Page 2 of Little Shake of Salt

“Atlantis is real?” Layla whispered.

I shot her a look over my shoulder and her cheeks turned red. She straightened next to Luca, the two of them radiating with worry.

Marina bared her razor-sharp teeth. She was beautiful, as all seapeople were, but if enraged, she’d become terrifying. Allthe lore about mermaids that humans knew were spun to flatter the beauty of them, but mermaids were just as vicious and monstrous as some of the most prickly demons I knew.

“Marina,” I said, trying for patience. “What do you search for in a mate?”

“I want a woman who loves the sea. I want a woman who wants me to drive my tongue into her for hours.”

Well. Straight to the point at least.

“I can go on if you’d like.” She was glowering at Luca, her eyes reminding me of the inside of a shell. Her tail whacked the tiled floor, her blue and silver scales gleaming under the bathroom light.

“I will find your mate,” I promised. “Just as I found Nerio’s mate.”

Marina’s eyes lit up. “Ah, yes. I forgot my older brother was matched by you. He and Ofelia are very happy.”

“Of course they are. We will host the date at our cafe, and we will make a portal there so you can still be in the ocean. Almost like a pool. I will make the portal, of course, but I’ll leave it to Layla to set up your first date.”

Marina raised a brow at Layla. “The one who dragged me out of the ocean? I rather boil her in?—”

Embers lit in my beard and she yelped, her face paling. The room grew dark, my shadow threatening to take over. “My daughter made a mistake. These things happen. You will find your mate now, though, so perhaps it was a fortunate mistake.”

Marina turned her attention to me, andsmiled.“Perhaps, Barista.”

“Friday morning of next week,” I said. “Be ready at nine. We will buy your coffee and provide a pastry of choice as well.”

“And it won’t flood your precious cafe?”

“No,” I grunted.

“If you say so.” She hesitated a moment, but then her shoulders relaxed. “Thank you, Barista. Can you send me back now?”

“Yes.” I waved my hand, opening a portal right beneath her. I felt Layla’s interest peak, because the portal did not allow the water to rush in. That was because it required a different part of our power to create it. I gave Marina a short, respectable bow, sent her through the portal with a splash, closed it, and then faced my children.

Luca crossed his arms. His eyes were dark and stormy, and he reminded me so much of Lucy when he acted like this. Sometimes in ways that worried me, too.

Layla was upset and hurt. I frowned and stepped closer to her, lifting my hand to the back of her head.

“She hit the floor hard,” Luca mumbled.

I let out a long, pent-up sigh. I needed Lucy or Trixie to handle this one this time, perhaps.

“You called?”

I flinched when Lucy appeared behind me wearing a devilish smirk. His wings tucked in neatly behind him, his horns curling back into his dark hair.

Of course my handsome devil felt the tug of need in our bond.

His smile immediately evaporated the moment he saw Luca and Layla.

“Oh my.” He looked around the bathroom and let out a gentle tut. “What trouble has our family caused this time?”

“I drew a portal,” Layla blurted out. “And I was trying to help Sage and Fitz move, but it opened into the ocean. I flooded their apartment and a mermaid came through. Apparently a . . . royal one.”

“And you bumped your head,” Lucy said, his hand settling on my lower back. “Are you okay, sweetness?”

Her eyes welled up with tears. “I’m fine, Dad. I’m just mad at myself.”