A transfiguration potion. Little magic. Not very powerful. But it would enable him to walk on land for a full day rather than just a few hours. Adrian was sure this was all he would need tofindIsa.
He had to be careful. Once he drank this potion, it would become like poison to him. He couldn't drink it again, not for at least anothermonth.
Adrian had to make this daycount.
He popped off the cork and tilted the potion back into his mouth, ignoring his gag reflex and forcing himself to swallow. A pain rolled in his gut, and he grimaced as his fin turned intotwolegs.
Wobbling worse than yesterday, Adrian retrieved his pants from the hidden nook in the cove, along with a shirt and sandals he’d found on the yacht before he returned to the water. He put them on and started walking around tofindIsa.
Adrian followed his instincts. He knew they would lead him to Isa, wherevershewas.
She wasn't in Coral Bay. That much he could feel. She was outside of it, not too far away but not too close. Adrian got on a bus and rode it until he could feel the pull inside of him screaming togetoff.
He disembarked in a large city, a touristy area with shops and towns. Adrian kept his head down and ignored the giggles of the beautiful girls that passed him by as he left the towns and entered a college campus. He was only looking for onewoman.
He was nervous. Adrian had never been this far from the sea before. Even now there was a burning feeling in his chest that made it uncomfortable to be so distant from thewater.
But the burning wasn't the worst problem. If he couldn't get back in time before the potion wore off, there’d be biggerproblems.
He would die. Mermaids couldn't last long out of water, not without extensive magic. Eventually he’d turn back, and his lungs would no longer breathe the oxygen in the air without water tofiltrateit.
The risk of death would be worth it, tofindIsa.
Adrian wandered around campus until his gut led him to an aquarium on a lake near the food courts. He entered the aquarium and paid for a ticket, looking around at the various sea folk contained in glasstanks.
Adrian always thought it was funny humans sought to keep fish in tanks, but hey, they were humans. There wasn’t much use in trying to explain anything they did. The fish followed him as he ventured through the aquarium. They knew who he was and whispered to him to let them out. Adrian felt sorry for them, but at the same time, knew there wasn’t much he could do. He could release these fish, but the humans would find others to take their place— not to mention he’d blow hiscover.
Finally, he found her. There she was, sitting on the edge of a fountain and bent over a textbook. Her hair was pulled back, there were square glasses on her face, and she was frantically scribbling something into a notebook. She was wearing an orange shirt with a dolphin insignia— the aquarium’s logo— with jeans and white tennis shoes that were impeccablyclean.
“I didn’t know you worked here,” Adrian said, and Isa’s head snapped up with a start. She was so surprised she reeled backward, and her eyes widened as she careened toward thefountain.
Adrian caught her just before she hit water. He held her body close… he could hear her frantic breathing, and the quick beating of her heart against his firmchest.
This was everything he everwanted.
“Uh, hey.” Isa parted a strand of hair behind her ear, still wrapped within his arms. She blushed slightly pink, and Adrian thought it was unbearably cute. “How’d youfindme?”
“I was just looking around,” Adrian lied. He brought her up to a standing position and put her on two feet. Only then did heletgo.
He gestured to the notebook. “Working onhomework?”
“Just got off my shift,” she said. “I was finishing up an essay I had that’s due tomorrow. Biology.” She blushed again andlookeddown.
What was it about her that was so irresistible? He wasn’t sure, but he wanted to drag her back to the sea again… show her who he truly was, not this mask that he was forcedtowear.
“You all right? I’ve been thinking about you,” Adrian confessed. Talking to her was so easy. They’d just met, only barely talked, but it was like he’d known herforever.
“Yeah. I’m still recovering, but the doctor said by tomorrow I’ll be back to normal,” she said. “Thanks again for savingmylife.”
He shrugged and gave her a smile. “No thanksneeded.”
He picked up the book and rifled through it. “Biology, huh? You left out that it wasmarine.”
“I want to be a marine biologist,” she said. “Sorry if it’snerdy.”
She truly did sound sorry. Why? Adrian thought it was cool. She already had a love for the ocean, for the animals that lived there. She couldn’t have picked a more perfect career. “I don’t think it’s nerdy. And if it is, so what? To be a marine biologist, you’ve got to be really smart. That’s prettybadass.”
She sighed. “Some people think it’sstupid.”
