Page 54 of Broken Hearted
I slipped the crystal back into my satchel and followed Adrieninto the waves. I wanted to talk with him first and try to smooth things over from last night but there was no time now. He reached his hand out to steady me as I trod water and I gave him an apologetic look. He just returned it with a sad smile and a nod. Like it was okay. Okay that he’d told me he thought I was his mate, and I’d said nothing.
Dawn would kill me if she knew how much I screwed that up.
As we swam out to meet the merfolk I appreciated the clothes that Kira had given me the day before. They didn’t impede any of my movements or tangle my legs like my nightgown had, and were so light and buoyant I didn’t feel bogged down. But there was still something that was holding me back.
“If we are attacked, it would be easier to help fight if we didn’t have these dampener runes concealing our powers,” I complained to Adrien.
Kira swam up alongside me and gave me a radiant smile as I floated in the cove beside her. “I can help with that.” She lifted her long blue nails above the water and clacked them together, indicating I turn around.
A shock of excitement ran through me.
“Really?” I asked.
She nodded, and then I gave her my back.
I expected her to cut through the dampener rune right away, but she didn’t. I glanced over my shoulder at her and she had a frown on her face.
“I should warn you,” she said. “Seelie magic is somewhat unpredictable around the belly of the sea. When we get close to it, you may not be able to use your powers, even after I cut this rune away.”
“We saw that yesterday,” I said, thinking of how Mathis’s magic just gave out on him. “Hopefully my magic holds up. Either way, I need to be free of this rune.”
Kira nodded, and I faced forward again.
“It only hurts for a moment,” she said, and before I had time to even think about her words I felt a sharp slice between my shoulder blades. I hissed but then the pain was soon gone and I felt the floodgates open on my power.
The momentary pain was worth it. I’d go through worse pain than that to get my magic back. When the dampener rune was on, it was like I’d been missing a part of my physical body. I could still function, but I hadn’t felt whole.
I thanked her and then she ducked underwater, saying she needed to talk to some of her warriors before we left. Glancing over, I watched a merman slice at Adrien’s chest too. Once the green rune dissipated, he sucked in a big breath of air, closing his eyes to savor the moment. I could tell he was feeling the same thing I was. Relief. Joy. The rightness of having our magic returned.
He opened his eyes, and our gazes connected for a second and something indefinable but still powerful passed between us. I had the urge to swim closer to him, to reach out and touch him. I wanted to feel the warmth and smoothness of his skin beneath my fingers, but then a merman swam in between us, shattering the moment.
“Hello,” the merman said and I blinked up at him. It took longer than it should for me to recognize him as the one who’d saved me the day before.
“It’s you,” I said, smiling back at him. “I never properly thanked you for saving my life.”
The merman returned my smile, his eye crinkling in the corners. I didn’t know if merfolk aged like seelie did, but if so, I’d say he was only a small handful of years older than me.
“My name is Marlin,” he told me. “And it was truly my pleasure.” He dipped his head and then peered back at me. “I’m glad to see that you are well.” His tone was nothing but friendly, but I caught a glimpse of Adrien over Marlin’s shoulder. The Ethereum lord was frowning at us as his gaze bounced between me and the merman. Unveiled envy shone in his eyes.
I almost laughed. Adrien had nothing to be jealous about. As much as I kept telling myself I didn’t want him, he was truly the only man who filled my thoughts, but I still got a small thrill thinking he might be jealous.
“Well, if you hadn’t breathed air into my mouth, I would have died,” I told the merman seriously.
Marlin didn’t get a chance to answer before Adrien’s angry voice filled the air.
“What?” he swam over, shoving Marlin away from me. “Youkissedher?” He ground the words out through clenched teeth, his body practically vibrating with barely controlled rage.
“Of course not,” Marlin said, shaking his head as he glanced at Adrien’s furious face and then he put another foot of space between them. “She was about to drown so I breathed air into her and then used my magic to allow her temporarily to breathe and communicate underwater.”
His words didn’t seem to assuage Adrien, who just glared atMarlin. Taking my hand, Adrien pulled me closer to him and a swarm of butterflies took flight in my belly.
Stars help me, but I was in trouble because part of me enjoyed seeing him riled up like this.
“I assure you, it was only to save her life,” Marlin explained, but then grimaced. “But I do need to use my magic on her again.”
A noise rumbled in Adrien’s chest that sounded a lot like a warning growl.
“I don’t need to use my mouth to do that since we’re not under the water,” Marlin quickly added. “She was drowning before and I had to give her air quickly. I just have to put my hands beside her face, that’s all. I promise.”
