by Wendi Wilson
The tingling in my palm intensifies, Bryce’s power transferring through our linked hands into my body. I feel it coursing through me, seizing my muscles and causing painful cramps. I fight the urge to double over. Bryce lifts his free hand, palm out, toward Ora.
The movement catches her eye and she sops circling. “What are you doing?” she demands.
I open my mouth, but the only thing that comes out is an anguished groan and electricity zaps through me, over my skin and through my middle until it stops my heart. I manage to stay conscious as the power leaves me and reenters Bryce through our connection. A streak of light blinds me and I close my eyes before immediately blinking them back open. My vision clears and I see Ora, lying motionless on the floor.
“Is she…”
“She’s still alive,” Adrian says after checking her pulse.
Movement across the cavern catches my attention. My father is there, untying Mom from the ring on the wall. Once she’s free, they wrap around each other and start kissing. I look away quickly, a blush heating my face. Once my parents join us, we all stare at Ora.
“What should we do with her?” I ask no one in particular.
“Tie her up and leave her here,” Bryce suggests.
“No,” Adrian says, his voice ringing with finality. “We cannot leave her alive. She is a danger not only to us, but to Mer society as a whole.”
“But-” I start to argue, but Mom cuts me off.
“He’s right, honey. We will never be safe if Ora lives. Her punishment for betraying the king would be banishment. Do you see how dangerous that would be for us? She would be free to come find us. You could never swim in the ocean again.”
Adrian motions for Dad to help him and each grab one of her arms. They hoist her up between them and head for the exit. I make to follow, but Bryce grabs my wrist and holds me back.
“Don’t, Kai,” he says.
“Let go, Bryce. I want to go with them, just in case-”
“Kai, they’re going to kill her. You don’t need to see that and they won’t want you to witness it.”
“But Dad and Adrian…how could they…” I pause to arrange my thoughts. “How will they live with themselves, knowing they killed someone?”
“Kai,” Bryce says, pulling my attention away from Mom’s distraught face, “it’s self-defense. If we don’t kill her, she’ll kill us. All of us.”
“He’s right, Kai,” my mother says. “Ora’s hatred runs too deep. I know her. She will never give up until we’re dead.”
A blood curdling scream echoes through the cave, making all the hair on my body stand on end. Ora woke up. Bryce envelopes me in his arms, pressing my face against his chest. I keep my eyes open and on my mother, whose body is perfectly still and unnaturally rigid in the water. Within moments, bubbles flow from her mouth as she exhales the water she’d been holding in and her body relaxes. I look over my shoulder to see Dad and Adrian drifting toward us.
“It is done.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
I want to ask how they did it, but at the same time, I don’t want to know. I don’t want to have that visual stuck in my head for the rest of my life. All I really want is to go home, go back to school and live a normal life.
We’ll have that, Bryce sends through our connection, and more. Our life will be as normal and boring as you want it to be.
I bark out a laugh. “Seriously? My witch boyfriend just sent a telepathic message to his mermaid girlfriend about how normal our lives will be?”
“Would you have it any other way?”
I think about that for a minute. “Well, I could probably do without people trying to kill us every other day, but no. I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
We smile at each other and he slips his hand into mine. “Let’s go home.”
“Are you guys ready?” I call out to my parents and Adrian, who are huddled together near the entrance to the cave.
“I know I am,” Dad says, a self-deprecating smile plastered on his lips.
Of course, he is. I’ve only been down here five days and I’m dying to be home. He’s been here almost fifteen years.
“Let’s get out of here,” Mom says, taking Dad’s hand.
Adrian doesn’t move, so I squeeze Bryce’s hand before releasing it and motion for him to go ahead. I just want to talk to Adrian for a minute, I project to him. He nods and follows my parents out into the dark crevice.
“Adrian, are you okay?” I ask once we’re alone.
“She was in my battalion,” he says, his eyes unfocused as if he’s somewhere else. “We have trained together every day since we were twelve years of age. Five years of partnership, comradery and a singular purpose. To keep Delmare safe.” He blinks and focuses on my face. “I know that I did what must be done, but it is difficult to fathom her actions and her motives. The Ora I knew was an excellent soldier, a testament to the efficiency and proficiency of the king’s guard.”
“Hate and jealousy can turn a person into a shell of their former selves,” I say, patting his back. “She was not who you thought she was, but you weren’t who she thought you were either, were you? She thought you were a monster like her, a violent, human-hating beast. But you’re not. You’re a decent, sensitive person who does what he thinks is right and helps those around him. Don’t ever forget that, Adrian.”
A smile ghosts across his lips. “Thank you, Kailani Ericson.”
I smile back and link my arm through his, leading him toward the exit. “You’re welcome, Adrian… What’s your last name, anyway?”
“Mer do not have last names.”
“Well, if you’re going to be human, you have to have a last name. You’ll need it for identification and to register for school. Hmm, let me think.” I pause for a moment then throw up a finger. “I’ve got it. What do you think about Adrian Fisher?”
“Are you joking?” he asks, one eyebrow raised. “Fisher?”
“Okay, I was, kind of. But now that I’ve said it out loud, it has a nice ring to it, don’t you think? Bryce,” I call out as we swim into the crevice and see the others waiting for us there, “what do you think of the last name Fisher for Adrian?”
“Adrian Fisher,” Bryce says, tapping a finger against his chin. “I like it.”
“See, Adrian? It’s a good name.”
“Adrian Fisher. Okay.”
“Awesome,” I say, unlinking my arm from his and motioning to them both to hurry. “Let’s get out of here. This place gives me the creeps.”
We catch up to my parents and Adrian takes the lead. Mom and Dad fall in behind him with Bryce and I taking up the rear. Bryce slips his hand into mine and lifts it to his mouth, pressing a kiss to the back of it.
We’re going home. For real, this time.
I couldn’t stop the smile his thoughts bring even if I wanted to. And I don’t. In fact, I think I’ll be smiling a lot more from now on. Bryce laughs and squeezes my hand.
I’m happy to know my thoughts are so entertaining.
I try to inject some sarcasm into the thought, but even I know it doesn’t work. I’m so excited to be going home, with both my parents, Bryce, and even Adrian, that nothing can phase me. Not even Bryce’s constant eavesdropping on my thoughts.
“Hey,” he says, pulling me closer to his side, “I’m not eavesdropping. You’re projecting. There’s a difference.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I say. “Tomato, tom-ah-to.”
“Okay, that’s it. From now on, I won’t tell you when you’re projecting. My lips are sealed, and you’ll never know if I’m hearing your thoughts or not. Sound good?”
On one hand, it sounds great. No more uncomfortable conversations about my wayward thought processes, no more smirking faces when I think something…complimentary about him. Wonderful.
But on the other hand, I’ll constantly wonder if he hears every one of those wayward thoughts. I’ll never know, unless I’m purposefully projecting, if he knows what I’m thinking about him, what I
’m wishing, what I’m daydreaming about. Uh, no. No, thank you.
“No, thanks,” I say aloud. “I’d rather work on the blocking thing.”
“We will, but in the meantime, you won’t hear a peep out of me about it.”
“Seriously, Bryce. You don’t have to do that,” I say, knowing my voice is bordering on whine territory and not caring.
He stares straight ahead, not acknowledging my desperation. He’s obviously made up his mind. Maybe if I promise not to yell at him again for listening in on my thoughts, he’ll… The thought trails off as the corner of his mouth twitches. He’s fighting a smile.
“Bryce Howell,” I say, swimming around in front of him so we’re face to face, “are you teasing me?”
“Who, me?”
He keeps moving forward and I end up on my back, swimming underneath him in order to keep eye contact. His face lights up with a smile, telling me he’s enjoying this. I wrap my hands around his and pull him forward, twisting in the current until our positions are reversed and I’m on top. His smile grows even bigger.
Oh my God, I project to him, you’re incorrigible.
I release his hands and kick my tail to gain speed, intending to leave him in my wake. His now-free hands grab my waist and he twists, spinning us like a corkscrew. I wrap my arms around his neck and hold on tight. Peals of laughter erupt from me as we spin faster and faster, rocketing past the others.
Bryce angles us upright and before I know it, we’re shooting toward the surface. I know what he’s thinking without having to hear his thoughts. I pump my tailfin harder, careful to keep it from touching his, and we gain speed. We’re going so fast, everything around us is a blur. Bryce’s smiling face is the only thing in focus.
We burst through the surface and there’s nothing but air. The sensation is strange, like we jumped from a window on an upper floor, the wind stealing my squeal of joy and carrying it away. I feel the sun for the first time in days and its weak morning light is glorious.
Gravity does what gravity does and pulls us back down. We splash back into the water, tails first, and the momentum tears us apart. I spin and tumble a bit before gaining control and pulling to a stop. I turn to look for Bryce and come face to face with my parents. They don’t look happy.
“You can’t do that, Kai!” my mom yells. “What were you thinking? What if you were seen? What if a ship was up there and…”
She can’t even finish the sentence and that makes me feel terrible. I wasn’t thinking.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Ericson. It was my fault. I pulled Kai into it.”
“No,” I say. “We are both to blame. We were just having some fun and got carried away. Sorry, Mom. It won’t happen again.”
She looks like she doesn’t want to let it drop. I know my mom and I’m sure she has plenty more to say, but Dad’s hand on her arm has her snapping her mouth shut. She looks at him and they have some sort of silent conversation with their eyes before she sighs.
“Okay,” she says, looking back and forth between me and Bryce. “Just be more careful, okay?”
“Okay, Mom,” I say, giving her a quick hug.
I shoot Dad a look of gratitude before grabbing Bryce’s hand and pulling him away. I wave my free hand at Adrian, who’s just floating there with a stupid grin on his face. He turns and begins moving but doesn’t pull ahead like before.
“How was it?” he asks, speaking from the corner of his mouth without turning his head.
“How was what?” I sound bratty even to my own ears, but that was downright embarrassing, getting reprimanded in front of the two guys.
“Jumping,” he says, his voice low and filled with longing. “Soaring up and out of the water.”
“You’ve never done it?” Bryce asks.
“I have only been to the surface two times,” he says. “I did not enjoy those excursions, as they were meant to retrieve Kailani and deliver her to her executioner.”
Silence envelopes us after that. We swim hard and fast, each of us driven with our own purpose. Adrian is escaping an existence that held no pleasure. My parents are swimming toward home and the marriage that was ripped away from them. And Bryce and me? We’re swimming toward the rest of our lives.
Chapter Twenty-Four
“Kai!”
I’m still coughing the water from my lungs when I hear my name being called. My eyes search the shore for a moment before landing on Ana, who’s waiting at the edge of the waterline. She has a bundle of towels in one hand and is waving with the other.
“Ana!”
I kick my tail and propel myself toward the beach, using my hands to pull the hem of my dress down as I swim. I feel short of breath, like I can’t get enough oxygen. Rather than dip back under and suck in water, I swim harder, reaching the shore in record time.
Ana wades into the break, tears streaming down her face, and wraps one towel around my shoulders before pulling me into a hug. Now I’m crying. Now we’re both laughing as Ana’s trying to pull me out of the water by my armpits. I scooch myself forward until I’m completely out of the water and she drops a towel over my tail.
A groan rips from my throat as my stomach clenches and a burning sensation zips its way down from my waist to my tailfin. Much quicker than last time, I feel my legs form and split apart. I don’t move, attempting to catch my breath. It feels really strange, breathing air again.
Ana plops into the sand beside me, linking her arm through mine. “I’m so glad you’re alive,” she says, a huge smile on her face.
“Yeah, me, too.”
Her face drops. “Is everyone else…” She trails off and I can sense her fear of my answer.
“Everyone is fine,” I say, squeezing her hand. “Everyone is perfect. Bryce and I decided that he would wait below the surface with my parents, giving me time to change back. I was nervous about having a wardrobe malfunction again.”
Ana laughs, and the sound is music to my ears. I know I was only gone a few days, but God, I missed her. She looks over her shoulder, then points.
“I see him,” she says.
I look back and see his dark head bobbing in the water about twenty yards out. I let go of Ana and stand, my legs wobbling beneath me. She hops up and grabs my elbow, steadying me. I shoot her a look of thanks and tug at the hem of my dress to make sure all my private bits are covered.
“Here,” Ana says, leaning in close to me. “I thought you might want these.”
She pushes a ball of cotton into my hands before snatching the extra towel from the ground and holding it up like a curtain between me and the sea. I step into the panties and yank them up into place before pulling the dress back down.
“Ana,” I say, turning to watch Bryce approach the shore, “how are you here? I mean, how did you know I’d be back today?”
“I didn’t. I’ve spent all my free time here since you left.”
“What day is it?” I ask.
“It’s Saturday afternoon. I’ve been here since sunrise.”
“Just sitting on the beach?”
She laughs. “Well, I did take some breaks. Bryce’s parents fed me breakfast and lunch on their deck.”
“Celine and Bran! I should go let them know we’re back!” Plus, Bryce needs some privacy to shift back and get some clothes on. “Did you bring shorts for Bryce, by any chance?”
Ana points to a stack of towels. “Yeah, there’s towels and board shorts over there.”
Bryce, I’m going to go get your parents. There’s towels and shorts on the beach for you.
Okay. Tell Ana thanks.
“Bryce says thanks for the shorts,” I say, dragging Ana down the shoreline toward the staircase that leads up to the house.
I let go of her and race up the steps as fast as my legs will carry me. I can hear her feet pounding behind me and falling behind, but I don’t look back as I reach the top. She’ll catch up. I sprint to the door and turn the knob, finding it, thankfully, unlocked.
“Celine? Bran?” My yel
ls echo through the house.
“Kailani?” I hear Celine’s voice coming from the kitchen, so I head that way.
Celine bursts through the doorway and freezes. “Kai?” she whispers, like she can’t believe I’m actually standing in front of her.
I dart forward and she opens her arms just in time to catch me. Hot tears stream down my face as she envelopes me in her warmth. She sniffs and I pull back. She’s crying just as hard as I am. She touches my face, and I smile through my tears.
“Kai?” Bran calls out from the top of the staircase.
“Bran!” I yell.
Celine releases me and I turn as he comes bounding down the stairs. He wraps his arms around me in a brief hug before grasping my shoulders and pushing me back to take a look at me. His eyes scan me from head to toe and he nods, as if assuring himself that I’m okay and returned in one piece.
“Kai, where’s Bryce?” Celine asks, her voice laced with fear.
“I’m right here.”
Bryce strides through the still-open door and Ana, who’s been waiting quietly through our reunion, steps to the side so he can get by. Celine’s tears star pouring again in earnest as Bryce runs into her arms. Bran laughs, wiping a stray tear from his own eye, and closes in behind Bryce to sandwich him between them.
I move over to Ana’s side. We, by tacit agreement, stand in silence while the Howell’s have their reunion. Ana latches her hand onto mine, squeezing it while she bumps her shoulder against mine. I feel like my heart may explode from all the love in the room.
“Kai,” Celine says, pulling out of the Howell group hug. “Your parents?”
I nod my head double time. “Alive and safe. They’re waiting for us in the water. Please tell me you and Bran found a spell that doesn’t require the full moon.”
She smiles, but it doesn’t exactly exude confidence. “We found something that just may work.”
“You don’t sound very convinced, Mom,” Bryce says, taking the words right out of my mouth.