Page 52 of A Tale of Mirth & Magic

Exasperated, he threw out his arms, stepping closer to the lake’s edge, to me. “You daft mermaid, I’m not here for the ruddy blanket!”

I swam toward him slowly, thoughts whirling. When my feet touched rocky sand and we were within normal talking distance, I stopped again.

“What are you here for, then?” I studied him, holding back from rushing through the water to close the distance between us. He didn’t break my gaze.

“You,” Barra said, swallowing hard. “I’m here for you.”

It suddenly felt very hard to take full breaths. Warmth spread through my chest despite the water’s chill. I kept motionless, the lake’s gentle waves lapping over me.

“You left,” I said.

“I know. I’m sorry.”

I’m sorry too, I wanted to say. I’m sorry I suck at explaining what I’m feeling. I’m sorry I kissed you when you needed to talk. I’m sorry I didn’t even try asking you to stay.

Moving steadily, I stepped toward him. As the lake water sluiced off my skin, revealing me bit by bit, Barra made a choking sound, his eyes roving over my body before pulling skyward.

“El,” he said weakly. “You’re naked.”

“Oh. I guess I am,” I said, a hint of cheekiness slipping into my voice. He let out a shaky laugh, keeping his eyes averted, to my amusement.

It was hard to be sexy when freezing though. Once I reached the shore and the breeze hit my bare skin, my teeth began to chatter. I hugged myself and looked for my clothes. Barra, probably hearing my teeth rattling away, jumped to help. He grabbed my long skirt from where I’d tossed it on the ground and guided me to step into it. He shrugged off his huge brown coat and wrapped it around me, bundling me tight. I burrowed into the warmth it held from his body.

“You’re ice cold,” he said, his voice tinged with worry.

“W-worth it,” I said, “V-very refr-freshing dip. Oh dear. Are my t-t-toes blue?” I peered down at them. Yes, definitely light blue. How annoying.

I moved to where the infamous wool blanket was still spread on the grass and plopped to my knees awkwardly, wrapped in the bulky coat. I remembered yanking off my socks here. Where were they? Searching around, I spied them behind the big basket.

My hands were shaking. I couldn’t pull them on. Frustrated, I flung them away. So cold. So, so cold…

Barra was suddenly kneeling over me. He held my feet, wiping them dry with a piece of the blanket, then tucked the thick socks over each one.

“We need to warm you up more, El. Can I…?” He moved closer, gesturing with his arms out, a question in his eyes.

I nodded, shuffling closer to him. His arms surrounded me, and I pressed into the heat of his torso. This felt so familiar, safe. I breathed in his minty, woodsmoke smell and let myself enjoy this. It felt surreal that he was back. It couldn’t have been more than an hour or two, but I’d already been trying to mentally force him into the “Past” box in my mind. To shove away the memories and move on.

Now he was here, solid and real. He’d come back.

I reached for the blanket and tried pulling it around my legs for more warmth. Barra saw and carefully shifted me so I was lying down, then moved to wrap it around me.

“No—st-stay here. You’re warm,” I said.

He looked at me for a beat, brown eyes liquid and dark, and then nodded. Lying down facing me, he pulled the blanket over both of us, tucking in the corners as best he could. I tangled my legs with his.

“This reminds m-me of that first night. I moved closer to you once you fell asleep because it was chilly.”

Barra wrapped his arms around me again, rubbing warmth slowly into my back. I ducked my head under his chin, burrowing in.

“Was that really just two days ago?” His chest rumbled against my cheek.

“Hard to believe,” I said. The feeling was coming back to my toes. I wiggled them in my socks with relief. My fingers, pressed between our bodies, felt more like fingers again. I wiggled them experimentally too. “Yay, I can feel again!”

“Huzzah for that,” Barra said dryly, but I could hear the relief in his voice.

A comfortable silence fell. I wanted to stay wrapped up in this big blanket cocoon with him forever.

“Barra. I’m sorry.” He held still. It was easier to say this into his shirt than his eyes. “I’m not always great at—well, at talking. About important things. Feelings. But I have them. About you. And I should have at least tried to explain. Instead of letting you leave.”