Once Lyra stepped closer to the firelight, Theo held out a hand towards her.
“Are you all right?” He dared not get too close. The look on Lyra’s face was feral. He knew battle lust when he saw it and wanted to make sure she recognized him—or else she might drag him to the depths too.
“Who is this?” Theo tried again, nodding towards the mermaid Lyra was still holding by the hair.
The second mermaid hadn’t shifted into her human form, and her tail flicked back and forth impatiently on the sand. She seemed to know she was beaten, however, and didn’t try to evade Lyra’s grasp. While Lyra’s tail was more serpentine, this woman’s lower half was shaped like a salmon. She was curvier with ample features, skin as pale as the moonlight but tinged with a green tint that matched her hair. If Lyra looked like a mermaid that was half watersnake, this one looked like she was the daughter of a fish.
“This one,” Lyra hissed, her teeth still fully extended, “knows better than to try and come in between me and a bounty.”
Theo paused for a moment but wisely kept his mouth shut. He assumed Lyra was keeping up the pretense that she was going to turn him over to Cliodhna to keep their cover. It was still jarring to hear the words come out of her mouth. Theo shivered as a chill went down his spine. Lyra was downright terrifying when she wanted to be.
“I thought you’d want to share.” Lyra’s captive hissed, her cold eyes sizing up Theo. “This can’t be the one that s-she wants—agh!” Lyra tugged the woman’s hair sharply and cut her off.
“It doesn’t matter. That’s not for you to decide, is it?” Lyra’s lip curled. Her claws were extended, and she tilted the mermaid’s chin up to meet her gaze. A thin trail of blood trickled down the mermaid’s throat where Lyra’s claw pierced her jaw.
“No, it isn’t,” the mermaid acquiesced, clearly not looking pleased with the deal whatsoever, but realizing she wasn’t in a position to barter.
Lyra practically threw the mermaid back in the water, tossing her head towards the shoreline.
“Get out of here,” Lyra growled.
As she moved, the moonlight illuminated her face, and Theo realized there was blood mixing with the water dripping down her forehead. A rush of panic welled up in his chest, but he knew it did him no good to fuss over Lyra while they still had company.
The green-haired mermaid made no arguments, quickly shimmying back towards the water and disappearing with the flick of her tail. A few seconds later, her head broke the surface of the water several feet away, her face contorting in a sharp sneer as she hissed in Lyra’s direction and then disappeared.
“Yeah, fuck right off with that.” Lyra quipped in response, letting out a long, slow breath. “Are you okay?” Lyra turned towards Theo, flicking some of her hair off her shoulder.
“I should be asking you that question!” Theo snapped, his anxiety boiling over. He crossed the distance between them and gently placed one hand on Lyra’s shoulder. He moved a couple of strands of hair away from her forehead and carefully tilted her chin back and forth, trying to get a better glimpse of the cut in the dim light.
Lyra seemed content to let him fuss for a few minutes before her patience started to run thin.
“Theo,” she whispered, pulling him from his panicked trance, “I’m fine. It’s a small scratch.”
Theo grumbled, completely thrown off guard at the sight of Lyra’s blood. “I don’t like it. When do you think that mermaid washed her hands last? She might be carrying all sorts of diseases…”
Lyra started to laugh. Theo took a step back, crossing his arms over his chest. He tried to look imposing, but most of his fears evaporated at the sound of Lyra’s laughter. It was nearly as melodic as her siren song and twice as joyful.
“Whatever her claws are made of, mine are the same,” Lyra reminded him gently. “I know you haven’t spent much time near the water, but I’m a creature of the deep, Theo. She can scratch me, but I’m hardly going to get sepsis over it.”
Theo nodded, his cheeks blushing red when he realized how silly his complaint must have sounded.
“Ah, yes. Right then.” He coughed a few times and awkwardly tried to look anywhere but at Lyra.
“Besides, you saw the other guy.” Lyra winked and started walking back towards the water.
“Wait, where are you going?” Theo followed her until he was ankle-deep in the river.
“No, Theo!” Lyra spun around and pushed him out of the water. “You’ve got to stay on dry land.”
“So should you!” Theo countered, pointing towards the inky depths. “If the mermaids are coming after you for your ‘bounty’ now,” Theo used air quotes around the word ‘bounty’, “then surely more of them will try it.”
Lyra studied him for a minute as if she couldn’t entirely understand what he was saying. Her expression softened ever so slightly, and she shook her head in amazement.
“I’m going to be fine.” Lyra insisted. “It’s better for me in the water than on land. Trust me on that. I’ll be crawling out of my skin by sunrise. Besides, that bitch got a few hits in, and I’ll heal better in the water.”
“That’s what I mean!” Theo interrupted her. “If you aren’t well…”
“I am okay,” Lyra repeated, reaching out to grab Theo’s wrists. “Everything you learned about mermaids from watchingPeter Panis a lie, Theo. We aren’t social creatures. Very few of us keep ties outside of our blood relations at all. We’re mean. We’re ornery. We’re vicious, blood thirsty, and murderous.”
