and there's even a school of dolphins around at the moment."

  "When you put it like that..."

  Cordelia doesn't give me a chance to finish my response and pulls me through the doorway.

  She lets go of my hand once we're out in the hallway, knowing that it would be easier for us both to swim if we aren't still hand-in-hand.

  The swim to the family receiving room is a short one and it passes in a couple of minutes. The room we enter is a lot bigger than my bedroom, which it has to be in order to hold my entire family at once. Mer need a lot of room to move around, and even more so when there are several of us in the same room.

  My eldest brother floats off to the side, barely paying attention to us entering. I'm not surprised. He's always been more interested in himself than anyone else. He's always assumed he'll take over from Father when the time comes, forgetting that he needs to be liked for that to be the case.

  "Ah, good, you're here," Mother says. "Cordelia, you can go."

  "But..."

  The glare Mother gives her even manages to make me flinch. I don't know why she sent Cordelia to collect me under the pretence that they wanted all of us when that isn't the reality. It's cruel to say the least.

  Cordelia throws me a sympathetic look but turns to leave all the same. It's wise. If she stays, all that's going to happen is that she's going to attract Mother's ire for no other reason than being in the room. It's better for her if she goes.

  "You're returning to the academy tomorrow?" Mother asks me once she's gone.

  "Yes." As she's well aware. I ran all of my plans by her when I first arrived. Luckily for me, the academy doesn't have a strict holiday calendar that we all have to abide by. I think it's because they realise that every kingdom puts a different importance on different holidays. While Yuletide is important in some kingdoms, for us it is the New Year celebrations that are more sacred. While I'm missing classes to be here, it's no more or less than most of the other students will miss over the course of the year as they go home to celebrate their own holidays and festivals.

  "You should change your mind."

  "I do not wish to," I respond.

  "Matilda..." The warning tone in her voice would have been enough to stop me from arguing back in years gone by, but I'm not the same person I was when I left for my first academy. She can't intimidate me with words.

  "I wish to return to the academy and continue with my studies."

  "Is this because of music?" She spits the word as if it's dirty, though I don't know why. We sing under the water, it's not like we don't have anything to do with it. But she's always disliked my desire to learn how to play land-instruments.

  "Not everything is about music." Though it does play a part in it. I miss the instruments I can play on land. Among other things.

  "Hmm."

  "There's my prophecy," I point out.

  Mother raises an eyebrow. "And do you have any proof that it's starting?"

  "No, but..."

  "So it's likely all just a fabrication of the sea witch's imagination."

  I close my eyes and try not to lose my temper. That's the point at which Father will get involved. For a man with so much power, he seems to care very little for the things that go on around him.

  Not for the first time, I find myself wondering whether it's Mother who holds the true power, even beyond this room.

  "The prophecies aren't just imagination. I know someone who has only just gone through hers. What if I return to the sea and then don't have the means to stop it from coming true?" I'm not sure how valid my argument is. In theory, it's as easy for me to stop my prophecy from coming true here as it is at the academy now I know the details of it.

  I think. I'm not completely sure about that. Grimm Academy has a reputation for being able to help students stop their prophecies from coming true. The only proof I have of them helping is that when Gerda's prophecy was starting to become her reality, we had several lessons that helped her learn the things she needed to. I don't think that's a coincidence, no matter what anyone else says.

  Mother folds her arms. "Why are you being so stubborn about this?"

  "You're the ones who sent me to the land academies in the first place," I point out.

  "That's because we weren't aware of what the humans think of us. But we've watched all of the mer return to the sea with their hearts broken because of how they've been treated. Are you really telling me that they treat you any differently?"

  I pause so I can mull over my words before answering. I've seen what she's talking about first-hand many times, and it isn't right. But disappearing back into the sea every time someone says a nasty word against us isn't the answer.

  "It's different at this academy," I insist. And in a way, I'm right. I've found human friends at Grimm, which is different from the other academies I've attended.

  "Hmm."

  "I am going back, Mother. I know you don't approve, but unti
l my prophecy has been stopped, I do not wish to put myself in excess danger by pulling out of class."

  I don't wait for her to respond. There's no arguing with her and I have some packing to do.

  I spin around, my tail producing a stream of bubbles in my wake. With a few powerful thrusts, I propel myself out of the room and away from the ensuing argument. I don't have the energy to disagree with her. It's best if I leave and spend my time packing instead.

  Chapter Two

  I close my eyes and let the music wash over me. In a lot of ways, it refreshes me almost as much as being underwater does. I'm not sure what it is about the feel of an instrument in my hands and the way I can make the notes dance, but it fills me with a sense of peace and belonging unlike anything else I've ever experienced.

  It's one of the reasons I can't bring myself to return to the sea any sooner than I have to. I love my home, but it isn't right for me to only live there. I can see myself growing old in a cottage by the coast, able to swim whenever I wish to, but also able to live in a place that allows me to still have my music.

  It's an idle dream, and not one I'm likely to be able to see through. My future is most likely going to consist of nothing more than the normal things the daughter of a mer noble does.

  A knock sounds on my door, pulling me out of my haze and causing a shrieking noise from my fiddle. I grimace. At least there isn't anyone around to overhear the mistake.