“Yes, he certainly did.He discovered a whole colony of usliving off Corsica, but you never saw that onThe Undersea World, did you?Jacques,then.And you, Three?”
“Please,” Jacques said, when his brother failed to answer.“Hatchling Three needs to go back into the sea.”
“Does he?”
“It’s his feet, sir.He doesn’t like having two.He feels likehe’s going to zip up in front of everyone.”
“Well, God forbid.Off you go.”
The twoducked simultaneous clumsy bows, then turned and ran off togethertowards the rocks at the water’s edge.Just before Threedisappeared, he skidded to a halt, dragging Jacques back with him.He smiled like a hundred flashbulbs.“Priddy!”
“Er...yes?”Priddy felt a peculiar sympathy for Three, withhis troublesome feet and his struggle to articulate his problems.He wasn’t sure how he could help him, though.He dropped a smallbow back at him.“What is it?”
Once more Jacques had to step in.“Please, Priddy, sir.Hewants to becalledPriddy, sir.He thinks it means beautiful, and he thinks youare, and so do I.”
Thechanges in Priddy’s physiology hadn’t altered his capacity for aferocious blush.For the first time he missed having clothes, ifonly for the sake of pockets to push his hands into.“Right,” hemanaged.“Thanks.”
He hadno idea where to take it from there, but he too now had someone tostep in for him.“Sorry, Three,” Merou said gently.“There can onlybe one Priddy.How about Jem?”
Againcame the megawatt smile.Jacques studied it closely.“He thinks itmeans a jewel,” he said.“He likes that even more.”
Theyvanished behind the rock.Splashing sounds echoed off the Rosewarnecliffs, then two peals of exultant relief.Priddy clutchedgratefully at the arm Merou had wrapped around his waist.His headwas spinning.“How do they know so much?How are they so...nice?”
“They have genetic memories in place of an education.Andthey’re powerfully telepathic, so if Three saw something in you tolike that much, it wasn’t just your curly hair, my jewel of thesea.”Merou smiled at the flicker of two bright flukes heading outfrom the bay, easily mistaken at distance for rare dolphins.“Asfor the charm, I’m at a loss to know.It’s not easy to go from afish-egg to a prince in a handful of days.”
“They must take after their dad.”
Merouleaned over him.He lifted his chin, brushed one thumb over hislower lip—the gesture so delicate that tears prickled into Priddy’seyes—then kissed him as if his life depended on it.As if they werein deep ocean, sharing breath...Priddy forgot the whole world.Forgot his new stepchildren, his mother who didn’t grieve, Kit’smum who did.The lighthouse and the village, even Kit, lost to himand now restored...
“Whoa!Get a room, or a cave, or whatever it is you two fishycharacters need, Priddy-boy!”
Reluctantly Priddy disengaged.Merou gave him a wink, thenthe tiniest roll of his eyes.He grinned at Kit, who’d bornehimself back in on their attention and was beaming at them bothfrom the sand.“A sea-cavern deep in the Lyonesse kelp forests formy Priddy tonight, I think.You’re not in any position to talk,landling—in case you haven’t noticed, you’ve got a naked mermaid onyour knee.”
Kit’smouth fell open.He turned to look at Jennifer, who had settled asclose as she could to him and was winding her hair around his neck.His face altered with wonder.“Yes, I have.I never saw anyone sobeautiful.Why does she like me?”
She grabbed him by the chin.“I canspeak, you know.When a hatchlingrescues a mortal, she can keep him or devour him.And I didn’thappen to be hungry at the time.”
“So you’ll...you’llkeepme?”
Sheshrugged.“If you want to be kept.Of course, if Geoff Blades wasthe love of your life...”
“Geoff Blades tried to kill me,” Kit said grimly.“Andthe bastardtold me I was fat.”
“He’d best not ply the seas off this coast anymore, then.”Sheran a finger down his stomach.“Lovely mortal belly button!See, Iremembered mine, too.And a little extra flesh is always useful, incase I get peckish in the night.”
Priddybegan to laugh.He let Merou lead him back to the extraordinarycouple in their tangle on the beach.“Does a lot of that go on—thedevouring, I mean?”
“She’s joking,” Merou said benignly.“Hardly ever at all.Humans taste awful.”
“Jesus.Are you gonna be all right, Kit?”
“I think so.Jennifer, I want you to meet my mum and mysister.”
“She’ll make a slightly less controversial impression if she’swearing some clothes.”Merou let go of Priddy long enough to gatherup the pile he’d brought down from the washing line.“Terrestrialnondescript.Generic, unisex.And, see—these two cute little tubesfor your legs.Take them, if Priddy doesn’t mind.”
Sheseized them avidly.“My first extra skins!”Her unsettling gazefastened on Priddy, full of anxiety.“Priddy, do youmind?”
“Not at all.I feel as if I provided your trousseau.It’s apity we can’t keep the Weeverfish T-shirt, Merou—it suitsyou.”
