He opened his mouth to argue, but snapped it shut again. Seven hundred years made for many lifetimes. He hadn’t always been that charming or charismatic. There was a time in his mortal life when everything had seemed dark. When his family hadn’t known whether they would live to see tomorrow or not.
They were the victims of a terrible genocidal war. If his grandfather hadn’t sought out the vampire curse and saved them all, Leo wouldn’t have gone on to become the man he was today. Someone who didn’t like to linger in the bad times.
“What does charm and charisma have to do with saving a shark?” he asked cautiously, eyeing the intense expression on her face.
Her dark eyes narrowed. “Unlike you, I’ve never felt like I belonged. Not even in the colony which hatched me. All my life, I’ve desired to have an impact on the world. Do wonderful and amazing things. But when I’m in front of my sisters, I clam up. It’s like I can’t speak. Can’t form my own opinions. I’m used to living in this world like a shadow. Stuck and slowly suffocating on a beach of my own making.”
She gazed at the shark with so much sorrow, Leo couldn’t help but push himself off the ground and cautiously approach the beast. “So you’re saying, you connect more with animals than mermaids?”
Her lips curled into a shy smile. “I guess so. And if I can’t impact the world, at least I can make it better for this one creature.”
He sighed and rolled his shoulders, not quite sure why he was letting her talk him into this. Reaching down, he dug his fingers under the smooth cartilage of the shark’s belly and looked expectantly up at her.
“Are we going to do this or not, shark bait?”
She flashed him a radiant smile that made his undead heart flip and leaned down to do the same. With a heave-ho, they shoved the shark into deeper water, until it began to thrash once again. But this time, its powerful tail propelled it forward and it took off into the water with hardly a splash. Leo and Eina stood side-by-side, watching the top of its dorsal fin sink into the Bering Sea.
“You know, I rescued Rodrigo from a black magic ring,” Leo said, rubbing the back of his head. For some reason, he had the sudden desire to impress her. “Spirit guides are hot stuff in those circles. Poor thing was half-starved and missing most of his fur.”
“That’s your black cat?” Eina smiled at him and walked further up shore to perch herself on a large rock.
Leo followed and sat beside her. Their knees bumped, sending a thrill up his leg. He quickly pulled away and clasped a hand on his thigh to hide his reaction to her touch.
“Yeah, that’s Rod. He’s my employee now. The best personal attendant I’ve ever had.”
“You employ a cat?” She shook her head in amazement. “And just when I thought I had you figured out.”
His gaze flicked to hers. “Oh really? And may I ask what you have figured out about me in only four days’ time?”
Her cheeks turned pink and she gave him a guilty expression. “You might not like what I have to say.”
“Try me.”
He leaned closer to her. There was something endearing about her embarrassment.
“Well, I think you’re a bit wild.” Her cheeks turned a deeper pink and she averted her eyes. “And that you probably never lack for female company. You don’t take much interest in your country’s politics. Don’t care much about world events. You probably spend most of your time on reckless behaviors like gambling or high-risk stunts. And you don’t understand why anyone would live any differently than you.”
He pulled back and ran his tongue over his teeth, trying to dispel the sour taste in his mouth. Everything she’d said was true, but for some reason, he hated the sound of it coming out of her mouth. It made him sound like the world’s biggest cad.
“See? I knew I shouldn’t have said anything.” She reached out to rest a warm hand on his forearm. There was an apology written in her eyes. “I just complained two minutes ago about being as shut tight as a clam, but you seem to bring the opposite out of me. I open my mouth around you and my opinions just spill out like sand.”
“No, I asked for it.”
He looked down at her hand still resting on his arm. His whole body seemed to react to the innocent interaction, blood rushing to his face and delicious fire racing up and down his skin. Eina saw him staring at her hand and she snatched it away, tucking it safely in her lap.
“I’ll try harder to find you some food,” she said, pushing herself to her feet. Her face was red. “Thank you for your help today.”
He watched her walk into the waves, the water shimmering once again around her legs. And with an elegant dive, she was gone.
And already, he was counting the hours until her return.
Chapter Eight
Eina kicked her powerful tail toward the surface. She’d returned to the island empty-handed once again, despite spending all day looking for a way to find Leo sustenance. The problem was that none of her mermaid sisters seemed concerned for the vampire’s appetite. They shoved her worries aside and told her to return to her post.
Always the demure one, she’d been unable to argue with them. To tell them that Leo was more than just the mindless monster they’d imagined. She was left kicking herself for not having the guts to stand up for their political prisoner.
Time spent with Leo had been surprisingly not horrible. As much as she hated to admit it, she liked talking with him. He had an easy presence. One that made her feel like she wasn’t being judged. She could spout her opinions and he listened to them all. It was a strange feeling, getting closer to her reluctant prisoner. In any other situation, he would’ve been a friend. A terribly gorgeous monster friend with killer fangs.
Too bad things weren’t different.
Her head broke the surface and she looked up at a brilliant fall sunset, complete with vivid stripes of orange and red thrown across a blue sky. It was as if the heavens were on fire. The picture was so intensely beautiful, she could almost smell smoke.
In fact, the more she breathed in the clear evening air, the more she became convinced she could actually smell something burning. Her eyes darted toward the island. A black plume of smoke originated at its heart and curled toward the sky.
“Leo,” she said in a frantic whisper, kicking urgently for the shore.
As soon as it was shallow enough, she willed the magic in her flesh to work. An itchy sensation burned along her fish tail. The water around her began to bubble as if it were boiling and her scales slowly dissolved, revealing smooth human skin. At about knee length, the scales peeled away painlessly from her body and formed her makeshift dress. The fragile gills on her neck disappeared, requiring her to breathe air like any human. When the transformation was complete and she could feel her toes wriggling in the rocky shore, she sprinted up the beach to find the source of the fire.
“Leo?” She cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted his name again. “Leo, where are you?”
Adrenaline coursed through her body. She prayed that he wasn’t hurt. Or worse. If he’d been injured on this island, she’d never forgive herself. After all, it had been her idea to bring him here. She should’ve just left him on a Monstranian beach. Let him go back to his senseless life of flirting and debauchery. At least then, she wouldn’t be responsible for whatever had happened to him.
“Leo!”
She came to an abrupt stop on the opposite end of the island, her throat choking on the sound of his name. The vampire prince stood on a bare piece of dirt, his hands on his hips, surveying the fire that was slowly consuming the few dozen trees on the island. He hadn’t heard her approach. On his face was a ridiculously proud grin, as if he had just located the secret city of Atlantis.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Eina demanded, marching toward him. Anger coursed through her body.
He whipped around, the grin dissolving into a guilty expression. Splaying out his hands, he gave an innocent shrug. “I saw it in a movie once.”
Mermaids didn�
��t exactly watch a lot of TV. They preferred to spend their time in scholarly pursuit. The few movies she’d seen had been from sneaking close to shore and catching glimpses of them through people’s living room windows. His explanation meant nothing to her.
She placed her hand on her hip and gave him a deadly stare. “So?”
“Well, it’s a smoke signal.” He shrugged again and gave her a half-cocked smile. “My brother will see it and know where to find me.”
It felt like steam was pouring from her ears. Her face heated and her hands trembled with rage.
To think, just moments ago she’d been worried about him lying somewhere on this island, hurt and alone. But no—he was the orchestrator of this prank. She should’ve dropped him somewhere in the middle of the ocean and let him tread water for days on end. See how he liked that.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Her eyes followed the trail of smoke up to the sky. It wasn’t too high yet. If she did something now, maybe the damage could be undone. Her feet propelled her toward the fire’s source.
“Wait, Eina. It’s too late.” Leo chased after her. “The fire’s too hot to approach. You can’t put it out now.”
“We’ll see about that.”
She ground her teeth in frustration and found the source. A stack of thin trees had been positioned into a pointed dome that reached higher than her head. It seemed he’d somehow started the flame and then piled green branches on top of it for added smoke effect. She could feel the dreadful heat of the flames from where she stood.
His ingenuity was both infuriating and the slightest bit impressive. She rubbed her hands together and took another step closer to the fire, considering her plan of attack.
“Wait, it’s not safe.” Leo grabbed her arm and yanked her back, making her collide with his chest.
She spun around in his arms, pressing against his solid abdomen with her hands. His arms encircled her and held her tight. Her heart threatened to escape from her ribcage as she looked up into his amber eyes.
“It’s not safe,” he repeated, concern wracking his face. “You’ll burn yourself.”
“I will not.”
Her knees trembled with the effort to stay on her feet. Part of her wanted to melt into his strong embrace. Another part wanted to slap her own face for feeling such things. What would her sisters think?
“And just what are you planning to do, shark bait?” He grinned at her, the dimple in his right cheek appearing. “Make it rain?”
“Something like that.”
She tried to give him her fiercest glare, but she only succeeded in twisting her face into a pained grimace. He chuckled, low and throaty, and loosened his grip on her, finally letting her break the spell of his chest pressed against hers.
“My sisters aren’t ready to let you leave,” she said, backing away slowly from him. He tilted his head to one side and watched her go, arrogant humor dancing in his eyes. “I can’t let you contact your brother.”
She spun on her heel and looked for the nearest source of water. He’d built his fire close enough to the north shore that she could depend on the incoming swell of salt water. Filling her lungs with a deep breath, she slowly raised her arms and focused on the feel of the ocean in her veins.
It was a sensation she carried everywhere with her. Even on land. A connection to the water and the earth beneath it. A tie to the moon and the influence it had on the world’s tides. She felt that connection in her fingertips as the water on the north shore began to rise. It swept up high, overshadowing the small island and its sparse cropping of trees.
Eina heard a low gasp behind her. She smiled with the knowledge that the pampered prince had yet to learn anything about mermaids. She’d show him.
With a sweeping motion of her hands, she dropped the tidal wave onto the island, dousing everything in its path. The fire, the trees, and its inhabitants. She managed to hold her ground against its strength, digging her feet into the ground. When the water had seeped back into the sea where it belonged, she opened her eyes and grinned in satisfaction at the sizzling remains of Leo’s fire signal.
She’d won. Take that, Mr. Fangs.
Suddenly, her knees gave out and she fell to the ground. Her whole body trembled. She hugged herself as she battled the aftereffects of her powers. Never had she used them for something so large. She hadn’t expected to expel so much energy. Blinking her eyes hard, she fought against the darkness that threatened to consume her.
“Are you okay?” Leo grabbed her shoulder and knelt next to her, offering his arm for support. Water dripped from his forehead and into his eyes. He gestured wildly at the extinguished fire. “Mind telling me how did you do that?”
“A little mermaid trick,” she said weakly, gazing down at her feet. “Probably best saved for small campfires.”
Concern etched in the lines on his forehead. He cradled her chin, sending shivers down her back, and gently lifted her gaze to his. “I told you not to hurt yourself.”
“I’ll be fine.” She stuck out her chin defiantly. Already, she could feel her strength beginning to return. Once she got back into the water, everything would be back to normal. He didn’t need to concern himself with her.
“You know, this doesn’t change a thing.” A sad smile played on his lips. He dropped his hand from her chin and sat back on his heels. “I’m still going to escape this island, one way or another. You can’t keep me here much longer.”
Frustration poured into her veins once again. She’d never met anyone so foolish. He could’ve set the whole island ablaze. She was pretty sure flames and vampires didn’t mix. What would’ve happened if he’d caught himself on fire? She’d be standing in a pile of his ashes.
Gone would be their leverage. And gone would be the dimple-faced, charming man who seemed to bring out the fighter in her. She had to channel her inner Loriella. What would the fierce leader of her colony do now?
“No, you’re not escaping.”
She shrugged off his arm and reached for his right hand. Before he could stop her, she tugged the ring off his pointer finger and clasped it tight within her palm.
“Are you crazy?” Leo’s eyes grew as wide as sand dollars. His panicked gaze moved to the sky and he raised an arm over his head. “Without that ring, I’ll die!”
“The sun’s already down.” She glanced at the last few streaks of orange left in the sky. It was already night. The stars would pop out soon. “You’re not going to burn to ashes.”
He slowly lowered his arm and glared at her, as if he would like nothing better than to toss her back into the sea like yesterday’s catch. “What about tomorrow? Are you going to leave me to burst into flames come morning?”
“You seem handy with a log.” She pushed herself off the ground and brushed off her knees. This was exactly what Loriella would do. She could sense it. Time to be tough. “Build yourself a shelter. But be quick about it. I wouldn’t take my chances, if I were you.”
He growled as she left him and strode toward the shore. She had one more source to prod for some blood bags. If she hurried, she could be there and back before the sun’s rays even reached the island. After today’s shenanigans, Leo could stand to sweat a little.
“Eina, don’t do this to me.”
In a blurred motion, he cut off her path and planted himself in front of her. Panic seemed to have aged his face a decade. In his eyes, he pleaded with her not to leave him so vulnerable. Her heart panged with guilt. She hesitated, feeling the small band of gold flush against her palm.
Maybe it wasn’t right to take his magical ring. But then again, he’d told her himself that he wasn’t going to give up on trying to escape. If she proved to him that she was serious about keeping him here, then maybe he’d settle down until her sisters could return him to his people.
“You’ll be fine.” She brushed past him, ignoring his frustrated exhale of breath. “I’ll be back soon.”
She didn’t want to look over her shoulder an
d see the hatred she knew would reflect in his eyes. They’d almost become friends in the short time they’d been forced together. There was a connection there. A strange, powerful one that made her feel as if she’d known him for a much longer span of time. It would’ve broken her heart to see all of that snap, like the dried up legs of a sea star. Instead, she marched onward, picking up speed until she could dive back into the comforting, cool waters of the sea.
If only he knew—this was the only way.
Chapter Nine
Eina swam wearily the last mile to home, clutching her prize under her arm. Not only had her illicit source made her tread water for two hours before he showed up, but the troll had the gull to charge her twice what they’d agreed and only gave her two blood bags. Leo had better appreciate her efforts to secure this food.
Her heart thrilled at the idea of seeing him again.
She traversed a deep sea canyon and came face-to-face with Cascade. The water sprite was digging holes into the sea bed, over two thousand miles below the surface. Eina paused her journey and laughed at the creature’s strange behavior.
“Cascade, what are you up to now?”
The water sprite looked up at her with a start, her big blue eyes widened. “Digging for gold, of course. A passing orca told me a pirate ship sunk here centuries ago.”
She returned to her digging and Eina could only chuckle. Cascade was always on some heroic mission. It was the thing Eina loved about her. They’d met when she was only a tadpole. Cascade had been chased from her pod for her eccentric personality, forbidden to ever return. They both felt like they didn’t belong anywhere. It was a bond that held them together.
“Has the colony come to a decision about Leo, yet?” Eina asked, stretching her arms above her head. She could really use a nap. Swimming across the ocean all night took it out of a mermaid.
Cascade looked up at her, her long amber locks flowing out behind her head. “No, they continue to drag their tails. Loriella wants to return him to his people, but she doesn’t have much support.”
Something Fishy About Love: Vampire & Mermaid Romance (A Monstrana Paranormal Romance Book 3) Page 5
