“Okay,” was all I could think to say, and I wrapped my arms around her again. “Does Shaylee know?” I swallowed hard thinking of what the eldest princess would do when she found out about the death of her youngest sister.
Kryssa nodded. “We sent back a scout after the first battle, and another after the last. At least she knows we’re alive.”
I nodded, I could hardly imagine the stress Shaylee must have gone through over the past few days. Not only had we not returned after the original attack as planned, she had had to wait for three days to find out what had happened. It was a type of torture I had known when rescue parties had attempted to infiltrate the castle to save Patrick. Waiting on the sidelines with no way of knowing who was going to come back was a form of torment I wouldn’t wish upon anyone.
“Hey,” I squeezed her shoulders, and when she didn’t raise her head, I did it again until she looked up. “I can’t imagine what you’re going through, but I do know one thing. Whenever Nixie was here, she lived. Not just breathing, but with a real joy for life and everyone around her. She would want you to be happy, so don’t go punishing yourself. Live for her, for both of them.”
“I will,” she confessed, and I was surprised to see her give in so easily.
Outside a patch of clouds shifted, and for one moment a glimpse of blue sky broke through the dim light. It was gone before I could point it out, but the sight lifted my spirits. I gave her another squeeze and when she lifted her head this time, the determination I was used to seeing in her was back. She would grieve, she would weep, and she would feel her sister’s death every day, but she would continue on. Most importantly, she would live.
“You put on quite a show,” she said, and I nearly laughed. It was almost grotesque to mention what had happened in such a casual way.
“It was something,” I cleared my throat, annoyed I still sounded so feeble.
“Don’t beat yourself up over it.” She shrugged, and my arms fell to my sides. “Hey,” it was her turn to wait until I looked up. “What happened wasn’t your fault.”
“That’s what Patrick said.”
“He’s right, it’s not.”
“But I could have done more.”
“Maybe all of us could,” she sighed. “All I know is you believed in Patrick when he didn’t remember himself. Even when he didn’t regret the lives he had taken from us. You forgave him and now that he remembers, he can forgive himself. Don’t put all this on your shoulders, let him forgive you.”
“He already has.” I admitted.
“Then let it go. What’s done is done.” She nudged my arm. “You told me to move forward, but I’m going to need you to do it with me.”
Glancing up, I felt a hint of a smile pass over my lips, and when she winked, I knew we would be all right.
We returned to Elik’s bedside. Chairs were brought and we spent the remainder of the night simply talking. What we spoke of I could never remember. All that remained were the smiles on all our faces. They were softer than usual, sadder than before, but they were smiles all the same. We were recovering and we would return to the light, but for the moment it was enough to simply feel safe and take care of one another while in the dark.
Hours later after the sky had deepened to a murky pitch, Patrick took hold of my hand and we left the infirmary behind. Our steps were aggravated by aches, but I walked lighter than I had since the battle.
“Hey,” I said letting our hands swing between us. “I have a question for you.”
“What’s that?”
“When Morven died, did you feel something?”
He looked taken aback. “Like what exactly? Anger?”
“No,” I shook my head, “something in your shoulder. When it happened, the blade he put inside me burned so badly it seemed to explode. I haven’t felt it since.” Unconsciously, I shifted my shoulder as though to prove my words.
“Yes, at least sort of,” he admitted. “It hurt, but not terribly, more of a prickling I think. I don’t know. I was a little preoccupied.” He chuckled, and I almost berated him. Thinking of it now, it was a miracle his fingers hadn’t slipped, causing him to fall to his death.
“I wonder why it did that.”
“Burned, you mean?” His eyebrows rose and when I nodded he sighed. “I don’t know, it might be that the blades are dead now. There’s nothing in them that can control us anymore.”
“You think?” I bit my lip, the idea was almost too good to be true.
“It seems logical doesn’t it?” He didn’t wait for me to answer. “The only way he was able to keep us under his power was through the blades. They were as much a part of him, as we suddenly became. I remember something similar happening when Nerissa died, but maybe because Morven was alive it wasn’t as painful.”
“It’s all so confusing,” I confessed.
“True, but it’s over now. He’s dead. No one will control us again.” The notion seemed to be as intoxicating to him as it was to me. “Unless…” he drifted off.
“Unless what?”
“Well, you still have your voice.” He stopped abruptly and looked down.
“I would never use it on you,” I confirmed, the very idea of even tapping into the musical voice was enough to make me shiver. The siren would forever remain silent.
“Oh, you might, now and again,” he smiled suggestively, and I pushed against his arm.
“I don’t think so,” a grin hovered at the corners of my mouth.
“I do,” he said and leaned in closer, his breath mingling with mine. “Just promise me one thing.”
“What’s that?” I asked, letting him draw me in.
“Call me Zale when you do.”
When he kissed me, I could hardly concentrate from the laughter trying to escape my lips.
_______________
The trip back to Lathmor took longer than usual. There was a sense of urgency in the waters and even though the injured struggled to move as fast as the healthy, we were a more haggard group than the one which had left Lathmor over a week ago.
True to his word, Elik had refused to stay behind with the second group of Lathmorians who were traveling at an even slower pace. It was only due to sheer desire all of the injured had left their beds in the infirmary to begin the long swim back.
Ever since leaving the island behind, Patrick and I had spoken very little. I didn’t enjoy speaking with him underwater because the sounds I made reminded me too much of the voice I had used upon all the Lathmorians. It was simply enough to be surrounded by the water and feel it pressing against my skin. With the salt in my lungs, I finally felt like I could breathe again.
When the shores of Lathmor stretched out before us, it was Tunder who shot ahead and arched out of the water first. His wife was waiting for him with open arms and it appeared the rest of Lathmor, those too old or incapable of fighting, who had been left behind, were out to greet us also.
In a whirlwind of arms and embraces, Patrick and I found ourselves swept up toward the castle where food and drinks were laid out on a long table. Conversation swirled all around us. Through it all Patrick was by my side, holding me steady in the moment. Even when Tunder stood near his throne to give a speech for the fallen soldiers of Lathmor, my heart never wavered and I joined the rest of the island’s inhabitants in raising my glass to the dead. Sunlight began to peek through the billowing curtains and I knew Nixie was somehow here, smiling above it all.
“Come on,” Patrick said hours later when the celebration of freedom had turned into a dance. Bodies swayed and moved to the music in rhythmic jubilation after the release of so much tension.
“Where are we going?” I asked as we parted our way through the bodies, avoiding the most crowded areas. My voice was beginning to come back, every now and then squeaking.
“You’ll see,” he said simply and took my hand more firmly in his.
We passed by Voon and Jonco who were speaking together. I had been pleasantly surprised to see they had made it t
hrough the battles, as well as Gendra, who was dancing behind them in a circle around a merman who couldn’t keep his eyes off her.
Voon looked up as we pushed past, and again he nodded toward me. Maybe it was the only reaction I would ever get from him, but the lack of animosity was something I would have to grow used to. I smiled back.
Walking away from the music and into a hallway I knew well, Patrick began to move faster.
“Where are we going?” I asked again, wrapping both hands around his one.
He didn’t respond. Instead, he made another turn, and I knew where we were headed. The spiral staircase up ahead confirmed my belief, and when we reached Tunder and Shaylee’s door, I looked up at him in question.
Without knocking, Patrick opened the door to the sitting chamber I had come to know over the last year. The table laden with maps still stood toward the center of the room and the couches had been pushed to the side. Standing before the fireplace were the king and queen, along with Elik and Kryssa. All of them stared at us as we entered, and I felt as though I was missing something.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“Lissie,” Patrick said and pulled me forward into the room. My eyes shifted from his face to those around us. “I know it’s not the big affair you may have dreamed of, but I thought after all we’ve been through we might as well start our life together.”
My hand rose to my throat, my eyes widening in surprise, as it all suddenly clicked.
Tunder stepped forward. “As your king, I have the ability to perform a marriage right now. If you want to proceed?”
I nodded, my mouth still hanging open. There was something so simple and magical about it all. There hadn’t been any flowers or candles, no venue filled with guests or even a white dress. I was standing in a room with five other people who all cared for me, dressed in black pants and a shirt that had seen better days, and yet, I was happier than I ever imagined I could be.
In a whirlwind everything Tunder said passed through my mind, and it was all I could do to keep my tears from overflowing. Through the torments of the past, we had made it together. Even when the other had lost their way, we had pulled each other back into the reality of life, the healing of love.
When Tunder asked us to repeat after him, Patrick went first declaring to love and cherish me until death, and I repeated the same words, knowing we had already proven we could go through fire and back.
It wasn’t until a ring was procured—a simple band with a pearl mounted in the center—and slipped onto my finger that I truly understood what was happening.
“Do you, Patrick?”
“I do.”
“Do you, Lissie?”
“Of course I do,” I said with my whole heart, my voice squeaking on the last word. He chuckled.
“Then you may kiss your new wife.”
His lips met mine and everything else fell away into the background. We were together, bonded by our past and connected for the rest of our lives.
Pulling away, he hugged me to his chest and tears trickled from my eyes. Joy like I had never known before burst from my heart and surrounded me in an embrace I would carry for a lifetime.
Epilogue
“Don’t go too far Justin!” My call rang down the beach and the little curly headed boy turned to wave back at me. Traces of laughter faded from his face as he began to pout while the surging foam of the ocean reached his knees. Dressed in jeans and t-shirt, I could only imagine what Jillian was going to say.
“Oh, let him have his fun.” Patrick nudged my shoulder and I nudged him back.
After a few weeks spent alone on the island together, we had left the world of the merfolk to visit my family. My intent had been for them to finally meet Patrick, all they had known was the warrior he used to be.
When we had shown up at the house, Jillian and Dad had been excited to see me and though they tried to hide their discomfort at Patrick’s presence, it was still palpable. It didn’t take long for Patrick to win them over, by the time dinner was done all the younger kids were climbing on top of him as he flipped and tossed them onto the couch. The laughter coming from the living room had nearly been too loud to have a conversation, but Dad had still tried.
“So this is him, huh?” he had nodded in the direction of Patrick’s hunched over body as he let Aaron, Sara and Caitlin cling to his legs.
“Yes,” I sighed and turned to meet my father’s gaze. “What do you think?” I had asked it jokingly, but in all honesty, I wanted his truthful opinion. I hadn’t had the luxury of allowing my father to approve of him before I fell in love.
“I like him, much more than last time.” He shrugged, and I laughed. “Not that he was bad, I just never saw him smile.”
“I know,” I shook my head. “He was more of the brooding type then, huh?”
“Just a bit.” He chuckled.
“He’s changed,” I admitted. “We both have.”
“You’re happier,” he said, his blue eyes twinkling.
After a moment of watching the chaos before us, I put forth the topic I was afraid to discuss. “I’m sorry you weren’t able to walk me down the aisle. If it had been possible, I would have wanted you to.”
He grabbed my hand. “I know, sweetie.” He had kissed me on the head then, as he stood to get more coffee. The memory of it all made the spot where his lips had brushed over my forehead burn.
“What’s that smile for?” Sean called, his voice floating over the breeze. He held Emly in his arms at an awkward angle and she was loving every moment of it. Her coos and squeals of delight were audible from down the beach.
“Nothing,” I called back and shook my head. Patrick squeezed my hand.
“Hey!” Derek appeared at the top of the hill along the pathway leading to the house. “Are you all coming or what?”
“Coming!” I yelled back, and Sean grabbed Kaleb by the hand before he could follow his older brother into the ocean waves. “Let’s go Justin.”
Springy curls drifted in the breeze and when he turned to jog on chubby legs up the hill, his laugh reached us. Derek scooped him up over his shoulder, and as Sean made his way up the hill with one kid in each arm, he turned to give me a knowing look.
We’ll be up in a second, my eyes seemed to say, but I didn’t have to speak the words.
He turned and left us on the beach, the ocean air pulling at our hair and clothes. Strands of my light blonde waves rippled around my face as I turned to Patrick. He brushed his lips against mine.
“Happy?” he asked, already knowing the answer.
I nodded. I wasn’t sure I was ready to leave the next morning. We had to return to our life and the world we belonged to. Our island was waiting for us, and the place I now called home was a cabin in the trees.
A visit to Lathmor was needed. The new prince or princess was due to arrive any day now. I wondered if Shaylee would have a baby in her arms when we reached the Lathmorian palace. I also had to get back to help Kryssa as she planned her wedding to Elik.
The event was going to be rather large, though nothing near as spectacular as her younger sister’s had been. It was in reverence, to her and to the rest of the fallen Lathmorians, the palace had been draped in white curtains with red stripes running down their centers. It symbolized the peace bought with their bloodshed, and though the whole of Lathmor mourned their deaths, the merfolk thrived beneath the security of harmony.
It was to that world which we would return, and though I was joyous to see it, I was loathe to leave this old piece of myself behind. I knew we would be back soon, there were birthdays and graduations to see, and Derek had been talking about buying a ring. Over the past year, I had thought I would never be able to be part of these moments, and to suddenly be given the gift was almost too much to comprehend. I would revel in them for as long as the future allowed.
To think of what would pass and how my life would last much longer than theirs was something I didn’t want to face. But for the time being, this
was enough.
“I wish I could have met your family. It seems unfair.” I said placing my hands on the sides of his face.
“Not to me,” he whispered, locking his fingers together along the base of my spine as I cocked my head to the side. “I never thought I would be able to be around a family again, and now I get to share this with you.”
“They do like you.”
“There’s that, but then there’s you.”
“What about me?”
“Lissie,” he placed a kiss between my eyes. “You are my family, my love, until the end of my days.”
“That goes for me too,” I nudged him, and when he chuckled I could hear the depth of his emotion.
With a smile, he wrinkled his nose and kissed my lips before wrapping his arm around me and walking up the pathway toward the house.
I scrunched into him, and as the setting sun painted the sky with a tinge of rose brushed strokes, I played with the hilt of the dagger on my wrist. It was hidden beneath the light jacket I wore, but I could still feel the twisted mertails engraved into the wood. They were intertwined in a perfect delicate balance.
Though I hoped to never use the weapon again, I always carried it with me as a reminder. A reminder of where we had been and what we had gone through. We were one, joined together by our pasts and our futures. Never to be separated.
Sighing, I leaned into him and he kissed my hair.
I was forever his, and he was forever mine.
THE END
A LETTER FROM THE AUTHOR
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Dear reader,
Thank you for reading Lissie’s story and sharing in her journey. I sincerely hope you had as much fun reading it, as I did writing it. To have this entire series written and shared with readers, who love mermaids, is a dream come true. I am so thankful for all the feedback and excitement I get from DROPLETS fans.
I am most active on Instagram and love getting to know my followers, be sure to join the Mermaid Fandom.
Torrents (DROPLETS Trilogy Book 3) Page 41