But though she was finally exactly where she’d wanted to be since the long boat ride home, her brain woke up with flashing, horrifying memories of the night. Why, when she was warm and dry in her bed, did she have to soak her pillow with tears?
The side of her bed dipped, and then River was there, holding her, rubbing her back, smoothing back the hair that clung to her wet cheeks. “It’s okay. I’m here.”
His words made her cry harder, because he was there, but soon she wouldn’t be. This was her last night on land before she had to return to the sea. And she didn’t know when, or if, she would be back.
***
Narissa stood on the dock next to their rental boat the next morning and stared out to sea. Time was growing short, and somehow, she needed to break the news to River that her fate had been sealed last night. The hardest part of it was that she knew he’d want go with her. The sanding ceremony tonight would give him a chance to become a mer. But she’d been thinking about it all morning, and she knew she had to stop him. It was time for her to stop being selfish.
It was too dangerous. Edmar would have too many chances to kill him. She didn’t know how it was possible, but she was certain he was behind the serpent attacking them last night. No, River would be safer on land. And without her around, he’d be able to get his head and feelings straight again.
She listened to his voice as he tried to explain to Fred, the owner of the boat, how the shark cage had been dented and bent like it was made out of chicken wire. From the guy’s comical and doubtful expression, he wasn’t satisfied with River’s story of running against the rocks at the jetty.
They needed to get going. There was a lot to figure out today besides this. Narissa turned, holding up a hand to block the sun from her eyes, and said, “Just tell him what really happened.”
“What?” River asked, his eyebrows shooting up.
“Yeah. Tell him about the giant sea serpent who tried to eat us all last night and how you blocked it with this massive metal cage. I mean, right, Fred? You just wanted the real story, right? After all, you can let all your buddies know that your shark cage saved five lives from an ancient sea monster last night. How many people can say that?”
Fred tugged his ball cap off, wiped his sweaty head with a handkerchief from his back pocket and plopped it back on again. “Nothin’ but a couple of disrespectful hooligans. I expected better of you, River. If you can’t tell me the truth, just get on out of here.”
River’s expression tightened with regret. “I wish I had a good explanation, Fred, but I don’t. I’ll make good on the cage though. I promise. Okay?”
“Sure. Sure.” Fred turned his back on them, going over the whole boat to look for more damage. They had been dismissed, which was fine with Narissa. She knew they’d make it right with his cage. River, however, left reluctantly.
“This sucks.”
Narissa reached for his hand and threaded her fingers through his. “I know. But just think how bad you would have felt if we’d lost the boat—which easily could have happened.”
“I guess. And what do we do about tonight? Somehow I have to get out to the sanding chamber through mermaid infested waters.”
He was joking around, but Narissa wasn’t in the mood. “I don’t know yet, but we need to talk.”
“That sounds ominous.”
Narissa frowned. “It is, actually. Let’s get back to my uncle’s place.”
After they got back, they had to wait for an hour before her uncle could break away from his duties in the kitchen. When he came in, he looked more stressed than she had ever seen him. Narissa hated the trouble she was causing him. The weight of it settled heavily on her shoulders.
Stumps and Brody came up with him, and, when the men were all settled in their chairs, she looked at them and said, “So, things have changed.”
“What do you mean?” River asked, looking steadily into her eyes.
“Last night, I did something I never meant to do. In order to save you all from the serpent, I accepted powers as my mother’s heir so I could call the royal guard. Now that I have done that, I can’t draw back. My fate is sealed.”
River stared back at her, his expression growing grim as her meaning sank in. He stood and paced around the living area. “There’s no way to give the powers back?”
Narissa hated this. “No. Now that I’ve accepted them, they’re mine until death.”
She realized that Uncle Jesse hadn’t said anything, so she turned his way, trying to gauge his reaction. He was staring down at his folded hands, so all she could see was his broad forehead and the bridge of his nose.
“Uncle Jesse?”
He looked up and the sorrow in his eyes made her stomach sink. “You know I’ve always taught you to do your duty, but I’m sorry for the pain it’s causing you.” Then he reached out and gripped her shoulder. “But I’m proud of your choice. Sacrificing for those you love is always an honorable choice. And on the bright side, it does make things easier.”
“How so?” Stumps asked.
“She can call the guard to her again and get safe passage for all of you to the sanding chamber.”
“Is that true?” River asked.
She nodded.
“That sounds easy enough.” Brody said.
Narissa bit her lip, wondering if she should express her fears. But it was their lives in question here. “Someone called up the waves last night. And someone called up the serpent. I don’t know who it was.”
River rolled his eyes. “My money is on Edmar.”
Narissa shook her head. “Only a member of Triton’s council would be able to do it. They carry the tridents. Edmar doesn’t have one.”
Uncle Jesse didn’t agree with her, however. “No, but his father does. And they can give the trident to others when they want.”
Narissa felt the change in the room as everyone’s anxiety amped up. She wished there was something she could say to reassure them, but she knew all too well the danger they would be facing when they went into the waters tonight. “Brody and Stumps, you must go on your own and stay clear of us.”
Stumps shook his head in protest, but Brody was more vocal. “No way. I’m not leaving you guys hanging.”
River crossed his arms and focused a determined gaze on Brody. “Edmar hasn’t put out a mermaid hit on you. There’s no reason to drag you into our mess any more than we already have. Narissa will have enough to worry about. Don’t make her worry about the two of you as well.”
“But we can help—” Brody began.
“He’s right,” Stumps said. “We’ll go separately.”
Brody glared, his jaw clenching in frustration. “Fine.” As he spoke, he stormed off, going back downstairs.
Stumps pulled himself up and positioned his crutches under him. “We’ve got work to do. Let us know if you need us for anything.”
As he moved past River, River caught his arm and smiled. “Thanks, man. Try not to look so grim. You get to lose those crutches tonight.”
Stumps nodded. “I’m looking forward to it.”
When he’d gone, Uncle Jesse leaned back on the couch and said, “I’d better call in a full kitchen staff tonight so I can take you guys out in the boat.”
Narissa bit her lip, preparing herself for the argument ahead. “No, Uncle Jesse. You’ve done enough, and I can’t let you take that risk again. River and I will swim for it.” She turned to River. “That is, if you’re up for it.”
He nodded. “I’m ready.”
“That’s foolhardy,” Uncle Jesse argued. “Why put yourselves at more risk when I can take you right where you need to go?”
“Because you know as well as I do that sea serpent isn’t the only monster out there. You’d be a sitting duck in the boat. Trust me, Uncle Jesse, I wouldn’t take River if I didn’t believe it was the best solution. You know I wouldn’t risk him.”
“I know. I guess this is where I let you spread your wings and fly, isn’t it? Though it seems a sing
ularly inapt metaphor for a mermaid.”
River chuckled. “Spread her fins and swim then.”
Narissa rolled her eyes as Uncle Jesse stood. “I’ve got some phone calls to make with some of my contacts. So far there’s no sign of Tyranno where anyone knows him.”
With her brows pinched in worry, Narissa sighed. “Wherever they’ve gone, Anne will no doubt be called back to the sanding chamber for the ceremony at the full moon.”
Uncle Jesse nodded. “Yes, which is why I can’t understand what he was thinking in taking her away.”
As he, too, disappeared down the stairs, Narissa met River’s eyes across the room. With his back straight and his shoulders squared, he looked so steady and safe. Here on land, in his world, he could handle anything. She wanted nothing more than to stay here with him. If only all the greedy, calculating, conniving mers from her world had left them alone.
River moved slowly towards her as if they were two halves of a magnet. The space between them buzzed with the force of their feelings. Narissa reached for him, nestling against him. Just touching him soothed her like nothing else could. He was home, her safe harbor in the storm.
“Rissa, I can’t kiss you if you don’t look up at me.”
She laughed. “You want to kiss me?”
Instead of answering, he pressed his lips to hers. For a moment, he didn’t move, enjoying the feeling of his lips touching hers. The connection between them surged like a powerful tide, their warm breath mixing together, and their hearts settling into the same intoxicated rhythm. Then, with firmer pressure, he shifted his lips, tugging gently on hers, tasting them with gentle swipes of his tongue.
Narissa felt as if the sun was rising inside her, its warmth radiating to every corner of her body and soul. She wanted more, and she wanted it forever. She trapped his face in her hands and pulled back. His eyes looked heavy, as if he’d been drowning in her. He searched her face, questioning why she’d stopped him. “Let’s remember this tonight when things get hard. This is worth fighting for.”
“I’ll fight for you with my last breath. We stay alive tonight, Narissa, no matter what. And we stay together.”
She smiled. “And we’ll figure out the details later.”
“But for now, we’re not going anywhere until we have to.”
He kissed her again, more deeply than before. He sank down onto the couch, pulling her with him, then focused his attention on the shell of her ear. Narissa tried to remember what she’d been about to say but couldn’t. Nothing existed outside the scent of his skin, the sensation of his lips against her skin, and the power of attraction between them that swept her up in a riptide of emotion.
If only there wasn’t an ocean trying to come between them.
Chapter Twenty-Six
At times, the sea is friendly and welcoming, at others wild and violent. Tonight, with the surf pounding the sand and a fierce wind sweeping in over the gulf, it was both, like a siren calling River to her deadly embrace. The irony of standing on the shore with an actual siren as he thought this did not escape River.
Speckles of rain hit him in the face, driven by the force of the storm that swept through. As he and Narissa walked down the beach, an enormous armada of clouds obscured the moon so that the only light available came from flashes of lightning a mile off-shore. As each bolt flashed, it revealed a wall of storm clouds that touched the horizon and towered into the atmosphere. Only idiots went swimming on nights like this. Even if they could breathe under water.
“Ready?” Narissa asked. Her voice was calm and bright, but she was trying too hard to be cheerful.
“Ready is impossible,” River answered dryly. “Crazy enough to walk out into this? Yeah, I guess I’m there.”
Narissa smiled up at him, but it was a poor attempt. “One way or another, at least it will all be over in a few hours.”
River clenched his jaw. “Somehow that isn’t as comforting as I think you meant it.”
“My mother’s guard is out there, close by, and watching.”
He nodded and together, they walked into the surf. Every wave slapped against their legs with enough force to make them fight for their footing. When they were waist deep, the water rushed away from them, receding to their knees.
“Big wave!” Narissa yelled, letting go of his hands.
But River was already aware of the force pulling at his feet, racing at him like a runaway train. With a heartbeat to spare, he dove forward into the wave, slicing through the water like a needle. When the wave let go of him, he reached down to touch the mark on his side and filled his lungs with water. It was colder inside than on his skin, and the shock and tightening of his lungs was crippling for a few eternal seconds until they transitioned to pulling oxygen out of water instead of air. He opened his eyes, but it didn’t do much good. His human eyes would take about 30 minutes to adjust to the dark, and even then, he wouldn’t see as well as the mers.
For a moment, there was nothing but darkness, water without direction, and the sting of salt in his eyes. Then a small but strong hand gripped his forearm and tugged on his arm. With Narissa to guide him, he swam forward. As they dove deeper, the tumult subsided and all he could feel was Narissa’s tail displacing the water beside him and the cold sliding across his skin. They swam for ages, and River felt the edges of his endurance approaching, when the brilliant green-blue globes of luminescence appeared before them that he’d seen on the night he’d been dragged into the sea.
Excited to reach the light, River ignored his tired muscles and swam faster. The lights grew in number, above and below, seemingly stretching on forever until it felt as if they were swimming in a pool of stars. Each swish of his hands through the water turned the current into a glowing stream. Enthralled, he paused, treading water to look behind him. Streams of light spread behind him in a glowing wake. Narissa swam up, as if she’d been hanging back to watch him. Ribbons of light curled off of her as well and her shiny tail glittered with dark rainbows in the mystical light.
How could this be the same world of treacherous mer people and colossus sea serpents? But as Narissa drew even with him, she pointed down and he noticed a brighter concentration of the luminescence gathered around what he now saw was a rocky tunnel. He looked back and saw from her expression that she was as hesitant as he was to move forward. He reached out for her hand and nodded. They swam down together.
The tunnel was only thirty yards away when the luminescent globes stopped drifting and began to move as if they were being sucked down a drain—but in the other direction, away from the tunnel to the sanding chamber. River felt the pull of it himself. Looking at Narissa to gauge her reaction, he saw that she was as confused and wary as he was.
She tugged on his arm, swimming harder toward the tunnel. He followed her, but the pull against his legs grew stronger with every kick. Plowing through the water with desperate strokes, River fought against the current. Narissa turned when she realized he was no longer swimming beside her and gaped in horror. His gut twisted as he looked back over his shoulder and saw that a giant whirlpool had formed and he was caught in its gravity. It looked like an underwater tornado filled with lightning as it sucked up all the luminescent stars. Turning to look robbed him of his momentum. He swung forward, reaching out for Narissa, knowing that she’d be coming for him. And she was, her hair streaming forward as she reached for him, but their fingers only brushed as he lost his battle against the current.
River swirled around and around, loosing track of anything but the hammering of his heart and the churning of his stomach. The spiral tightened, drawing him ever downward. Forcing himself to think logically, he knew that he just needed to hold on. He could breathe, and eventually the whirlpool would break apart. Forcing himself to relax, to conserve his strength, he stopped resisting completely.
As he turned in the spiral of light, River managed to look down, hoping to see the ocean floor beneath him. Instead, he saw the gaping maw of some enormous creature, with jagged rows of
teeth. The whole whirlpool was being sucked into the belly of whatever beast this was, dragging him to certain death.
River only had the strength for one last, desperate attempt to break free. He curled himself into a tight ball, hoping that if he could land with his feet against the flat side of the creature’s enormous teeth, he might be able to push himself out of the current. Timing would be everything, but it was difficult to orient himself. Straining every muscle, River readied himself, then pushed off from the teeth and launched himself through the wall of current. But it was too strong, too impossible. It was going to suck him back in. He dug through the water, fighting with every ounce of strength he owned.
Then, miraculously, a hand clenched on his arm like an iron shackle and pulled. As he was towed through the water, River looked at his rescuers in awe. A line of mermen, a dozen at least, had banded arms to make a chain to reach him. Somehow, miraculously, they had been ready when he’d pushed through the wall of water. He had been saved, but by the frantic way the mers swam through the water, towing him behind as if fleeing for their lives, he knew he wasn’t free yet.
Once in the tunnel, the mermen released him as another body flew at him, grasping him, clinging to him, running hands over him in a search for injuries. He’d know the touch, the feel, the weight of Narissa anywhere, even if the only thing he could see of her was her mass of red hair floating all around his face. They clung together, and River held her tightly, feeling the enormity of how close he’d come to losing his life—losing a life spent with her. But all too soon, Narissa pushed back with resignation carved in her expression, and led him along through the tunnel.
Following the turn upwards, they soon emerged into the large pool at the top and broke the surface of the water. As they breathed in the dank air again, they didn’t speak even though they finally could have. They’d said it all with their embrace.
River hoisted himself up onto the rock ledge at the opening to the sanding chamber, and when Narissa had changed, he pulled her up alongside him, finding the strength even though his muscles felt barely strong enough to hold him up.
The Lovely Deep (The Mer Song Trilogy Book 1) Page 18
