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Merletta could see that August was as unsatisfied as she was, but neither of them pressed. Merletta could only guess that, like her, August was thinking of the rest of their group, toward whom they were now moving. The guard was probably eager to check in with his wife, and the thought sent a flash of guilt through Merletta. It had been shamefully easy to forget all the rest of them, losing herself in the delight of exploring Heath’s world with him.
But when she thought of Tish, cowering in a cave somewhere off the coast, afraid both to return home and to stay where she was—and much too terrified to join Merletta on land—she felt ashamed of herself. She hadn’t come to Heath to escape. She’d come for help, for her friends more than for herself. A safe haven was no use if it wasn’t a haven for Tish. And it was clear that, delighted though he was that she’d come to him for sanctuary, Heath had no solutions to offer in terms of the bigger problems that had driven her from the triple kingdoms.
She needed more substantial help than he could offer.
* * *
The thought rolled around in her mind as weeks turned into months. Life at Bexley Manor was pleasant, even the taciturn Percival seeming to have taken a liking to her. She regularly checked in with Tish and the others—Heath deftly covering for these prolonged absences—but she never had anything new to offer them. Eloise had taken Tish under her fins, and was gracious in her determination to remain in the water with the younger mermaid for as long as Tish was unwilling to brave the land. Since August needed to stay primarily with Merletta—for appearances as much as for her safety—he ordered Paul and Griffin to remain underwater to protect the others.
They’d set up a permanent base in a handy grotto, not too far from the shore. It was a pleasant spot, with good fishing and a very defensible position in case of predators. It didn’t have the conveniences of life in the triple kingdoms, but Eloise’s careful touches soon made the space feel homelike. The guards seemed to be fine—they chafed at times against being restricted to the water after living so long between two worlds, but they’d had close to two years to adjust to living as fugitives. And the grotto was a more permanent—and more comfortable—home than any they’d lived in during the months they’d been constantly on the move.
As for Eloise, it was clear to Merletta that the older mermaid preferred a more primitive lifestyle where she was near August, and could see him regularly without fear of being followed, to a life back in the comfort of her home but separated from her husband. There was no real reason they couldn’t live there forever, if they chose. They were certainly well out of the reach of anyone in the Center who wanted them dead. And there was no port near enough to threaten exposure to the humans.
But still, Merletta’s guilt ate at her. And all the more because sometimes she forgot about her friends’ situation for days at a time, lost in enjoyment of Heath’s company, and the novelty of the human world. Bexley Manor seemed almost as isolated as Vazula, and she could see why Heath felt so relaxed there. It was far from the politics of the capital and the tensions over magic.
Reka never visited, which surprised Merletta. But when she asked Heath about it, he told her that most of his times with Reka involved visiting Vazula, and since the dragon must know he had no interest in doing so right now, it wasn’t surprising that Reka was occupying himself with his own affairs.
When they’d first arrived home, Heath’s family had seemed concerned about the dragons’ behavior at the Winter Solstice Festival. When Merletta raised the matter with Heath, he usually shrugged it off, repeating only his general warning about the wisdom of caution around dragons. And, as time passed without incident, everyone else relaxed as well. Clearly no one really believed an attack by the dragons on the city of Bryford was imminent.
It was certainly an idyllic lifestyle. The duke was often busy with his affairs, but Heath apparently had very little to occupy him, and yet could enjoy every comfort of wealth. Merletta couldn’t deny to herself that she enjoyed the luxury, too, but she felt guilty for that enjoyment.
Plus, she felt frustrated by the formality of the life. She saw Heath everyday—a privilege she once could only have dreamed of—but almost never alone. August stuck to her pretty closely, and Heath’s mother seemed to feel some need to chaperone her son. Even without their presence, servants hovered constantly, bustling around with plenty to do, but ears no doubt very much open. Thanks to all the secrets Heath and Merletta harbored, their conversation was consequently often stilted, far from the free exchanges they’d been used to on Vazula. Merletta liked being with Heath, but she felt frozen in time. It was as though they were in a constant state of waiting, the passing days changing nothing in their relationship, because they never brought the opportunity for them to truly communicate.
She also couldn’t help thinking wistfully of her friends in the program, and her regret over the fact that she would never be able to progress to fourth year now. That future was lost to her, and although she knew it, she still found it hard to accept. Becoming a record holder had been her dream since she was a small child. In a token attempt not to lose everything she’d learned throughout her years as a trainee, she spent some of each day in personal study, traveling her memory journey regularly, going over the information she’d already stored there, and adding to it with things she learned in Heath’s world.
She also spent some of each day hard at work in the manor’s training yard. Percival usually joined her there, eager to teach her to fight like a human. Not that he phrased it that way. These pastimes helped, fending off the feeling of laziness and failure that constantly plagued her. But when she lay in bed at night, it all came rushing back, the unease that she’d felt in Bryford growing with each passing week of pointless leisure.
After far too many such nights, Merletta’s inner wrestle reached breaking point. The weather had warmed considerably, the snow now melted. She and Heath were out on a grassy hilltop, where wildflowers once again dotted the grass—he was teaching her to ride a horse.
Slowly and painfully.
When the manor was out of sight, Merletta pulled her horse to a stop, knowing she needed to seize this opportunity for private speech. Percival usually joined them, but he’d still been in bed when they left the manor that morning. Merletta suspected Heath had been so eager to leave straight from breakfast for that very reason. Even August was absent, having expressed no interest whatsoever in learning to ride the beasts.
“Heath,” Merletta said, “Tish is still unhappy. And it breaks my heart to see her so afraid. When I brought the others here, I never intended to doom them to life in an isolated new home in a random place in the sea. But she just won’t believe me that it’s safe to come on land.”
Heath turned to her, his expression full of sympathy. “Is there anything I can do?”
“Actually, I think there might be,” Merletta said.
“Anything,” Heath promised recklessly.
Merletta decided to let this foolishness pass. “Remember how you told me that you’re working on seeing places with your farsight?”
He nodded.
“Do you think you could try to see Vazula? I want to know if it’s been overrun by the Center. Or if the waters nearby are being watched.”
Heath frowned. “I can try,” he said slowly. “What are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking that if it’s clear, I should send them back,” Merletta responded. “Tish, the guards, Eloise, all of them. There’s nothing for them here if they have to stay in the water. The waters near Vazula are just as good for hunting—better, probably. And Paul and Griffin still have family in the triple kingdoms. They won’t want to be so far away forever.”
Heath was silent for a moment, and she could read his hesitation. “And you?” he asked softly, seeming to hold his breath.
Merletta couldn’t quite meet his eyes as she answered. “I’m not going anywhere just yet.”
She heard Heath’s indrawn breath, and she could actually feel the delight radiating out from him.
“I’ll do my very best,” he promised. “I’ll study it every day, if I can get a clear view. I’ll look for any sign of activity in the water or on the shore.”
