“I remember very little about what happened, but thank you for rescuing me,” he said politely, still not looking at me.
“Anytime!” I pasted a smile on my face and picked at my thick cotton pants while trying not to notice that Kai wore nothing but some borrowed boxers.
He’d lost weight, but his thinner frame did nothing to detract from his ethereal beauty.
“I’m sorry about causing a rift with your mother.”A complete and utter lie. If I never saw her again, it would be too soon.
“She’s not my mother now,” Kai said.Oh…he must remember more than I thought. “I doubt she’ll let me go home again, not after I’ve humiliated her.”
Stars, Kai seemed sad instead of homicidal, like he somehow deserved what had happened.
“You didn’t do a stars-damned thing! She was the one who set the sea witch on you, and she was willing to let that hag torture you and try to kill me too.”
“What?” Kai sat up, abs rippling, and gripped my shoulders. “My mother tried to kill you?” The tether in my chest flared to life as a rush of anger surged between us. Mostly from him, but I still felt pretty pissed about it as well.
“Not directly,” I admitted, “but the sea witch cursed me when I dream-walked into your cave. Luckily, my guardian, Adam, removed the curse. It was touch and go for a while, I think.” I chewed my lip, remembering the agonizing pain I’d suffered.
Which reminded me…
If not for Alaric’s help, I likely would have died. Maverick had admitted he and Zane had stolen some key ingredients from the Vane mansion.
It surprised me that the storm mage had not come to check on me since we got back yesterday. He must have known we were back on campus. I could feel him nearby, via the incomplete tether between us, so he would also sense me.
I pushed thoughts of Alaric down. He’d evidently decided he didn’t want me in his life, so there was little point in obsessing over him.
“I’m so sorry, Raven.” Tears sparkled in Kai’s pretty eyes before trickling down his pale teal cheeks. “This is all my fault. I should never have completed the bond. I should have stayed away from you.” He pushed the covers back and tried to crawl away, but I grabbed his wrist.
“This is not your fault! The only person to blame for what’s happened is your mother. And in case you were wondering, she and I will not be friends. Ever. And when we have babies, she won’t be allowed near them.” I didn’t actually mean to say the last bit, but babies were also on my mind because, well, my horny mates may have impregnated me.
“Babies?” Kai’s eyes widened, and he looked like he might want to leave the room in a hurry. “Did I…are you…?”
Oh my goddess, he thought he’d knocked me up, as the humans were fond of saying.
“NO! At least I hope not,” I blurted, eager to reassure him he wasn’t a deadbeat dad for abandoning his pregnant mate. Stars, if Kai got me pregnant, would we have a baby fish? I wasn’t sure I liked the idea of having a water birth. Not when swimming was a skill I had yet to master.
Mommy drowning while birthing a fish wasn’t how my kid needed to start their journey in life. Imagine the trauma of growing up knowing your mother drowned while giving birth to you!
“Do mer people give birth to fish?”
Kai’s mouth opened and then closed, like he couldn’t quite believe I’d said such a dumb thing. Honestly, I really needed to keep my inane musings to myself.
He coughed and then choked back a laugh. “No, Raven. We give birth to babies, but those babies can shift from birth, so many mermaids choose to have their young in special pools, where they are safe from predators.”
“Oh. Well, that sounds amazing…” My voice trailed off. So not amazing.Nope.Please, fate, let me not be pregnant.
“You need to eat something,” I told him, pulling my big witch pants on and deciding a change of topic was in order.
He shook his head. “I need to swim first. It’s been too long.”
“Oh, of course you do.” There had been a pool in the prison cave, but I doubted Kai had used it. “I’ll come with you.”
He touched my hand briefly. “It’s fine. I can manage.”
“No, I insist!”
Food could wait. I couldn’t bear the thought of letting my merman leave Maverick’s cabin on his own. He hadn’t recovered from his ordeal.
He might collapse outside!
