by Lora Edwards
They all stood, knowing that was their cue to leave. As they made to file out, Armand’s voice stopped them. “Ovidia, I would appreciate it if you didn’t antagonize my assistant on the way out. I know you think she is all looks and no substance, but she is a valuable member of my team.” Armand put steel into his voice and Delphine swore she felt the air cool around her.
“Yes, sir,” Ovidia said, her voice devoid of any emotion. She opened the door, straightened her shoulders, and strode out of the room without a glance in Cleo’s direction.
As the rest exited the office, Armand spoke again. “Delphine, could you please stay?”
When Flynn made to stay as well, Armand waved him on. “I need to speak with Delphine in private.” He gestured toward the door and Flynn reluctantly left, closing it softly after him.
Delphine felt her palms sweat and wiped them down the sides of her charcoal grey slacks. She had no idea why Armand would single her out. Had she not met his expectations on her last mission? Was he going to inform her that she didn’t have a place at the institute after this mission?
“Delphine, you are not in trouble—I can hear your heart pounding from over here.” Armand smiled gently in her direction and she took a deep breath then sat in the chair in front of his desk. “I have heard that you plan on adopting the orphaned Siren-mermaid child,” he said calmly.
“Yes, sir. Is that going to be a problem?”
“No. I admire your dedication to the child. She would have had a hard time with either of her parents’ people. You are not one to look at the origins of the child. I know you and Flynn will take good care of her, give her a good home.” He winked at her when her mouth fell open. “I know all that goes on within these walls, Delphine. Don’t looked so shocked—the rumor of your romance with Flynn has been buzzing around the institute for weeks. But, I didn’t bring you here to talk of the child or of romance. I wanted to speak with you about your position here at the institute.”
Delphine felt her stomach drop and her heart begin to ache. She had already started thinking of the institute as her home. Flynn along with Bran, Teagan, Ovidia, Erik, and Mrs. Sanderson were her family. She didn’t know if she could go back to her life on the Siren isle after experiencing all there was to offer here.
“As I said before, I don’t know how the child will fare around Sirens or mermaids. I am well aware of the bias some of the clans hold against each other, and it is my belief that the child would be better suited to grow up in a more welcoming environment. I have been wanting to speak with you for a while now, but one thing or the other got in the way.”
Delphine leaned forward in the chair, willing him to hurry up and tell her whatever it was he wanted to say. One did not rush a thousand-year-old vampire, and she knew he would get to the point soon enough.
“I would like to offer you a permanent position at the institute. You and Flynn make a remarkable team. You displayed your not inconsiderable skills during the rescue of the child as well as in your work at the manor house. Because of you, there are many water supernaturals who will live, and if you had not been there, they may have not made it. If going on missions is not what you want due to the child, you are more than welcome to join Teagan and Hugh on the research end. Something tells me Teagan is going to need some time off and will have her hands full in a few months.” Armand again winked.
“I would be delighted to be a member of the institute. I have been wanting to talk with you about a permanent position for some time. I would like to continue with the missions if you are open to that, and I would be delighted to also help Teagan with research.” Delphine tried not to jump up and down at this news.
“As you wish. Your intelligence, fighting skills, and bravery will make you an excellent member of the institute. Thank you for your time, Delphine,” Armand said.
She thanked him again and left the office in a daze. She couldn’t wait to find Flynn and give him the good news.
“Here is your permanent employment packet and information on your new salary,” Cleo said in a bored tone, holding out a large envelope.
“Thank you Cleo.” Delphine leaned over and hugged the elegant woman, hoping her impulsiveness was not rewarded with an attack by the dragon.
Delphine moved back and watched a small smile curve Cleo’s lips. “Welcome to the institute, Siren,” she said before the indifferent mask slid back into place and she began to file her nails again. “Is there something else you were needing,” Cleo asked with a hint of the familiar bite in her voice.
Delphine felt her grin widen. “Nope, I will just be on my way.” She turned and skipped out of the office.
“Hey, what did he want?”
Delphine jumped at the voice behind her. “Flynn, you scared me.”
“Sorry about that.”
Delphine’s face split into a wide grin. “He asked me to become a permanent member of the institute, and I said yes.”
Flynn picked her up and swung her in a circle, and Delphine giggled until he put her down again.
“Welcome to the institute, partner.”
Chapter 17
“To Delphine, welcome to the institute.” Flynn held a glass of champagne in the air and waited for her to clink glasses with him.
Delphine smiled over the flickering candle housed in a low-cut glass lamp. She had hurried through the institute to tell Flynn the good news, and he had been waiting for her in the hallway. Upon hearing her announcement, he had picked her up and swung her around. He told Delphine he had been prepared to follow her back to the Siren isle, to leave the institute if she wanted to, but he was so happy they could continue their work. He pushed her toward her apartment, telling her to get dressed in something nice.
He had brought her to a restaurant where the lighting was low, the food was delicious, and the linen-covered tables were lit by candlelight.
“Flynn, why are you holding your glass out like that,” Delphine frowned at him.
Flynn chuckled, a low intimate sound that made her shiver, and not from a sudden chill.
“It is called a toast. Raise your glass and gently clink it with mine. Do you not have toasts on the Siren isle?”
“Yes, but the clinking of glasses is new to me,” she said as she tapped her glass to Flynn’s, giggling a little from the champagne and the happiness she felt bubbling up inside her. She finally had the life she’d always dreamed of, with adventure and a family of her own. She finally felt like she was where she belonged.
Delphine woke in the morning as the sunlight streamed across her bed. Stretching, she felt a smile slide across her lips. After their truly excellent meal, she and Flynn had walked around London enjoying some of the historic sights. She enjoyed listening to the timbre of his voice as he told her stories about the Tower of London and the joys and tragedies the building had seen. Afterward they had come back to her apartment to find Clarissa had the baby sound asleep. She told them good night and slipped out the door. Delphine wrapped her arms around Flynn, inviting him to stay the night. He leaned down, agreeing with a toe-curling kiss before scooping her up to deposit them both in her big four-poster bed. She fell asleep in Flynn’s arms, feeling as if everything was falling into place for her.
Now she watched as the sunlight crept across the bed, illuminating his face. She loved perfect moments like this with the baby sleeping and the apartment still quiet before Mrs. Sanderson came in to start breakfast,with Esme being there Mrs. Sanderson had graciously taken on making all the meals. A quiet moment just for her, before the day started.
As if Esme knew she was enjoying the moment of solitude, she let out a cry from her bed in the alcove. Delphine sighed as she slipped out of the bed and grabbed her robe from where she’d thrown it over the chair, covering herself before sliding over to the crib and picking up the baby bouncing there.
“Hello gorgeous,” Delphine said, and Esme giggled adorably. “What would you say to an early morning swim?”
Esme projected a picture of the two
of them in the water, laughing and playing, which Delphine took as a yes. Putting the baby to her hip, she put her finger to her lips. “Shhh, Flynn is still sleeping.” Esme just giggled as they padded out of the bedroom toward Delphine’s own private ocean.
Flynn woke and turned over, momentarily disoriented and forgetting where he was. The previous night flooded back to him as he rolled over with a grin on his face, ready to wake Delphine in his own way. He frowned when he saw the empty space beside him. He could hear the faint sounds of laughter and smiled; he needed to go find his girls.
He slid out of bed and into the bathroom to change into a pair of swim trunks he had stashed at Delphine’s. Flynn walked across the apartment, opening the door to the ocean cove. The sounds of laughter and splashing grew louder.
He stepped from cold wood onto the warm sandy beach. He shook his head; the transition was always just a bit disorienting. In the aqua waves under a warm yellow sun frolicked Delphine and Esme. The baby’s laugh and the throaty chuckle of the woman caused a smile to fill his face. He stood there, arms folded over his chest, enjoying the play of his two favorite girls. He still couldn’t believe he was lucky enough to have them in his life.
“What a sight to wake up to—two pretty ladies frolicking in the waves,” he said, drawing the attention of the two ladies in the water.
Delphine smiled at him and Esme giggled, a picture forming in his mind of the three of them playing in the water. Flynn waded out into the ocean, swimming to join Delphine and Esme.
He reached over and planted a soft kiss on Delphine’s lips. “Good morning love,” he said, looking into her eyes. He felt a small hand on his face, turned, and met the disgruntled look of Esme. He laughed and looked at Delphine, whose eyes were sparkling with humor. He pressed a kiss to the girl’s soft cheek and looked into her eyes. “Good morning, my love.” The pouty look left the baby’s face as she launched herself at him.
Esme again pouted, looking down at his legs in the water. She showed him a picture of him with the tail he had shifted into the last time they had swum together then again looked at his legs.
“All right small one, give me a minute.” Esme wiggled out of his arms and swam to Delphine, watching Flynn impatiently.
“It’s all right, Flynn. You can play just as you are,” Delphine said.
Flynn winked at her. “I can’t let you girls have all the fun.” He closed his eyes and brought the merman form to his mind then felt the fire rip through his lower half as his body changed form. He may not have been a mermaid or a Siren, but he was a shifter, and he was lucky to be able to play with his girls this way.
They laughed, splashed, and played until Mrs. Sanderson came to call them for breakfast. They all returned to the living area of the apartment, the sand disappearing as soon as they stepped foot on the polished wood floor.
“Hello my little bug,” Mrs. Sanderson said warmly, coming over to take Esme, who squealed and jumped out of Flynn’s arms at the sight of the older woman. The two of them had become fast friends, most likely because of the cookies Mrs. Sanderson made especially for the little girl.
“We need to ask Teagan and Bran if they are willing to take Esme while we’re on the mission,” Flynn said to Delphine as they ate Mrs. Sanderson’s full Irish breakfast in the dining room.
“Done and done,” Delphine told him around a bite of bacon. “They said they would be delighted.” Delphine smiled as a giggle rolled out from the kitchen.
“I will miss her when we are gone, but it is good to know she will be here waiting for us when we return,” Flynn said, scraping the last of the eggs from his plate. “In that vein, I need to go shower and change. See you in the library for the debrief,” he said as he stood to leave.
Delphine nodded and watched as he strode into the kitchen. Giggling and squealing erupted from the kitchen, causing Delphine laugh as well. Flynn was going to make a wonderful father, and Esme was a lucky girl. Despite what she had been through in her young life, Flynn and Delphine would make it a priority to show her unconditional love. They would help her remember her biological parents and the sacrifice they’d made to keep her safe.
Delphine pushed the sad thoughts away and got up. She needed to shower and change as well, along with contacting her father to tell him about the changes in her life.
Dressed and ready for the briefing, Delphine stood in front of the small mirror in her library. She had not been able to spend much time there with the whirlwind of recent events, but now that she was staying, she would have to explore more of the books on the shelves. Wiping sweaty hands on her slacks, Delphine looked in the mirror and clearly stated, “Isle of the Siren.”
The mirror that had reflected back her anxious face now swirled with mist. A blurry image started to appear and slowly became clearer.
“Father.” Delphine smiled as her father came into view, sitting at his desk.
“Daughter, it is good to see you.” He smiled at her.
“Is Mother close? I have some news for the both of you.”
Her father frowned. “Is everything okay there Delphine? Do you need to come home?”
“Nothing like that. It is good news.”
“All right then stay put. She is in the sitting room, I will go fetch her.”
Delphine stood staring at her father’s empty desk as he went to retrieve her mother. Iona wasn’t her biological mother, but she had raised her after her mother had returned to the human world. She was a kind and gentle woman, forgiving her mate for setting her aside for a human and raising the child that had come of that union with love and kindness.
A beautiful woman with long flowing hair the color of darkest night came into view.
“Delphine, how good to see you. We miss you terribly.”
Delphine felt her heart lurch in her chest and gave her mother a watery smile.
“I miss you too,” she whispered.
She wanted to give Esme all the love and belonging this woman had given to her.
“Baby, don’t cry. What is the matter?”
“Delphine, you told me nothing was wrong,” her father barked.
Delphine waved away their concern. “Nothing is wrong, I’m just emotional. First I want to tell you that I had a meeting with Armand today.”
“He asked you to stay at the institute,” her father said matter-of-factly.
Delphine felt her eyebrows rise in surprise. “You knew?”
Her father nodded. “He came to me and asked my permission before he extended the offer. Since you are not only one of my people but my own daughter, he wanted to make sure the offering would not strain the institute’s relationship with the Sirens of the isle.”
“You told him you approved?”
Merrick let out a heavy sigh. “You have come alive in the few short months you have been there. You have found your calling. It is hard to let your children go, but sometimes it is the right thing.” He reached up and patted her mother’s hand; she nodded, her eyes glistening.
Delphine felt a huge weight lift off her shoulders. She had been worried he would be angry about her shirking her royal duties, worried he would think she was not being true to her family. Delphine chastised herself; she should have known better, because her father always only wanted his children to be happy.
“How are the twins?”
Iona rolled her eyes. “Rambunctious as always. I swear those girls are never going to settle down into proper princesses.”
Delphine laughed. Her sisters were high-spirited and could be a handful at times.
“There are two other things I wanted to discuss with you.” Delphine took a deep breath. “First, I have decided to adopt the child we rescued from the isle. I have come to love her and could not be parted from her.”
Iona squealed and giggled in the mirror, causing Delphine to laugh.
“A grandbaby—can you believe it, Merrick?”
He smiled. “You have such a generous heart, and we will be glad to welcome her into the fami
ly. When you return from the mission, we want a nice long visit with the child.”
Iona frowned. “Are you sure you don’t want to come home? We do support your decision to stay at the institute, but raising the child on your own will be hard.”
Delphine smiled. “That is the other piece of news I wanted to tell you. Do you remember the shifter, Flynn Kirk, the one who helped rescue me from the society?” Her parents both nodded. “I have come to care for him—to love him, really. He feels the same and would like to help me raise Esme. We have discussed plans for marriage at a later date, and we want to make a life together.”
Iona smiled, her eyes becoming misty again. “Oh Delphine, you are all grown up.” She sniffled and Merrick took her into his arms.
“He treats you well,” he asked, his voice gruff.
“Yes, Father, and I love him so very much.”
“As I said, when this mission is over, we are due a visit, and we have much to discuss. For now, you have my blessing.”