His eyes widened when he saw me, and he swam closer. He was talking, his mouth moving, but I didn’t understand what he was saying, not under water. I shook my head at him, and waved my arms. He frowned, and I shoved him.
“Leave,” I mouthed at him. “Go away.”
His frown deepened, his hair floating around his head and dancing with the current of the ocean.
I couldn’t say much more, not with the way my lungs felt like they were on fire, and all I could do was kick my feet and head for the surface. Gasping when I finally broke the waterline, I gulped in the air greedily.
My human was still leaning over the side of the boat, his brow furrowed deeper than before. Relief washed over his face when he saw me, though. “Boy, come on. This is stupid. Come up here. Now.”
I shook my head and anger twisted at his lips.
“I saidnow.”
Fear formed a ball in my stomach, but I raised my chin anyway, shaking my head again. I wanted to prove to him that I had this, just like I had it last time. My brother wasn’t going to be a victim, though. It could be anyone but him or the rest of my family.
I sent him an apologetic smile and then I went under again. It was easier for me to ask for forgiveness from him later. Finding another merperson meant the world to him, and I was going to make that happen.
My brother was gone when I swam deeper, and I couldn’t be more thankful. If it was only him, then we’d have to keep looking. I enjoyed spending the time with my human, so I didn’t mind the trips we took.
A shape of darkness swam a little farther away from me, and I blinked in that direction. I couldn’t see who it was, and I wondered if it was Pru again, but the closer they came I realized the shoulders were too wide to be him.
A few flicks of a tail, and Zolo was in front of me, his face twisted in irritation. I wondered if they were searching for me and that was why they were all out here together. It wouldn’t have surprised me. Once before, a mermaid went missing, and our people searched high and low for her until we found her dead body, caught in a human’s fishing net. Father had been furious, cursing the human race and their selfishness, while I’d been intrigued by the net and had taken it back with me to my treasure chest.
Like Pru, Zolo said something I couldn’t understand, and moments later, Aza was beside him. They conversed with each other and made faces, and I could already imagine what they were saying.
Lyric is useless.
Why isn’t he responding?
He’s an idiot.
Shouldn’t be a prince.
A failure.
The list went on. In that moment, I was glad I couldn’t understand them.
I pointed to the surface of the water, which glittered where the midday sun hit it, and they frowned upward. They spoke to each other and then narrowed their eyes on me. I didn’t miss the way Aza’s gaze trailed down to my legs, his mouth twisted in horror and disgust. Zolo flicked his tail in the direction of the human part of me, nearly hitting my knee in the process, and he scrunched up his nose.
Maybe the witch hadn’t told my father where I’d gone and what I’d done for my human.
The familiar burn in my lungs started, and I pushed for the top of the water again. To my delight and surprise, Zolo and Aza followed me. They reached the surface before I did, and my human, the smart soul he was, moved quickly. The two mermen didn’t know what hit them until the net was released, and I only had seconds to get out of the way. It got them head on, and one push of a button on Ethan’s screen and the bottom of the net was pulled so they couldn’t escape. Zolo and Aza tried, though. They yanked at the rope and kicked with their tails, hoping to break through, but it didn’t work.
Once I broke above the water, I could hear and understand everything they were saying.
“What’s happening?” Aza hissed, whipping his tail hard against the net.
“Humans! Lyric, help us!”
I smiled and swam toward the edge of the boat, which had a ladder attached, and climbed up. The yells of Aza and Zolo warmed me on the inside, and delight gave me a bounce in my step when I reached the deck. My human was already waiting for me, the biggest grin on his face. He hooted, running toward me and grabbing me around the waist, lifting and twirling me about in excitement.
“Fuck yes, Boy! You did it!” He laughed and kissed me hard on the mouth. The mechanical arm made its buzzing noise as it slowly dragged the net up with the two mermen—my tormentors—kicking and thrashing as they tried to escape.
My focus was on Ethan, though—the way he felt against me, how he smelled, how he laughed in joy. This was a perfect moment.Ourperfect moment.
I cupped his face and kissed him back as hard as I could.
“Lyric!” Zolo’s voice, deep and irritating, couldn’t ruin the explosion of need for my human inside me.
