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Oliver smiles softly with sympathy. “Well, we’ll have to change that. You’re a water faerie. You’re supposed to spend time in here. Now, come in.”
I take a deep breath and slip into the water. As it envelops me up to my waist, a strange sensation washes over me. It’s not quite a tingling, but something about the water feels alive, like it’s welcoming me home. I get a sense of belonging.
Oliver watches me get a feel for the water with a small smile playing on his lips. “How is it?”
“It’s strange,” I admit. I swish my hands through the water, and the urge to fully submerge myself nearly takes my breath away. “I don’t remember feeling this the few times I’ve been swimming.”
“Your glamour was a lot stronger before. It suppressed your powers a lot more.”
“That makes sense.”
Oliver takes my hands in his, pulling my attention from the water that’s had me mesmerized since I got in it. “Nora…?” When I meet his gaze, he gulps nervously. “I’d like to drop your glamour, if that’s all right.”
My eyes widen. “Completely?”
He nods slowly. “Such a big part of you is always suppressed. It might not be as much as it was before when you seemed human, but you’re still being blocked. You deserve to let go and experience your true self once in a while. Right now, it’s just us, and you’re in the water. It’d be a good time.”
The idea is tempting. I felt different those couple of weeks between when my old glamour broke and when Oliver placed this new one on me. Before, I never knew I was glamoured, but now I can tell the difference. It feels like I’m wearing an extra layer of heavy clothing. It’s not that restrictive, just mildly stifling.
“I can put another one on you before we leave,” Oliver assures me.
I eye the water. “You don’t think I’ll sprout fins and a tail if I stop suppressing my power, do you?”
Oliver’s brows lift as if the thought hadn’t occurred to him. He thinks about it for a minute, eyeing the water like it might hold the answer. “I suppose it’s possible you have a shifting ability. Sirens are closely related to mermaids and have been depicted throughout history as being mer people. Giselle has a human form, though she almost never leaves the water.”
My eyes bulge, and my breathing speeds up. My instinct is to get out of this pool fast, before I no longer have legs. Oliver, picking up on my distress, pulls me against him. “Don’t worry. Even if you do have an alternate form, I’m sure you’d have to learn how to shift. You’re not just going to suddenly turn into a fish.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “You can’t possibly know that. But I appreciate the lies anyway.”
Oliver smirks. “Not lies. An educated guess.”
I take a deep breath. “You really think?”
He nods. “You won’t change without trying to.”
I chew on the idea a minute and decide he probably knows what he’s talking about. If he doesn’t think I’ll shift into some kind of mermaid, then I probably won’t. “Okay.” I puff out a breath and shake the tension from my shoulders. “Let’s do it. Remove the glamour.”
Oliver flashes me a proud smile, then his eyes slip out of focus as he studies the space around me. The familiar sensation of magic starts at the top of my head, and I can feel the glamour being lifted from me as Oliver works his way to my feet. Warm tingles cover me, pricking pleasantly across my skin, making me feel as if my body is waking up.
My skin becomes that beautiful pale pink pearlescent color and shimmers in the light. I can feel the scales form on my face around my eyes. Patches of those same teal and purple scales run up my arms from the backs of my hands to about the middle of my forearms and across my collarbones. I can feel them running down my spine as well.
Along with the alterations in my appearances, my connection to the water changes from a faint familiarity to a tangible relationship. I feel as if Iknowthe water. Like I’m one with it. Its draw is too much to resist, and I dunk myself below the surface. It greets me like a long lost relative, hugging me from all angles and welcoming me home. I swirl around, loving the feel of the water pushing over my skin. Joy like I’ve never known bubbles up in my chest, and a laugh escapes me.
Not knowing if I can breathe underwater, and not brave enough to try, I stand back up. I’m on such a high that I throw myself against Oliver and squeeze him as hard as I can. I can’t stop laughing even though I’m on the verge of sobbing happy tears. I’ve never felt more right, more like myself. It’s a freeing feeling.
Oliver chuckles and wraps me in a hug. “You okay?” he asks.
“I’m amazing.” I give him a half laugh, half sob and bury my face in his neck. “Thank you, Ollie.”
Oliver’s hands rub up my back and tangle in my wet hair. He pulls his head back far enough that he can drop a kiss to my forehead, then squeezes me in another bone-crushing hug.
I bury my nose in the crook of his neck and take a deep breath, inhaling the scent that is uniquely Oliver. It’s a sweet musk mixed with the vibrant, tangy scent of magic and a hint of chlorine. I press my lips to his warm skin and can’t help sneaking a quick taste. Oliver sucks in a breath and shivers. He clears his throat and releases me. “You ready to try swimming?” His voice is husky and deep with want.
I’m tempted to forget about swimming to explore this new lustful side of me, but the water calls to me, and I need to feel it moving around me again.
Oliver steps back and straightens, ready to start teaching. “Okay, we’ll start you with a basic float on your stomach. I’m going to pull your arms out in front of you, and you just lean forward and let your legs float up behind you.”
I do as he says with no problems.
