Makenna followed the dolphins to the surface by performing another ballet dance. Blue and pink sparkles spun with her, as well as the dolphins. When she reached the surface, she stopped dancing, and it didn’t take long for her to discover how far out she had swum.

  Makenna saw Ethelinda, but her figure was small. To save time, she used magic to create two ropes that she tied to each of the dolphins’ snouts. Once they were snug, she ordered them to swim, and the dolphins did. Makenna waterskied behind them, a serious look on her face.

  At one point, Makenna pointed her wand at the water, and frosty magic escaped the tip of it. The second it hit the ocean's surface, the section she struck froze, and an ice pillar, covered in patterns, lifted into the sky. It stood like a sculpture, but only for a short time.

  The tip of Makenna’s wand soon sharpened, and she let out a courageous roar. Thanks to her magic and wand, she sliced through the pillar and observed as it fell back into the ocean, unfreezing soon after it banged the water.

  “Yeah!” Makenna yelled. “Did you see that, dolphins? Did you see that?”

  The dolphins clicked, as if chuckling.

  ***

  On the Wizard Fairy’s beach, Silvey and Ethelinda sat, waiting for Makenna.

  “I wonder what’s taking so long,” Silvey spoke, after a moment of silence.

  Immediately after she said that, Makenna’s voice was heard from the ocean: “Incoming!”

  Silvey and Ethelinda turned their heads in the direction her voice came from. They stared, in shock, at the sight of her waterskiing with the dolphins.

  Makenna pulled the ropes off their snouts, and the animals pushed her onto land with the help of their tails. She landed before Ethelinda and Silvey and yelled, “Makenna from Seabrook Island has returned, and she is ready to seek out Evelyn so she can fulfill her destiny!” She lunged her wand.

  “What’s with the sudden change in attitude?” Silvey asked Ethelinda.

  “I think she finally accepts that she is a princess,” Ethelinda answered telepathically.

  Silvey nodded understandingly and approached the excited Metamorphic Fairy.

  “So, what are we waiting for?” she asked. “Every minute we stand here doing nothing, we lose a minute of defeating Poseidon!”

  “Good point.” Ethelinda offered her hand to Makenna and Silvey again. “Hop on, dears. The journey to Aluna will be much faster, riding on me.”

  “Hula!” Makenna yelled, leaping onto the Guardian’s hand.

  Silvey did, too, but it was strange. A nervous look flashed across her face. It was almost as if she were scared to return to Aluna’s village section.

  As Ethelinda dragged herself back into the ocean and made her way through the water, Makenna lost her smile. “But what about Ash?”

  “Don’t worry. He’s going to be all right.” Ethelinda had some doubt in her voice, though, worrying Makenna. She plopped down and pulled her knees close. With a sigh, she shook her head.

  Silvey noticed her worry and approached her right side. Glancing into her face, she said, “Ash isn’t the only one you’re worried about, right?”

  “I miss Tracey,” Makenna admitted.

  “Yeah,” agreed Silvey. “I do, too.”

  “The truth is, I just want him back to normal,” Makenna continued. “I miss the old Tracey, the Tracey before Poseidon cursed him.”

  “We all do,” Silvey spoke. “We’re going to succeed, though. Something tells me we are.” She listened as Makenna started to share a few of her dearest memories of Tracey:

  “I remember when I first met him. He was in that tree on Merlin’s Island. He smiled at me and introduced himself, and what did I do? I yelled at him and punched him in the face when he didn’t deserve it. I remember when he taught me to fly, and I shared my first fairy flight with him. Back when he had wings.”

  As Makenna kept hitting Silvey with memories, her voice became choked. “I-I remember when he saved me at the pep rally, and Mom and I took him home. Next time I saw him”—she sniffed—“he was in critical condition. He died three times, and it was all thanks to me. I was a terrible friend. My mind was too focused on Peter Nelson. But that Tracey...” Makenna picked up her wand and peered down at its star-shaped head. She chuckled feebly. “He’s a shooting star. He’s so much more than Merlin’s apprentice. He was trying to protect me, and I didn’t let him. Tracey is a boy who never gives up. Out of all the people and fairies in the world, his heart is probably the purest. He doesn’t deserve this. I’m the one whose wings should be broken. I-I just want Tracey to be happy again.”

  With those final words, Makenna sobbed and wrapped her arms around herself.

  Silvey said nothing. Lifting her feelers, she wrapped them around Makenna’s arm and comfortably rubbed against her. It would all work out. Something told Silvey it would, and her instincts also said that Ash would be just fine.

  ***

  Afternoon sunshine massaged the Veendam as it continued toward Bermuda. The crew and passengers were unaware that they had two stowaways. Tracey and Gina still hid under the lifeboat’s cover—hot and tired—and Tracey was hungry.

  He reached for his tummy, telling Gina, “Dude, I could really go for a shrimp salad now. That and a tall glass of water.” Gina suggested he use magic, but Tracey refused. If he did, he would not only risk getting caught but also risk the passengers and crew members learning he was a magical being. Although he would risk getting caught trying this, too, it was still better than being locked up in a laboratory.

  Tracey gently pulled the lifeboat’s cover up again, and his eyes landed on a balcony.

  “Oh no,” Gina whimpered when she figured out his plan. She slapped her feet to her feathery cheeks and grabbed his shirt collar. “Tracey, stop!”

  Tracey, though, waved her away. “Don’t worry, Gina. I’ve got this. All I’m doing is grabbing a bite to eat and a glass of water.”

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  “But to do that, you have to sneak into the cafeteria,” Gina frightfully told him.

  Tracey patted her back and calmly said, “Hey, I’m Merlin’s apprentice. I’ll use stealth. Now, sit back, grab a Mountain Dew, and watch how the pros do it.” He reached behind him and drew a rope with a hook at the end of it. Tracey’s eyes landed on the balcony, and he cracked a smile. Gina watched him toss the rope. The hook wrapped around the balcony’s railing. When Tracey ensured it was secure, he hopped out of the lifeboat and started his climb.

  Gina leaped off his shoulder and flapped after him. The way Tracey climbed was like a ninja monkey. Gina had a tough time keeping up with him. Finally, she was forced to land on his shoulder again.

  As he climbed, Tracey announced, “I climb for justice and uh... good-looking girls.” Taking one hand off the rope, he pointed at the balcony. “Beware, balcony, because this is one battle you’re going to lose.”

  Tracey and Gina reached the rope’s hook, and Tracey grabbed the balcony’s railing. Pulling himself up, he and Gina peeped over it. Their noses remained hidden behind the railing. Before them were a few chairs and a glass sliding door. For now, the coast was clear.

  Gina hopped off Tracey’s shoulder, and he rolled over the railing onto the wooden balcony, but he luckily didn’t hit his injured arm.

  Gina’s feathers stood like static electricity. “Tracey,” she whispered, but he clamped her beak.

  “Relax, girl. I know what I’m doing. We’re on the ship, and it’s all thanks to the stealth of a ninja. I’m just getting some food. Come on. It’s not like any human is watching us now.” Unfortunately, he spoke too soon. When he turned toward the sliding door, he froze, for he had run into the three older women from before: Lillie, Alexa, and Coralline.

  All three held books and stared at him.

  Gina slapped her foot on her face. “Nice stealth, Trace!”

  “Oh, um...” Tracey spoke softly when he noticed the three women. He thought of something fast. Waving his hand, he changed his outfit from apprentice attire to surfer-dude attire. A wig of long, blonde hair appeared on his head, and palm tree surfing shorts replaced his pants. He lost his shirt and boots, but didn’t mind.

  With his magic, Tracey created a surfboard. He rested on it in a way like he had been washed onto the ship and rubbed his head, staring at the women. “Whoa, gnarly wipeout, gals,” he spoke in a surfer dude voice. “I did not expect to get washed onto a cruise ship.”

  The women continued to stare.

  “Tracey!” Gina squawked. “Magic!”

  Lillie soon whispered, “Magic,” still examining Merlin’s apprentice.

  “Tracey!” Gina again squawked. “We need to find a way out of here!”

  “Good idea,” Tracey nervously spoke, trying another spell. He lifted his hands and clapped. “So long, suckers!” He and Gina vanished in a blast of smoke.

  Startled, the three women hurried to the balcony’s railing and examined the ocean.

  Tracey dangled helplessly, his leg caught in the rope he used to climb.

  The three women grabbed the rope and pulled him up.

  Tracey felt the women grip him by both arms. He closed his eyes, allowing them to pull him over the balcony’s railing. They plopped him before them and met his eyes.

  Waving, Tracey said, “Hello,” and changed back into his apprentice attire.

  Alexa pointed at his change of clothes and stuttered, “Wha-Wha-What the heck? Who are you? How did you get on this ship, stowaway?”

  “Who are you?” Tracey asked back. “I’m not a stowaway, ma’am. I was sailing on the ocean, minding my own business, when your precious ship crushed my raft. My friend and I were forced to hide in a lifeboat.”

  “So, you are a stowaway,” Alexa angrily spoke, crossing her arms. “You’re terrible at lying, boy. Even if a so-called raft were destroyed, you would not be able to make it all the way up here from the ocean. Fess up. You snuck into the lifeboat when the Veendam was in port at Boston.”

  “No, I didn’t! I’ve never been to Boston!” Tracey sounded a bit frustrated. Before he and Alexa could continue to argue, Lillie stepped between them and broke them up.

  She glanced at Alexa and said, “Calm down, Alexa. Give the boy a chance to explain himself. Remember when we saw the wood pieces floating in the ocean? Those may have belonged to his raft. I knew we hit something.”

  Alexa huffed and puffed out her cheeks.

  Lillie merely ignored her and turned to Tracey.

  Passing her, he curiously approached the sliding door and peered inside the women’s cabin. “So, what is this place?”

  “That’s our cabin, young man,” Coralline elucidated. “Have you never been on a cruise ship?”

  “Well, Sensei told me about them, but this is my first time seeing one up close.”

  “Sensei?” questioned Coralline. She glanced at Lillie, who spoke again:

  “Really? You’ve never seen a cruise ship in port before?”

  Tracey shrugged and answered, “I’ve never been to a port period. See, I’m so busy training that I can’t explore a lot.”

  Lillie next asked, “Are you saying that you’ve been secluded your whole life? And how old are you?”

  Tracey flexed his biceps and answered, “The big one-eight! Personally, I don’t mind being secluded. As long as I have Sensei and Gina, I’m settled.”

  “Thanks,” Gina sarcastically spoke.

  Before Tracey opened the sliding door to explore the cabin, he heard a sound from the ocean. It sounded like a man, and he called his name. “What the—?” Tracey said. “Who’s that calling me?” When he turned around, he noticed the three women peering over the balcony’s edge. “What do you see?”

  Without looking at him, Alexa asked, “Kid, is the ocean supposed to be glowing?”

  Glowing? What did she mean?

  Tracey joined the women, and they studied the water together.

  Alexa was right. The section of ocean they observed glowed a faint green, and the mysterious man’s voice called Tracey again.

  He couldn’t help but feel like he knew the voice from somewhere. After a moment of silence, he asked, “Dad? Is that you?”

  “Dad?” questioned Lillie. “What the—?”

  Tracey had to find out if the glowing water was really his father trying to communicate with him. If it were, then he would be reunited after seventeen long years.

  Reaching for his shoulder, Tracey took Gina off and turned her over to Lillie. “Do you think you can hold onto Gina for me? Please?”

  “What are you going to do?” Lillie inquired, but figured it out when Tracey hopped onto the balcony’s rail. Before he jumped, though, Lillie yelled, “Wait a minute!” and snatched his arm. “Are you crazy? You’re committing suicide if you’re thinking about jumping!”

  “Trust me. I know what I’m doing.”

  “How?” all three concerned women said simultaneously, glancing at each other.

  Tracey soon released his arm and peered back at them and Gina. He gave them a small but friendly smile, answering, “Because I’m Merlin’s apprentice.” Then just like that, he waved and leaped off the balcony’s rail.

  The ocean assisted Tracey while he fell. Blankets of water cannonballed up and circled him. Before he crashed, the magic caught him, stopping him from falling.

  The water danced like a group of ballerinas around him, and Tracey announced, “I need to do this. As Merlin’s apprentice, it is my duty to save the Ocean from the Octopus Man. It is time that I become part of it.”

  Green and purple magic surrounded Tracey, who continued to float wingless and broken.

  “What’s happening?” he asked, noticing that the ocean was continuing to dance. Sparkles circled him. After a bit, something clicked in his brain, and he gasped. No, this couldn’t be happening! This was too amazing to be true! But it was.

  Cracking a grin, Tracey flew forward and blinked. He lifted his hands and covered himself in a blanket of magic. His black hair grew longer and glowed. A ball of magic appeared in Tracey’s hands, and he squeezed it while spinning until it popped.

  Green throwing stars appeared, circling him. When Tracey jumped back up, he wore something new. His apprentice attire had been replaced by a fully black, sweater-like turtleneck, black jeans, tall, black boots, and a black belt. He wore a dark green ninja mouth mask over his face and crossed his arms.

  Flexing one arm, a black, fingerless glove appeared over it and reached for his upper arm. Tracey closed his eyes and let the magic push him to the side. Like Makenna, he acted out a boomerang twirl. During the process, green and purple fins appeared on the backs of his legs, and a long, gold-trimmed, green-hooded vest slid over his turtleneck and jeans. The vest reached for his femurs. Once it appeared, the mask fell from Tracey’s face and hung before his collarbone.

  He guided his stars to his back, and they whooshed around it. Then just like that, Tracey popped a brand-new pair of fairy wings, and another long, fingerless glove appeared over his other arm.

  Tracey’s new wings were large and shaped like a mash between costate shells and oval-shaped leaves. They sported different shades of green and were bordered by purple. Officially, Tracey had his wings back! Now, just like Makenna, he was a merfairy.

  But how?