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I’d have never met him.
My chest aches as I think of him, as I think of his beautiful face, of his kind soul that pushed him to save me, expecting nothing from me. Everyone around me, except perhaps for Lily, only sees me as a commodity, someone they can use as a bargaining chip—my parents, the crown, Prince Iason.
Not Adar. Even my kisses have made the curse worse, not better, and still he kisses me.
As if he likes kissing me for the sake of it.
“Adar!” I stop at the lakeshore, dropping the basket, and cup my hands around my mouth. “It’s me, Selina. Adar!”
Is this the right place? I don’t see the log where he likes to sit. And the shape of the weeping willows looks all wrong, as if something has broken their branches.
Nothing happens, and I tell myself to wait. Last time he had apologized for being slow. So I sit on the bank, huddling in my cloak, and wait. Time passes. Every little noise, every rustle and splash has me jerking, glancing around, expecting to find a Faery about to grab me.
And then I see the great ripple in the lake and a great sigh of relief escapes me.
“Adar!” I’m on my feet, waiting for him where the waves of the lake break. “Over here.”
He dives deeper and surfaces near the shore, shaking his head. He’s smiling. It makes my heart glad to see it.
“Selina,” he says and swims right at me. Drags himself out of the water with his powerful arms and twists around to sit on the ground. “You came back.”
“Yes. I was afraid you were too angry to see me,” I whisper, sitting down on the bank, just a few feet away from him. “That you wouldn’t come out of the lake.”
His beautiful blue tail is covered in mud. His blue braid drips with it. “I always come when you call. I told you.”
So serious and earnest. His blue eyes are clear, meeting mine, full of emotions I can’t decipher, not yet. I’m missing the keys, the clues to their language, but at least they’re there for me to see.
“Why?” I breathe, even as I’m afraid to ask, excited and nervous.
He shakes his head, droplets flying everywhere. I wipe muddy water from my face. “I wish I knew. There’s something about you. It’s just… It’s lonely here.”
I nod, my excitement fading. “Of course. Any company would do.”
“No. Not any company.” He frowns, then reaches for my hand. His long fingers close around mine. “Your company. I was lonely for your company.”
Gods…The things he says. The way he’s looking at me. Where Iason’s eyes are opaque mirrors like the lake, only showing me my own reflection, Adar’s are like gates into another world, brimming with everything he feels.
“I was lonely for your company, too,” I confess. “How do you think that is possible, that we miss each other? I know nothing about you, and you know nothing about me.”
“I know enough,” he whispers.
“How so?”
“I know you’re kind. I know you’re scared. And I know you’re beautiful.” He tugs on my hand, his gaze dropping to my mouth. “I never knew human girls could be so beautiful.”
And I never knew Fae males could be so handsome, despite the tales, but I don’t say that. His face is so close now, I can see flecks of brown in the blue of his eyes, I can see a small, old scar at his temple, I can see the light flush in his cheeks. Blue tendrils cling to his strong neck and jaw and I ache to brush them away.
We’re sitting on the sodden lakeshore, a princess and a merman, gazing at each other.
It’s a struggle to look away.
“You’re kind, too,” I say. “You saved my life even after I lied to you.”
“You lied for a reason. I was selfish.”
“No.” I shake my head. “You deserve to be cured. To return to your life. To get out of this miserable lake.”
“It’s not that bad.”
