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Keeping a close eye on the swell of the ocean, I took a few steps back and did a running jump off the edge of the cliff.
The air bit into me as I plunged toward the ocean, and the moment I hit the water my tail burst into existence, ripping my trousers into several pieces.
I beat my tail, slicing through the rough current with ease, and I dove into the depths in search of Ben. Down below, I caught sight of him.
He flailed his arms and legs as he tried to fight the current, which dragged him down to the sea floor. A battle he was fast losing.
I swam down to him and wrapped an arm around his torso. With three beats of my tail, I propelled us toward the surface.
Ben drew in a ragged breath the second we broke the surface. The sound had relief swelling within me.
“Are you okay?” I asked, though he was facing away from me.
“I’m fine. Where’s Morty?” Ben asked, looking around.
“He’s dead, Ben.”
Ben’s shoulders sagged, his body withdrawing in my arms. I had to get him to shore.
“How the hell are you swimming so fast?” Ben cried over the laps of the waves.
I didn’t answer him. There would be no hiding my secret from him, but even after our alliance, could I trust him with it?
Could I trust an Everhart with a secret so close to my heart?
I swam us to the nearest stretch of beach and pulled Ben as far out of the water as I could.
“Gods…” Ben whispered as he caught sight of my tail.
My head dipped down, and I stared at his blood-stained collar. I couldn’t look him in the eye.
His fingers wrapped under my chin, and he levered my head back up to meet his gaze.
“You’re a mermaid?” he murmured. “I… never knew.”
“Neither did I,” I said. “Not until recently.”
“When?”
“The night your brother ran me off that cliff.”
For a moment, we stared into each other’s eyes, and nowhere in his could I detect even a hint of malice. Maybe I imagined the protection I saw there, or maybe Ben really could see how vulnerable I was at that moment.
“I know we’re supposed to hate each other,” I said. “But… could you keep this between us? Just until I’m ready?”
Ben didn’t answer. Instead, he pulled me to his lips.
I sank into his kiss as his hand ran around my lower back, pulling my body against his. With a violent twitch, my tail turned back into legs. But I didn’t care.
Every worry I had melted into oblivion as he kissed me. My hands travelled up his back, revelling in every inch of him they could reach.
Suddenly, the feud didn’t exist anymore. Not between us, anyway. I had never felt so weightless before. Now I owned his secret and he mine, we had forged a trust between us that would have seemed impossible just a week prior. Somehow, that bond lifted the crushing pressure of the feud from my shoulders.
“If we’re supposed to hate each other so much,” Ben murmured against my lips. “Why did you save me?”
A tear burned the corner of my eye. Thank goodness we were both so wet, he hopefully wouldn’t notice.
“Maybe this time last week I would have saved you so our families wouldn’t kill each other,” I said. “But today I saved you because I couldn’t bear for you to die.”
