He couldn’t answer. He didn’t quite believe what he was feeling. He flung the door open, and there they were. The two of them, human and mermaid, wrapped around each other and fully in the throes of passion. Again.
Holy hell, shit, damn, and fuck! His human half was every bit as shocked as his fairy half. The human really did care for the mermaid, and the passion and emotion surrounding them had Kyne grabbing the door frame to keep himself upright. Well, most of him needed help with that. One particular body part was upright just fine.
Chapter Nineteen
Raea peered around Kyne in amazement. The human was practically gnawing Aliya’s nipple right off her left breast, and oh my! Aliya was yanking on the man’s penis as if her life depended on it! It was shocking and disgusting, and immediately her own body flared into arousal.
Raea’s own traitorous breasts cried out for some of the same attention Aliya was getting, and the most horrid image of Kyne’s humanlike body parts burned into her brain. It was awful! And entirely distracting. By the Air and the Skies, she was far too close to Kyne now, pressed up against him, gawking at the lovers, imagining their feelings and craving them for herself.
She gasped, or perhaps moaned. Aliya heard it and looked up, then made some unintelligible exclamation. The human left Aliya’s breast and turned to find them there. His eyes got wild and he uttered an oath. Quickly he scrambled to pull the bedclothes over himself and Aliya.
He sat up quickly, making an obvious attempt to keep his own body between the strangers in the doorway and Aliya in his bed. Everything about his expression and position was instantly defensive. Was he ready to battle them for the sake of his mermaid? It certainly appeared so. How terribly sweet! Perhaps Aliya was right; this human had some finer qualities than most.
She wasn’t sure if Kyne noticed any finer qualities, though. He marched toward the man like some avenging angel, his fiery wings humming with anger and his eyes blazing. It was a sight that would have scared the feathers right off Raea if he’d caught her in a position like that, she was sure. But the human took it in stride.
“Who the hell are you?” he growled.
“I am Kyne of the Summer Fairies,” Kyne replied, with a dramatic pause for effect. “And why, may I ask, are you laughing at me?”
The man was laughing. It was the oddest thing.
“Kind of a summer fairy?” the man repeated, incorrectly. “That’s not exactly a phrase to strike terror into the hearts of men, you know.”
Raea was not about to sit by and let this mere human insult Kyne! He was magnificent, as fairies went, and deserved some respect. She buzzed toward the bed.
“It’s Kyne of the Summer Fairies, not ‘kind of,’ you moron,” she said boldly. “And he’s terrifying. Just look at him. He’s huge!”
Kyne was huge, and he was terrifying. His fringe-tipped wings, his molten gold eyes, his deep heated colors, his body rippling with powerful muscles…any sensible human would easily mistake him for a War Fairy, although thankfully there weren’t many of those around these days. But he’d make a fine one, if there were. So tall and so broad, with those powerful legs, and arms that could encircle her and hold her against him any time he wanted…He was unlike any fairy she’d ever seen. And she’d better stop thinking about him right now, that was for sure.
“Get away from the mermaid!” Kyne ordered.
“I will not,” the man replied. “How did you find us, anyway?”
Kyne was caught off guard by that question. What a ridiculous thing for the human to ask. As if it had been difficult to find them, with what they’d been doing pretty much nonstop for the last twenty-four hours.
“Raea?” Aliya asked, peering around the man.
She looked uncomfortable up here on this dry boat, wrapped in that sheet, shifting awkwardly to prop herself up on an elbow. It was pitiful. Raea swallowed back the cheerful greeting she’d been planning to give. Seeing Aliya like this didn’t exactly make it seem like a cheerful occasion.
This had been such a stupid idea. How had she not realized all the trouble she’d be causing by trying to pass a mermaid off as human? Truly stupid.
“I’m here, Aliya,” she said finally, stepping closer to her friend. “Are you all right?”
“I’m a mermaid again, Raea,” Aliya said, though it was more than a little obvious, in spite of the man’s attempt to cover her with the sheet.
It was also more than a little obvious Aliya was crying. Aw, rainclouds. She’d never meant to make things worse for her infatuated friend. Now look at the poor girl, stuck on a boat in a body no human could live with.
But in spite of Aliya’s facial expression of ultimate sorrow, the tears trickled out weakly. Leaning closer, Raea realized her friend’s breathing was labored and raspy, too. All in all, Aliya seemed a bit…dry.
Kyne must have noticed it, too. He glowered at the human. “What have you done to her?”
The human shoved Kyne roughly. “Get the hell away from her!”
Kyne rose up and Raea cringed. Things were about to get violent.
“You filthy human!” Kyne snarled. “Keep your hands off me! Is this how you’ve treated an innocent mermaid? I ought to…”
He was reaching in his belt for a pouch of something Raea was certain they’d all regret. She was half surprised he’d even bothered with Fairy Dust, since it seemed clear he could best the human in pure physical strength and determination. Then again, that human seemed awfully determined to keep Kyne away from Aliya.
“Stop it!” Aliya cried.
Huh, who knew a mermaid could get so loud?
“Raea,” Aliya went on when she was certain she had everyone’s attention. And she did, actually. “Try to understand this. I’m not going back; I don’t want to. I want to stay with Devin. I wish it, and so does he. So, please turn me back again, Raea. Can you? Please?”
Now this was unexpected. She’d assumed Aliya would be itching to get back into the water by the end of the day. By the Skies, it was obvious the girl needed to be back in the water now that she’d changed to her old self again. Yet she was asking to stay? Wishing? Unheard of.
“You need to be in the water, Aliya,” Raea said carefully. “You don’t look so good.”
The human wasted no time in checking this out for himself. He touched Aliya gently on the forehead, then held her hand.
“She’s right. God, Aliya, you’re dry as a bone. We have to get you out of here.”
“I’m not leaving you, Devin,” Aliya assured him. “Raea can change me back.”
“Well, I…”
How to explain she wasn’t able do that? A temporary change for just twenty-four hours was one thing, but a permanent change? That would require more Fairy Dust than she had. Even if she could do it, someone would find out and report it.
For that matter, Kyne would be only too happy to report the whole incident to the council. Raea would be punished, and Aliya would be hunted down and returned to her form, then exiled from everyone. And the human…well, he would be a loss no one in the Forbidden Realm would regret. No one except Aliya, of course.
“Changing you back is a little more than I can do, Aliya,” she said finally.
Aliya’s face fell. But the tears were gone. Dried up.
“We’ve got to get her back in the water,” Kyne said.
“Hell yeah,” the man agreed. “I’m taking the boat out.”
With one last, longing look at Aliya, he pushed past Kyne and grabbed up some clothes on his way out the door. Not that she meant to look, but Raea couldn’t help herself. She would admit they hadn’t met this human today under the best circumstances, but it was plain Kyne had inherited a lot more than just half-human traits. He was twice the man this man was. At least, that’s the impression she got.
Aliya’s agonized cry pulled her back to the matter at hand.
“Devin! Oh no, please, Devin, don’t take me back to the water.”
The man’s footsteps faltered, but then kept go
ing until they could be heard up on deck.
“He didn’t waste much time abandoning you,” Kyne snapped.
Aliya looked devastated.
“Shut up, Kyne,” Raea said. What a nasty thing for him to tell the poor mermaid. Couldn’t he see she honestly cared for the human? Oh, this was such a mess.
Kyne glanced at Aliya, then back at Raea. His eyes were almost hateful.
“I’ll go watch him and make sure he takes this boat out. Wouldn’t surprise me if he’s just putting his clothes on and going home.”
“You do that,” Raea said.
He had the feelings and sensitivity of a north wind. No, not even that much. Winds were warm and caring compared to Kyne.
Kyne tromped out after the human and Raea went to sit on the bed beside Aliya. The mermaid grabbed her hand.
“He’s not abandoning me,” she said. It sounded like she actually believed it, too.
“No, he’s just doing what’s right for you,” Raea said. She wasn’t sure if either of them believed that, though. Aliya looked absolutely heartbroken.
“So you will not change me back? To human, I mean?”
“I can’t. I shouldn’t have even done this. It was a bad idea from the start.”
“So, this really was only temporary?”
“You knew that.”
“Yes, you told me that. I thought it was a good idea, at first. I thought I could do this thing with the human and then he would forget me and I would forget him, but once I was truly with him…well, I began to hope that somehow when you returned to change me back I could convince you not to.”
“I didn’t have to change you back,” Raea explained as gently as she could. “Your time was up. It was all part of the wish right from the beginning.”
“I see.”
“I never should have changed you at all. I’m really, truly sorry, Aliya.”
Through the sadness Aliya managed a thin smile.
“Don’t be sorry, Raea. These last twenty-four hours have been more than I ever could have dreamed of. I still wish there could be more, of course, but I’ll never ever be sorry for what we had.”
“Really? No regrets?”
“Oh, of course I regret that it ended. I regret I can’t stay.”
“You think you could be happy giving up your whole life just to be with this human?”
“Definitely. I love him, and he loves me. Isn’t there any way? Can’t you please somehow make it happen?”
“No, I just can’t. It takes too much. There’d be too many questions…we’d both be in trouble. There’s no telling what the Fairy Council would do about it. To any of us.”
She was hoping Aliya had heard the horror stories of humans mysteriously disappearing when they knew too much about the Forbidden Realm and all other means of keeping them silent had been exhausted. If Aliya really did love her human, surely she’d realize he’d be in as much trouble as they would be over this. Probably more.
Aliya was silent as she seemed to ponder this. They heard the sound of the boat’s engines. After some hasty thumping around on deck, the boat began to slowly move. Raea didn’t much care for the sensation of it, but Aliya seemed to barely notice. Her face showed she was deep in thought. What exactly she was trying to figure out, Raea had no idea. She thought she’d been pretty clear about the issue of changing her friend back.
Raea watched through the tiny window as the boat began to pull away from the dock. Finally Aliya spoke.
“Would it change your mind if I said there’s something more you don’t know?”
“No, I don’t think so. But go ahead. I need to know just how much trouble I’m in.”
Great, what now? Had the human been showing her around, introducing her to his friends? Had he made pictures of her with his human technology and then shared them with the whole human population? Or worse, was he one of those dangerous scientist people who were always poking their noses into the Veil, looking for explanations? There seemed no end to the list of difficulties Raea started imagining.
But Aliya’s confession hadn’t even come close to making her list.
“I’m carrying his child.”
Holy Cumulonimbus! A human/mermaid child? It simply could not possibly be true. Could it?
“You’re not serious?”
Aliya blushed and smiled. Oh, hailstones. She was serious.
“But how in creation can you be sure? I turned you human only yesterday!”
“I’m a mermaid,” she said, as if that explained everything. “I can feel the child’s thoughts. He’s tiny and barely there, but he is there.”
“He?”
Aliya blushed again. “Yes, I believe it is a male child.”
No, no, no. This could not be happening. Aliya wasn’t supposed to get pregnant from this! What were they supposed to do now? Even if they just threw her back in the water and left, someone was bound to find out what had happened. Mermaids didn’t just end up pregnant without everyone in their clan knowing about it—that whole Life Ceremony, and all.
And even then, they didn’t give birth to male half-human babies! No, this was about the worst thing that could happen. It was awful! There was no way out of this one. She’d blown it big-time.
“Oh, Aliya…,” she said, covering her face with her hands.
“Please don’t be sad, Raea. I want to thank you. This only happened because of you.”
Wonderful. Wouldn’t the council love to hear Aliya say that? This was a disaster. Could Aliya truly be glad for it? Had what passed between her and the man been so powerful that even such a disastrous ending still made it worth it for her? Unbelievable.
It made an empty spot in Raea’s soul ache for something…something she could not name. She tried to tell herself she was just hungry for dinner. That was only partially true. She was hungry, indeed, but it had nothing to do with her dinner.
Chapter Twenty
“Get the hell out of my way,” Devin barked. The damn fairy man was standing on the ropes.
God, if anyone on the dock saw this…well, what difference did that make? Once he got Aliya out into the open water where she’d be okay again, he was going to threaten one of the fairy people with serious bodily harm if they didn’t turn him into some kind of merman, too. No way in hell was he going to just dump Aliya out there and leave her. He was staying, if he had to anchor his boat out here and live on it for the rest of his life.
He shoved the orange fairy back against the wall and went about getting the boat ready to go. If anything happened to Aliya because of all this, well, a couple fairies were going to be wondering what happened to their wings. And a few other body parts. What a mess.
“What are you doing?” the fairy asked.
“I’m taking the boat out so we can get Aliya back in the water. Now shut up.”
“Can’t get rid of her fast enough, now that you know what she is, can you?”
If Devin hadn’t been so focused on getting out to open water for Aliya’s sake he would have taken a long enough break to punch the fairy’s lights out.
Not that the fairy, despite his laughable name and ridiculous title, didn’t look formidable. He was a lot bigger than Devin would have expected a fairy to be. Definitely no Tinker Bell. And pretty ripped for a fairy.
“I’m not getting rid of her,” he said with clenched teeth. “Since you and your pink partner there don’t seem to be inclined to help us any, I’ve got to get her out where it’s safe and get her back in the water before she shrivels up in there. Damn. I hate this.”
“Didn’t count on any of this while you were making free use of her body, did you?”
“Shut the fuck up, you magical mutant.”
The fairy just laughed at him. “You have no idea!” he said. “So, how much did she tell you about us?”
“You never came up in conversation.”
The fairy laughed again. It wasn’t a happy sound. “I can believe that, considering you were too busy taking your pleasure from her
for the last twenty-four hours to waste much time conversing.”
“What do you know about it?”
It was a rhetorical question and he was more than a little annoyed when the fairy went ahead and answered.
“You’d be surprised what I know about it. I stopped in to watch a couple times, but since it was just the same old scene time and again—you climbing on her, sweating, making uncivilized noises—I got bored and left.”
Devin was guiding the boat through the channel and couldn’t afford to leave the controls long enough to slug the pervert. He would have liked to, though.
“Sounds to me like you’ve got some kind of problem, fairy boy.”
“Yes, but I can’t toss mine into the water and simply go home. You should consider yourself a lucky man.”
“I do. I have Aliya.”
Just a little farther and he could anchor the boat and go give that damn fairy a piece of his mind. And a fist or two.
“No, you had Aliya,” the fairy said. “Now she’s a mermaid again and you don’t have to worry about her anymore.”
“You think I can just leave her? Is that what I’m supposed to do? Well, I won’t. I love her, not that it’s any of your damn business.”
They were away from other boats now, only a few of them close enough to see well. The sun was low, just the tiniest hint of it still peeking over the horizon. Soon it would be dark and they would be far from anyone else. No one would see Devin beating the snot out of some guy in a fairy suit.
Would a fairy fight back? This one probably would. Oh well. A few bruises would be worth it if Devin landed a blow or two, after the way the guy talked about Aliya. Had he really been here watching them last night? Disgusting.
But the fairy was a brave man. He stepped out of the shadows and came closer while Devin silently fumed.
“You say you won’t leave Aliya? And how exactly do you plan to stay with her?”
“I said it’s none of your damn business. Unless, of course, you might be persuaded to change me into a merman, or whatever. It might be handy to actually be able to breathe underwater if I plan to live there.”
Kissed by the Wave: A Forbidden Realm Novel Page 17
