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I nod in greeting. “Keri, uh, Keriwyn, librarian,” I reply and immediately feel like an idiot.
Of course he knows who I am. Adiele said my name the moment they came inside. And then I just had to give him my real name? I never tell anyone my name because it’s embarrassing. Mostly because my parents haven’t a drop of Irish heritage or culture in them but got “creative” because it sounded Irish and magical to them. It was simply wishful thinking on their part, thinking that perhaps that a “magical” sounding name would give them an exceptionally magically gifted daughter.
Clearly not.
That doesn’t stop Ro from looking like it’s the best thing since sliced bread. His lips move quietly over the letters as he repeats my name to himself, and I imagine that he’s caressing each sound with his mouth every time he says it.
I look over at Adiele, silently begging her for help. My friend sucks in her cheeks and shrugs apologetically, clearly leaving me up to take care of the situation myself. I bite back a disappointed groan and smile patiently at Ro.
“Here, I’ll help you fill these in, and then you can just put whatever mark represents your signature at the bottom.”
He nods slowly as he considers. “That is acceptable. Please print my request at the bottom to be paired with you. I want my request on this matter to be clear.”
I bite my cheek but agree as I begin the process of walking him through the paperwork and filling out each question one by one, sometimes having to stop and correct a response when he realizes afterwards that he didn’t quite understand the question right. It takes time, but the few people who come in are the usual stragglers who just like to browse and take some notes. They wave to me as they pass, and I make a mental note that they are here so that I can write it down in the log while I continue to fill in every response on Ro’s behalf.
“It usually takes three or four days for someone from the Arcane Society to get back to applicants, but you’re such a rare case that you may hear back from them first thing,” I point out as I work on finalizing the papers in front of me.
A look of regret passes over the male’s face, and he shakes his head. “I cannot tomorrow. It is the full moon, and those who are called to the sea are bidden to return if they do not have the necessary supplement—and I do not.”
“Thanks to the Underidge coven and all their sneaky bullshit,” my friend mutters.
I grimace sympathetically and note that too. It’s finally done, and I sigh with relief as I slip it into a large envelope that will be set aside for Mr. Clarence to collect this evening. I’m both relieved and a little sad when Adiele practically hauls him out the door so that I can return to work.
It makes me wonder about her silence followed by that sudden pushiness. I didn’t think she was into him last night when she spoke of him—and I have no doubt that he’s the male she meant—and gods, let’s hope not! But now I’m not so sure. Although Ro is obviously flirty, is it possible that there is something going on between the two of them? And why does that depress me?
I sigh as I return to work. It’s not my business anyway, so there is no use torturing myself over it. In all likelihood, I won’t see him again unless I run into him when he’s with Adiele. There’s no reason to give it another thought.
But I do. And I continue thinking of him well into the night. And this time when I sleep, the merman has a face when he makes me his.
Ro
The phone callfrom the male who introduces himself as Thomas Clarence comes at an obscenely early hour in the morning. Especially since I just returned from the sea as the sun rose over the water and stretched out on my bed. The motel I stay at is not entirely necessary, but I enjoy resting in it as humans do and having one place to keep my belongings while I am on land. I was unable to rest yesterday or much at all the last two nights, too eager to see Keri again.
I squint at the clock on the nightstand after I hang up with him and scowl. Barely past seven in the morning. That may be normal for many humans—I protest it with everything that I am. It’s simply not natural to be up so early, when the sun is low in the sky. I can’t remain irritated, however, not when Mr. Clarence gave me exactly what I asked for. Or rather, in his eagerness to begin the study, he gave mewhoI asked for. My Keri.
I smile at that as I slip from the bed. I will be meeting my female at the Occult Library and proceeding with her from there to a building established for arcane work. It is there that I will have Keri all to myself for hours, not just today but every day. We may have to work around it when I am forced to return to the water, but now that eventuality is not my most immediate concern, not when I’ve found my song.
It’s a marvel that it could be this easy. It is all too tempting to lure Keri into a mating embrace immediately. My lure is potent and ready to burrow into her power and ensnare her to me. It may not be playing fair by human standards, but I don’t feel guilty about considering it either. After all, there are many females of my species who prefer to entice human men into her carefully selected and prepared flirting ground—and occasionally wrecking ships in the process. And still humans love their “mermaids,” so I see nothing wrong with my plan.
As I get ready, I entertain myself with thoughts of how it might go. I wonder if she will yield and come into my embrace on her own or if she will require cajoling with little tugs of the lure upon her magic. The small barbs under my skin itch to come out and secure her to my body once I am close enough, but I immediately dismiss that as foolish. Even with humans, the mating embrace needs to be done in water. In the air and dry it is too easy to damage the delicate skin of the female… and there are other risks.
And despite the insidious temptation that coils through me, my heart is not into it. While I know that there are Aquanas who have bonded with their human mates by keeping them secluded with them on some tiny, far-flung island, it’s not what I truly want. I want Keri’s smiles and laughter, as well as her tenderness and affection. But more than anything, I want her to run eagerly to me because she wishes to. While I’m not above playing this game of studies to bring us together so that I have an opportunity to win her, everything else I want to be real.
With the way she reacts to me, I am also confident it will happen. I just need to be a patient hunter, which is unfortunately easier said than done.
My optimism puts me in good spirits as I leave the small motel by the harbor and make my way into the small seaside town. Although I know that this little town is near a larger city, I’m glad that I found my female here. It certainly makes the walk to the library a pleasant one, if a little crisp. It is the human month of September, and so the summer warmth is waning. I can scent the change of the season in the air as autumn settles in further. It will begin to get cooler soon, but the seas will remain pleasant for a while longer yet. It won’t last long, however, and I don’t risk being swept far away by a storm if I’m forced to return to the sea every month on the full moon.
Perhaps I need to start scouting for a protected spot to make my nest. I consider this as I walk, turning over some of the possibilities I saw yesterday since I had nothing better to do with my time than swim around the area. By habit I stayed far from the human boats, which took me farther from the human harbors, but there were some good options and I still have quite a bit of the human wealth I brought with me. The heavy belt hung with its full pouches of gold is hidden away. All I have is the watertight sealskin pouch filled with many papers that serve as human currency from the last time I sold some of my coins.
I rub my jaw and ruminate. I will need to locate a buyer for the gold so that I have enough to buy land and to build a comfortable home for the two of us—preferably one that opens directly into the water from inside so that we will both be comfortable. I can get things started and then give Keri free rein to make the space suitable to her needs once she decides that she also cannot live without me.
This is a good plan, I decide, and I am smiling as I hurry to the entrance of the library. Pleasure stirs within my chest when I open the door and am immediately greeted with the scent and sight of my female behind her desk. She looks up at me and her eyebrows shoot up.
“You’re here!”
I don’t know what to think of how surprised she sounds, and I give her a puzzled look as I attempt to work through it. Her cheeks turn red, and she gives an embarrassed chuckle that worms into my heart and fills it with warmth.
“Sorry, that probably sounded strange. Last I heard, Mr. Clarence was complaining about his difficulty in getting ahold of you.”
