World of Aluvia 2 (23 page)

She sighed, both relaxed and thrilled, and leaned against him. Their tail fins entwined slightly as they floated close together, and her heart fluttered like a trapped bird, waiting to fly.

She closed her eyes tight, forgetting all about magic until he said, “Do you feel anything?”

Did she
feel
anything? Only a tsunami of sensations. There were too many ways to answer that question. No magic light grew within, but so much emotion, too much, cascaded through her, leaving her wordless at the comfort and thrill of being held in Tristan’s arms. He lifted his face away from hers.

“Talk to me, Phoebe,” he whispered.

This was her one chance to show Tristan how she felt, perhaps before her power grew stronger. She could no longer bear the thought of leaving the sea without him ever knowing. He deserved the truth, even if he couldn’t feel the same way, but no words could encompass what resided in her heart. So she reached her hands up to the back of his head and guided his face downward to hers, ignoring the nervousness making her hands shake.

“Are you sure?” he asked, though his expression was eager.

Phoebe just smiled.

He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers.

At his touch, everything else seemed to fade away. Tristan filled her mind, her senses, her heart. She never knew his lips would be soft, not when he was always rugged and strong. But his kiss was incredibly gentle; it felt like bubbles tickling her lips. Joy spilled up inside her, filling the emptiness that had echoed before, the music she had always loved swirling through her veins like a rushing current of blue flame.

The ocean―in fact, the universe―felt expansive and beautiful. Surely she must be glowing from these overwhelming feelings. She opened her eyes. She wasn’t glowing, but Tristan was―brighter than usual. Incandescent.

He broke away, and Phoebe had to squint at the radiance shining from his skin. His light was like a beacon. A dark shape cruised above them. It had a sharply pointed dorsal fin.

Shark.

“Oh no,” she whispered. It was unusually large, too.

Then the fins along its sides lifted and spread wide like wings, with translucent skin rippling in the water. The creature looked for all the world like a dragon soaring through the sky, down to the long tail with its pointed tip undulating back and forth.

Not a shark. A sea dragon.

“By the stars,” she breathed.

Tristan muttered a curse and pulled her alongside him as he began to move, gazing up at the huge outline on display against the light above. The dragon banked along in a turn downward, and the gaping mouth opened, showing several rows of glistening teeth.

“A sea dragon is more than I’d like to outrun right now. We’re still learning how to best evade them,” he whispered in her ear as they sped away.

She looked back over her shoulder, unable to resist staring at this magnificent creature of legend. The sudden staccato beat of her heart testified that the sea dragon was following them―and not just
one
dragon. A spiral of sea dragons spun above them, all drawn to the light, at least twenty of them together. Tristan’s skin was still too brilliant.

“Stop glowing!” she hissed at him.

He grimaced. “I can’t! I’m too full of energy.” He gazed at her, eyes soft despite the danger above. “I’ve never felt this way in my life.”

Joy, fear, and confusion tangled around each other inside Phoebe, a potent elixir that made her dizzy. The dragons were picking up the pace, vibrating her bones with their bass growls. They were coming up from behind, closing in. It was too late to run. The dragons were too close.

She stopped and spun in the water, closing her eyes and picturing the sharp, glistening teeth coming to kill her and her beloved Tristan. If he died, it would be because of her.

Shivering, Phoebe glared at the sea dragons as they lowered through the water like a cyclone touching down. The first dragon bared its razor teeth as it did its first pass-by, as though testing them to see what kind of fight they might give. Its eyes were flat black, cold and uncaring, like a shark’s. Terror slid through her as easily as the creature slid past.

The water surged around them in the wake of the sea dragon’s great hulking body. She rocked in the current of its movement. A second dragon prowled by. The flick of its tail slid against Phoebe’s arm, and she cried out.

Tristan shouted, “Phoebe, go! They’ll chase me. You can escape!”

Another sea dragon sped by Tristan, slicing him along the ribs with its sharp teeth. He gasped, and a red line floated into the water. At any moment now, the beasts would begin to frenzy, and escape would be impossible.

But Phoebe wouldn’t leave Tristan. She couldn’t. She reached deep down inside, to the place where the music sang while Tristan held her. She’d never felt anything like it. There was power there, in that emotion, she knew. She pulled on those blue flames and willed them forward, facing her palms outward toward the dragon.

A brilliant fan of blue fire billowed through the water and flashed over the nearest dragon. The light spread upward, into the spiraling tornado of fins, and the shape broke apart as if lightning had split it in half. The sea dragon nearest to them wheeled around and fled into the darkness faster than an arrow from a bow. The rest followed suit. An entire hunting group of sea dragons―gone.

She’d done it! She’d used her power by choice. She sagged with relief.

Tristan crushed her into his arms and whispered her name against her hair over and over again. He pressed little kisses along the top of her head but didn’t reach for her lips. Given all the messy complications, maybe that was just as well, though she rather wished he would.

The merfolk still needed help, and now Phoebe knew one way to control her power and call forth her magic. The blue light inside her still burned, ready to be called upon. It was time to tell the merfolk that magic like they’d never known could be within their reach.

efore Tristan and Phoebe reached the village, she began to worry. What if she told Odessa about their magical success, and Phoebe was sent on some mission before she could speak to her sister again? Odessa wasn’t to be trusted. Her priority was the merfolk and nothing else.

Phoebe grabbed Tristan’s hand. “Before we talk to your elders, I need to talk to Sierra. My whole life has changed and could change even more. I can call Sierra through Queenie, I think, like Micah called you that first time.” The memories of Bentwood’s fortress threatened to spill out from their dark lair in her heart, but she pressed forward. “I need to tell her what’s happened to me.”

And that I might not be back, ever.

“Of course. I’m a clownfish for not thinking of it sooner. But Mother will be waiting for me and will ask what has happened if you aren’t with me when we arrive. She might not understand your purpose. So let’s go speak to Mother, and then I’ll take you to see Sierra. Will that be okay?”

Phoebe didn’t want to wait. “You promise I’ll be able to visit Sierra?”

“My word of honor as a merfolk,” he replied.

Odessa was tricky, but
Tristan
, Phoebe trusted. And she did owe it to the merfolk to return as soon as possible. Odessa needed to know that Phoebe could fight now.

They sped through the waters, but her mind wasn’t on what to tell Odessa, but rather what to tell Sierra. For the first time, Phoebe was trying to pick out what words she’d use to explain that she had accidentally become a mermaid and might be stuck as one forever. There just weren’t enough words in the world to make that an easy message to deliver to her big sister.

When they arrived back to Tristan’s room, triumphant and proud, Mina hugged them both and squealed. “You did it, didn’t you? Look at how you’re practically glowing!”

Phoebe flushed, thinking of just how much glowing had been going on.

Odessa whisked into the room, her impatience as visible as her dark spear tattoos. “Is she ready?”

Tristan replied, “Ask her, Mother.”

“Well?” The older mermaid crossed her arms and faced Phoebe.

Phoebe nodded. “I think I understand how to better control my magic. If you can study what I do, then I’m glad to work alongside you and help you rediscover your ancient magical abilities.”

Odessa’s smile was fierce and hard as they reported what all had happened. They left out the hug and kiss, though. Odessa studied them both, narrowing her eyes, and Phoebe had a sinking feeling the mermaid could see everything anyway. “Excellent work, Phoebe Quinn. I think it’s time to convince the others of our case. The elders must agree to learn from you, along with the rest of the merfolk.”

“Wait―I was going to tell my sister―”

“Later, Phoebe. Later.”

“Mother, I told Phoebe she could speak to her sister before you asked more from her.”

For one second, there was a glimmer of warmth in Odessa’s face as Tristan stared directly at her, but the moment of fondness disappeared as quickly as it appeared.

“Of course. And I wouldn’t want you to go back on your word, Tristan. But I must ask you to wait. I promise there will be time later, but we have an important meeting to attend.”

“Phoebe, if you want to speak to your sister now, I’ll take you.” Tristan gazed at her, ignoring his mother’s stiffening back.

Phoebe’s heart melted at his willingness to disobey―again―for her sake. But it was clear that leaving now would put Tristan in a difficult spot. “I can wait a while longer. Not much, but long enough for a meeting.”

But she missed Sierra more than she thought she would. Sierra may be smothering sometimes, but there was no doubt in Phoebe’s mind that Sierra’s love for her was absolute and unshakeable. And Phoebe loved her back in equal measure.

“Of course,” Odessa said, brushing past Tristan to Phoebe’s side. “Now, Phoebe, not all the merfolk are willing to believe you can truly use magic like the old ones, much less that you could guide us into a new golden era. You’ll need to be at your best. I’m assigning two of my assistants to you. They will help you appropriately attire yourself for our culture. Not because I want you to feel more at home here, but because I need you to be successful, and I know the other elders. They do not easily see what is beneath the surface. Luckily for all of us, I can. It’s
my
gift, if you will. Let’s not pretend we’re on good terms, shall we? I believe you prefer honesty.”

Odessa’s piercing stare made Phoebe feel completely exposed, as if she were standing naked in front of them both. Talk about awkward. Odessa flipped her long braid over her shoulder and left to prepare for the meeting.

“Milady, we’ve been sent to tidy you.” Two young seawees bobbed a greeting at the doorway. They looked to be about the age Phoebe had been when she first met Tristan. They swam over, shooed Tristan out of the cave, and set to work.

They used long spiny shells to comb out Phoebe’s hair, which was knotted like a sailor’s rope. The tugs on her scalp stung, but she held her peace. The girls’ capable hands quickly wove several braids through Phoebe’s hair.

“Such a lovely color hair,” said one.

“Like a sunset,” murmured the other.

Phoebe flushed. Among the merfolk, red hair didn’t exist. Merfolk hair was intended to blend with seaweed, kelp, and dark waters. Her flashy bright hair would be a call to action no predator would resist. If she was indeed going to remain a mermaid, she’d need to look into dying it, perhaps with ink from squids.