Damarian (A Merman's Kiss Novel) (3 page)

Do you think it is my wish to see the human again?

He shrugs. Had he seen the brief moment we shared?

I push past him.
You have nothing to fear. I have no wish to see the human. It is my duty to mate with Princess Flora and take the crown
.

He inclines his head.
Forgive me. It is only that you have always had a curiosity about humans. I worried it was your desire to join them
.

I cannot imagine living on land with humans
, I mutter with disgust.
I envy their freedom, that is all
.

He inclines his head again.

My twin brothers, Syd and Syndin, hurry toward me as I enter the cave that is my home. I grab each one and toss them over my shoulders.

“Me as well, Dammy!” Zarya says.

It is quite difficult, for I only have two arms. I balance Syd on my right shoulder before wrapping my arm around Zarya and throwing her over her brother. She squeals.

“Where have you been?” Syndin asks as I swim deeper into my home.

“He has gone to Eteria!” Zarya says, seeming proud that she has the knowledge Syndin lacks.

“That is not so. Father has gone to seek King Palaemon and he has not returned with Damarian.” Syd frees himself from my hold and nods to me. “I am correct, am I not?”

“Yes, I have not been to Eteria since yesterday.”

Zarya shifts her small frame until she floats before me. “Then where have…?” Her eyes widen to the size of the largest shell in the sea. “You have gone exploring! Why have you not taken me with you?”

I wrap my tail around hers. “Do not fret, for I did not explore. And you are aware that Father does not allow you to explore without him at your side.”

She lifts her chin. “I shall be safe at your side.”

“This is so tiresome,” Syndin mumbles. “All she wishes to do is explore the sea.”

“And all you wish to do is compete with Syd!”

He folds his arms across his chest. “That is what is required of brothers.” He turns to Syd. “Is it not?”

Syd shrugs.

Mother enters the room and smiles when she sees me. “The little ones are prepared to eat. Will you eat as well?”

“Yes, Mother.”

She surveys the area. “Where is Doria?”

“She shares her time with Hareta,” Zarya says. “
Again
.” Her eyes roll backward.

“Zarya, do not mock your sister,” Mother says. “When you have as many moons as her, you will devote most of your hours to your friends as well.”

She shakes her head. “No, I shall not. When I have as many moons as Doria, Father will no longer treat me as a fry and I will have the freedom to explore the sea as much as I wish.”

Mother laughs before kissing her cheek. “Come eat.”

The little ones sit at the stone table located in the center of the room while Mother and I retrieve the fish we have stored in small oyster shells. We join them.

As I devour my third fish, a Sapphire enters our home. My good friend, Neren. He inclines his head to Mother and the fry before nodding to me.

“Welcome, Neren,” Mother says with a smile. “It has been a while since I have seen you. Your special Violet takes most of your time.”

Neren lowers his head as he returns the smile. He has been my good friend since we were fry and has often spent many hours here with me and my brother, Kiander. But he has not visited as of late, for he has found a female whom has taken his heart.

“I promise I shall visit more often,” he tells Mother.

“Will you join us?” She gestures to the table, where oyster shells and fish bones rest.

“Thank you, Kiandra. That is most generous. But I am afraid I have already dined.” His gaze moves to me. “I wish to speak to Damarian as soon as he has finished.”

I gather the fish bones into an oyster shell and rise from my seat. “I am finished.” I touch the top of Zarya, Syndin, and Syd’s heads, and nod to Mother. “I shall see you all soon.”

Neren and I swim out of the Sapphire colony, where I deposit the bones on the sea floor. He and I journey a short distance to an area where we will have privacy. We lower ourselves on rocks with flat surfaces.

“How are you?” he asks.

“I am well, thank you. Yourself?”

“I am well as well.”

From the expression on his face, it is quite obvious that he is more than “well.” His face shines very brightly. I can only equate it to the sun, which I see when I swim close to the surface.

“And your family?” I ask.

“Well, thank you. Illeria will give birth to her fry soon.”

His sister is the mother of five fry and will soon have her sixth. I cannot help the thoughts that strike my mind, of the fry I will have with the princess. The clans would want us to produce an heir. I close my eyes, for I do not wish to think about this.

Neren lifts off his rock and plucks seaweed off the sea floor. He returns to his seat and bends it in his hands.

“You are not at ease,” I say.

His gaze meets mine for a moment before returning to the seaweed. “I suppose there are many thoughts on my mind. As there is on yours.”

Yes, but I do not wish to discuss what lies in my head. I derive much enjoyment from my friendship with Neren, for we discuss many pleasant subjects. But now that we have many moons, our thoughts have drifted to other matters, such as females and mating and the future.

“Pelina and I…” His words are interrupted by a swallow.

“Yes?” I ask.

When he raises his head, I see that two suns have rested on his face. His smile is so wide that my own lips lift. “We are to be mated.”

I bound off my seat and lay my hands on his shoulders. “That is wonderful news!”

He rises off his seat so he can accept my embrace. I wrap my tail around his a little too vigorously. “Thank you, my friend.” His smile wanes as he stares down at the seaweed in his hands. “Our relationship has not been as easy one. We argue, we grow upset. At times, I am not certain I wish to be in the same area as her.” He looks at me and his smile returns. “But I am positive she is the right mate for me.”

It feels as though I have swallowed a rock and it presses my stomach. “How are you certain?”

He looks far in the distance as he contemplates my words. “Because I love her. I do not believe I can live without her. Even when I am upset with her, I wish to see her lovely face.” He laughs lightly. “When she yells at me, I wish to kiss her.” He shakes his head. “I cannot describe it, but I do not have these feelings with another being, and I do not think I will ever.”

I feel as though I have swallowed another rock.

“Damarian…”

“Yes?”

“You do not agree with some of the others, do you? That it is unfit for me to mate with a female of the Violet clan?”

It is not unheard of to mate with a child from another clan, but it is not very common. Each clan differs so greatly from the other that many believe it would be impossible to spend all eternity together. Perhaps the reason Neren and Pelina have struggled with their relationship for the past twelve moons is due to the fact that they have many differences. But that is not a reason not to mate.

“If your heart yearns for Pelina, then you must have her,” I tell him. “It is not odd for you to choose a Violet. I am to be mated with a Violet as well.”

“You are correct,” Neren says. “It appears we shall both mate with females from the same clan.” He no longer appears as apprehensive as before.

Yes, but one of us does not love the female he will mate with. The feelings Neren described, of loving Pelina even when she upsets him…what does that feel like?

“The clans will be united once you and the princess mate,” he says. “There will no longer be such disparity between them. I believe more will befriend and mate with children from other clans. It will be a different world.”

Yes, while the next king and queen create a better life for the children of the sea, will they be creating a better life for themselves as well?

Am I destined to be mated to someone I do not love for all eternity?

No, I
will
love the princess. She will be my mate and the mother of my fry. I will treat her with the upmost care and cherish her. I will be glad to awaken at her side every morning and she will be the last thought in my head when I close my eyes at night. We will be happy. I declare it will be so.

***

Neren and I spend most of the day conversing and visiting with our other acquaintances. When I enter the Sapphire clan, Doria rushes toward me. “Mother has sent me to search for you.”

Alarm captures every part of my being. “What is the matter? Is she ill? The fry?”

She shakes her head. “Fret not. It is the princess. She wishes to see you.”

The princess. My future mate. “I see.”

“We must not keep her waiting.”

I follow my sister toward my home. Immediately, I notice a hammerhead shark stationed outside the cave. When I swim inside, I find a Violet floating to the right of the main room, his arms held behind his back. Mother sits at the table, appearing a bit uneasy, though she seems more relaxed now that I have arrived. Doria remains behind me, and I hear the little ones playing in their rooms.

I swallow before heading to the Violet, and lower my head. “Forgive me for causing you to wait.”

He inclines his head. “Princess Flora wishes to see you.”

I glance at Mother, who gives me a reassuring smile. Is she not invited? What of Father? Is he still in Eteria?

“It is impolite to keep the princess waiting, my darling,” Mother tells me.

I wish I could ask my escort what the occasion is. Every time I have visited the palace in the past, my parents accompanied me. And unlike the other times when the king and queen invited me, it appears now it is Flora who wishes to see me. Alone.

That causes my stomach to fill with dread.

“Sapphire,” my escort says.

I nod and follow him out of the opening to the cave. The hammerhead shark swims between us as we swim toward Eteria. I do not remember the travel, for I am consumed with thoughts. I have seen the princess only yesterday. Why does she wish to see me again? Perhaps she only wishes to learn about me, for I know it will not be long until we are required to mate.

The Violet does not lead me to where the royal family sits on their thrones. He swims upward, toward the rooms on the upper level of the castle. He swims further before stopping outside a room.

“Princess Flora,” he calls.

“Yes?”

“I announce Damarian of the Sapphire clan.”

“He may enter.”

He nods to me. I swallow once again before tentatively moving inside. I have been in her room only once, as a fry. She wished to show me the tiara she would wear when she was old enough, the one that now sits on her head. The one she will present to her future daughter.

Our future daughter.

I shake my head and move further inside. Flora reclines on a large rectangular crystal chair. Her eyes move over me, from the top of my head to my fin. She smiles. “You may take your leave,” she tells the Violet.

I bow before her.

“At ease,” she says.

I lower my hands and raise my head. “To what do I owe the pleasure, Your Highness?”

Her eyes narrow slightly. “Why do you linger at the entryway as though you are a stranger?”

I want to tell her I
am
a stranger. I move closer until I am only a few tails away from her.

“Yes, that is better.” She rises off the chair and swims toward me. She does not stop until she is so close that her tail nearly touches mine.

My gaze remains on her tail, for I cannot meet her eyes. It is identical to mine, save for the difference in color. When she is queen, her tail will appear different, more luminous and beautiful. Just as mine shall be.

The princess raises her hand and brings it to my chest. “You are quite handsome, my mate.”

“I am not your mate.”

“But you shall be soon. And we will have fun, will we not? Is it not your wish to get close to me? I have lived in this palace all my moons. I do not often leave. I wish to have fun.”

Is that all I shall be to her? Fun?

I turn away from her, to the wall. She squeezes between me and the wall and touches my cheek. “What is the use in waiting? We are to be mated soon. I do not wish to wait another day.”

It is too soon. I cannot…I am not prepared. I do not feel anything for her. I wish I did. I want to. She will be my mate and I wish to love and cherish her for all eternity. But I do not feel anything toward her.

I move away from her. “I must return home. Zarya waits for me.”

“Another female?” Her tone is appalled and betrayed.

I look at her. “Zarya, my sister.”

The betrayal leaves her face. “Ah, your sister.”

“I have spoken of my sister many times to you.”

She looks down. “Forgive me. I have forgotten her name.”

Or perhaps she does not care to know. “I am to take my leave now. Goodbye, Your Highness.” I bow.

“Goodbye, my mate. I am sure we will see each other shortly.”

I do not wait for an escort to lead me home.

***

It is nighttime and the little ones have gone to bed.

Doria enters my room. “Zarya does not want to sleep unless you wish her good night.”

I nod and swim toward her room.

“Damarian?” Doria says.