Before I rushed out in search of a phone, Fleur finally came back.
“I can’t believe you’re here!” she yelled the moment she opened the door.
“Fleur.” I grabbed her in a hug, ignoring her shouting and the angry glare she gave me. Relief flooded through me head to toe at seeing my friend safe and sound, even if pissed beyond belief. “I’m so glad nothing happened to you.”
“To me? Whatever happened to you?” She moved her stare from me to Zeph standing by the couch in my tiny living room. “And what the fuck is he doing here?”
Zeph’s dark eyebrows slid up at that greeting. “I don’t believe we’ve met—”
“Well, not officially, no.” Fleur folded her arms across her chest. “You disappeared from the picture before that could happen. But I was at the cabaret with Ivy that night, too. I heard you sing, except that I didn’t fall head over heels for you the way she did.”
“Fleur, it wasn’t his fault—” I tried to stop her.
“Of course, it wasn’t.” She spun to face me again, an agitated blush coming through the warm brown of her skin. “Let me guess. He just happened to have a prior engagement and lost your phone number so he had no way of calling you for a year and a bit, right?” Sarcasm was thick in her voice. “I spent the whole damn night at the police station, while you seem to be ‘reconnecting’ here with him.” She leveled a reproachful glare at Zeph.
“You went to the police? What did they say?”
“Nothing.” Her shoulders slumped as she tossed her backpack into the corner. “For the missing person’s report to be filed, you’d have to be gone for at least twenty-four hours. Now, I see the point of that rule.” She threw me an accusing glance. “Where did you go? Why didn’t you call me? I just about lost my mind, running around the fairgrounds, searching for you. Your phone was off. I came back here a few hours ago, just before going to the police. You weren’t here.”
“I’m so sorry, Fleur.” I wrapped my arms around her shoulders, and she didn’t fight me when I led her to the couch. “I had a stupid idea to sneak back into the tent while you were in the bathroom—”
“The menagerie?” She gaped at me. “You went back?”
“I wanted to see the VIP exhibit, so I slipped in between the tent’s wall panels.”
“Did you get to see it?”
“I saw him.” I pointed at Zeph.
“Him?” She moved her gaze from me to him then back again.
“I was Madame Tan’s VIP exhibit,” Zeph explained, heaving a sigh.
“What do you mean?” She gaped at both of us.
“He was kidnapped, Fleur, the morning before our date that day in Paris. Madame had been holding him, forcefully, because…” I stopped, unsure how to explain what I’d heard or seen today. Would she even believe me if I tried?
“Because I can hold my breath under water, much longer than a regular person can,” Zeph said instead of me.
I snapped my gaze to his. We hadn’t had a chance to discuss what to say about today’s events. I would have preferred not to lie, at least not to Fleur. However, the truth wouldn’t be easy for anyone to believe. I still hadn’t completely accepted the existence of a magical kingdom somewhere beyond the realms of our world myself. How could I explain it to others?
“She designed an act, presenting me as a water siren,” Zeph continued. Nothing of what he was saying was technically a lie. “And kept me drugged, so I had no presence of mind to devise an escape plan. Ivy helped me to get out.”
“What a cruel bitch,” Fleur muttered, finding a new target for her anger. “Well, we’ll see what the police will say about that.”
“I can’t go to the police.” Zeph shook his head.
“What?” Both Fleur and I stared at him in surprise this time.
“She is…um, powerful. I’m confident she has contacts in the police. Going to them would be like giving her an easy way to find me again.”
“What are you going to do?” Fleur asked. “She took a year of your life. You’ll never get it back.”
“But I have the rest of my life to live as I please now.” He glanced my way.
“You can’t let her get away with it,” Fleur protested. “What if she catches you again?”
I remained quiet. Zeph’s calm expression told me there might be more than he wished to share at the moment.
“She won’t. I’ll make sure of it. She caught me by surprise the first time. I am going to be prepared from now on.”
“Well, if you know exactly what you’re doing…” Fleur didn’t seem entirely convinced, but she appeared to be calmer now, stifling a yawn before turning to me. “I really need some sleep. Are you staying put until the morning? We’ll talk more tomorrow.”
After Fleur went to bed. I made some tea for Zeph and myself. Neither of us had eaten dinner that day, but Zeph assured me he wasn’t hungry, and I couldn’t even think about food yet. My stomach still felt tight with worry and adrenaline.
“What are you planning to do now?” I asked, giving him his tea and settling on the couch next to him, my cup in my hands. Since he had opened up about who he was to me, I hoped he would tell me more now that we were alone.
“I’ll have to report back to the High Court of Nerifir,” he said. “Ghata broke a major condition of her exile by committing the crime of kidnapping, illegal use of womora leaves, and exploiting me for her gain.”
“She used the leaves to drug you?”
“Their smoke.” He nodded.
The memory of the scent of the smoke permeating the tent of the menagerie was still too strong in my mind. I could almost smell it again.
“She infused the water in the tank with it, so I couldn’t use it to help me escape. Water magic is the power of my kind, but smoke of womora leaves strips all Fae of their magic.”
He lifted his hand, twirling a finger over his teacup. A tiny swirl formed on the surface of his tea, then a tendril of it rose into the air.
“Wow? It listens to you?” I gasped.
A smile spread on his handsome face.
“Now that I no longer breathe womora, my magic is returning.” He leaned back, clearly relieved. “By morning I should be able to cross back to Nerifir.”
I did my best to ignore the stab of regret his words brought.
“Ghata will be dealt with,” he assured me.
“Why do you think she did this? She must have known the consequences of her actions.”
“Greed.” His dark eyebrows drew together in a frown. “She was stripped of Fae magic upon her exile, but she turned out to be too power hungry to accept the life of a regular human. Money is power in this world, and she risked everything to gain it.”
“What will happen to her after you report her?”
“That will be up to the High Court to decide.” He finished his tea, setting the cup down on the side table. “If she manages to keep her life, she will definitely lose her freedom.”
“Why are you here, Zeph? Have you been exiled, too?”
He turned to face me, studying my face for a long moment. I wondered if he was assessing my trustworthiness before telling me more about his world. His expression, however, was soft and kind, not scrutinizing.
“The High Court sent me here,” he replied, finally. “I monitor Fae who are exiled into this world, some temporary, some permanently.”
“So, you use Earth as a penal colony?”
“The High Court does. Without their magic, the punished Fae can blend in easily with humans, and many end up leading honest, productive lives.”
“How about you? What is my world to you?”
“Me?” He gave me another one of his penetrating stares. “I first came here ten years ago, and I love it here. Now more than ever.”
Somehow, the topic of our conversation didn’t matter, anymore. Zeph could speak about anything and everything; I’d be listening attentively, drawn in by his eyes and the melodious cadence of his voice.
“You really ar
e a siren,” I whispered, mesmerized. “Just like the legends say.”
“There is truth behind every legend.” He brushed the side of my face with the back of his knuckles.
“Will you come back here?” I asked, afraid to breathe as I waited for his reply.
“As soon as I’m able.” He shifted closer. “Will you wait for me, Ivy?”
“You want to have that date, after all?” I smiled.
“I want much more than a date.”
I blinked, taking a sip of my cooling tea to take a moment to collect my thoughts. “You know I was planning to move to Paris last year.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“I never got around…”
Paris had always been my happy place. Since that last trip, however, it was tainted by what I thought was a failed relationship. I had hated Zeph for that too, for spoiling one of the best places in my life.
“I’m so sorry, Zeph. Sorry for what had happened to you, and for blaming you all this time…”
“Hey.” He leaned in, cupping the side of my face. “It’s over now. Like I said, the important part is that I’m free to live the rest of my life any way I want, and I want to spend it with you.”
“You do?” I glanced up. His expression was earnest, the look in his eyes hopeful. “I can most certainly look into moving again,” I offered tentatively.
“Does it have to be Paris, though?” he asked.
I kept staring into his eyes. As the effects of the toxic smoke had been wearing off, the gloomy shadows had cleared from his face. His expression now was more familiar—open and warm. The attraction, heating me from the inside, also wasn’t new. It drew me to him—the call of the siren I didn’t feel like fighting at all.
“No, it doesn’t have to be Paris. It can be anywhere in the world, really. I work from home.”
I would follow him anywhere.
The thought was scary in its certainty, but also exciting.
“I always wanted to live on the water,” he said, moving a strand of my hair behind my ear. “Where I would feel more at home, and where I could be certain I can keep you safe, now.”
“On a coast, somewhere?” I leaned into his touch.
“In the Caribbean. A friend of mine owns a bar on the island of St. Vincent. He invited me to sing in his venue. I would love for you to come with me.” He stared at me, imploringly. “Please.”
My heart skipped a beat.
Taking my teacup from me, he sat it aside then slid his hand up my arm. “I want to take you on a million more dates. Will you move in with me, Ivy?”
“Will you sing for me?” I smiled.
“Every day.” He leaned closer, skimming my bottom lip with his thumb and sending warm tingles rushing through me.
“Then how can I refuse?” I half-whispered, melting into his touch.
Delight flashed across his features before he brushed my lips with his. Wrapping my arms tight around him, I kissed him back as my heart thundered fast in my chest.
So much of what was happening still seemed like a dream, but the man of my dreams felt very real this time.
“I’m not letting you go,” he whispered, moving his kisses down my neck.
“Please don’t,” I murmured back, holding him close.
“Be careful.” I wrapped my arms around myself against the early morning chill on the shore of Lake Ontario. I’d driven us far from the city, away from any spying eyes.
“Water is my home.” Zeph took all his clothes off. “I’m safer in it than ashore.”
“You don’t get cold?” I slid my gaze down his toned, muscular body.
He grinned, catching me staring. “Does it look like I do?”
My gaze snapped straight to his crotch at his words, and I heard his chuckle. A blush heated my cheeks as I averted my eyes, mumbling under by breath, “It certainly does not.”
Cocky Water Fae.
He grabbed me in a hug. “I really, really hate to leave you.” He nuzzled my neck, holding me close. “I’ve only just got you back.”
“Please, don’t be long,” I said softly, wrapping my arms around him. The thought of having to say goodbye soon prickled my nose and filled my eyes with tears. I held on to him, savoring every moment of his closeness while I still could. “Come back to me.”
“I will,” he promised, kissing me one more time before letting go and stepping back to the water edge. “As long as you’re in the water, I will find you, no matter where in the world you are.”
I kept my gaze on him as he walked farther into the lake then dove in, quickly disappearing from sight.
Please, come back to me.
Chapter Seven
After putting the washed dinner plate into the dishrack on the counter to dry, I wiped my hands and left the kitchen.
It was a beautiful night on St. Vincent island in the Caribbean. The small house I’d rented sat near the concrete breakwater; a few stairs led down to the small, black-sand beach.
It was my second week here and by now, I’d established a routine. Throughout the day, I worked, filling orders for my clients all over the world by creating custom graphics for their posters, flyers, logos, and business cards. After dinner, I went to the beach for a swim.
‘As long as you are in the water, I will find you.’
Zeph’s words never left my mind. Everything that had happened that day in Toronto more and more resembled a dream in my mind since he’d left, but one thing remained consistent and real—I missed Zeph. I’d known him for over a year, yet I’d spent only a few days with him during that time. I still had so much to learn about him, and I wanted a chance to do so.
Despite his claims of being safe in the water, I worried about him swimming through the dark lakes and vast oceans, via the portal from Nerifir, to me.
Worry and longing seemed to be my main emotions lately.
The small beach was deserted at this hour. Slipping out of my sundress, I kicked off my sandals and entered the sea at night wearing only my turquoise bikini.
Waves sloshed lazily around my ankles, water caressed my skin, rising higher as I walked deeper. I went as far as I dared, submerged up to my breasts now, and stopped, staring past the small island across from the beach and into the sea stretching to the horizon behind it.
The water was glowing tonight, streaks of green and blue shimmered in ripples across the waves. Some seemed to gather closer, swirling around me in a slow twirl.
Suddenly, a pair of strong arms caught me around my waist. I gasped, my heart beating faster, but not from fear.
“Zeph…” I exhaled as he broke through the water in front of me. His long, wet hair shimmering with silver under the moonlight.
“I told you I’d find you.” He grinned wide at me, droplets of water gleaming on his long eyelashes.
“You’re here.” I wrapped my arms around his neck, drinking in the sight of his face.
“There is no other place for me anymore, but with you,” he said simply, filling my heart with sunny warmth.
“How did everything go?”
“Great. Ghata is locked up for the rest of her eternal life. The humans she manipulated into her service have been freed. And I’m all yours, now.”
“Mine.” I hugged him to me, giddy with happiness.
He kissed my neck. The sea water turned in a swirl around us, with a soft caress against my body.
Gliding my hands up and down his arms, back, and shoulders, I enjoyed the reassurance of him finally being here, with me.
Zeph snapped all his fins closed as soon as I touched him. The hard spikes that I knew could be deadly folded into his skin, with only thin pale stripes remaining visible along his spine, arms, and legs where the fins had disappeared.
He lifted me higher, kissing down from my neck to my chest and sending ripples of pleasure in his wake. A surge of water shoved down my bikini top, and the strings around my neck untied. I gasped, grasping for it, but Zeph gently steered my hands away, tilting me back.
Suspended in the undulating waves, I arched my back as my body seemed to be flowing along with the water. The strings of my bikini bottom came loose; small warm streams curled around my thighs in a dance, tingling across my skin with a new sensation.
Dropping to his knees, Zeph dove under, sliding between my thighs. His tongue glided between my folds as the water sluiced in twirls around my legs, caressing the insides of my thighs and flowing over my breasts.
My face tilted toward the starry sky, suspended in the water, I spread my arms wide as the waves of pleasure rolled though me. Slowly, the current washing over me grew stronger, the stream massaging my body in swells, in the same rhythm as Zeph moved his mouth on me—harder and with more urgency.
The achy pressure between my legs intensified, I dug my heels into Zeph’s shoulders as my entire body tensed, before the ecstasy burst through me, set off by his mouth, fingers, and tongue.
I splayed my hands wide, raking them through the water, afraid I’d sink lost in the storm of the mind-blinding orgasm. Yet the sea held me, rocking me softly as I was coming down from the crest of pleasure.
Zeph tenderly kissed up my body, rising over me, the water rushing off him and streaming down his hair.
“Being with you is simply magical,” I murmured as he placed a soft kiss in the corner of my mouth. My heart squeezed with sweet ache at the memory of the last time he made love to me. It was in his apartment in Paris, back when I didn’t even know for sure I’d see him again, but I already knew I wanted more with him.
“I missed you, Ivy.” Zeph’s voice rang with strain and certainty. He pressed his hips to me, the hard erection rubbing tantalisingly slow against my heated core.
“I’ve heard sex in the sea doesn’t work that well,” I teased, flexing my legs around him, nevertheless.
“Why would anyone say that?” He lifted an eyebrow, a smile twinkling in his eyes.
I loved seeing the familiar carefree expression on his face again. The dark shadows of the past year had all but disappeared, by now.
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