“Good morning!” He took my hand. “Would you like to go for a swim with me?”
“That’d be great,” I said and looked toward Mom and Tammer for their approval.
“Don’t stay out too long,” Mom fussed, “and stay away from you know where.” She picked up her glass of water. “Take care of her, Thayde.”
“I promise,” he said and led me toward the steps.
“You ready for this?” He asked, backing down the steps.
I stepped into the water and was surprised it didn’t feel as cold as it had the first time I went in. I must be getting used to it.
“Where are we going?” I asked, watching him get deeper and deeper with each step.
“It’s a surprise,” he said and pushed off backwards. In a flash, he had phased and was waiting for me. Throwing his swim trunks onto the steps, he ducked below the water and flipped his tail at me, splashing water all over my legs.
“That won’t work.” I stuck my tongue out at him and he grinned. “I can phase too, you know.” I jumped in, watching his face as I phased. He seemed taken aback.
“You have gold fins?”
“I like it,” I said, worried that he suddenly thought less of me.
“I like it too, it’s just that it’s not…” he trailed off.
“White?”
“Yes.”
“Yeah, that shocked Mom and Tammer too.”
“Halflings don’t have gold tails.” He reached out and touched the smaller fins that circled the top of my tail, just below my waist. They moved gracefully with the current.
“You’re beautiful,” he said and placed his hand in the small of my back, pulling me toward him. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I hugged him carefully.
“I’m okay - not a hundred percent, but I’ll be there soon.”
One of his hands slid up my back to my neck and the other held softly around my waist.
“I love you,” he said and placed his lips on mine, letting them stay open slightly. I lost myself again in his kiss. It was as if there was no one else on earth, but us. I pulled back, staying centimeters from him and purposely looked into his eyes.
“I love you more,” I said and he beamed.
“Nuh-uh!”
“Ya-huh!” I argued and he quickly kissed me.
“We’d better get going.”
The salty water closed over our heads as we dove and swam side by side. It was still taking me a while to get used to the heaviness of breathing underwater, but it didn’t slow me down. Today, the water was extraordinarily clear. We could see at least a hundred feet in front of us.
He led me farther out to sea than Mom or Tammer had, pointing out all the coral reefs and downed ships. I told him the ships made me nervous and he advised me not to go in them until I was more experienced.
“Don’t ever underestimate the sea,” he warned. “The minute you do, she’ll rise up against you.”
Very soon, the bottom of the ocean was no longer visible. We swam over the top of some black-tipped reef sharks and Thayde noticed my hesitation.
“You don’t have to worry at all about them. They don’t bother us.”
“Is there anything I need to worry about?” I asked, still keeping an eye on the sharks.
“Yes, other merfolk. Humans and their nets and boats. The propellers have been known to kill a few of us every once in a while. You have to pay attention.”
I didn’t know how far we had swum until we surfaced. Land was a small sliver in the distance.
“How could we have possibly come this far?” I asked.
“We swim fast,” he said, wiping his face with his hand. “Are you ok?”
“Just a little nervous,” I admitted and he took my hand.
“You’re with me. Nothing bad will happen.”
I nodded and looked down into the depths.
“Morgan,” Thayde reassured, “you’ll be all right.”
“Where are you taking me?” I asked, changing the subject.
“We have to go down now,” he said, watching me pretend to be okay.
Down? I could feel panic start to rise in my throat.
“I want to show you something special.” He turned away from me and patted his shoulders. “Come on. Hang on to me. Don’t be afraid.”
Hesitantly, I placed a hand on each of his strong shoulders, holding my breath and silently noting this might be my last day alive.
“Here we go,” and slowly, so as not to scare me, we went under. He straightened into a dive and swam straight down, with me attached to him like a tick. I wanted to close my eyes, but they felt as if they were propped open with toothpicks. A school of tiny silver fish flew past us. As we dove deeper, the temperature dropped. When I looked behind us, I could no longer see the light from the surface.
“We’re almost there, Morgan,” he said. “It’s the most special place I know of. I hope you’ll like it.”
I didn’t say a word as my breath was taken at the sudden emergence of an enormous whale shark. It ignored us and lazily swam past. I clung more tightly to Thayde’s shoulders.
Then, in the distance, I saw the glow of lights. This piqued my curiosity and I looked over Thayde’s shoulder to get a better view. As we drew closer, the lights grew stronger and Thayde slowed. We had reached the bottom of the ocean and were in a vast chasm. The walls of the chasm formed a giant U and before us lay a beautiful white city.
“Welcome to Neridia,” he said.
I let go of him and he pulled me to his side.
“This is one of our many cities, but it’s my favorite.”
“It’s white!” I exclaimed in awe. It reminded me of a giant castle, complete with turrets.
“Yes, they brought the stone from Greece centuries ago. It’s the only white one in the world. What do you think?”
“It’s beautiful.”
“I hoped you’d like it! I want to take you in. Are you up for it?”
“I’d love to.”
He looked so happy. “Thank you for having the courage to come with me.”
I didn’t feel courageous at all. Quite the opposite in fact, but with the ocean floor beneath us, I was feeling much more confident. We swam over large boulders and sharp rocks toward a road made of crushed white rocks that led into the city.
Passing under the giant archways, Thayde squeezed my hand in excitement. We entered an enormous courtyard of sorts and there before us were dozens of merpeople. No one took the slightest interest that we were there; it was as if we were walking in downtown Vero. Thayde led me to an area where we could sit together. He looked about as if searching for someone.
“Are you meeting anyone here?” I asked.
“I was hoping we’d run into Ezen. He was my best friend in school. He’s a bit different, but I’d really like you to meet him.” He continued to scan the crowd.
I pulled my long hair down around my neck and held it in front of me. This place was beyond my wildest dreams. Nothing that happened next would surprise me.
“Morgan, I’ll be right back.” Thayde lifted up off the bench, kissing my hand. “I won’t be a moment.”
With that, he disappeared into the crowd. I braided my hair and looked upward into the black sea and wondered how far down we were. With the lights shining down on the city like giant spotlights, this place had to be pretty hard to miss. Why hadn’t I heard about it on National Geographic or the Discovery Channel? Surely a place like this couldn’t be kept a secret for long – not with today’s technology.
“Morgan?” A familiar voice called to me and when I looked in its direction, saw Tiesa swimming toward me, her arms laden with baskets.
“Hi!” I said, stunned to see her. She dropped the baskets by the bench and gave me a big hug.
“What are you doing here?” She asked and looked down at my tail. “You didn’t tell me it was gold!”
“Yeah, I didn’t think about it,” I said, but she interrupted me.
“Oh, this is just wonder
ful! I’m so happy!” Her lovely red hair flew about as she bobbed up and down. “Who are you here with?”
“Thayde,” I said.
“Oh my, you’re totally in love with him aren’t you?” She grinned and squeezed my hand. “I’m so excited for you! Have you corded? Have you?” She was talking a hundred miles an hour and I had to smile at her eagerness.
“Mom says we have.”
“I knew it! I knew it!” She repeated and then stopped, staring off.
I followed her gaze which led to Thayde and a thin merman with a dark green tail. His brown dreadlocks swam behind him, reaching his waist. A few wooden earrings clung to his ears and he wore cuffs on each arm. The black tattoo on his arm matched Thayde’s.
Thayde circled my waist with his arm, pulling me to him.
“Ezen, this is my Morgan.”
Ezen reached forward, shaking my hand. “It’s nice to finally meet you. We’ve been waiting a long time.” Looking down at my tail, he smiled, “Nice fins.” Then he noticed Tiesa.
“And who’s your friend?” he asked, not taking his eyes from her.
“I’m sorry, Ezen. This is Tiesa.”
“Tiesa,” he repeated and kissed her hand.
“Ezen,” she said as if in a trance.
It was very clear they instantly liked each other.
“Would you like to join us, Tiesa?” Ezen asked.
“I’d love to,” she said and gave him her other hand.
“Are we this obvious?” I whispered to Thayde and he laughed.
“I’m sure we are.”
“What’s your plan, Thayde?” Ezen managed to tear his gaze away from Tiesa to address his friend. “Are you going to show her around the city?”
“I wanted to show her where we stay and give her the gift I got her.”
“Ah.” Ezen nodded knowingly and then returned his attention to Tiesa.
“Gift?” I asked, breaking the now uncomfortable silence.
“Yeah, he’s been working on it since he first dreamed of you.”
“That’ll do!” Thayde grinned and tightened his grip around me. “I’ll see you two later.” Instantly, he had taken off straight up and we were a good twenty feet above them.
“How did you do that?” I practically choked, shocked at how quickly he had moved.
“I can swim fast.”
“You can say that again.”
“You’ve got to see this city from above. It’s always so busy.”
We drifted above the walls and over the top of the open rooms within. It was like coming across a giant undersea flea market. Each room sold different items – everything from food to jewelry to treasure found on the ocean floor. We swam over a shop selling mirrors, a shop laden with nothing but seashells, and another stocked with metal furniture. There was so much to take in. I found myself looking up and down and side to side like a bobble head toy.
When we reached an area that was shut off from above, we swam down, passing through a large hallway. Thayde led me into one of the smaller archways and stopped.
“This is my place,” he said. He moved to the side and I swam past him into the apartment and looked about. Apart from it being very small, there wasn’t very much to it. He lived very neatly with most of his items in order.
Thayde sat on a lip in the rock and watched me take it all in.
“I always hoped I’d be able to bring you here,” he said. “It’s not much, but this has been my place since my mother died. I lived here with her before we met Limus.”
I swam to Thayde and sat beside him. “Thank you for bringing me to this place. It truly is breathtaking.”
“It’s special to me because I lived here with her.” He reached up to a nook in the wall above us and pulled down an oval mother of pearl box. “I started making this for you the first day I dreamed of you.”
The box was lovely. When he handed it to me, I placed both of my hands around it and held it. It fit perfectly in my palms.
“Do you like it?” he asked.
“I love it,” I said.
“Open it.”
I held the box up to my eyes to see where the clasp was to open it. I couldn’t find one. Turning it over, I studied the bottom. Nothing gave away the secret for opening the box. I looked at Thayde blankly and he grinned. Taking my hands in his, he gently pressed them together, putting pressure on the box. Then he twisted my hands in the opposite direction and the top of the box came off. Inside was a lovely silver ring. It was square and the top of it was inlaid with a beautiful sapphire colored stone.
“What is it?” I asked and he looked embarrassed.
“It’s a blue diamond.”
I was speechless. It must have cost an absolute fortune.
“Thayde,” I began, but the words didn’t come.
“Will you wear it?” he asked.
“What does it mean?” I asked, still taken back by its beauty.
“That we are dedicated to each other.”
It was perfect and, as I nodded, he slipped the beautiful ring on my finger. I threw my arms around him.
“Thank you, Thayde,” I said, “for everything.”
“You are my love,” he whispered in my ear.
“And you are mine.” I answered, meaning every word. He kissed my neck, sending shivers down my spine. Slowly, his kisses made their way up to my cheek, and he lightly ran his lips over it, ending at my mouth. I could feel every inch of him touching me and the energy we began to create made me feel light headed.
He slowed his kisses and spoke in between them. “Morgan, we have to get back.”
“Can’t we stay here?” I mumbled.
“No, love.”
“We’re safe here.”
“Your Mom would kill me.”
Sighing, I pulled away and agreed.
We left his apartment and headed back to the courtyard in search of Tiesa and Ezen. They were nowhere to be found.
“I bet they’re off falling in love, Thayde chuckled. “We’ll have to leave them be.” Wrapping his arms around my waist, he looked upwards. “Are you ready?”
I looked toward the invisible surface.
“You’re going to swim fast, aren’t you?” I asked.
“Hold on,” he said and in an instant the city was below us, disappearing second by second. The darkness quickly melted away into dark blue, then lightened until we shot above the surface.
“Holy cow!” I exclaimed and Thayde laughed. “Why didn’t we go down that fast? It would have saved me from a good ten minutes of absolute terror!”
“I didn’t want to scare you.”
“Yeah, well this is a much better way to make the trip.”
Looking around, I found the strip of land on the horizon.
“Do we have to get back that fast?” I wanted to spend as much time with him as I could.
“No,” he answered and at my pace, we made our way back home.
Chapter Ten
Trouble
Time passed quickly and soon it was December. I spent every day with Thayde. We were only apart for the time I was at school.
Everyone knew Thayde and I were together. The human high schoolers thought it was cool I was dating a gorgeous guy from university who picked me up every day in his black Ferrari. The merkids couldn’t have cared less. The only interaction I had from them was Akin and Herra’s murderous looks, but they stayed away, and that was comforting.
Tiesa had fallen in love with Ezen and I hardly saw her anymore. When I did, I had to endure listening to her tell me everything she knew about him and what they did together. It was nice to see her so happy, but she had started missing a lot of school. Mom warned me that if I didn’t graduate, she’d be very disappointed and I’d be throwing my life away. I promised her I’d finish, but after that, I planned on spending my life with Thayde.
Thayde stopped staying at my house, much to my disappointment, and had returned to Neridia each night. Every morning, at seven on the dot, he returned to take
me to school. He had taken a break from university to stay with me until I graduated. I didn’t want him to prolong his school for me, but it was wonderful having him there.
Naira was growing at an alarming rate. Mom and Tammer agreed to hire a private tutor to start schooling her in the spring. I spent as much time with Naira as she wanted to spend with me. She was a funny little thing. When she wanted to be alone, she simply left. If she wasn’t happy, she’d voice her opinion to anyone who’d listen. Mom was usually her sounding board.
Tammer was spending a lot of time hunting and wreck diving. He was always leaving early and coming home late. Occasionally, Mom went with him, but most of the time she stayed at home with Naira. She didn’t mind me spending most days with Thayde. After a while, she just expected Thayde to stay for dinner. I think she liked having him because he always complimented her on her awful cooking.
My eighteenth birthday was coming up on December fifteenth. I was looking forward to it but had a sneaking suspicion Mom was going to go overboard. When I confronted her about it, she simply laughed and said I was being paranoid. Hardly.
For my sixteenth birthday, she’d given me an emerald bracelet that at the time I knew easily cost a few thousand dollars. Later, when I had asked her about it, she had told me the emeralds had been found in a Spanish shipwreck just off the coast. She’d taken them to her personal jeweler and had the bracelet made. It didn’t cost a fortune; it was priceless. I was glad I’d never worn it. Knowing me, I’d have lost it.
It was Friday again. I loved the weekends. They let me spend more time with Thayde. Today, Tiesa was actually at school and I’d agreed to meet her for lunch at the gyro shop down the road. Her class before lunch was pottery and they had it off campus.
Stuffing my light sweater into my backpack, I grunted as I heaved it onto my back. Even though it was winter, it was still warm and very humid. I wasn’t really looking forward to the walk, even though it was less than a mile. I really needed a car.
The only things that made the walk nice were all the trees and flowers that lined the road - it was one of my favorite things about Florida. In this part of Vero, the trees grew tall and wide, covering many of the roads in a gorgeous green canopy. Orchids liked to grow on the branches among the moss that lazily drooped down the trunks.
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