“Is it safe to swim with?” I asked, uncertain.
Selena smiled. “Of course. Might encourage algae growth, though.” We watched the shield weed relax, then Selena motioned for me to follow her back through the door. Sitting down at the table, Selena flicked her palm at me, a silent order to straighten my back. Having just reclined into the chair, I sighed and drew myself up.
“There is another exception toincantation,” Selena said, ignoring my protest, though the corner of her mouth twitched. “You can’tincanta person you’ve matedwith.”
40
My mouth parted as my mind went blank.
“Matedwith?”
Selena nodded. “Yourcorda-cruorwill override the oxytocin caused by your siren’s song.”
“Corda-cruor,” I repeated hesitantly.
“Your blood-bond. Naiads can bond to one another, just as they do humans, mammals, birds—even plants and insects. They develop acordaewith things. In Leihani, you lovingly tended to your garden every day, and even during the night, cultivating your crops to grow from seed to fruit. You turned the soil, fertilized, watered, and protected your garden by weeding and eradicating pests. Youcordaedto the land of Leihani by creating life there.”
I eyed Selena, not quite understanding.
She sighed, attempting a new angle. “Nori and Olinne trained you to be a—what did they call it?”
“Steward of the Land,” I deadpanned, uneasy at the mention of the other Naiads.
Selena nodded. “Steward of the Land. As a Naiad, you tethered yourself to the life forces there, the energy within, deep under the soil. You created life with your own hands—foryears.
“This means that in the Juile Sea, you are already very powerful. You have twenty-two, or more likely twenty-three, years of life on that island, eating its bounty and bathing in its moonlight. The Naiads could have transitioned you years earlier, but Sidra waited. She waited for you to spend every day growing your garden. She waited for you to absorb every ounce of lunar light. You’d be a formidable force in Leihani or in its surrounding waters.”
I frowned. “Is it uncommon to wait so long?”
“Well, again, it’s different for everyone,” Selena answered. “Most Naiads don’t begin as humans, though it’s not rare.”
I frowned. “Can a Naiad give birth?”
Selena closed her eyes, her eyebrows high, as though she had to restrain herself from commenting on my ignorance. “Can a dolphin?”
I dropped my eyes to the table, though a smile threatened the corners of my mouth. “How do Naiads mate?”
Selena gave me a pained look. “Much the same as humans.”
“But how?” I pressed. “Where do males hide their—” I stopped at the look Selena gave me, a sort of piteous gaze.
“I think an anatomy lesson is in order,” Selena said.
I snorted. “I know the anatomy ofhumans.”
“Indeed,” Selena said drily. “Which brings us back to the matter. Naiads mate for life.”
For the love of the moon, the sun, and all the stars in the sky. I suddenly saw where this was going. Groaning inwardly, I sank in my chair. Kye’s stupid, beautiful face swept into my memory, his eyes full of the same churning hatred I felt for him.
“And,” Selena continued, ignoring my look of dread as she spun the pen slowly in her fingers, “Once acorda-cruoris struckbetween the two of you, he will be more pleasant to deal with. I promise. Humans tend to become enamored with the Naiads thatcordaethem. And you will as well. Naiads are…sensual beings. It won’t matter that you haven’t mated before, like it might for a young female human. Once you start the act, the shyness or hesitance will drop away. It’ll be you and him, and nothing else in the world.”
Mihaunaat dusk and dawn and moon-damned daylight, the sudden fire in my flesh would eat me alive if she didn’t stop talking.
“By that you mean when Imatewith him,” I said, my eyes locked into the fountain pen in her hand. Something squirmed in my belly. The heat ran under my skin, crawling, spreading, consuming.
“Yes.”
A heavy weight sat over my lap, legs straddling my waist.
