The Nine Sails
By L.J. Hamlin
The ship was rocking fiercely with the waves crashing against the weather-beaten wood, and the Nine of Diamonds ship was fighting against the sea. They should have just been trying to get through the stormy seas, but the captain had spotted signs of Merfolk and had dropped the nets.
Gaven had never seen a Merfolk before. He’d only heard tales from old sea dogs about how they would lure a man in with a song and then eat his still-beating heart from his chest. They said the creatures were so beautiful, some thanked them even in death. Gaven didn’t think he understood that. Nothing could be charming enough to the eye that he’d be glad to be killed by it, he was sure. He wasn’t much one for fanciful things, like love at first sight or being brought under a mer’
