He still couldn’t move, as her body slowly floated toward the surface. The wounds on his chest stung in the salt water, but he ignored the pain. His cuts would heal themselves soon enough, leaving behind no scar—just like the spear to the thigh he’d received from the man on Bridget’s boat.
Bridget’s skin was a horrible shade of white and blue with blackened circles forming beneath her closed eyes, but she was breathing the water through her gills.
Caderyn stopped short. Gills? Bridget had gills.
Already?
Her wool gown floated up around her where her knees should have been, revealing a beautiful silvery blue tail. It drifted beneath her under water, moving lightly with the current. Her fins had yet to poke out from her skin. She was transforming. He couldn’t take her from the pond until she was done or it could kill her. Her body wasn’t ready to take both water and air into her lungs too closely together.
Caderyn swam to Bridget and held her to his chest, careful to keep her head beneath the surface. Her long hair tickled his arms, so soft as it wrapped around him. He pushed up to see the shoreline, glancing around. The Olympians were gone, but there were undoubtedly more in the forest, watching the water to see what he’d do with the newly made Merr woman.
He cursed silently to himself. The women shouldn’t have been at the pond. They had never come here before—at least not that he knew of. They stuck to the deep forest, living out their miserable existence in pouting solitude. Why were they here now? Why did they do this? They could have killed her. By the telepathic thoughts he’d picked up from them, killing her had been exactly what they wanted to do.
Knowing that he’d almost lost Bridget tore at his insides, washing through him in waves of fear even though it was all over. He squeezed her tighter. If Bridget hadn’t changed she would’ve been dead. He should’ve been more careful, but how was he to know the Olympians would dare attack her? And on his land? He’d been too busy trying to listen to them without being shifted, which was harder if not impossible to do, that he’d not made Bridget run away fast enough.
Even as he was glad for his wife’s new transformation, he was scared as well. How would she take the knowledge of her new form? Would she be mad that none of them had told her of it? Would she hate what she’d become?
Genetic mutant mishap.
Caderyn swallowed. She’d apologized for the words, but they still stung, still lingered in the back of his mind, driving fear into his heart. She’d accepted him into her bed, into her body, but would she accept being like him? Already she’d been through so much. Nearly dying, losing all her friends from above, a new life, a new marriage, a new land and people. Would this change break her sanity? Would this be the final push into the abyss of madness? Or was he overanalyzing everything? Maybe it would all work out fine.
Aye, just fine.
Perfectly fine.
By all the gods, please don’t hate me, Bridget. Please don’t be mad.
He pulled her tighter into his arms, feeling the brush of her beautiful new tail against his own. There was nothing he could do but hold her under water as they waited for the transformation to take hold.
Dear, sweet wife, please don’t hate me for this.
Bridget jerked fully awake, automatically trying to choke the water from her lungs. They felt heavy and full, strangely so, as the pressure seemed to almost cave in her chest. Fearfully, she realized she was underwater. Wiggling, she tried to get to the surface. It was no use. Hands held her down and even though she struggled against them, they would not loosen their hold. Her mouth gaped open and she automatically tried to breathe over the tangy salt water on her tongue. Her fingers clawed the hands that held her down, but they still wouldn’t let go.
‘Relax,’ she heard in her head. ‘Easy, Bridget, relax. You’re not hurt.’
Why wasn’t she dead?
Bridget fought harder, despite the calming tone of the words. She had to get to the surface. She needed air. Her long hair floated in her face, temporarily blinding her to all else. Tossing her head back and forth violently, she tried to clear her vision to see.
‘Bridget, relax. I won’t hurt you. You’re safe. Please, trust me. You are safe.’
She stopped, thinking, ‘Caderyn? Is that Caderyn? Caderyn! Caderyn! Help me! Help me, I’m under the water. Help.’
‘I’m here,’ she heard him say, as clear as if he’d said the words aloud to her. Her hair drifted back in the water and his face focused before her eyes. He looked like an angel, the light from above the surface shining under the waves to caress over his skin.
‘Help me. Please, Caderyn.’ Her whole body shook, as she begged him. She reached out, grabbing his shoulders and gripping them tight. ‘What’s wrong with me? What’s happening?’
‘Shh, easy,’ he soothed. ‘Just focus on me. Try to relax and look into my eyes. You’re safe, Bridget.’
He pulled her close to his chest. Bridget choked on the water. Her body ached all over and was terribly stiff.
‘Close your mouth,’ he instructed. Bridget did and instantly she felt better. The drowning sensation stopped, leaving only pressure. ‘That’s it. You’ll get used to it, I promise. Your body knows what to do naturally. There is no need for you to fight it.’
‘Easy for you to say,’ she thought. She heard his chuckling and she realized he could hear everything in her head. ‘What is happening to me? I don’t understand.’
‘You’re changing.’ Caderyn touched her face, stroking her cheek gently, as he hesitantly smiled at her. He looked at her mouth, as if he wanted to kiss her. He didn’t.
Bridget began to shake once more. ‘Let me go. I want out of the water now.’
‘Easy. It’s almost over. Try to relax.’
‘What’s almost over? What did you do to me?’ Bridget pushed against his chest. She felt her arm snag. Caderyn winced, letting her back away to arm’s length. Blood drifted around them in the water. His arm was cut and bleeding, but he didn’t seem to care as he pulled her away from the crimson blur. She glanced at her forearm. A small, blue fin had formed there and she’d cut him with it.
Caderyn’s eyes roamed over her body. A strange look passed over his features. Bridget was too afraid to look further than her forearm. She had a feeling she knew what was happening.
‘It happens to everyone when they come here,’ Caderyn said. ‘We didn’t expect it to happen so quickly to you. You had so much to adjust to that we didn’t think it a good idea to tell you right away.’
‘What happens?’ Bridget trembled. She didn’t feel right. Her eyes saw too clearly in the water, as if she were out on land. ‘What’s wrong with my arm? Why do I have a...a...?’
Caderyn’s eyes glanced down again, not answering. His hands stayed on her arms, but he held her at arm’s length. The wound on his arm stopped bleeding.
Slowly, she turned to look down her body. The tunic drifted around her and she pulled it up. Her legs were gone, replaced by a long silvery blue tail. She’d suspected that’s what he meant when he said ‘it happens to everyone,’ but to actually see it was more than she’d been prepared to deal with.
Bridget panicked and tried to kick her legs. The tail flopped back and forth, turning both of them in the water. Pulling with all her strength, she tried to tear her legs apart, back into two separate entities. Her tail only swished back and forth all the more violently. The cool water against her scales felt odd, so sensitive to the most subtle shift of the currents and temperatures.
‘Oh, oh,’ was all she could manage as she continued trying to rip her legs apart. It was no use. The tail just swished back and forth, back and forth. Gripping at Caderyn’s forearms, her fingers glanced alongside his sharp fins, as she kept thinking, ‘Oh, oh.’
Caderyn’s hand cupped her cheek, trying to draw her gaze to his steady one. ‘You’re beautiful, Bridget.’
‘I’m a...a...’ Bridget’s mouth opened and she tried to gasp. It was no use. Her lungs wouldn’t work. She grabbe
d her neck. Her fingers skimmed a gill. ‘I’m a fish.’
‘You are Merr,’ Caderyn corrected, his voice patient, soft.
‘I’m a mermaid. Oh my gawd! This can’t be happening. It just can’t.’
‘You are Merr.’
Bridget looked at her arms, turning them to see the fins protruding from her skin. She felt the water brushing up against them as she did her new tail. They were part of her.
‘I want out of the water now,’ she said weakly. ‘Please, Caderyn.’
‘Promise me you won’t surface until I say it’s all right.’
Bridget nodded her head. ‘I promise. Just get me out of the water. I want my body back. Please, Caderyn. Please.’
He studied her for a moment before nodding.
‘I want my body back,’ she thought again, continuing to beg him through the telepathic link they shared. Bridget tensed and she felt a panic attack coming on.
Caderyn swam around her, his strong arms sweeping though the water. She felt his hand go up her wet gown, running over her body. Too stunned to move, she barely registered the touch. After examining her, he finally said, ‘All right. You’re ready.’
Caderyn pulled her toward the shore. She tried to help, but was too uncoordinated under the water to swim in a straight line. Stopping, he held her close as he lifted them up toward the surface. Bridget coughed violently, automatically spitting the salty water out of her mouth as it expelled from her body.
‘You learn not to breathe the water in,’ he said. ‘Next time it will be easier on you.’
Bridget was too numb to answer. He helped her move onto shore. Caderyn brushed the water off his legs. When his limbs started to transform back, he leaned over and did the same to her. Her gown got in the way.
With his legs back, he knelt on the ground and worked the dress over her head. Bridget stared at her body, trembling violently as the breeze hit her skin. Her tail split apart and before she knew it she had legs again.
“There you go,” Caderyn soothed. He wrapped her body in the red material of her dry cloak. “Everything is back to normal.”
Normal? He called her body turning into a fish normal? Bridget couldn’t think. This defied all logic, everything about this world defied reason. She liked answers. She liked the comfort of facts. This could not be happening. Simply coming to a place could not genetically alter a human being into a mermaid.
“Did the Olympians do this to me?” Bridget glanced at him, needing a reason. Her voice was hoarse from swallowing the sea water. Caderyn was naked. For once, she didn’t look over his body. “Did they poison me or something?”
“No, they let you go.” He reached for his toga, slipping it on as he left his chest bare. Taking his tunic shirt, he wrapped it over her wet hair.
“Why did they let me go?” Bridget asked.
Caderyn didn’t answer as he lifted her up into his arms and carried her into the forest. Holding her close, he said, “Try to rest. You’ve had a very long day. I’ll get you home. You’ll be safe there. I promise.”
Chapter 22
Caderyn was worried. Bridget didn’t make a sound the whole way home. In fact, she hardly moved in his arms as he carried her the entire way. There was so much he wanted to tell her, but he couldn’t think of where to begin.
His country home wasn’t far from the pond. In fact, he technically owned the pond and surrounding forest. Though he let travelers use it freely, this was the first time he’d ever seen Olympians there. It had been awhile since he’d been home, so long that he couldn’t remember when. Surely, his caretakers would’ve told him if the women were spotted nearby.
His country estate was much bigger than his home in the palace. One of the perks of being a hunter was that he had caretakers and servants. Unlike when they were human, the Merr no longer enslaved, and the servants worked freely, coming and going at their leisure.
Caderyn carried Bridget up the stone steps leading to the front door. Columns reached up both sides, supporting the roof as it shaded the portico. The home was old, but well taken care of. Since his caretakers lived on the property, the house was unlocked.
The door led to a small entryway and beyond that was a large atrium. A hole built into the roof filtered down fresh rain water into a pool on the floor. Aside from a few benches, the atrium was barren.
Past the atrium was a garden and beyond that was the dining room. Caderyn heard laughter in the garden but ignored it as he carried Bridget to his sleeping chambers. The sound would only be the caretaker and his wife. He would make time to greet them later. First, he wanted to make sure Bridget was settled.
Caderyn was pleased to find his room had been cleaned recently and smelled fresh, like the herbs from the atrium. The décor was simple and to his tastes. A golden comforter lay on the large bed. It was embroidered with the fierce symbol of a stylized sea dragon. Frescos were painted on the white walls, forming perfect rectangles around the room, like framed pictures. The scenes were of the surface world—the ocean from above, a mountain, a depiction of Atlas at sunset. If not for the wall, he doubted he’d remember what a surface sunset looked like.
Bridget had fallen asleep in his arms as they walked home. He laid her on the bed, gently maneuvering her body so she was under the covers and tucked in. Blue shaded the outside of her eyes, the only visible testament to her change. Caderyn studied her beautiful face for a long time, glad she rested peacefully.
Closing the sleeping room door behind him as he left, he walked to the gardens. Sirius, his caretaker, was kissing his wife on one of the benches. Afra glanced up in surprise, but was unembarrassed to be seen on her husband’s lap.
“My lord!” Afra said, grinning. Her blonde hair was cropped short around her head. It was an odd style for a Merr woman, but Afra often did things that weren’t considered the norm. “We didn’t know you were coming.”
Sirius saw Caderyn looking at Afra’s head and laughed. “She challenged me and lost. I think she thought I’d let her win if she threatened to chop off her hair.”
Caderyn chuckled softly and shook his head. Sirius had also cropped his hair.
“I didn’t want her to feel alone,” the caretaker said simply, ruffling his short locks. Afra giggled as she slid off her husband’s lap. They both stood. Belatedly Sirius said, “Welcome back, my lord.”
“Thank you,” Caderyn said as he stepped into the enclosed gardens. Stone paths wound through the bushes and trees. There was a thin roof overhead. It let in enough light to help the plants grow, without letting the delicate blossoms overheat. A cooler breeze swept in from an open door. The air was sweet with the smell of berries and flowers. “It’s been far too long since I’ve been home.”
Afra glanced at the plant he was looking at and smiled. “My new project. I transported some wild berries from the salt pond and am trying to cross them with the house berries. It might make a new edible fruit.”
“And it might nearly kills us like the last one did,” Sirius teased.
“Ah!” Afra shot him a horrified look. “It wasn’t that bad.”
“It tasted like a fish’s ass,” Sirius complained, smacking his lips.
His wife scrunched up her face and shook her head. “You’re lucky I like you.”
Sirius winked. Caderyn smiled, shaking his head at their banter. Secretly, he was jealous of the love that so obviously flowed between them. Their bond was so strong it could outlast eternity. It already had.
Caderyn thought of Bridget, knowing that an eternity wasn’t long enough to spend with her.
“What is new with you, my lord?” Sirius asked. His face lit with interest. “Any stories from the hunt?”
“Did the scavengers bring anything of interest back?” Afra added, smiling expectantly. Stories of the hunt and scavenges were a favorite topic of conversation amongst the Merr people. Things from the outside world were of great interest to many. Whenever there was any new information discovered, Aidan would write a summary of what it was and send
a publication of it out for the people to read.
“One,” Caderyn couldn’t help his small smile as he touched a leaf on a nearby plant. “I found something in the ocean and brought it back.”
They looked at him with interest, waiting.
“She’s in my sleeping room,” Caderyn said.
“She?” Sirius’s jaw fell slightly. “A woman? You brought back a woman from the ocean and she survived the dive down?”
“In your sleeping room, you say?” Afra added. Both husband and wife looked at each other in shock before turning back to him.
“Aye, my wife, Bridget,” Caderyn said. His smiled faded some. “We came from the salt pond. Olympians were there and dragged her under.”
“Olympians?” Sirius and Afra said in unison, frowning even as they still looked surprised.
“Are you sure? You saw them?” Afra asked.
Caderyn nodded in affirmation.
“What are they doing here?” Sirius shook his head, swearing softly.
“Is Lady Bridget hurt?” Afra took a step forward. “Is that why she is in bed?”
“They let her go after pulling her under the water. She has suffered the change.” Caderyn took a deep breath. “She had yet to be prepared for it and didn’t know that it would happen.”
“No one told her?” Afra asked.
Caderyn shook his head in denial, again touching the leaf, running his finger over the spine along the center of it. “She’s only been here for two weeks. None of us thought she needed to know so soon. She had a hard enough time accepting what and who we are. It was my hope that maybe talking to a friendly Merr woman would calm her fears.”
Afra and Sirius nodded in understanding. Two weeks was too fast for most to suffer the change.
“I’ll speak with her,” Afra said. “Don’t worry. She will adjust in time. All we seem to have around here is plenty of time.”
“She awoke underwater,” Caderyn continued. His stomach knotted in worry. He could still picture the look of horror on her face as she fought to get to the surface. It had been hard holding her under water. But he had to. If she’d surfaced too soon she would have died.
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