Mermaid Dreams

by Rinelle Grey

  Rowan grinned. He liked doughnuts, but it had been a long time since he’d experienced the kind of enjoyment Cari did. Somehow, his own doughnuts tasted twice as good in her presence.

  Everything was twice as good in her presence. Rowan hadn’t felt this happy about anything since he was a kid. And somehow, he suspected he never would again. He couldn’t help feeling that after Cari left, his life would be empty and dull.

  For a moment, that thought deflated him. But then he shook it off. Cari wasn’t gone. She was here now, and he wanted to enjoy this time, not waste it.

  So he led her through the shopping centre to the movie theatre and perused their choices. His first thought was to pick a romantic comedy. Light and funny. Cari would enjoy that.

  But what if she thought he was trying to hint at something? He didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable. The kiss last night had changed things between them imperceptibly, but Rowan knew he should keep his distance. She already had enough on her plate without him pushing for something they couldn’t have.

  So he checked out the other choices—an action flick, a thriller, and a superhero movie—and discounted all of them. Cari’s world under the ocean probably didn’t have guns or explosions, and he didn’t want to scare her. So he circled back around to the romantic comedy.

  Just because he was taking her to a romantic movie didn’t automatically indicate he was interested in her, did it? Well, she’d probably already guessed he was, but the movie choice wasn’t really going to pressure her, was it?

  “What are we going to see?” Cari asked eagerly, looking around at the movie posters lining the walls with excitement.

  “Uh, it’s a comedy,” Rowan said. “I think you’ll like it. But first we need popcorn.”

  “Popcorn?” Cari followed him over to the counter and watched as he bought them tickets, a drink, and a big box of popcorn. Rowan wished Cari could see the popcorn popping. That was far more exciting, but this would have to do.

  “Come on, the movie’s starting in a few minutes.” Rowan ushered Cari into the almost empty cinema and found them good seats.

  Cari watched the movie, almost entranced, and ate more than her fair share of the popcorn, but Rowan didn’t mind. He spent far more time watching her face lit up by the glow from the movie screen and enjoying her delight.

  Every emotion played across her face, from the excitement of the couple’s first awkward kiss, to the devastation of the moment when it seemed like all was lost, to the joy when they managed to overcome their trials and get their happily ever after.

  Cari’s cheeks were wet when they emerged from the cinema and back into the light of day. “That was amazing,” she breathed. “And there are more of these movies?”

  “Lot’s more,” Rowan assured her. “We could watch some more on my phone back on the ship if you like.”

  Cari nodded. “I’d like that.”

  Rowan would too. He couldn’t imagine any better way to spend the day than watching romantic movies with Cari.

  Well, okay, he could. But he wouldn’t imagine those possibilities too hard, because he couldn’t believe they’d ever really be an option.

  Chapter 16

  Rowan was half leaning back on the couch, his legs stretched out and his eyes closed, as Cari watched the ending of their third movie. Each one had such a complex storyline, but they all made her feel so much happiness.

  Human relationships were so different to those in Laquaria. They fell in love so easily, and though they faced problems, none of them seemed insurmountable.

  Cari envied them.

  She glanced over at Rowan, at his sleeping face, and wondered if life would be that simple with him. Oh, there’d be issues. She’d seen enough of his family in her days watching him to know that. And they were dragons. That would complicate things further.

  But despite that, she had no doubts they’d find a way to make things work if they loved each other.

  Things had become so dire in Laquaria and they had been for far longer than Cari had been alive. The shortage of men meant there was little time or space for people to fall in love. Matings were usually arranged by practical matters such as which families had more importance or who was related to who. Those lines were getting far harder to keep apart with so few men.

  Cari bit back a sigh, half afraid it would wake Rowan.

  She’d known there were problems in Laquaria. Perhaps that was even why she’d visited the human island so much, but being here, learning about Rowan and how his people saw the world, made her realise the problems in Laquaria were even greater than she’d thought.

  They went far deeper than just not having enough men. That fact had changed how they saw everything and not for the better.

  Rowan had given her a taste of the human world to help her relax, he’d said. But in reality, he’d done so much more than that. He’d shown her something she knew she could never have.

  Something she hadn’t even realised she’d wanted.

  A world where love had a place.

  Her heart ached for that reality. And she was more than a little tempted to stay here, where her dreams seemed like they had a chance to become a reality.

  But the trouble was, seeing the problems affecting Laquaria had also made her realise she was the only one who could make a difference. Her experience here was unique. She could see something no one else could see. And because of that, she was the only one who had any chance of fixing things.

  How she was going to do all that, she still wasn’t sure. All she knew was she’d never be able to forgive herself if she didn’t at least try. Which meant she had to leave Rowan. Even if they managed to mate and she could still somehow become a mermaid again, her time would be divided. Rowan couldn’t join her in the mermaid world, and she couldn’t take him away from his world and his family even if he agreed to that. He’d fought too hard for her to return to her family for her not to give him the same consideration.

  Cari wasn’t sure how long she stared at Rowan’s face, letting go of the idea of waking up beside him, seeing his smiling face every day, and maybe even having human children. But slowly a sound intruded, a tapping on the side of the boat, continuous and repetitive.

  At first she wondered if the rope ladder had come loose from the ties Rowan had used to secure it and it was banging against the side of the ship, but this tapping had a pattern. Tap-tap, tap-tap, tap-tap.

  She probably should wake Rowan, but it could be nothing. Cari took one more look at his sleeping face, then stood up quietly and went to check. If it was just something loose, she could fix it herself, and not need to bother him.

  But when she arrived up on deck and looked over the side, it wasn’t a lose object that caught her eyes. It was her oldest sister, Riva, her purple hair shining in the moonlight.

  Cari’s heart beat faster, disappointment and relief mingling and making it hard to get a word out.

  She wasn’t sure if there was even any point. She spoke human now, not mermaid. Could she and her sister even understand each other anymore?

  “Cari? Cari, is that you?” Riva asked, her voice holding a faraway, distant quality. It wasn’t human, Cari could tell, but she could understand it just the same.

  Maybe, just maybe, there was still a little mermaid in her somewhere. She was both sad and relieved at the thought.

  “Riva? What are you doing here? Father will be furious.” Cari leaned over the railing to catch a glimpse of her sister, feeling suddenly homesick. Funny, she even missed her father being mad at her.

  “He’s already furious,” Riva said, her voice amused. “I’m surprised you can’t hear him yelling from up there on the surface.” Her sister swam back a little, as though trying to get a better view. “Is it true, Cari? Do you really have human legs? Are you really going to mate with a human?”

  “Who told you that?” Cari demanded.

  “Father said you’d abandoned us, that you wouldn’t be back, because you were in love with a human. He
said no one ever returned from the human world.”

  Cari’s heart sank a little. Maybe some of the stories Rowan had told her were true. Except…

  “Nonsense,” Cari said firmly. “I’m working on a way to get home. I wouldn’t abandon you and the rest of my sisters.”

  She was surprised to see a smile on her sister’s face. She hadn’t thought Riva cared for her all that much. “Good. I know exactly how you can get back.”

  Cari stared at her. “You do? How?”

  “You know how it works,” Riva said, as though it was obvious. “When you mate, you become who you are meant to be. Of course you are meant to be a mermaid, so you just need to mate, and you’ll become one of us again.”

  Her sister sounded so matter-of-fact, so sure, that all Cari could do was stare.

  Riva’s suggestion was so simple it just might work. Except for one problem. “If I mate a human, what makes you so sure I won’t become a human forever? And even if I didn’t, I’d have to leave him.”

  No matter what angle she looked at it from, the idea seemed impossible.

  Oh, Cari would love to mate with Rowan, and she suspected he’d be game, especially if she said it might help her. What she couldn’t see was how she could ever leave him if she mated him. The thought was already almost more than she could bear.

  “You don’t mate a human, silly. You need to mate a merman.”

  Cari’s heart skipped a beat at the thought. The only thing more impossible than leaving Rowan would be to mate someone else.

  Luckily, there were more obvious problems with her sister’s idea. “I can see, logically, that might make sense, but I can’t mate a merman unless I’m a mermaid, and I can’t become a mermaid unless I mate.”

  “Or a merman becomes a human,” Riva said.

  Her sister had apparently thought of everything. That fact was not comforting to Cari. How could she even begin to explain? Her sister would never understand and would only see it as proof of Cari’s betrayal.

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Cari said slowly, buying time. “If we’re both humans, what makes you think we’d both become mermaids again? I couldn’t ask anyone to take that risk, especially not when mermen are already in short supply.”

  And she didn’t want to. If she was going to mate anyone, she wanted it to be Rowan. Even though that possibility was even more fraught with risks.

  She might be able to face returning home without him, but even her determination to help her people stopped short of mating anyone else. She couldn’t bear it.

  “You don’t have to. I already asked Zale for you. He seemed to be the one you favoured the most. At least you smiled at him occasionally. And he is more than happy to take the risk.”

  Panic welled up in Cari. She stared around as though she could see Zale somewhere nearby, waiting to be her mate.

  It wasn’t that she had anything against the merman, not any more than anyone else. It wasn’t his fault he wasn’t Rowan. But she hadn’t been aware she’d favoured him over any of the others and certainly not enough to convince him to take this kind of risk for her.

  She needed a way out. Time to think this over. She wanted to go home, but she and Rowan hadn’t exhausted all their ideas yet. Maybe there was some other way…

  “Cari? Is everything all right?” Rowan’s voice floated over the deck, and Cari almost sagged with relief. A light from the hatch shone towards her, and Rowan’s head appeared. “Were you talking to someone?”

  “Don’t mention this to him,” Riva said, her voice low. “I’ll be back tomorrow night with Zale. Then you can come home with us.”

  And with a flick of her tail, her sister was gone.

  Rowan came over, holding up a lantern. “Are you okay? I thought I heard voices?”

  Cari stared at him, hoping the panic in her heart didn’t show in her eyes. “I…” She didn’t know what to say, so she opted for the truth. “No, everything’s not okay. My sister has worked out a way to get me home.”

  That should have been good news, but to Cari, it was anything but.

  She just hoped against hope that Rowan would have a better suggestion.

  Chapter 17

  Rowan stared at Cari. Her words were at odds with the look on her face. Her wide eyes and twisted mouth indicated she was anything but happy.

  Somehow, Rowan suspected that if Cari wasn’t, he wouldn’t be either. “What is it?”

  If possible, Cari’s expression grew more apprehensive. “She thinks I have to mate a merman.”

  Rowan’s heart gave a leap, as though it thought it might grow dragon wings and fly, as though it wanted to escape this conversation as much as Rowan did. The thought of Cari mating a merman made his heart ache.

  And yet, if it could help her get home…

  “How would that help?” Rowan demanded. There must be something he was missing.

  Cari heaved a sigh. “Let’s go inside, I think you might need to be sitting down for this explanation.”

  Rowan followed Cari back into the cabin, trying to figure it out. Dragons mating was important, but it had nothing to do with them becoming dragons. And Cari had said she was the first mermaid she knew of to even come up to the surface, much less on land. He couldn’t see what could make her think mating a merman would help her become a mermaid again.

  But by the time they sat down in the cabin, he thought he’d figured it out. “The mermaid mating magic you were talking about, right?”

  Cari nodded slowly. “Yes.”

  She didn’t volunteer anything more. But Rowan wasn’t quite prepared to accept her silence on this one. He’d spent the last few days helping Cari out, and even if the solution did come from someone else, he wanted to understand it.

  Especially if it meant she’d be mating someone else.

  “How exactly would that help?” he probed gently.

  Cari stared down at her hands, twisting them in her lap. Just as Rowan was about to ask again, she looked up, meeting him eye to eye. “When a mermaid mates, it unlocks something within her, or him, allowing them to become ‘who they are meant to be’.” She emphasized the last words, as though they had some special meaning.

  Rowan didn’t get it. “Who they are meant to be? What does that mean? Aren’t you already who you’re meant to be? Why would mating change you?”

  As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he realised he should have been more careful. He hadn’t meant to question her people’s customs. He just didn’t understand them. He winced.

  But Cari didn’t seem upset. In fact, just the opposite. “I know, right? That’s part of the reason I’ve never mated. I’m happy with who I am. But…” The happy expression on her face faded. “But I can’t become queen without being who I am meant to be, and if my sister is right, then it’s the answer to me becoming a mermaid again too.”

  The regretful tone in her words sounded like a death knell. How could Rowan argue with that? Being mated before taking her crown was part of her custom, and he was pretty sure being mated to a human probably wouldn’t count since she wasn’t even supposed to be talking to him.

  He hoped his voice sounded level as he asked, “So this mermaid magic will help you become a mermaid again? Why does your sister think that will work?”

  Cari shrugged. “Well, her theory is that I’m supposed to be a mermaid, so mating and becoming who I’m meant to be should make me a mermaid again.”

  “A theory? So your sister is just guessing? Or is there some indication of this somewhere?”

  Rowan shouldn’t be arguing. It wasn’t any of his business, really. But he couldn’t help feeling he might be losing Cari for nothing. “What if it doesn’t work? What if you mate with a merman, and you still remain a human?”

  “What if you’re meant to be a human?”

  It was a reach, and he knew it.

  He should keep his mouth shut and bow out with good grace. It was the easiest way to save face. And doing anything else was stupid. Of cour
se Cari was meant to be a mermaid. It was one of the things he loved about her.

  His heart ached as he realised the truth. Oh, he loved her no matter what, but even though having her here in the boat with him was a dream come true, the possibility he might never see her flick her tail again as she darted through the waves made him sad.

  Oh, hell, he loved Cari. A mermaid princess. Way out of his reach.

  But it didn’t matter. His heart didn’t care about that. He loved her anyway.

  And as he stared into her eyes, he knew he always would.

  Cari looked as wretched as he felt. She shifted on the couch, still wringing her hands. “I know. It’s a long shot. I just… I don’t know what else to do, Rowan.”

  Of course she didn’t. And he was just making the choice harder, even though he’d resolved not to do that.

  “It’s your choice, Cari. You need to do what you think is right.”

  That was a cop out, and he knew it. But even if he was certain it would work, Rowan drew the line at suggesting she mate with someone else.

  Cari stared up at him, her heart in her eyes, and asked, “What would you do?”

  Her question sent Rowan’s heart thumping uncomfortably in his chest. What would he do?

  He couldn’t even begin to imagine. Could he sleep with someone else just to get to stay with his family? Could he leave them for the person he loved? Both choices seemed impossible, and yet, deep in his heart, there was also no question.

  He loved his family, adored them with all his heart.

  But that feeling didn’t hold a flame to how he felt about Cari.

  He’d miss his family terribly if he could never see them again, but if he could never see Cari again, he was pretty sure his heart would break.

  But that was him, and how he felt. He was just giving up a family, maybe a position at the resort. He wasn’t anyone important, not like Cari. She was a princess and would be queen and rule her people.