Tidal Whispers (12 page)

It took Nixie until dawn to find her way back to her cavern, gorging on fish to sustain her during hibernation. She planned to slip into a deep slumber and hope the wound in her heart might heal by the time she woke up.

Inside the darkness of her little space, she curled up in the corner where the water remained the stillest, her belly protruding with her meal. Deep breathing slowed her aching heart. The temperature in her body dropped a few degrees. Her mind drifted to a white nothing where thoughts of Wyatt were forbidden to enter, though for a moment, she thought she heard him calling for her again.

• • •

A sharp pain in her abdomen wrenched Nixie out of her slumber. A touch of her stomach found it even larger than when she went to sleep. Blinking in the darkness, she tried to sit up, but her stomach muscles clenched all at once and stopped. How long had she slept? An hour? A day? Had she eaten too much and reacted badly to it? Weakness in the rest of her body let her know she’d slept several months at least. Why did her belly feel so large and hard beneath her hands?

The cramping came in waves. She writhed on the floor of her cavern, certain she would soon go to the Undergarden. An urge to push down gave her some relief as the tension in her middle worsened. Something popped between her legs. When she reached down, she found a tiny head with hair. Her eyes grew wide. Shoulders emerged, followed by the rest of a small body. Instinct urged her to pull the little one to her chest and cradle it, to clean its pale hair. Stunned, Nixie rested, her limbs shaking. She looked down to find the child staring up at her with familiar blue eyes, like the sky before a storm.

Wyatt’s eyes.

The oxygen seemed to disappear from the water, inducing a surge of panic. Still cradling her young, Nixie swam out of the cavern and darted for the surface. She broke through and coughed the water from her lungs, gulping down as much air as her body would take. Once certain she wouldn’t suffocate, Nixie raised the tiny girl’s head into the air so she could take her first breath out of the water.

A few pats on the back helped expel fluids from her young’s lungs—a female young. She would call her Meera.

As Meera drew in her first breath, Nixie stared. She knew nothing about raising young. What did she feed it? How would she keep the predators away? What would Wyatt do if he discovered her? Echoes of the pink ones shouting ‘monster’ rattled through Nixie’s mind. She gathered Meera close to her chest as her gaze darted around, a new protectiveness gripping her. If Wyatt thought Nixie was a monster, then he’d certainly think the same of their child.

“Nixie?” Wyatt hollered from the distance.

She turned to find him cupping his hand over his eyes against an autumn sun while running into the surf and staring right at her.

A momentary longing kept her locked in place until Meera made a small grunting sound and reminded Nixie of her new purpose. She dove and swam back to her home, where she tucked the tiny female against the mounds of her chest.

• • •

Pale blue hair floated above Meera’s head as she peeked her tiny face around the cavern entrance. More than forty eight full moons had passed since her arrival. Her thoughts entered Nixie’s like a beautiful melody.
“Please, Momma, can’t I go up to the sand? I hear the pink ones laughing again.”
Her haunting blue eyes stared up at Nixie, beseeching.

The momentary tug on Nixie’s heart ceased when she considered the dangers. She smoothed her child’s hair back from her face. Would Wyatt be there? Though he’d come every day for many months after Meera’s birth, his remorse-filled voice carrying over the waves in a torturous song, he arrived every few weeks after that. Soon after, only every few months. Still, the sound of him, knowing he still visited, enlivened something inside Nixie’s soul and made her want to go to him, to present their creation to him with pride, but she couldn’t. It was too much of a risk.
“Oh, Meera, you know it’s not safe when the sun is out. We’ll go when the moon is high.”

“I know you want to go, too. You think about him. I hear it.”
Meera’s gaze fell as she swam to her sleeping place and curled up.
“I want a friend to play with, too.”

Although Nixie had tried to keep her thoughts to herself, she hadn’t done a good enough job to keep them from Meera’s sharp and curious mind.
“I’m sorry, little one. I want that for you, too, but you must also feel my fear for you.”

The little sprite turned away.
“He won’t hurt me. You don’t believe he will.”

Nixie sighed and sat beside the young girl.
“I don’t want to believe it. That’s not the same thing as not believing. You are in my heart, and I am your guardian. I must keep you safe. Just thinking of harm coming to you pains me more than your loneliness.”

Meera’s bright eyes peered through a curtain of her hair.
“I didn’t mean to make you sad, Momma. Can we go and ride the dolphins instead and look for new things for my collection?”

Nixie smiled and gathered Meera into her arms, rocking gently.
“Of course we can, and maybe catch a few fish to fill up our bellies on the way.”
Still holding the thin girl in her arms, Nixie rose and went to the door, giggles dancing on her lips.
“Race you to the reef, seaweed head.”

• • •

As another fifty full moons came and went, Meera’s relentless curiosity took the pair farther than Nixie had ever gone, exploring and finding new and fascinating creatures. Nixie wondered what Wyatt would have to say about them every time before she’d banish the thought.

Meera had worn Nixie down so much that they’d begun visiting the cove as well—but at a distance.

As the sun descended toward the edge of the world, Nixie stared at the sand from her favorite sunning rock with Meera cuddled beside her. Nixie told herself she chose that spot because it was the best place to watch the sunset, though if Nixie was honest with herself, it was because she secretly hoped to catch a glimpse of Wyatt.

His mind held only increasing sadness and regret, though about what she didn’t dig deep enough to discover. Although Nixie wouldn’t let him know of her presence, seeing him mended a portion of her heart. From a distance, she could pretend he was still her best friend in the world and her mate. If not for her precious gift she needed to protect, Nixie might have risked going to him—if only to touch him once more.

“Why does this place make you so sad, Momma?”
Meera asked, stroking her small, webbed hand up and down Nixie’s arm. Meera had grown into a stunning young water pixie, her moon-blue hair reaching her knees.

Nixie’s brow creased as she glanced down at her daughter, feeling silly. She’d been certain she’d kept her emotions hidden that time.
“This place holds memories for me, both happy and sad, little one.”

“Can I go fishing, Momma?”
Meera asked, claiming Nixie’s hand as if to urge her away from the memories.
“I’m hungry again.”

Nixie smiled and brushed a few strands of Meera’s iridescent hair away from her lips.
“You’re always hungry, little one. I think there must be a hole in the bottom of your stomach.”

Giggling, Meera tugged again.
“Please?”

“Remember not to go near the beach.”
Nixie slipped into the water and sped after Meera.

They dove and frolicked through the sea grass, gobbled the fish Meera caught with her lightning-quick speed and raced to the drop-off and back, though Nixie couldn’t keep up. Laughing, Nixie surfaced. She choked on her first gulp of air when the beach stared back at her from closer than she liked. Upon the sand stood Wyatt, his shoulder slumped forward, his pale hair cropped short.

Unable to remove her eyes from the sight of him, and unwilling to let go of the flutters alive in her belly, she watched as he pulled something from his finger and threw it into the waves with an angry toss.

Meera popped her head above the surface near the spot where the item landed, holding the object between her fingers. It glinted in the orange glow of the sunset.

Broken from her trance, Nixie dove and swam for her daughter.
“Meera, return home!”
she shouted mind-to-mind, too late to avoid disaster. When Nixie surfaced again, she found Meera standing in the shallows, holding the trinket out to Wyatt.

Uttering an audible cry, Nixie closed the distance and stood in front of her daughter, facing a wide-eyed Wyatt.
“You will not harm her,”
Nixie said, returning Meera into the water.

“I told you, he won’t hurt me, Momma.”
Meera edged around Nixie, but a shove put her squarely behind again.
“I can hear him, too. He misses you.”

“Nixie,” Wyatt said in a soft voice, reaching out as if to touch her. “I can’t believe … please don’t leave. I would never hurt you … I mean … I never meant to hurt you before.” His face appeared older with deep crevices along his forehead and eyes as if he’d lived many, many moons longer than the time that had passed. Sighing, Wyatt’s gaze fell to the sand. “I guess you’ve found someone else like you.” He tilted up again with a half-smile, staring right at Meera who peered around Nixie’s arm. “She’s got her mother’s beauty.”

Nixie sensed an emotion in Wyatt she’d never seen before. It bothered him to think of her as another’s mate. Her anger evaporated under his crushing sadness.
“I am the only one, or at least I was until Meera joined me.”

Wyatt shook his head. “But …” He stepped closer, his eyes narrowing. His thoughts dwelled on their night together, calculating the time that had passed with the age of the girl before him. “It can’t be.” His body swayed but remained upright.

Nixie searched his mind for the horror she’d always expected but found only a glimmer of joy, of possibility, growing like a flame in his soul and chasing back whatever darkness he’d been existing in.

“How? How can this be? Is this possible?” He’d always wanted a child, but for whatever reason, was unable to create one. A smile grew on his lips, transforming him into the young man she remembered and still loved despite her efforts not to.

Before Nixie realized her daughter had moved, Meera closed the distance to Wyatt on strong legs—like his—and offered him the golden circlet he’d thrown into the waves. Ignoring her offering, Wyatt reached up and touched her cheek with tenderness. His eyes leaked in a steady stream.
“She has your eyes and curiosity,”
Nixie said, one hand taking Meera’s, and the other, Wyatt’s.
“She can run on the sand like you and can stay out of the water for far longer than I can, but other than that she is mostly like me.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I kept her away because I thought you would think of her as a monster, like me.”

“I never thought that!” He squeezed Nixie’s fingers.

She turned to her daughter.
“Why don’t you play in the shallows, little one? Just not too far.”

Smiling, as if she understood more than she should, Meera nodded and disappeared beneath the rolling waves.

“I was confused that day.” Wyatt’s gaze stayed fixed on Meera. “My doctor told me … I saw my life slipping away, and I didn’t know what to do. I should have enjoyed our time and held you like I wanted to. You’re all I’ve ever wanted, the only happiness I’ve ever known. I searched for you for so long so I could tell you what a jerk I was and explain myself. Please forgive me.” He wrapped his arms around Nixie, his body heaving. She held him, the tightness of her chest easing while in his arms again.

Confused, Nixie searched Wyatt’s thoughts for clues to what he’d meant, but found only relief and memories of her within.
“What is doctor, Wyatt? What do you mean your life was slipping away?”

He chuckled and released her, though he kept hold of her hand as if she’d disappear again if he didn’t. “It doesn’t matter. I’ve missed you so much. Do you think … maybe the three of us could go swimming? You know, like we used to?”

Nixie turned toward the water before returning to Wyatt.
“I need to know something first.”

“Anything.”

Her stomach clenched from fear of his answer.
“Did you find the house and wife you were looking for?”

Silence preceded Wyatt’s answer. “I found an empty building and a woman who figured out soon enough I could never love her the way she deserved.”

Nixie nodded, not really understanding.
“Why couldn’t you?”

“Because I’ve always been in love with someone else. And always will be.”

“But you said we could only exist on this beach together, and that wasn’t enough for you. If that’s all we can have—”

Wyatt covered her lips with his, stealing the rest of her words. What she found in both his kiss and his thoughts told her everything she needed to know. The love he’d once confessed remained true and had grown. It overpowered her regret for ever having doubted him.

“I promise we’ll be together forever. Race you to the drop-off, seaweed head,” he whispered against her lips before diving into the water.

The three of them played in the water under twinkling stars. Meera took Wyatt by the hand to help him swim faster, accepting him into her heart as if he’d never been apart from her.

Nixie hung back while the two splashed and laughed, basking in the happiness rolling from the pair like rays from the sun. Meera dove and returned with some of her favorite creatures. “Look at this spiky thing,” she said out loud.

Both Nixie and Wyatt’s attention snapped to the young sprite. They smiled at one another. Nixie had never before heard Meera speak, nor knew she had the ability.

“That’s a purple sea urchin.” Wyatt held it in his hands just under the surface. “They can grow new teeth if one breaks. Where did you find it?”

“They’re all over the coral just over there.” Meera’s smile lit up the night. “If you think that’s neat, just wait until you see the giant snail!”

• • •

Although Wyatt left each night, he returned the following evening as promised. They shared only laughter and stories with happy endings. Nixie had never been so content, nor seen her daughter so happy.