Must Love Mermen (Sable Cove Book Two)

by R. E. Butler

  He pulled into the parking lot. “When do you want me to come get you?”

  “I’ll text you,” she said. She leaned over and kissed his cheek.

  He grabbed her hand before she got out. “If you need me, I’m just a call away.”

  “I know. It’s all good, Cassian. I think I just need to be around the witches and maybe this mystery will sort itself out. Maybe it was just a dream, but maybe it was something more. I owe it to myself to see where this road leads me.”

  “I support you a hundred percent.”

  She leaned over again, but this time she kissed his lips. Passion flamed through him as he lost himself in her sweet scent and soft lips.

  “Ah, I should go,” she murmured against his lips. “I don’t wanna though.”

  He kissed the tip of her nose with a chuckle. “You’re very addictive.”

  “You too.” She got out of the truck and leaned in to give him a sexy smile. “Nap later, right?”

  “You got it, sweetheart.”

  She blew him a kiss and shut the door. He watched her until she was inside the building and then he pulled into the street and headed back to the lighthouse. He’d had a nice break being in Trieve, but it was time to get back to life and the day-to-day of being a lighthouse keeper. He already missed Zia, but he’d see her soon enough. He hoped she got the answers she was looking for. Or, more honestly, he wished he’d been able to help her figure things out. He suspected that being mated to him gave her some of his magic, and the witches had simply mistaken her distress call as one made by a witch.

  But there was always the possibility that there was more to his sweetheart than met the eye.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Zia opened the door to the rescue. A bell tinkled softly, announcing her arrival. The interior smelled faintly of herbs and flowers, and the nerves singing through her veins were suddenly calm.

  She shut the door quietly behind her and leaned back against it, closing her eyes. She felt oddly at home in the rescue. It wasn’t the same sort of “home” feeling she had with Cassian, but more of a familiar-type feeling, as if she belonged in this place as well. Not like she belonged to Cassian or in Trieve with the fairies, but there was definitely something about the rescue that called to her.

  “Hi, Zia.”

  Zia opened her eyes and smiled at Kinsley. She straightened and moved into the main room, which had a counter, a wall of shelves filled with pet products, and a small nook with a bay window and seat against one wall.

  “Hi, Kinsley.”

  “You look...are you okay? You’re kind of green.”

  Zia wanted to tell her new friend what she was feeling, but she was suddenly overwhelmed. Thoughts of her near-death, the dolphins, the witches, and her family’s insistence that there was nothing but fairies in their big family tree cascaded over her like a waterfall. She felt like she was drowning again, but there was no water in sight. Pulling at the collar of her top, she gasped for breath.

  “Shit! Hadlee! I need you!” Kinsley ran to Zia and put her arm around her.

  “Holy crap!” Hadlee rushed into the room and joined them, putting her arm around Zia as well.

  All at once, the strange overwhelming feelings settled, and Zia felt like she could breathe again. She sagged against the witches as tears pooled in her eyes. “Something’s wrong.”

  “What is it? What’s wrong?” Hadlee asked.

  “Wrong with me,” Zia said. “I don’t feel right, I don’t feel like myself. There’s more. Other. But my family...” The tears leaked from her eyes and splashed on the tile floor.

  “Come have a seat on the bench,” Kinsley said. She led Zia over to the padded seat and sat with her, while Hadlee disappeared into the back once more.

  Kinsley told Zia to breathe and rubbed her back. “You’re safe here, Zia, I promise.”

  Hadlee came into the room with a mug and held it to Zia. “I called Delaney and she’s on her way over.”

  “I’m f-fine,” Zia said. She took the mug and inhaled the steam, which smelled faintly of chamomile.

  “You’re anything but fine,” Hadlee said, sitting on the carpet in front of them. “Tell us what’s going on. You came here to talk to us, so let’s talk. We promise we’ll do our best to help you.”

  Zia took a sip and felt the hot brew slide down her throat and into her stomach, soothing some of the anxiety. She realized she’d been having a panic attack, but she couldn’t figure out why.

  “I had a dream last night,” she said. She told them everything she could about the dream and the warlock Zayde. By the time she finished her story, Delaney had joined them and gotten filled in on the details. “So I thought that coming to see you guys would be the right choice.”

  “It certainly sounds like you had a dream about a warlock coven,” Delaney said. “The question is whether it was a vision of the past, the present, or the future.”

  “I don’t know how to tell.”

  “Well,” Kinsley said, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, “could you see what they were wearing under the cloaks?”

  Zia thought back to the scene, but it had been so dark when they’d turned from the fire, that all she could see was the cloaks themselves. She shook her head. “No.”

  “The cloaks alone are pretty telling,” Hadlee said. “Warlocks and witches don’t really wear them anymore. I think you had a vision of the past. But there’s a reason for it.”

  “What could that be?” Zia asked.

  Hadlee shrugged. “After you mated Cassian, you got some of his merman power. Merpeople have a type of magic, but it’s not like our magic. It’s similar but different. Like I can feel Cassian’s magic when he shifts, because it’s like a little boost of power, but it doesn’t feel like a witch is using magic. When you were in distress, we were certain a witch was in trouble. It didn’t feel like a merperson was in trouble at all.”

  “My parents said there isn’t anything but fairies in our family history.”

  “Maybe they don’t know,” Delaney said. “Families can have secrets and skeletons in the closet. And once the people who held those secrets pass away, the knowledge is lost.”

  Zia hummed. “So there’s nothing to be done, then.”

  “Well, that’s not necessarily true,” Kinsley said. “We could cast a spell to unearth your past. It would be a way for us to find out if there is something magical in your history.”

  “If there’s not?”

  “Then the reason we felt you when you were in trouble was because we were meant to, and it’s not about magic at all,” Kinsley said.

  Zia felt a little glimmer of hope. “You don’t mind helping me figure this out?”

  “Are you kidding?” Delaney said with a chuckle. “We love a good mystery. But we need to go see our friend, Mother Gibson. Unearthing family secrets is a big spell, and we need a fourth for our circle.”

  “Thank you,” Zia said.

  “It’s our pleasure,” Kinsley said. “I’ll call her and make sure she’s available. Come on in the back, you can meet the familiars.”

  Zia had never seen familiars before. She had an idea of what they were, but she’d expected only black cats. Instead, there was an owl, a crow, and four cats that were available for adoption, and only one of them was black.

  While Kinsley called their friend, Delaney explained how her power was related to familiars. “My power is related to all animals, but specifically familiars. I can tell which person and familiar belong together.”

  “I’m all about fire,” Kinsley said when she put her phone down. “What’s your fairy power?”

  “Plants.”

  “My power is over plants and trees,” Hadlee said with a smile. “Maybe we can work together. There are some things that I can’t get to grow in this area because of the cold winters, but I think if we pooled our powers we could do anything.”

  “I’d love to help. Cassian said I could have a greenhouse next to the lighthouse, so I’ll be able to gro
w most anything.”

  “That’s so awesome,” Hadlee said.

  There was a small meow from behind them, and Zia turned around. The little black kitten, named Flora, was standing on her back legs, with one paw curled around the bars of her cage and the other paw reaching through the bars toward Zia. “Aw, hi, cutie,” Zia said. She touched her finger to Flora’s paw and she flexed it, the tiny claws coming out and holding her finger.

  “That’s adorable, she must like you,” Delaney said. “When we get back from Mother Gibson’s you can hold her if you like.”

  “I would.” Zia extracted her finger from Flora’s paw and followed the trio out of the building.

  The moment Zia stepped outside, Flora began to yowl loudly and angrily.

  “Weird,” Delaney said.

  “Is she all right?” Zia asked.

  “I guess so. I mean, she’s been fed and had playtime and should be ready to take a nap. Maybe she’s just lonely.”

  Hadlee shut and locked the back door. “I’ll drive.”

  Zia could still hear the kitten yowling and her heart panged. “Poor thing.”

  She turned to step off the back porch when she caught the look Delaney was sharing with Hadlee and Kinsley.

  “What?” Zia asked.

  Delaney shook her head. “Nothing. Well, maybe it’s nothing but maybe it’s something, so let’s go see Mother Gibson.”

  Zia nodded. The four climbed into Hadlee’s car. Zia texted Cassian to tell him what they were doing.

  Tell her I said hello, he texted back.

  Will do. How’s your morning going?

  Fine except I miss you terribly. You?

  So far so good. I miss you too.

  Let me know how things go with Mother Gibson.

  I will. Love you.

  Love you too.

  She looked out the window as the car swung into a tree-lined lane. “Is Mother Gibson in your coven?”

  “No, she’s a family friend,” Delaney said. “My mom was our fourth. She passed away a few years ago. We just never added a permanent fourth to our coven, but for the most part we don’t need four except times when we’re doing particular spells or during the solstice or equinox celebrations. Covens can have as many witches or warlocks as they want, there’s no right or wrong number.”

  Zia hummed in surprise as a lovely cottage came into view. It had a bright red door and moss-covered white walls. The tile roof was multi-colored with various reds and oranges and lent a brightness to the dark woods.

  After Hadlee parked, everyone got out of the car. The front door opened, and a middle-aged woman beckoned them inside.

  Delaney kissed her on the cheek. “Hi, Mother Gibson. This is our new friend, Zia.”

  Zia stuck out her hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  The woman grasped Zia’s hand with both of hers, and Zia felt a zing of electricity shoot up her arm. “It’s lovely to meet you, Zia. I haven’t had the pleasure of a fairy’s company in many years. Please come in.”

  They sat in an alcove in the kitchen around an old wooden table set with comfortable chairs. Mother Gibson poured tea for everyone from a teapot painted with purple flowers. When everyone had fixed their tea—Zia choosing honey and a lemon wedge—Delaney explained about Zia’s situation, from her mating to Cassian to her near-death experience at the hands of the merpeople.

  Mother Gibson hummed. “My! You’ve had quite an adventure recently.”

  “That’s putting it mildly,” Zia said with a smile.

  “So what do you think happened when you were calling out in your mind for help as you were being dragged to your watery grave?”

  Zia shivered at the imagery her words evoked. “I think...well, I’m not sure.”

  “I think you know what you think but you don’t want to say it.”

  Zia frowned. “If I’m wrong?”

  “Who’s hurt by words and thoughts?” Mother Gibson shrugged.

  “Good point.” She took a sip of the sweet and herby tea and set it on the table, keeping her hands around the mug. “I think that there’s something magical within me that was awakened by Cassian. But what the magical thing is, I don’t have the foggiest.”

  “We thought we could cast a divining spell,” Hadlee said.

  “What would that do?” Zia asked.

  “It would reveal where your magic comes from,” Mother Gibson said. “It’s a good idea, but if the source of your magic has been purposely hidden from us, we may not get any sort of revelations without doing a larger, more intricate spell.”

  Zia didn’t understand about spell casting. Her fairy powers just came to her naturally. She didn’t even really think of them as being magical, although she knew of course it was. Fairies, like merpeople and witches, had their own type of magic.

  “Thank you for your help,” Zia said.

  “You can thank us when we have answers for you,” Delaney said with a smile.

  Chapter Twenty

  Out in Mother Gibson’s backyard, Zia watched as the four witches set up a circle in a cleared section of sandy ground. They interspersed candles around the perimeter of the circle which was three or four feet across.

  “Come into the circle,” Kinsley said. “Kneel in the center.”

  Zia did as she was told. The sandy ground was warm and a little prickly on her skin, but she ignored the feeling and focused on the four witches.

  “We’re going to cast a divining spell for you,” Delaney said. “Whatever happens, don’t leave the circle or the spell will be broken.”

  “Got it.”

  Mother Gibson brought forward a leather pouch and put her hand into it, bringing out a handful of what looked like sparkly dirt. She sprinkled it on each candle and Delaney followed behind her and lit each one. There was a puff as the sparkly dirt caught fire and a whiff of something herbal like thyme. When the last candle was lit, the witches joined hands and began to chant.

  Zia felt a breeze kick up, ruffling her shirt and making goosebumps rise on her arms. The chant began again, and Zia watched as the flames turned from yellow to blue, flickering quickly in the breeze.

  All at once, her vision went dark and she saw the same group of warlocks. For a moment, she almost rose to her feet or scrambled away from the circle, but she remembered Delaney’s words and stayed put. She was having a vision and she didn’t want to lose it. She realized as she watched the warlocks, that Zayde was missing and all of the warlocks looked like they’d been in some kind of battle. They were wounded and bleeding, and several looked like they were close to death.

  “What are we going to do?” one of the males said, holding a blood-soaked rag to his shoulder. “What now?”

  “We lost, we must go. We’ll find a new one,” another answered.

  “Without Zayde?” another asked. “He was the most powerful of us.”

  “Yes, and he sacrificed his life for all of ours,” the second male said. “We can’t give up. We lost our home territory, but we didn’t lose our lives. We’ll go on for Zayde.”

  “For Zayde,” the males all said together.

  Zia wasn’t sure why she started crying, but she couldn’t stop herself from mourning Zayde’s loss. Except, who was he? Why did she even care about him and why was she being shown a vision of his friends after his death? It just didn’t make sense.

  Nothing did.

  A mewling sound came from behind her, and the vision cracked like it was made of glass. Zia’s eyesight returned. She looked behind her and saw Flora scurrying toward her. The little kitten hopped over the circle of stones, tripped on her paws, and flopped onto the dirt next to Zia. She picked up the kitten and brought her to her chest.

  “What are you doing here?” Zia whispered. She brushed tears from her cheeks, her mind turning over the scene she’d watched.

  It took her a moment to realize the witches weren’t chanting anymore. Zia lifted her head and looked at the four witches who were giving her curious looks.

  “Wha
t happened?” Zia asked.

  “You tell us,” Kinsley said.

  She relayed the vision. “So Zayde is dead and that makes me so sad, but I still don’t know who he is or why I’m seeing these visions of him.”

  Delaney pulled her phone from her pocket and looked at the screen. “I just got a text from Brody; he can’t find anyone named Zayde in the national database.”

  “What does that mean?” Zia asked.

  “It could be a nickname, or he could be from a time before there were databases,” Kinsley said. She looked at Mother Gibson, who was rubbing her chin in thought. “What do you think?”

  “I think it’s curious that none of you are wondering why the kitten is here.”

  Delaney let out a gasp. “I didn’t even notice her! How did she get out of her cage and away from the rescue?”

  “Okay, this is really weird,” Hadlee said. “Flora just broke herself out of the rescue to come to us and went right to Zia. I think that speaks volumes.”

  “About what?” Zia asked, smiling as the kitten’s purr made her chest vibrate.

  “That you’re more than a fairy, no matter what your family says.”

  * * *

  Cassian finished cleaning his and Zia’s boats that were tied up to the dock. The dock bobbed as he walked down it carrying a bucket with cleaning supplies. He turned off the water to the hose and wrapped it up on the hook, then carried the bucket into the shed and put the items away. His phone buzzed and he saw it was Zia.

  “Hey, sweetheart.”

  “Can you come to the rescue?”

  “Of course. Everything okay?”

  “I’m fine, but I’m not sure everything’s okay. I’ll tell you about it when you get here.”

  “So long as you’re fine.”

  “I am, I promise.”

  “I’ll be there in a few.”

  He quickly changed into clean clothes and washed his hands and face, then hurried to his truck. The drive to the rescue was short, and as he pulled into the parking lot he saw Zia pacing on the front porch of the building. When she turned to face him, he was surprised to see the little black kitten in her arms.