The Devil and the Deep

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Here's a sample of what I'm currently working on, hopefully for Less Than Three's Villains Inc. anthology.

Above the surface, the sun rose and, beneath the waves, the prince of Sujung rose with it. His Royal Highness Prince Ilseong slid from his bed of soft sea sponge, his grey tail uncoiling lazily. He rubbed sleep from his eyes, stifling a yawn. It was his day off and yet still he could not sleep late. Too many years of training with his father's warriors meant he rose at dawn even when he was so far beneath the ocean's surface he could barely see its light. That did not hold true for today. Today the sun shone so brightly it reached the spires of the palace, which caught and bent it so it spread across the kingdom. It had been built just for that purpose - to bring the kingdom's citizens light no matter how deep.

It was a beautiful day which made it so surprising when everything went terribly wrong.

Prince Ilseong was not a spoiled indolent royal. He was a warrior, like his father, built strong a lithe, his powerful tail as much a weapon as his knives and his teeth. When he smiled it was a baring of sharp fangs, and it was a reminder that the prince of the merkingdom was a shark. He was not genteel mermaid nor was he a siren of legend, with their beautiful voices and sometimes beautiful faces that lured men to the deaths.

Those were his sisters, some the former, some the latter. He was the hunter, the killer, the future king. He was his father's son.