Not like a dragonfly in shape, but in texture—I had fairy wings. They were long, iridescent, and had three separate sections. The top reached high into peaks, the middle was the smallest, and the bottom jutted out until it flared and draped behind me.
“Wings?” I asked. “What use do Water Fae have with wings? I thought they would have…”
“Fins?” he smirked.
“Well… yeah,” I said.
“They do have fins—but only when they’re submerged. On land they’re stuck with legs, and those things are useless—fatiguing after only minutes, no matter how much strength training. I’m not much of a Water Fae historian, but somehow, long ago, they convinced the creator to give them wings—so they could move above-water without collapsing,” he informed.
“So the Water Fae have wingsandfins… wow. That’s incredible,” I said.
“No, Delilah. Don’t let this shimmery bullshit fool you. They’re complaining, weak, pathetic beings who govern with emotion instead of logic. Don’t forget—they’re the enemy.” They assisted in murdering all of my troops and commanding officers in Ickeriss. They are deadly… no matter how beautiful,” he said, his voice trailing off at the end like he’d slipped into an unpleasant memory.
I had almost forgotten. With the night I had, how could I have forgotten the war and everything at stake? And yet my focus snagged on that last word—beautiful—and I wondered if that was what he thought about the Water Fae female we were visiting today.
The question was on the tip of my tongue, but then— “We’re here,” he announced.
We finally reached surface level. Sunlight beamed in through a window above. The spiral staircase led to a small, inconspicuous stone building with a simple wooden door.
“While we are here, we are going to practice shield projecting,” he said.
“Here? Why?” I asked.
“Where else could be a better spot to perfect my skills than here in Coralis Falls?” he replied.
Then he opened the wooden door, and my eyes drank in the splendor of the city.
Every building was constructed out of different hues and textures of coral. Windows and doorways bored through giant clusters of colorful sea rock to create homes and businesses. Each towering cluster of coral was connected by channels of water where Water Fae could swim like liquid streets. There were also bridges and sidewalks for visitors, and hundreds of flying Fae above. Their wings—variationsof butterflies and insects—filled the air with a humming buzz, second only to the thunderous crashing of the waterfalls surrounding the city.
“Because water is a little more forgiving than lava,” he added with a smirk.
“We stepped into the wading pool to merge into traffic… The moment the water hit my thighs, our wings vanished—and fins like mermaid tails sealed around our legs. My fin glowed a bright sea-foam green, luminous, and unbelievably beautiful beneath the sparkling water. The little girl in me would have lost her mind knowing that one day I would actually become the mermaid I used to pretend to be in the bathtub.
“Woah!!!” I cried as I flopped forward. He laughed at my expense.
Our fins were the same color as our hair.
“Okay. I’m going to project my shield onto your shoulders so you can still swim. If it holds, your hair stays dry—if it fails, you’ll feel the water immediately.”
“Ok… but can I breathe underwater? I thought a glamour was just a costume,” I asked.
“No, you cannot. But the shield will wrap a bubble of air around you. It should be enough to get you to the archives building,” he replied. “Should be?” I shot back.
“Trust, Pickles, remember?” He gave me a sly smile as he held my hand.
Instantly, my body longed for him. Every time he affectionately called me Pickles, my heart skipped. Having gone so long without hearing it, the name melted me even more now.
An orb of energy formed around Titus’s head and shoulders, then migrated down his arm and rolled up mine. The sensation was tingly. Even in this form, I could feel his heat caress me. The orb stopped once it was in place on my shoulders, and I could breathe its air freely. Another shielding orb formed on his shoulders. He held my hand and we fully submerged.
The shield was working. I could breathe, and my hair was dry. I sighed in relief.
He looked back and smiled, pleased with himself. The channel’s current grabbed us, dragging us deep under the surface, and shot us forward with rapid speed.
Titus swam in front of me while grasping my hand, guiding me where to go. We definitely looked like imposters, swimming in the channel for the first time, but the other busy commuting Water Fae didn’t pay us any attention.
We zipped through the channel, through the heart of the city, then veered right as we curved around and headed in a different direction. I couldn’t tell which way was up or down, let alone east or west.
He looked back at me again and—damn—mermaid version of Titus was hot. But then again, I hadn’t seen a version of him I didn’t like.
