“You know I will.”
I felt my eyes begin to burn as I reached out toward him.
“Oh, hell no. I don’t do that.” Shane’s tone was gruff, but it caught slightly. “No good-byes.”
Pulling back, I nodded. “Thank you. There’s no way any of us would have gotten through this without you.”
He shrugged. “I said I wanted an adventure.”
It wassimple enough to free the mers. Making a path through the marble from the mers’ enclosure to the sea was nearly effortless. Even easier than freeing Cynthia. Somehow my fire seemed stronger in the water than it had before. I think that had more to do with Cynthia than anything else.
The mers, even the sick ones, didn’t require any extra prodding to escape their prison. That changed for some when we reached the open sea, as terror at the vastness paralyzed them. Even Ventait seemed taken aback.
I think some of their fear began to ease when Therin and Greylin joined us. Despite knowing my power was what enabled us to open a passage to the sea, it only terrified them more. Seeing the two mermen, with actual tails and everything, soothed in a way I never could.
Both of the males looked like children on Christmas morning as they swam toward us. Children who not only got everything on their Christmas list, but received three of each item from the entire catalogue. In all, nearly three hundred mers had been living under the Vampire Cathedral. If you can call it living. From Therin’s and Greylin’s expressions, I’d not been the only one who was doubtful we’d return with many captive mers, if any. They would have been ecstatic if Ventait had been the only one we’d managed to save, but we’d found so many more.
Within moments, I’d relayed the events to Greylin and Dad. I doubted Sonia was going to swoop down and try to recapture the mers. She’d wanted them gone, to take away Gwala’s prize possessions. Still, things had changed, and we decided we should head toward the rest of the Chromis. Ventait had been the deciding factor. He didn’t want to stay a second longer near the Vampire Cathedral. I didn’t blame him.
To my shame, I wanted to stay. I nearly suggested they go on without me, that I’d catch up. Finn was still near. I could go back to the Cathedral, steal a boat of my own, and go after him. For a second, I thought the impulse meant I wanted him back, that I was ready to give up my life in the ocean and try building something more with him. Even before the notion fully formed, I cast it aside. That wasn’t it. It didn’t feel true. My life was with the mers. They were my family.
Still, I’d had less than twelve hours in Finn’s presence. All totaled, it probably added up to less than two where we were actually in the same spot. It felt rushed.
There wasn’t really anything else to say. We’d said more than I thought we’d ever get to, actually. We’d done what we needed to do, maybe fulfilled the whole reason we’d met. The nymphs had told me there was more than one way to reach our destiny. Maybe the mers would have been rescued if Finn and I had stayed together, maybe they wouldn’t have.
In the end, I swam off with the others into the darkening waters as the sun set. I was where I should be. No reason to question the past or try to figure out what might have been. There were too many maybes.
We metthe rest of the Chromis tribe before the sun reached its zenith the following day. It seemed when Syleen and Lelas had returned with the story of Wrell and Nalu, the tribe was unanimous in its assertion that they join Therin, Greylin, and myself, and they had headed in our direction within the hour.
Lelas looked like my old friend for a moment when she saw Ventait. She rushed toward him and wrapped him in her arms. To my surprise, he hugged back. I wasn’t sure how the mating thing worked when one of them died, but maybe Lelas was going to get a second chance after all.
When it was my turn for her attention, I truly could see that she was still there, that she was still Lelas. She was going to be fine. Maybe not fully the same as she had been before, but none of us would be.
Syleen had barely greeted Ventait when the merman stiffened, his gaze wandering past the Chromis leader.
I followed the direction of his attention and saw Rulus and Flain bringing up the rear of the tribe—Zef bound by long chains between the twins.
Ventait whipped his head around, searching. Finding what he sought, he held his hand out to my father.“Give me your blade.”
His tone held such power Therin moved to offer it to him without a second thought, then paused, catching himself, his eyes darting to where Ventait had been looking.
Probably anticipating such a scene, Syleen spoke before Therin had a chance to make up his mind.“There is no greater joy that I have experienced in this existence that matches your return to us, Ventait, but there is a way things must be handled.”
He didn’t take his eyes off Zef as he addressed her.“He is the reason. He is the one who sold his kind, his tribe.”
Syleen hesitated, her gaze softening as she studied Ventait. Then she gave a slight shake of her head.“And Moheetla will be his judge. Not us. Not you.”
At this, Ventait looked over at her, fury covering his expression.
They stared at each other, motionless. No one moved, not even the hoard of the vampires’ former captives.
As much as I didn’t blame Ventait for wanting immediate vengeance, it was Syleen I watched. Her black hair and scales almost disappeared into the murky water as she faced off with the brightness of the returned merman. Almost. Even in this, she was the queen. She might not officially have the label, but after Akamaii, the Volitan queen, and Gwala, Syleen had earned the unclaimed title, at least with me. She was my queen. As much as I rebelled at the thought, I’d stop Ventait if I needed to.
Even while Ventait shook in anger as he glared at her, Syleen motioned toward the twins.“Bring Zef forward.”
He didn’t struggle, allowing himself to be dragged through the water as Flain and Rulus complied with Syleen’s directive. They stopped less than five feet from Ventait.
“I am glad to see you are alive and well. Moheetla has had his protection around you, that you have been returned to us, Ventait.”Even though I searched Zef’s words, I found no subtext or hostility. He was kind and sincere, as he always had been. Despite his position, his chains, he truly did seem glad to see the merman returned.
