Dew dropped his hand, and the three mermen peered at his work alongside Austin. Encircled by scales the colour of tarnished metal was a spot of luminous silver. Austin’s polished scales glowed as if backlit by a soft, cool light.
Austin’s gaze slid to Tristan, a surge of insecurity passing through him. The darkness of the water made it difficult to read his expression. He swam up, lifting his face above the water. Tristan took his time rising with him, a questioning tilt to his head when he did.
“Southern,” Austin said. “And small.”
Tristan dismissed that at once. “You’re too powerful to be southern.” He paused, considering. “I have never seen any like you. Neither have they. But I should have expected this.”
Austin just made out the glimmer of a smile.
“You were always bound to be the most beautiful creature in the ocean.” He leaned in, attacking Austin’s cheeks with fond kisses. “Hal will be beside himself with envy. Let me learn from these two southerners. I will have you gleaming, my dear.”
Tristan ducked below. Austin let himself descend too, watching the mermen as they polished his tail until the whole of it glowed a soft silver. Over the course of the treatment, he relaxed, beginning to hum as he let himself enjoy the massage.Bee quickly lost interest in polishing and no less than three times darted off into the whirlpool, his copper tail flashing through the sand-churned water as he was thrown around.
Dew shot him a look of disgust the first time he returned, skin reddened in a rash by churning sand. The second time, he snorted and shook his head. The third time, he watched Bee disappear into the whirlpool with open curiosity. The fourth time, he abandoned his work on Austin to join him, and pale blue churned alongside copper.
Tristan gave Austin a look that said,You see why I do not like these southerners.
Austin hummed, personally very amused. He liked that they found enjoyment in the Charybdis he’d summoned. He liked that they had polished his scales and seemed to—dare he even think it?—accept his presence. He was among them in the ocean, his tail unlike theirs, yet he was not being rejected for it.
They laughed, Austin recalled. They laughed when he threw the egg at Adonis.
Austin swam up, indicating for Tristan to rise as well. He wrapped his arms around the larger merman, kissing him sweetly. “I like them now.”
“You like that they aren’t afraid of your power.”
“I like that they enjoy my—my—” He glanced at the whirlpool. Thought of the egg. “My personality.”
Tristan sighed. “You wish them to join our court?”
“I didn’t say that. But maybe they’re not as bad as I thought.” And maybe Sam had been right all along. Maybe all Austin had to do was stop being an unfriendly, snarling nightmare for five minutes and mermen wouldn’t hate him. “Dew was gentle,” he said.
Tristan’s shoulders softened. He caressed Austin’s side, his warm hand sliding over the place where skin transformed into scale. “He was.”
Austin gazed at the whirlpool. “When will it stop?”
“You can say better than I. How much power did you use?”
“I was drowning.” Which meant,a lot. “But…I was underwater. My voice was muffled. It’ll probably dissipate when the tide goes out. And—my leg.” Austin shivered. “It’s broken.”
“Now mended,” Tristan said. “I have done such injuries to myself before, and the wounds healed when I transformed. In the legs, anyway. Sometimes the ribs mended. Arms remained broken.”
Austin’s full attention snapped back to Tristan, who spoke in the faraway tone of one recalling distant memories. “You broke bones?” Given the scars decorating Tristan’s tail, he wasn’t altogether surprised. “Who? Your father?”
“Indirectly. He was typically instrumental in setting in motion the tests and training that caused damage.” There was only a hint of distaste, as though Tristan were recalling something merely unpleasant rather than brutal. His attention slipped elsewhere. “If we go around the edge, we can get on to the beach and walk to the estate. There.” He nodded toward a stretch of beach a mile clear of Charybdis. “You are too spent to swim. Unless you’d rather take shelter in a cove until the storm ends?”
“A cove?” Austin repeated, unimpressed.
“Or we can go to the city. There are many rooms directly connected to the ocean there. I wished to set up the same here, but…” Tristan shrugged. “The men with the skill to build the tunnels passed years ago, and the beach makes it very difficult. What would you like to do?”
Austin was tired, but he didn’t want to go to the city, and he didn’t want to go hide in an uncomfortable cove. On the other hand, the estate held witnesses to his humiliation. He couldn’tstomach the thought that they now believed him an obsessed stalker.
Tristan saw his hesitation. “Oran has been removed.”
Austin looked at him in surprise. “What?”
“Inx is deciding the punishment for the two who helped him, but I think he is correct that they were roped into the endeavour by Oran,” Tristan continued. “Oran knew he’d lost favour with Inx. I think he feared removal if he didn’t do something to win my approval. Forgive me, I did not intend for you to shoulder the blame for my men’s misconduct.” Another pause. “If you wish for their punishment to be greater—”
“No,” Austin said. “No. Just do what you see fit. I’m hungry,” he added, quickly changing the subject. “Let’s return to the estate.”
