Evergreen (Mer Tales, Book 2) (25 page)

:::

FIN

Friday morning, April 22
^nd

I awoke to my body whipping in the current as something dragged me by my bound wrists. I fanned out my fins to stop.

“You refuse to die, pretty boy.” Alaster chuckled darkly and yanked my body harder. “You’re a catfish with your nine lives.”

“Where are you taking me?” I muttered through the thick coat of smoky grime in my throat.

“I’ve changed my mind. You’re better to me alive than dead. There’s a reward for anyone who brings you in and someone has to pay for Colin’s death.” He laughed evilly. “You’ll make great bait for that tasty lass of yours, if she survived, and for Jack. Finally, my brother will get what he deserves and the King will have to reward me with a princess after all this—your princess I’m hoping.”

“Never!” I gritted my teeth and with a quick yank, I pulled myself free from his grasp.

I inhaled the fresh snowy water, gaining strength. We faced off for a moment in the current. Faster than I could dodge, he whipped his tail around and sliced me in the side. My vision clouded as my muscles involuntarily relaxed from his poison.

“You’re still susceptible? Incredible!” He sneered as he reached for the rope strung between my wrists. “I bet you Jack never shared with you that you could build up immunity. My brother, the pacifist.”

I swam backward and shook my head. There was a way to gain immunity to the poison? What was he talking about?

But I had the advantage. He didn’t know Colin survived. If I couldn’t fight Alaster now, maybe that would be my way out of this. Galadriel could switch Colin back and free me from prison with the truth. But was Ash okay? Did they survive the fire? “You’ll never win.”

“Really?” He sanded his hands together. “It’s your word against mine and I think they’ll believe me over a criminal.”

His tail whacked me again. The pinch from his poisonous barb made me yelp. I drifted sideways in the current unable to stay upright. “Why are you doing this? You’re my uncle.”

“Why?” Alaster threw his head back and laughed. “Maybe you should ask your dad and his beta-wench. My brother: the golden child, the smarter one, the braver one, the one who could do no wrong. Even the late King Merric wished your dad were his own son. No one ever gave me a chance to shine.”

Jealousy and favoritism fueled his vitriol. My energy slipped. I worked to keep my eyes open, but just wanted to sleep. He’d take me into Natatoria and I’d have to await rescue. At least I’d see my sister. I had to hope Galadriel would care for Ash.

“And your little lass… she tasted sweet like honeysuckle,” he said in my ear. “I can’t wait to make her mine fully. She’ll give me another boy.”

Rage sizzled down my scales. I arched my back, swiveled my body, and looped the rope around Alaster’s neck. “What did you say?”

“Finley,” he choked, gripping the rope with his hands. “I can’t breathe.”

“Did you kiss Ash? Tell me!”

“I thought you were dead. I couldn’t help myself. Please—”

I pulled tighter. Alaster thrashed around but his tail couldn’t reach me. “You don’t deserve to live, Uncle. And if Ash or anyone dies because of you—”

Alaster gagged.

“Fin! Stop!” Galadriel swam up with Jax behind her.

“I have to end it,” I said venomously. “He kissed Ash and chopped off her fingers.”

“No!” She held up her hands. “Not like this. You’ll be no better than him. He needs to deal with his demons on Bone Island where the dead will torment him until he reaches Hades. They deserve the right to usher him from life unto death. Stop! I command you!”

“I don’t want to take the chance he’ll escape,” I said through my teeth, giving Jax an evil eye.

Alaster’s body went limp beneath me.

“Not like this.” Galadriel caressed my arm. “Let go, Fin. Let’s do things the right way, starting now.”

I loosened my grip. Alaster floated away from me in the current, his tongue out of his mouth but his gills were moving.

“That’s good, Fin,” she said. “Jax, restrain Alaster.”

Her tiny fingers worked to untie the ropes around my wrists.

“He’ll be under Jax’s guard the entire time,” she said softly, “and he won’t let him out of his sight.”

Jax puffed out his chest. “Yup.”

Ferdinand appeared beside Jax, handing him an extra rope.

“And Ferd, too.” She smiled.

“Dude,” Jax said. “This slippery fish ain’t goin’ nowhere. Right, Ferd?”

Ferd looked off to the side as he normally did.

“You have to go, Fin.” Galadriel’s face grew abruptly serious. “Ash is worried sick about you.”

Ash.
I turned and pumped my tail hard. The lake would once again have another tidal wave incident, but I didn’t care.

All her silent distress in the pool clicked. She worried how I’d react to the kiss.

I needed to see my ginger girl and tell her I knew and that it didn’t matter. I loved her and our love could heal anything.

:::

ASH

Friday morning, April 22
^nd

My fin sprouted from my hips easily as I dove into the lake. Galadriel and Jax’s scents were fresh in the water, but Fin’s wasn’t anywhere to be found. They would have returned with Fin if they’d found him, so instead of following their trail, I darted over to the tunnel instead. Clean musk that I knew to be Fin’s infused the water along with stinky fish smell: Alaster. The bassface went in for Fin after we were rescued by the firemen and they’d recently left the basement together. Was Fin okay? I wanted to rip Alaster’s jugular from his throat and chop off his fingers.

My pulse thrummed as I sped along. I knew in my heart Fin was alive, but what did Alaster plan to do with him? What did he tell him? Were they in Natatoria already? Was Alaster taking him before the King? Going to Natatoria alone freaked me out, but I had to find Fin.

I wove past a large school of trout and veered to the left to follow the trail. The scents swirled and faded in the current, abruptly ending.

“Fin!” I called. “Are you here? Fin!”

Scared, the fish darted away, disturbing the water even more.

I returned to the spot where the scents were the strongest and swam in a circle, trying to pick up the trail. Everywhere I swam, the scent ended.

“Fin!” I cried. “Please…”

Knowing most likely they’d end up by the gateway, I swam down into the inky depths and entered the cave, terrified I’d find Alaster instead of Fin. The eerie blue light bounced against the water and created moving shadows along the walls, unnerving me. I froze in terror, remembering all that happened here.

“Fin,” I whispered in desperation. “Where are you?”

I sat in the spot where Alaster kissed me and looped my arms around my fin. They’d eventually come this way, so staying here might as well be where I waited. But this place haunted me, the burial ground of my severed fingers. Below me, something in the water sparkled. I swam down and found my pinkie and ring finger stuck between the rocks. I surfaced and held the appendages in my palm. They were pink, as if they were still alive.

Then the pinkie twitched. I shriek and flipped my hand. The fingers snapped onto my raw wounds like magnets.

A slow itch tingled over my skin. I didn’t move my hand at first, afraid the fingers would snap off. Involuntarily, they flexed. I touched the fingertips to my thumb. They had feeling. Beyond a tiny hairline scar, the fingers magically reattached themselves. I formed my hand into a fist and squeezed. Good as new.

The water undulated around me. A head of white hair swam up from the cave entrance below the water. Alaster. I screamed. My nightmare was about to relive itself.

Fin popped out of the water. “Ash! It’s me.”

“Oh, Fin.” My body heaved but I couldn’t move from the rock.

He spanned the distance between us and took my cheeks between his hands. He kissed me, hot and urgent. I melted into him, hugging him hard. He was alive and okay.

But then I pushed away. He had to know the truth.

“Stop,” I said. “You can’t. I’ve… Alaster…”

“Shhh,” Fin put his finger to my lips, “I know already.”

I blinked in disbelief. “You do? How?”

“He told me.” A sliver of darkness slid over his eyes.

Ashamed, I turned my face away from him. “Don’t look at me. I’m disgusting.”

Fin enfolded me in his arms and pressed his body against mine. “Why would you say that?”

“Because, for you, for the mers, kissing is like…”

He caressed my cheek, inviting me to look at him. “Without the promise, it’s just kissing.”

“But still.” I forced my face downward.

“He’s the filthy animal, not you. I love you.” He tilted my chin upward with his finger, holding me there. “My uncle broke the law. He violated you. For that you shouldn’t be ashamed.”

I wanted to believe him, but I couldn’t. Nothing changed the fact it happened.

Fin’s eyes narrowed. “My uncle can burn my home, try to kill me, take everything I own, but as long as I’m living, he can’t have you—actually, even in my death, he still can’t have you.”

“But I thought the promise bonded people, regardless of feelings, and they released when one died?”

A coy smile curved his lips. “The promise is just a way of survival for my people. My uncle is a prime example of how the promise isn’t a magic wand for love. He’s never been happy, even with my late Aunt Grace. You would have never guessed they were bonded. All he cared about was Colin’s happiness. Look how quickly that changed. I’m starting to understand the secret. The happiest mer couples are the ones who loved each other first. The promise enhances that relationship; otherwise it could eventually become a nuisance. I loved you before your accident with the boat on the lake.”

I sniffled. “So, you still want me?”

Fin rested his forehead against mine. “Of course I want you,” he whispered as he wrapped his hands around my jaw. “I’m connected, heart, mind, and soul to you. Please know that.”

He ran his hands down my sides and found my hands. Surprise lit his face as he felt over my newly attached fingers. “What?”

I smiled. “They reattached.”

“Wow.” he blinked in amazement and kissed each one. My scar tingled. “Now, my ginger girl, will you please come with me to Natatoria?”

I didn’t respond, my heart ping-ponging around in my ribcage. Though Fin wanted me, I wasn’t so sure Natatoria was the place for me anymore. What would my family think? My friends? Everyone?

“Ash, are you okay?”

“No.” I looked down, ashamed. “This isn’t at all how I wanted it to turn out—when I converted.”

He wrapped me up in his arms. “I know and you don’t know how sorry I am about that.”

“Maybe leaving isn’t such a good idea.”

Fin pulled back. The corners of his lips turned down. “What? Why?”

“Well, I mean—school is going to ask questions, my coach, and my friends and family. Colin has told everyone I’m leaving on a mission trip to Africa. They’re all going to see through that. It’s absurd.”

“Colin?”

I swallowed hard. “Ferdinand switched him back into a mer.”

“Oh.” His eyes tapered as he looked away. “So, are you suggesting we stay here in Tahoe?”

My eyes closed and I took a deep breath. “Or, you could change me back. Just for a while. So I can finish up school.”

With a groan he pushed his hand through his hair. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you.”

I blinked up at him in concern.

His countenance dropped. “If I change you back into a human, you’ll lose your memory.”

“What do you mean? You said I could keep my memories.”

“Until recently, no one ever explained specifically what happened to one’s memories after a conversion.”

“What?” I stiffened my shoulders.

“Colin’s a prime example. Did you think I made him forget everything after he accidentally converted in the basement?”

“But he remembered later. After he became a merman again, he remembered up until that point.”

Fin’s face fell in shock. “He what?”

“All he forgot was the time he was human. If you convert me, I’ll forget the kiss. I’ll only remember up to when Alaster fed me the essence. Then I could finish out high school and we could then talk about when it would be a good time for me to become a mermaid. Plan it better.”

“But, Ash…” He moved away from me.

“And you’d be free from the bond so it’s not so overwhelming.”

“Why are you saying this? Is it because Alaster kissed you?”

“No. Yes. I don’t know.”

How could he still love me after everything? I didn’t want to remember the kiss anymore.

He took me in his arms. “Ash, I don’t know where all of this is coming from. But I don’t want to take that chance with your memories, not to mention I can’t live in a world where I’m not with you. You’re my everything and the thought of losing you kills me. I know this is scary and that going to Natatoria won’t be easy, but I’ll be there. And once we rescue Tatiana and set the kingdom straight, we’ll come back and rebuild the house. I want to marry you on our beach in front of God and everyone, under the evergreens. Don’t you understand the depths of my love for you?”

I blinked back at him as my lip trembled.

“Please, Ash. Please don’t do this to me, to us.”

“You’ll bring me home to Tahoe?”

“Of course I will. Nothing has to change. I don’t want to go to Natatoria without you with me.”

His lips came crashing to mine, hard and wanting. I wrapped my hands around his neck and tangled them in his hair. He still desired me, even after everything. Our kiss, hot and delicious, zinged an electric trail down my body to my fin. Joyful tears sprang from my eyes. He loved me and was my life now, and all I wanted was him—forever—on land or water.