Biting my lip, I nod.
“I believe you,” I say, shrugging. “Besides, what choice do I really have?”
“All of them,” he responds quickly. “If you wish for me to leave you in peace, I will do so. Once you are healed, transportation will be arranged to take you anywhere you want to go. You have my word.”
Shock momentarily steals my voice. He makes it sound so easy, but I guess it is for someone like him. He’s not keeping me here. I’m free to go. I should accept his offer and never look back. So why am I hesitating?
“Or?”
He blinks. “Or?”
“Or,” I repeat. “You made it sound like there was going to be a second option.”
The merman grins, and my heart nearly pounds out of my chest. I bask in the warmth of his smile. I’ve never felt more alive.
“There is,” he confirms.
“Good, because I don’t want to be alone. Not right now.”
Not ever,I think, but I manage to keep the words in. I’ve spent these last eight years floating through life without anchors. I belonged to no one and nothing. I watched the years of my life trickle by in unending days of loneliness. I had made peace with it—to live out my days in comfortable solitude.
That is still what I want.
However, I cannot deny the way the merman makes me feel. When he looks at me the way he is now, it’s as if he sees me—truly sees me. The only one who’s ever managed to glimpse my soul. It is fast, and it is sudden, but from the moment I awoke here, it felt like I’ve been suspended in a beautiful dream. One where anything is possible. One where I can let this fledgling desire inside of me run rampant.
I’ve stayed a virgin all these years mainly because I’ve never looked at another and wanted them the way I do this merman. In this dream, the possibility of learning what his body will feel like alongside mine doesn’t seem out of reach. I can give myself to another wholeheartedly. The consequences of such action can’t touch me here in my perfect dream.
Tonight, and only tonight, can be everything I’ve ever wanted. Tomorrow I can return to my safe, solitary life on land and keep the memories of my time under the waves with me forever.
That’s the thing about dreams—even the most realistic ones—aren’t meant to last.
“What do you want from me, Astryd? What can I give you?”
His words pull me from my thoughts. My decision is made. One night of reckless abandon, anymore than that would be unwise. I was a fool before, and I will not be so again.
“Your name for one.”
The merman grins, sliding to his feet. Extending his hand, I lay mine against his massive palm. The feeling of his soft scales sliding against me makes goosebumps erupt on my flesh. He dips into a dramatic bow, his white hair flopping over his forehead.
“Qurill, my lady,” he announces. “Prince of the Darksea.”
His lips graze the back of my hand. Breath stills in my lungs as his eyes burn into mine. With some reluctance, he lets me go. I can feel the phantom press of his mouth as I settle my palm atop the silk.
“Qurill,” I say, delighting in the way he shivers at my voice. “I cannot return to Bluewater. The villagers would just sacrifice me again. Besides, with the way things are, I don’t have a job to go back to. If there was any way you could take me somewhere tomorrow—somewhere safe—I’d be grateful.”
The merman—Qurill—nods, taking a few steps back from the bed.
“It will be done. I’ve bothered you for long enough. Surely you’d like some rest before our journey tomorrow.”
Shaking my head, I slide off the bed. The cool title greets the naked soles of my feet. With both of us on the ground, my head barely grazes the center of his chest. My thighs are the size of his upper arms. My mouth goes dry as I crane my neck back to stare at him. Dampness spreads along my inner thighs.
“I’ve done enough resting.” My hands grip the silk sheet to my chest. “I thought I was going to die today. I vowed to myself in those final moments that if I somehow made it out, I would live—truly live.”
Qurill nods. I can feel his stare going through me, glimpsing into my soul. Whatever he finds there makes his eyes dance like blue flames.
“Will you help me do that? Give me today and show me things no other human has seen before I return to reality tomorrow.”
As I spoke, our bodies drifted closer. His chest is barely an inch away from grazing my cheek. I breathe in his scent of seawater and the faint traces of sandalwood. I want to lick the salty droplets from his skin and feel his weight on top of me. My body prickles with awareness, beyond desperate to feel his touch.
