by Wendi Wilson
Okay, you don’t think my plan will work. Head shake. Is it because you don’t think our power will work down here? A head shake and a shrug. It’s something else? Nod. What else could it be?
That last question was rhetorical. I know he can’t answer me. He jerks his head to the side and my eyes follow the direction until they land on Ora. She hasn’t moved from her station at the entrance. Realization dawns.
If we get rid of Coraline, we’ll still be chained to this wall and there will be nothing standing between her and us. Bryce nods. You’re right. We have to make sure we’re free and able to protect ourselves before we do it. I wonder if she’ll go to Hell this time?
Bryce laughs… at least, his body makes the motion of laughing with no sound coming out. The sight warms my heart and depresses me at the same time. We need to get his voice back. If I have to single-handedly take out both of…
Wait. Bryce, can we use our power on Ora? We could take out Coraline then turn it on her and take them both out with one fell swoop.
His face falls and he shakes his head. He waves his hand, making me look, before pointing down to his head and then at Coraline before giving a thumbs-up. Then, he points at Ora and slashes his hand in a negative manner.
What does that mean? He and Coraline, yes. Ora, no. I don’t know what you mean, Bryce. He waves his hand and repeats the same gestures as before. He and Coraline, thumbs-up. Ora, slash of the hand. He and Coraline… are both witches. Ora isn’t. Bryce nods frantically.
You think it might not work on Ora because she’s not a witch? Another nod. Okay. I guess it’s too risky to try. She’d probably kill us first and ask questions later. What are we going to do?
“CORALINE!”
I can’t stop myself from flinching as the shout, so loud that it rattles the mirror across the room, echoes around us. The look on Coraline’s face is almost comical, anger mixed with disbelief mixed with a good dose of fear. I look at Ora, who’s back is now to the cavern as she peers down the passageway. Her body inches backward for several seconds before she turns and speeds to the side of the cave opposite the entrance.
“CORALINE!”
This time the voice is closer, but its intensity doesn’t make me flinch like it did before. It makes me laugh out loud. I know that voice. His large body streaks through the entrance and stops on a dime, making everyone in the cave sway with the current his mass created.
“Grandad!” I yell, drawing his attention to me.
His face sags with relief for a moment before his eyes take note of my shackled condition. Tightening his features, he looks from me to Bryce, then scans the rest of the cavern. His eyes seem to pass right over the eels still curled up on the floor before locking onto Coraline.
“Where are my daughter and her mate?”
His voice alone is enough to strike terror in my heart, and I know I have nothing to fear from him. Coraline must be pissing herself right now. The thought makes me grin. I look at Bryce to see if he’s getting as much enjoyment from this as I am. He returns my stare, his eyes filled with confusion and a healthy dose of fear. I forgot. He doesn’t know.
We’re saved! I project to him. I know you’re confused, but he’s my grandfather. It’s a long story, but he doesn’t want us dead. He helped us escape and now he’s here to save us.
He gives me an I-don’t-know-what’s-happening-but-I-trust-you look. I smile back at him and turn my attention back to my grandfather. He’s holding a giant trident, much like Ora had the first time I met her, only three times as big. It stretches out before him, parallel to the floor, its sharp points directed at the midsection of Coraline.
“Answer me, witch.”
“The eels, Grandad,” I call out. “She turned them into eels.”
His eyes drop to the floor, where Mom and Dad have stopped their squirming and lay still as if waiting to see what he’ll do. If it’s even possible, his face tightens even further with anger. I glance at Coraline, whose face is white as a sheet.
“Now, Merric, let’s talk about this. I was only having a little fun…”
“How dare you,” he demands.
She throws her hands up and starts to chant. My smile fades as I realize that she’s casting a spell. I open my mouth to shout a warning, but a shout from Grandad cuts me off.
“Cease your prattling,” he says, his voice loud and commanding. “You shall pay for what you have done, witch.”
Coraline’s face goes even whiter as his body starts to tremble. A low growl starts in his chest, barely audible, before building into a ferocious roar that explodes from his mouth. His arm holding the trident straightens and light shoots from its tips, so bright and blinding I have to squeeze my eyes shut.
The light behind my eyelids fades. My eyes pop open and it takes a moment for everything to come back into focus. The first thing I see is a black mass swirling where Coraline had been. The mass dissipates, leaving nothing but a shell attached to a silver chain floating down to the floor in its wake. It thunks against the dirt just as a groan sounds out beside me.
“Kai.”
A shiver runs down my spine at the sound of my name. I look over at Bryce with burning eyes, emotion welling up almost more than I can stand. “You got your voice back.”
Yes, he sends mentally, and it comes through loud and clear.
Movement catches my attention and I look back toward the center of the cave. Two cyclones of water spiral side by side. I watch as my mom and dad appear in the center of each one, relief coursing through my body. I can’t help but smile as they grab onto each other, my dad whispering into Mom’s ear as she whimpers against his shoulder.
“Your Highness!”
The agitated call jerks my attention to Adrian, whom I’m ashamed to admit I totally forgot was here. A large gash across his chest bleeds heavily as he tries to staunch the flow with his hands. He pulls one away and points toward the cavern entrance.
I turn and see a flash of gold flick through the opening. Ora. I forgot she was here, too. God, I’m such an idiot sometimes. Now we have to worry about her coming after us, trying to exact revenge with some sinister plot to take us all down.
You’re not an idiot. You saved me.
More like got myself captured right alongside you.
Then I guess we’re both idiots.
One side of his mouth lifts with that last thought, that smirk that turns most girls into putty in his hands. Most girls including me. I shake my head, unable to contain my smile.
I love you.
“I love you, too,” he says out loud.
My face heats up as three pairs of eyes turn in our direction. Mom and Dad pull away from each other and look sort of guilty, like they were so wrapped up in their own little world they forgot I was here. Grandad shoots me a knowing smile as if to tell me he remembers what it feels like to be young and in love.
Lifting his trident, he points it in our direction. A light, much softer than before, flows from its points toward us. I can’t help but flinch a little. With the light comes heat, warming up my hands and wrists until I hear four succinct clicks. My hands drop from the shackles and I only have a second to feel relief before I’m wrapped in Bryce’s arms.
Just where I was born to be.
Chapter Twenty
“Is she really dead? Like, for real this time?”
I know I’ve already asked that question several times and the look on Grandad’s face shows his impatience with my refusal to believe it. I admit, it’s overkill, but we thought she was dead before and look how that turned out for us.
“Kailani, the power from my trident pierced the center of Coraline’s body and exploded outward, incinerating her. There is nothing left of her but dust. She is dead.”
“She’s really gone this time, honey,” Mom says, wrapping an arm around my shoulder.
“How did you find us?” I ask. “How did you even know we were in trouble?”
“When Ora did not return from her patrol, I became suspici
ous. I know the hatred that dwells in her heart. I also know that she has always been jealous of Merryn. I had her room searched and my guard found a note from Coraline sewn into her pillow. It said she was back and needed Ora’s help to rebuild her clientele.”
“Wait, why would she keep a note and sew it into her pillow? Wouldn’t it be smarter to get rid of it?”
“She obviously worshipped Coraline,” my mom says. “Maybe it was a trophy. She kept it as proof that the great sea witch needed her help.”
“I knew,” Grandad continues, “that Ora had betrayed me. I knew there was a chance that she would see you leaving, so I went out on my own to find you and give warning. I could not sense Ora anywhere, but as I left Delmare’s borders, I could feel the rest of you. Your presence was fading the further away you swam, so I followed. It did not take me long to realize where you were going. I knew this place was home to Coraline after I banished her.”
“Thank God you found us, Daddy,” Mom says. “We can go home, now.”
“Home,” I say, hardly any sound coming out.
“Home,” Dad says, closing in on my other side.
I look at Merric, catching the sadness on his face before he erases it with a smile. “Yes,” he says, “you can all go home and be happy, just like you deserve.”
“Come with us,” I say, already knowing what his answer will be.
“You know I cannot,” he says, a sad smile playing about his lips. “I must stay here and take care of my people and try to erase the damage I have done with my anger and hatred.”
His words remind me of someone. “What about Ora? Will she be a problem for you?”
“Do not worry yourself, my darling granddaughter. I can handle Ora. Go now. I am sure there are those at the surface who worry about you.”
I dart forward and hurdle myself into his arms. “Thank you,” I whisper against his bare chest. “I will never forget you.”
“Nor I, you,” he says. “I will carry love in my heart for you until my dying day.”
“Thank you, sir.”
I release my hold on Grandad and drift to the side. Bryce extends a hand to him, which he grasps in a firm shake before inclining his head.
“Thank you, young Bryce Howell, for loving my granddaughter enough to accompany her here, on what you had to think was a suicide mission. You have shown great dedication, loyalty, and bravery, and I am happy Kailani has you to depend upon.”
“It goes both ways, sir,” Bryce says, bending at the waist in a bow.
“I am certain that it does,” Merric says, inclining his head once more.
Bryce takes my hand and, interlacing our fingers, pulls me away, toward the cavern entrance. I look back to see my mom dart into Grandad’s arms the same way I did. I can hear her gentle sobs as she says her final goodbyes. Pain strikes through my heart. I can’t imagine saying goodbye to my father now that I finally have him back.
I catch Adrian’s eye as we float past, and he nods his head at my silent question. He’s really okay. The wound Ora gave him as he tried to prevent her from escaping looked terrible. At first, it probably was terrible. But, as it turns out, the magic in Grandad’s trident can do a great many things, including healing injured Mer.
Bryce doesn’t say a word as he tows me through the passageway, but I can feel tension radiating from him through our connected hands. I flick my tail to be a help rather than a hindrance and we burst through the opening into the open ocean. Bryce guides me to the left, zipping along the rock wall until he finds a crevice large enough to fit us both.
Pulling me inside, his lips are on mine before we even stop moving. His tongue probes against the seam of my lips, encouraging them to open up for him. His arms tighten around me as my mouth falls open, his tongue brushing against mine with soft strokes.
God, I missed you so much. I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to you.
I don’t think he meant for me to hear those thoughts, so I don’t respond. At least, not with words. I curl around him, digging my nails into his back and increasing the pressure of my mouth against his. A groan vibrates deep in his chest and his hands slide down to caress the top of my tail where my butt would be if I were human.
A zip of electricity rockets through me, causing me to jerk. The lower half of my tailfin brushes against his. I can’t stop the moan that bursts from my mouth. Heat surges through my body and pools in my belly, burning higher as Bryce gently brushes his tail against mine again. He pulls his mouth from mine, just far enough so he can look into my eyes.
“Are you okay?” he whispers.
I nod, the movement jerky. “Yeah,” I breathe, expelling the water I’d been holding in.
Disappointment, blended with a healthy dose of embarrassment, floods through me as he puts even more distance between us, looking everywhere but at me. My eyes drop to the ground. I must’ve done something wrong.
“Kai,” he says. When I don’t respond, he says, “Kai, please look at me.”
I lift my eyes to his, where a fire rages in their depths. Every muscle in his body is tight with tension, and his hands are fisted into tight balls. My disappointment ebbs a little, being replaced with confusion. Is he angry with me?
“I’m sorry,” I mumble, not really sure why I’m apologizing.
“Why are you apologizing?” he asks, emphasizing the word you.
“You look mad,” I say.
“Kai, I’m not mad,” he says, his body relaxing. “You didn’t do anything wrong. In fact,” he swims closer, taking both of my hands into his, “you did everything just right. That’s the problem.”
“What do you mean?”
His face turns pink, an honest to God blush. My eyes widen in amazement. “Are you blushing?” I ask.
He grins. “Yeah. I guess I am.”
“Why?”
“I got carried away. I was so worried about you and the stress of my own capture, then yours and everything else, I just…lost control when I finally got to hold you again. I’m not really certain of the logistics of it, but I’m pretty sure that tail-touching business is the merperson equivalent of making love.” He pauses and stares deep into my eyes for a moment before continuing, “I didn’t want our first time to be here, like this.”
“Oh.”
An eloquent response, I know, but it’s all I can manage. I honestly don’t know if I’m ready to think about sex, much less talk about it happening in the near future. Sure, Bryce and I have had some heavy make out sessions but being caught up in the moment is different than discussing it as if it’s a fait accompli.
Kai, stop. I’m not trying to force a conversation here. I just wanted you to know why I stopped. I love you.
I love you, too, Bryce.
I know.
“Oh, you do?” I say aloud, fighting a grin.
“Yep.”
“Well, maybe I should play it a little cooler. Can’t have you getting too sure of yourself.”
I back away slowly, edging out of the crevice. His hand snakes out to catch hold of me, but I jerk out of his reach. Turning, I dart out into the open sea, my laughter trailing behind me. No way can Bryce catch me now. I’m in my element, my turf.
I look back over my shoulder, planning to mock him for being so slow, to find him right on my tail. A squeal bursts out of me as I pump harder, lengthening the distance between us. He’s faster than I thought. Looking back again, I laugh. He’s losing ground, fast. I’ve proven my point, so I pull up and wait for him to reach me.
“Okay,” he says, huffing water in and out of his lungs, “you win.”
“But, of course,” I say, circling him.
He reaches out and catches me around the waist, pulling me close but careful to keep his tail away from mine. We just stare at each other, both sending silent thanks that we made it out of this ordeal alive. We’re safe, my parents are safe, and now we can go home. Bryce’s lips brush against mine, a whisper-light touch, before he releases my waist and takes my hand in his.<
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“We should head back,” he says. “We’re pretty far out, and King Merric’s guards are still on the lookout for you, right?”
“Yeah,” I say, realizing just how far we swam from Coraline’s cave. “Let’s go get my parents and Adrian and go home.”
Chapter Twenty-One
“Are you ready?”
Adrian looks at me for a moment like he has no clue who I am, or like I have two heads or something. My grandfather left after a few more tearful goodbyes, wishing Adrian the best. He’d been staring in the direction Grandad swam, lost in thought. Or maybe in shock. I don’t think he honestly expected us to follow through on our side of the deal.
“Adrian,” I say waving my hand in front of his face. “Snap out of it.”
The haze clears from his silver eyes as they focus on mine. “Oh, yes. I apologize. I am feeling a little overwhelmed now that the danger has passed and I am…free to make my own choices.”
“Are you having second thoughts about becoming human? I mean, you could stay here with Grandad, help him rid Delmare of its hatred and prejudices. You could be happy here, if that’s what you want.”
His eyes travel over my face, then beyond me to where I know Bryce and my parents are quietly talking. A slight smile plays about his lips as his gaze snaps back to me. He’s obviously made his decision. I raise my eyebrows, as if to ask “well?”
“I have wanted legs, to live as a human and learn all I could about them for many years. I must be brave, and not let fear of the unknown sway me and lose my one chance to fulfill my dreams. I am ready.”
I smile and take one of his large hands in both of mine. “I’m happy for you, Adrian. Just remember, if it’s not all you imagined, if you’re not happy, Bryce and his parents can always reverse the spell and send you back. Nothing is permanent.”
“Are you guys ready to go?”
Bryce’s arms come around my waist from behind with those words, pulling me back against his chest. Adrian gently extricates his hand from my grasp, and I laugh at his nervousness. I turn in Bryce’s arms and throw my arms around his neck, hugging him tight. A throat clearing sound draws my attention over his shoulder, where my parents are waiting.