《MerMade For Each Other》 Chapter 1 - The Appeal Of The Ocean Waking up underwater inside a plastic bubble was not how Brennan Trent envisioned his day going when he first left his apartment. It had started out like any other day. He woke up, got dressed in a shirt he modified to work around his wings, and had cinnamon toast for breakfast like usual before heading to work. Water fairies tended to gravitate toward jobs that either involved their powers or kept them near bodies of water and he was no exception. The main difference was that he preferred saltwater to fresh. He had never met anyone else like that and his kind generally regarded him as weird. They tended to prefer sticking near lakes, rivers, and the like. The ocean was generally regarded as too scary to deal with. There were so many giant sea creatures that could gulp up a fairy in a single bite and nobody knew much about the mysterious mermaids that hardly ever made contact with the surface. Brennan was sure that water fairies who lived in places like Antarctica didn''t have such a problem with the ocean but the ones in the continental U.S. sure did. He knew because he had lived all over it in his 417 years of life. He was a restless soul and had never settled in one place for more than a few decades since losing his family in the 1800s during the westward expansion. Plenty of kindhearted water fairy clans had taken him in for a time but he never felt like he fit in properly with any of them. He knew plenty of water fairies here in Florida as well but they all thought he was crazy for being a marine biologist. Most of them preferred to live in the Everglades or near various rivers or lakes. He ran into them at the witch coven in Miami now and then or hung out when he wasn''t working occasionally but that was the extent of it. Brennan''s life was fairly solitary but that didn''t matter much. He was used to it. If he was truly desperate for some non-work-related conversation he hit up the witch coven to talk to Harmony Netzley. She could talk for hours while she was in the middle of experimenting so he often found himself sitting around in her lab exchanging stories about their work. His work and the occasional conversation with other fae kept him from losing his mind. He had grown incredibly bored over the centuries. Part of the appeal of the ocean was that it was so vast it would be impossible to explore it all in a century or more. He found the mystery of it all exciting. It didn''t hurt that marine life was incredibly beautiful either. Fairies had always loved beautiful things. Brennan''s favorite thing to talk to Harmony about was mermaids. They were elusive fae and almost nothing was known about their civilizations. The only reason the fae community at large knew about them at all was because of mermaid tears and that happened about a hundred and thirty years ago. The way Harmony told it, a mermaid living near the Gulf of Mexico happened to find their lover caught in a fisherman''s net and couldn''t get them free despite their best efforts. They ended up bleeding out due to an injury they had sustained while stuck. The mermaid burst into tears and was still sobbing as she clutched her lover''s body on an abandoned beach under the moonlight. But the beach wasn''t truly abandoned. A young witch had seen the whole thing and had never met a mermaid before, though they had heard of them in human lore from rare sightings that happened over the centuries. The witch used a handkerchief to dry the mermaid''s tears and ask what happened. But something strange happened to the handkerchief afterward and she realized that the tears had magical properties. Many details of the story were lost to time but the witch and the mermaid ended up striking a deal. In exchange for offering human repelling charms to protect the mermaids'' domain the mermaid would supply tears to the witch''s coven. Witches had always had a tightly interwoven network with other covens so this discovery led to expeditions all over the continent to find other mermaids and strike similar deals. Mermaid tears were rare but available at most witch covens these days. They were extremely useful for healing wounds. Brennan had experience wing tear poultices both before and after mermaid tears were added and they were far more effective with them. That made him curious about the mermaids but Harmony only knew so much. She had been to meet up with the mermaid representative from a nearby settlement a few times and always met with the same mermaid. Most of their kind were averse to meeting with what they called surface-dwellers. The one in question was very businesslike and conducted the transactions as quickly as possible. Harmony had been disappointed because she was curious about mermaid culture too. The ambassador (for lack of a better term) sent to deal with the witches wasn''t interested in exchanging small talk. Brennan had been disappointed too. He had seen so much marine life in his decades-long career but never saw a mermaid. They hid themselves too well. He brushed those thought aside and forced himself to focus on work once he arrived. Today was a field work day. He and a handful of others would be going out on a boat to do some testing near a coral reef that had been experiencing an invasive species problem that had only been growing worse. Lionfish had been taking over the Atlantic for decades but there was no end in sight. Other native species were being affected at an alarming rate and marine biologists had been trying to find a solution for a long time to no avail. Brennan was part of a research group trying (perhaps futilely) once again to control the scourge. His little field team consisted of himself and five others, one of which was in charge of driving the boat. Their research would take several days but there were accommodations on the boat. He didn''t mind being away from home for that long because he had nothing to go back to. In fact, he looked forward to it.. Fieldwork was his favorite part of the job. Chapter 2 - His Savior Brennan couldn''t wear traditional scuba suits because of his wings. Water fairy wings were the only type that were water-resistant, allowing him to swim, but he always had to wear his own modified scuba suit when he was conducting research under the water rather than wear one that was provided. He headed under the water with his coworkers Kevin and Marina to take data and sighed with contentment. Underwater was one of his favorite places to be. His magic power wasn''t terribly flashy. The only thing he was capable of was creating bubbles. It worked out in his favor though since he was able to create one around his own head that allowed him to breathe while swimming. He wasn''t able to use it often because it would look strange to human witnesses but it had come in handy before. Unfortunately, when living in a world dominated by humans it was easier to do things the human way. Hence the modified scuba suit. It wasn''t a big deal though. Brennan didn''t like humans because they had killed his family but reluctantly accepted that it was impossible to get by in this world without dealing with them. And they weren''t all bad¡ªhis coworkers were decent. He didn''t get close to any of them but he wasn''t hostile either. Most of them thought he was a cold fish but he didn''t care about that. He didn''t get his job to make friends. He did it to explore the ocean. If Brennan truly wanted to avoid humans he could go live in the middle of the wilderness again. He had done that for about forty years after losing his family before getting dreadfully bored. Humans were terrible overall but there were some exceptions. His coworkers that cared about preserving nature were among that number. They were trying to fix what other humans broke and he could respect that. Most humans didn''t care what they trampled on as long as they got what they wanted. They had been like that for as long as he had been alive. Kevin gestured to him using sign language, which they had all learned some of in order to be able to communicate underwater. ''I''m going to bathroom. I''ll be back.'' Brennan shot him a thumbs up to show he understood and went back to what he was doing. It was so peaceful and quiet down here. Even talking to his coworkers didn''t involve noise. The peaceful serenity of it all reminded him a lot of his original home. A beautiful stream in what was now known as Montana. He hadn''t visited in decades because he hadn''t been able to bear seeing what became of it. It was better to keep moving rather than focus on what had been lost. He was actively working to prevent that from happening to any other ecosystems. All too soon, Brennan had to head back up because his oxygen tank was getting too low. He could stay down there all day but had to follow protocol and switch out with someone else because the big bosses were worried about ear pressure and whatnot. He was a water fairy! Water pressure didn''t affect him at all! He couldn''t tell anyone that though. Nobody here knew the truth about him. To them he looked like a completely average human. 5''9", pale skin, brown hair, blue eyes. His glamour hid his gray-blue skin, dark blue hair, pointed ears, and wings. His eye color, round face, and delicate features didn''t change but the rest of him automatically looked more human when he had it on. That was simply how glamours worked. They tricked people into seeing what they expected to see. When living in the human world it was an absolute must. The only times he took it off were when he was home alone, at the witch coven, or hanging out at another water fairy''s house. The rest of the time he had to keep it up to be safe. His coworkers would never accept him for what he was. He had to be very careful around them. He couldn''t let anyone get too close physically or metaphorically. If anyone accidentally brushed his wings they might get suspicious and that was the last thing he needed. "Good work as always, Brennan," Troy, the captain of this boat, said with a smile as he came out of the bathroom after changing back into normal clothes. "Thanks," he replied simply. Brennan wished he was back down there. It was far preferable to running data that had already been collected up here. But there was nothing he could do about it. If he wanted to keep his job he needed to follow the rules. He kept at his work until dinnertime when they all ate sandwiches that had been bought near the harbor before they left. Everyone else wanted to play games after dinner but he opted out, choosing to go stand out on the deck and watch the sun set over the water. He leaned against the railing and sighed. It was so tempting to hop over the edge and swim around on his own but his coworkers would be suspicious. He was just going to have to wait until tomorrow to do it unless he felt like sneaking out in the middle of the night. That probably wouldn''t be the best idea since it would be dark and he didn''t have night vision. He would get his chance much sooner than he thought. After everyone went to sleep a storm hit out of nowhere. There hadn''t been so much as a hurricane warning and it was the wrong season for it! Everyone scrambled around trying to get out of the path of the storm as soon as they got the very belated notification from people back at shore but there was only so much that could be done. They had to grab as much equipment from up on deck as possible and get it where it was safe while dealing with the wind and rain. Brennan''s coworkers stumbled around but they had the benefit of being wingless. A large gust of wind caught them and blew him up into the air. Marina shrieked his name and tried to grab him but the wind was too fast. He was already up and away before he could make a single peep of protest. What was he supposed to do? His wings weren''t strong enough to fight this sort of wind! Only a wind fairy would be able to handle it. He tried to make it back to the boat¡ªmomentarily forgetting that he wasn''t supposed to let his coworkers see him fly¡ªto no avail. He was tossed around like a ragdoll before a huge wave swallowed him whole. He didn''t have the chance to make himself an air bubble because the force of being hit by that much water from such a height knocked him out. Brennan sank beneath the raging waves and wasn''t able to see the shimmering scales or curious yellow eyes of his savior as they approached.. A gentle hand wrapped around his wrist and began bringing him somewhere safe. Chapter 3 - Sneaking Out Talori knew she wasn''t supposed to leave the safety of the coral palace. Her brother Zale was such a worrywhale but she couldn''t fault him too much. They had already lost their mother to the schemes of Queen Nerida and the coral palace¡ªentirely staffed by Zale''s mermen¡ªwas the only truly safe place in the ocean for her. He worried too much but she could also acknowledge that she wasn''t a schemer like he was. Everyone thought she was a little crazy and not worth much notice. It was the only reason she hadn''t been married off yet like the other mermaid princesses. Zale encouraged her not to hide her interests because they were what was keeping her safe. He pretended to be stupid, which was as far from his true personality as possible. The stupid prince and crazy princess borne from a mere concubine weren''t worth killing. At least that was the image he tried to portray to keep them safe. They both knew she wasn''t crazy. She was just¡­more interested in the surface than a mermaid was supposed to be. Talori longed to be the ambassador to the witches but that role already belonged to one of the king''s advisors. No one would ever let someone who was actually interested in other fae interact with them for fear it would mess with their way of life. They were all so backwards! Trading protection magic for tears with the witches had been revolutionary. No one in their kingdom had been killed by humans since. Why couldn''t those old suckerfish see that being more involved with the witches would be a good thing? Zale agreed with her. If he succeeded in his plan to win the fight for the throne he had already promised that she could be the new liaison. Talori looked forward to it. She believed in her brother. With how brilliant he was there was no doubt he would be able to pull off his plan. Which meant she needed to know as much as she possibly could about the surface beforehand. She frequently snuck out at night to go collect lost things from the surface-dwellers that ended up at the bottom of the ocean so she could learn more. Napping during the day was easy since she had little else to do. There was a cave where she liked to hide her treasures away from her brother''s overprotective smothering. She snuck out the usual way, moving a chunk of loose abalone shell wall hidden behind a piece of furniture. She grinned and tossed her hair, feeling accomplished as she always did when she managed to pull this off. Sneaking past Zale''s mermen were no small feat. His right-hand merman Beck was especially vigilant. It was amazing Talori managed to accomplish anything with him around. She knew her brother only did it out of concern but it was still stifling. She was a free spirit and always had been. She was born to explore, not be locked in a glistening cage! Once she was far enough away from the city not to be overheard she began to sing a wordless version of a song she had heard from a passing boat once when she snuck to the surface as a child. It had stuck with her all these years. If she ever managed to meet a witch she would have to ask what the lyrics were. Surface songs were quite different from the songs of the sea. Talori scanned the dark water, using a jar filled with bioluminescent algae to see her way forward. She was deep enough that she couldn''t feel it too much but she knew the ocean well enough to tell that a storm was raging up above. Storms were always excellent for tossing items around. Her best spoils usually came from storms. She swam forward eagerly, hoping to find something new, but not expecting to see a pale figure sinking through the water. A human! A real live human! Well¡­she assumed it was alive. She knew humans couldn''t breathe underwater so she needed to get him somewhere safe. She knew just the thing to help it but she would need to get it some air first. Merfolk could breathe air and water so she brought it up to the surface and used her powers over water to still the waves surrounding them so it had the chance to breathe. She also compelled the water in its lungs out so it began to cough but remained unconscious. That was fine. She could deal with unconscious but not dead. Talori found a rock for the human to stay on once the waves subsided a bit and hurriedly swam down to her cave to get the item she had in mind to help it. It had blown away in a storm and was in perfect condition, ready to be used. She hoisted herself onto the rock after making sure the coast was clear before blowing up the artificial bubble and sticking the human inside it. Since it wanted to float it was rather difficult to get the bubble back to the coral palace without anyone seeing but she couldn''t leave the human alone in the cave. It might panic if it woke up and she was gone and unable to explain things. She knew she wasn''t supposed to get involved with surface-dwellers but Zale was going to have to deal with it. She couldn''t leave anyone to die even if it was a human. Explaining this to her brother would not be pleasant. She wasn''t sure how well explaining it to the human would be either. She had no idea where it came from or she would have sent it back. Humans couldn''t live underwater indefinitely but Zale should know what to do. Her brother was capable of coming up with a plan for anything. She just didn''t want to deal with how much trouble she would be in for keeping her sneaking out from him. Maybe Talori could pretend it was the first time. Or better yet, she could try to keep the human hidden until nighttime when it probably woke up. She could talk to it and take it back to where it came from then. That was a much better idea.. Keeping her hobby-related activities from Zale was a must. Chapter 4 - I Have Never Heard Of Fairies Before The human woke up much sooner than Talori thought it would, gasping for air. She belatedly realized that there might not have been enough air in the bubble to last very long. Oops. The human''s eyes widened when it spotted her. It had probably never seen a mermaid before. She supposed she must look as unusual to it as it did to her. Merfolk looked like fish native to where they lived. She had yellow skin and eyes, flowing purple hair, and fins where the human had ears and on her elbows. The scales on her chest and down her tail went from purple to yellow and she had webbing between her fingers to help her swim where the human did not. It gaped at her for a moment before scrambling to release itself from the bubble. She cried out, trying to stop it, before it was her turn to stare. The human had climbed out of the bubble and created one out of water surrounding its head before sighing in relief. "Great, now I can talk. Do you speak English?" it asked. Talori blinked at it. She did speak English but only because the liaison between the merfolk and witches had taught all members of the royal family in case of an emergency. "Yes. How are you able to talk right now?" "Oh, I''m a water fairy! Making bubbles is my magic. Sorry, I got things kind of out of order. I''m Brennan Trent. I''m guessing you''re the one who saved me from the storm so thank you. My wings got caught up in the wind." Talori squinted at the human¡ªno, fairy¡ªcuriously. "You have magic? I have never heard of fairies before. Are they like witches?" "Right¡­you guys are kind of cut off from the rest of the world," Brennan muttered. "I have a friend who''s a witch but fairies are pretty different. We have wings and fly and our magic is restricted to subsets within a specific element. There are water, earth, wind, and fire fairies." "What are wings? And fly?" "You really don''t know what flying is? Haven''t you ever seen a bird? I guess it''s like swimming through the sky for lack of a better term." Talori clapped her hands together in delight. Swimming through the sky was something she could understand. How did that work? And why did fairies look human? Were they similar even though they could use magic? She had so many questions she didn''t know where to start. She didn''t get the chance to voice any of them before Brennan spoke again. "What''s your name?" Oh. She supposed she had forgotten to introduce herself in her excitement. "I am Talori. It is nice to meet you." "Talori, huh? That''s a pretty name." She flushed at the compliment. No one had ever told her that before. She liked this fairy already. "How do you swim through the sky? Why do you look human? Are you male or female? How old are you? Where did you come from? Are there others like you? Tell me more about your friend the witch!" Brennan laughed and held his hands up to stop her questions. "You''re a curious one, aren''t you? I use my wings to fly. They''re hidden under my glamour right now; that''s why I look human. I normally look like this." In an instant his skin, hair, and ears changed. Were his ears what he referred to as wings? She didn''t see any extra features. Talori pointed at them. "Are these your wings?" Brennan laughed again and shook his head. "No. My wings are still hidden. Fairies don''t show them to other races of fae. It''s a safety thing." She wasn''t entirely sure she understood but she did know that her brother was obsessed with keeping her safe so she wasn''t about to keep pressing the issue. She supposed there were some mysteries that weren''t meant to be solved. "And my other questions?" "Oh, right. I''m a guy. I''m going to go out on a limb here and guess you''re a girl?" Talori nodded and he continued. "Fairies are one of the more common types of fae. There are a lot out there like me scattered across the globe. I''ve met all types of fairies with how often I move around. "My witch friend''s name is Harmony. She''s only a hundred seventy-two so she''s still pretty young but she''s a genius at magic. Loves to experiment. I''m four hundred seventeen and have been around a lot so she likes listening to me tell her stories from my life while I like listening to her talk about magic. "Truthfully, I''ve long wanted to meet a mermaid. Harmony has met one a few times to trade protective spells for mermaid tears but says he isn''t exactly friendly so she doesn''t know much about you guys." Talori thought this over. "Do you happen to know that mermaid''s name?" "Uh¡­I think it was Gar," Brennan said. "Why, do you know him?" Indeed she did. Gar was the liaison between her kingdom and the witches. Brennan must have come from somewhere relatively close by. She knew the witches lived on the nearest landmass. "Yes, he is one of the king''s advisors." Curiously glimmered in Brennan''s eyes. "So you guys have royalty, huh? It kind of died out where I''m from over time but I suppose things are different down here because you guys do your own thing. We kind of have to roll with whatever the humans do because they took over everything." Talori frowned. The way he said it made humans sound bad. "Do you not like humans?" "No. Most fae don''t. They''ve caused us a lot of trouble. Stolen our lands, murdered us, ruined the planet. Don''t tell me you guys haven''t noticed all the trash in the sea," Brennan asked with a raised eyebrow. She had noticed there were more objects from the surface making it into the ocean over the past century or so. "Trash?" "Waste." Ah. Talori knew that word. Brennan would likely think her entire collection was trash, wouldn''t he? She supposed it was all a matter of perspective.. What is treasure to a mermaid holds no value to a surface-dweller. Chapter 5 - A Reputation For Being Crazy "And trash is bad?" Talori clarified. Brennan''s expression darkened. He had been so friendly until that moment. He must really not like trash. "Trash is terrible! It''s everywhere. Polluting rivers and streams¡­killing wildlife. You really don''t know anything being tucked away in your kingdom, do you? Countless ocean ecosystems are dying. Sea creatures are being killed by plastic every day. And it''s all the humans'' fault! "They''re terrible, greedy creatures. The only good thing they ever did was come up with amusing ways to keep themselves busy. But at what cost? I miss the way the world used to be. Before they wrecked it. So many fae have suffered at their hands but no one more than the fairies because we are so closely tied to it." Talori could feel his pain as he spoke. His hands balled into fists and they were shaking. She didn''t understand everything he was saying but she could tell it meant a lot to him. One part struck her in particular. "You care about the ocean?" Brennan nodded vehemently. "I love the ocean! I''m a marine biologist; it''s my job to study it and try to keep it safe from harm as much as possible. You''re so lucky you get to live in it. It''s the most beautiful place in the world." Talori''s heart warmed at his words. Her home was beautiful. It was nice that a surface-dweller thought so too. "I wish I could show you more of it. I usually only manage to leave the palace at night when it is harder to see all of the colors. I am afraid you will have to hide here until then and I can take you home." Brennan sighed. "Do I really have to go so soon? There''s so much I want to know about your culture and what it''s like living under the sea. Now that I''m here I admit I hoped I could stay for a while since I''m able to breathe. I won''t be a bother!" Talori bit her lip. There was so much she wanted to know about his culture too but there was the problem of Zale to contend with. Would she really be able to hide a fairy in her quarters indefinitely? "I do not believe you would be a bother. I¡­I am not supposed to leave this place. If my brother discovers you here he will know I have been sneaking out," she confessed. "Your brother?" "Zale worries too much. I do not know that I will be able to hide you for long." "I''ll do whatever you say! Just please don''t make me leave yet. I''ll never get another chance like this to truly experience the ocean," Brennan pleaded. Talori couldn''t say now when he looked at her like that since she was already wavering. They were both curious souls who wanted to know more about the other''s world. She would likely never get another chance like this to talk to someone willing to answer so many of her questions. Everyone always said that princesses were meant to be seen not heard. She bit her lip. "Alright but you have to be very careful. When I tell you to hide you must hide." Brennan nodded eagerly. "Thank you! I won''t let you down, I promise. Ask me anything. I might not like humans much but I''ve lived in their world for a long time so I know all sorts of things you might be curious about." Talori couldn''t deny that she was looking forward to that. He was probably very knowledgeable. Tonight she would have to take him to her cave and find out what all of her treasures were called. She had never known since she didn''t have anyone to ask. "I have a cave full of items from the surface. I hoped you could tell me what they are." "Sure thing!" Brennan agreed easily. "But in the meantime can you tell me more about how things work around here? What do you eat? How does your society work? Harmony would flip if she knew I was down here so I have to gather all the information I can." "Flip?" Talori asked, cocking her head curiously. "Ah, it''s slang. Means she''ll be super excited. Sorry, I''ve picked up on a lot of slang with how much I''ve been around." "You will have to teach me this slang. I am afraid I only know what I have been taught of your language rather than hearing it from a native speaker. I do not get up to the surface often." "Absolutely! I''ll teach you anything you want to know. Favor for a favor," Brennan said before beginning to tell her every slang term he could possibly think of and what it meant, frequently stopping to answer further questions on her part. Neither of them got any sleep because of how long they stayed up talking. He answered her questions very patiently but also had many of his own. They were still at it when someone knocked on Talori''s door to bring her breakfast as usual. She hissed at him to hide and pointed at a wardrobe that he slowly swam over to before she could open the door and greet the servant in Mermish. "Good morning, Marlowe." "Good morning, Princess! I have your food here. But I must ask¡­was there someone else here?" "No," Talori lied. She had a reputation for being crazy. No one would think it too odd if she talked to herself except for Zale. She hoped that Marlowe didn''t mention it to him. She wasn''t quite as close to him as his mermen were but her loyalty had been bought because Zale saved her younger brother once. It was why she had been chosen to work here. "I could have sworn I heard something¡­I must be tired. Forgive my impertinence." "It''s fine. Don''t worry about it. Do you know when my brother will be coming to see me today?" "Prince Zale has some business to attend to but plans to come by in a few hours once it has concluded. In the meantime he asked me to give this to you." Marlowe held out a treasure that had clearly been found after the storm and Talori hugged it to her chest. Overprotective as he may be, Zale was a good brother who cared about his sister''s interests. "If you see him be sure to thank him for me." "I will. Enjoy your meal, Princess.. I shall return for the dishes later." Chapter 6 - Mermish Brennan really should have been more freaked out by what happened but he was too excited about meeting a real live mermaid to care. He never thought he would get the chance and had to take advantage of the opportunity while he can. This was the most exciting thing that had happened to him in centuries! He could worry about his job later. Considering what happened, it might be best to lie low for a few days anyway. When he showed up again he could say he had found something to drift on until he was rescued. With any luck, they would be so relieved to see him that they wouldn''t question why it had seemed like he was flying against the wind at that point. Brennan didn''t know why Talori''s brother was so overprotective at first but after they had spent time talking he was pretty sure he understood it. When he asked about mermaid society she told him about how the merking had many concubines so bids for the throne were fierce. Their mother had been one and was put to death after being falsely accused by the merqueen because she was jealous and upset that she had managed to have two children over the centuries instead of just one like her. Zale was afraid of the losing the only family he had left, as he did not considering the merking family after what he let happen. Brennan couldn''t blame him. He had never forgiven those who killed his family either though time had lessened the sting. The merking had reigned for over seven hundred years since there weren''t as many threats at the bottom of the ocean. He couldn''t help but wonder how long the average merfolk¡ªhe learned that was what they preferred to be called rather than all lumped together as mermaids¡ªlived. Fairies were considered fairly weak among the fae and he had met very few who were older than him. Witches, vampires, and werewolves were the ones who lived the longest. The latter two were hardier than most fae and the former were smarter and knew how to avoid getting caught. Brennan didn''t know how hardy merfolk were but they didn''t seem to have many natural predators down here. That had to count for something in terms of longevity. Despite the merking''s long rule and many concubines, he only had a handful of children because of the rarity of fae children being born. One each from the merqueen and four other concubines and then Talori and Zale. Talori confided that one of her half-brothers was suspected to have been poisoned by the merqueen''s son and that the rest of her half-siblings were female and had been married off to other merfolk kingdoms decades ago. No wonder Zale was overprotective! Brennan couldn''t believe she spoke about all of this so matter-of-factly, as if it was completely normal. Fae killing each other instead of being killed by humans definitely wasn''t normal where he came from! They all lived together relatively peacefully, depending on each other for support in a world that they didn''t quite fit into anymore. Witches were the glue that held everything together but all fae races had their parts to play as well, if only to fund the witches'' research. He was used to fae looking out for each other not infighting. He wondered if all merfolk societies were like this or if this one was unique because the merqueen had a terrible personality. The problems weren''t the only things he learned about though. He had gotten some valuable information about the way merfolk interacted with other marine life, what their buildings were made of, what they ate, and so on. He couldn''t wait to tell all of this to Harmony! She had been dying to know more about the merfolk since the first time she met who Talori referred to as the liaison. Brennan wasn''t too surprised that she was unique among her race for being interested in the surface. If other merfolk were interested the witches would know a lot more about mermaids than they did. He was lucky enough to be one of the only fae in history to have unfettered access to such a reclusive race''s secrets. He felt like an anthropologist more than a marine biologist at the moment but he wasn''t complaining! Even having to hide in the wardrobe wasn''t so bad with how much information he had gotten. He could hear Talori speaking to another vaguely female voice in another language. Mermish. She had told him about it and how very few merfolk spoke English because of their limited interactions with the surface-dwellers. It was a bit hard to describe what Mermish sounded like. If he had to put it in words he supposed it sounded somewhat similar to dolphin chatter. More musical though somehow and less high-pitched. Brennan was quite curious how they were biologically capable of both that and human speech but wasn''t sure Talori would know. She said merfolk were able to breathe water and air as well but hadn''t explained how that was possible so it was likely she wouldn''t. No matter. He was already getting more of his questions about merfolk answered than he ever thought he would. After a while of hiding in the cramped wardrobe¡ªthere really wasn''t space for his wings in here¡ªTalori opened the door and smiled cheerily at him. "I have food!" Brennan left the wardrobe eagerly and stretched his wings, curious about merfolk food. He saw a bunch of sea grapes on a plate. He had seen them underwater before but had never eaten them. The only sea vegetable he had ever eaten was nori, the stuff that sushi was wrapped in. "Is this a common breakfast food?" he asked curiously. Talori nodded. "Oh yes! We have it nearly every day. We do not eat other sea creatures, as we are their protectors." It made sense that they would be vegetarians now that he thought about it. He never had been because in the old days there had been an abundance of fish in his stream though his family had eaten more plants than fish. That had been a special treat. These days meat was so readily available that he had it a lot more often. That was how things worked in the human world.. They specifically raised animals to be eaten. Chapter 7 - I Will Not Let You Down Brennan had to eat carefully so he didn''t mess with the air bubble he had been maintaining all this time. He was curious about what the sea grapes would taste like and wasn''t surprised to find that they were salty. Of course. It was a seaweed, after all. What he hadn''t been expecting was the slightly sweet and acidic flavor that was heightened the longer he chewed or that the texture was like caviar, which he had tried exactly once and not been terribly fond of. But food was food and he was in no position to complain. Talori was watching him eat with shining eyes and an eager expression. "So? What do you think?" "It''s salty but I expected that. And the texture is interesting," Brennan said honestly. "Is it so different from what you eat?" "Yeah. Humans have developed quite an extensive food culture but I have had a different type of seaweed before that''s part of this food called sushi that originated in a country called Japan." Talori made an excited squeal and did a backflip in the water. "Tell me more! I want to know everything." Brennan barely managed to stifle his laughter. His earlier comparison that flying was swimming in the air didn''t seem to be so far off after all. When he was younger he and his brother did backflips all the time. "Alright, I''ll try to think of as much as I can about food." Talori listened intently for quite some time as if he was the most interesting fae in the world until she heard a knock on the door and frantically gestured for him to get back in the wardrobe. He sighed, reluctant, but he had agreed to this. Back into the wardrobe he went without saying a word. He peeked out through the crack this time when he heard the male voice speaking because he was startled it was in English rather than Mermish this time. She had mentioned that very few merfolk spoke it. "Good morning, Tali!" a merman greeted with a fond smile as he circled around her a few times and flicked her with his tail. At least Brennan assumed it was a merman. Talori''s purple scales covered her stomach and chest but this new fae''s torso was bare and scaleless. His hair¡ªa different shade of purple than hers¡ªwas much shorter as well. She looked like a fairy basslet but he looked like a Spanish hogfish. Both of them were purple and yellow but the shades and gradients of the scales were different. Talori''s were divided more starkly while the merman''s blended together a bit more. They shared the same yellow skin and eyes though. If he had to guess, this merman was her brother Zale. She also circled him and tapped him with her tail before smiling at him. It appeared that this was some sort of affectionate merfolk greeting. "Good morning, Zale. Thank you for the present. I like it very much!" Brennan hadn''t seen any present. He supposed she must be keeping it in one of the many chests in the room. "I thought you might," Zale said with a satisfied expression. "I found it while I was out early this morning. There must have been a storm last night." Talori did a very good job of pretending she knew nothing about that. She must sneak out a lot to have practiced her poker face to such an extent. Brennan couldn''t deny he was slightly impressed. "You do always bring me the best presents after storms," she said lightly. Zale smiled at her again and swam over before plopping onto some sort of giant sea sponge that seemed to be functioning as a beanbag chair. She sat down next to him and began asking him questions. "What were you doing out this morning? How is the plan coming? Do we have to go to the main palace any time soon?" It seemed that Talori was always the curious type, not only about the surface. Her eyes weren''t shining with quite the same degree of enthusiasm as they had been the whole time she interrogated Brennan but she was still rather energetic. She kicked her tail, bounced on the sea sponge, and fiddled with her hair or bracelet made of misshapen multicolored pearls. She had done very similar things the whole time she was talking to Brennan earlier if she wasn''t actively swimming around to get her excitement out. Zale was very patient with her questions. "Beck and I went out to meet with one of the nobles who is on our side. We had to go very early so we didn''t risk being spotted by any of Merrick''s mermen. "More merfolk agree that Merrick is unfit to be the merking and that King Ren has ruled too long without doing anything to help fix the problems in our part of the ocean. Things are not the way they used to be and those who work tending the gardens and animals have noticed it more than ever. "Something must have changed on the surface. I want to talk to the witches myself to see if anything can be done about it but Gar is the only one with access. There has to be something that can be done to protect our home. "Unfortunately, we have to attend a banquet later this week. I''ll have Marlowe prepare your jewelry beforehand. All you have to do is look pretty and talk people''s ears off as usual to keep interest away from us." Talori nodded, looking more seriously than she had the entire conversation. "I understand. I will not let you down." Zale squeezed her hand. "I know you will not. Would you like to come watch us spar? We can eat lunch together afterward. I have more meetings later but we should be able to have dinner together as well." She sent a very quick glance toward the wardrobe and Brennan caught her meaning. She was worried about leaving him alone for that long. She didn''t need to. He would be fine. Honestly, he probably needed a good nap anyway. If he pushed something heavy against the door while she was gone he wouldn''t have to worry about being disturbed. He wished he was able to relay that but she couldn''t see him through the crack. "That would be lovely.. Thank you, Zale," Talori said after a moment of deliberation. Chapter 8 - One Of The Most Polluted Places On Earth Talori and Zale left the room and she shot a worried glance over her shoulder at the wardrobe as she went. Brennan emerged from his hiding place and sighed in relief. He pushed one of the many chests in the room in front of the door and went to lie down on the bed. At least he assumed it was a bed. It was half of a giant clamshell with a sea sponge as a pillow and some sort of blanket made out of kelp. It would have to do. Brennan used the kelp blanket as padding rather than draping it over his wings in case he needed to roll over. He should be able to sleep fine; if his glamour could hold when he was unconscious his bubble should when he was asleep. He certainly needed the rest after the events of the past twenty-four hours. To think he had still been on land looking forward to fieldwork this time yesterday! He had gotten far more than he bargained for in that regard. Who needed fieldwork among fish when he could do it among merfolk? Though it was with one mermaid in particular who seemed rather sheltered. Talori didn''t seem to be aware of the pollution problem the ocean was facing, though her brother was. She may sneak out to go look for trash at night but aside from that didn''t ever get out of the palace. Zale knew what was up based on the snippet of conversation Brennan overheard earlier. With the merfolk''s help, it might actually be possible to turn around some of the problems plaguing the ocean. He could use his connections with the marine biology community to help them work together given the chance. Unfortunately, Brennan didn''t think he would get that chance. Talori seemed dead set on him not meeting her brother so he wouldn''t know she had been sneaking out. Zale did seem to want to work with the witches about fixing the problem though. He seemed to be caught up in the middle of a power struggle right now though. That wasn''t likely to happen unless he came out on top. A pity. The ocean needed all the help it could get. If merfolk¡ªsome of the creatures most affected by it¡ªgot involved he was sure the problem could be solved. Or at least get closer to it. A large part of the issue was greedy corporations refusing to manage their waste properly or switch over to biodegradable alternatives. Landfills weren''t always effective. So much trash ended up nature and it horrified him. The ocean was one of the most polluted places on earth. Sea turtles, sea birds, and all sorts of marine life had been negatively affected by it. Marine animals were dying in droves because of all the microplastics in the ocean. Microplastics were even making it into fish that humans were eating! Brennan was a firm believer that plastic needed to be banned. There were so many alternatives to it out there that were biodegradable and a lot of them weren''t even that expensive to make. It was all a matter of laziness for those greedy humans who weren''t willing to make the switch on a large scale. The horribly ironic part was that people tried to guilt the wrong audience. The average human reducing their waste wouldn''t make a dent. It was corporations¡ªthe true perpetrators¡ªthat needed to make the major changes. If they did that everyone else who bought the products would be forced to follow suit. He desperately wished things hadn''t gotten this bad. He didn''t know if it was even possible to fix the environment at this point with how much had already been destroyed. So many beautiful landscapes no longer existed because humans wanted to tear them down and put something else there. The fae had lost so much forest. After all this time it still made him angry whenever he thought about it too much. Brennan tried not to for the most part. He tried to accept the way the world had changed and coexist with the humans that ruined everything. What else was he supposed to do? All of the fae aside from the merfolk had been forced to. They were far enough removed from it that they were able to ignore the problem. Not completely though if what Zale said was anything to go off of. And as things got worse they wouldn''t be able to continue ignoring it forever. He sighed. Thinking about this wasn''t going to help him sleep. He needed his rest. Brennan did his best to turn his brain off and get some much-needed sleep but it took him a while. He always got way too fired up when he thought about how much the humans had ruined things. === Talori hoped that Brennan didn''t mind her leaving him. He knew he had to stay hidden so she doubted he would leave her room but she didn''t want him to get bored. She had enjoyed the most riveting conversations with him so far! A real surface-dweller who had been around as long as he had and traveled all over the landmass he lived on had so many interesting things to say. Merfolk typically didn''t explore much of the ocean. Occasionally, alliances were made with neighboring kingdoms but none of them were at all close to each other. Nobody could swim between them on their own. On the rare occasions delegations traveled from place to place they had to use alternative means of transportation such as dolphins or sharks. Talori had never been able to travel very far since she only got out at night but as far as she was aware the rest of her kin weren''t much different. Most had no reason to leave their kingdom''s borders. She would love to travel and explore more of the ocean but that wouldn''t be possible until Zale managed to take down Queen Nerida and her son Merrick. He didn''t want to risk her safety as the only family he had left. He had always been protective of his little sister but that only got worse after their mother was executed and their half-brother was poisoned. She was 114 years younger than him, which really wasn''t that big of an age gap. Most siblings had a minimum of 250 years between them. Perhaps that was why Queen Nerida had been determined to get rid of their mother.. She may have been afraid that Nahla was unusually fertile and would produce another prince. Chapter 9 - A Merman Of Few Words That was what Zale thought anyway. She had been executed on false charges when Talori was only seventy-nine so she didn''t have many memories of her mother. He had already seen his half-brother poisoned at that point and had developed his stupid, frivolous persona to protect himself. He hadn''t been interested in the throne. All he had wanted was to live his life in peace with his mother and sister. Her death was what pushed him over the edge and set his plan into motion. He was not someone anyone sane should want to provoke. He was both cunning and ruthless but acted as harmless as a sea cucumber to deflect suspicion. Talori was certainly glad Zale wasn''t her enemy as she watched him spar against his mermen. He was a brilliant strategist who never lost a fight after training himself in secret after watching the royal guard train for decades. He was excellent at spear fighting, grappling, and knife fighting. Hadn''t so much as gotten nicked by a blade in years. The only one who ever came close to beating him was Beck, who was as strong but not quite as cunning. Zale was a lot stronger than he looked. He didn''t have the same physique as Beck but that came in handy because it strengthened his cover. Everyone thought he was an idiot incapable of doing anything right. Which was exactly how he liked it. He couldn''t wait to show them all how wrong they were. Talori looked forward to that day too. She wanted her brother to be able to be himself but she also really, really wanted to be able to freely leave the coral palace. To be able to interact more freely with other merfolk and with the surface-dwellers. Talking to Brennan about his home made her all the more excited for her future collaboration with the witches. She especially wanted to meet his friend Harmony after hearing about some of her exploits. She had met Gar so it wasn''t unlikely that she would meet Talori at some point once she took over his duties. She couldn''t wait! She also couldn''t wait to show Brennan her cave of treasures tonight and finally figure out what they were. He had done his best to explain things when she asked earlier but not having visuals to match to certain objects made it difficult at times. Talori had a hard time believing there were magic¡ªno, technological¡ªitems that could answer any question or show moving pictures. She desperately wanted to see such things for herself. Her mind stopped wandering when she saw that her brother had managed to pin one of his men to the ground with a spear at his throat. No surprise that he won again. Zale immediately removed the spear and reached out a hand to help Nerio up. The fallen merman clasped his hand and used it to hoist himself up, shaking his head with a smile. "Maybe I''ll beat you if I keep training for the next three hundred years." Her brother laughed and clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Good luck, my friend. Who''s next?" All of the merman gathered exchanged glances. After seeing how easily Zale took down Nerio, who was one of their better fighters, no one seemed too eager to volunteer. Beck ended up being the one to do it. He was a stoic merman who had been with her brother the longest. He was the son of one of the royal guards and had been assigned to be Zale''s personal guard in the future when he was still just a fry. Those two had been raised together and had been stuck to each other''s sides for nearly two hundred years. It was the merfolk way. Princes were assigned guards when they turned fifty and raised together so their bonds of trust were unbreakable. It didn''t hurt that they were able to take in all of the lessons meant for their charges either. Though English was only taught to the royal family directly Beck had picked it up. Princesses didn''t receive the same treatment because their roles were to be married off, not to make real contributions to the kingdom. Talori''s guards had been rotating out her entire life and they were always adults. She didn''t have a built-in confidant like Zale did. Not that she minded. Her brother fulfilled that role very well. Talori was friendly with all of her brother''s mermen because of how often she saw them but they were all a bit wary of her. They knew the rumors that she was crazy were cultivated by her brother and helped perpetuate them but they still thought she was weird for being so obsessed with the surface. Besides, they didn''t have time to do much more than say hi to her in passing. They were always so busy. Zale only made time for her because he loved her. Of all his attendants, she knew Beck best because he was around the most often. And she really didn''t know him all that well because he hardly ever spoke and when he did it was very basic. He barely lost to Zale in their sparring match and stepped back for someone else to take a turn, swimming over to sit next to her. "Good morning, Princess." All of her brother''s mermen called her that. She had told them a million times that Talori was fine since they called him by his first name but they refused out of respect for their leader''s precious treasure. Holding back a sigh, she smiled at him. "Good morning, Beck. You almost got him this time." "I suppose so." He went silent, which she had come to expect from him. He was a merman of few words and rarely made any facial expression. She had always wondered what went through that head of his. His seriousness was somehow enhanced by the thick black stripes under his dull black eyes, contrasting against his white skin.. His hair and fins were black as well and his tail was white with black stripes. Chapter 10 - What Are Your Plans For The Rest Of The Day? Talori had known Beck her whole life but she would never understand him. He seemed like he wasn''t taking anything in at all but would disprove that on the rare occasions he said something insightful. Zale wouldn''t have kept him around if he wasn''t useful. He appeared to be all muscle but was much smarter than he looked. He was vital to her brother''s plans as his chief advisor. Sometimes she wondered if Beck''s personality of being strong and silent developed because he too needed to appear stupid. But Zale''s true personality showed when he wasn''t around those he needed to deceive. Beck wasn''t like that. He spoke more around those he worked with and trusted but not by much. He hardly said two words to Talori. Beck sat next to her in silence before he was called down to spar against someone else and said "excuse me, Princess" as he went. That was about how all of their conversations ended up going. She continued sitting there until the sparring session was done and Zale gestured for her to come down. He grabbed her hands and spun her around, making her laugh. "How did I do?" "Excellent work as always. You''re indisputably the strongest merman in this part of the ocean." He grinned at her like he did every time she came to watch him spar and complimented him. The first time she saw him in action she had been amazed and that sense of awe never fully went away despite how many times she had seen it. It was a combination of how talented he was and how boring and repetitive her life was. Watching the fights was one of her few forms of entertainment around here. Talori always complimented him afterwards and always meant it. Why wouldn''t she? He was talented and it made him so happy to hear the praise from his little sister. It didn''t affect him the same way when he heard it from his mermen. Zale acted stupid in public but was usually pretty serious in private unless he was goofing off with her. Everyone who worked here had accepted that at this point. That he was different around his sister because she was the only one left that he loved. They all headed to lunch together in the dining pavilion. Most of the mermen chatted among themselves as they ate but Talori was worried about Brennan. She couldn''t very well sneak food back to her room¡ªshe had nothing on her to hide it in¡ªso she was going to have to request extra snacks later. She hoped he wasn''t too hungry by the time she made it there. Zale would be busy again sooner or later but in the meantime she needed to enjoy her time with him. She spent so much of her days alone. He was always surrounded by people, be they those he trusted or those he had to act around. She, as the crazy princess, was typically kept out of sight unless she absolutely had to make an appearance somewhere. It could get very boring. Lonely too. The servants weren''t her friends. They all had things to do and treated her deferentially so she wasn''t close to any of them. Talori spent a lot of time wandering the halls of the coral palace searching for some form of entertainment, watching sparring matches, or making her own jewelry with bits of sea glass or pearls. She sang and danced on her own frequently too and had learned how to play every instrument under the sea. Things had admittedly gotten a lot more boring since her lessons as a child stopped. She used to be a lot busier. Sleeping during the day instead of the night helped too though. Napping in between meals and spending time with Zale took up a good chunk of her day. At least her nights were more interesting. Sneaking out and searching for treasures never ceased to feel like an adventure. Talori''s life had been following this pattern for the past forty-eight years since she reached adulthood. She knew it wouldn''t be forever but she also didn''t know how long Zale''s plan would take. He had been working on it for over a century. Corrupt systems didn''t crumble in a day. It could take another century or more. Would she survive that long without going mad with boredom? Sometimes she wondered. Brennan''s arrival had been a nice distraction already but it wouldn''t last long. He was only planning on staying here for a few days. Then she would go back to being bored again. Talori shouldn''t be thinking like this. She needed to take full advantage of the time that she had. She should be grateful that she had a brief reprieve from the way things usually were. It was nice having someone else to talk to who didn''t mind her interests and was actually able to answer her questions. Zale was very understanding and indulged her with presents from the surface all the time but he wasn''t able to talk to her about it the way Brennan was since he had actually lived there. She should really think of more questions to ask him when she made it back to her room. "Tali, what are your plans for the rest of the day?" her brother asked. Talk to Brennan. Get some sleep. Sneak out to show him her cave at night. None of these were things she could tell Zale. "Not sure yet. I might make some new decorations for my room but I''ll need more pearls. A lot more. Could you send someone to harvest some for me?" Talori asked. Harvesting pearls was a simple thing to do but the mollusk farms were outside of the coral palace. She had never been allowed to go but he had brought her a few to open herself as gifts before. Zale nodded. "Of course. You should make me some too if there are any extra." Talori was relieved he bought her excuse. It would be simple enough to make them as she talked to Brennan so it wouldn''t even be a lie. She smiled sunnily at him. "I''d love to!" Chapter 11 - All I Can Think Of With her brother appeased and utterly unsuspicious, Talori was able to head back to her room. The problem was that the door was blocked. She was fairly sure she knew what happened so she swam around to the window and shimmied her way inside. Sure enough, Brennan was asleep on her bed. He had taken advantage of no one being around to take a much-needed nap. Honestly, she could use one too. There wasn''t enough space to join him so she headed over to the sea sponge and curled up on it after sticking a couple of small starfish to her closed eyelids to block out the light. She wasn''t sure how long she was asleep before she was woken up by someone tapping on her shoulder and calling her name. She sleepily peeled off one of the starfish and saw that Brennan had an apologetic expression on his face. "Sorry to wake you. I just wanted to know if I could get something to eat." Talori took off the other starfish and immediately got up in a panic. She had meant to order him snacks when she got back but didn''t because he was asleep! He hadn''t eaten since breakfast! She felt horrible. "I am so sorry! I will take care of that now." She rushed over to move the chest blocking the door and gestured for him to get into the wardrobe before getting out the rather loud snapping clamshells used for summoning servants. Marlowe must have been in the area because she appeared less than a minute later. "Yes, Princess?" "I need snacks. A lot of them. I''m very hungry," Talori said as casually as she could despite how she was internally cursing herself for forgetting to take care of her guest. "I will take care of that right away," Marlowe promised before nodding respectfully and swimming off. Talori spoke in English. "You can come out now but I am unsure for how long before you will need to go back in." "That''s fine," Brennan said. He emerged from the wardrobe and appeared to be stretching an appendage she couldn''t see. His wings, perhaps? She had no idea how big they were or what part of him they were attached to but based on his movements now she wondered if they were on his back. She didn''t know how they helped him fly either. He compared flying to swimming through the sky but swimming¡ªat least for merfolk¡ªinvolved a tail and sometimes arms. He had arms but no tail. He used his arms and legs to swim and the motions were very different than what she was used to. He said he used his wings to fly rather than his arms or legs and she didn''t know how that would work without seeing it for herself. Maybe tonight after they went to the cave they could go up to the surface and Brennan could show her what flying looked like. She would get a better idea of it seeing it than hearing it described even if he wasn''t willing to remove his glamour from his wings because fairies didn''t do that. Talori was curious if it was possible for merfolk to use glamours. She had certainly never needed one because no humans ever came near their domain. The magic items they had received from the witches made sure of that. Boats and such could pass around their kingdom''s borders but not directly over it. The magic would lead them away. It wasn''t long before Marlowe came back and Brennan had to go back into the wardrobe but she left quickly. He devoured everything on the plate before thanking her and sitting down on the sea sponge. "If you''re still tired you can go back to sleep. I don''t mind. I''m wide awake now." Talori shook her head. She had gotten enough rest for now. She didn''t want to miss a moment that could be used finding out more about the surface. "I am fine but thank you for your concern. I would prefer to know more about other fae." Brennan had told her quite a bit about fairies and some about witches but the other fae races had only been mentioned in passing. She wanted to know more about them too even though she wasn''t ever likely to meet any. "Suit yourself," he said with a shrug. "The fae races capable of language are fairies, witches, merfolk, elves, werewolves, and vampires. There are fae animals as well but the only ones I have experience with are kelpies. They''re horses made of water that live in freshwater habitats like lakes or streams. "As I said before, witches look the most like humans but happened to have glowing eyes in a variety of colors. The next most human-looking are elves. They are tall, sharp-featured, and elegant with long straight hair and ears that are less pointed than mine. "They''re pretty stuffy fae that care more about hoarding wealth than anything but they''re necessary to our survival because they mate with witches, who are all female. They also run Elite Financial Solutions, the only fae bank where we can keep all of our financial information out of the hands of humans. "They''re really not that bad even if they aren''t the most friendly. They''ve adjusted to the human world better than most of us considering their propensity for big business but they never forgave the humans for cutting down their forests. "Vampires basically look like the dark version of elves with black hair, white skin, red eyes, and fangs but I''ve only seen them a few times when I''ve been at a witch coven after dark. They have covens of their own and stick to themselves aside from getting blood pills and other magic items from the witches. "Most of them live in the north but there are a few loners that live further south and work night shifts. I knew one of those once. A nomad named Nyx Edgecomb who wasn''t into the coven life. I had an interesting conversation with her. "Werewolves live all over the place in packs. They''re a rowdy bunch and are very hairy with wolf ears, tails, and fangs. They might be tied for the strongest fae race with vampires but they don''t attack unless provoked. They watch out for their own fiercely so if you don''t mess with them, they don''t mess with you. "That''s about all I can think of, sorry. I''ve interacted with other fae races in passing countless times but usually each race does their own thing. My friendship with Harmony is considered somewhat strange," Brennan finished apologetically. Talori didn''t mind.. That was more information than she had ever thought she would get considering she didn''t even know there were other types of fae aside from witches before meeting him. Chapter 12 - Moving Pictures Frequently having to hide inside a too-small-for-his-wings wardrobe too often aside, Brennan hadn''t enjoyed anything so much in decades. He was under the ocean learning more about merfolk from an actual mermaid and right now nothing else mattered. Their conversations reminded him a bit of the ones he had with Harmony though the witch''s enthusiasm was less innocent and more of the mad scientist variety. She had a lot more questions, spoke faster and in a higher pitch, and was constantly on the move as if she couldn''t stand to stay still. Harmony was more relaxed than that. She knew she had all the time in the world and wasn''t in any rush unless she got an idea for a new spell or magic item. That was the only time she would talk a million miles a minute. Brennan was used to having long conversations with someone who had very different life experiences to him though so he felt comfortable with Talori. He was learning an awful lot too. Unfortunately, he wasn''t able to see most of the things she was describing because she wasn''t supposed to leave the coral palace. And he wasn''t even supposed to leave her bedroom. He couldn''t go see any gardens, mollusk farms, or the layout of the rest of the palace despite his burning curiosity. Seeing them after dark when they were planning to sneak out in passing wouldn''t be the same but he would have to take what he could get. When the time came she put a finger to her lips, indicating that he wasn''t allowed to make any noise. They had to sneak past quite a few guards and since she was a faster swimmer than he was she ended up grabbing him by the wrist and pulling him along a few times when he wasn''t moving quickly enough for her liking. Mermaid skin felt a lot different than fairy skin. It looked about the same (different colors aside) but the texture was difficult to describe. Brennan wanted to say that it felt scaly but it didn''t seem to be made up of the same kind of scales as their tails since they didn''t look at all like scales. She also had webbing between her fingers that he could feel brushing against his skin and that felt strange too. He didn''t say a word though. He knew he was slowing them down because he couldn''t swim the way she did. Talori didn''t let go of him until they were well out of sight of her kingdom. She heaved a sigh of relief. "Sorry about that. Come on, my treasures are this way." They had been swimming in the dark all this time so they wouldn''t get caught but now she pulled out a glowing jar from her bag that appeared to be made of kelp. It functioned as a flashlight until they made it into the cave, which had more light coming from other jars set up on shelves and crevices in the rock walls. She spun around in a circle with her arms over her head, grinning at him excitedly. "Tada! This is everything I''ve ever managed to collect from the surface, plus some presents Zale has brought me. I want to know what everything is! He brought this over in the morning. Can you tell me what it is first?" Talori pulled something else out of her bag and held it up for him to inspect, an expectant look on her face. Brennan blinked at it in disbelief. "That''s one of our cameras!" "A cam-ras?" she asked eagerly. "Tell me more!" "Cameras is the plural. A camera take pictures or videos of things. We were using them for our research. This must have gone overboard during the storm last night," Brennan said with a shake of his head. He held his hand out for it to show her how it worked. There was no reason not to let her keep it since his research team already thought it was lost. They would wonder how he was able to find it when he eventually showed up again. If he was human he wouldn''t have survived ending up on the bottom of the ocean like the camera since it was too heavy to float. "Most cameras aren''t waterproof but you''re in luck that these ones are. The battery won''t last forever so if you want to use it you''re going to have to do so sparingly. But look, I can show you some of the footage we took yesterday." Talori''s yellow eyes widened and she watched the footage on the tiny screen, entranced, until the video ended. "So these were the moving pictures you told me about! Fascinating! Why were you using cameras to take moving pictures of the coral reef?" "Lionfish. They aren''t supposed to be in this part of the ocean and since they lack natural predators they''ve been causing all sorts of problems over the past couple of decades by killing other fish off," Brennan explained. "We''re trying to figure out if there''s anything we can do about the problem because they''re all over the Atlantic when they''re not supposed to be. These fish are native to the Indo-Pacific where they aren''t an issue to the ecosystem." Talori frowned. "I did not realize that fish could take over other habitats. If I could tell Zale about this I am sure he would be able to figure something out." Would he though? Brennan was under the impression that merfolk protected the fish that lived around them. The only solution he could think of was killing the lionfish off en masse and preventing them from continuing to spawn. It was a moot point anyway since Talori had no intention of telling her brother about him. He would only be here for a few more days and then he would have to go back and face the music at work for his vanishing act.. Not that he had done it on purpose but he had prolonged it because of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that he would cut off his own wings before he would miss. Chapter 13 - Flying Talori''s concern only lasted a moment. She was still preoccupied with the camera and jumped back into wanting to know how it worked quickly. Brennan was tempted to laugh at how she was able to flip a switch and go back to being excited about the subject at hand but held himself back so he wouldn''t offend her. He showed her how all of the different buttons worked but recommended she wait until daytime to try and take any pictures or videos because the lighting would be better. She nodded and put it back in her bag to return to the palace and do as he suggested. A moment later she asked him a million questions about what this was or that was while swimming up and down, back and forth, almost too quickly to keep track of as she pointed at various objects. He couldn''t hold back his laughter this time. "Slow down! We have time. I can tell you about all of these." Talori''s tail swished and she rubbed her arm, appearing sheepish. "Sorry. I have been wondering about this for a very long time and got too excited." "There''s nothing wrong with being excited. Why don''t why start from one side of the cave and work our way from there rather than going back and forth with everything? That might make it easier. "What you have here is a boot. Humans¡ªand many races of fae¡ªwear them on their feet for protection so they don''t get cut or burned on the ground. You only have one but they typically come in pairs." "Why do you not have them on then?" Talori asked. Brennan flushed. "When I got blown away I wasn''t wearing them because I was getting ready to go to bed. I had to run out onto the deck in my pajamas in a desperate attempt to save as much equipment as possible." He was wearing a gray t-shirt and green plaid pajama pants. He hadn''t been self-conscious about it in front of his coworkers because of the urgency of the situation or in front of Talori until now because she wouldn''t know the difference. Bringing it up now was a bit embarrassing. Talori''s eyes lit up with more questions. "Are pajamas special bed clothes? What other sorts of clothes are there? What do you normally wear? Are there clothes for every situation?" "Yeah. There are all sorts. What I wear depends on the situation and what the weather is like. There are specific clothes and shoes¡ªwhich are different types of things that cover feet like boots¡ªdepending on if it''s hot or cold. There are even clothes you wear swimming because they''re more water resistant," Brennan explained. "Swimming clothes? Wow! Surface-dwellers truly have come up with a solution for everything. What about this?" Talori had pointed to the next item and he was a bit relieved they were off the topic of clothes. Fashion had never really been his forte. He wore the basics that were required of a situation and no more. Clothes were tricky anyway because he had to work around his wings. He had learned how to adjust human clothes but it was a tedious process. He didn''t own very many outfits because fairies didn''t need to change very often. When he was at home he tended to go back and forth between work clothes and casual clothes. He only owned pajamas for overnight research trips so those he was bunking with didn''t get suspicious. Most of the time he wore various t-shirts with basketball shorts or sweatpants when he wasn''t at work because they were comfortable. Brennan was surprised by the wide variety of objects Talori had managed to collect. They ranged from combs to bricks to cell phones. She was especially intrigued by the various pieces of technology that ended up in her domain. The only one he was able to turn on was the waterproof camera so it was a bit difficult to explain what the rest of them did to someone who had never heard of such things before. Eventually he finished telling her about everything in the cave and she wanted them to go up to the surface so he could show her how flying worked. No one had ever asked him that before. Fairies hadn''t been able to fly freely in centuries because there were too many humans around. They tended to do it only in the safety of their own homes now aside from using the cheat of hovering instead of walking because the latter felt unnatural and heavy. It was quite a swim to get to the surface but Brennan didn''t mind. He had always loved swimming and wasn''t worn out despite doing so much more of it lately. His legs and arms might be slightly sore from overuse but that wasn''t a big deal. When their heads broke the top of the water Talori''s hair was no longer flowing around her head in a cloud. It looked like any other person''s wet hair aside from the fact that it was purple. Brennan was finally able to release his magic and breathe actual air, which was nice. It was like the difference between being indoors and going outside where there were trees. The night air was much warmer than the water had been, though water fairies didn''t get cold easily. He shot out of the water and shook off his wings. It was so nice being back in the sky! There wasn''t a boat in sight so he could do whatever he wanted right now. He did a few loop-de-loops and other aerial maneuvers at high speed to try and get some of the water out of his clothes like one of the hand dryers in bathrooms. Talori laughed and clapped her hands above the water in delight. "Wow! You are much faster in the air than you are in water!" "Obviously," Brennan said dryly. "I might be a water fairy but I was born to fly. My element is the only one that even can swim because every other element''s wings aren''t water resistant and get weighed down for months if they get wet." "Really?" "Yeah. We''re also pretty resistant to the cold but so are wind fairies." "And fire fairies would be resistant to heat?" Talori asked. "Exactly." "What about earth fairies?" "Depends on where they''re from.. There are earth fairies pretty much all over the world and they''ve adapted to be able to live in their native climates but that''s different than having a natural resistance," Brennan said with a shrug. Chapter 14 - How Does It Work? Talori mulled this over. "Fascinating! I did not realize there was so much variety among a single fae race. Do you know many other fairies?" "Sure," Brennan said simply. "I''ve been more of a loner the past couple of centuries but fairies tend to stick together. I''ve bounced around from group to group. Most of them have been water fairies but there''s the odd earth, fire, or wind fairy too. "Wind fairies and water fairies date each other somewhat frequently so I''ve met plenty of those and they have earth fairies everywhere. Fire fairies typically live where it''s hot so I''ve met less of those but I have met them. "They''re interesting fae. There''s this clan of them living in Las Vegas and they''re nearly as rowdy as the werewolf packs I''ve encountered. But fire fairies can also be found in Texas, Arizona, California, Hawaii, and Florida. "There are a handful of them near where I live. I''ve run into them plenty of times. Let me tell you¡ªdo NOT go clubbing with those guys. I made the mistake of letting them drag me along once and the entire night was insane. I had to stay in bed for two days to recover while they were back to normal in a matter of hours." "Clubbing?" Talori asked curiously. Brennan shuddered at the memory. "It''s this thing humans do. We went to a nightclub owned by some elves that usually caters to humans on spring break or other tourists. Humans typically go there to dance and drink alcohol but this particular one is popular with fae during the off-season because of who owns it. "That night the whole thing was rented out for fae only because it was some werewolf alpha''s five hundredth birthday. The werewolves were crazier than the fire fairies but they were the ones who dragged me directly into the center of the mosh pit so my wings nearly got crushed." Talori didn''t end up understanding more than half of that so he had to explain what things like alcohol and mosh pits were. He didn''t mind elaborating. She was enthralled since merfolk didn''t have anything like that. At least to her knowledge since she wasn''t allowed to leave the coral palace. She was especially curious about dancing because it was different with feet than it was with tails. But when she asked for a demonstration Brennan had to refuse. "There''s no music and even if there was I''m not much of a dancer." "Aww," Talori said with a pout. "Now I will never get to see surface-dweller dancing." Her disappointment hit him oddly hard but he would not budge. He wasn''t about to dance without music for someone he only met yesterday. Wow. It had really only been a day. It felt like much longer since it had been the most eventful day he had in decades. Probably the most eventful since the night he went clubbing and that was more than twenty years ago. "Sorry," Brennan said lamely. "If it makes you feel any better I can do some more flying tricks. I''m a lot better at those than dancing." Why did he care if a mermaid he barely met was disappointed? Because she had been so interested in everything he had to say and had given him so much information he thought he would never have? He was more relieved than he should have been when she perked up at his suggestion. He wasn''t some trick pony. The last time he had done anything like this for someone else was back in Massachusetts in the 1950s when he was left in charge of babysitting a young wind fairy for a water and wind fairy couple he knew. Talori wasn''t a baby though she was still relatively young for an adult fae. Harmony was more than twenty years younger than her. She was just as delighted as that baby had been because she had never been exposed to flying before tonight. Brennan was slightly gratified that someone new to flying thought it was amazing. It truly was. He wished he was able to do it more often. He could swim whenever he wanted, even if he had to conform to human standards to do so and not use his magic, but his flying had been restricted ever since they took over. He missed being able to freely race through the trees or skim his toes over the stream as he raced his brother. Those were much simpler days. Now his flight was primarily restricted to various forms of hovering. Which he resorted to as soon as he finished his tricks. He had to save some energy for the swim back so he sat cross-legged in midair about a foot above the water. Talori''s eyes were shining and she splashed with her tail in delight. "That was amazing, Brennan!" "Thank you." "How does it work? I assume your wings are doing most of it since you hardly moved your limbs at all." "You''re right. My wings bear up my weight. They move faster or slower depending on how fast I want to go or what sort of flying maneuver I''m trying to do," Brennan explained. "And I truly cannot see them? I wish to understand how they work but that is difficult without having a proper point of reference." Talori''s expression was downcast again, as it had been when he refused to dance for her. It twisted his insides. He hadn''t unglamoured his wings in front of another fae since the last time he had been at a fairy friend''s house. The only time he had ever showed a fae that wasn''t a fairy his wings was when he got hurt and needed a witch''s help patching it up when his family was killed. That had been horribly nerve-wracking and he had never wanted to do it again. Fairies were very protective of their wings. A downed fairy was a dead fairy, after all. But Talori had already saved his life when she wasn''t obligated to. It wasn''t like she would tell anyone about him anyway.. She had to keep his existence a secret from her brother. Chapter 15 - It Could Go Either Way Brennan internally debated for few moments before sighing. "You can''t tell anyone about this. Or touch them. They''re delicate." Talori nodded eagerly. "I understand!" He let his glamour fall and heard her gasp as they shimmered into existence. That was to be expected. She had never seen anything like wings before. She watched them slowly open and close as he hovered in place looking rather dazzled. "They look like water!" "Well, yeah. I am a water fairy." "Do all fairy wings look like their element then?" Talori asked eagerly. "They are beautiful!" Brennan blushed. No one had ever called any part of him beautiful before aside from his mother. She used to refer to him and his brother as ''my beautiful boys'' but that was a very long time ago. "¡­thanks. And yes. Fire fairies'' wings look like flames, wind fairies'' look like clouds, and earth fairies'' look like leaves." "I do not know what any of those look like." He supposed she wouldn''t. They were all above-ground things. There was a cloud drifting lazily toward the moon right now though. Clouds looked different at night than they did during the day but it was the best he had. Brennan pointed at it. "See that? It''s a cloud. It looks darker because it''s nighttime but normally they''re white unless it''s about to rain." Talori looked up at the cloud curiously. "I see! There is so much more to the surface than I ever could have imagined. I have seen these before the handful of times I have been to the surface but did not know what they were called. I wish I could know what flames and leaves looked like too." "Sorry, can''t help you there. Though I suppose leaves are somewhat similar to kelp. They''re both green at least but leaves have a different texture and hue." "So leaves are somewhat like kelp. What does fire look like? Can you describe it to me?" "I don''t think there is anything you''ve seen that I can compare it to," Brennan said apologetically. "Fire is usually orange or yellow though it can come in different colors. It flickers and glows. "It''s very important in my world. Before electricity it was used for both light and warmth. These days it''s mostly used for cooking food. We don''t eat very many things raw like you do. We put things together with other things and often warm them up." Talori sighed. "Your food sounds so interesting. I would love to try it." "I would bring you some if I could but if I tried to take it underwater it wouldn''t taste the same," Brennan said with a shrug. She eyed him curiously. "You plan on visiting me again after you go home?" Oh. That had been a careless comment, hadn''t it? He didn''t truly have plans to return here. He was offering because it was the sort of thing you tended to say in situations like this. Though he couldn''t deny that it would be interesting to come back when he was allowed to explore more of Talori''s kingdom. He knew it wouldn''t be possible unless her brother succeeded in his plan and she became the liaison between the merfolk and the witches. That was a pretty big if. Brennan shrugged again. "I''d like to see more of your kingdom once you''re able to move about more freely. I wouldn''t mind talking to your brother about working together to fix some of the ocean''s problems either." Talori squealed in delight. "That would be wonderful! And you would bring me food from the surface?" "Yes but you would have to eat it above the water to get the full effect." "That is fine! I look forward to it. Thank you, Brennan!" It was just food. Though he supposed she might also be excited about the prospect of having someone come visit her. He got the sense that she spent much of her time alone. She could probably use some friends. Brennan wouldn''t categorize them as such right now. They were acquaintances who were mutually benefitting from each other. But if he visited often enough they probably could become friends. He had friends all over the continent, though he had lost contact with most of them along the way since fae typically didn''t like using human inventions such as social media. Many he knew didn''t even have cell phones unless they needed them for work. He had a cell phone but it had been a relatively recent acquisition. He didn''t have one before moving to Florida because a landline had sufficed. "No problem. It''s just food," Brennan said simply. Talori shook her head vehemently. "No it isn''t! You would be going out of your way to bring me something." He found himself unable to argue with her and the subject changed. They continued talking about various things until the sun started coming up over the horizon and she reluctantly said they needed to get back before her absence was noted. Brennan did one last flip, not knowing when he would be able to do them again, and dove into the waves before putting on his bubble. It would be nice if his wings could help more with swimming but that wasn''t what they were built for. He had been using a lot of relatively unused muscles lately to do this much swimming. He hoped he was able to get a good nap in soon. He was exhausted. How much longer would he be able to get away with staying here? He knew he needed to head back home soon if he didn''t want to lose his job but there was still so much more he wanted to know. Realistically speaking, he really shouldn''t stay more than another day or two. As soon as his curiosity was mostly satisfied, he needed to get back to his life. Harmony might have noticed his absence by now too. He never went more than a few days without contacting her in some way. If she wasn''t able to get a hold of him, she could get worried¡­or she would be too absorbed in her current magic project to notice.. Honestly, it could go either way with her. Chapter 16 - The Most Beautiful Mermaid At The Banquet Talori really, really didn''t want to go to the banquet. Despite being an opportunity to leave her cage, she had never liked those things. Why would she? No one there liked her aside from Zale and he was too busy acting as brainless as a jellyfish to spend time with her. They had to solidify their roles as merfolk not to be taken seriously at such parties. The two worthless children of a dead traitor. If they weren''t deemed as harmless they would have been disposed of already too. They were only allowed to live because they stayed out of the way except when they were summoned so people could laugh at them. Talori didn''t like being laughed at. She wasn''t crazy. She knew it. Zale knew it. His mermen knew it, even if they thought she was odd. But no one else did. She tried not to let it bother her. She knew it was a part of her brother''s plan so she cooperated with him to the best of her ability. There wasn''t anything she wouldn''t do to make it so she could properly live in the light instead of being cooped up all the time. Unfortunately, going to the banquet she already didn''t want to attend cut into her limited time with Brennan. He had already been here for two days and she knew he wouldn''t be able to spare more than a couple more at most. He had mentioned it earlier. He said he needed to get back before he lost his job. That seemed to be what he cared about most since he didn''t had any family and only mentioned a few other fae by name in all the time he had been talking to her. His witch friend Harmony was mentioned most often but she seemed to be the only fae he saw regularly. Talori didn''t fully understand Brennan''s job or how such things worked on the surface but she could tell it meant a lot to him because of the way he talked about the ocean. He loved it more than she thought a surface-dweller would have been capable of. Maybe when she was bored out of her mind at the banquet she could think of the most pressing questions she had for him since their time together was limited. She didn''t want him to go yet but knew she had no right to keep him here any longer. She was used to being on her own most of the time. Going back to that would be fine. Brennan was currently hiding in the wardrobe because Marlowe had arrived with the jewelry selection Zale promised. They were much fancier and more befitting of a princess than the usual stuff she made herself with misshapen pearls. Talori frowned. This was far more befitting a princess than what he normally sent. They were the most neglected of the merking''s children. Their palace was nice because their mother had been favored before she was framed for having two children but they didn''t have as many servants as Merrick''s palace did so those they did have worked hard to manage its upkeep. But because they tried to stay under the radar they didn''t get the most luxurious items. On the rare occasions she did get something nice it was because Zale had been working on collecting the materials for quite some time. Even so, it had never been to this extent. She was willing to bet this quality of jewelry had come directly from the merking. The real question was why. The merking didn''t care about her. She could count the number of times he had directly spoken to her in her life. There was something oddly foreboding about this gift. She would have to ask Zale his opinion on it when she got the chance. She wasn''t sure when she would get that chance though. They would be arriving separately, as they always did. He didn''t want anyone knowing how close the two of them were because that was dangerous. Zale had carefully cultivated his image so he wouldn''t be seen as a threat but he also made it seem like he was ambivalent about his supposedly crazy sister as an extra layer of precaution. If any of his enemies knew how much he valued her, she would be in more danger. Those who worked in their palace were all carefully vetted by her brother. None of them were about to snitch to Queen Nerida or Merrick. Marlowe was working on making her look as beautiful as possible. Dangling clusters of eight pearls hung from each of her ears, multiple pearl bracelets adorned each wrist, a heavy necklace crafted from dozens of interwoven pearls in various sizes was around her neck, and additional strings of pearls were woven through her intricately braided hairdo. "You look absolutely stunning, Princess," Marlowe said with satisfaction once she had finished her work. Talori could hardly recognize herself. She never wore jewelry like this. Her hair was usually much less adorned for parties so the hairstyles Marlowe did for her were simpler as well. To top it all off, her lips had been painted a shade of red that stood out against her yellow skin. The only time she ever painted her lips was for parties because it was the expected thing to do. She was supposed to act crazy but if her appearance was bad the servants would get in trouble. That was the last thing she wanted. A knock sounded on the door. "Princess? May I enter?" Talori knew that voice. It belonged to her one of her brother''s mermen. A long-time recruit named Aeces. "Yes you may." Aeces wasn''t nearly as serious as Beck but still typically didn''t talk to her much. He bowed with a fist against his chest as he complimented her. "You shall be the most beautiful mermaid at the banquet, Princess. It is my honor to escort you." Talori couldn''t help but smile. "Thank you, Aeces. Shall we?" She took his proffered arm and hoped that Brennan wouldn''t get too bored. Knowing him, it was likely he would block the door and go to sleep as soon as she was gone. She would much rather be talking to him than going into battle like this but she didn''t have a choice.. No one could ignore the merking''s summons. Chapter 17 - A Universal Fae Trait The coral palace wasn''t terribly far from the main one. The closest was the pearl palace, which belonged to the current merqueen. There were other palaces that were currently unoccupied because they were only awarded to concubines who had children currently living with them. The rest of the concubines had smaller quarters within the main palace. Merrick lived with his mother in the pearl palace. Though Talori and Zale''s mother was dead they were allowed to maintain their own residence because they were children of the merking. Brennan had told her that fae children were rare and precious on the surface too. Fae couples could be together for centuries without having one. That seemed to be a universal fae trait. No wonder there were more humans than there were fae. They weren''t capable of reproducing as quickly. It was similar to the problem he had told her about with the lionfish. Part of why they invaded to the extent they did was that they reproduced very quickly in addition to having no natural predators. Talori shook those thoughts free. She needed to focus on enjoying being outside during daylight hours for once. The ocean looked very different before and after dark and she needed to take advantage of the light while she could. The ocean was a beautiful place. She wished she was able to see more of it on a regular basis. She soaked up as much of the scenery as she could before they arrived in the banquet hall. Merfolk she recognized were swimming around everywhere. All of the nobles in the kingdom seemed to be here tonight. That wasn''t unusual for parties like this. The merking and merqueen liked to go all out and show off for those they deemed worth of spending time with them. Talori personally thought it was stupid. She had never gotten along with any of the nobles very well because they thought she was crazy. As a child they teased her to her face but as they got older that transitioned to gossiping behind her back when they thought she couldn''t hear them. She couldn''t care less about any of them. The only merfolk whose opinion mattered to her was Zale''s. She couldn''t deny she was beginning to care about Brennan''s opinion as well. She liked talking to him so of course she would want him to think well of her. As Talori was announced by the herald she frowned when she realized there were also merfolk here she had never seen before lurking in the shadows of the banquet hall. Creepy-looking ones. They looked very little like those who lived in her home. Many of them had tentacles like an octopus, which was rare around here. She had only seen a couple of those at a distance. Unlike the warmer water octopus merfolk, these ones were rather foreboding in appearance. They were red with orange skin and milky blue eyes that seemed to stare straight through you. Most of these strange merfolk had such eyes. Either that or ones that were pitch black from pupil to sclerae. Some had incredibly sharp, thin teeth and something she didn''t know how to describe sticking out of the top of their heads with a small light at the tip. There were also sharklike merfolk in their group but like none she had ever seen before. Their movements were more similar to eel-like merfolk than anything and they had those eerie milky eyes. These merfolk were generally less colorful than the ones Talori knew and didn''t seem to like the light since they were hiding in the shadows and squinting around. Don''t tell her these were visitors from the deep! It wasn''t often that their kingdom had visitors from different merfolk settlements to begin with. Their race normally did their own thing¡­unless marriage treaties were involved for resources. Fear squirmed in her stomach. They couldn''t be here for her, could they? No. She was being irrational. They couldn''t be here for her because she had already been of age for decades and the merking hadn''t tried marrying her off. The other princesses had been gone as soon as they turned 150. If the merking was going to do that to her, he would have already. She needed to calm down. There was probably a perfectly reasonable explanation for strange merfolk being here today. Talori forced herself to remain calm. She had to play her part tonight properly and she wouldn''t be able to be overly enthusiastic and talk too much like usual if she was freaking out. She calmed slightly when she spotted Zale and Beck across the room. Her brother wouldn''t let anything happen to her no matter what the merking may or may not be planning. He would keep her safe. If she couldn''t trust Zale, she couldn''t trust anything. Even if he didn''t look the most trustworthy right now because he was spouting ridiculous poetry to a circle of onlookers laughing at his expense. She couldn''t help but wonder how long it took him to come up with things like that for his act. Everyone thought he was as frivolous as they come when nothing could be further from the truth. Frivolous and not talented at anything. When Zale was a child he pretended to get every answer wrong when the royal tutors taught him but took in everything he was learning and studied on his own as well in secret. He had been a strategist since he was less than eighty years old. That was too young to be thinking of survival. Far too young. Talori wished things were different for him. For both of them. That they could have been raised in peace instead of fearing for their lives. He was fighting for a better future for both of them and for all of the common merfolk who were suffering because of the merking''s ignorance to the problems the ocean was facing.. They had to deal with it more than the nobles did. Chapter 18 - Chief Indra Talori didn''t like the way those deep-sea merfolk were looking at her. Not one bit. "Aeces, is it just me or are those strangers staring at me?" she whispered to her companion nervously. "They are definitely staring at you, Princess." Great. Having that confirmed by someone with sharper eyes than her was not at all comforting. She desperately wished she could talk to Zale but he was too busy playing his part as a fool. He had to have seen them though. His eyes were the sharpest of all his mermen''s. There was no way he would have missed them even if he wasn''t currently paying attention to how they were currently eying his little sister. "What do I do?" Talori hissed. "There is nothing we can do currently," Aeces replied. "Rest assured, I won''t let anything happen to you on my watch." It wasn''t as if she was worried about those strange merfolk attacking her! They simply set her on edge because their presence itself was threatening. She didn''t know why they were here and that bothered her. "I know you won''t," Talori sighed, unable to explain herself properly. She was just going to have to deal with it. In the meantime she should go find some nobles to bother with her ''crazy talk.'' The whole point of being here tonight was to strengthen her cover as someone unworthy of notice and she wasn''t about to let her brother down. Which was exactly what she did until it was time for everyone to eat. The seating arrangements were always done by hierarchy so she found herself between Zale and a deep sea merman. The one that had the strange appendage with the light attached sticking out of his head. These visitors must be of great importance where they came from since they were seated closest to the royal family. She couldn''t tell whether or not Zale was worried about them because he was the consummate actor. He was making banal remarks about the food in the false, affected tone he used when he was acting stupid. Merrick was rolling his eyes but seemed smug that he was embarrassing himself in front of their guests. Not that Talori thought the deep sea merfolk even noticed her brother''s strange behavior. They were looking at the food like they had never seen any before. Talori couldn''t help but wonder if that was true. Deep sea merfolk might have to eat different things if sea vegetables didn''t grow in their part of the ocean. They didn''t seem to have any table manners either. They stuffed their faces, confirming her belief that they didn''t have food like this. They ate like they were starving and it was entirely possible they were. She couldn''t deny she was curious and felt a little sorry for them but that wasn''t enough to temper her unease at them being here. What was the merking planning? Talori didn''t find out until everyone had finished eating and the merking stood at the end of the table to make an announcement. Her insides twisted in anticipation. Whatever he had to say¡­it couldn''t be good. She did her best to keep her face blank and not let her nerves show. "Ladies and gentlemen, it is my great pleasure to welcome our special guests to our kingdom. They have traveled all the way here from much deeper waters in order to make an alliance," the merking boomed. "Their chief Indra has agreed to share the secrets and treasures of the deep with us in exchange for my daughter''s hand in marriage. This banquet is a celebration of the future union between our kingdoms! So everyone enjoy yourselves!" There was a lot of clapping and excited chatter after that announcement but Talori felt like the world was ending. Her worst fear had come to pass! She had spent all of this time hoping to avoid being married off so she didn''t have to be separated from Zale but this was much worse than any of her half-sisters'' prospects. They were allowed to continue living in the light. The kingdoms they had married into were very similar to their own. Talori didn''t want to go into the dark! She didn''t have night vision so she had a hard enough time sneaking out at night using a small light source. She wasn''t even sure they had anything like that down there. If she stayed down there long enough¡­would her eyes look like theirs? Would she become mostly blind and afraid of the light too? The very thought seized her with panic. She was about to hyperventilate right here. Zale reached out under the table where no one could see and squeezed her hand tightly though his expression remained the same. He was letting her know it would be okay. He probably had half a plan formed already. Talori began to breathe normally again. Her brother wouldn''t let this happen to her. Everything was going to be fine. She just needed to get through the rest of this banquet and then he would be able to tell her the plan. She could hold out that long. Then she would be able to panic all she wanted. After everyone was excused from the table to mingle among themselves or go dance to the music that was being played the red-tentacled merman who had been across the table stopped her. "Forgive me for not introducing myself sooner. I was a bit distracted by the food. I am Indra, chief of my tribe and your future husband." This merman was the chief? No wonder he had gotten the best spot at the table after her kingdom''s royal family. He had been sitting next to Merrick so she should have guessed. He wouldn''t be her future husband if she had anything to say about it. But she needed to play nice for now since she didn''t know what Zale was planning. "It is an honor to meet you, Chief Indra.. I am Talori," she said as respectfully as she could muster. Chapter 19 - Im Doomed Talori didn''t hold any ill will toward this merman. It wasn''t as if he went out seeking a wife with bad intentions. He probably didn''t realize that a coral reef mermaid would never survive living in his cold, dark home without losing her mind. The merking definitely knew that though. He had never cared about Talori but this proved it without a doubt. He knew that anyone he sent would go insane. So why not send the crazy princess? She had wondered why her father never tried to use her before now but thought it had been because he thought she was completely useless. That wasn''t it. He had simply been waiting for the right opportunity to strike to get rid of her like he had the others. "You are as beautiful as I was told," Chief Indra said in an emotionless tone. "¡­thank you," Talori replied uncomfortably. The only compliments on her appearance she ever got were from those who worked in the coral palace. She was fairly certain they only said such things to flatter her but it wasn''t as if she cared about her looks. Why would she? They didn''t serve any real purpose. Everyone only said things like that because she was Zale''s precious little sister and they all loved him. He was the kind of leader who inspired devotion. Part of it was natural charisma and the other part was the way he treated them. He was very good to his merfolk. Everyone who worked in the coral palace was indebted to him in some way, which was exactly how he had planned it. "I have never seen so many colors in one place," Chief Indra continued. "Your kingdom is beautiful as well, though I must admit it is a bit overwhelming. Mine is much simpler but still has its own beauty." How could such a cold, dark place be considered beautiful? She knew very little about the deep sea aside from its distinct lack of light. Her part of the ocean wasn''t as pretty at night when you couldn''t see it. She was willing to bet she would hardly be able to see a thing down there so she wouldn''t exactly be able to admire the view. Not that Talori had any intention of actually going with him. She knew Zale would die before he let that happen, even if he had to conduct a coup by force. He wouldn''t let the merking do this to her. Her brother had her back. Even now as he was engaging in his usual tomfoolery somewhat nearby, he was keeping an eye on her. He was subtly letting her know that he wasn''t about to let anything happen while he was here. She appreciated that more than she could say. Knowing she wasn''t alone was the only reason she hadn''t crumbled already. "I am sure it does," Talori said belatedly, realizing she should say something back to the merman her father wanted to sell her off to. She needed to bide her time until she could get out of here so she didn''t arouse any suspicion. Chief Indra was somewhat awkward in his conversational attempts¡ªhe probably didn''t speak to mermaids often if he had to go to a different kingdom to find a wife¡ªbut he was making an effort. He really didn''t seem that bad but that didn''t mean she was willing to go with him. She dreamed of the surface. The deep ocean was about as far from the surface as you could get. Talori wasn''t sure what she was supposed to do. She was trying to keep up with his small talk as best she could but wasn''t sure if she should play up the crazy act or not in the hopes that he would call this off of his own accord. It was probably suspicious that she had acted this well thus far. It wasn''t as if the merking could punish her more than he already was by banishing her to the deep. She decided the best course of action was to begin babbling about the surface as much as possible. Unfortunately, Chief Indra didn''t even react. Had he been forewarned? Did he not care? What was going through that merman''s head? This wasn''t working. He didn''t so much as bat an eye to the things she was saying that normally freaked out the nobles she interacted with. It occurred to her that it was possible he thought this was normal for a coral reef mermaid since he wouldn''t know much about them. This was his first time traveling up from the deep. How would he know what other merfolk in her kingdom thought was crazy? Talori was in serious trouble. She barely managed to keep up her end of the conversation until she was blessedly allowed to leave. Aeces bowed to Chief Indra before explaining that he needed to escort her back to her quarters. He nodded before flatly wishing Talori goodnight and saying that he would see her in the morning. She really wasn''t looking forward to that. She had no idea how soon these deep-sea merfolk would act on taking her down with them. It probably wouldn''t be long though considering how uncomfortable they seemed in the light. They had been much more relaxed since the sun went down. "I''m doomed," Talori moaned once they were out of earshot. Aeces shook his head. "I would not say that so soon, Princess. I am sure Zale has a plan." She had to believe that. But what could her brother actually do aside from starting a war he might not win? He had been garnering support from the shadows for decades but it was slow going because he didn''t have enough power yet and was afraid to make a move too soon. Talori trusted her brother with her life but she honestly couldn''t see a way out of this one.. They were in serious trouble. What could they do to stop this when the merking had clearly been planning it for quite some time? Chapter 20 - What Was A Surface-Dweller Doing Down Here?! Zale had known something was wrong from the moment he spotted the deep-sea merfolk. He knew exactly what the merking was up to but couldn''t react because it would go against his carefully-crafted persona. Everyone was under the impression that he was too shallow and frivolous to care about his sister when nothing could be further from the truth. Talori was his only source of happiness after their mother''s death and as such was his greatest weakness. He could still remember the day she was born. She was so tiny and helpless cradled in their mother''s arms. He had promised her then that he would never let anything happen to his baby sister. And he certainly wasn''t about to break that promise now. The best course of action was to send her away somewhere safe and fake her death but where could he possibly send her? He didn''t have any connections in neighboring kingdoms and the nearest one was quite far from here regardless. No matter what, Zale could not allow her to go somewhere so cold, dark, and full of despair. It would kill her inner light. Her enthusiasm had always been one of the things he loved most about her. Being apart from her for a while and bringing her back once he had more power to protect her wasn''t a great option but it was better than losing her anyway and allowing her spirit to be crushed. But where would he send her? Where could a lone mermaid go that no one would ever think to look? As soon as Zale left the banquet he intended to head straight to her room. She was probably rather upset right now. He had seen the brief look of panic on her face earlier when the merking made his announcement. That selfish old shark! How dare he do this to Talori after ignoring her for most of her life? "What do you intend to do?" Beck asked once they were far enough away that no one could hear them. "I assume you are not planning on letting the princess go with them." "Of course not! Who in their right mind would send their family to such a horrible place? She wouldn''t last a week. I have to figure out somewhere else for her to go so if you have any suggestions, I''m open to them." "I am afraid not. Planning has always been your area of expertise." Zale cursed. He wasn''t wrong. He was the planner, Beck was the enforcer. They had worked like that the whole time they knew each other. "I have to figure something out," he muttered. "If nothing else, I need to fake her death before morning. A shark attack or something with compelling enough false evidence that it won''t seem like she ran away. "I might have to get Talori to cut her hair but I''m not sure if that will be enough. It would be helpful if we had an arm or something to leave behind but where are we supposed to get one of those?" "We could always go grave robbing," Beck deadpanned. The idea was so simple yet brilliant that Zale couldn''t believe he hadn''t thought of it himself. Merfolk corpses didn''t rot. On the rare occasion someone died, they were placed in a giant clamshell in the cemetery near the kingdom''s border if they were important and wrapped in seaweed and buried under the sand if they weren''t. Their mother, as a supposed traitor, hadn''t been deemed important but he couldn''t bear to see her have a commoner''s burial. He procured a giant clamshell on his own and laid her to rest in it far enough outside the kingdom''s borders that no one else ever found her. It was utterly barbaric to chop off your deceased mother''s arm but Zale was certain that she would want to save Talori if she could. She had loved both of her children very much. She had been yellow from head to tail so her arm could believably pass as her daughter''s. Though the prospect horrified him, there was nothing he wouldn''t do to save his sister from such a terrible fate. Zale needed to get started on this immediately. He could figure out the issue of where to send her while his merman handled the logistics of faking her death. "I know exactly whose grave to rob," he said grimly. "You remember where I buried my mother, don''t you?" Beck''s stoic face didn''t change in the slightest but in an unusual show of compassion he laid a hand on Zale''s shoulder. "Yes. Rest assured, I will handle this personally with utmost care. You should not have to do that yourself." "Thank you. Really." "It is the least I can do. Go find the princess. I am sure she needs you right now." Beck swam off in the direction of the grave and Zale took a deep breath before going toward his sister''s room. When he arrived he was concerned by the fact that the door was blocked. "Tali? Are you in there? I know you must be upset," he said worriedly. No one answered. That wasn''t like her. She always answered the door no matter how upset she was. If she wasn''t going to open the door for him, he was simply going to have to go through the window. He swam around and did just that before freezing when he saw a stranger lying in Talori''s bed. And not just any stranger. Their skin and hair were blue, which wasn''t unusual for merfolk in this part of the ocean, but they lacked fins and a tail. Those were legs! What was a surface-dweller doing down here?! No surface-dweller should be capable of surviving down here. Were they dead? No, they were breathing. There was a bubble around their head so that must have something to do with it. Magic? Was this creature a witch? He hadn''t realized witches could have blue skin but it wasn''t as if he knew much about them. Chapter 21 - You Have My Word Zale momentarily set aside his confusion and shock at finding such a creature here in Talori''s room because this solved his problem perfectly. If she knew a surface-dweller, all he had to do was send her away with them. "Wake up!" he shouted in English as he shook the creature''s shoulder. "Talori? Are you back already?" the creature mumbled sleepily, rubbing its eyes before jumping backward in alarm. "Zale! I mean¡­um¡­ah, I really can''t explain this." Zale crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the creature. "What are you? How did you get down here?" "I''m a water fairy. I got swept off my boat in a storm and Talori saved me. Please don''t get mad at her for sneaking out! I was the one who wanted to stay here after I woke up; this was my idea not hers." He wasn''t so sure about that. Even if it was this water fairy''s idea¡ªwhat was a water fairy, anyway?¡ªhe knew his sister. If a surface-dweller fell into her lap, there was no way she would let them go without answering a million questions. Zale couldn''t care about that right now even though it was quite apparent Talori had been sneaking out for a while and keeping secrets from him. He could worry about that later when she was safe. "I do not care about that. You are leaving tonight and taking Talori with you. She is in danger." The water fairy''s eyes widened. "What?!" Before he had the chance to explain himself further he heard Talori''s voice outside. "Thank you, Aeces. I will see you later." "Goodnight, Princess." Zale needed to talk to her urgently so he moved the chest himself to let her in. She blinked at him with her jaw dropped as she took in the scene before her, unable to come up with an explanation. "Spare me," he said in English. "I do not care what happened. You are going with him up to the surface." Talori was finally able to find her voice to sputter, "You are sending me to the surface?!" "It is the only safe place I can think of right now. You need to go with him and stay there until I have finished my plan. I can send for you through the witches when Gar goes to meet with them when the time comes. I will not let them take you to the dark." "How are you accepting this so easily? I thought you would be angry with me for harboring a surface-dweller and sneaking out!" Zale sighed. He was but he couldn''t focus on that right now because it was too convenient to have someone here who had a place to hide her at the exact moment he needed it. "Tali, I am sorry I had to keep you locked up for your own safety. Sneaking out was a stupid thing to do but I understand why you would want to. I am more relieved we have a solution to our problem than I am angry. "We can talk about this later. You need to go and get as much distance from here as possible before anyone notices you are missing. I do not know this water fairy but you clearly trust him so that is going to have to be good enough for now." Talori bit her lip. "I do trust him. But did you even ask if that was alright or just make demands?" Zale hesitated. His sister knew him too well. He didn''t have to say anything for her to get her answer. She sighed. "That is what I thought. Brennan, I do not wish to impose on you but I also do not wish to be dragged to the deep. Can I stay with you for a while?" So the water fairy''s name was Brennan. Zale assumed it was male but couldn''t be sure. Not that he thought it would be an issue. They were two completely different species. If a merman had been staying in his sister''s room, that would be a different story. Talori''s curiosity had always gotten the best of her. She had probably talked this water fairy''s ear off the whole time he had been here. She was definitely too interested in whatever he might have to say to think of him as a man. Zale didn''t like anything about this but he had to choose between the lesser of two evils. Putting his trust in a stranger did not sit well with him but better that than losing his sister forever because of the merking''s selfishness. Honestly, she would probably have the time of her life on the surface. That was a much better option than sending her somewhere frightening and unhabitable. "Uh¡­" Brennan said slowly. "What exactly is going on here? I''m not sure I understand." Talori swished her tail anxiously. "The merking wishes to marry me off to the chief of a tribe of deep-sea merfolk." "I do not know you or trust you but anything you have to offer is better than sending her to such a place. It is cold, dark, and barren. She would never survive down there," Zale spat. "Oh. For how long?" "Only until Zale finishes his plan. Right, Zale?" Talori asked. Zale was taken aback. She had told this outsider about his plan? She must trust him more than he thought. Part of him was upset by this but the other part was relieved. The water fairy hadn''t done anything truly untrustworthy aside from hiding here in the first place. He had stayed in Talori''s room and not made any fuss. He most likely planned to leave without anyone knowing he was there so she wouldn''t get in trouble before this happened. That had to count for something. If he didn''t want her to get in trouble, he had to care about her well-being at least slightly as his savior, didn''t he? Zale knew how that bred loyalty more than most. "Yes," he confirmed. "I am unsure how long it will take but I can compensate you upon her safe return. What do you want?" Brennan answered immediately. It seemed he had already thought about this. "I want to work with you. Well, merfolk in general. I''m a marine biologist on the surface, which means I work with humans trying to preserve the ocean. I''m sure you have noticed the trash problem. That''s one of the things we''re trying to fix." Zale was amazed that there were humans who cared about such things. Why would the ocean matter to them when they didn''t live there? But he wasn''t about to turn down such an opportunity even if it hadn''t been the only thing the water fairy wanted in compensation. This had been exactly what he had been hoping to accomplish by having more contact with the surface-dwellers. And someone already involved just so happened to end up with his sister? It seemed too good to be true. "Why do you care?" Zale asked, unable to stop himself. He knew he wasn''t supposed to be wasting time but the question would bother him if he didn''t get it answered before they left. It made no sense for creatures who didn''t live here to care what happened to it. "Fairies are tied very closely with nature," Brennan explained. "My element is water and I have always been drawn to the ocean as a result. That''s why I went into the field I did. I care about fixing what the humans broke in general but especially the ocean. Things have gotten pretty bad." Zale couldn''t deny that. And that was only in this small corner of it. He couldn''t speak for the rest of the ocean. The water fairy''s voice was more impassioned than it had been this entire time. He certainly seemed sincere. Zale was going to have to take his word for it. "I see. Take care of Tali for me and I will cooperate with you. You have my word. But will you be able to protect her? She will stick out among the humans and does not have legs to walk around as you do." Brennan nodded seriously. "Don''t worry about it. I''ve been among the humans for centuries. And I happen to have a witch friend who I think will be able to help us make her appear human. We will take care of her, I promise." Zale did instinctively trust the witches because he had seen their good work already in the magic items that kept their borders safe. He was going to have to trust this water fairy too. "Alright. The two of you need to leave now. No more wasting time." Talori''s eyes filled with tears. "I''m sorry, Zale." "Don''t be. This all worked out in the end. All that matters is that you are safe," Zale said as he circled around her and tapped his tail against hers before putting his hands on her shoulders and leaning forward to their foreheads touched. "I love you, Tali. Learn as much as you can up there so you can tell me all about it when you get home." "I will! I love you too." Chapter 22 - I Trust Your Judgment Zale told Talori to wait there while he grabbed her some rations for the long swim and when he came back with them she stuffed them in her bag and held his hands tightly for a moment with a worried expression on her face. "Are you really going to be okay without me?" No but she didn''t need to know that. As long as she was safe, that was what truly mattered. He would simply have to speed up his efforts so she could come home as quickly as possible. "Do not worry about me. All that matters is that you are safe." Talori didn''t seem to believe him but let it go. He gently stroked her face and got out a knife to cut off some of her hair. "I''ll need evidence of your supposed death. It will grow back." Noble merfolk all had long hair. It was the day laborers who kept it short for the sake of convenience. Hers went down to the top of her tail. Cutting it to just below her shoulders should be enough to convince them. She had already undone the fancy pearl-strung hairdo from early and tied it back simply so it would be easier to cut. "Do it." Zale was exceedingly careful that she wouldn''t get cut and held the bundle of hair to his chest. It was just hair. He was doing this to keep his sister alive. Like he said, it would grow back. "Be careful, Zale," was the last thing he heard his sister say before she swam away with the water fairy on her tail. "I am always careful," he called after her but she was already gone. Zale felt rather bereft as he floated there watching the place where she had disappeared. Who knows when he would see her again? Because it was when, not if. He had to believe that the water fairy would keep his word and that his plan would succeed. He had already been plenty motivated before by the death of his mother but losing (even temporarily) the only other family he had left made him desperately want to get this done as quickly as possible. He was in a rush more than ever before. Talori was depending on him so she could come home. He could tell he was going to have a worse time without her than she was without him. She would likely be so distracted by all of the new and shiny surface things that she wouldn''t have much time to miss him. Somehow that thought was both disgruntling and relieving. He didn''t want her to be sad. Zale was in for a very long separation. All he could hope at this point was that she would be able to return to his side as soon as possible. He forced himself to push his feelings aside and get to work. He needed to meet with the rest of his mermen and make sure that they were able to fake Talori''s death properly by morning. There was an awful lot to do. They had to find a shark, for one. There had been a few cases of them attacking merfolk out in open water but only when blood was involved. They would also need blood to soak the hair and severed arm in. Zale would volunteer to do it himself if not for how visible he would be as a royal in the wake of Talori''s supposed death. The same went for Beck as his personal attendant. In the end Nerio volunteered to cut his arm. He almost never left the coral palace so the chances of anyone connecting it to him were slim to none. If asked, he could pretend it had been a training accident. When Beck arrived with the arm looking even more somber than usual Zale''s breath caught in his throat. His mother and Talori had the exact same skin tone. If he didn''t know any better, he would think it was his sister''s. Which was the whole point of this but he still felt sick at the sight. ''Forgive me, Mother. I had to do this for Tali,'' he thought wearily before looking away from it. "Cyreus, you''re the best tracker. Go find me a shark. We need to make this as realistic as possible so we should set up the accident scene barely outside our borders," Zale said crisply. "Understood." Some of them went off to set the trap while others waited around for news. He wished he could go to bed but he had to wait until everything was set up. He would have gone himself if Beck hadn''t stopped him, rationalizing that he shouldn''t have to see his mother''s arm like that. As the others went to bed the two of them were left alone in the courtyard. His companion looked at him with the slightest hint of a frown on his face. "You didn''t tell me where you sent the princess. Did you figure it out? She should have left already." Zale sighed heavily. "She did. The little sneak has been leaving the palace at night, likely to go collect items surface-dwellers lost. She ended up saving a shipwrecked water fairy and keeping him here, though I''m not sure for how long. She didn''t mention that." Beck''s eyes widened fractionally. "A surface-dweller wouldn''t survive down here." "This one did by using some sort of water magic to breathe. Apparently, he is a marine biologist and is working with humans to fix the ocean''s problems. I was able to ensure his cooperation by promising to help him with that once he brings Tali back safe and sound. I don''t like it but I didn''t have any other choice." "You sent her to the surface?" "What else was I supposed to do? I had nowhere else to send her!" "But won''t the humans know something is different about her? That does not seem safe." Zale sighed again and rubbed his forehead. "The water fairy says he can get a witch friend of his to help. That did make me feel slightly better. Supposedly, there is magic that makes one appear human." "Magic can truly do that?" Beck asked in a tone of slight disbelief. "Magic can do all sorts of things. I''m sure we will find out the full extent of it once we work more closely with the witches after I become merking." "I trust your judgment. If witches are involved, the princess should be safe." Zale snorted. "She''s going to have such a good time up there I don''t know if she''ll even want to come home. She loves the surface! Finding out how everything works up there should keep her plenty busy until our plan is complete." Beck looked at him blankly. "You exaggerate. The princess loves surface items but she loves you more. I am certain of it. She will want to come home when she gets the chance." He was probably right. He was just trying to make himself feel better about sending his sister off alone with unknown creatures who may or may not be trustworthy. At the very least Talori was comfortable with Brennan. She may be sheltered but she was a fairly good judge of character. "If you say so." The two of them floated in silence after that until Cyreus reported back that everything had gone according to plan and the evidence should be found by the morning border patrol. In the meantime they all needed to get to sleep, especially Zale because he had some major acting to do in the morning. He forced himself to sleep despite his worries because he knew he would need it. He was awoken by a servant telling him the merking had summoned him to the main palace. It seemed that his ruse was working already. He never got summoned two days in a row. Zale went out with Beck by his side as usual, prepared to put on a show. When he arrived the mood was somber and the visitors from the deep sea were in the throne room. It was time to him to act as clueless as usual. "I say, why is everyone here so early? The party last night absolutely wore me out. The dancing, the poetry reciting, the entertainment! I was prepared to sleep the day away before I got the summons," he said in his dramatic, affected tone that made people underestimate him. King Ren, a severe-looking shark merman, looked even more severe than usual this morning. Zale-the-idiot acted as though he had absolutely no idea what was going on. "Have you seen your sister this morning?" he asked harshly. Zale blinked at him before lying. "Talori? No, I haven''t seen her since the party when she was talking to Chief Indra the whole time. Come to think of it¡­where is she?" King Ren had a royal guard bring the arm and bloodied clump of hair out. "These were found this morning near a group of circling sharks by the border.. It has been decades since a shark attacked so I have guards looking into this but it appears that Talori has been eaten." Chapter 23 - Is This Really Okay? How to react? Zale knew that Talori was safe and sound but he couldn''t deny that the sight of his mother''s arm made him feel sick again. It wouldn''t be so far-fetched for a frivolous idiot to throw up in front of everyone, would it? He and his sister supposedly weren''t close but anyone feebleminded and fainthearted would react negatively to such a sight. It didn''t take much prompting for him to lose last night''s dinner. Everyone drew back in horror. "Zale! Control yourself!" "I''m sorry! I''m not good with blood!" he choked out before emphasizing the point by throwing up again. King Ren sighed and rubbed his forehead in agitation before looking at his guests. "I''m terribly sorry about him. My son has always had a delicate constitution." "That is not the problem at hand," Chief Indra said emotionlessly. "The alliance is off unless you happen to have another bride available for me. There is a distinct lack of mermaids in the deep." "I can find someone provided you don''t mind that they aren''t royalty." "Mermaids are mermaids no matter their bloodline. I will need a successor eventually. You have two days or the deal is off. We cannot stay in the light much longer." "¡­I understand. I will find someone for you. In the meantime you are free to return to your quarters. I apologize for the inconvenience this has caused. I don''t know what Talori would be doing that far out to sea." "I assume she was exploring. She mentioned that she liked to search for objects dropped by surface-dwellers last night," Chief Indra said with a sigh. "A pity. She was a beautiful mermaid." He gestured for his comrades to follow him out and they did. A servant began cleaning up Zale''s vomit immediately afterward. King Ren eyed Zale disdainfully. "Pull yourself together! The funeral will be held later today. We don''t have a full body to bury but what we do have will go in the cemetery. I expect you to be there and to behave yourself!" "Alright," Zale said weakly though internally he was seething. He didn''t seem upset about Talori''s supposed death at all! He had always known the merking was cold and cruel but this was too much. It wasn''t any better at the funeral. He played his part quietly, acting too shocked to be as over-the-top as usual but he noticed that he was the only one crying. No one else cared Talori was gone at all. Forcing himself to cry wasn''t the easiest thing in the world but it would be suspicious if he didn''t. Though they supposedly weren''t close, they were still full-blooded siblings. A servant collected his tears in a small bottle to give to the witches on their next delivery. It was completely heartless but that was how things were here. Anytime someone cried the tears had to be collected. If there weren''t enough, the king would lightly injure a servant to make them tear up. Zale sincerely hoped that Talori and Brennan managed to make it to the witches without any issues. He also wished there was a way for him to know that for sure. It wasn''t like any messages could be passed since Gar was loyal to the merking. === Brennan had not been prepared to be woken up by Talori''s understandably angry brother but he was even less prepared to suddenly be taking her home with him. That had not been part of the plan! He was supposed to be going home tonight or tomorrow night anyway but what was he supposed to do with a mermaid on land? He was going to have to figure out how to get a hold of Harmony as soon as he got to shore. She could help him out. Talori didn''t even know how to use a glamour. It was an innate ability of all fae but since she had never needed it before she didn''t know how to use it. There had to be some way to get it to activate. He would have to push her around in a wheelchair since she couldn''t walk but that wasn''t the end of the world. All she would have to do was wear a long dress or something and the glamour would take care of the rest. Brennan thought about all of this as they began making their very long trek back to Florida. Thankfully, merfolk had perfect nautical bearings. They knew their own coordinates and he knew the coordinates of a beach not far from where he worked. He had a lot on his mind. The events of the past few days had been wild enough but had nothing on the past few hours. The tables had turned on him. Now instead of hiding from merfolk, he would be hiding one with him to prevent her from getting married off to what appeared to be a vampire squid merman based on Talori''s description. She had shared more details with him as they swam. He hadn''t realized that merfolk lived in such deep waters until now but supposed it made sense. If regular sea creatures could live that deep, so could they. Brennan found it fascinating but it seemed like a sore subject for her since it was the reason she had to run away and leave her beloved brother so he didn''t press for too many details. He had a lot of other things on his mind anyway. Like what he was going to say to people at work about what happened. He had somewhat of a plan in place. Once they got closer to shore he was going to find a piece of driftwood and wait to be rescued. Talori would stay underwater and follow whatever boat picked him up. From the boat he would be able to call his supervisor and explain what happened while acting appropriately freaked out by the ordeal. They would probably give him a few days to a week off to recover before expecting him back. He could use that time to try and help Talori adjust to life on the surface. As soon as he made it to shore he was going to have to leave Talori under a dock or something until he could shake off whoever was driving the boat and get a hold of Harmony. She could bring him a wheelchair, blanket, headscarf, and sunglasses to hide every inch of her from prying eyes. Purple hair was one thing but the fins, tail, and yellow skin were another. "Brennan?" Talori asked hesitantly. "Is this really okay?" She looked more forlorn than he had ever seen her and he didn''t like it. She was such an enthusiastic fae that it was distressing to see. Brennan smiled to reassure her. "Don''t worry about it! You let me stay with you so I can return the favor. I wanted to learn more about merfolk anyway and procure your brother''s help so this is a win-win." "But you were only with me for a few days. I have no idea how long this will take." "Not a big deal. It''s not like I''ll have to hide you. I can take you out and about as soon as we figure out how to activate your glamour. It''s really easy once you get the hang of it. There are all sorts of things I can show you. It''ll be like a vacation!" Talori eyed him curiously. "A vacation?" "Ah, they''re trips that humans and sometimes fae take to go to places far from where they live for a while," he explained. "I see. Alright then, this is a vacation. I am sure Zale will help you with your marine biology research in any way he can in return for helping us. You are right; this is a win-win." Brennan had explained the term to her a few days ago so she knew what it meant now. There was still an awful lot she didn''t know though because it hadn''t come up. He was in for a lot of explanations of basic things in his future but he didn''t mind too much. A mermaid was actually coming to stay with him! Harmony was going to flip when she found out. She had been dying to know more about merfolk for ages. He was going to have to explain that they preferred that to mermaids, among other things. It was a good thing he got into the habit of memorizing phone numbers decades ago rather than solely relying on contacts in his cell phone. He would be able to call both his supervisor and Harmony without having his phone on him. Brennan was getting tired. He wasn''t sure how long they had been swimming at this point but the sun was high in the sky from what he could tell. Things did look different underwater. At this rate they wouldn''t make it to shore for days. It would be really nice if a boat popped up out of nowhere right now. He kept an eye out for any passing shapes near the top of the water but didn''t have any luck for another several hours. He told Talori to stay down and follow the boat if he didn''t come back by the time it moved away and what his plan was for when they made it to shore. She nodded more seriously than usual. He also told her there was a good chance another boat would come get him from the first one and for her to keep a sharp eye on it.. If that happened, she would have to follow the second one. Chapter 24 - Simply The Way Things Were Brennan glamoured himself and released his magic bubble once he got closer to the surface. He was off to the side of the boat now and yelled at the top of his lungs. "HEY! OVER HERE! HELP!" Someone on deck swiveled around in disbelief before getting several other people''s help to throw out a life preserver and drag him to the safety of the boat. He had to be careful than no one touched his wings as they helped him up. "What on earth are you doing out here?!" one of them asked. "I''m a marine biologist," Brennan said tiredly. "I was swept out to sea during the storm a few days ago. My research team is probably really worried about me. Can I call them?" "You''ve been out here for days?! Wow! Of course you can but we don''t have any service out here aside from an emergency radio. I''ll have to contact the coast guard and they can get a hold of them for you. Where are you coming from?" "Miami." "¡­it''s a really good thing we found you. You never would have made it back there after already swimming for days. What''s your name? I''m Jim Colfer." "Brennan Trent. Nice to meet you." Jim called out to one of his crewmates to get him some dry clothes, food, water, and a blanket while he made the call to the coast guard himself. They couldn''t turn around because they were headed in the opposite direction of Miami but they could get someone to come pick him up. Brennan was very glad he accounted for this possibility when he told Talori the plan. Otherwise they would be in trouble. He knew there was a good chance the Coast Guard would get involved since he had been shipwrecked. It hadn''t happened to him before but he had heard stories from colleagues in the field. It took the Coast Guard a few hours to show up and they asked him countless questions about what he had been doing out there and his research team before they got close enough to shore that he could call them. He managed to get a hold of his understandably freaked out supervisor just before they left work. "Brennan! You''re alive?!" "Yeah," he said sheepishly. "Sorry for worrying you." "Forget that! Everyone is going to be thrilled. Are you okay? Did you get hurt at all?" Everett worried. "I''m just exhausted and sore from swimming for so long. I''m going to get checked out when I get back to shore just to be safe. I''m really okay." "I can''t believe it! You rest up good, you hear? I don''t want you stepping foot in this place until you''ve recovered from your ordeal. Take a week. Your research will be waiting for you when you get back." Brennan sighed in relief. As he predicted. "Thanks, Everett." "Of course! It''s not every day someone gets swept out to sea and lives to tell the tale. I want you in peak condition before you think about work," Everett said sternly. "I have to go tell everyone else before you leave. Be warned, they might want to come check up on you." His sigh was less relieved this time. The last thing he needed was well-meaning but nosy humans getting into his business. He couldn''t exactly turn them away though considering how scared they must have been seeing the wind drag him off. It made sense they would want to see he was okay for themselves. "Thanks for the heads up. I''ll see you in a week." Brennan hung up the phone and thanked the member of the coast guard who had let him use the phone. They nodded before asking, "Is there anyone else you want to call?" "Not right now. I''ll wait until we''re closer to shore. I''m going to need someone to pick me up." "You got it." The boat made good time so they were back before the sun completely set over the water. He borrowed that human''s phone again to call Harmony and fervently hoped she picked up. She tended to get wrapped up in her projects at the worst of times and wasn''t always the best at answering her phone. The best way to get a hold of her was to show up at the witch coven. === Harmony Netzley was a simple witch. She loved learning and experimenting above all else so feelings came second. That was simply how things were for witches. Everything was a transaction. There wasn''t anything wrong with that. It was simply the way things were. She was young, hungry, and desperate to prove herself to the coven leader. She had left her mother''s coven as soon as she reached adulthood, wanting to branch out and try new things. This was standard. Witches hardly ever stayed in the same coven for more than a century. Trying new things was their way of life. She had left the Redwood Coven in favor of the warm, sunny weather of Florida but kept in touch with her friends and family using a mixture of technology and magic. She liked the Coastal Coven. A lot of the witches here were younger like her and had traveled from other covens throughout North America. A witch could fit into any coven anywhere but she preferred this one because of the particular witches in it. It didn''t hurt that there was a lot to do in Miami. There were plenty of fae around here too though their service area covered several states. Harmony had only ever lived in two places so she enjoyed meeting more well-traveled fae like Brennan Trent. Most fae seemed content to stay in one place for centuries and that seemed so boring to her! Thinking of Brennan¡­she wondered why he hadn''t dropped by in so long. He normally showed up every couple of days to talk to her as she worked. It was a solid arrangement because he liked to hear about magic and she liked to hear about everywhere he had been. At this point the other witches hardly noticed his presence anymore. At first they had been weirded out that a fairy spent so much time in their coven but eventually they accepted that their bizarre friendship was as transactional as the ones they shared with the elves, if in an entirely different way. More than half of the witches here had elf boyfriends (for lack of a better term) because they were trying to perpetuate their race. Harmony did too. He was actually supposed to be coming over soon. They weren''t true relationships. Neither witches nor elves were into that sort of thing. They tended to meet up once a week or so to try and get pregnant and that was the extent of it. It was unfortunate that fae babies were so rare. If a witch was lucky, she would have one or two children in her lifetime and that was after bouncing around from partner to partner constantly every few decades. Harmony had met Castian Reycan at a party specifically meant to match up witches and elves shortly after moving here and they had been following that arrangement ever since. Aside from that they had their own lives and didn''t interact unless it was to say hi if they happened to run into each other. He was a pretty good-looking guy. Human male models often reminded her of elves minus the pointed ears and long hair. His looks were a stark contrast to hers. He was tall and pale with straight red hair that went to his waist and turquoise eyes. She was on the shorter side of average with a black flippy bob, dark skin, and glowing green eyes. More likely than not, any child they might have would look like her since that was how witch genetics worked. She looked like her mother and aunt rather than whoever her elf father had been. Not that Harmony truly expected to have Castian''s child. It usually took decades if not centuries to get pregnant and she didn''t know how long she would stay in Florida. Still, she had to try. It was her duty as a witch and it wasn''t like sleeping with him was a chore. The doorbell rang, breaking her out of her thoughts. That should be Castian now. He was just getting off work at Elite Financial Solutions'' Miami branch because he was still in a suit, as he was every time she saw him. Sometimes she wondered if he ever wore anything else. Unless she was going out somewhere she tended to dress rather casually. Not right now though because she knew Castian was coming over. She had put on a red mini dress and makeup for the occasion. She always tried to make herself look nice on their ''date nights.'' Harmony opened the door and smiled at him as she gestured for him to come in. "Hi, Castian." "Hello, Harmony. You look nice." Her smile grew wider. That was about as complimentary as he got. Elves were such stiffs. She had worn this on purpose because she knew he liked red. At least she assumed he liked red because seven times out of ten his tie was red when she saw him. Tonight he was shaking things up by wearing a blue one. "Why thank you! So do you." His lips twitched, which was his version of a smile. He took off his coat and began loosening his tie. "What have you been up to this week?" Basic small talk. That was about the extent of their conversations but Harmony was used to it. She had plenty of people around to provide more mental stimulation. His role in her life was purely physical. "Same old, same old. Though Thalia did end up blowing up her office again. It''s a good thing we turned the fire alarms in the back off years ago or the human firefighters would be knocking down our door every other day. My aunt is notorious for explosions," she said with a shrug. "You?" "Nothing new on my end either. Banking gets rather repetitive." Harmony couldn''t imagine having such a boring job. At least her version of repetitiveness had more oomph.. You didn''t see explosions at a bank. Chapter 25 - I Need More Details! Harmony was fairly certain Castian had reached his conversational limit because he went quiet after that. Might as well get the ball rolling. She knew the drill by now. She came up behind where he had sat on her couch and began massaging his shoulders. A minute into it he let out a small sigh. "That feels nice." Geez, this elf was tense. Sometimes Harmony wondered if he stuck around solely for the neck massages. That was a very sentimental notion for an elf though. They were beings of logic. He was doing his job to keep the fae world running just like she was. Harmony kept going until most of the tension was out of Castian''s neck before leaning over to nibble his ear. That was how she usually started this. Then they would make out for a while before moving on. It was all down to a science after being together for a couple of decades. Their kisses were getting more heated when her phone rang. She was inclined to ignore it but she had it set to ''do not disturb'' with the exception of emergencies. If someone called her twice in a row, it got patched through. She couldn''t remember the last time that actually happened. Most people gave up and left a voicemail after a single attempt. Harmony sighed. She had been in the middle of unbuttoning his shirt too. "I''m so sorry; this is probably urgent. Just let me see who it is and if I can pawn them off onto someone else or not," she said apologetically as she got off of Castian''s lap and picked up her phone. Harmony answered the phone rather irritably as she ran a hand through her hair. "What is it, Brennan? I''m in the middle of something!" Why was Brennan trying to reach her so urgently? He had never called her twice in a row before. "I''m really sorry but I need your help. I, uh¡­" Brennan lowered his voice to a whisper so she could barely hear what he was saying. "I have a mermaid with me and I need to get her to the witch coven without being seen. Can you bring a really big sheet, a headscarf, some sunglasses, and a wheelchair to the port?" "What?!" A mermaid! How on earth did he end up needing help smuggling a mermaid? Technically, she could pawn this off onto someone else since Castian had been here first but there was no way she would ever miss the chance to potentially learn more about mermaids. Brennan must have known this, which was why he called her for help rather than generically calling the witch coven. "How did you even meet one?" Harmony asked in disbelief. "Long story short, I got caught up in a hurricane and was blown overboard. Can you come or not? The Coast Guard is waiting for someone to come pick me up." He got blown away by a hurricane, met a mermaid, and now humans were involved? Oh boy. He had been up to a lot when he hadn''t been dropping by the coven. It seemed like she had gotten the answer to her earlier question. "I''ll be there as soon as I can get the stuff." "Thank you," Brennan said fervently before hanging up. Harmony sighed and ran a hand through her hair before looking at her boyfriend. "I''m really sorry about this, Castian. I have to go. There''s kind of an emergency down at the port." A small divot appeared in between the elf''s brows. "What kind of emergency?" "My friend ended up shipwrecked and is now trying to smuggle a mermaid to my coven without being noticed by the Coast Guard. Kind of a big deal. Can we reschedule? I swear I''ll make it up to you later." "¡­a mermaid?" "Yeah," Harmony said as she hurried into the bedroom to change into something that was easier to move in. A pair of leggings and a hoodie ought to do it. "Does Wednesday or Thursday work better for you?" "I could come with you and we could resume when you were done," Castian suggested, stopping her in her tracks so she could gape at him. "Seriously? You want to come?" "I have other engagements on both Wednesday and Thursday. Tonight is the only one that works." Harmony couldn''t exactly argue with that but it would be weird to bring him along. She wasn''t sure she could think of a more unlikely quartet than a water fairy, a witch, a mermaid, and an elf. "If you insist." She grabbed her purse and her wand before heading out and gesturing for him to follow once he had buttoned his shirt. She was going to have to steal a wheelchair from the hospital because she couldn''t think of anywhere that sold them this time of night. It would be easy enough to do if she turned the wheelchair invisible then used magic to roll it out the door leading to the ER. Her job actually ended up being easier than she thought because there was an empty one lying in wait just outside the door. She felt slightly bad for taking it from whoever needed it¡ªthey were going to be very confused when it disappeared¡ªbut not bad enough not to go through with it. Once it was far enough away that none of the humans in the hospital would be able to see it she took off the invisibility spell so she could fold it up and put it in her trunk. Everything else had already been available at her apartment. "That was impressive," Castian remarked mildly. Harmony shrugged. "That''s such basic magic though. You impress too easily." "I don''t see much magic in action." She supposed that was true. Elves, unlike most races of fae, didn''t have much magic of their own. They had to rely on witches for magic items. They were fast but not as fast as werewolves or vampires. They weren''t particularly strong but they were smart and the older ones were all trained in sword fighting and archery from before the world changed when those were necessary skills. They had survived this long for a reason. The car was quiet the rest of the way to the port. When she arrived she saw Brennan in his glamour standing rather anxiously on a dock next to what she assumed to be someone from the Coast guard. "Brennan! How did you get caught up in a hurricane?" Harmony scolded. She hugged him for good measure because the human was watching and it seemed like the sort of thing a human would do after their friend nearly died. He stiffened slightly at first because they had never done such a thing before but relaxed into it for a moment before pulling back. "I was on a research trip and got blown off the deck. Those winds are no joke." Ah. Reading between the lines, it had probably been his wings that got caught up in the wind. She needed to act like she was leaving with him so the human would go away and they could sneak back to get the mermaid. Harmony wrapped an arm around his shoulder in a sign of camaraderie and led him away after thanking the human for helping him. She let go as soon as they were out of the human''s sight. "What happened?" she demanded. "I need more details!" Brennan let out a weary sigh. "I was sinking through the water after passing out and Talori¡ªthat''s the mermaid¡ªsaved me. I used my power to breathe underwater and stayed with her for a few days for research purposes but then her brother had her leave with me so she didn''t end up married off to some deep-sea merchieftain." Harmony couldn''t believe what she was hearing. Part of her was tempted to laugh because choosing to stay underwater for a few days to learn more about mermaids was exactly the sort of thing her friend would do. The other part was incredibly confused. "You got involved in mermaid politics?" "Kind of hard not to when the one who saved me happened to be a princess. And they prefer to be called merfolk collectively. Mermaids are female and mermen are male. Also, who is this?" Brennan asked, gesturing to Castian. "I didn''t expect you to bring anyone with you." He spoke for the first time since they had arrived. "Castian Reycan. I''m Harmony''s boyfriend." "Oh. You really were busy. Sorry. I just didn''t know who else to go to for help." Harmony sighed and waved her hand impatiently. "Water under the bridge. You know I would never miss the chance to know more about mermaids! Or I suppose I should say merfolk." "I figured as much. Anyway, I think the human is gone now. If somebody has the wheelchair ready at the edge of the dock, the other two of us can go grab Talori. She''s kind of tall with the tail and everything." "Where is she?" Brennan sighed. "Under the boat I came in if she followed my instructions.. I''ll have to pop down there and get her." Chapter 26 - I Never Thought I Would See A Mermaid Once the coast was clear they snuck back to the dock and Brennan jumped into the water, casting a bubble around his head before going under. Castian blinked at the place where he disappeared. "¡­is your friend a water fairy, by chance?" Harmony nodded. "Yeah. Probably should have mentioned that, sorry. We have a mutually beneficial friendship going on where he tells me about his travels and I tell him about magic. We''re both interested in merfolk so it made sense that he would call me of all witches." "Interesting," Castian said and left it at that. Brennan popped back up with someone with yellow skin and eyes and purple hair and fins. "Talori, this is my friend Harmony that I told you about and her boyfriend Castian." The mermaid broke into a grin and let out a happy noise not unlike dolphin chatter. "I am so pleased to meet you! Brennan told me so much about you. Can you truly help me look human?" "It might take a bit of finagling because I don''t have much experience with merfolk but I should be able to help you activate your glamour," Harmony reassured her, oddly touched that her friend had spoken of her highly enough for a mermaid to be excited about meeting her. "Castian, man the wheelchair." He nodded wordlessly and went to do as she asked. Brennan flew out of the water and he and Harmony had to work together to hoist Talori out. They wrapped her head in the scarf to hide her ear fins, put on the sunglasses, and made her a fish burrito in the sheet. They looked incredibly suspicious right now. Harmony desperately hoped that no humans showed up before they got her into the wheelchair. Right now they looked like they were moving a body. Getting Talori into the car was more difficult than she thought it would be because tails were much longer than legs. It took quite a bit of scrunching and she ended up having to sit as if her metaphorical knees were up. She didn''t seem to mind. She had removed the sunglasses once inside the car and was looking around with a sense of wide-eyed wonder. "What is this, Brennan?" "That''s a stoplight. They''re used to prevent cars from crashing into each other." "What about that?" "That''s a semi-truck. They transport large amounts of things from one place to another." "And that?" "A motorcycle. Another way of traveling distances." Brennan was incredibly patient with her endless stream of questions so Harmony was willing to bet he had spent much of the time he was gone doing this. He had probably gotten some of his questions answered as well. They were going to have to have a nice long conversation later. The rest of the way to the coven was spent with Harmony and Castian sitting in silence, listening to those two go. When they arrived they had to push her in through the back to avoid any suspicion from late-night customers that weren''t vampires. They did come in now and then, especially those involved in Miami''s nightlife. "I don''t want to explain myself so everyone stay quiet," Harmony insisted before they went in. Luckily, everyone seemed to be either in their offices or out. It was a Friday night, after all. That was a common night for dates. She was far from the only one with an elf boyfriend. Once she got into her office she locked the door with a flick of her wand and sighed in relief. "Okay. Unwrap her, will you?" Brennan did as she asked and Harmony got a full look at a mermaid in the light for the first time out of water. Talori was a truly beautiful fae between her facial features, coloring, and shimmering tail. Harmony''s eyes glowed in excitement and she clapped her hands together. "Ooh, I''ve always wanted to see a mermaid up close! I''m going to have to conduct some magic tests to see if you''re capable of doing a glamour, do you mind?" Talori shook her head. "That is fine." She ran her wand over and around where the mermaid sat several times, changing the spells she was using occasionally as she went. She could definitely sense magic in there. That was good. Elves didn''t have proper magic and they could still use a glamour but you never knew. "I want you to concentrate your magic in the center of your chest," Harmony instructed. "Feel it flowing through you then concentrate on a single thought: I need to look human." Talori closed her eyes and screwed up her face in concentration. A moment later her glamour popped up. That was quick! This mermaid must have a lot of magical talent. Her purple hair had turned brown, her yellow eyes had turned hazel, and her yellow skin turned olive. She looked like she was wearing a purple-to-yellow maxi dress and sandals though her tail was obviously still there. "Excellent work! Now you should be able to release it and put it back on at will. You just need to concentrate your magic. You''ll still look like you in mirrors and pictures but to the naked eye you''ll seem as human as can be," Harmony said with a smile. "Thank you so much for this, Harmony," Brennan said fervently. "I really appreciate it. If you drive us home, I''ll get your of your hair." "No problem! But I fully expect you both to be back here tomorrow. I want to know EVERYTHING." "I expected nothing less. She''ll need fake documentation anyway for however long she''s here. I was hoping you could hook her up and help answer some questions she has about witches." Harmony''s eyes flashed in excitement again and she was so overjoyed she actually jumped up and down. "Absolutely! I would love to. I have so many questions about merfolk as well if you''re willing." Talori smiled and nodded. "Of course! I have told Brennan a lot so I do not mind telling you as well." "Excellent! I''ll expect you two after lunch." Satisfied that she was going to get the information she wanted, Harmony needed to get back to what she was doing when she had been interrupted. Even though they didn''t have to reschedule she would still have to do something to make this up to Castian. He had been a much better sport about all of this than she would have expected. She dropped Brennan and Talori off at his apartment before heading back to her own. Castian didn''t say anything until they were nearly there. "I never thought I would see a mermaid." "I''ve seen one before. They always send the same guy to exchange the tears for magic items. Someone from my coven goes every three months to a prearranged meeting place. He was very tight-lipped though. Did the transaction then left without stopping to chat," Harmony explained. "I never thought I would get to meet such a chatty one! I''m willing to bet she''s going to tell me all about merfolk society and I can''t wait. I can''t believe Brennan stuck around to play anthropologist though, that''s just like him." "I think I''ve seen him at the bank before. We''ve never directly spoken before today," Castian said. "He''s cool. He''s really been around for a fairy and is one of the oldest ones I''ve met. I''ve learned a lot from him and vice versa. Now I can do the same with a mermaid! This is the best! Not us getting interrupted though. Sorry." Harmony was a bit sheepish realizing she had gotten carried away when he was probably annoyed at being interrupted. She couldn''t help it. She had always been curious about merfolk. "It''s fine. I don''t have anything pressing going on tonight." They made it back inside and it was a bit hard to get back in the mood because her head was still reeling, already in tomorrow trying to think of questions to ask. She needed to snap out of it. Harmony had already made Castian wait and he was a creature of habit. She could be an excitable merfolk nerd again once he left. She kissed him harder trying to shut her brain off and managed to be successful. Afterward when they lay curled up in her bed she played with a strand of his hair and wondered what she could do to make up for tonight. "Castian, do you like sweets?" "Yes. Why do you ask?" "Just curious," Harmony deflected. It would be much of a surprise if he knew what she was planning on doing. He was the type to let things go pretty quickly so, as expected, he didn''t ask any further questions. She could bring him something from this bakery she liked on Monday and then they would be even. She had never liked owing people. It wasn''t the witch way. They were the ones who liked having a ton of favors stacked up that could be called in at any time in a pinch.. She would feel better once that was taken care of so they could go back to the way things were before. Chapter 27 - Dehydrated Talori''s emotions had been all over the place since Zale found out about Brennan and sent her away for her own safety. Guilt for deceiving him. Relief that he wasn''t about to let the merking marry her off. Sadness for their separation. Excitement about finally seeing the surface. Worry about burdening Brennan. At least the last one was taken care of because of the water fairy''s reassurances. Excitement ended up taking over by the time the long and boring swim tailing the boat ended and she was finally able to meet the much-talked-of Harmony. She and her boyfriend looked very human, much like Brennan when he had his glamour on, until they made it to the witch coven and all removed them once inside. Elf ears were less pointy than fairy ones but their hair was very long. The only thing that looked different with witches was their glowing eyes. And, as usual, Brennan didn''t show his wings. Talori felt vaguely honored that she had seen them if he wouldn''t even show them to these fae he had known longer. But that passed quickly because she was focused on trying to make her own glamour work. She was relieved that it did. Now she would be able to go out and about like anyone else and experience everything while she was here! Excitement flooded through her, especially when Harmony seemed equally excited to have the opportunity to talk to her later. She wished they could talk now but she and Brennan were taken back to his apartment before the witch and elf left them there. "I was hoping to talk to Harmony more," Talori admitted. Brennan sighed and flopped down on the couch. "You can do it tomorrow. I didn''t realize she was on a date. That''s so embarrassing." "A date?" "Yeah. That''s what you do with your boyfriend. You go on dates. I didn''t even know she had one! It''s not like she ever talks about him or anything. I think he works at the bank though; I''ve seen him around." Talori tilted her head, confused. "Do you go on dates with a boyfriend too?" "¡­no. I''ve had girlfriends before¡ªwhich is what you call a woman you''re dating¡ªbut not in a long time." She wasn''t entirely sure she understood. Those terms didn''t exist in Mermish. Merfolk didn''t go on dates as far as she was aware. Though, to be fair, she had spent her whole life in the coral palace and didn''t know much about the relationships between others. "Are boyfriends and girlfriends like regular friends?" Talori asked. Brennan shook his head. "No, they''re romantic partners." Oh! That made more sense. She didn''t know much about that either but obviously there were such relationships out there. She had nearly been forced into one and sent into the dark because her father happened to be the merking. Things seemed different up here though. As if a romantic partner was something one chose for themselves. "I see," Talori said before changing the subject. "So this is your dwelling? There is a lot of stuff in here! You will have to tell me what all of it is." "Later," Brennan said with a yawn. "I''m exhausted. I want to get into some more comfortable clothes and go to bed. All that swimming took a lot out of me." "Right. Sorry." "Don''t be. I''m just not used to using my arms and legs that much because I fly everywhere." "You are not flying now," Talori pointed out. "Yeah I am. I''m hovering. Wings bear up my weight better than feet do. There''s about half an inch of space between my feet and the ground. Most fairies do this because it''s easier to imitate walking than walk for real," Brennan explained. "We were able to fly freely in the old days but now that humans are everywhere we have to act human as much as possible. There are a lot of things fae in general have to do to act more human but I''m sure you''ll pick them up the more time you spend up here." He went into another room to get changed into softer-looking clothes and when he came back he warned her that he would be picking her up and moving her to the couch so she could sleep too. He staggered slightly after doing so and flew over to the couch as quickly as possible before gently dropping her there. Next he flew over to a door and opened it to pull out a blanket. He draped it over her and asked her if she needed anything before turning off the light. Talori was fine for a few hours until she suddenly felt terrible. She couldn''t explain this awful feeling but she needed some serious help. She croaked out Brennan''s name as loud as she could over and over until he responded. He rushed out of his room looking somehow tired yet alert at the same time, a look of panic on his face. He let off what seemed to be a curse and rushed into another part of the room to get a glass of water and dumped something white into it, stirring it a bit before handing it to her and telling her to drink it. She did as she was told as he flew into yet another room. She heard the sound of water and wondered what he was doing as he went back to get more of the container of white stuff. By the time she had finished her drink he came back and picked her up again before sticking her in a small room inside a much larger container of water. Talori sighed in relief as it soaked into her skin and tail. She couldn''t fully submerge herself but did her best to rub it all over her. "I think you were dehydrated," Brennan said apologetically. "I should have accounted for that before. You might be able to breathe up here but you still dry out if you go too many hours without water." "That makes sense. What is that white stuff you put in it?" "Salt. The ocean is made of saltwater so I didn''t think freshwater would help you much." Talori frowned as something occurred to her. "Do you not drink saltwater then? What did you do when you were staying with me?" "My magic is freshwater so I made a bunch of tiny bubbles and drank those. It took a lot of them but I got by. I''m going to have to go out tomorrow and buy a lot more salt. Maybe I can get you some sort of pool too for Harmony''s office. I''ll text her and see if she has the space." Come to think of it, she had seen tiny bubbles inside Brennan''s bigger one before but she never made the connection. He was smart, figuring out how to take care of himself without needing prompting. Unlike her. Here she was, finally on the surface, and she had to rely completely on someone else taking care of her. She wanted to be more useful to her host but supposed information was all she had going for her. "Forgive me for the inconvenience," Talori sighed. Brennan shook his head vehemently. "It''s not an inconvenience! It''s just a learning curve, that''s all. We''ll figure things out so you can stay up here comfortably. Don''t worry about it." "If you insist. You can go back to bed now. I''ll just stay here for a while." "Alright. Goodnight, Talori." "Goodnight." Talori sunk into the container as low as she could, trying to rehydrate herself to the best of her ability. This was too small to be effective but she didn''t think he had any better options. She didn''t want to complain since she was the one putting him out by being here. Zale had really asked too much of him by demanding he take her on indefinitely without knowing what all that would entail. Zale. Was he doing alright back home? Did he miss her already? Talori sure missed him. She had never gone this long without seeing her brother before. They normally saw each other multiple times a day. Now several days had gone by without being able to talk to him at all. She sighed and closed her eyes. She shouldn''t be thinking like this right now. She should be grateful that she got away and had the opportunity to learn more about life on the surface. Tomorrow would be fun! There were so many things she had wanted to ask witches and now she was finally getting the chance. She shouldn''t be moping. Talori forced herself to get some sleep. She felt much better physically and emotionally in the morning. She was looking forward to having some surface food for breakfast. She called out to Brennan, who came into the small room she was in a moment later. Slight anxiousness shone on his face. "Are you feeling better?" "Much, thank you. What is there to eat?" "Uh, there''s a lot of stuff. Cereal might be kind of hard for you since you''ve never used a spoon so the options are Pop-Tarts or toaster strudel." "I do not know what either of those are so you pick. I trust your judgment," Talori said eagerly. "Toaster strudel it is then," Brennan replied with a slight smile. Chapter 28 - Whos Your Friend? Talori very much liked the toaster strudel she had been given. She didn''t recognize any of the flavors but it was much sweeter than anything she had back home. "This is good!" she exclaimed. Brennan let out a small laugh. "I thought you might like it. The flavors you''re tasting are brown sugar, cinnamon, and cream cheese. I told you there are a lot of food options up here. You''ll be able to see that for yourself when we go grocery shopping. I don''t want to leave you alone just yet in case something happens like in the middle of the night." That was fine by her. She would love to see as much of the surface as she could. She didn''t know what grocery shopping was but it had to have something to do with food based on what he said. They both activated their glamours before leaving the apartment. He said it was a good thing he lived on the ground floor because they didn''t have elevators here and then had to explain what elevators were because Talori was confused. There were so many words she didn''t know but she was confident she would be able to get them down and be a proper surface-dweller by the time she went home. Then she would have a lot to tell Zale. "I need to get Harmony to make me a handicapped placard later," Brennan sighed when he got stuck between two cars in the parking lot and had a hard time getting Talori out and into her wheelchair. "What is that?" "It allows me to park over there where there''s more space for unloading wheelchairs and is closer to the entrance so I don''t have to push you as far. Never thought I would need one of those." "Fascinating!" There was so much Talori didn''t know about how the human world worked. Part of her wanted to talk to a human about it directly but she knew that wasn''t safe. It was better for her to talk about it with other fae since they pretended to be humans and wouldn''t do anything bad because she was a mermaid. Her eyes widened and she gasped when they went inside the grocery store. She had never seen so much food in one place in her life! They were packaged strangely but she had seen similar boxes at Brennan''s apartment this morning in the room he called the kitchen. She squealed in delight. "What is this? What about that? Or this?" "Carrots, cilantro, and bell peppers." "What about those?" "Those are grapes. They''re pretty different from sea grapes though," Brennan said with a shrug. "Do you want me to get some so you can compare?" Talori grinned at him and clapped her hands together. "Yes!" He grabbed a bag of grapes¡ªthey didn''t look like sea grapes at all because they were purple and much bigger¡ªand put it in the basket that was on her lap. They weren''t here for much. He said all he really needed was some more snacks and salt now that she was here. The snack aisle was like nothing she had ever seen before. She wanted to try some of everything but he reminded her that they had time. They could work their way through things rather than trying it all at once. That was a sobering thought. Talori probably would be here long enough to try all of the foods she was curious about. It didn''t dampen her enthusiasm for long though. She was too fascinated by everything she was seeing. She had a million questions as they moved throughout the store and on the drive home, which Brennan answered patiently. They kept talking up until lunchtime, when he made her something called a sandwich with some of the grapes on the side. The sandwich had something with a texture somewhat similar to kelp in it though it was less slimy. She liked it but there was so much in there that she was only able to eat half. Talori did love the grapes though. They were far superior to sea grapes in her opinion. She ate too many of them before even starting her sandwich, which was probably why she couldn''t finish it. Brennan shook his head with a smile. "Portion sizes are a lot different here, aren''t they? I''ll have to remember that and keep it smaller for you." "I would appreciate that, thank you." "We should probably get going. Harmony said she would be expecting us after lunch. I already texted her about providing some water for you so we''ll have to see what she came up with." They went to another store that had different items than the grocery store did. Brennan pushed her wheelchair through the front door with some difficulty and looked around briefly before approaching the human (or was it witch?) behind the counter. "Hey, Brennan!" she greeted cheerfully. "You here to see Harmony?" "Yep." "Who''s your friend? I''ve never seen her before and I know all the fae around here." "This is Talori. Talori, this Arietta," Brennan introduced. "She isn''t from around here but she''ll be staying with me for a while. Harmony wanted to talk to her." Arietta smiled at her. "Always nice to see a new face! Go right on back. Harmony''s in her office." "Thanks!" Brennan wheeled Talori through the door leading into the back and she recognized this hallway from last night. It seemed that the witches were using a human store as a front for their coven. How interesting! When they arrived at Harmony''s office she was wearing a pair of welding goggles (Talori knew what those were because she had a pair in her treasure cave back home) and lighting something on fire with her wand. She looked up when Brennan called her name and grinned at them. "Great to see you guys! Come on in." Brennan wheeled Talori all the way in the room and shut the door behind him. Harmony locked it with magic and set a long, skinny glass container on the ground in an empty corner of the room. She tapped it with her wand and it grew large enough to fit a fae inside. She was willing to bet this was the solution the witch had come up with so she wouldn''t dry out while she was visiting. Being completely submerged would be a step up from what she had last night. "Brennan, I don''t have a ladder. Can you hoist me up?" "Sure." He picked Harmony up by her armpits and flew over to the top of the container. A jet of water poured out of her wand and slowly began filling it up. Once it was full and a large container of salt had been dumped in and mixed around she had him set her down and pick Talori up instead to drop her into the container. She sighed with contentment once she was fully submerged. She had been drinking plenty of water back at the apartment but it was different than being all the way in. There was barely enough room to turn around in but that didn''t matter. She was too happy about being back in water. "Sorry it''s cramped," Harmony said. "I don''t have much room in here. You can take off your glamour, by the way. We only use those when humans are around. Out here it''s considered polite to take them off when you''re solely in the company of other fae." Talori belatedly realized that Brennan had taken his off sometime between the front of the store and the office. She took hers off too and appraised the witch, who was doing the same thing back. It seemed they both had so many questions they were unsure where to begin. Harmony ended up breaking the silence first. "So. Why don''t you tell me as much as you can about merfolk? Once that''s done we can switch off and I can tell you about witches." "That works," Talori said before launching into the same sort of information she had given Brennan. He was sitting leisurely in mid-air, listening intently in case there was anything he had missed before. He let the two of them talk for hours without speaking up once but didn''t seem to mind. He was a very easy-going fae, wasn''t he? The only times Talori had ever seen him appear bothered were when he was talking about humans. After a while he went to a smaller version of a device he had in his kitchen and pulled out three cans. He tossed one to Harmony, who caught it one-handed without even looking up from what she was working on, and brought the other over to the top of Talori''s container. "This is soda. It''s something humans like to drink. If you don''t like it, you don''t have to finish it. Harmony can do it for you." Talori floated up to the top and took it from him. He had popped the top to open it and a bit of the soda fizzed out. It looked very bubbly. She took a sip and jolted when it was even more bubbly than she anticipated. "What are these bubbles? They¡­I do not have the words to describe them." Harmony laughed. "That''s carbonation, my friend. Humans love it. They even carbonate their water sometimes to make things more interesting." "I am unsure how to feel about this¡­carbonation," Talori admitted before taking another tiny, hesitant sip. "Eh, it''s an acquired thing. A lot of fae don''t like them but we witches thrive on caffeine. Like he said, don''t worry about finishing it if you don''t like it. I go through soda like water so I''ll gladly take it off your hands." Which was exactly what ended up happening less than three test sips later. Talori didn''t like carbonation but she had tried it.. That was enough for her. Chapter 29 - Be Polite Talori and Harmony kept talking as the latter worked until dinnertime, when one of the other witches knocked on the office door saying that someone had ordered pizza. Brennan seemed particularly happy about that. "Pizza is a staple around here," he informed her. The witch that came delivering the message noticed Talori then and gaped at her. "Harmony! Since when did you get a pet mermaid?!" Harmony rolled her eyes. "She isn''t my pet, Piper. She''s a friend of Brennan''s and we''re currently involved in an information exchange. She saved his life before so now he''s letting her stay with him to avoid some drama in her kingdom for a while." Piper''s glowing orange eyes nearly popped out of her head. "No way! I want in on this information exchange too!" "I''ll tell you everything she tells me later. My office is crowded enough." "Aww, you''re lame! And after I told you about the pizza too." Harmony shrugged, not seeming bothered in the slightest though Talori got the feeling that ''lame'' wasn''t a good thing based on Piper''s tone. The second witch didn''t want to let it go and during the argument Brennan slipped out and grabbed half a box of pizza. He flew a slice up to the top of Talori''s container. "Here. Dry your hands first. Soggy pizza wouldn''t taste very good." She used the paper towel he gave her and took a bite before squealing in delight. So many flavors were happening at once and though it was a bit overwhelming it undeniably worked well together. "You say this is a staple around here?" she asked after consuming the entire slice. "Yeah. I told you before, food is one of the few things humans have done right. This here is called a pepperoni pizza because there is pepperoni on top. It''s a kind of spiced meat but it isn''t fish, don''t worry." "Piper, if you tell anyone I have a mermaid in my office, I''m going to use every trick my mother and aunt ever taught me against you. They''ve both been around for a long time so you better not mess with me," Harmony said fiercely. Piper huffed. "Fine! Hog all the good stuff; you always do!" Brennan scowled. "Talori isn''t ''stuff'', Piper. She''s a fae as sentient as you or me so you need to be polite." The witch was taken aback. It seemed as though he didn''t usually speak to her that way. Talori couldn''t deny she was touched that he came to her defense though she could understand why Piper thought that way given what Harmony had already told her about witches. "¡­sorry. I just got excited. Your name is Talori?" "Yes. I have agreed to exchange information with Harmony but I would be willing to speak with you another time. As she said, the office does not have much room." "Aww, alright. I won''t tell anyone you have a mermaid in here but it''s going to get out sooner or later, Harmony," Piper warned before heading out. Harmony looked at Talori, impressed. "You handled that very well. Thank you! Sorry about her." "It is fine. What were you saying before about magic items?" "Oh, right. Magic items are imbued with magic but it doesn''t last forever. The shelf life and effects are dependent on how powerful the witch casting it is. Funnily enough, the protection your kingdom has is way too strong and messes with the humans more than it''s supposed to because our strongest witch at the time cast it. "The humans call it the Bermuda Triangle because they''ve noticed a pattern of weird things happening to ships or other vessels that try traveling through there now and then. They don''t realize there is magic at play because they don''t believe in it and think it''s some big unsolvable mystery." Brennan snorted. "I forgot you told me about that. Humans can seriously be so stupid." "But hey, it works out well for us that way. We''ve managed to keep our existence largely secret for centuries. We''ve faded into nothing but stories. Ugh, I''m not looking forward to Halloween though. So many ridiculous, false witch decorations and movies. You''ve seen the costumes, haven''t you?" "Obviously. The fairy ones are all wrong too but what can we do?" Talori tilted her head, curious. "Costumes?" "Halloween is a human holiday where they dress up as something else. Oftentimes they end up dressing up as fae but they get us all wrong and it isn''t like we can correct them without outing ourselves. I''ve seen some mermaid costumes too that don''t account for the diversity in skin colors or the fact that you all have ear and elbow fins." It was strange to think that humans would dress up as merfolk to begin with. "You said mermaid costumes. Are they solely female?" "Mermaids are considered girly here," Brennan said with a shrug. "All the costumes I''ve ever seen are female. Most of the merfolk in popular media are female as well." How could an entire fae race be considered girly? Talori didn''t understand that. "It isn''t much different for fairies. You don''t see many human men dressing up as them, which is somewhat of a relief. We''re considering girly too, which is incredibly stupid," he continued. "Witches are also considered girly but that isn''t a problem as we are all female," Harmony pointed out. "Magical men in human stories are called wizards, sorcerers, or warlocks. Those don''t actually exist though." Was that why her boyfriend was an elf? Talori had wondered. If they were all female, they wouldn''t be able to keep the race going on their own. "And that is why your boyfriend is an elf?" "Yeah. Witches and elves are biologically similar enough that we tend to pair up. There are female elves but for some reason it''s more common for males to be born. Every other race I''ve ever heard of sticks with their own kind." Brennan nodded his agreement. "It''s true. Even among fairies it''s more rare for different elements to end up together. The most common inter-elemental pairing is water and wind because those are the most similar to each other." "I see," Talori said. He had previously mentioned that the various fae races usually stuck to themselves and that his friendship with Harmony was considered unusual. It made sense that even among fairies they wouldn''t typically branch out going off of that. There was still so much she didn''t know about fae relations. She would have to learn if she wanted to get by in their world on the surface. "Have you ever dated another element? I don''t think you''ve mentioned that," Harmony said offhandedly. "Not unless you count the earth fairy I went on literally one date with. Maybe I would have better luck with another element; water fairies all think I''m weird," Brennan said with a shrug. "Why?" Talori asked curiously. "Because I''m more interested in the ocean than I am streams, rivers, lakes, or ponds like the rest of them. What can I say? It calls to me. Saltwater is still water but they all think the ocean is too scary for one reason or another. "At least the ones on this continent. I can''t speak for water fairies who live on islands surrounded by ocean. They might be more open-minded. But everyone I''ve met thinks I''m odd for becoming a marine biologist." "To be fair, you did end up blown away in a hurricane and had to be saved by a mermaid," Harmony said with a laugh. "Fairies have strong survival instincts because of how fragile they are." "Gee, thanks." "Nothing personal! Come on, you know that fairies are probably the least sturdy of all the fae races." "Yeah, yeah." "Where would merfolk fall on this scale?" Talori asked as the question occurred to her. The witch shrugged. "Not sure. I don''t know enough about your physiology yet. You''re probably closer to the fairy end of things though considering you don''t seem particularly strong against anything other than a current. "There''s nothing wrong with that. Witches aren''t very sturdy either. We''re powerful because of our magic but we aren''t fast or strong and can get into accidents as easily as a human. We might have indefinite lifespans but that''s only if we aren''t killed first." Talori knew that already because merfolk were the same way. They didn''t die unless they were killed. It was why the merking had been on the throne for so long. If her brother was going to take over, he would have to either kill him personally or arrange some sort of "accident." The thought didn''t bother her as much as it should have. She neither liked nor trusted the merking after both what he allowed to happen to their mother and what he tried to do to her. She had always been onboard with Zale''s plan to get rid of him. This would also involve getting rid of Queen Nerida and Crown Prince Merrick. She wasn''t bothered by that either because they had always been so nasty to her and the queen was the one who got their mother falsely executed.. She would be getting exactly what was coming to her. Chapter 30 - The Mayhew Coven Talori had known of Zale''s plan for over a century but he didn''t want her to get her hands dirty. Her only role was to stay as far out of people''s notice as possible so she would be safe. Like that had done her any good. Her attempts to seem undesirable had nearly gotten her banished to a horrible place. The place she was in now wasn''t horrible but she couldn''t deny she missed her brother already. She was having a good time learning new things but she wished she was able to tell them to Zale in real time. That would be nice. "Harmony, do you think it is possible to create a magic item that allows communication between my kingdom and the surface?" Talori asked curiously. The witch''s eyes glowed with excitement as she thought it over. "Ooh, I don''t know! It would be hard to get a signal that far underwater but it would be interesting to try. Unfortunately, I have a ridiculously long project list already and I would need to be able to test it. I don''t think I would be able to even get started on such a thing until you were back home since it isn''t like I could pass it through the liaison to your brother safely right now." Harmony had a point. She supposed she wouldn''t be able to talk to Zale anytime soon after all. Talori was disappointed but shouldn''t have been. She had already known from the start of this venture that she wouldn''t be able to be in contact with him for however long she was gone. Though such a device would be useful to keep in contact with the witches and Brennan. They would need to be able to meet up more reliably once they began working together. "That makes sense," she said, trying to swallow her disappointment. Brennan looked over at her in concern. "Are you missing Zale already?" "Yes. We have never been apart this long before. But do not worry about me; I will be fine. There is so much to learn up here! I have to take advantage of it properly while I have the chance." "That''s the spirit!" Harmony encouraged right before something blew up in her face, making her hair stand on end. Brennan seemed completely unfazed by this, as if he had seen it countless times before, but Talori jumped back and ended up hitting the wall of her container. The witch didn''t seem to be hurt though, which was a relief. "Darn. I thought I almost had it. Guess I need to try something else." "Does this happen often?" Talori asked Brennan in a whisper. He nodded. "Oh yeah. There''s usually at least one explosion every few days somewhere in this building. That''s what happens when you push the boundaries of magic." She was fascinated. Her magic was limited to moving water around and using a glamour. Brennan''s was limited to creating bubbles and using a glamour. It seemed that witches did not have limits as long as they had their wands on them as far as she had seen. "Do witches have limitations on their magic?" Talori asked curiously. "Oh, sure," Harmony said as she worked on cleaning up her failed experiment. "We might be able to practice more types of magic than most fae but we can''t do everything. Some things are innate and only available to certain races, like blood magic with vampires or transformation magic with werewolves." "Is a glamour not transformation magic?" "Nah, that''s illusion magic. Totally different! Our fae traits are hidden, not replaced. Werewolves actually turn into full-on wolves but maintain their sense of reason in the process." Right. Talori remembered previously hearing about how glamours didn''t work on mirrors or cameras. That made sense if it wasn''t a true transformation. There was so much more to magic than she would have thought. "Why can werewolves transform when no one else can?" Harmony laughed. "Why are any of us the way we are? Nobody knows how fae came to be. We''ve kind of just accepted the way things are and learned to roll with it. Besides, it''s not like they can transform at will. It only happens on full moons. "The rest of the time they''re humanoid with wolf ears, tails, claws, and fangs. Nobody knows why or how that ended up happening. It''s just a thing they have to deal with. It''s only one night a month though. The rest of the time they can glamour themselves to look human perfectly fine." Talori wanted to know more about werewolves. She had already heard as much as Brennan knew about them from limited interactions over the centuries but she wondered if Harmony knew more. They ended up discussing werewolves for quite some time before moving onto vampires then elves. Harmony knew quite a lot about the latter because the witches and elves worked together so often but she had some experience with vampires too because her original coven had covered the service area for two different vampire ones. "¡­and it''s the strangest thing. Vampires are practically indestructible so a whole coven of them disappearing at once could only mean that other vampires were involved. They''re the hardiest of the fae races, you see. They''re strong and fast and can''t be killed unless their cores are destroyed. "Lucky shots from vampire hunters do happen but are rare. It couldn''t have possibly happened to an entire coven. My mom was speculating about who could have done it the other day and her money was on the Cromwells because they''ve had a feud with the Mayhews since before they came to this country. "I think she''s right. The sad part is that there''s nothing to be done about it. Fae don''t technically exist in human registries so no one aside from the witches would have ever noticed they were gone. "My aunt was the one who originally figured it out when they didn''t answer any of her calls or show up at her coven for a while. They were in regular contact because the Mayhews'' business was information. She thought it was a real shame," Harmony finished with a sigh. Brennan frowned. "You didn''t tell me this." "When would I have had the chance? I only found out about it while you were gone." "Ah." "She''s right. It is a real shame. I''ve met most of the Mayhews at some point or other because of how closely tied they were to my coven. They had a baby too. Only seventeen years old." Talori was horrified. "These other vampires killed a baby? No one kills babies! Babies are precious!" "Exactly. Dorian Cromwell is ruthless from what I''ve heard. I never interacted with him directly but word gets around. He rules his coven with an iron fist. Honestly, I''m kind of glad to be down here away from that drama. I don''t know how I would be able to interact with any of the Cromwells after this. "Not that they visit the Redwood Coven for anything but blood pills and the occasional magic item but still. They always made me uncomfortable in a way the Mayhews didn''t. Those poor vampires deserved better." "Vampire politics sound messy," Brennan said with a deeper frown than before. "I haven''t run into vampires much because I haven''t lived near them but I think I understand why Nyx wanted to avoid coven life now after hearing all this." "Ah yes. That loner you told me about a while back," Harmony mused. "That''s the one." Brennan had told Talori about that vampire before. How it was unusual for one to wander around in southern areas that got a lot of sunshine and not be part of a coven. Vampires and witches were the only fae that had official covens but they were set up differently. You wouldn''t find a covenless witch because if they got restless they could just move to another one. Vampires were more traditional and tended to stay with a coven permanently. At least that was what Harmony said. No other fae races had covens though there were werewolf packs. Elves and fairies tended to stick together with others of their kind but there weren''t any officially established groups. Simply little pockets here and there. Talori was suffering slightly from information overload but she still wanted to learn as much as she could. She kept the questions coming as quickly as she could think of them. She wanted to fit into this world she found herself a part of. All of this would be useful information to help her kind once she made it back home. Knowing how fae society worked on the surface would allow her to be a better liaison when the time came. That was only an excuse though. She really wanted to know because of her own curiosity. She was killing two birds with one stone by asking questions. She had learned that phrase from Brennan. They didn''t have any sayings like that in Mermish to her knowledge. Then again, she didn''t interact with other merfolk much. It was entirely possible that commoners had such sayings. She only interacted with nobles and her own servants and even that didn''t happen terribly often. The nobles all looked down on her so they weren''t exactly inclined to chat. And the servants treated her with deference as a princess so they weren''t inclined to chat either. It wouldn''t be like that when she went home. She would be able to go out and about more once it was safe to do so and she might actually be able to make some friends if she was lucky.. Having more than Zale for company would be nice. Chapter 31 - Why Me? Castian Reycan was a creature of habit. He had a schedule and it almost never varied. Weekdays he worked 9-5 then took evening classes at the University of Miami getting yet another master''s degree. This time it was in Sustainable Business so he could be of more use to his clan as they moved forward into the future. He wasn''t the only one studying that subject matter at the moment. Two other elves who worked at Elite Financial Solutions were doing the same. They intended to use their knowledge to improve their branch and start up an additional side business together that wouldn''t harm the environment more than the humans already did. What little free time he had was spent studying, often with his kin since they had all started their master''s degrees at the same time, but he did have a standing appointment with Harmony Netzley on Friday nights after work. It was the only time he saw her unless he needed to drop by the witch coven for something or other and she happened to be behind the desk. They had only run into each other in public one other time at an office supply store. To say they didn''t run in the same circles would be a massive understatement. Why would they? Harmony was a witch. Witches and elves had a business arrangement to maintain the balance of the fae world but that was it. Castian typically only interacted with fae other than elves in a work context when VIP customers came to call. That didn''t even happen every day because there were far more humans in this area than there were fae. Which was the case anywhere you went these days. Elves and witches had adapted to this changed world best. In an effort to continue to better blend in and come out on top, most of his brethren had been getting graduate degree after graduate degree right along with him for decades. Every time someone finished a program they chose another one. It wasn''t as if they couldn''t afford it. Elves were the richest of all fae races because they had discovered early on that the best way to get by in the human world was to have lots of money. They learned rather quickly how to make that happen to their best advantage. Castian, like the rest of his kin, was a pragmatist. He never involved himself in anything frivolous or unnecessary¡­until he happened to get dragged into one of Harmony''s schemes. They had shared a physical relationship for nearly twenty-one years now but he truly didn''t know much about her. Why would he need to? Everything about their relationship was transactional. He knew what she liked in bed but that was the extent of it. He hadn''t needed to know anything else. Finding out she was not only good friends with a water fairy but that they shared an interest in mermaids was surprising. In all the time they had been together she had never tried to reschedule or skip out early before this. She knew her duty as well as he did. It shouldn''t have surprised him though. Witches were known for being passionate about their research. He had simply never seen it up close before. Castian knew that witches'' eyes glowed when they were casting magic but he hadn''t realized they also did when they were excited. He had never seen Harmony''s neon green eyes look like that before Friday night. He had been rather bemused by the whole encounter. Between Harmony and that mermaid, Talori, it was impossible to tell who was more excited. He had never seen so much enthusiasm in such a small space before and didn''t know what to do with it but stand there and watch. Harmony''s water fairy friend, Brennan, seemed used to it. Of course. He had been hanging around her for an indeterminate amount of time and had been in the company of that very excitable mermaid for at least a few days straight. He handled Talori very patiently. Castian wasn''t sure he would be able to do the same if their positions were reversed. It was strange seeing Harmony act so differently than she usually was around him. He could still remember the night they met when she coolly and clinically approached him at that party meant to match up elves and witches. She had been wearing a black dress and boredly swirling around a glass of wine, downing it all in one gulp before she walked over to where he was standing quietly in a corner of the room. "Hey, do you want to get out of here? I''d really rather not waste my time socializing when I have things to do." "You don''t even know my name." "That''s an easy fix though. I''m Harmony Netzley. You are?" "Castian Reycan. Why me?" he asked. Castian had been forced to come to this party but hadn''t anticipated actually pairing up with someone by the end of the night. He had never had a relationship before with either a witch or an elf. He hadn''t been interested. That was why his kin dragged him there. They said that everyone had to do it at some point so he may as well try. They were all at least making an effort to socialize by engaging in small talk with some of the other witches but he had thought he was fulfilling his duty simply by showing up. Harmony shrugged. "You''re the only one not already talking to someone else that I can see. I''d rather not deal with the hassle of waiting around." Straightforward and to the point. That was how she had always been around him. He hadn''t been able to argue with that logic so they ended up leaving and taking advantage of getting a room since the party was being held at a hotel. Castian hadn''t intended to get involved with a witch but since one picked him, he knew it was his duty to follow through. And it didn''t end up being as bothersome as he would have thought. Harmony wasn''t fussy, didn''t contact him unnecessarily, and gave great neck messages. He had come to rely on those as time went by. They had a good arrangement going on. So when she said she wanted to reschedule and he literally couldn''t because he had class both of the nights she suggested he ended up going along to help with her emergency. He didn''t want to end up skipping a week when he had bothered going to see her in the first place. Now he wasn''t sure whether or not he should have done that. The whole evening had been rather perplexing because he learned a lot more about his girlfriend than he had bargained for. Whenever he saw Harmony (unless she was at work) she was always pretty dressed up. She didn''t beat around the bush and got right down to business. It was strange seeing her wearing a full face of makeup in such casual clothes but she had likely changed knowing she might have to get her hands dirty. That was only the beginning of Castian''s realization that he didn''t know what she got up to when they weren''t together at all. How long had she been friends with a water fairy? That was certainly an unusual friendship. Witches did have to interact with all sorts of fae since they were the backbone of the fae community so it was honestly more surprising that Brennan had gotten involved than she did. Fairies tended to stick with other fairies unless they needed something. But Brennan was clearly well-acquainted with Harmony''s office because he didn''t so much as bat an eye at the strange instruments in there or the scorch marks on the walls. They must spend a lot of time together. Castian had never been in her office before but why would he? He had no reason to go into the back area of the witch coven before now. He always picked up his merchandise at the front desk and left, like the majority of fae did. He wasn''t sure how many non-witches had even managed to make it back here before but it couldn''t be many. Seeing Harmony in her element was strange. He had known her for decades but only in a very specific context. This was the sort of thing that was familiar and natural to her. Obviously, she didn''t get involved with mermaids every day but tonight she was acting more like her real self than she ever did around him. At least that was the impression Castian got. She didn''t say anything after they dropped off Brennan and Talori but he could tell her mind was racing as they drove. He wasn''t sure what to say. Tonight had been more than a bit overwhelming. It took him a while to come up with something and when he did it wasn''t very original but it was the best he had. "I never thought I would see a mermaid." "I''ve seen one before. They always send the same guy to exchange the tears for magic items. Someone from my coven goes every three months to a prearranged meeting place. He was very tight-lipped though. Did the transaction then left without stopping to chat," Harmony told him. "I never thought I would get to meet such a chatty one! I''m willing to bet she''s going to tell me all about merfolk society and I can''t wait.. I can''t believe Brennan stuck around to play anthropologist though, that''s just like him." Chapter 32 - Your Witch Is An Interesting One Harmony clearly knew Brennan well to be talking about him like that. It was perfectly natural for her to be closer to a friend than she was to her boyfriend of necessity but Castian wasn''t sure how to respond to that. "I think I''ve seen him at the bank before. We''ve never directly spoken before today," he ended up saying. "He''s cool. He''s really been around for a fairy and is one of the oldest ones I''ve met. I''ve learned a lot from him and vice versa. Now I can do the same with a mermaid! This is the best! Not us getting interrupted though. Sorry." Harmony backpedaled on her excitement, seeming apologetic. He hadn''t been upset though. After seeing how excited she was about meeting Talori he realized that she wouldn''t have been able to get back into the mood after that phone call if she let someone else handle it. "It''s fine. I don''t have anything pressing going on tonight." Fridays were reserved for her. The rest of the week he hardly spared her a passing thought. Getting dragged along because he couldn''t reschedule wasn''t the end of the world. Castian could tell Harmony was distracted anyway. She was normally much more focused on him when they met up. Her head was probably back in the witch coven, thinking about what she wanted to do with Talori when they met up the next day. He did his best to get her head back in the game and eventually it worked because she became more invested in their kisses. He was relieved because it was strange having her be so unfocused. Castian may have been thrown off earlier but he was perfectly relaxed afterward when Harmony lay next to him on the bed, playing with his hair as she so often did. They usually didn''t talk at this point and simply enjoyed winding down in silence for a while so it was unexpected when she asked him if he liked sweets completely out of the blue then offered no elaboration. It was random but he didn''t think much of it in the face of everything else that happened until Monday morning when he had barely been at work for an hour. He had a lot of schoolwork to do over the weekend so he didn''t really have time to think about everything that happened on Friday night. His office phone rang and he picked it up, speaking into it brusquely. "Cas Reycan." Cas seemed more human than Castian. Most of the elves that worked here shortened their names like this unless they were young enough for the naming trends to have changed. It was the secretary, Gaelira Venris. "Cas, you have a visitor who doesn''t have a prior appointment." "¡­who is it?" Castian couldn''t think of anyone that would visit him without a prior appointment. This had never happened before. No elf would ever show up unannounced without at least calling ahead. "Harmony Netzley. She says she knows you." He nearly fell backwards out of his chair. What was Harmony doing here?! She had never done anything like this before! Castian cleared his throat to regain his composure. "Send her back. Thank you, Lira." "Understood." Harmony appeared in his doorway a moment later, acting as if this was completely normal. She wore a pink, white, green, and black striped sweater with black leggings and her hair was back in a short tufted ponytail. Her glamour was on so her eyes appeared brown instead of neon green and she wasn''t wearing makeup. She plunked a paper bag on his desk. "Here. I told you I would make things up to you. These are from my favorite bakery." Castian blinked at the bag. So she hadn''t asked if he liked sweets for no reason. She had been planning to do this all weekend. But why bring them here instead of wait until they saw each other again on Friday? He opened the bag to peer inside and discovered that it was full of a variety of different cookies. He looked back up at her blankly. "You brought me cookies." "Yep! Sorry again for dragging you into my mess. I hope you like them." "Thank you but you really didn''t need to do that." Harmony brushed him off with a wave of her hand. "I don''t like owing people and you were a surprisingly good sport about our time together getting interrupted. I''d start with the snickerdoodle if I were you. It''s the best kind. See you Friday!" As quickly as she had come, she was gone. Castian was left staring at the place where she had been standing in utmost confusion. When he recovered he ended up trying the snickerdoodle as she had suggested. It was delicious. He had a hard time focusing on work for a while because he had been so thrown off by her sudden appearance but he managed to get back in the groove of things before lunch. He ran into Gaelira in the breakroom and she regarded him curiously. "Who was that who came to see you earlier? You never let people in without prior appointments unless a new VIP customer is signing on with us." "That was my girlfriend. She was bringing me something," Castian said simply despite still not understanding himself. "I wasn''t aware you were connected to a witch," Gaelira said thoughtfully. "I''ve never seen any other witches bring things over before. Did you ask her to bring you something or was it unexpected?" "It was unexpected. She brought me cookies because I helped her smuggle a mermaid to the witch coven over the weekend. She said she doesn''t like owing people." "I see. But what was she doing smuggling a mermaid into the witch coven? I have never heard of any mermaid being on land before." Castian sighed. "It''s a long story. I was as surprised as you are." "Strange. Your witch is an interesting one," Gaelira remarked before taking a bite of her sandwich. She certainly was. Far more interesting than he had originally thought. She flitted in and out of his mind over the next several days as he finished off those cookies. He wondered whether or not her research with Talori was going well and then wondered why he cared since it was irrelevant to him. Castian''s head was muddled by the time Friday rolled around. When he arrived at Harmony''s place she was dressed up as usual but he flashed back to how she had looked when she unexpectedly showed up at his office on Monday. It was a stark contrast. He realized that she had purposely been dressing up for him all this time. And she did wear red often¡­had she noticed that it was his favorite color? He wasn''t sure what he was supposed to think about that. "Thank you again for the cookies. They were all delicious but you were right about the snickerdoodle," he said, pushing his thoughts aside. A small, pleased smile appeared on her face. "Oh good! I told you so." "That you did." Harmony began massaging his shoulders as usual and Castian felt the tension seeping out of them. His muddled thoughts cleared a bit too. But they were back by the time the two of them were lying in bed with her playing with his hair. Should he ask her how her research was going or not? He had never been curious about what she was working on before. They never talked about what was going on in their lives because it hadn''t been necessary but seeing more of her world up close and then seeing her in a context he usually didn''t had thrown him off. "How have things been going with Talori?" Castian asked. Harmony seemed surprised by the question but her eyes began to glow as she answered with the same sort of excitement he had seen from her last week. "Amazing! I''m learning so much already and still feel like I''ve barely scratched the surface. "I wish I could have talked to someone other than that grumpy old merman sooner. There''s so much that we can share with each other. When Talori''s brother takes over the kingdom he has a lot of big plans for future collaboration with both us and Brennan because of his job and I can''t wait! "I''m sure that merfolk have more applicable magic than just their tears. Discovering that was a huge deal for the fae community but there has to be so much more to it. Hearing her talk about her powers¡­she sounds more powerful than any water fairy. "Mermaid water powers are a lot more versatile. Brennan can only make bubbles and this water fairy I knew back home could shoot water out of her hands but even that pales in comparison to what Talori can do. "I''ve been having her show me some of her powers and I''m completely blown away! If all merfolk are this powerful, they can make a lot more difference for the fae community than we originally thought. When the time comes I want to see her kingdom for myself and have a good conversation with her brother. "I''ll have to get myself some sort of scuba gear but that''s fine.. I''m sure I can enchant some to make it so I can talk to them clearly. Brennan managed with just his magic but he IS a water fairy so I''m sure he was able to withstand the water pressure better than I ever could¡­" Chapter 33 - I Would Like That Castian wasn''t sure how long he listened to Harmony go on but he was rather fascinated. Not because he was particularly interested in merfolk but because he had never heard her talk like this before. Was this the true face of the witch? He was willing to bet it was. Witches were known for being the mad scientists of the fae world. They and elves were two sides of the same coin. Both goal-oriented and clinical but witches were far more enthusiastic because of how much they loved magic. Castian had never seen it firsthand before last week but now that he had he wondered how Harmony had ever managed to act so low-key around him all these years when her natural state was like this. Probably because she saw their relationship as no more than their duty the same way he did. That thought was oddly unsettling. Why? Why would that matter? That was how things had been from the start and more than twenty years of this arrangement hadn''t changed them. "I''m sorry," Harmony said suddenly, cutting herself off. "You probably didn''t want to hear all of that. I got a bit carried away." Castian shook his head. "Don''t be. It was interesting." "Really?" "Yes. I''ve never heard you talk like this before." Harmony rather sheepishly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I didn''t think you would want to hear it. I''m a huge magic nerd." Castian didn''t think that was a bad thing. The fae community needed magic nerds to help keep it running. He had never been interested in hearing about it before because he hadn''t thought it was necessary but now that he had he couldn''t deny that it was interesting. "Don''t hold back on my account. I''ll gladly listen to you talk about magic any time," he found himself saying and meaning it. Seeing her get excited about things was new and undeniably strange but now he was curious. He wouldn''t mind seeing more of her in her natural habitat, which was ridiculous considering the nature of their relationship. Harmony smiled more widely at him than usual and leaned over to whisper in his ear. "Dangerous words, Castian Reycan. I''m going to hold you to them." Castian already had goosebumps before she began kissing him again. He hadn''t expected that sort of reaction from her but he wasn''t complaining. Not in the slightest. He had things to do tomorrow and really should get going but ended up staying with her all night, unable to resist how she took the initiative. He had never stayed all night before. When he woke up he wondered what on earth was wrong with him while he heard the sound of the shower being on. Harmony came out wrapped in a towel with dripping wet hair and chirped "good morning" at him before going to blow dry her hair with her wand. He was so surprised by her nonchalance that he barely managed to return the greeting. She put on another leggings and sweater combo before asking him if he wanted a bagel. He had no reason to say no so he nodded. "Do you have anything going on this morning?" she asked as she spread cream cheese on one. "I can''t stick around; I''m meeting Talori and Brennan in about thirty minutes. Otherwise I''d make something fancier for breakfast." Of course she was. Witches, like elves, never rested. They didn''t adhere to the concept of relaxing on the weekends. Castian had been planning to do homework this morning before having a group project meeting after lunch and then getting back to his homework. He didn''t have much if any time to do homework during the week so he had to do as much as he could on days he didn''t have class or work. "Nothing urgent until one. Why do you ask?" "You said you were interesting in talking magic so I thought you might want to see some of it in action," Harmony said as she placed a plate with a bagel on it in front of him. "It''s cool if you''re busy though." Castian was busy. He thought of the plethora of assignments waiting for him that shouldn''t be dismissed so easily but this was the first time she asked him to do anything. Even if she hadn''t used those words exactly it was still an invitation. It counted. Why it counted was the real mystery. He shouldn''t care. Saying no should be the only option. Instead, he found himself saying, "I would like that. Thanks, Harmony." The witch smiled at him and, like last night, it was wider than usual. He momentarily held his breath, unsure why he was doing it, before getting a hold of himself and eating the bagel. He requested that they quickly stop by his apartment so he could change and she didn''t have a problem with it. He went in and came out in a pair of khaki pants and a light blue button-down shirt after brushing his hair a little. Harmony let out a tiny laugh. "I think this is the most casual I''ve ever seen you." Castian didn''t know how to respond to that but once they arrived and met up with Brennan, who was in sweats and t-shirt, and Talori, who only had her scales, he felt rather overdressed. This was perfectly casual elf attire, okay? Feeling unusually self-conscious, he surreptitiously unbuttoned the top button and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt to just below his elbows the way that was fashionable among humans. He didn''t think anyone noticed him doing it because they were all rather absorbed in Talori''s latest power test. She had to sit in her wheelchair for this so she could manipulate water out of what appeared to be a giant beaker standing in the corner of the room. Harmony wanted to see if she was capable of grabbing objects with water. Talori screwed up her face in concentration and used a tendril of water to pick up various objects that Harmony indicated before dropping them in the giant beaker. Castian had never seen anything like it. Every time she managed to succeed with a bigger object, Harmony eagerly scribbled it down in a small notebook. She had a wild grin on her face the whole time and seeing her at work might have even been slightly more entertaining than Talori''s display of her powers. "Okay, now I want to see if you can pick up a whole fae!" The mermaid did as she asked and used a much larger tendril of water to pick up Brennan, who had been quietly watching this whole time without saying a word until he protested for her to be careful with his wings. She immediately let go of him and turned her sights on Harmony, who seemed delighted despite the fact that she got soaked. Talori put her in the beaker with everything else and she let out an exhilarated laugh once she floated to the top. She didn''t seem to be the slightest bit upset that she was wet, though Brennan wasn''t pleased now that he was dripping onto the floor. "Amazing! I wonder how heavy you can go. Maybe we should get a small boat and get as many volunteers in it as possible to see if she can move that too. It would have to be at night or in the middle of nowhere with nobody around to see¡­" Harmony mused. Brennan flew up to help her out of the beaker and she used her wand to dry them both off, to his great relief. Castian could only stare uncomprehendingly because he hadn''t realized how hands-on witches could be about their work until he saw one in action. Really, he should have guessed. The witch and the mermaid carried on most of the morning in a similar fashion while the elf and water fairy were more room ornaments than anything. Until they broke for lunch, that is. Harmony had ordered them Chinese takeout and Talori seemed particularly curious about the variety of flavors. She frequently asked Brennan what things were and he patiently explained them to her. "So what is it you have at one?" Harmony asked Castian before taking a bite. "A group project for school. I''m getting a master''s degree in Sustainable Business, along with a few others at the bank. We always band together for such projects so we can avoid dealing with humans as much as possible." "I see! Interesting. Is this your first time getting a master''s degree?" "No. This is my twenty-seventh degree of some sort. The best way to come out on top in the human world is to have as much education as possible," Castian explained. Harmony''s eyes widened. "Wow! That''s a lot of studying. Is that why you couldn''t reschedule the other day?" "Yes. I have class every night but Fridays." "Ah, gotcha. Do you like what you''re studying?" "Well enough.. It''s very useful information to have as we try to move into the future while preserving as much of the environment as possible considering what the humans have already wrecked." Chapter 34 - Who Knows How Long That Would Take? Harmony seemed intrigued. "Sounds like what Brennan and I are trying to do with the merfolk." Brennan looked over at the sound of his name. "What were you saying about me?" "Castian is studying how to make businesses sustainable. I''m sure that''s right up your alley, Mr. Marine Biologist." The water fairy turned to him in interest. "Really? I''d like to hear more about that if you have the time. I had no idea elves were interested in that sort of thing. I would be happy to have you in our think tank once we get it officially up and running." Castian blinked at him. He hadn''t expected to get further involved with other races of fae. Coming over here today had been a fluke; he only did it because Harmony invited him and he hadn''t been able to say no. There was no real reason to refuse Brennan''s offer. It was related to his current field of study and it could potentially help the business he and his classmates wanted to start later on. "Sure," he found himself agreeing even though he never would have imagined something like this happening. "I don''t have time now¡ªI need to get going when I finish my food¡ªbut I can come by another day. I assume you''ll be here indefinitely because of Talori." "Not quite indefinitely. I''m back to work on Monday so I''ll only be here in the evenings and on weekends," Brennan explained. Harmony looked at Castian curiously. "Do you have time two Saturdays in a row?" Not really but he would make time. He might have to do more homework on weeknights to make up for today anyway. One more week wouldn''t be a problem. It was in his best interest to get involved in the water fairy''s future think tank. "I''ll manage," he said confidently. He finished the last of his lunch and wished them all farewell before heading out to meet his project group at the University of Miami''s library. They had reserved a study room for several hours so they wouldn''t be disturbed. "You''re late," Filverel Herhorn pointed out. "My apologies. I had another meeting," Castian said as he sat down. "What did I miss?" "Nothing of true importance. Were you meeting with humans? You are dressed like one," Theodred Farraday noted. "¡­no. I was meeting with some rather casual fae." "Don''t tell me¡ªwerewolves. They''re as casual as it gets. No dress sense whatsoever," Filverel said disdainfully. His assessment of werewolves wasn''t wrong but Castian didn''t like the implication that Harmony didn''t have any dress sense. She was clearly capable of looking nice based on how she normally dressed on Fridays. She simply cared more about the lack of restriction to her movements when she was in the zone. "No. A rather eclectic group involving a witch, a water fairy, and a mermaid, actually." Theodred raised an eyebrow. "That IS rather eclectic. I didn''t think mermaids ever came to the surface." "This one is here laying low for a while and is staying with the water fairy," Castian said with a shrug. "Enough about my meeting. We are here to work on our project, are we not? It is irrelevant." "I suppose so," Filverel agreed. "I don''t understand how you of all fae got involved with a mermaid," Theodred said shrewdly, unwilling to let it go just yet. "Isn''t it obvious? His witch must have dragged him into it. There is no other logical explanation." "I forgot you had a witch. I have a witch but she never tries to involve me in her business. Why is yours? That goes outside the bounds of our agreements with them." "That''s why I prefer elvish women," Filverel said matter-of-factly. "They never get involved in anything strange and are overall much easier to deal with than witches. I''ve done my duty already and never want to again." Theodred rolled his eyes. "Easier to deal with? My witch is as easy as can be. You have your eye on Gaelira, don''t you? How is not giving you the time of day considered easier to deal with?" Filverel scowled at him. Castian didn''t butt into their argument because what they had been saying didn''t sit well with him. Harmony wasn''t forcing him into anything. He was the one who originally offered to go along with her to help get Talori to the witch coven because he hadn''t wanted to reschedule. He didn''t feel that he had been dragged into this. If anything, he volunteered. He could have said no at any time if he truly hadn''t wanted to be involved. These two didn''t seem to understand that and he wasn''t sure how to explain it to them. "Quit arguing," Castian said with a sigh. "We need to get to work or we won''t get anything done today." The other two agreed reluctantly and they got to work but he couldn''t shake the strange feeling he had when the others were talking as though Harmony was inconveniencing him. That wasn''t true even if he had been a little thrown off lately. === Brennan used his entire week off to get used to having a mermaid live in his apartment. He was so used to living alone at this point that it was strange having someone around again. Especially someone so talkative. It was different when he was visiting her. Now he was surrounded by his things in a space that was familiar while having unfamiliar experiences. It wasn''t that he disliked it or anything. It was just strange¡­and somewhat inconvenient. Talori couldn''t move around on her own very well. She had learned how to use her arms to operate the wheelchair but his apartment wasn''t exactly wheelchair-friendly so a lot of the time he had to pick her up and carry her where she needed to go. She couldn''t get dehydrated so she had to not only drink a lot of water but couldn''t go more than five or six hours without sitting in a tub or tank to soak it into her skin. It had become easier for her to sleep in the bathtub so she didn''t interrupt his rest, especially now that he was going back to work. Brennan also ended up going to the witch coven every day rather than every couple of days but that wasn''t a problem even if he was hearing a lot of the same information over twice. He was as fascinated by everything Talori had to say as Harmony. His friend''s mind worked differently than his so she managed to come up with questions he never would have thought of asking. That was a major bonus of hanging around the two of them even if he wasn''t saying much. He wasn''t the only one who seemed to be doing more listening than talking when the two most enthusiastic fae he had ever met got together. Harmony''s elf boyfriend¡ªwho he hadn''t even known existed until the night he asked for help getting Talori to the witch coven¡ªtalked even less when he was around. Brennan still felt horrible for interrupting. He knew how witch/elf relationships worked and it was incredibly embarrassing knowing exactly what he had interrupted with his call asking for help. He had thought that would be the end of it though. Witches and elves didn''t interact more than they absolutely had to even if they did use the human labels of "boyfriend" and "girlfriend" to make things easier. Everyone knew they were only relationships of convenience. That was why he had been more embarrassed than surprised to find out what he had interrupted. There was no reason for Harmony to tell him she had a boyfriend because they weren''t in a real, committed relationship. So the real question was why Castian showed up again the following Saturday and the two of them were surprisingly chatty with each other at lunch. Brennan was undeniably curious but it wasn''t his place to pry. Maybe the elf had some interest in merfolk as well and that was why he was there. He certainly agreed to be involved in the think tank he, Harmony, and Talori were planning to set up easily enough. That would make a huge difference for conservation efforts once it got off the ground. Unfortunately, it wouldn''t be possible until they had Talori''s brother on their side once he gained power. All of the ideas in the world would be useless without being able to implement them. Who knows how long that would take? Talori was going to be here indefinitely. It could be weeks¡­months¡­years¡­even decades. Brennan wasn''t prepared to have her stay with him that long but he had made his promise. He desperately needed merfolk help if he wanted to fix the ocean''s problems and it was the only way he would be able to ensure their cooperation. He might be stuck in Florida longer than he originally intended but supposed that wasn''t the end of the world. Of all the places he had lived, this was one of his favorites. He wouldn''t mind staying longer than he had intended. Not that he had a specific expiration date in mind either. He usually stayed in once place until he had a valid reason to leave. A breakup¡­a better offer¡­feeling restless. How could he possibly get a better offer than the opportunity to work with real merfolk to make a difference for the part of the world he cared about most? His original home was gone.. Lakes, rivers, streams, and ponds were disappearing at an alarming rate but there were plenty of water fairies to care about that. Who cared about the ocean? Most humans certainly didn''t! Chapter 35 - Dictionary Brennan was grateful for the chance he had to make more of a difference on a long-term basis. It was the whole reason he became a marine biologist in the first place. He loved his work but couldn''t deny he was nervous about getting back to it. Leaving Talori alone in his apartment all day when she wasn''t capable of taking care of herself on the surface wasn''t an option. He had worked things out with Harmony so he would drop her by the witch coven before going to work and take her home afterward. He was sure Talori would be fine there after all the times he had seen the two of them interact so that was one less thing to worry about. "Call me on Harmony''s phone if there are any problems," Brennan said seriously as he drove them to the witch coven Monday morning. "I can claim it''s a family emergency and come right away if it''s serious." Talori smiled sunnily at him. "Don''t worry about me, Brennan! I''ll be fine!" He had noticed that her English became much less formal now that she had been around fae speaking it much more often. She had started using contractions regularly a couple of days ago. Brennan returned her smile with a small one of his own. "If you say so. You''ll have to tell me all about what you did today later." "I will!" When they arrived and Harmony came out to wheel Talori back to her office she reassured him as well. "Don''t worry, I''ll text you if anything happens. But nothing should. We''re going to be perfectly fine, aren''t we, Talori?" The mermaid nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, we''ll be fine! Have a good day at work, Brennan!" "Thanks. See you guys later." Brennan headed to work feeling more reassured that things would be fine. Harmony knew what she was doing. She would take care of Talori for him. It was strange being back at work even though he had only been gone for about two weeks. Everyone crowded him, for one, wanting to know what happened and if he was okay. He was grateful that his supervisor''s prediction that people would try to visit him didn''t come true but based on some of these humans'' reactions they totally would have if they knew his address. He hadn''t realized they cared about what happened to him so much. It didn''t seem like they were simply trying to satiate their desire for gossip. He would have been able to tell the difference with how much he had been around. Brennan hardly spoke to any of his coworkers. He said what needed to be said and no more. So why would they care? Marina, who had been the one to see him blow away on the wind, was in tears and nearly hugged him. He barely managed to dodge in time so his wings weren''t exposed. "I thought you were dead! I couldn''t believe it when Everett told me you made it out of there. I''m so glad you''re okay." "I''m fine, Marina. Were you guys able to secure the rest of the equipment without me?" "That''s what you care about?!" "Relax," Kevin said, clapping a hand on Marina''s shoulder. "Give the guy a little space, will you? It is good to see you though, Brennan. I''m glad you''re okay." "Thanks," Brennan said lamely, still overwhelmed by all of the attention. "Get back to work!" Everett barked when he came out of his office, having noticed most of his employees crowding around. They all went reluctantly but Brennan was relieved. He had a lot to catch up on since he had been gone so long. Getting back into the groove of things wasn''t at all difficult but he wondered more than once throughout the day how things were going with Talori and Harmony. He wished he could be there for their research but knew he needed to keep this job. It was important to him. Talori had promised to fill him in on whatever he missed anyway. On his lunch break he was surprised to receive a text from Harmony''s phone. She almost never texted him first and his heart began to race in panic because she said she would text him if anything happened. ''How is your first day back at work going?'' Brennan was about to ask if this was coming from Talori before a second message came in. ''This is Talori. I am using the speech-to-text function. No, I''m not that hungry!'' He snorted. The speech-to-text function clearly picked up her saying something to Harmony. She was probably using it because she didn''t know much about spelling things in English and had no experience typing on a phone keyboard. ''It''s going fine. How are things over there?'' he texted back. ''Harmony is trying to modify my wheelchair so I can maneuver in it more easily. I have also been talking with Piper. She brought me a donut and it was delicious.'' Brennan couldn''t help but smile at the thought. Talori did seem to enjoy either sweet or salty things more than most flavors that were available on the surface. It made sense she would like donuts. He needed to think of more foods for her to try. There were so many up here but a lot of them overwhelmed her, such as spicy things. There was no concept of spice under the sea. He had learned that during his time staying with her. ''Donuts are really good. I''m glad you''re having a good time'' he sent. ''I am! I like the witch coven. There are many interesting things here but Harmony sometimes gets caught up in what she is doing and doesn''t seem to hear me. I have to call her name several times to get questions answered." Yep, that sounded like Harmony. Brennan sometimes had the same problem with her. He could easily imagine Talori insistently and enthusiastically trying to get her attention and a small laugh escaped him. All of the coworkers in the breakroom looked at him in utmost disbelief. They had never heard him laugh before. "Who are you texting?" Troy asked uncomprehendingly. Brennan looked up and realized they were all staring at him. Oops. He shouldn''t have shown so much emotion at work. Of course they would all be thrown off given his usual work persona. "My friend." "He has friends?" another of his coworkers whispered to the person nearest to them. He heard that but chose not to respond. Of course he had friends! He had more friends scattered across this continent than any of these humans ever would because of how long he had been alive. Even if he hadn''t been in contact with a lot of them for decades if not longer. Just because he had no desire to be friends with humans didn''t mean he wasn''t friendly. All of the fae he knew were like this. Even if they had to interact with humans for work they never got more involved with any of them than they absolutely had to. Brennan chose to ignore this and went back to texting Talori for the rest of his break before telling her he had to get back to work. She seemed to be doing perfectly fine so it was easier to concentrate after lunch now that he didn''t have to worry about her. Eating something had helped too. After work he went to go pick up Talori but ended up briefly talking to Harmony to ask for her version of how things went today. The witch agreed that things had gone well and seemed disappointed that they would be leaving so soon. He was tired though. Dealing with all of his nosy but well-meaning coworkers today wanting to know how he was doing following his supposed ordeal (which really hadn''t been traumatizing in the slightest) and the comments at lunch wore him out. Brennan lacked the energy to continue hanging out. He wanted to go home. Talori didn''t seem to mind. She happily told him everything they had done today on the ride home and he realized that he didn''t have much energy to spare on her either. He had an idea that would allow for some peace and quiet. He stopped at the library on the way back and checked out as many volumes of the dictionary as he could. This would help with her reading comprehension and hopefully stem the endless flow of questions for a little while. He wanted to lie down. "Here," he said once they were back at his apartment and he set down the books where she could reach. "These will help you be able to spell better since you already know how to read. They''ll help you know more English words too. It''s called a dictionary and it''s basically a collection of words and their meanings." Talori''s eyes widened. "Ooh! So if I read all of this, I''ll be able to type by myself instead of using speech-to-text?" "Probably." She clapped her hands together excitedly. "Thank you, Brennan!" Brennan felt slightly guilty that he was doing this more for his peace of mind than he was to help her out. "¡­no problem. I''m going to make dinner." He didn''t have the energy to do much so he ended up heating them both some freezer meals. She was still getting used to using a fork and ate a bit clumsily but there was something endearing about the way she refused to give up even when the food didn''t quite make it all the way to her mouth. After they finished eating he brought her to the couch where she settled in to read with an enraptured expression and he went to his room, telling her to shout if she needed him. He sighed as he flopped onto his bed.. Hopefully tomorrow wouldn''t be so exhausting. Chapter 36 - Witches Are A Special Case Borrowing those dictionaries ended up buying Brennan three days of relative peace after work. It seemed that instead of asking him when he was in another room that she ended up saving her questions for Harmony when she was at the witch coven all day. He didn''t notice anything was off until Talori had a question she couldn''t wait for the answer to and ended up apologizing afterward for disturbing him. That was when he realized she had purposely been talking less around him and was stupidly hit with guilt. He hadn''t expected her to catch on. "No¡­Talori¡­it''s not your fault. It''s the humans. They''re driving me crazy so I''m more tired than usual but I''m not mad at you, I promise. Go on and ask me what you need to ask me," Brennan said sincerely. He truly didn''t mind answering her questions most of the time. He was just sick of being bothered by people at work who wanted to know what happened when he was gone and all of the stares. If they weren''t asking questions, they were definitely staring. Talori bit her lip, looking rather unsure. "I don''t wish to burden you." "You aren''t a burden! You''re my friend," Brennan blurted. She tilted her head at him. "I am your friend? I have never had a friend before unless you count Zale but that is different because he is my family." "Well, you do now. I''m your friend and Harmony is too. So don''t worry about stuff like that, alright? "Alright. Thank you, Brennan." He thought that would be the end of it since she went back to asking questions with her usual levels of enthusiasm but the next day after work when he went to pick Talori up Harmony pulled him aside first. She looked rather concerned and he felt his heart drop to his stomach. "What happened?" he asked nervously. "Talori cried today. Obviously, I''m happy to have an extra supply of mermaid tears to work with but I''m worried about her. She was doing it because she misses her brother." Brennan sighed. He had wondered when something like this would happen. Based on the way she talked about Zale, it was clear that he was her whole world. Even being surrounded by interesting new things and getting to ask all the questions she wanted wouldn''t change the fact that she had never been apart from him for this long. "They are very close. I''ll see what I can do to cheer her up. Thanks for letting me know." "Sure thing." Talori didn''t seem to be upset anymore since she told Brennan about the rest of her day with her usual fervor in the car. She did seem confused though when he took her somewhere other than his apartment. "Where are we going?" "To experience a unique cultural experience via the humans called going to the movies. Though human media gets a lot of things wrong regarding magic and the fae, it isn''t all bad. Some of it can be quite entertaining," he explained. Taking her to see something generic like a superhero movie shouldn''t be a problem. He had overheard his coworkers talking about this one that was out right now and getting good reviews. Talori''s eyes lit up. "I have heard of movies! I have been looking forward to watching one!" "Who told you about movies?" Brennan asked with a raised eyebrow. He didn''t remember telling her about that. It must have been one of the witches. They didn''t watch movies terribly often because they hated the way magic was depicted but fantasy wasn''t the only genre there was even if it was more prevalent this time of year. "Piper. She and some of the others saw a movie last weekend about some sort of natural disaster to celebrate one of the witch''s birthdays," Talori explained. "I see. Well, what we''re going to see isn''t the natural disaster one. It''s about something humans call superheroes. They''re fictionalized versions of humans that have powers. I''ve seen a few before and they aren''t so bad. "Anyway, once we''re in the theater I can get us some special movie foods that humans like to eat. I don''t think you''ve had popcorn or candy yet. I''m not sure how you''ll like the former but you should like the latter since you like sweet things." "Ooh, I do like sweet things! Thank you for buying us special movie foods in advance." Brennan smiled over at her. "No problem. Think of it as an apology for being too worn out to be any fun earlier this week." He parked the car and wheeled her into the theater. There was a special row that had space for wheelchairs at the end and he sat in the seat directly next to it so he could answer whatever questions she might have. Talori asked him questions pretty much the entire movie but he didn''t mind too much because he had come here for her sake. She certainly seemed cheered up by the end of it despite not getting all of them answered because Brennan didn''t know much about the lore from the franchise this movie was a part of. "You can look things up yourself once you know how to type," he told her on their way out of the theater. "There has to be tons of information about this franchise and these characters on the internet. I''m sure you''ll be able to find it and read it while I''m at work when Harmony is caught up in her spells and magic items. You could borrow her phone to read about it." Her eyes widened in excitement. "I never would have thought about that! Humans really have come up with a lot to make up for not having magic, haven''t they?" "Yes but not nearly enough to make up for the damage they''ve caused to the environment. Everything they do causes problems for nature," Brennan said with a sigh. "There are sustainable options out there but so few people use them. "Fae are much more conscious of these things than humans because so many of us are heavily tied to nature. The witches have been great in that regard but they can''t exactly hand out magic items to humans, now can they?" "I see your point. What you need is to find similar products humans could have conceivably made themselves," Talori mused. Brennan was surprised how insightful that was. She hadn''t been here very long but she caught on quicker than he would have thought considering how na?ve and easily excitable she was. "Yeah. That''s the problem. And mass producing it so it''s readily available for everyone at an affordable price. I wonder if I should talk to Castian about that the next time I see him. He is studying sustainable business, after all." "Aren''t we going to see Castian on Saturday?" "Provided nothing comes up on his end. I look forward to seeing what ideas he has. Elves aren''t tied to the land the way fairies are but they do care about the environment," Brennan said with a shrug. He honestly hadn''t had many interactions with elves outside of buying from their businesses over the centuries. There hadn''t been any nearby back when he lived in his original home. They lived much deeper in the forest so the two groups never crossed paths. He had met plenty as he bounced around from place to place but never stopped to have in-depth conversations with them because they weren''t interested in such things. They were even more businesslike than the witches. "Fairies are tied to the land similar to the way merfolk are tied to the ocean, correct?" Talori asked. "Pretty much. I lost my home a long time ago though. That''s why I keep moving." Her yellow eyes clouded over. "I''m sorry. That must have been very painful for you. I can''t even imagine such a thing." Brennan shrugged. "It happened a really long time ago." He couldn''t honestly say he had gotten over it but it was true that it happened a long time ago. It was the easier answer to give. He didn''t like talking about his home or family because it brought back old anger best left forgotten. It was easier to partially change the subject. "Like I said before, fairies started out where their element was prevalent. Fire fairies in the desert or where it gets hot, water fairies near bodies of water, wind fairies where the weather is very windy, and earth fairies wherever there were plants." "Are there many of the other types around here?" Talori asked. "Oh, sure. There''s a rather large clan of water fairies out in the Everglades but you''ll find them anywhere there are rivers and lakes in this state. Earth fairies are everywhere. They''re probably the most common type. Wind fairies tend to live near the coast because of hurricanes. It''s hot enough here that there are fire fairies too. I know a bunch." "It would be interesting to meet other fairies but I know it is unusual for me to be up here and that I should not get too involved with other fae." She had that right. The few other witches that found out about her existence had already been scrambling to talk to her or have her participate in their research. Other types of fae were more likely to be vaguely curious or disbelieving than try to pounce on her though. "Witches are a special case. I don''t think you''ll have too much trouble with other fae if you really want to meet them," Brennan told her. "The next time somebody invites me to do something I can bring you with me." Talori beamed at him. "Wonderful! That sounds fun!" Explaining how he met a mermaid in the first place would be the hardest part but it wasn''t like the other water fairies he knew didn''t already think he was weird.. It wouldn''t change anything. Chapter 37 - That Wasnt How Things Worked Brennan was glad that taking Talori to the movies seemed to cheer her up. She was in a perfectly good mood again by Saturday morning when they met up with Harmony, Castian, and Piper at the marina. "Do I want to know where you got this boat?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. Harmony rolled her eyes. "I didn''t steal it, if that''s what you''re wondering. This is the coven''s boat. The one we use to meet with that merman Gar." "¡­do you even know how to drive a boat?" "Why do you think Piper is here?" Aha. Brennan had wondered since she wasn''t usually a part of their little group despite being one of the few at the witch coven who were aware of Talori being a mermaid. Having someone able to drive a boat was important. Talori had seen boats but had never been on one before. As he wheeled her aboard, she looked around with her usual sense of wide-eyed wonder. "So this is what a boat is like? Wow!" "Yep. How far out are we going, Harmony?" "Far enough that no one will see what we''re doing. We need to be in the literal middle of nowhere." "¡­how long is this going to take? I have another group project meeting at three," Castian said, speaking up for the first time since they all arrived. Harmony tapped him on the nose with her finger. "Don''t you worry about a thing! It only takes about an hour to get to the middle of nowhere and an hour to get back. We started early for a reason, you know." Castian blinked, clearly not expecting the nose tap. "Right." Brennan narrowed his eyes at those two. They were certainly acting weird this morning. He had only seen them together twice but both of those times they hardly interacted. It wasn''t his business so he didn''t say anything but he couldn''t help but wonder what was going on. Harmony and Piper chatted about what they were planning on having Talori do while out on open water, Brennan was answering as many boat-related questions from her as he could, and Castian stood against the railing looking out at the horizon with his hair (hidden by his glamour) obviously whipping around his face based on how he tried brushing something Brennan couldn''t see away so many times. Eventually he got annoyed enough by this that he used a hair tie hidden beneath his sleeve to braid it back. Invisible braiding was a new sight. They arrived before long and there wasn''t another boat in sight, just as they had hoped. He lifted Talori up so she was sitting on the railing and could dive into the water. She let out her happy dolphin noises once she came back up. "Ooh, it feels so good to be in the ocean again!" "Sorry," Brennan and Harmony said in sync, clearly both thinking about the tiny containers of salt water they had been hydrating her in all this time. Talori waved them off. "Don''t be. Nothing could ever replace the ocean because of how endless it is. I know being on the surface comes with certain limitations. It''s just nice to be able to swim again for a little while. What do you want me to do?" "Anything and everything! I do want to see if you can go that water-grabbing trick with the whole boat to move it from one spot to another but aside from that show me whatever you can. The biggest and flashiest tricks you can think of," Harmony said eagerly. Piper nodded beside her with a wide grin on her face. Both of their eyes were glowing. Talori did as they said but didn''t provide adequate warning. When the boat was picked up everyone lurched. Brennan shot into the air out of instinct but no one else was able to do that. Castian clung to the railing for dear life with the most expression he had ever seen from him while the witches hit the deck, laughing in delight. When they splashed back down everyone got soaked. Harmony and Piper went around drying everyone off with their wands, regaining equilibrium quickly. Poor Castian wasn''t so lucky. His legs seemed like jelly and he spoke feebly. "A little warning would have been nice." "Sorry, Castian!" Talori cried. "I will be sure to warn you next time!" "Oh great. There''s going to be a next time." Brennan felt a bit sorry for him. The elf had clearly never done anything like this before. He was used to this sort of thing by now after hanging out with Harmony and Talori. Nothing could faze him anymore. Castian had agreed to talk to him about business sustainability today but he was willing to bet that he hadn''t anticipated being a part of an experiment in the process. If Harmony told him in advance what would be happening, he probably would have been less inclined to agree. That wasn''t all that Talori did with the boat either. At least she did warn them the next time as promised. She ended up making it ride a gigantic wave, created a whirlpool that it spun around in, and made it move as if it was driving itself despite the engine being off. Throughout all of this the long-suffering elf looked slightly as though he was going to be sick. Harmony was too caught up in writing everything down while she and Piper asked a ton of questions. By the time they finished Castian was on his knees on the deck looking as though his soul had been sucked out of him. That was when Harmony finally noticed there was something off with him. Her eyes widened in horror and she rushed over to him. "Castian! Are you alright? Why didn''t you say that you get seasick?!" "¡­because it''s never been a problem before. To be fair, I have never been on such a turbulent boat ride." "Brennan, help me! He''s too tall for me to carry by myself," Harmony said with a sharp look in his direction. She wasn''t wrong. She was maybe a foot shorter than him. "I''ll take his arms, you take his legs. We need to get him into the cabin." Brennan nodded grimly before flying over to help. It was a bit difficult getting him down the stairs but they managed to do it and set him up on a couch where she immediately began fussing over him. It had been a while since he felt like such a third wheel. He excused himself to go get Talori back onto the boat. She had seen what happened and looked concerned. "Is Castian alright?" "He should be," Brennan remarked, thinking of how Harmony had been hovering over him and fetching him things when he left. "He just isn''t used to stuff like this." "Elves are such babies," Piper scoffed. "That was amazing, Talori! Don''t you worry about a thing." Talori didn''t seem entirely convinced but nodded anyway. Brennan flew over and pulled her out of the water, carrying her bridal-style so he could set her back in the wheelchair more easily. Piper used her magic to dry him off as soon as he had. Once all of their passengers were aboard the witch headed to the controls and began steering them back toward shore. They all had to put their glamours back on as they got closer in case anyone on a passing ship saw them. "What did you think of my magic, Brennan?" Talori asked, looking up at him expectantly. She clearly wanted to be praised. And her magic had been truly impressive so he didn''t need to exaggerate at all. He smiled and patted her head since she looked like a kelpie that had just performed a trick and was expecting a treat. "It was amazing! You''re a real powerhouse." She let out one of her happy squeals and bounced a little in her seat. "Thank you! Hopefully the witches think so too." "I don''t think you have to worry about that. I saw their reactions up close and they were thrilled." "Oh good. I do still feel bad about Castian though. Do you really think he''s alright? Should we go check on him?" "Harmony''s taking care of him. We would only get in the way," Brennan said, thinking of what he had seen earlier and how their relationship seemed a lot closer than it had the last time he saw the two of them together. What had changed? Everyone knew that elves and witches weren''t together in any meaningful capacity. That wasn''t how things worked. Maybe she just felt guilty that he wasn''t feeling well because he had come out here to participate in her research. That would make a lot more sense than Harmony feeling any true degree of attachment to the boyfriend whose existence she never bothered mentioning until she happened to bring him along to help Brennan get Talori to the witch coven. Witches didn''t get attached. Neither did elves.. It wasn''t in their natures. Chapter 38 - Youre Actually Not That Bad Harmony was having the time of her life conducting research with Talori. She hadn''t met such an interesting fae since Brennan and that happened seventeen years ago. He had lived in the area for decades already but they didn''t meet during her first few years of living there because she never happened to be at the desk when he came by her coven. They hit it off and had seen each other multiple times a week since. She knew their friendship was considered unusual but didn''t care because he had such interesting things to say. It was a win-win. And now he had brought her yet another interesting fae! Talori was a goldmine of information about merfolk that no other witches had access to. Well, aside from Piper. Who had nosed her way into Harmony''s business. Thankfully, no one else seemed to have figured out that a mermaid was hanging out in her office every day yet. They already knew she was the type to let random fae hang around because of Brennan so no one was suspicious since he was always the one to drop Talori off and pick her up. It was considered polite in fae society to remove your glamour when alone with other fae but since Brennan was such a familiar figure around here they never bothered to close the store for him and let him go straight back when humans were around. He took his glamour off once inside Harmony''s office so Talori followed suit. None of her fellow coven members but Piper had seen her with her glamour off so they had no clue what race of fae she was. They were probably somewhat curious because you didn''t often see fae in wheelchairs but no one said anything. They probably assumed she was some wingless fairy who had gotten into an accident considering who she was with. Harmony would happily let them keep assuming that so she didn''t have to share her research. Piper butting in was bad enough but at least she would be able to use her boat-driving abilities to conduct further research out at sea. That was the one plus to her involvement. The great part about this was that Talori was equally enthused about what they were doing. Harmony had rarely seen such a willing research subject. The mermaid was easily excited and had as many questions as she did. That kept them plenty occupied while Brennan was at work. Talori did seem to wish he was here with them on a somewhat regular basis though. She frequently borrowed Harmony''s phone to text him on his lunch breaks and was enthralled by how it worked. Everything was going great until she said something offhandedly about how her magic was nothing in comparison to her brother''s. "Zale is much stronger than I am! He taught me more about magic than my tutor ever did. "He''s the strongest merman in our part of the ocean both in magic and in combat. I''ve never seen anyone beat him and I watch him spar with his mermen nearly every day. He knows he''s the best but he still always wants me to praise him." Her fond tone changed and suddenly became choked with tears. "I hope he''s doing okay without me there to praise him or make him laugh. He''s so clinical all the time because he has to be. I''m his only source of love and he is mine. "We''re all each other has. Before I met Brennan he was the only one who ever cared about my interest in the surface. He brought me all sorts of presents that ended up near our kingdom. He told me to tell him everything I learn here once I come home but I don''t want to do that. I want to tell him about it now!" Harmony was at war with herself. On one hand, she was incredibly concerned that this bright, cheerful fae was crying so hard. On the other, she was eager to get her hands on more mermaid tears to experiment with. The ones they had were precious, scarce, and typically saved to be sold to other fae who needed them rather than saved for experimentation. "Talori¡­it''s okay. You won''t be apart forever," she soothed, holding out a handkerchief for the mermaid to dab her eyes with. Her words were not soothing enough. "We have never been apart this long! I have seen him every day my whole life until I came here. And now I don''t know when I am going to see him again. What if it''s decades? What if it''s centuries? I can''t go home until he becomes the merking because everyone thinks I''m dead!" Talori sobbed like the world was ending for quite some time, completely soaking the handkerchief. Harmony gave up on trying to comfort her verbally and ended up awkwardly patting her shoulder. She did calm down eventually and Harmony was able to extract the mermaid tears from the handkerchief and put them in a little bottle to experiment with later but she still felt like she needed to give Brennan a heads up because Talori was acting more subdued than usual afterward, clearly still thinking about her brother and the home she had left behind. He must have done something after he picked her up because the next day the mermaid was back to her usual self. When Harmony asked about it she replied enthusiastically. "We went to the movies! Popcorn has the most interesting texture and there were so many types of candies there though we only got two to share and I have never seen anything like it in my entire life!" Harmony smiled and thought, ''Good job, Brennan!'' He managed to introduce her to something that distracted her so fully it spilled over into the next day. Talori went on about their time at the movies for more than thirty minutes before asking if she could borrow Harmony''s phone to look up more information about the comic book characters the movie had been based on. Her friend was much shrewder than she originally thought. By introducing her to internet research the distraction would last much longer than a few days. Harmony had long thought Brennan was the smartest fairy she had ever met but it was times like this that truly drove it home. She told Castian all about it on Friday night when he asked her how her week went. "Honestly, he handles her like a pro. They haven''t even known each other that long. I''m impressed," she finished. "He does seem exceedingly patient with her questions," he remarked. "I thought that from the first time I met them. What are you planning on doing with the mermaid tears?" "All sorts of things! I want to run a variety of tests to see if they can be used for more than healing. You know they''re a primary ingredient in most poultices. If they can do that, I''m willing to bet there''s all sorts of untapped potential!" Harmony went on about her plans for quite some time while sitting next to Castian on the couch and didn''t realize exactly how long she went on for until she glanced at the clock. "It''s nearly ten and we haven''t even started yet! Why didn''t you stop me?!" "I saw no reason to. What you were saying was interesting. Forgive me for being presumptuous, but I thought it might be easier for me to stay over again since we are planning on meeting in the morning anyway. That way it doesn''t matter how late we start," he said reasonably. She was both impressed by his foresight and flattered that he cared enough about what she had to say that he let her go on for so long. She smiled at him and crawled onto his lap to caress his face. "Is that so?" Castian nodded and she kissed him, her heart racing more than usual. He had been surprising her lately. And that wasn''t a bad thing. Harmony felt a bit bad for hogging the conversation so much earlier, though she had appreciated his willingness to let her talk and ask her questions to show he was engaged. She felt the need to return the favor. As they lay around sleepily afterward she asked him about his project. He seemed surprised but told her anyway. It was rather interesting stuff. Why didn''t he ever talk about it before? Oh, right. Because that wasn''t the sort of relationship they had. Until a couple of weeks ago they had never gone farther than small talk. She still didn''t understand why he was suddenly interested in her life but she wasn''t complaining. It was nice to talk about it to a fresh pair of ears that hadn''t heard it all before. Castian was a lot more interesting than she would have thought too. He always seemed so stoic and, dare she say, boring. Like there wasn''t a thought in his head. She was beginning to realize that was simply because he was a fae of few words. He preferred listening to talking. There wasn''t anything wrong with that though. There needed to be listeners for the talkers of this world. "Hey, Castian?" she mumbled with a yawn. "Yes?" "I''m glad you talk to me more now. You''re actually not that bad." Castian pulled her slightly closer so he could kiss her forehead. "I should have done it sooner. You''re actually not that bad either." Harmony let out a small laugh that he was parroting her words and then snuggled closer.. She was pretty tired with how late they stayed up so it didn''t take her long to fall asleep curled up in his arms. Chapter 39 - Special Delivery The next morning when Castian had a change of clothes ready to go Harmony realized with a slight jolt that he must have been anticipating the possibility of staying over from the beginning. He was certainly efficient. But she put that out of mind as best she could because of her excitement about what they were doing today. They went to go pick up Piper from the coven and she was obviously surprised to see Castian but didn''t ask her about it until they were out on the water and everyone else was far enough away that they wouldn''t be overheard. "Why''d you bring your elf?" "Brennan wanted to talk to him about what he''s studying. He''s getting a master''s degree in sustainable business," Harmony said with a shrug. Piper raised an eyebrow. "When did Brennan meet him?" "Last week. He was interested in my merfolk research so he hung out with us for a while before he had a meeting to go to. It didn''t come up until shortly before he had to leave so they didn''t get the chance to talk then." "I didn''t think elves cared about things like that." "Neither did I," Harmony admitted. "But there''s a lot more to him than meets the eye. He''s pretty quiet but he''s not bad company one-on-one." "If you say so. My elf is blander than a baked potato without any toppings. It''s a good thing he''s handsome because that''s all he has going for him," Piper said as she rolled her eyes. "Not a spark of imagination in a single one of them as far as I''ve seen." She generally agreed with her companion''s view of elves but she still felt unsettled for some reason. Castian really wasn''t that bad. She had misunderstood him all this time. Harmony let the subject drop and switched to talking about the kind of research they were going to perform today. She had so much fun once Talori did her thing that she didn''t realize her boyfriend was in distress until after it was all over. She immediately panicked and went over to help him but she was too short and weak to move him on her own so she had to enlist Brennan''s help. She rushed around getting a cool cloth for his head and a drink of water and anything else he might need to stop feeling seasick. She had never experienced seasickness or knew anyone who had so she didn''t know what to do to fix it. "Are you okay? I''m so sorry I didn''t notice you were dying back there." "I will be," Castian said weakly as he squeezed his eyes shut. "Don''t worry about it. I know you get excited about things and don''t blame you for it." Harmony sat down on the ground in front of where he lay on the couch and squeezed his hand. That was awfully generous of him. It was strange that he was being so understanding when he had suffered because of her negligence. "Where do you feel sick? Is it your stomach? Your head? Are you dizzy?" "Dizzy and slightly nauseous. I''m sure it will go away soon enough. It was just because of how the boat was moving earlier. Merfolk are a lot stronger than I would have guessed. Are their powers solely limited to manipulating water?" Castian asked, still not sounding great. If he was trying to talk to distract himself from how terrible he felt, she wasn''t about to let him down. She could distract him. "Saltwater," Harmony explained. "We did some experiments where I tried to get her to manipulate water from the sink and it didn''t work. Their powers seem to extend primarily to the ocean but we got around that by using saltwater from her tank in my office." "That makes sense considering most merfolk never leave the ocean." "I thought so too." Harmony did her best to keep him distracted until they got back to shore and didn''t let go of his hand since handholding was generally regarded as a comforting gesture. Some of what little color his face normally had came back by the time they arrived at shore but he still needed help getting to his feet and swayed a little. At least this time he was stable enough that she was enough to support him on her on. He was fine having an arm around her shoulders while she had one around his waist. "Are you really going to be okay going to your meeting later like this?" Harmony asked before biting her lip. "It''s not for another two hours. If I eat something, I should be fine," Castian reassured her. "I still need to talk to Brennan anyway. I can do that at lunch." "If you''re sure¡­" They ended up going to an Italian restaurant for lunch and she kept an eye on him as he talked to Brennan even as she participated in a conversation with Talori and Piper about what the former did with her powers earlier. He did seem to be doing a little better after he ate something but she still felt guilty. Why did it feel like she was always trying to make things up to him lately? This wouldn''t do. She had to do better than this. Owing others was not the witch way. After lunch Harmony ended up driving him back to her place to pick up his car so he could make it to his meeting on time and in the process she came up with an idea. "What is your favorite type of food?" Castian seemed surprised by the question but answered it anyway. "Steak and mashed potatoes. Why do you ask?" "I want to bring you lunch sometime next week to make up for today. You only got sick because of me, after all. Unless that would be bothering you too much." He shook his head. "That wouldn''t be bothering me at all. Don''t feel obligated though. I know you''re busy with Talori and my getting sick really wasn''t that big of a deal. You don''t always have to make things up to me, Harmony." "Yes I do! And I can get Piper to watch her for me for a little while. What day works best?" "Probably Tuesday since I don''t have any appointments right after lunch then." "Perfect! Don''t pack a lunch on Tuesday. I''ll see you then!" Harmony said cheerfully since they had arrived at the parking lot of her complex. "See you then," Castian confirmed with a slight smile before grabbing his briefcase and going to his own car. She felt much better knowing they would be square come Tuesday. In the meantime she needed to get back to work. She had a lot to do regarding those mermaid tears she had collected but she needed to record all the data she had taken earlier on her laptop too. She was so into it that eventually she forgot that Brennan and Talori were there so they broke her focus solely to say they were leaving and that they would see her on Monday. She barely registered that they said they were planning on having a marathon of some of the earlier comic book movies in that franchise Talori was so excited about and that she would have time to work that way. She was too in the zone. Harmony remained in the zone, hardly remembering to eat or sleep, until Monday when Brennan dropped Talori off on his way to work. She was quite curious how the research had gone in her absence and Harmony was happy to tell her about it. It was nice having a mermaid''s opinion on the potential application of mermaid tears too. Conducting experiments with Talori around was an interesting experience. She was in an excellent mood by the time she went to bring Castian his lunch on Tuesday because of all the progress she had made. She had gotten them takeout from The Cheesecake Factory. She figured throwing something extra in wouldn''t hurt in trying to assuage her guilt. The secretary recognized her this time. She called back immediately. "Cas, your girlfriend is here." A moment later she shot Harmony a professional smile. "Go right on back. Do you remember which office it is?" "Yeah. Thanks!" It was easy to find considering a shortened version of his name was on the door. She had noticed this was a common practice with elves or other fae that had long, old-fashioned, or difficult to pronounce names. Cas didn''t suit him the way his full name did. Probably because he was so serious all the time. Harmony had never once seen him laugh and he almost never smiled. They weren''t real smiles either. They were barely there. Polite business smiles rather than ones brought on by genuine enjoyment. At least that was what she thought until she opened the door to his office and set the food on his desk. "Special delivery!" Castian still didn''t smile with his teeth but it was definitely a real smile. What was that about? Because she brought him his favorite food? Was that really enough to make this block of wood crack? "Thanks, Harmony. That smells really good." "I didn''t only bring you steak," she said in a conspiratorial whisper. "I brought cheesecake." When Castian opened the bag and saw an entire cheesecake in a box beneath the takeout containers his eyes widened. "An entire cheesecake?! I can''t eat all of this!" "Then share it with your coworkers. I''m sure someone will be willing to help you finish it. I can have a slice while I''m here too." "¡­you really don''t like owing people, do you?" "Nope." Castian mumbled something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like "I''ll have to remember that" but said nothing else because he was too busy digging into his food. Harmony sat in the chair across from his desk and joined him. Steak had sounded good to her too. She purposely showed up at the beginning of his lunch break so they would have a little time to chat and they did once they had finished their cheesecake. She couldn''t stick around for long though.. They both had work to do. Chapter 40 - I Wanted To Ask You Something Harmony''s life had fallen into a new pattern since Brennan started harboring Talori to keep her safe. The mermaid hung out in her office every day while the water fairy was at work, Castian now stayed over every Friday night so he could join them in their research on Saturday mornings, and she kept finding herself owing him things so she usually brought him food once or twice a week to make up for it. This went on for months without variation. Talori seemed to be adjusting better, though her homesickness did hit her every so often. When it did Brennan knew how to handle her. He was rather reliable for a fairy. It seemed he was rubbing off on his mermaid friend too. "I want to do something to help Brennan," she said resolutely. "He pays for all of my food and takes me to do fun things and I can''t realistically sit around the coven all day indefinitely, can I? I want to get a job." Harmony was so surprised by this declaration that she accidentally blew up what she was working on. "What?! You want a job?" "Yes. I have learned a lot since coming to the surface and believe I am capable of working in a fae-run establishment of some sort as long as they train me. Do you know of any that are hiring?" She would have to reach out to her contacts. She knew of plenty of fae-run businesses around here but didn''t know if anyone needed extra help or not. Or how she would explain that the fae in question was a mermaid since most fae had never met one. "I can look into it for you but there are no guarantees I''ll be able to find anything," Harmony said with a shrug. "That''s fine! Thank you, Harmony!" Talori replied happily, bouncing in her seat. "No problem." The next day was Friday and when she met up with Castian the first thing she asked him was whether or not he knew of any elf businesses that would be willing to hire a mermaid. He blinked at her uncomprehendingly. "Since when does Talori want a job?" "Since yesterday, apparently. She says she wants to help Brennan out and I think she''s also getting a little bored hanging out in my office all day since we finished the majority of our research already," Harmony admitted. "I feel kind of bad for her so I want to help her out. Especially not knowing how long she''ll be here." Castian nodded thoughtfully. "I see. I can ask around but make no promises." "That''s fine. Anything helps. So what have you been up to since Wednesday? Anything new?" "No. School and work are going as usual. What about you?" "Well¡­" Harmony ended up launching into a long rant about how her research wasn''t cooperating with her that didn''t stop until the food arrived. They were out to eat before conducting their usual transaction, which had also become a part of her new routine over a month ago. Castian always insisted on paying and then she had to bring him lunch to make up for it. She was beginning to suspect he was doing it on purpose. He knew she didn''t like owing anyone. But why would he do that? It didn''t make any sense. She really should call him out on it one of these days. Sure enough, it happened again when they had finished their food and she squinted at him. "What''s your deal?" "What do you mean?" Castian asked uncomprehendingly. "You keep paying for me every time we go out so I keep feeling the need to bring you something to make up for it. If I didn''t know any better, I would say you were doing it on purpose." "What if I am doing it on purpose?" Harmony blinked at him. She hadn''t expected him to admit to it so quickly. "Why would you do that?" "Because it''s the only way I get to see you more often," he said without meeting her eyes, though the tips of his ears were slightly red. Her heart skipped a beat. He actually wanted to see her more often? When had he come to that conclusion? More importantly, why? Their relationship wasn''t like that¡­or it hadn''t been. Things had definitely changed since that first time he helped her with Talori. He wasn''t just her elf anymore. He was her friend. How had that happened? They had known each other for decades without that happening! Though they also hadn''t engaged in more than small talk until recently. That was when things started changing. "If you want to see me more often, all you have to do is ask," Harmony said, trying to be rational. She wouldn''t have made such an offer a few months ago but they hadn''t been friends then. At this point it would be weird if she didn''t see him several times a week. Castian finally looked at her, a trace of his earlier blush still on his cheeks. "Really?" "Duh. We''re friends." "Right. I''ll keep that in mind." Harmony never would have seen herself becoming friends with an elf. Let alone the one she had a relationship of obligation with. It hadn''t felt as much like an obligation lately though since she realized she actually enjoyed talking to him. Castian was a useful guy to have around too. Brennan certainly seemed to like him and whatever insights he had into the sustainability/ocean conversation problem. He had mentioned it more than once. And he was willing to help her out without asking too many questions, no matter how strange the request was. Like trying to help a mermaid who had only been on the surface a few months find a job. That was simply the kind of fae he was. He may not have much of a sense of humor but he was a good fae to have in your corner. He wasn''t as boring as Harmony originally thought. She was glad they were friends now. She was considered odd for having friends that weren''t witches but so what? Brennan, Talori, and Castian were helping her out in various ways. She wasn''t friends with them for nothing. Everyone thought she was especially strange for seeing her elf outside of their scheduled meetups. So what if she was? Castian was helping them out! There was nothing wrong with what she was doing. Why couldn''t they understand that? Just because they couldn''t see the use in keeping other races of fae around for more than the occasional favor didn''t mean she was the one in the wrong here. Witches interacted with other races most frequently anyway because they were the backbone of the fae community. They were involved in everything so why was it strange that she wanted to spend time with the same few fae over and over? They had useful insights and she liked talking to them. Harmony had an informational exchange going with both Brennan and Talori. And she was literally supposed to be with Castian in some capacity! More than half of the witches in the coven were involved with an elf. What was so wrong with hanging out with him outside of their prearranged meetings? She didn''t see a problem with it and neither did he. That was what mattered. She couldn''t help but wonder if his elf friends gave him as hard a time about her as the rest of her coven did about him. There was a good chance they did. Witches and elves were both pragmatic races that didn''t believe in emotional attachments much. Not that Harmony thought she was genuinely attached to any of her friends. At least not in the way other races seemed to be since her friendships were all based on exchange. She cared about what happened to them in a generic way but that was different. Part of why she and Brennan got along so well was that he was the same way after losing his family and moving around so much. He had no one left to care about and had closed himself off. Though he did seem to care about Talori in some capacity. He was very patient with her. Indulgent was the word Harmony would use. She supposed they did spend a lot of time together. It was good that he found another fae he liked talking to. Fairies generally were not solitary creatures. The problem was what he was going to do when she inevitably went back to the ocean. He would find himself with an awful lot of empty time to fill. The sound of her name snapped her out of her thoughts. She realized Castian was calling her. "Sorry, what?" "I wanted to ask you something. What were you thinking about?" Harmony had been thinking about a lot of things but she didn''t want to voice all of them. She ended up going with the most recent one. "Talori and Brennan. I think he''ll miss her once she goes back home since they''re literally always together. He''s probably gotten used to having her around," she said with a shrug. Castian nodded. "It certainly does seem that way." "So what did you want to ask me?" "It can wait." Harmony frowned.. It was important enough that he called her name trying to get her attention multiple times but now he was saying it could wait? She wasn''t sure she would ever understand this elf. Chapter 41 - It Was Different Here Talori had been on the surface long enough to understand a lot of things. One of them was that money was absolutely necessary for survival and almost everything required it. Brennan had been taking care of everything for her all this time and she wanted to help him out. She had never thought about any of this before because of her life as a princess where everything was handled without her having to lift a finger. It was different here. It was probably different for merfolk who weren''t nobles too but she had been stuck in the coral palace and never saw it. The system she grew up with seemed wrong to her now. Everybody she knew up here worked. Brennan was a marine biologist. Harmony and Piper helped run the health food store that was a front for the witch coven. Castian worked at a bank. They were all doing their part to participate in the world. What about her? All she had ever done was sit around occasionally making jewelry because she was bored. She would have a purpose once she returned home as the new liaison (and planned to be much more involved than Gar had ever been) but what about now? Talori may be used to sitting around but that didn''t mean she liked it. She wanted to do more since she didn''t know how long she would be here. She wasn''t completely inept. She knew how to use the technology here and could read, write, and type. As long as someone showed her what she needed to do, she would be able to do it. As soon as she got a job she planned to have Castian help her set up a bank account and once she had enough money she was going to buy all of her friends presents to show her appreciate for all of their help. Then she was going to help Brennan with the household expenses. One Saturday morning a couple of weeks after she decided she wanted a job and the fae she knew started asking around she got lucky. Castian knew of an elf-run hospital that would be willing to take her on for a data entry position. All of the administrators were elves but the majority of the doctors, nurses, and other staff were human. Fae typically didn''t do jobs where they had to be involved with humans more than necessary. Who would want to go to such effort to save them? Talori was curious why elves would even run a hospital for humans but when she asked Castian shrugged. "Hospitals make good money." Brennan had said that both elves and witches were known for being money-grubbers. She ended up accepting his answer without further questions though she did have them. Mostly she was grateful for the chance to have a job. Talori would be working in the medical records department. She was eager to learn and be of help. An elf would be her supervisor so she didn''t have to worry about there being any issues with her potentially being a slow learner. They knew she hadn''t been on the surface for long and were willing to work with her because of Castian''s recommendation. Farryn Peltier''s glamour was of a tall, beautiful woman with a regal face, light brown hair, and green eyes. She wore a snappy gray pantsuit and was all business as she greeted Talori on her first day in her private office. "So you are the one Castian recommended. I am aware of your rather unique situation but I must ask¡­what are you doing here?" She shrugged, not wanting to go into details. "I needed a safe place to go for a while. Nobody would think to look for me up here. I truly appreciate your willingness to give me a chance." "Fae look out for each other. It is how we survive." Farryn shuffled some papers on her desk before holding them out for Talori to take. "This is your onboarding paperwork using the false identity documents I received from the witch coven. I need you to sign everything and I can have someone take it over to HR." Talori did as she said. According to her human identification documents, her name was Lori Trent. Talori wasn''t a name up here and merfolk didn''t have last names so she borrowed Brennan''s. She read through it and signed and dated it where necessary. It was fairly straightforward. Once that was taken care of Farryn left the office and gestured for Talori to follow. She handed off the paperwork to someone who already appeared to be running errands and led her to an empty work station where the chair had already been removed so her wheelchair would fit. "Alyssa, this is Lori. She''ll be working here starting from today so I need you to train her. She doesn''t have any data entry experience but she''s a fast learner," Farryn instructed the human woman in the workstation next to Talori''s. Alyssa nodded. "I''ll take good care of her." "Thank you. Lori, if you need anything, you know where my office is." With that the elf left, her high heels clicking against the floor. The human regarded Talori curiously. "Do you know the boss personally?" "I only met her today." Brennan had warned Talori about this. That humans didn''t like people using connections to get what they wanted. It was better not to tell the whole truth. She had only met Farryn today but she met her through Castian. "Huh. That was unusually nice for her. Normally she doesn''t take such an interest in new hires. Anyway, what brings you to Hillcrest Hospital?" Alyssa asked. "My friend has been taking very good care of me and I want to help them out more so I took the first job I could find." "I see. Well, you picked a good one. The boss might be stickler but it isn''t so bad around here. She just likes things to be efficient. The pay is pretty good for this kind of work and we get great benefits." Talori didn''t need benefits since she couldn''t see any human doctors if something happened to her. She would have to go to the witch coven for help with that sort of thing. Harmony had studied mermaid physiology not long after she arrived. If she did get hurt, the witch would be able to help. What she needed was money. Pretty good pay was reassuring. Alyssa spent the rest of the morning teaching her about medical records. On their lunch break she pulled out the lunch box Brennan had packed for her consisting of grapes and half of a sandwich since she couldn''t eat much. She had gotten a phone last week in preparation for her job here so she could get in touch with Farryn if necessary and vice versa. She had five phone numbers in it since she didn''t know many fae on a personal level. One of them was Brennan''s. He was who she decided to text because he always went on his lunch about now. To her surprise, he had already messaged her first. ''How''s your first day going?'' ''Very well! I am learning a lot. Alyssa, my human trainer, has been very informative so far'' ''That''s good. You didn''t have any issues with the onboarding paperwork?'' ''No. Farryn took care of most of it for me and told me where to sign. It''s all taken care of'' ''Elves do thrive on efficiency'' Talori had realized that for herself both from observing Castian and from what Alyssa said earlier. She would have to work hard so she wouldn''t hinder the efficiency of the medical records department. ''Yes. How is your day going?'' ''It''s going fine. I''ve been taking water samples most of the morning and am waiting on results from the lab'' Brennan replied. Talori had been around him long enough to know why they took water samples. He cared about the ocean more than any non-merfolk fae she had ever met. It was one of the many things she appreciated about him. She looked forward to the day that they would be able to officially put that think tank together to help benefit the ocean. She was certain that with all of them working together that they would be able to come up with some sort of solution that would help but her kingdom and the neighboring coral reef. Zale would be so proud of her! She knew quite a bit about conservation and marine biology now because of Brennan. She was going to be able to use that knowledge to help the subjects of her kingdom. No more sitting around uselessly making pearl necklaces for her! She planned to be actively involved in helping her brother once she made it home. He wouldn''t believe it if he could see where she was now. Neither of them ever would have imagined her working in a human hospital even if it was run by fae. She wished more than anything that she could tell him about it. Imagining the look on his face made her smile, albeit sadly. Talori missed Zale. She thought it would get better with time but, if anything, it seemed to be getting worse. She enjoyed the time she was spending here and all the new things she was experiencing but she wished he was here to experience them with her. Or at the very least that she could tell him about them in real time. Having a cell phone that connected to the seafloor would be wonderful.. She was sure her brother would think so too if he knew what a cell phone was. Chapter 42 - The Bermuda Triangle Talori was able to make it through the rest of the workday without difficulty. She soaked up the information Alyssa was telling her as best she could, sure to ask questions when she wasn''t sure about something so she would get it right. She told Brennan all about it when he came to pick her up from work and wheel her out to his car. He took her out to eat to celebrate her first day of work and listened intently to everything she had to say, asking elaborating questions here and there with a relaxed expression on his face. "I''m glad you had a good first day, Talori," he said when she finished. Talori grinned at him. "Me too! I like having things to do. Alyssa said I pick things up fast so I should be able to do stuff by myself before the end of the week." "Awesome!" It was awesome. She was so glad she had a job now. It had the dual benefit of giving her something to do other than sit around watching Harmony work and making money so she didn''t have to use Brennan''s all the time. She should take him to dinner once she got her first paycheck. Goodness knows he had fed her enough times! She wouldn''t have survived up here without him. Fondness and gratitude flooded through her. Brennan had taken very good care of her, hadn''t he? He was going above and beyond what he agreed on with her brother. He was only supposed to keep her safe. He took her out to do fun things and experience more of the surface and was very patient with her endless questions. He had questions of his own but not nearly as many as she did since he knew everything there was to know about her life under the sea at this point. Talori still had endless questions because of how much there was up here to learn. She felt that things had grown disproportionate in terms of information exchange. She was getting a lot more from him than he was getting from her and she didn''t like it. She wanted to help Brennan as much as he had helped her. He was such a nice fae. He deserved that. He was probably the best fae she knew after Zale. He had been very good to her all this time. As much as she missed her brother¡­she knew she would miss Brennan too when she went home. At least she would be able to see him sometimes because of their plan to work together on the think tank. And maybe he would come visit her when the witches did for the sake of exchanging mermaid tears for magic items as well with how often he hung out with Harmony. He was a regular at the witch coven anyway. Everyone there knew him. "When you get your first paycheck we''ll have to take you to Elite Financial Solutions," Brennan said. "I''m sure Castian will set things up for you." Talori nodded. "That was my plan." "It''s nice to have connections. I know a lot of the fae around here at least passingly but I couldn''t help you get a job. I guess I don''t know enough of them that own their own businesses and could use the extra help." "Don''t worry about it! What matters is that I got a job in the end. You have already done so much to help me, Brennan. I truly appreciate it." Brennan smiled at her. "It''s no big deal." "It is though!" "If you say so." He was momentarily distracted by his phone buzzing and squinted at it before looking back up at her. "Do you want to meet more fairies? I''ve been invited to a birthday party this weekend." Talori squealed in excitement. She had been waiting for the opportunity to meet more fae but Brennan didn''t seem to hang out with his own kind very often. "Yes!" "Cool. I''ll let them know I''m bringing someone. They''re pretty chill about that sort of thing." Brennan replied to the text and she felt her excitement grow. She wanted to learn as much about the surface and other fae as possible while she was up here and that was more likely to happen the more she met. She couldn''t wait for this weekend! === The rest of Talori''s work week went well. She was able to handle things on her own with minimal question asking by Thursday and Alyssa seemed relieved to be able to get back to her own work for the most part. The party was on Saturday at a bowling alley about an hour and a half away. Brennan explained that most of the water fairies he knew lived near the Everglades rather than in Miami so it was being held closer to where they were. The party itself would only last a few hours in the evening so he promised to take her sightseeing in the Everglades beforehand. She asked him all sorts of questions about it on the drive there and he told her everything he knew. He had been there plenty of times because of his water fairy friends. They actually met one of them early because they were in charge of the boat tour the two of them signed up for. "Brennan! Long time no see! Why are you taking this tour? You already know almost everything about the Everglades." Brennan gestured to Talori. "My friend here has never been. She''s coming with me to the party tonight so I thought I''d come early and show her around. Talori, meet Kyle." "Hello!" she said with an enthusiastic wave. "Nice to meet you! Let me help get you onto the boat," Kyle said. "So are you from around here?" "No. I am staying with Brennan for now though." "Where are you from then?" "The Bermuda Triangle," Talori said honestly since he wouldn''t know of her kingdom or ocean coordinates. Kyle looked at her funny. "Like an island in the Bermuda Triangle?" "No." Talori didn''t get the chance to say anything else because a few humans had also booked this boat tour and they were quickly approaching. Kyle definitely still had questions but wasn''t able to ask them because he had to take care of the next guests. She was sure she would end up explaining things later at the party. Every fae she encountered aside from Piper had been relatively calm about discovering she was a mermaid. She wasn''t terribly concerned. Brennan was relaxed throughout the boat tour¡ªlikely because he had been on one before¡ªbut Talori took everything in eagerly. She took tons of pictures on her phone and desperately wished she could show them to Zale. Maybe she could if she got one of those special waterproof cases where you could still use the touch screen through it. The thought cheered her. She was sure her brother would love to see everything she was seeing. Talori''s camera roll was completely full of pictures at this point. Brennan helped her upload them to something called Google Drive so she didn''t have to keep them on her phone and take up storage space. She took pictures of everything she found remotely interesting. Which was almost everything up here, honestly. She wanted to be able to have visual references when she told Zale about them. She wouldn''t have internet at the bottom of the ocean but if she activated the offline feature beforehand it should be fine. Brennan had told her that when he helped her set things up. "Brennan!" she whispered. "Say cheese!" That was what humans said before taking pictures. She had seen it. He laughed. "Alright. Cheese!" Talori got a great shot of him grinning with the trees in the background. He wasn''t in most of her pictures since they were primarily taken of places and objects but she made sure to get at least one either of him or with him when they were doing activities together. Glamours didn''t fool cameras. His blue skin and hair, pointed ears, and wings were clearly visible in the pictures of him that she had. It was a shame that he didn''t show his wings more often. They were beautiful. The only time she saw them was when they were both at his apartment. He explained that since she had seen them once that it wouldn''t hurt to let them be free in front of her. That did not extend to when they were at the witch coven. Talori was honored that he trusted her more than he trusted Harmony, who he had known much longer. Though she supposed he would have to since he was allowing her to stay in his apartment indefinitely. The witch had mentioned once that she was pretty sure the majority of her coven thought Talori was some sort of wingless fairy who had gotten into an accident because she always came with Brennan. He had previously told her that a downed fairy was a dead fairy and that was why they were so protective of their wings. Flying away was their only defense against predators. The idea of wingless fairies was much like that of tailless merfolk. They would never survive.. She couldn''t even imagine the horror. Chapter 43 - The Mermaid Version Of You When the boat tour ended Kyle ended up stopping to chat with them since no one else was vying for his attention. "How exactly are you from the Bermuda Triangle?" Talori shrugged and lowered her voice so no one else would overhear. "I''m a mermaid." The water fairy''s eyes nearly popped out of his head. "Brennan! Is she serious?!" "Yeah." "How did you two even meet?!" "There was a hurricane a few months ago when I was working on a boat and got blown overboard. She saved me," Brennan said nonchalantly. "Now she''s staying with me for a while because she''s interested in the surface." Kyle continued goggling at them. "Are you seriously telling me you found the mermaid version of you?" "Yep." "Wow. I wouldn''t have seen that one coming. The other guys are going to flip when they find out. Only you, Brennan. Honestly! This is exactly why I try to stay away from the ocean. No offense." "None taken," Talori said simply. Brennan had told her that he was considered weird among water fairies because everyone else seemed to be afraid of the ocean. Being blown away by a hurricane certainly was something to be afraid of but it also probably almost never happened. "How do you even manage up here?" Kyle asked curiously. "Don''t you need water to breathe?" "I can breathe water or air. The problem is that I dehydrate easily. I can''t go more than six hours without being submerged in water or I feel sick. And getting around is harder since I can''t walk but that''s what the wheelchair is for. It''s really not that bad." "Huh. Well, I don''t recommend jumping into the water here. Too many alligators. You probably don''t have any experience with those." "No but Brennan has told me about them. We have a plan for today so don''t worry." "¡­what exactly does that plan entail?" "Worst case scenario, we go to one of those do-it-yourself carwashes and hose her down," Brennan said straight-faced. Kyle blinked in disbelief. "Seriously? That''s the best you''ve got?" "Unless you have any other suggestions. She''s already been drinking plenty of saltwater all day. I bought several gallons in preparation for this day trip. She''s been sipping at them on and off the whole time." Talori nodded in agreement. She had two in a pocket under the seat of her wheelchair right now. It was hard for her to reach herself but when she was thirsty she just had to signal Brennan so he could get it for her. He didn''t seem to mind. "We often have to improvise," she added. "That''s some dedication you have to living up here. What are you getting out of this, Brennan?" Kyle asked curiously. "The chance to work with her and her brother on ocean conversation. No one knows the ocean better than mermaids! That''s any marine biologist''s dream!" "I should have known. You do love the ocean. How do you like it up here, Talori?" "Oh, it''s fascinating! I''ve been having a wonderful time," she gushed. "I have a job and everything and I''m going to be getting a bank account soon. I''ve learned so much from everyone already but I know there''s so much more to learn." Kyle glanced over at Brennan. "Everyone?" "A couple of witches and an elf. I needed help getting her to shore so I had to call on Harmony over at the witch coven." "That makes sense. Have you not met any other water fairies then?" "Not until today!" "Well, you''ll meet a bunch later. It''s almost lunchtime¡­do you guys want to come hang out in my office? My girlfriend was going to bring takeout anyway. I can ask her to bring extra." Brennan smiled. "Sure. How is Aqua?" "She''s doing great! Let me text her now, hang on," Kyle said before whipping out his phone. A few moment later he shot them a thumbs up. "We''re good to go. Come on in and hang out for a while." Talori looked around the inside of the building curiously as she was wheeled inside. There was a woman behind the front desk talking to a few tourists and what appeared to be an adolescent sitting in the chair in Kyle''s office when they arrived. He grinned at Brennan when he saw him and flew over to give him a fist bump. "Brennan! What are you doing here? I thought I wouldn''t see you until tonight." Kyle sighed. "You know you''re not supposed to be hanging out in my office. Don''t you have something better to do?" "Nope! Who''s this? Did something happen to her wings?" Kyle bopped the boy on the head. "Don''t be rude, Wade. This is Brennan''s friend Talori. Please feel free to ignore my brother. He''s immature even for a 123-year-old." "Hey!" Wade protested as he shoved his brother''s hand off. "I''m not that bad." "I''m not offended. I''m in this wheelchair because tails are not suited for walking," Talori explained. Wade''s eyes widened and he scrambled free of his brother''s reach. "Are you seriously a mermaid?! That''s so cool! Brennan, how did you meet a mermaid? Did it happen at work or something?" "Kind of. I got blown away in a hurricane that happened at work and she saved me." "Wow! Wait until everyone finds out you have a mermaid! But we''re going bowling. Will she even be able to bowl if she can''t stand up?" Talori had asked Brennan about this before. He said that there were these things that were meant to help children where the ball could roll down when placed on top of it. She would be able to participate that way. "I plan to use a bowling ramp." "That''s a really good idea! How did you even know about bowling ramps?" Wade asked curiously. "Brennan told me." "Oh, right. It should be fun for you. I doubt they have anything like bowling underwater." "They do not," Talori admitted. "The games we play are much different because of water resistance. I don''t think it would work very well even if we did have bowling alleys." Wade nodded, a thoughtful look on his face. "That makes sense. You''ll have to tell me about mermaid games." "I would be delighted!" Talori ended up telling him about mermaid games until a woman arrived with a couple of bags of food and a small girl in tow. She smiled warmly as she set the food down. "Hello! Good to see you, Brennan. Kyle mentioned you were here." "Daddy!" the little girl cried as she flew up to land in her father''s arms. He kissed the top of her face. "Hi, baby! Have you been good for Mommy today?" "Uh huh!" "Yeah. Good to see you, Aqua. And Dew too! Thanks for bringing extra food," Brennan said. "Any time! Who''s your friend? I''m glad you''re not on your own in Miami since we''re all over here. I worry about you sometimes." Talori saw him barely managed to refrain from rolling his eyes. She had been around him long enough to be able to tell that sort of thing. It seemed he didn''t think he was worth worrying about. "You don''t need to worry about me. I hang out with Harmony Netzley at the witch coven." "I know but she''s a witch! That''s completely different than hanging out with other fairies," Aqua said dismissively. "Talori isn''t a fairy though. She''s a mermaid!" Wade piped up. "Isn''t that wild?" Aqua''s eyes widened as she looked over at Talori. "Are you really? What brings you here then?" "She saved Brennan''s life and was curious about things on land," Kyle said as he readjusted his grip on their daughter. "She''s been staying with him for a while to get a feel for the world up here." "No kidding? Well, it''s nice to meet you. I never thought I would see a mermaid!" "I never thought I would see a fairy either before I met Brennan," Talori said matter-of-factly. "I didn''t even know what they were." "You guys are pretty cut off from things, aren''t you? We only know about you because of the popularity of mermaid tears. They''re incredibly useful things to have on hand in case of injuries but I''m sure you already know that." "Yes. Harmony is experimenting on further uses for them. Or she was. I think she might be done with that now. Sometimes it''s hard to keep up with everything she is saying." Aqua laughed. "Typical witch behavior. They think everyone else can keep up with them automatically even if they can''t." The conversation ended there because she began serving up the food. Everyone crowded around to get their portion and Brennan measured out Talori''s for her, explaining that mermaids had smaller stomach capacities than fairies. She thanked him and dug in despite not being so sure about some of the flavors in this food. As was the case with most surface food, it was hit and miss. Talori didn''t mind though. She was always happy to try something new.. She added each flavor she tried to the endless list of things to tell Zale about when she saw him again. Chapter 44 - She Didnt Belong Here Spending time with the water fairies was an interesting experience. Talori watched them interact with each other so easily. As easily as any of Zale''s mermen did with him. She supposed this was how things were when fae were where they belonged. She had never felt like she belonged anywhere since her mother''s death. She had her brother but everyone else treated her as if she was either crazy or a bubble that could pop at any time. Obviously, Talori knew she belonged in the ocean with Zale. Living up here certainly came with his challenges, as she had been reminded of earlier. Not being able to get around so easily on her own¡­having to constantly drink water or submerge herself¡­answering the same questions over and over whenever she met someone new because no one up here had ever met a mermaid before. She was used to it by now and how much she was learning made those things not so difficult to deal with. But she couldn''t deny that she felt like an outsider at times. Especially right now. Brennan might say that other water fairies thought he was weird and he didn''t fit in well with them but he certainly seemed to be doing fine. He had a small smile on his face and occasionally laughed at things his friends had to say. Talori had come to realize once they left the ocean and he wasn''t super excited about everything he was learning that he wasn''t the most excitable fae. His smiles were usually small and if he did laugh those were small too. The only things that riled him up were the ocean (in a good way) and humans (in a bad way). The rest of the time he was incredibly calm and nothing fazed him. It wasn''t quite to the same extent as Castian. He was so calm and quiet that he almost never talked and Talori wasn''t sure she had ever seen a single facial expression from him. Brennan talked a lot but rarely revealed what he was truly thinking. He usually focused on what others were saying and worked off of that. That pattern was especially apparent today when he was among his friends. He talked about their lives and families more than he talked about himself but when he did he only mentioned the basics like work and things that he and Talori had done on the weekends. He seemed more comfortable here than he had originally hinted at. At least he seemed to be having fun bowling. He was fairly good at it too, not getting a single gutter ball. He must have a lot of practice doing this. Talori didn''t get gutter balls either but only because of the ramp. It was easier to aim with it than without it. Brennan helped her adjust it every time. Even if he was in the middle of a conversation with someone else when her turn was up, he would stop what he was doing to help her out. He had to be keeping an eye on her even as he was in the middle of something else. Wasn''t that tiring? It reminded her forcefully of Zale and how overprotective he was. He was probably doing it because he felt responsible for her as the only fae she really knew here. His kindness made her feel slightly guilty. She was always burdening him, wasn''t she? He had to do so much to take care of her while she was out of her element. That was part of why she had wanted to get a job¡ªso he didn''t have to do that anymore. Watching Brennan interact with his kind made Talori wonder why he didn''t spend more time with them. He did seem to be enjoying himself at least as much as he did when he was with her or Harmony. She knew he lived in Miami because of work but why not visit them more often? In the months she had been here this was the first time it happened and he really didn''t live that far from them. The drive made daytrips totally doable on weekends. Did he normally see them more often but wasn''t now because of her? Was this yet another way she was burdening him? Talori sighed internally. She didn''t like feeling burdensome. It was bad enough back home with everyone always taking care of her and thinking she couldn''t do a thing herself. Here she actually couldn''t because of the physical limitations of being on land. It was rather frustrating. She didn''t belong here. This strange, exciting world wasn''t hers. As much as she liked visiting, she longed for home. For a future where she could be useful to both her brother and her kingdom. How was Zale''s plan coming along? Was he doing alright? How long would she be stuck up here? These questions and more plagued her throughout the rest of their time with the water fairies. She remained engaged with those who were speaking to her but they simmered in the back of her mind. And once they were in the car they took over full force. "You okay?" Brennan asked, noticing how quiet she was being. "I''m fine," Talori lied. "I was just thinking about some things. Your friends seem nice." "They are nice. Kyle and I met at the witch coven not long after I moved here and he and his family have been very welcoming even if they don''t understand why I prefer the ocean to freshwater." She had noticed that almost everyone present seemed to be a relative of Kyle''s in some way. His brother, parents, aunt and uncle, cousin, girlfriend, daughter, and a few others who were connected to his various family members be it through dating or friendship. "Why don''t you see them more often?" Talori blurted. Brennan shrugged. "Families aren''t really my thing. I''ve bounced around a lot of them since losing mine and even though they were all nice I know I don''t actually belong there. I don''t belong anywhere since my home was destroyed." Right. He had mentioned that before. His home had been destroyed and he had no one to go back to on a permanent basis so he had become a nomad. That was really sad. Talori might be curious and adventurous by nature but she had a place to go back to. "Are you not planning on staying in Miami then?" "Not forever. I have a pretty good setup for now though. I have no reason to leave and won''t unless a better offer comes along. I like it better than most places I''ve lived," Brennan admitted. "Because of Harmony?" Talori asked. "She''s part of it, I guess. But mostly it''s because I have the chance to actually do something to make a difference here. I have no reason to leave now that I have the chance to work with you and your brother¡­even if it isn''t for a while. Where else am I going to get the chance to work with actual merfolk?" Relief filled her chest. She was part of the reason he didn''t want to go anywhere. She didn''t have words to explain how good that made her feel. She knew it was because he cared about the ocean rather than because he cared about her but that didn''t change anything. As long as she was still able to see Brennan once she went home, that was what mattered. "That''s good to hear," Talori said, not knowing what else she could say to that. "What were you thinking about so intently?" he asked suddenly. "Oh. I was thinking about Zale." It was at least partially true. The majority of her conflicted thoughts had been about her brother, though there had been some about Brennan mixed in as well. He didn''t need to know that. "Are you worried about him? You''re the one always saying how capable he is." "Yes and no. I am more worried about his emotional state than how he is going to be able to pull off his plan¡­and how long it will be before I am allowed to go home," Talori confessed. "I''m sorry. I truly am having a good time up here but I still get homesick so often." "There''s nothing to be sorry about. I get it," Brennan reassured her. He probably did. He had lost his home on a permanent basis. For her it was only temporary. Did he get homesick to this day? It sounded like he had lost his home a long time ago. Talori didn''t want to ask because the subject was most likely painful for him. She should really be handling her own homesickness better. She was a big girl. She had wanted to prove she was capable, hadn''t she? This wasn''t helping! She needed to do better. She had to be strong for Brennan''s sake and for her brother''s. Zale was probably handling things a lot better than she was.. He had always been the strongest fae she ever knew. Chapter 45 - Tell Me! Zale was not handling things well. He had to keep up appearances until the deep-sea merfolk left with a mermaid who worked in the palace to pay off her parents'' debt. The debt was considered cleared now that she had been sold off to Chief Indra. Once that was over and done with no one cared what Zale was up to anymore so he immediately set to work, feverishly trying to speed up his plans. The problem was that he had always known this was a long game so speeding things up was more difficult than anticipated. "You are overworking yourself," Beck pointed out. "You need to get some rest." "I won''t rest until I see Tali again," he replied stubbornly. "Then you will waste away. Your brain needs to be in peak condition for any of this to work and you know it." Zale sighed. He did know that. He was the mastermind behind their whole revolt and if he wasn''t in peak condition they would never succeed. That knowledge didn''t make him feel any better. Until he sent her away, there had never been a day where he didn''t see his sister since she was born. She was his only joy in a bleak world of ridicule, pretending, and planning. Was Talori handling things okay? Was that water fairy taking proper care of her? Did she miss him even a fragment as much as he missed her? More than anything, Zale wanted to see her safely home. But that couldn''t happen until the rest of the royals were deposed and he was on the throne. Everyone thought she was dead because of how thoroughly he set up that fake shark attack. If Talori came back before he was on the throne, the merking¡ªand worse, the merqueen¡ªwould punish her harshly. On top of that, they would realize that he wasn''t as stupid as he had appeared all this time. She never could have done something like that on her own. Everything he had worked for would be ruined if she came back early. She had to stay where it was safe, as much as he hated being apart from her. This would be much easier if they had a way to communicate while they were apart. Unfortunately, he had no idea how she was doing right now. Or if she had even safely made it to her destination at all. Zale wished he could think of some sort of code to send along with Gar in the hopes of getting answers but that may be beyond his abilities. The liaison was loyal to the merking so if anything was even slightly suspicious he would certainly tell his master. How could he make a message seem unsuspicious while still getting his point across? There was no guarantee that the witches would be able to figure it out. "Beck, I need to come up with some sort of code to communicate with the witches. I won''t be able to get anything done until I know for certain that Tali is alright," he said grimly. His companion sighed. "I was concerned that would be the case. I have one idea but am unsure how well it would work." "Tell me!" "If you acted as though you wanted a magic item in memoriam of the lost princess because of her interest in the surface, they might believe it. You would have to come up with the proper wording in the hopes that someone would figure it out but¡­" Zale pondered this. It could work but Beck was right. He would need to come up with the proper wording and that would be the most difficult part. The witches didn''t meet with Gar terribly often. It happened once every few months. The visit was coming up but he would need to have something figured out before then. And then have to wait another few months to get any sort of answer if they managed to figure out what he was getting at. "This is going to be difficult," he mused. "I am sure you of all merfolk can figure it out," Beck said, which was about as encouraging as he got. "In the meantime I suggest you continue trying to convince other merfolk of the issue the ocean is facing that the merking ignores." Now it was Zale''s turn to sigh. It was difficult to convince anyone of anything with his reputation. Everyone thought he was a joke. His survival plan was backfiring on him now that he genuinely needed to enlist others'' aid. There wasn''t a single noble in this kingdom that would take him seriously. But perhaps they didn''t have to. If he could only plant the idea in one of their heads and make them think they had come up with it themselves¡­That might work. Nobles were self-important and loved thinking they knew more than everyone else. Zale was going to have to get creative. He had half a plan forming already on how to make that happen. Unfortunately, he wouldn''t be able to make it work until the merking began hosting social events again. There hadn''t been any since the deep-sea merfolk left. He could at least start gathering the materials he needed in the meantime. He was going to have to show that there was a problem with surface objects ending up in the sea. The best way to do that would be to wear them as accessories. Idiot Prince Zale was ever so concerned with fashion. Fashion, poetry, and overindulging in sleep and food. That was what he was known for. If he kept wearing different accessories made up of surface objects, sooner or later someone would realize that there were too many of them in the ocean. All he had to do was plant that idea in a few of the nobles'' heads and he would be able to put the next phase of his plan into motion. Zale desperately wished Talori was here to help him with this part. She would have known exactly which surface objects to use and would have had fun making the accessories herself. He shook those thoughts free. He couldn''t get distracted. There was much work to be done. "Beck, we need to send mermen out to gather as many surface objects as possible." The other merman nodded. "Understood. I will see to it immediately." Beck swam off and Zale was left alone with his thoughts, wondering what exactly he should say to Gar to get him to pass on a message to the witches. He had to make sure it was perfect or he wouldn''t get the information he wanted. He would only be able to do this once. It would be suspicious if he kept trying to initiate contact. He couldn''t let anyone suspect that Talori might be alive or that he was planning something with the witches. The last thing he needed was to be executed for treason before he managed to commit it properly. === It took Zale a while but he managed to craft bracelets, necklaces, and hair ornaments out of these small trinkets his mermen kept finding in the coral reef and come up with a code to send on with Gar. Acting pitiful and claiming he wanted a magic item to remember his sister by wasn''t difficult. His reputation for being picky came in handy here because he was able to insist that Gar pass on his request word for word without coming across as suspicious. Gar simply rolled his eyes and accepted it. Perfect. He would take the message to the surface and Zale would be able to kickstart the other part of his plan. A banquet was being held to celebrate a concubine''s birthday. It was the best opportunity he had to begin making the nobles think something was wrong. He would need to drive that point home as much as possible whenever he made public appearances on an indefinite basis. In the days leading up to the banquet he spent a lot of time trying to come up with sufficiently terrible poetry as usual. After doing this for so many decades he was running out of ideas. "I have nothing," Zale groaned. "Somebody else compose this stupid poem." "I don''t know anything about poetry," Aeces said apologetically. "Me either," Cyreus added. They all turned to Nerio, who seemed alarmed. "Don''t look at me! I''ve never composed a poem in my life!" "What about you, Beck? Think you can help our fearless leader out?" A tiny divot appeared between Beck''s brows as he thought it over. "I''m no poet either. But if Zale is unable to come up with anything, I am going to have to do my best." Multiple mermen began trying to hold back snickers at the thought of someone so stoic coming up with bad poetry. That was so outside of his usual duties that no one could imagine him coming up with anything. "Aww, look at Mr. Dependable over here!" Nerio laughed. "Whatever would we do without him?" "Fail at all of our plans," Zale said seriously. That made everyone stop laughing. He meant it too. He didn''t know what he would do without Beck, who had been the most constant presence in his life ever since they met centuries ago. Beck''s expression didn''t so much as twitch as he replied, "Thank you for the praise." Everyone else shrugged it off. They knew how these two worked by now.. They were practically two halves of the same merman. Chapter 46 - Only Half The Battle "How about this?" Beck asked after a while. "Gliding through the water like an eel, smooth and slippery, is the way your beauty makes me feel." It was so terrible everyone burst out laughing, Zale included. "That''s horrible! I love it." "Happy to be of assistance." "Who should I use it on this time? I can''t always go for the same mermaid or she will think I have designs on her. Worrying about having a spy planted in the coral palace is the last thing I need." "You do realize you''re going to have to get married once you become the merking, don''t you? You''re going to need a queen. Concubines too," Taron pointed out. Zale shuddered. He didn''t even want to think about that yet. Harem infighting was what led to his mother''s death. He didn''t want to have to worry about multiple mermaids and the potential of getting his children killed because of jealousy. If not for the fact that he would need an heir, he would stick with solely a queen. But he didn''t want to think about that either. He would need someone who actually cared about the state of the ocean and wasn''t a shark in disguise. "Don''t even bring that up," he moaned as he ran a hand down his fae. "That is a problem for another day." "Why not try Lady Aila? She only recently debuted in society so you haven''t tried your false charm on her yet," Cyreus suggested. Lady Aila¡­her father was a rather influential noble. It wouldn''t hurt. Everyone already thought he was an idiot. Adding one more mermaid to that list wouldn''t make a difference. "She will do," Zale said with a sigh. "Who here is willing to spar with me?" "I am," Beck replied. Everyone swam over to the training grounds and he was able to enjoy a decent sparring session where he thrashed all of his mermen as usual. It did make him feel better though. This was his true self. Not the idiot that spouted bad poetry and flirted with nobles he couldn''t care less about. Only those who worked in the coral palace and Talori knew the truth about him. He was certainly going to have an interesting time explaining it was all an act and he was actually shrewder than anyone in the kingdom when he was able to accomplish his goal. Not that anyone''s opinion truly mattered to him aside from those already in the know. If anyone had a problem with him being on the throne, they could fight him and lose. That oddly cheerful thought kept him going as he had to go around acting stupid at the banquet as usual. False laughter, false smiles, and spouting nonsense. Nothing he hadn''t done hundreds of times before but it was more difficult tonight since Talori wasn''t here. Not that they ever really interacted much at banquets to maintain the illusion of distance between them. But seeing her out in the crowd had been comforting. He could use that tonight. And her laughter about how ridiculous he had been afterward. They always had a good laugh about how he acted stupid and she acted crazy. It was a special joke between the two of them. Zale couldn''t let his poor mood show on his face. Not when he was here with a mission to accomplish. He spotted his target after a while and was sure to approach her with his usual affected tone, tossing his hair dramatically to best show off the hair ornaments he had made. "Lady Aila! What a pleasure to see you tonight. Gliding through the water like an eel, smooth and slippery, is the way your beauty makes me feel." He accentuated his point by dramatically bowing and kissing her hand. She looked rather taken aback. Had no one warned her about him? He was the scourge of the nobility. "¡­hello, Prince Zale. Thank you for the compliment." "Any time, my dear! I do love to share my poetry with anyone willing to listen," Zale said airily with a wave of his hand. It seemed that Aila was struggling to find a way to compliment him in return for the sake of politeness but simply couldn''t bring herself to lie and say that Beck''s ridiculous poem was good. He could respect that. She hadn''t been out in society long enough to have been corrupted by it yet. "You have the most¡­interesting¡­jewelry on tonight. What is it made of?" "Oh, this old thing? I made it myself! There is so much that drifts down into the coral reef from the surface. I saw these a while back and knew it would start a trend. I am considered a leading expert in fashion, you know," Zale said, hoping that someone with more influence than Aila overheard as well. "This all came from the surface? But what is it doing here?" Aila asked with a slight frown. "Who knows? There are all sorts of things from the surface that end up in the coral reef. I may as well use them! Their loss is my gain. They''re no pearls but they have a certain shiny quality that I find appealing." "¡­I see. It must have taken quite some time to find all of these." "Not at all! They''re everywhere, really. You find all sorts of surface objects out in the coral reef. They usually don''t make it quite this far but I''ve seen a lot near the borders of the kingdom as well," Zale told her. Someone here had to be listening in and would take the bait. He never lacked an audience because the nobility thought of him as cheap amusement. Sure enough, there was a group of merfolk trying not to act like they were listening in though they clearly were. Excellent. "What are you prattling on about now?" Merrick asked with disdain. After a while his audience had grown large enough that the crown prince himself condescended to speak to his supposedly idiotic half-brother. The surface waste he had picked up was rather eye-catching. As he intended. He excelled at making a scene wherever he went. It helped enforce his false persona. "The lovely surface items I made my jewelry with! Isn''t it stunning?" Zale asked, dramatically showing off his bracelets. "This came from the surface?" "Indeed! All of it. I''m thinking of starting my own jewelry line using surface items because there are so many of them lying around. They work as well as any pearls." "It looks stupid to me," Merrick scoffed. "Ah!" Zale cried, clutching his heart. "You have never been able to properly appreciate high fashion, brother! It''s going to take off. You''ll see. I''m going to start a phenomenon then you''ll be eating your words!" "¡­highly doubtful. Carry on with your little fashion show." Merrick sneered as he swam away but he had actually been surprisingly helpful. Everyone''s eyes were always on the crown prince. His audience had grown even bigger because of Merrick''s interference. Zale had to hold back a devious grin. This evening had ended up going exactly as he wanted it to. He wished he had a way to thank Aila for unwittingly being the perfect accomplice. Maybe he could send her a necklace or something. She did seem rather bewildered throughout the whole thing. Poor thing. Barely out in society and had to deal with the idiot prince right off the bat. "I think that went perfectly, don''t you?" Zale asked Beck cheerfully once they were nearly to the coral palace. "As well as it possibly could have. Well done." "Why thank you. My acting was especially good tonight. I do believe I scared Lady Aila with how over-the-top I was. She seems to be rather sheltered. Not surprising considering she barely turned 150. She was rather polite to me even though she was thrown off." When they arrived back at the palace Zale took off his jewelry and handed it to Beck. "Get someone to deliver these to her. She was probably lying but she at least pretended to like them. It''s the sort of thing an idiot would do to show his appreciation." "Are you truly trying to show your appreciation?" "I would like to but I can''t break character. This will have to do." "I see," Beck said blankly. He took the jewelry and went off in search of someone who could deliver it in the morning. Zale flopped backward onto his bed and sighed. Tonight had gone as well as it could have. He simply needed to keep doing this to make the nobles realize there was a problem. They would bring it to the merking, who wouldn''t care, and would begin to see what they should have all along. That he had been on the throne for too long and was unfit to rule. Unfortunately, that was only half the battle. The other half was dealing with Queen Nerida and Merrick. Merrick wasn''t all that smart but he had his evilly cunning mother backing him. She would be a formidable opponent. Zale knew this would take a while. How long¡­he wasn''t sure. At least he wanted to know his sister was doing alright. That would make their separation a lot easier to deal with.. He hoped that one of the witches was able to understand his message. Chapter 47 - A Message Harmony''s daily pattern had changed yet again. Brennan was off doing things with Talori most weekends so she only saw them for a few hours at a time on either Saturday or Sunday and didn''t see them at all on weeknights since he took her home straight after work. But her office didn''t remain empty all the time. Castian had been taking advantage of what she said before about contacting her when he wanted to see her. She ended up eating lunch with him whenever he didn''t have a meeting right afterward and he had started staying over on Saturday nights as well, claiming that since they were usually together on Saturdays anyway that it made more sense to increase their usual meetups from once to twice a week since it would also increase their chances of pregnancy. Harmony had been surprised at first but couldn''t deny he had a point. They were hanging out anyway so why not? It wasn''t as if she disliked it. She had actually come to like it more now that they were talking. He wasn''t just some beautiful, silent object of physical desire anymore. He was her friend. That made it better somehow. She felt closer to him than she had before. Everyone gave her a hard time about hanging out with her elf so much but so what? He was cool. She liked spending time with him. And they had already thought she was weird for hanging out with Brennan all these years. This wasn''t any different. Or so she tried telling herself. Deep down Harmony knew that it WAS different because she and Brennan weren''t dating. Witches and elves used the terms ''boyfriend'' and ''girlfriend'' because it was easier but they didn''t have proper relationships the way other races of fae did. It was all out of necessity. Her relationship with Castian had started that way but now¡­sometimes she wondered. It seemed more like they were dating for real since they were hanging out as friends outside of their duties but it wasn''t as if she actually had romantic feelings for him. That wasn''t how things worked. They were sleeping together more often to try and increase their chances, that was all. This would stop once they met that goal like it did with all the others. Harmony couldn''t deny that her stomach clenched uncomfortably at the thought. She didn''t want to have to say goodbye once that happened. They would still be friends at that point, wouldn''t they? But would she even want that? She would miss the way things were now if that happened. Why was she even thinking about this? It wouldn''t happen for decades if not longer. She had never heard of a fae couple having a child this early into a relationship. She pushed those thoughts aside and got back to work. She was in the zone for hours after that until she needed to take a break to get some food and realized that her snack stash had been entirely depleted. With a sigh, Harmony headed out to the store and on her way back in with bags full of snacks she overheard a couple of witches talking near Hester''s office. "¡­I don''t know what''s up with this magic item I''m supposed to make but I need to finish it before we go to meet with the mermaids tomorrow. I''ve put it off too long." "What magic item are you making?" she blurted. Arietta laughed. "Right, I forgot you love all things mermaid. It''s kind of a strange request. Apparently, some princess died several months ago and the last time we went out to get mermaid tears the mermaid we meet with said her brother wanted some special memorial item. It''s a tiny enchanted mermaid doll that looks like the dead princess and can actually swim around. All I need to do is finish casting the animation magic on it." Harmony did a double take. That had to be Zale! But why? He knew his sister wasn''t dead since he was the one who faked her death. It hit her a moment later. This was his rather clever way of asking for an update. He wanted to be sure she was doing okay. That was sweet of him. But how would she get the message back to him without it being intercepted? "Arietta¡­is it possible to enchant a message into that doll? And only have it play when a certain fae activates it?" "Of course! I would need a password though. Why do you ask?" Harmony realized that both Arietta and Hester were looking at her expectantly and she sighed. She was going to have to spill the beans about Talori, wasn''t she? "This wasn''t just any request. That princess is staying with Brennan and the prince is requesting an update on how she''s doing. I was hoping to record her voice so he would be able to rest assured that she was fine." "That fae in the wheelchair is a mermaid?!" they shrieked in unison. "Shh! Keep it down! It''s very hush-hush. Hardly anyone knows about it because she doesn''t like any fuss," Harmony insisted. "How could you keep something like that a secret for so long?" "Totally unfair!" "Are you going to help me or not?" Harmony demanded. Arietta sighed. "I''ll help you. But only if you show me whatever mermaid research you''ve been conducting. And don''t lie and say you haven''t been doing any because I know you, Harmony Netzley." "Done." "What about me?" Hester protested. "You can see it too if you clean out my cauldron for me." "Ugh, gross! Fine. I can''t pass up that sort of opportunity. Email me a copy when I''m done, okay?" Harmony smiled. "Deal. If you''ll excuse me, I need to get a hold of Brennan." He was the one in charge of driving them both around so it was better for him to surprise Talori. Harmony didn''t want to distract her too much with the thought of hearing from her brother so she wouldn''t be able to finish out her workday properly. ''I have some very good news for Talori but I need you to bring her by the coven after work'' she texted. Brennan responded quickly, likely because he was on his lunch break. ''Don''t tell me she''s going home already!'' ''Not that good. But her brother did reach out asking for an update. I want her to record a message to send back with the magic item he requested'' ''Oh. Okay. I can make that happen. See you after work'' ''Cool'' Harmony let Arietta know that she needed to have the magic item done before 6 PM and she said she would do that. In the meantime she got back to work. She couldn''t deny she was impatient to see what ended up happening with the recording herself but she had things to do. It ended up being a very long day. But 6 PM rolled around eventually and when Talori came back she had tears on her face even as she grinned. Harmony rushed to collect them. "I can''t believe he found a way to contact me! What did he say?" "He didn''t say anything specifically¡­he supposedly wanted a memorial magic item following your death. No one else would have caught it but me. He wants to know if you''re alright." "Oh." This didn''t dampen Talori''s enthusiasm for more than half a second. "Brennan said you wanted me to record something for him?" "Yes. But we''ll need a password that only he will know or anyone will be able to hear it. That will be tricky considering we won''t be able to tell him what it is," Harmony said apologetically. "Do you have any ideas?" "Yes. Make it¡ª" A dolphin-like noise that she couldn''t decipher. That had to be Mermish. "¡­what did you say?" "Tali in Mermish. He''s the only one who calls me that. It will activate as soon as he says my nickname and then he''ll be able to hear the message!" "Smart," Brennan remarked. "Thank you!" "That IS smart," Harmony agreed. "Come on, I''ll have to take you to Arietta. She''s the one in charge of this. You can''t make the message too long though or it won''t work. You have less than a minute." "Alright. I''ll keep it concise," Talori said, frowning as she tried to think of how to cram everything she wanted to say into less than a minute. Arietta had plenty of questions for Talori that she answered rather impatiently. It was clear she wanted to record the message as quickly as possible. Harmony stepped in to help her out. The other witch reluctantly stopped badgering her and began casting the magic. "Alright, say the password now." Talori did and the magic item glowed for a moment. Next Arietta instructed her to say what she wanted to say and set a timer for her to watch since she only had about thirty seconds. She spoke in English. She had explained before that she and her brother usually used English around each other to practice their skills and prevent others from overhearing things they might want to keep secret. "Hi, Zale! I''m doing great. I have a job here and everything. I''ve learned so much and have so much I want to tell you but I have to keep this short. The surface is a fascinating place and I wish you were here to experience it with me. "I''ve made some friends up here that are willing to help us try and save the ocean too! You don''t have to worry about me. I''m being very well taken care of so focus on finishing your plan so I can come home, okay? I love you and I''ll see you as soon as I can!" Chapter 48 - Must You Tease Me? Arietta tapped the magic item with her wand again and smiled. "Okay, now say the password so I can be sure it worked." Talori did as she said and the recording began to play. "Excellent! I''ll bring this along with me tomorrow. Your brother will get it soon and know you''re alright." More tears welled up in the mermaid''s eyes. "Thank you so much! I''m so glad to have heard from him, even if it was indirectly. I hope he''s doing alright." "I''m sure he is," Brennan said as he clapped a hand on her shoulder. "You''re right. Knowing him, he''s probably working on his plan right now. I''m sure I''ll see him sooner or later even if he isn''t able to respond to my message. I don''t want him to worry." "That''s a good attitude to have. Come on, let''s go get dinner. And more water since you dehydrated yourself." Talori sniffled and nodded before addressing the witches. "Thank you again! I truly appreciate this." "No problem!" Arietta said cheerfully. "Happy to help." Harmony barely refrained from rolling her eyes. She only did this in exchange for getting to read that mermaid research. She wasn''t being altruistic at all. At least that was one thing taken care of. She glanced at the clock and yelped, realizing that Castian was supposed to be at her apartment in about twenty minutes. "I have to go! See you!" She rushed home and her hair was still frizzed up from an experiment earlier in the day. She was sweaty from running too and generally looked a mess. Fantastic. Just what she needed to ruin the mood on their night. Castian was used to seeing her dress more casually these days but she had never looked this bad in front of him before. It was embarrassing. Harmony didn''t end up beating him there. He was leaning against the wall next to her front door when she arrived, panting. "I''m so sorry! I had to help Talori record a message for her brother." Castian raised an eyebrow. "I wasn''t aware she was able to contact him. How did that end up happening?" Harmony launched into the explanation of what happened as she unlocked the door and got herself a much-needed drink of water. When she finished she plopped down next to him on the couch in defeat. "¡­and that''s what happened. Again, I''m really sorry. Were you waiting long?" "Only about five minutes. Not a big deal, Harmony." She let out a heavy sigh. "I''ll make it up to you. What do you want?" "Believe it or not, I don''t have any homework to do this weekend. I want your undivided attention tomorrow so we can go somewhere," Castian said simply. Harmony cracked an eye open to look at him curiously. "What do you want to do tomorrow that requires another fae?" "You''ll see." "Vague but I''ll bite. And this is an all-day thing?" "Yes." Hmm. Countless ideas flitted through her head but she couldn''t settle on a single guess. Castian was a workaholic. What could he possibly want to do outside of work or school that would take an entire day? "And you won''t give me any hints at all?" Harmony asked, sitting up properly and batting her eyelashes at him. Castian shook his head. "No. It''s a surprise." She pouted since her tactics weren''t working on him. "You can''t give me one teeny tiny hint?" "No matter how cute you are, you''re not getting anything out of me." That threw her off to the point that her heart nearly stopped. "Wait, you actually think I''m cute? I was just messing with you." "How could I not? You''re the cutest fae I know," Castian said casually, belying the pinkness tinging his cheeks and ears. This wasn''t the first time she had caught him blushing in the past few months. What was up with him? Harmony hadn''t thought elves even had a concept of cuteness. She would have to file that information away for later. Right now it was far too tempting to tease him. She leaned over so her face was only inches from him and blinked at him innocently. "That''s quite a statement, Castian Reycan. You''ve met an awful lot of fae over the years, haven''t you?" Castian flinched and his blush grew more prominent. "Yes¡­and?" "And even among all of those fae I''m still the cutest? I find that hard to believe." "Well, it''s true." His face was more red than pink at this point. Harmony decided to let him off the hook. She laughed so hard that she had to lean into his chest for support and looked up at his face with a grin. "I didn''t think it was possible for you to blush that hard!" Castian sighed. "Must you tease me?" Harmony got a hold of herself and sat up in his lap. She caressed his cheek and smiled more softly at him. "Sorry. You make it too easy. Not gonna lie, you''re pretty cute when you get all flustered." His red face turned even redder and she let out another laugh. He buried his face in his hands and didn''t seem like he was planning on coming out anytime soon so she decided to see how many little braids she could put in his hair before he collected himself. She ended up being able to do seven. "¡­what are you doing?" "Passing the time. Sorry if my braids aren''t as good as yours. You probably have a lot more practice than me. I''ve kept my hair short for more than seventy years." "I''m sure they look fine. Besides, short hair suits you," Castian said, seeming more like his usual self now that his face was no longer on fire. "First you say I''m the cutest fae you know and now you say short hair suits me. Where are all of these compliments coming from today?" Harmony asked with a raised eyebrow. It used to be so hard to get him to say that she looked nice when she specifically dressed up for him. "My apologies. I suppose I should compliment you more often so they''re less surprising." That wasn''t the answer she was expecting. He sounded so serious about it too! She had never really expected compliments because that wasn''t the sort of relationship they had. It wasn''t like it had bothered her or anything. "Don''t force yourself." "I wouldn''t be forcing myself. You are a beautiful woman, Harmony," Castian said plainly, nearly giving her a heart attack. A beautiful woman not a beautiful witch? There was a difference! Elf women obviously existed or the race would have died out. Both elf men and witches forced themselves to be together to propagate the witch race but it was general knowledge that neither party was particularly thrilled about it. It was all business. Harmony had heard that most elf men found elf women more attractive. They said things like "she''s pretty for a witch" when referring to their witch partners. So why wasn''t he? Now it was her turn to blush but he wouldn''t be able to tell because her skin was too dark for it to be visible. "I am?" she squeaked. Castian nodded. "Beautiful, smart, interesting to talk to, and you give great massages." Harmony knew he was only in it for the massages! Or at least he had been. She shook that thought free. "I''m going to die from shock if you keep complimenting me like this. Maybe try to spread them out next time." "If you insist." She decided to hide her embarrassment and try to get a hold of her racing heart by getting off of him so she could give him that massage. It didn''t help as much as she had hoped. She remained wired until they were done and she had been lying down for a while. Castian was asleep at this point but she had too much on her mind. She squinted at him in the darkness. "What''s up with you lately?" she whispered, not expecting an answer. If Harmony didn''t know any better¡­she would say that he actually liked her. But that was impossible. Elves and witches never had long-term relationships. They were together long enough to have a child and that was it. Castian hadn''t shown any degree of interest in her until about six months ago and they had been together for more than twenty years. That was standard. It was how all of the other witch-elf relationships she knew of went. So why had hers changed? It all coincided with Talori''s arrival. That had been the catalyst. Harmony originally intending to skip out on him and him deciding to invite himself along to help instead. She didn''t regret getting more involved because she truly enjoyed spending time with him but she couldn''t deny that she also dealt with a lot more confusion. She didn''t know what was going through his head and that bothered her. Maybe she could get a better read on him tomorrow with whatever he had planned for the two of them.. With that slightly comforting thought, she was able to curl up next to him and try to fall asleep. Chapter 49 - He Was Giving Off Some Very Strange Signals Lately In the morning Harmony woke up to find Castian already dressed in a pair of khaki shorts and a short sleeve button-down shirt with sneakers. She hadn''t thought he owned any! For him that was almost alarmingly casual. If he was wearing something casual, she probably should too since he wouldn''t tell her what they were doing. She ended up wearing jean shorts and a red off-shoulder crop top with some red sneakers. If he had condescended to wearing sneakers, they were probably doing something involving a lot of walking. After breakfast they stopped by his apartment to get some things he had apparently prepared beforehand. Had he anticipated her being late and feeling like she owed him or had he been planning on asking her to do this with him anyway? Harmony couldn''t even see what they were because they were inside a big black backpack. What on earth were they going to do? "Can you still not tell me where we''re going?" she asked after they had been driving for about twenty minutes. "You''ll see when we get there," Castian said maddeningly. She pouted. Why did he have to be all secretive? What was the point of that? Stupid elf! He knew that her curiosity was unending and that she needed to know everything! "Castiaaaaaaaaaan." Rather than replying to her plea, he simply smiled. One of those incredibly rare real smiles even if they were small. He was having fun leaving her hanging, curse him! She had no idea he was capable of teasing anyone before this. When they finally arrived at their destination Harmony was confused. "Are we going hiking?" Castian nodded. "Yes. I''ve been feeling nostalgic lately about the way things used to be. Probably because of talking with Brennan about conservation efforts. National parks are some of the few places left where the land is left mostly in its natural state." "Hiking doesn''t necessarily have to be a two-person activity though. I thought you needed me for something you couldn''t do by yourself." "I do need you though. It would be a lot more boring without you here." Harmony''s heart skipped a beat. He specifically said that rather than that it would be a lot more boring by himself. He wanted her company over anyone else''s. How was she supposed to feel about that? They ended up doing some pretty easy trails that were more walks than hikes since the terrain was relatively flat. Castian seemed rather relaxed and she was even more confused. Was it being out in nature for the first time in a while that was relaxing or the fact that he was doing it with her? When they stopped for lunch and he pulled out some chicken salad sandwiches, apples, and cookies from that bakery she liked that she had introduced him to she was reminded of her earlier thought that he might have been planning this from the start and hadn''t asked her to join him on a whim. That seemed a lot more likely now. "Did you make these?" Harmony asked, gesturing to the sandwich. "Yes. Don''t be too impressed¡ªyou can''t live as long as I have without knowing how to feed yourself," Castian said casually. She wasn''t so sure about that. Witches were notoriously terrible cooks. The younger generation at least. They couldn''t be bothered because food was so readily available these days and there were so many better things to do. "It''s still better than I can do. This is really good," she replied between bites. Castian seemed pleased. "Thanks. I''m afraid I can''t bake though so I had to utilize someone else''s skills for that." "I''m not complaining. You know I love these cookies." Harmony noticed that he had gotten mostly snickerdoodles. The kind she had previously told him was best. He had to have done that on purpose with how meticulous he was. He had a good memory for detail. Why had he done all of this today? Why did this seem like a real date? It wasn''t the first time one of their hangouts had felt this way but it hit her especially hard today. A real date. That was an unfamiliar concept. Witches didn''t date. They mated. That was simply the way things were and had been for hundreds of years. Before the witches and elves came up with this arrangement witches had tried to blend into human communities and that was how they had their children but it never ended well. Witches were persecuted a lot back then. They closed themselves off from humanity and trifles such as love because of how many witches were betrayed by their human lovers. Their current arrangement was far more practical. All witches knew about this. Somebody''s mother or aunt or grandmother had been involved with a human depending on how old they were. Harmony''s own grandfather had been human and he was the reason her grandmother had to flee from the old country to the New World. Not that her family did much better there since her grandmother died in the Salem Witch Trials, resulting in her mother and aunt fleeing west. Love was unreliable. Maintaining the fae world and the witch way was what mattered. Harmony hadn''t heard of any witch in more than two hundred years falling in love. Most of them didn''t even bother with close friendships with anyone. They relied on other fae to survive or receive benefits of some sort but that was it. There weren''t deep emotions involved. Elves were largely the same way. You didn''t often hear of elf families sticking together the way other races of fae did. They supposedly had real relationships with other elves but they never got married the way some other races of fae did from time to time. Neither race was very big on the concept of permanency. They were too pragmatic for such notions. So why did it suddenly seem like Castian was trying to date her for real? It had to all be in her head. They were friends. Friends hung out with each other and did things for each other without expecting things in return¡­for most races anyway. Not for witches or elves. So what was his deal? Harmony couldn''t deny that the thought was an appealing one. But she also knew it was a terrible idea. What would everyone think? They were already giving her a hard enough time about Castian as is! Why was she even entertaining this? He wasn''t interested in her like that and, more importantly, she wasn''t interested in him like that. Even if he was oddly cute lately and she had fun with him. Even if she was worried about how things were eventually destined to end between them. That wasn''t how this worked. Harmony eyed him shrewdly after they finished their lunch and started walking again. He still seemed as relaxed as he had earlier. What was going on in that elf''s head? Did he even realize what this looked like? He was giving off some very strange signals lately and she didn''t know what to make of them. "This is nice," Castian said after a while. "Though the flora and fauna here are much different than the ones where I used to live. It gives off a similar feeling of tranquility though. Don''t you agree?" Harmony couldn''t deny that. This was no redwood forest but the feeling the trees gave off were the same anywhere you went. Peaceful and relatively quiet. Compared to being in a big city at least. Even when noisy groups of hikers passed, that had nothing on Miami. "Where DID you used to live?" she asked. He had never told her that. "Originally I''m from what is now known as Pennsylvania. What about you? You''re from somewhere out west, aren''t you?" "Yeah. I was born and raised in the Redwood Coven in northern California. My mom and aunt have been there for centuries but I needed a change of pace so I moved here as soon as I came of age." "Don''t we all, sooner or later?" Castian said with a shrug. Harmony suddenly felt a prickle of apprehension. She would probably be here indefinitely because of the chance to work with merfolk that was coming her way but what about him? He had been here at least as long as she had if not longer. What if he decided to leave the area before she did? She would likely never see him again. "How long have you been here?" "Since the 1950s. I got in on the Elite Financial Solutions branch here not long after its formation. You?" Castian asked. "I had barely moved here when we met," Harmony admitted. It was strange that they were only talking about this now considering how long they had known each other but at the same time why would they? They didn''t talk about anything remotely personal. Or they hadn''t. That had sort of gone out the window lately. Though their talking about personal things pertained solely to the present until now. They would talk about what they were currently working on but not about their lives before they met each other. Harmony was undeniably curious about Castian''s life before they met but she was afraid to ask. That it would be seen as overstepping somehow. He had been the one to push for them hanging out more but they still weren''t in a real relationship. She didn''t have the rights a real girlfriend would and nothing was going to change that. The thought was oddly unsettling. What was wrong with her today? Chapter 50 - He Was Losing His Mind Castian was fairly certain he was losing his mind. It all started with allowing himself to get more involved than he should have with his witch. He had been curious about her. So when he realized she didn''t like owing anyone he knew he had to take advantage of that so he could see her more often. That was the only way he could think of where he might figure her out. That was his first mistake. The more time he spent with her, the more he wanted. They reached a point where they saw each other at least every other day and it still didn''t feel like enough. Castian truly was busy during the week so the only time he could see her was during his lunch breaks at work. He ended up using their arrangement as an excuse to see her more on weekends too, using the logic that they were more likely to conceive if they slept together twice a week instead of once a week. That should have been enough but it wasn''t. That was his second mistake. Not realizing how deep he was in until he was drowning. No one at work understood why he kept getting more involved with his witch than he had to. It genuinely annoyed him. So what if it wasn''t normal to hang out with witches more than necessary? This much was necessary to him! "Honestly, you''re worse than Filverel and his desperate attempts to pursue Gaelira," Theodred said disdainfully as the three of them met up to finalize their project. "Hey!" Filverel protested. "I''m not pursuing Harmony," Castian said with a frown. "Are you absolutely sure about that? Because with the way things are she seems like she''s actually your girlfriend instead of your witch," Theodred pointed out shrewdly. His heart thumped unevenly. Did it truly seem like that? He had never been in any sort of real relationship before so he didn''t know what all that entailed. Harmony had said they hung out because they were friends. "She''s my friend." Filverel raised an eyebrow at him. "Friends? Seriously? How could you possibly be friends with a witch?" Castian scowled. "Shut up, Filverel. She''s much better company than you." Theodred eyed him curiously. "You''re awfully defensive. I have never seen you like this. You must have some sort of feelings for her. Do tell me¡­how did that end up happening? I can''t imagine such a thing with my witch." Panic seized his heart. Feelings for Harmony? Impossible! But he couldn''t deny that he had been doing a lot of uncharacteristic things because of her lately. There had to be something wrong with him but feelings? It couldn''t possibly be that! "I do NOT have feelings for her!" "Then why does she eat lunch with you every day? Don''t think we haven''t noticed. You always seem much more relaxed afterward too. Happier. And on Monday mornings you''re downright cheerful so I know you''re spending most of your weekends with her as well when you aren''t doing homework," Theodred speculated. Castian''s face heated. He hadn''t realized his moods were so obvious. He had been spending as much time with Harmony as he could get away with. He spent Friday and Saturday nights with her and any time he didn''t absolutely have to do homework. He usually went to the witch coven whenever Brennan and Talori were there but that was yet another excuse to see her. He couldn''t deny that he was exhausted from his homework load being largely shunted to the side but he was still happier than he could ever remember because he was enjoying himself outside of school and work. Being around Harmony made him happy. When had that happened? "What are you getting at, Theodred?" Castian muttered. "You don''t have to admit to your feelings if you don''t want to, even if they are completely obvious. I simply want to know how this ended up happening out of curiosity." Enjoying spending time with her¡­thinking she was beautiful¡­her making him happy¡­was that what having feelings for someone meant? He supposed it did, didn''t it? Oh, how HAD this ended up happening? This wasn''t what he had wanted at all! Castian let out a heavy sigh and rubbed his forehead. "It started as curiosity because of the time she dragged me along to help with the mermaid issue. It was all downhill from there because of how intriguing she is. There''s never a dull moment with her and I find myself looking forward to the unpredictability." Filverel shook his head. "Oh, Castian. You''re doomed." "You think I don''t know that?" Frustration tinted his tone. He never better than anyone that getting involved with a witch on an emotional level was a terrible idea. He had been regretting it for months yet kept digging a deeper hole for himself. "What do you intend to do?" Theodred asked, a slight look of concern on his face. "What can I do other than carry on the way things have been going? I know this is only temporary. With any luck, it will take another century or more," Castian said much more miserably than he intended. They both looked at him with a mixture of pity and concern. They probably thought he had lost his mind and they weren''t wrong. How had he let this happen? He was supposed to be more in control of his life than this! But things had been spiraling out of his control ever since Talori arrived and he got involved. He said he regretted it but he couldn''t entirely. Things had gotten a lot more interesting and fun on top of being confusing and stressful. "I admit I don''t understand the appeal¡­" Theodred began. "But I am sorry. Having unrequited feelings can be quite a burden. At least Filverel isn''t alone in it anymore." "Theodred, I swear¡­" Filverel said threateningly. "What? Everyone knows Gaelira likes Karruil." "Don''t remind me," Filverel muttered. It was true. She was the one who ended up helping Castian get Talori a job over there because she knew the hospital director, Karruil Thorndale, fairly well. The thought that Castian wasn''t alone in this didn''t make him feel any better though. Gaelira might not like Filverel back but at least she was an elf. That was normal. Whatever he had going on with Harmony was not. What did it matter if he did admit he had some sort of feelings for her? It wouldn''t do him any good! Their lives were completely different. They would part ways either when one of them moved or when their mission was accomplished. That was how things always worked. Even if it was possible to stay friends he was sure it would be the worst sort of torture since he wouldn''t be able to kiss her or get neck massages or have her play with his hair anymore. Filverel was right. He WAS doomed. There wasn''t anything Castian could do about this but carry on the way things had been. Harmony said he could contact her whenever he wanted to hang out. He would simply have to take advantage of that as much as possible when he wasn''t drowning in schoolwork. Which was exactly what he did. When his school was on break he saw her every day and then regretted it as soon as it started up again because he missed her. At this point it really would be better for the sake of his sanity if they just lived together so he could see her more often in snatches but she would never go for that. He couldn''t use their arrangement as an excuse for everything¡­or could he? It had already gotten him two weekend days instead of one. Castian would have to think harder on that one. He couldn''t straight up tell Harmony how he felt because witches were even more disdainful of attachments than elves were. She would never accept it. The last thing he wanted was for her to be uncomfortable with him because then she might end their arrangement early. He wanted this to last as long as possible. She may have caught onto what he was doing before to trick her into seeing him more often but he still wanted to do things for her. Not as a way to keep her coming back but because he wanted to. He liked doing things for her because of how brightly she would smile at him afterwards. Castian loved her smile. Her enthusiasm had grown on him. After centuries of monotony he finally had someone around who was capable of keeping him on his toes. He didn''t want to lose that but, more specifically, he didn''t want to lose HER. Harmony was special. He felt foolish for not realizing it sooner. There were nearly twenty-one years he could have been properly enjoying her company lost because he hadn''t seen what was right in front of him. He had to do better.. If he wanted to properly take advantage of however much time he had left with her, he needed to figure something out. But what? Chapter 51 - Honestly, It Was A Bit Frightening An idea came to Castian the weekend before his spring break. He had more time to catch up on things so he would be able to take a whole day to do something with Harmony. The trick would be getting her to agree to it. He already prepared a picnic lunch beforehand but was still trying to think of how to ask. That hadn''t ended up being a problem because she was running late and felt the need to make it up to him. It was the perfect excuse. The problem was that she just had to tease him afterwards and he nearly succumbed to the embarrassment. She didn''t seem affected by messing with him at all. While he was drowning in mortification she ended up braiding his hair, cool as a cucumber. Castian never knew what Harmony was thinking. She had been so shocked when he gave her multiple compliments. Was he truly that terrible? He needed to do better. It might not be possible to let her know how much she meant to him because she would freak out but he still had to do something. He vividly remembered how she said he wasn''t that bad so she was glad they were talking now a while back. That was about as complimentary of him as she got. That was to be expected. She didn''t feel the same way he did. Of course she wouldn''t bother complimenting him very often. Though she had said he was cute when he got flustered. It was hard to tell if that was a good thing or not. It kind of felt like she was laughing at him. Elves weren''t cute. But Castian thought she was cute and it was a good thing in that context. That was why it was hard to tell. He wished he could ask her point blank but could not see that ending well. He told himself it was fine. He already knew she didn''t return whatever feelings he had for her. All he wanted was to maximize on whatever time together they had left. He would make that happen. That way maybe, just maybe, he might be able to convince her to let him stick around after their business had concluded. That was a long way off. Many fae couples never had children at all. It was why witches always had to be attached to someone or other until they gave birth. It was the only way to keep their race going. Unless Harmony moved away, he should be set for decades. She already knew him so it would be pointless to switch to another partner as long as they were both here. Castian woke up earlier than her and stared at her for a while in the light coming in through the slats in the blinds. She truly was so beautiful. Even when her hair was all over the place like it was right now. That only added to how cute she was in her sleep. When she was awake he had come to realize she was a ball of unstoppable energy as opposed to the cool and collected fae he originally met. It was one of the things he liked most about her. Sometimes it got him in trouble, like with the bout of seasickness when Talori was testing her powers, but he wouldn''t trade it for anything. Theodred was right. He did have feelings for Harmony. Stronger ones than he previously thought he was capable of. Castian had always been detached from things. It was how he had been raised. How every elf he knew had been raised. He wasn''t detached from Harmony anymore. Not at all. He was far more attached than he should be considering the nature of their relationship and what they were. It could never go anywhere. He knew that and yet¡­ Later, when Harmony asked why he wanted her to go hiking with him, he was partially truthful. He had been feeling nostalgic lately because of his conversations with Brennan but he also wanted to pretend that they were like a real couple just for a day. Real couples spent entire days together doing things like this. They ended up talking about where they used to live during lunch and he realized just how much he didn''t know about her. They had both lived most of their lives without each other, after all, but it really hit him in that moment how much he didn''t know. Castian didn''t like that. He wanted to know everything. "I didn''t realize you had barely moved here when we met," he remarked. "Yep. I like it here though. I''ll probably stay indefinitely because of Talori and her brother. Where else would I get to work with real live merfolk?" Harmony asked with a slight laugh. Relief flooded through him. She wasn''t going anywhere for a while. He had time. He didn''t need to worry about being left behind just yet. Castian smiled. "Of course." They finished their food and began walking again. He had been enjoying himself since they got here between being out in nature (elves may have modernized but their original homes had still been in forests) and being with his favorite fae. He never thought he would have one of those. Everyone had been roughly the same to him. Fae he knew and needed to interact with rather than fae he cared about. Harmony was different. She was the only one he had ever chosen to spend time with more than he had to for one reason or another. Castian was almost perfectly content right up until the moment he felt a hand slip into his and lace their fingers together. This was new. He couldn''t stop the slight blush from rising on his face. "¡­what are you doing?" "Holding your hand while we walk," Harmony said plainly. "I can see that. I meant why." "Just felt like it." She just felt like it?! What was that supposed to mean? Castian''s heart was racing from such simple contact. It wasn''t as if they had never held hands before. Simply not in this context. It only ever happened in bed. Walking around holding hands was something actual couples did, both fae and human. Had she caught onto the fact that he wanted this to be like a real date? What on earth was she thinking? Castian continued stewing in his questions for quite some time until Harmony spoke up again. "Why did you have time to do this today?" At least that was easy enough to answer. "My school''s spring break is this upcoming week. I have things to do but nothing new is being assigned and I don''t have class so I''ll have time to catch up on it." "Oh, I see. That makes sense. How much homework do you have?" "Probably not more than a couple hours'' worth a day. Why do you ask?" "Just wondering if you wanted to hang out around the coven when you''re done," Harmony said with a shrug. "Since you have more free time than usual. It''s totally fine if you don''t." Castian''s heart skipped a beat. More time to hang out with her? How could he turn that down? "I would love to." Harmony grinned at him. "Great! I can provide takeout if you want." "That would be wonderful, thank you." Castian was in an excellent mood for the rest of the day. They walked around holding hands until they went to go get dinner on their way back to Miami before engaging in their usual Saturday night activities. He was in a great mood for the rest of the weekend. Since he was putting off his homework anyway he was able to spend all of Sunday with Harmony too, even if several hours of it involved Brennan and Talori joining them in her office. He didn''t mind. He was used to that. Sharing her wasn''t an issue since she had always been an incredibly busy fae. At this point Castian was grateful for any time he could get with her whether it involved other fae or not. That was how much of an effect she had on him. Honestly, it was a bit frightening. He liked Brennan and Talori well enough anyway. It wasn''t as if spending time with them was a chore. The latter''s question asking had decreased significantly after being here this long. She knew enough about her surroundings not to need to ask things every five seconds anymore. Farryn at the hospital said she was doing well at her job too. He had run into her at the bank a while back and she happened to mention that Talori was a fast learner. Castian couldn''t help but wonder how long she would have to be here. Or how Brennan would handle it once she was gone. He seemed rather attached to her. He wasn''t sure if it was love or if the fairy was simply lonely but he had no room to judge regardless. He had almost certainly fallen in love with a witch knowing he wasn''t supposed to do that. Mermaids and fairies were even less compatible than elves and witches though. Talori was literally half fish.. If Brennan did have some sort of feelings for her, they were even more hopeless than Castian''s were. Chapter 52 - You Ruined Me Castian enjoyed his first day of spring break by doing homework right after work and heading to the witch coven when it was finished. He got some of Harmony''s takeout as promised and hung around talking to her as she worked. She probably would have kept working all night if he hadn''t reminded her that she should get some sleep. The second day she didn''t listen to him and did end up pulling an all-nighter so she was pretty out of it on the third when she came to eat lunch with him as usual. That gave him an idea. Harmony was determined to make a breakthrough but he was worried about her lack of sleep. Couldn''t he make this benefit him somehow? "I''ll be fine!" she insisted. "Go home and don''t worry about me." Castian shook his head and picked her up so she was dangling over his shoulder. "Nope. You can''t pull two all-nighters in a row. We''re going home." "We?" "Someone has to make sure you actually get some sleep. Who else is going to do it?" Harmony raised an eyebrow. "You''re seriously going to supervise me and make sure I go to bed? What am I, fifty?" Castian didn''t respond. He walked her out to the parking lot and buckled her into the passenger seat before driving toward her apartment. She was rather pouty with him about it. "I''m not tired and I have work to do!" "Your work will still be there in the morning," he said firmly. "That doesn''t change the fact that I''m not tired!" "Too bad." Harmony continued pouting with her arms crossed over her chest when they made it inside her apartment. "This really isn''t necessary, Castian. I would have gone to sleep eventually." "You and I both know that''s not true. Go get into your pajamas," he said, pointing toward the bedroom. She sighed and did as he said. He had never seen her wear pajamas before since all the times he had stayed here she fell asleep without any clothes on. It was a striped tank top and shorts set and she looked adorable in it as she continued to glare at him. Castian barely managed to stifle a laugh. He turned the light off after she crawled into bed and joined her a moment later. "You''re the worst," Harmony said flatly. "I know." She let out a heavy sigh. "¡­you aren''t actually the worst. But why do you have to look out for me so aggressively?" "Because you won''t do it yourself," Castian said half-truthfully. That was only half the reason. The other half was that he cared about her far more than he should. He wanted her to take care of herself and he wanted to spend more time with her. This allowed for both. "I''m still not tired," Harmony muttered. "What would make you tired then? You need to sleep." She surprised him by scooting closer and nudging her way into his arms. "This might trick me into getting sleepy. I usually fall asleep like this when you''re here." Castian wasn''t complaining! He didn''t get to do this as often as he liked. Never outside out of the transaction that used to define their relationship. This was the sort of thing normal couples did. He kissed her forehead and rubbed her arm because those were both things he normally did when she was curled up with him like this. Maybe that would help her get sleepy but even if it didn''t he still wanted to do it. He had to take advantage of having her this close to him while he could. Harmony was out like a light less than five minutes later. Castian let out a small laugh. "Sure you weren''t tired." He went to sleep not long after, feeling perfectly content. In the morning he had to get up earlier than usual so he could go home and change and drop her back at the witch coven since he had sort of kidnapped her the night before. She didn''t seem angry about it. On the contrary, she was rather cheerful after getting a decent night''s sleep. She showed up to bring him lunch like usual and invited him back to hang out with her when he was done with his homework as if she wasn''t upset with him at all. It seemed that Harmony was incapable of learning her lesson because she thought that after getting one good night of sleep that she could stay up all night this time and be fine. Once again, Castian ended up forcing her back to her apartment and holding her until she fell asleep. The next day was Friday so he got to stay with her four nights in a row. He really didn''t want to go back to his own apartment on Sunday night but had no excuse to stay with her now. He thought that would be the end of it but on the following Wednesday Harmony showed up at his office at lunchtime looking not unlike a racoon. "¡­what happened to you?" "You ruined me," Harmony said grimly. Castian blinked at her. "I what?" "You ruined me! I haven''t been able to fall asleep since Sunday so I ended up doing more research. I''m too unfocused to even make a breakthrough. I got too used to you putting me to sleep when my sleep schedule was already off." Was this her way of saying she missed him? His heart raced at the implication. This might be just the opportunity he was waiting for. "There is a rather simple solution to this, you know," Castian pointed out. "What?" "Sharing an apartment." Harmony''s dark-circled eyes nearly popped out of her head. "Are you serious?!" "It''s the most logical solution. We see each other every day anyway. It makes the most sense if you need me to be your sleeping pill." "I don''t need it permanently! Just until my sleep schedule gets fixed!" "But by that point you''ll be even more used to it and then your sleep schedule will be messed up again," Castian said reasonably. "I don''t see what the problem is. You would get the sleep you need and I wouldn''t have to worry about you." Harmony''s brow furrowed as she mulled this over. She couldn''t find a fault with his logic. "And you''re really okay with that?" "Why wouldn''t I be?" "Because that''s the sort of thing real couples do." Castian shrugged, belying how much he was internally panicking. He couldn''t let her know that was exactly why he wanted to do it. He had to tread very carefully here. "So what? I don''t mind if you don''t." Harmony bit her lip. "If you''re sure¡­your place or mine?" If he had been standing, he would have staggered from his knees going weak with relief. "Your choice. Mine is bigger but yours has more things in it so it might be more difficult to move them over." "Good point. I guess my place works but hold onto yours anyway." Right. Castian couldn''t get too comfortable. He knew better than anyone that this wasn''t permanent. That she could banish him from her life at any time and was, in fact, expected to by fae society at large. He had never cared about fae society less. He wanted to stay with her as long as he possibly could but he had no right to dream of forever. That was a very, very long time for a fae. "I''ll do that. Get me a key and I can bring some important stuff over later. I don''t own much," he admitted. Harmony took out her key ring and cast a spell on one of them, replicating it. She handed it to him. "Here. You take care of that right after work and get your homework done. I''ll meet you there when I finish up." Castian quickly attached it to his own key ring and somehow managed to play it cool throughout the rest of their lunch despite the torrent of emotions swirling through him. It was amazing he managed to make it through the rest of work, packing, unpacking, and his homework at all. He still hadn''t heard from Harmony around the time he needed to go to bed for the sake of work in the morning so he called her. "You coming home any time soon? I have work in the morning." "Sorry, I got caught up talking to Hester about something. I''ll be there in about fifteen minutes." Castian was already in his pajamas before she arrived and when she opened the door and saw him she didn''t quite manage to muffle a snort. "You''re seriously wearing that to bed?" Last week he had no choice but to sleep in his underwear since all he had on him were work clothes but now he had more options. What was wrong with his pajamas? They were a gray silk button-up shirt and shorts set. "They''re comfortable," he said somewhat defensively. Harmony laughed and picked up a strand of his hair, letting it pass through her fingers as she walked by.. "If you say so." Chapter 53 - Better Off Back In The Ocean Harmony laughed again when she ended up with her head on Castian''s chest as usual a few minutes later. "Not gonna lie, it''s weird doing this while you''re wearing a shirt." He supposed this was the first time that had happened. "Would you like me to take it off?" "That isn''t what I meant! I was just saying." "I can if it would make you more comfortable." "It was just a comment, Castian. You''re fine," Harmony insisted. "You can wear your weirdly formal pajamas if you want to." "¡­the rest of you are too informal. This is perfectly acceptable sleepwear for an elf." "Hey, anything is fine as long as you don''t sleep in a suit." Castian sighed. He could tell she was teasing him. She did that a lot more often lately and he was still trying to get used to it. It was a good thing it was dark so she couldn''t see his blush right now. He ended up poking her cheek in retaliation since he didn''t have a verbal comeback. She laughed again and snuggled closer. "You really are too easy to tease." "And you have way too much fun teasing me." "I wouldn''t say TOO much fun¡­okay, maybe a little. Sometimes I wonder why you tolerate me." Castian frowned. "I don''t tolerate you at all." "If you say so," Harmony said with a yawn. "Goodnight, Castian." "Goodnight." Though he wasn''t the biggest fan of being teased, he couldn''t deny he looked forward to being able to do this every night. At least for the foreseeable future. He didn''t want to think about what would happen afterwards. Castian had time. Time and the opportunity to be close to her while he still could was all he had wanted. And that was exactly what he got. He had nothing to complain about, disregarding the fact that this would all be so much easier if Harmony was an elf. But Harmony wouldn''t be Harmony if that was the case. He had fallen for her exactly as she was. No elf woman could ever compare to this beautiful, sometimes exasperating witch. === Brennan was surprised by how panicked he had felt at the thought of Talori leaving already when he got Harmony''s text. It was stupid because wasn''t that the whole point of her being here? She was never supposed to stay permanently. As much as she may enjoy learning about the surface, she didn''t belong here. She had a home she was supposed to go back to. Talori got homesick frequently but she was still enjoying herself for the most part. She liked having a job because she said it made her feel useful but he was fairly certain she also enjoyed being able to buy whatever she wanted. When she got her first paycheck she bought presents for him, Harmony, Castian, and even Piper. He had to try really hard not to laugh because what she got him was so random. It seemed she had gone out to a tourist shop to get it because it was a gray t-shirt that said ''Welcome to Miami'' on it with an abstract beach sunset on some of the letters. It wasn''t the sort of thing he usually wore but she was so excited about it that he couldn''t let her down. Now he wore it about once a week with a great sense of irony. Talori had also gotten tourist t-shirts for the others because he saw Harmony and Castian wearing very similar shirts the next time they met up on a weekend. He was willing to bet every dime he had that she forced him to wear his to be polite because it didn''t suit him at all. That was Brennan''s first time seeing him wear anything but a button-down shirt. She had been happy to see them wearing theirs too and did that cute little dolphin squeal she did when she was excited, clapping her hands. She may not have realized that no local ever wore things like that but no one was about to tell her. That wasn''t the only thing she used her first paycheck on. She also treated Brennan to dinner and insisted on beginning to pay half of their household expenses. He wanted to tell her that wasn''t necessary but honestly it would be a lot of help so he accepted her offer graciously. So Talori paid her way and with whatever money was leftover she bought things she found interesting that she wanted to take home with her to show Zale. Brennan advised her not to get anything electronic or that would otherwise be ruined by water, like paper products. She kept that in mind. Instead she bought things like funny mugs, keychains, and other trinkets that also looked suspiciously like they came from gift shops. He was willing to bet she was getting them from the one near the hospital where she worked on her lunch break. Brennan debated whether or not to tell her those were just overpriced tourist traps but ultimately decided against it because of how much fun she was having. She was free to spend her money how she wanted. She didn''t only spend it on random souvenirs either. She also wanted to use it to pay for herself for them to go do things on the weekend. She wanted to see museums, go to concerts, and otherwise experience life on the surface to the fullest after seeing things in movies. He didn''t mind because it kept her distracted so she wouldn''t be as homesick. They ended up doing almost everything of note in the greater Miami area over the course of a few months. Brennan had grown used to her constant presence. That was dangerous. He wasn''t supposed to be getting used to someone who would only leave. This was exactly why he preferred not getting too close to anyone. He always missed people when he inevitably left even if he didn''t fit in with them properly. And it had been decades since he lived with anyone. That would likely affect things more than usual. He had gotten used to having someone to come home to at the end of the day aside from a silent apartment. He hadn''t had that since breaking up with his last girlfriend. That had been a very long time ago. Talori wasn''t his girlfriend though. She was his roommate. Why should he care if she went home? That was what she wanted! He should be happy! He wouldn''t have to deal with the constant inconvenience of pushing someone around and carrying her to and from the car to the wheelchair and vice versa, cooking for two, or keeping her sufficiently hydrated. But he also wouldn''t be able to have someone to talk to as often as he did since he hadn''t seen Harmony every day before. Or enjoy her insights about the world or her bright smile and the adorable way she bounced in her seat when she was excited. She was a very fidgety fae¡ªhe had noticed that from the time they met¡ªand a lot of her usual movement was stemmed by the fact that she couldn''t walk. She would be better off back in the ocean but he really didn''t want her to go. How much worse would that get the longer she stayed here? It wasn''t like he could get unattached or pull away from her at this point. He was stuck since they were living together. She would take it personally and get upset. That was the last thing he wanted. Brennan didn''t want to pull away from her either though it would be the safe thing to do. He didn''t know how long they would be able to spend time together so he had to take full advantage of it while he could. He went to pick Talori up from work like usual and discovered she was feeling down again. It was completely obvious by the look on her face. She had to be thinking about her brother. This had been happening more frequently since she recorded that message for him. He had done his best to cheer her up but he was beginning to run out of ideas to distract her. Maybe what Brennan needed to do this time was make her laugh. Harmony had sent him a picture the other day of how many braids she managed to put in Castian''s hair when he was asleep. His hair wasn''t long enough for that but at the very least he should be able to get a decent number of pigtails. They had hair ties at home for her sake. Even if her hair was much shorter than it used to be she could still pull it back. She liked doing that on windy days. After they had eaten dinner he sat next to her on the couch and handed her the package of hair ties. She looked at him questioningly. "What is this for?" "I want to see how many pigtails you can put in my hair and then take a picture." Talori let out a small giggle. "Why would you want to do that?" "For fun," Brennan deadpanned, making her giggle harder to his great relief. It seemed his plan was working already. "If you insist." Chapter 54 - He Really Didnt Want Her To Go Talori acted like she was doing it solely because Brennan asked but he could tell she was having fun with it based on how she was talking to herself about how to maximize on space. Her whole countenance seemed lighter. He was glad that humiliating himself was working to cheer her up. He had no doubt that she would end up sending the picture to Harmony at the very least if not everyone she knew up here. When she finished she took pictures from several angles to get the full affect and grinned at him. "You look beautiful." She held up the phone for him to see and he grimaced. Beautiful? He looked ridiculous! But that had kind of been the whole point of this. To look ridiculous and get her mind off of her brother. It seemed to have worked. "I look like an idiot." "You do not!" Brennan raised an eyebrow and Talori amended her statement with a laugh. "Okay, maybe a little." "At least you''re honest." She ended up saving the picture as her lock screen, which was even worse than sending it to Harmony, but he couldn''t regret it since her mood had improved. Seeing someone so energetic and cheerful be upset was more distressing than seeing anyone else be upset. "I wonder when my hair will grow back," Talori mused. "After being here this long it has only grown a few inches." "It was pretty long. It will probably take several years," Brennan said with a shrug. Her hair grew faster than his. He only needed to get a haircut once or twice a year. Maybe it was because she was female, maybe it was because of her race. He didn''t know how fast merfolk hair grew in general without a point of comparison. Zale had long hair too but that didn''t necessarily mean anything. He could have been growing it out for decades or even centuries. "That isn''t too bad, I suppose," Talori said. "Having it shorter is more convenient up here anyway. Currents don''t get it in my face nearly as much as wind does." Brennan had noticed that when he was underwater. Merfolk hair tended to float around them like a cloud but rarely got in their faces because it went up not down. At least as far as he had seen. "Your hair is pretty whether it''s short or long. Purple isn''t a color you see on fae up here unless they dye it. I''ve seen a few witches dye their hair unusual colors. Harmony had green streaks in it about a decade ago before she got tired of that." Talori smiled so warmly at him that his heart momentarily stopped. "Thank you! Purple isn''t terribly common where I''m from either. At least as far as I''ve seen. The only merfolk I know of with purple hair are myself and Zale." Brennan recalled that merfolk genetics seemed to be fairly random. Colors could be shared but family members usually weren''t half of the same type of fish. At least based on everything she had said to Harmony not long after she got here. "Well, there aren''t many purple fish in the sea. From what I can tell, you''re a fairy basslet and he''s a Spanish hogfish." Talori laughed, an intrigued sparkle in her eyes. "Surface-dwellers named a fish after fairies? I had no idea. That is somewhat ironic considering I''m probably the first of my race to ever meet a fairy." It certainly was. Brennan hadn''t realized that before but she was right. "That isn''t their only name. They''re also referred to as royal grammas¡­which is still ironic since you''re a princess." Talori burst out laughing so hard this time she couldn''t stop for several minutes. "This is too much! Is there another name for Spanish hogfish up here? I''m curious." "Only the scientific name. Bodianus rufus. The scientific name for fairy basslets is gramma loreto. Someone decided a few centuries ago that everything should be named in Latin for some reason. It makes things rather confusing since everyone but biologists calls them by their casual names," Brennan said as he rolled his eyes. He had a very strong opinion about zoological nomenclature. Before he realized it, he had gone off on a rant. She egged him on by asking questions and as a result he ended up going on for way too long. He wasn''t embarrassed about it though. Goodness knows Talori went on about things for a long time too. Perhaps that was what made their friendship work so well. They were both overly enthusiastic about certain topics and therefore understanding of when others went on about things no one really cared about for too long. It was why his friendship with Harmony worked too. He only got excitable about a few things but when he did he was nearly on par with those two. Nearly but not quite. He used to think Harmony was the most excitable fae in existence but after meeting Talori he had to reevaluate his opinion. He was fairly sure the mermaid had her beat in that regard. Not that there was anything wrong with that. Brennan was so used to enthusiasm at this point that it didn''t even faze him. Harmony''s was of the mad scientist variety where Talori''s was more endearing. It was hard to explain the difference. Maybe because the latter grew up so sheltered and her curiosity was so innocent where it seemed like the former could dissect someone if the situation called for it. Castian certainly didn''t seem to mind that though. If Brennan didn''t know any better, he would say the elf was smitten. They certainly seemed to be spending a lot more time together these days. That wasn''t normal for witch/elf relationships. They were acting like a real couple at least in terms of spending time together. Brennan had been watching those two and he had noticed Castian''s fond gaze lingering on Harmony many times. If he truly was invested, Brennan would feel sorry for him. Witches were notoriously anti-attachment. Even more so than elves. A relationship like theirs would never work out long term. Even most inter-elemental fairy relationships didn''t last more than a century. He had never heard of one of those resulting in marriage, which was already somewhat rare for any races other than werewolves. They almost always got married once they found their mates because wolves tend to mate for life. He couldn''t even imagine that. None of his past girlfriends had lasted more than fifty years. Brennan supposed that was a large part of why he was still alone. It took being together much longer than that to produce children if that even happened at all. He had long resigned himself to never having family again. It was better that way. To drift through the world without any real attachments to avoid getting hurt again. If he cared about anyone on a meaningful level and lost them¡­ Being alone was the safer thing to do. He could have his friends to keep him from going insane with boredom but not get too close to any of them. That was how he had operated since losing his family. It had worked for centuries and wouldn''t fail him now. Brennan might be alone but he wasn''t lonely. Especially since Talori was here with him on a temporary basis. He couldn''t deny he dreaded her going back for reasons he couldn''t fathom but it wasn''t like he would never see her again. They would still be working together on an indefinite basis because of his deal with Zale. He would be fine. It was stupid that he even panicked over that text message. Zale probably wanted an update because his plan was taking longer than expected. This would take a while. Brennan had nothing to worry about any time soon. Talori''s head suddenly slumped against his shoulder. He hadn''t realized that while he was lost in thought that she began nodding off. A glance at his phone told him it was getting late. He wasn''t tired yet though so he didn''t mind staying here a while longer and not disturbing her before moving her to the tub. He wished he had a more comfortable place for her to sleep where she wouldn''t dry out but his apartment really wasn''t all that big. They made do the best they could but she really wasn''t meant to live up here. Brennan had similar yet different problems when he was staying with her under the sea but that was on a much more temporary basis. Talori had been here for more than half a year already. How much longer would it be? Years? Decades? He wished he had a way to communicate with Zale solely so he would have some sort of timeframe and wouldn''t be so blindsided when the time eventually came for his friend to return home. If he was being perfectly honest with himself¡­he really didn''t want her to go. Talori made his life more interesting. She was special. Despite bumps along the way as he got used to harboring a mermaid, he liked having her here. He would miss her when she was gone. He always missed people he left behind but it passed eventually. What he really missed was the sense of routine. Once he had a new one he always adjusted fine. That was how he would get through her leaving too. But looking down at her peaceful sleeping face, he hoped he was able to put that off as long as possible.. Even if it was selfish. Chapter 55 - Quite A Pair Zale could admit he was impatient about hearing back from Talori. Provided any of the witches were able to figure out the secret behind his request at all. He wasn''t sure they would or, if they did, how they would manage to tell him how she was doing without Gar getting suspicious. It set him on edge the whole time between Gar''s meetings with the witches. None of his mermen could tell anything was off with him but Beck. Of course. They had been together nearly their entire lives. It would have been strange if he DIDN''T notice. "Worrying about it will not change the outcome," he pointed out logically. Zale scowled. "You think I don''t know that? But I can''t help it. I need to know Tali is doing alright or I won''t be able to focus." "Your focus has been much worse than usual. What are you so worried about? Do you not trust who you sent her off with? Why exactly are you so concerned about her well-being? Knowing her, she is having the time of her life up there." "I don''t KNOW who I sent her off with! I barely met them! I had to trust my most precious treasure with a stranger, Beck! Do you have any idea how stressful that is?!" "No because I don''t have one. The closest thing I have is you but you can handle yourself," Beck said matter-of-factly. Zale sighed. "That is disturbingly sentimental coming from you. And not helpful. Tali can''t handle herself! She''s far too na?ve." "And who exactly has kept her that way?" "Whose side are you on here?!" "Yours, always," Beck said, looking at him with serious black eyes. "But you need to stop worrying about your sister. Talori is smarter than you give her credit for. After all, she did manage to sneak out without any of us noticing for years." Zale hated to admit he had a point. She might not be scheming the way he was and didn''t know much about how the world worked but she wasn''t stupid. She probably was doing fine up there but he needed to know that for himself. Any indication she was alright would do. Anything at all. As long as he knew she had reached her destination, he believed she would be safe. The ocean was a big place and there was a lot of danger in boat-infested waters. Brennan said he would be able to make her look human once on the surface but what about before then? That was what he was most worried about. He would be able to handle an ongoing lack of contact as long as he knew she reached her destination unharmed. "Yes but she is still my baby sister. I will always worry about her," Zale muttered. Beck clapped a hand on his shoulder. "I suppose that is what happens when you care about someone. Still, try and think about something else. The sooner you get your head in the right place, the sooner she will be able to come home." He was right, of course. Zale needed to pull himself together. His plan was coming along and he couldn''t lose sight of that because he was worried. He had continued wearing his ridiculous surface-item jewelry to the last couple of parties and the idea seemed to be sinking in that there was too much of it in the ocean. He had seen a few of the less frivolous nobles seem concerned. To his surprise, Aila had ended up helping him out. She wore that necklace he gave her to both parties since. Merfolk may regard him as the idiot prince but he was still someone of minor influence in high society. Her choice to do that made some of the nobles want such items for themselves after he had bothered giving a gift to someone else. The influence of the jewelry was spreading. He was willing to bet it wouldn''t be much longer now before someone bothered bringing up the issue with the merking. And be summarily ignored, as everyone else who had done it over the years had been. That was when he would be able to put the next part of his plan into action. Zale had to cast doubt on both the merking''s and Merrick''s competency. Then when he swooped in to conduct his coup and showed he actually cared about issues affecting the ocean that should cancel out his old image as an idiot. The problem was that he hadn''t figured out how to get rid of them yet without resorting to straight-up murder. The nobles wouldn''t stand for that. If he truly wished to, he could kill everyone who stood in his way and speed up the process. But then the citizens would live in fear of him and he didn''t want that. Talori wouldn''t want him to do that either so he had to do this the hard way. The legal way. He needed to get rid of the rest of the royal family the same way the merqueen had gotten rid of his mother. Under the guise of it being the right thing to do. He hated sinking to his enemy''s level but he had no other choice. "What are you thinking about?" Beck asked, noting Zale''s furrowed brow. "Our plans. The first part is coming along nicely but beyond that I''m at a loss," he admitted. "¡­as am I. It would be helpful if we had more information on the inner workings of the main palace but we would need better spies for that." Obviously they had spies there already. The problem was that they weren''t very high-ranked servants so they didn''t have as much access to the merqueen, king, or crown prince as necessary. There was nothing they could do about that short of killing off some of the higher-ranked servants so others could take their places but even that was a gamble. There was no guarantee that the merfolk they wanted would be chosen for the positions. "Why is this so frustrating?" Zale growled. "I wish I knew what to tell you," Beck replied as blankly as usual. "Perhaps we will be able to get some information at the party tonight." "I highly doubt it but keep an eye on them for me, will you? There isn''t a merman alive more observant than you." "Except perhaps you." "Perhaps. We''re quite a pair, aren''t we?" "Indeed. That is why I believe we will be able to pull this off. Even if you are being more pessimistic than usual because of your current lack of focus." Zale found that he couldn''t retort. The problem WAS that he was distracted rather than unmotivated. How could he not be motivated when doing this was the only way to get Talori back home? Beck knew him too well. He may be a merman of few words but he was always capable of cutting through to the heart of the matter when necessary. He knew the right things to say every time. Zale didn''t know what he would do without him. "You know how much I appreciate you, don''t you?" he asked suddenly. Beck nearly smiled. "Now look who is getting disgustingly sentimental. Save your sentimentality for the princess." Zale let out a laugh. "I suppose that''s fair. What do you look forward to most about this all being over? For me it''s between being at peace for avenging my mother and having the life Tali and I had stolen from us." "Seeing you and the princess be happy." "Really?" "Yes. That is all I have ever wanted." There he went being disgustingly sentimental again. Zale supposed it made sense considering he was all Beck had. His mother had been killed by humans when he was young and his father died the same way decades later while escorting another princess to a different merfolk settlement to be married. He had loved his father and looked up to him, wanting to become the kind of royal guard he was someday. His father didn''t live long enough to see exactly how strong he had become. It was the only time Zale had ever seen Beck cry. Even then his facial expression didn''t change. At the funeral he stood there silently with tears streaming from his eyes without so much as twitching. Afterward, once no one around was watching, Zale had put his hands on his personal guard''s shoulders and looked at him seriously. "You''ll make your father proud. I know you will." Beck said nothing but nodded, a few more tears escaping. After that he threw himself even more devotedly into becoming the best possible guard for his prince. And he had been. When Zale''s mother was killed and he wanted revenge against the merking Beck was immediately onboard. The first one who was willing to work with him. It took them quite some time to recruit any others and then it was only because of Beck''s reputation. Everyone else had believed Zale was the idiot he pretended to be until they listened to him. Beck was irreplaceable. He always had Zale''s back and vice versa. They were sworn brothers. Nothing could ever break that bond even if they didn''t talk about it much. Zale was to Beck what Talori was to Zale so it wasn''t surprising that he would care so much about their happiness even if he and Talori weren''t close. Zale cared about her so Beck cared about her too. Feeling unaccountably cheered up, Zale tapped his friend on the back with his tail. "If the others knew how sentimental you are, they would never shut up about it." "They would also never believe you," Beck replied, unbothered. He had a point. It wasn''t as if Zale truly planned to tell them anyway. Beck''s emotions, so often completely hidden behind his stony face, were his business.. He just wanted to give his friend a hard time to return the favor for earlier. Chapter 56 - The Idiot Prince Zale was incredibly anxious until Gar returned with the item he requested from the witches. It was a scale model of a mermaid that had the same coloring as Talori if not the same facial features. It still made him miss her terribly. The problem was that the witches didn''t have any message to go along with it. Had they not figured out what he was asking for? Witches were supposed to be smart, weren''t they? And Talori was definitely in contact with them if she managed to make it to the surface. Did this mean she hadn''t made it after all? Or had he overestimated the witches'' abilities? Zale watched the little figurine swim around his head in frustration. What was he supposed to do? "Beck, there wasn''t a message," he growled. "What do I do now?" "There isn''t anything you can do. I suppose the witches were not as clever as we had hoped. That is disappointing," the other merman said blankly. "You don''t say! How am I supposed to know if Tali is¡ª" Talori''s cheerful voice began emitting from the figurine and they both turned, stunned, to stare at it. "Hi, Zale! I''m doing great. I have a job here and everything. I''ve learned so much and have so much I want to tell you but I have to keep this short. The surface is a fascinating place and I wish you were here to experience it with me. "I''ve made some friends up here that are willing to help us try and save the ocean too! You don''t have to worry about me. I''m being very well taken care of so focus on finishing your plan so I can come home, okay? I love you and I''ll see you as soon as I can!" The witches had figured out his meaning after all and got his sister directly involved. Hearing her voice made his heart ache but simultaneously lifted his spirits. She was okay! Zale sighed in relief. "She made it after all. Thank goodness." "I knew she would be alright," Beck said confidently. "Now that your mind is at ease, you can get back to work. The sooner you can focus the sooner you can see her again, as you well know." He did know that. He also knew that this was going to take a while so this one magical recording of his sister''s voice was going to have to sustain him until he they were able to be reunited. Was there a way to get it to play again or was it a one-time thing? "I suppose. How does this object work? Do I only get to hear Tali once or¡ª" Zale cut himself off as the recording began to play again. It occurred to him then that both times the message played were after he said her nickname. When the recording ended he tried it one more time to be sure and found his hypothesis proved correct. "Her nickname is the password that gets the message to play," he mused. "Clever. She knows I''m the only one who calls her that and only when I am around those I trust. There was no chance of anyone else overhearing it that way and she spoke in English as an extra security measure. She truly is learning a lot up there." "That will be helpful for when she returns," Beck remarked. That was true. It had always been in the plan to have Talori help him once he became merking. It seemed she would be even more helpful than he had anticipated. "Indeed. Come, we have things to do. We need to prepare for the next banquet and find a way to get more of our mermen into the main palace. If we don''t know what is going on in there properly, we will never be able to get this done." Beck nodded and followed Zale out, understanding the urgency of the situation as well as he did. Hearing from Talori had revitalized him and now he was more insistent on finishing their plans as quickly as possible than ever. === Aila didn''t know what to make of Prince Zale. Nobody had warned her about him before their first meeting so she had been rather taken aback by how eccentric he was. After he surprised her by sending the jewelry made of surface items that he had worn to the banquet to her house she asked her father, Lord Yuval, about him. He sighed heavily and leaned against the wall for support. "Prince Zale is¡­well, he''s hard to describe. He has quite a reputation among the nobility but ultimately he''s harmless. I wouldn''t worry about him. He is unlikely to approach you again. He has a short attention span. But do try not to get more involved with him than necessary." "Why?" Aila asked curiously. Not that she particularly wanted to get involved with him, as he seemed rather odd. But it was strange for her father to warn her away from someone specifically. He had never done that before. "Prince Zale is unmarried and has no concubines at his age with good reason. No one wants to send their precious daughters to become a laughingstock. You saw how other merfolk reacted to him at the banquet, did you not?" "Yes," Aila admitted. Most of them had been mocking him but he had been dense enough that it bounced right off of him leaving no meaning behind. He carried on as if he didn''t understand the ridicule. Honestly, Aila felt sorry for him. He might be strange but he didn''t seem to be the bad sort. Nothing he said was the slightest bit malicious all evening. She had noticed he was one of the only merfolk who didn''t gossip or have anything negative to say. Prince Zale was simpleminded but kind. He had sent her his rather ridiculous jewelry after she had attempted to compliment it because he thought she liked it. He had no reason to do that. "This kingdom is headed toward ruin, mark my words," Yuval sighed. "The crown prince is as uninterested in affairs regarding the surface as the merking and the third prince is an idiot. But even he seemed to realize it was unusual for there to be so much surface debris in the ocean!" Aila frowned. She had worried about that too after Prince Zale had brought it up. She didn''t leave her family''s estate much so she hadn''t realized what was going on outside. "Father, can you speak to the merking regarding this issue?" "Not yet, unfortunately. I need to collect more evidence of what is going on to convince him to take action. He is convinced that everything is fine because we are safe from the surface-dwellers due to the witches'' magic but I disagree if their things are still ending up in our waters," Yuval said seriously. Aila didn''t know much about their relations with the surface but she was inclined to agree. "Prince Zale did say he was going to try and start a trend. Perhaps if he creates more jewelry that could be used as the evidence we need." "Not a bad idea, Aila. You can help that along by wearing what he gave you at the next gathering. But as I said, do not get more involved with him than you have to. Just because we are using his silly fashion idea to our advantage doesn''t mean we are on the same side." She did as her father said though she did keep an eye on Prince Zale in the coming months at various parties. He had made a lot more of that jewelry and it did end up catching on as a trend, as he had predicted. It would be difficult for the merking to ignore all of the evidence in front of him. Especially if her father got a few other nobles who were similarly concerned to join him when he spoke to the merking. The ''idiot prince'' had his uses after all. Aila didn''t like that nickname though. She didn''t think he was stupid. She thought he was odd, to be sure, but everyone had their own preferences, didn''t they? What exactly was so wrong with liking fashion and terrible poetry? She was curious about Prince Zale. If she didn''t know any better, she would think he was purposely trying to draw attention to the issue of the ocean having too many surface items in it. Even those who normally dismissed him were taking note of what was happening. They thought it was an incidental side effect of his silly desire to be on top of every fashion trend but what if there was more to it? Aila had been told not to get involved with him but she couldn''t help but wonder if there was more to him than met the eye. The only way to know that for sure would be to see him in his natural state. One where he didn''t have an audience. She doubted that would ever happen.. She only saw him at events held for the nobility. Chapter 57 - Thank You For Telling Me This Aila ended up getting her chance completely by accident the day her father went to the main palace to speak with the merking along with some of the other concerned members of the nobility. She went along with him so she could look around the palace gardens. She got lost on the way there and ended up overhearing something she wasn''t supposed to. "¡­we can just blame it on Zale. From what I gather, the nobles are catching on to there being problems on the surface that are affecting the ocean and that''s his fault anyway because of his idiotic jewelry. "You need to be the one to take charge when the merking fails. He is old and set in his ways. You can use this as an opportunity to boost your popularity when you become merking. We can clear out the palace and get rid of the rest of those horrible concubines once you''re in charge." Aila''s breath caught in her throat. She had only met her once but that was the merqueen speaking! "Where would that idiot get poison?" Crown Prince Merrick asked skeptically. "No one will believe that for a second. He isn''t cunning enough for such a thing." "That''s just it. He is stupid enough that it would be believable for him to give the merking a present containing poison entirely by accident. But treason is treason, accident or not. We''ll finally be able to get rid of him as well. He has been an annoyance for long enough," Queen Nerida said disdainfully. Aila had to get out of here. She had to warn someone¡­but who? The merking? She could be executed for treason if she burst in on a nobleman''s council without being invited. It was an emergency but all they had to go off of was her word. Would anyone believe her? Would Prince Zale? She didn''t know if there was anything he could do about this but at the very least he had been kind to her before. He wasn''t likely to have her executed for barging in on him the way the merking would. Aila swam for her life, hoping beyond hope that she was able to find the coral palace. All of the palaces looked so similar from the outside and she had been lost already. She wasn''t watching where she was going since she was looking over her shoulder to be sure the merqueen or crown prince hadn''t seen her and smacked directly into an unfamiliar merman. His tail was bright green and shaped like an eel and he had hair to match. He frowned when she ran into him. "Who are you and what are you doing here?" Aila didn''t know if this merman was trustworthy or not. He may be working for the merqueen. She had to play things off casually despite her urgency. She ran a hand through her hair and made a sheepish expression. "I''m supposed to start work at the coral palace today as a maid but I''m afraid I don''t know where that is. I''m a bit lost. Can you tell me which direction it''s in?" The merman squinted at her suspiciously. "I work in the coral palace and I didn''t hear anything about a new maid." "You do? You serve Prince Zale then?" Aila asked before biting her lip, unsure if she should say anything even if he did. It was fairly unbelievable and this merman didn''t know or trust her. "Yes I do." There was a hint of pride in his voice. Idiot prince or not, he must be good to his subordinates in order for this one to sound like that. He would probably help her. Aila sighed. "I am Lady Aila, daughter of Lord Yuval. And I''m afraid Prince Zale is in terrible danger. I want to warn him. Could you take me to him please?" Alarm flashed in his eyes. "Danger? What sort of danger?" She looked around nervously to be sure no one was listening in but was still wary. "I''m afraid to speak of it here. Could you please take me to the coral palace? He does know me. He sent me a gift once. I am sure he would be willing to speak to me." "I will have to verify this. Come. I will take you to Beck. He is the head of security at the coral palace," the merman said before gesturing for her to follow. Aila did so silently, still checking over her shoulder frequently. She desperately hoped no one had seen her speaking to this merman. Who was he? A servant? A guard? The latter seemed more likely if he knew Prince Zale personally. The merman led her to what seemed to be a training field where several other mermen were gathered. Two of them were locked in fierce combat before one came out on top and the other groaned as everyone else laughed. She was startled to discover that the prince had been the victor and helped the merman on the ground up before his eyes locked on hers and she suddenly got the chills. That look was far colder than any she had seen before. It was a far cry from his usual easy grin and affected expressions. "Aeces! What is the meaning of this?" Prince Zale barked, breaking eye contact. "Forgive me, Zale, but Lady Aila insisted on speaking to you. She said you''re in danger and she couldn''t speak of it before arriving here for fear of being overheard," the merman who brought her here explained. Prince Zale raised an eyebrow. "And you believed her?" "She said you knew her and had sent her a present. She was very insistent. And she had come from the direction of the main palace so I assume she overheard something important." Interest glimmered in those cold yellow eyes before it vanished back behind what she now believed was nothing but the pleasant mask of a simpleton. He had returned to his old light, affected tone as well. "Is that so? Forgive my rudeness, Lady Aila. I wasn''t expecting you. What is this you overheard?" Aila had thought there was more to the third prince than met the eye but was getting much more than she bargained for by coming here. He was a skilled fighter¡ªperhaps the most skilled she had ever seen¡ªand could flip his personality like a switch. Which meant that he was far more calculating than he appeared. Her earlier suspicion that he had been raising awareness about the problem with surface items was seeming more and more likely to be correct. "Forgive me for disturbing you, Your Highness," Aila said with a respectful nod of her head. "I overheard something terrible and had no one else to turn to." "What exactly did you overhear?" Prince Zale asked airily, as if he couldn''t care in the slightest. It was too late to keep that charade up. She already knew he wanted to know what she had heard. What was the point of continuing to pretend now? She truly didn''t understand him but answered his question anyway, wondering if she had made a terrible mistake by coming here. He and the merking were the ones in danger and of the two of them she had thought that he was less dangerous. Now she wasn''t so sure. He was unpredictable and unpredictability could be dangerous too. "The merqueen and crown prince intend to poison the merking and blame it on you so they can execute you for treason," Aila said nervously. "I am unsure if there is anything you can do to stop them but I felt you ought to know." All of the merman in the training area gaped at her. Did they not believe her? Or were they simply shocked by the very concept of their master being in danger? Prince Zale''s mask slipped for only a moment and he looked almost gleeful but she couldn''t be sure before it vanished again and he regarded her blankly. "Why are you telling me this?" "Because I don''t wish for you or the merking to die?" Aila said as if it should be obvious. "Hmm. It was very brave of you to come here." She wasn''t sure if that was a compliment or not because his tone was unfathomable. At the very least he didn''t seem to be angry with her. "Thank you for telling me this," Prince Zale continued, moving forward to kiss her hand as he had done the first time they met. "You shall be well rewarded for your effort, I give you my word. Are you absolutely certain that no one saw you?" "Fairly certain," Aila said, though she couldn''t be completely sure. "That isn''t good enough. Nerio! You are not to leave Lady Aila''s side until this is taken care of. Do you understand?" A blue merman with a bit of yellow on his tail and black markings on his skin nodded. "Yes. What shall I tell Lord Yuval about my presence?" "That you are a gift to the lady as a token of my favor. It will only be temporary but I expect you to guard her with your life. Do not give anyone an opportunity to strike," Prince Zale said, his mask not slipping in the slightest despite the severity of his words. "I will guard her as if she was the princess." "Thank you. Lady Aila, I am sure you have suffered a great shock. You should rest. I will call upon you once this is taken care of." "Alright," Aila said, a bit startled that he was taking her warning seriously enough to send one of his mermen to guard her.. She supposed it was his way of thanking her for potentially saving his and the merking''s lives. Chapter 58 - How Nice Would It Be? Aila was confused by Nerio''s referencing the princess. Wasn''t the princess dead? That seemed an insensitive thing to say to her grieving brother even if the two of them weren''t rumored to be particularly close. She remained confused as Nerio escorted her back to the main palace garden where she was supposed to be waiting this whole time. Thankfully, her father''s meeting was just finishing up when she arrived. Her absence had not been noted. Yuval seemed frustrated when he left the throne room but that turned into surprise when he saw who was with her. "Who is this?" "Sir Nerio of the coral palace. Prince Zale has gifted him to me as a sign of his favor," Aila said, repeating what she had heard earlier. "We bumped into each other here while you were in your meeting." "¡­what did you talk about to receive such a gift?" "Not much," Aila lied. Yuval frowned but could not refuse a gift from a prince. Even if it was one with a not-so-great reputation. "I see. Thank you for accompanying my daughter, Sir Nerio. I will be sure to send an official thank you to Prince Zale at a later date." Nerio nodded before silently following them back to her family''s estate. Her mother was similarly confused and worried by the present but didn''t realize exactly how worried she should be. Her daughter had gotten involved in something she was never supposed to be a part of. That night when she was left alone with Nerio guarding her bedroom door she called out to him softly in the hopes that no one else would overhear. She was bursting with questions and he might have answers. "Sir Nerio?" He answered immediately. "What is it, my lady?" "I¡­" How to phrase this? "Have you worked for Prince Zale long?" It wasn''t exactly what she had wanted to ask but she had to start somewhere. Maybe this would soften him up a bit. "Nearly a century. Why do you ask?" "I was wondering how well you knew him. He is quite skilled with a spear," Aila said, fishing for information. "I doubt there is a merman alive who could beat him," Nerio said proudly before frowning. "But you can''t tell anyone about what you saw today." So she was right. His entire public persona was a carefully constructed act. But why? What purpose did acting a fool serve if he was as talented as that? What exactly was he planning? "I won''t." Aila had no reason to out him. He had been doing this for centuries; no one would do that without due cause. Didn''t it get tiring pretending all the time? What was Prince Zale truly like? Based on what she had seen earlier, all she could say for sure was that he was strong and shared a close bond with his men since they addressed each other casually. The rest of his behavior had been harder to make sense of. "Are you really going to be here until the danger has passed?" Aila asked. "It is what my prince commanded of me," Nerio said stoutly. "And what you said about the princess?" "The princess is his most precious treasure. It was a reassurance on my part that you were in safe hands." Is not was. Why wasn''t he speaking of the princess in the past tense when she was dead? Aila felt like she was missing something but she doubted Nerio would tell her if she asked. "I see," she said lamely. "You are dismissed, Nerio. Thank you for your service." The merman bowed before heading out to resume his post. She headed to bed with more questions and answers. What kind of merman was Prince Zale? And what could he even do about the threat to the merking? He was a strong fighter but he couldn''t attack the merqueen or crown prince without evidence or he would get in trouble. Aila supposed she would have to wait and see. She had never been particularly fond of waiting. === Zale couldn''t believe the solution to all of his problems fell right into his lap. It had been over a year since he received Talori''s message and he had been beginning to lose hope that his plan would work any time soon when he was approached by Lady Aila, claiming he was in danger. He had been momentarily horrified that Aeces had been stupid enough to bring an outsider somewhere the real him could be seen until he realized the wonderful opportunity he had been presented with. He did wish he had collected himself in time though. She was likely confused by him going back and forth between his true persona and the soft and silly one she had seen at parties despite the two of them hardly interacting after that first time since he had other nobles to expose his jewelry to. She had certainly seemed frightened when they first locked eyes. Zale would have to make it up to her later. If this worked out the way he hoped it did, he would give her anything she wanted within reason. She would have more than earned it. "This worked out surprisingly well for you," Beck remarked as they watched Nerio and Aila leave. He grinned maliciously. "Indeed it did. I don''t have to kill the merking at all because they''ll do it for me. All I have to do is plan my counterattack for when they try and frame me and I''ll be home free. I do hope they do it quickly so I can see Tali faster." "You will need to have your counterattack prepared before then though. Will you have enough time?" "Of course. They probably think they''ll be able to blame it on me because I''m an idiot who could have accidentally given the merking something poisonous. But even the idiot prince isn''t that stupid. "Worst case scenario, I have to simply kill them and use Lady Aila as a witness so my executing them for treason is justified. I''m sure she was only in the palace today because her father and the other nobles were meeting with the merking about the surface item problem. I overheard them talking at the last party. "As long as I follow through on cleaning up the waters surrounding our kingdom I doubt anyone will care. Merrick doesn''t have as much support as he thinks he does. The merqueen knows this, which is likely why she is choosing to strike now." "It is helpful to have a witness," Beck agreed. "And if anyone tries to stop you, you can beat them easily." "Exactly. All we truly have to do now is wait for them to attack first. My last great act might actually be fun. I can''t wait to see the looks on their faces when they realized it was all an elaborately crafted lie to outwit them," Zale said with a wicked laugh. "Seeing that woman''s head on the floor will be supremely satisfying." "Indeed. You have waited for a very long time." "Not much longer though. And then Tali will be home and we will be able to build the kind of prosperous kingdom we have always dreamed of. One where everyone feels safe." Beck clapped a hand on his shoulder. "I believe in you, Zale." "Thanks. Let''s get to work, shall we? We have much to do to prepare for the show. Aeces! Cyreus! I need you to come with me. Seaton, see to it that we have sufficient weaponry. We''re going to need it. Take Marius and Taron with you if necessary." "Understood!" Seaton replied before gesturing for the other two to follow. Everything was coming together but Zale had to prepare for every possible contingency. He couldn''t let anything go wrong here. Not with how many decades he had been working toward this. Playing the idiot. Keeping his hatred festering under the surface. Waiting for something he wasn''t sure would ever happen. After losing Talori¡ªeven if it was only supposed to be on a temporary basis¡ªhe had lost heart. He hadn''t forgotten what he was fighting for but it was incredibly frustrating continuing to get nowhere without her brightness to perk him back up. Zale would see her again soon if the merqueen didn''t decide to wait too long to enact her scheme. He would be ready and waiting whenever that was and would finally be able to live the life he wanted. How nice would it be to finally be himself outside of the coral palace and not have to scheme to survive? To simply be? He knew it wouldn''t truly be that easy since he would still have a kingdom to run but it was nice to dream. It would likely take him a while to completely shake his former reputation as the idiot prince but he was sure it would happen eventually once merfolk saw what he was doing for the kingdom. He would be a far better merking than King Ren.. He was sure of that. Chapter 59 - He Had Been Planning This Queen Nerida was a born ruler. Unfortunately, she had also been born female. The throne in the kingdom of her birth went to her younger cousin solely because he was a merman though she had been the merking''s daughter. She had never gotten over the injustice. She tried to deal with it as best she could when she had gotten married off to the crown prince of a different kingdom. She had personally ensured that he became king so she could be queen by luring sharks to attack the former merking. No one ever figured it out and Nerida felt powerful. She might not be the ruler but she was still the most powerful mermaid here. But good things aren''t meant to last. After more than a century of not giving birth concubines were brought in. One of them gave birth to a prince before she could and she was furious because her role as merqueen wouldn''t be secure if a concubine''s son sat on the throne. She needed her own son to be on the throne but didn''t give birth to one for another two centuries. It took several decades before another prince was born to a different concubine but she was less worried because that one was younger than her Merrick. The first prince had to go. He had lessons with his younger half-brothers and she took that as the perfect opportunity to get rid of him. All that had to be done was slipping poison in his food. Merrick could do that easily and no one would know what had happened because they wouldn''t suspect a child. Nerida thought all of her problems were solved then because the third prince turned out to be a useless idiot completely unworthy of competing with the newly appointed crown prince for the throne. But Zale''s mother Nahla just had to go and give birth to a second child. She was the only concubine to do so and that was bad. The merking could change who the queen was at any time depending on who he favored. If he thought that she was more capable of producing children than Nerida and decided to change things¡­ No! She couldn''t let that happen. Not after all she had done to get here. To have the life she wanted, she needed to either be the merqueen or the mother of the merking. Nahla had to go too. Accusing her of trying to bring harm to the crown prince was child''s play. She was executed for treason before she could even defend herself. Who cared about the children of a traitor? They were barely allowed to retain their royal status because of the scarcity of fae children. Zale was dumber than a rock and Talori (who had been crazy anyway) had been killed by sharks. Pinning the aging merking''s murder on Zale would be just as simple as framing his mother had been. Then all of Nerida''s worries would be behind her for good. She would be able to banish the concubines she had been competing with and rule over her son''s harem and whisper in his ear as his most trusted advisor. Nothing would be able to stop her at that point. Nerida didn''t trust any servants to do this for her. She was going to poison Ren herself. The old shark had outlived his usefulness but he trusted her. He wouldn''t even see it coming. First she had to put on a show. Talking about a gift Zale supposedly sent within earshot of the servants and royal guards would absolve her of suspicion. Since Zale was so obsessed with fashion she had obtained a necklace with a live marbled cone snail on it. They were quite toxic so the moment the merking put it on the creature living inside the shell would attack from being handled. Nerida had been very careful the entire time she prepared this necklace so she wouldn''t be struck herself. All she had to do was secure it around Ren''s neck and he would be as good as dead. "Hello, my love," she greeted as the royal guards let her into the throne room. "I come bearing a present from the third prince. He prepared this necklace himself." "Oh, did he?" Ren asked boredly. "It looks much better than that ridiculous stuff he has been parading around lately made of surface items. That has caused me a fair amount of trouble with the nobles. They''re concerned about how much is ending up in the coral reef but that isn''t any of our business." "Of course it isn''t. It is far better to use the ocean''s natural resources anyway. The jewelry is far more natural-looking that way. Allow me." She swam over and placed the necklace on him before smiling to herself. The creature would strike any moment now and it would be far too late for Ren to do anything. Merrick would become the merking and all would be right in the world. Nerida saw the exact moment the snail struck. Ren seized and flopped off of the throne. She screamed and put on her best distressed act. "Help! Help! There is something wrong with His Majesty!" The guards at the door rushed into the room and one of them immediately sent the other off to fetch a doctor. She continued shrieking about what happened to the merking and put on a rather convincing performance, if she did say so herself. This was one of her specialties. It had gotten her this far. The doctor realized the merking had been poisoned by the snail when he arrived and the guards went to arrest Zale because they thought he had delivered the present. It would all be over soon. What Nerida didn''t expect was that Zale would be smiling and in a not-at-all-idiotic way when he arrived with his wrists bound. It was rather sinister. "So this is how you finally decided to get rid of me, huh? Not your best work, Nerida." She was outraged that he dared address her without her title since she outranked him. That barely overshadowed her realization that he wasn''t speaking in his usual tone at all and that he had immediately realized what she was up to. "How dare you address me this way?" "There''s nothing I wouldn''t do when it comes to you, really," Zale said with a hard laugh. "Do you really think anyone is going to buy that I did this? That''s a marbled cone snail. Even if I had been stupid enough to pick one up and try to make jewelry out of it, I wouldn''t have known what it was and would have been poisoned myself. Whoever did this had to have handled it with utmost care." Nerida''s heart stopped. She hadn''t thought of that. How had she not thought of that?! More importantly, how HAD Zale thought of it? He was the biggest idiot in the ocean! Or¡­she thought he was. There was something different about him now compared to usual. His tone, his expression, even the way he carried himself. It was far more regal and far more intelligent. Zale had been stupid since he was a child. There was no way it had all been an act, could it? Who had the patience for that sort of long con? "He has a point," the doctor said slowly. "This was no accident." "What reason would I have to poison the merking on purpose? I''m not even next in line for the throne. Merrick is. This benefits him far more than it benefits me. And no one even saw me with the necklace. They only have your word to go off of that I had anything to do with it. "Funny, isn''t it? That''s exactly how it was with Hiro and my mother as well. Isn''t it too much of a coincidence, Nerida, that all of poisoning or attempted poisoning cases in this palace had only your word to go off of?" Zale asked. Nerida''s blood ran cold. He had known the whole time. That was why he acted the fool. To get the target off of his back so he wouldn''t go the same way. Why had she never considered that?! One of the royal guards frowned. "Another good point. That is too much of a coincidence to ignore." "Nerida didn''t have access to poor Hiro though. I''ve always thought she had Merrick do it since the three of us studied together. It would have been far easier and no one would have suspected a child," Zale added thoughtfully before shooting her a brief triumphant look. He had been planning this. How had he been planning this? Had someone ratted her out or was he able to think quickly on the spot? Nerida''s only defense at this point was her title. "Gentlemen, please! You can''t seriously believe what this traitor has to say over your own merqueen, can you?" "I''m afraid what Prince Zale says makes sense, Your Majesty. Do you have any proof you weren''t involved in this? You were the one to put the necklace on the late merking, may he rest in peace," another guard said. "I¡­this is preposterous! What proof do I need to offer? I am the merqueen! My word is absolute!" "It really isn''t," Zale said with a wicked grin. "I have proof not only that I have been in my palace without leaving for days but also that you were planning to poison someone and blame it on me.. I have an eyewitness who overheard you talking to Merrick. What do you have?" Chapter 60 - My Mother Sends Her Regards Nerida was horrified. Who was it? She would kill them! The guards both turned to Zale in disbelief. "And you really couldn''t have led with that?" "I''m afraid it slipped my mind," he said lightly. "It was quite jarring being arrested for no reason. If you''ll excuse me, I have a traitor to execute." Zale broke free of his bonds with his bare hands as if it was nothing and Nerida felt her heart race in fear. She couldn''t have come this far only to fail now! He wouldn''t really kill her, would he? No, he would. She could see it in his eyes. He had been waiting for this for a very long time. Likely since the moment he knew his mother had been framed. He had been planning this for over a century and it was finally paying off. "Prince Zale, if you knew she was going to poison the merking, you do realize that you and your eyewitness would also have committed treason," one of the guards pointed out a bit nervously. "I never said I knew she was going to poison the merking. I said I knew she was going to poison someone. How was I supposed to prevent a murder when I didn''t know who the intended victim was meant to be?" he asked with a dramatic sigh. "You can verify it with my eyewitness if you don''t believe me." The guards exchanged a glance. "We''ll need to do that before any executions take place. In the meantime I''m afraid we''ll have to take you, the merqueen, and the crown prince into custody." "Fine by me. The truth will come out soon." "Who is your witness?" one of them asked. "I''m afraid I can''t tell you that where this one could overhear. It might put them in danger," Zale said firmly. "Take her away first and I can whisper it to you." "That works. Take her away!" Nerida''s whole world came crashing down around her. "No. No, you can''t! You can''t do this to me! I''m the merqueen! And Merrick¡­Merrick has done nothing wrong so leave him out of this!" She may have been using her son but he was still her blood. He needed to get out of this unscathed even if she didn''t. Zale whispered where his informant could be found to one of the guards and he sighed. "Can you get back in your bonds? You really shouldn''t have broken them." "There''s no need. I intend to be perfectly cooperative. They aren''t much of an insurance anyway since I can break them again whenever I want. I prefer to be comfortable, thank you very much. They aren''t much of a fashion statement either," he replied airily with a wave of his hand. He had gone back and forth between idiot and clever this whole time and it was giving Nerida a furious sort of whiplash. She was highly tempted to try and kill him right now with her bare hands but he was clearly much more skilled than he looked considering what he had done to his restraints. The guard sighed again. "Fine. Do what you want." A commotion could be heard up ahead where Merrick tried to take down three royal guards on his own and was actually managing fairly well. Hope swelled in Nerida''s chest. He might get out of this after all. Her hopes were dashed almost immediately when Zale swam ahead, stole a spear from one of the guards fighting him, and had Merrick on the ground with the point at his throat in less than a minute. "Think you can tie him up while I still have him here?" he asked cheerfully. The stunned guards rushed forward and did as he said before escorting all three of them to the dungeons and put them in separate cells. Cells with walls so thick they couldn''t even think of trying to talk to each other properly. But Nerida could have sworn she heard a maniacal laugh coming from Zale''s cell. This had been exactly what he wanted, hadn''t it? If there truly was an eyewitness, they were doomed and he would become the new merking. Nerida wasn''t sure how long she sat there desperately trying to think her way out of this before a guard came back to her before bringing her to the scene of the crime where the full court had been assembled to judge them. Gar, one of the late merking''s most loyal mermen, led the proceedings somberly. "We all gather here this morning due to the sudden, tragic death of our beloved merking. We will first hear from the eyewitnesses to the crime that are not suspects in the murder." The royal guards who had been outside the throne room and heard the whole thing and the doctor were up first. This already wasn''t looking good for Nerida. She did her best to continue looking composed but was beginning to crack from the pressure. Merrick was doing much worse. Zale was the only one who looked truly composed. He must have some trick at the ready to be so calm. "Next we will hear from Lady Aila. Her testimony will be backed up by Sir Nerio of the coral palace and her father Lord Yuval." "I overheard Queen Nerida speaking to Crown Prince Merrick a few weeks ago," Aila began. "She said she was planning on blaming something on Prince Zale but I wasn''t sure what until he said something about no one believing ''that idiot'' would be cunning enough to poison someone. "She said Prince Zale was stupid enough that it would be believable for him to give someone a present with poison in it by accident and that they would be able to get rid of him that way because he had been an annoyance long enough. "I had no idea who the someone they were referring to could be but because it had to do with Prince Zale I took my concerns to him immediately. He was concerned for my safety and sent one of his guards, Sir Nerio, to protect me in case the merqueen discovered I had overheard her plot." Nerida''s jaw dropped. She remembered that conversation with Merrick but she had definitely mentioned the merking as the potential victim specifically. Why was Aila lying? Had Zale put her up to this? It was true that the merman with her worked in the coral palace though. Nerida had seen him around a few times. The rest of what she said had to be the truth. Zale had known this was coming specifically and had been duly prepared. "Sir Nerio, can you back up Lady Aila''s testimony?" Gar asked. Nerio nodded. "Yes. I was there when she made her report to Prince Zale initially. What she says is correct. I have been protecting her in case someone was aware of what she overheard ever since." "Thank you. Lord Yuval?" Lord Yuval sighed. "Sir Nerio came home with us as a gift the day we went to the main palace weeks ago. I was in a meeting with the merking and several other nobles and Aila was left in the garden. She overheard what the merqueen and crown prince were talking about and went searching for Prince Zale for help. That is all I know." "The evidence is conclusive based on all of the eyewitnesses. Are there any objections to the execution of traitors to the kingdom former merqueen Nerida and former crown prince Merrick from the court?" Gar asked tiredly. No one dared make any objections since the evidence¡ªeven if some of it was false¡ªwas conclusive. Nerida had lost and she had never handled losing well. She shrieked as Zale broke free from his bonds yet again and picked up a knife. "You can''t do this to me! You can''t!" "I think you''ll find that I can. Die for your crimes against the royal family, you worthless sea slug," he growled. "You''ve caused more than enough trouble." He leaned in closer as he pressed the knife against her neck. "My mother sends her regards." Nahla. This was all because of Nahla! If she hadn''t gotten the stupid mermaid killed, off none of this would have happened. She could have found some other way to secure her throne. One that wouldn''t have ended in her death and the death of her only child. She had thought there wouldn''t be any repercussions because Talori had been too young to understand what happened and Zale had been an idiot. She had thought she had the entire ocean in her hands but her throne had been made of sand, always meant to wash away with the waves. It was her fault for being too prideful. If she had only accepted what she had and not coveted more, she wouldn''t be here right now. But it was too late for regrets. Nerida couldn''t do anything but scream as the knife slashed her neck. Her last conscious thought was that she shouldn''t have underestimated how far someone would go for revenge.. Then she choked on her own blood and knew no more. Chapter 61 - The Shrewdest Merman In The Sea Aila had been waiting to hear from Prince Zale again for weeks and didn''t until a royal guard came looking for her as a witness. It was then that she realized that he had lied. He knew the merking was going to be killed. This was his version of handling it. It was plain from her perspective that he allowed his father to be killed so he could get rid of his true enemies. That was far too cold-blooded! She shuddered at the very thought. She could never do such a thing to her own father. But she didn''t know what Prince Zale''s relationship with his father was like, what he had been through, or why he had done any of this. Did she truly have a right to judge him? Aila and Yuval had thought they were using him but it appeared that he had been using them all along. It was safer to go along with it so she could get the reward she had been promised before. Besides, if Prince Zale became the merking, he was more likely to care about the state of the ocean considering what he had been trying to do with the jewelry. The kingdom would benefit from them lying here and when she exchanged a glance with her father it was clear that he knew it too. They both had to improvise on the spot but it worked. Everyone believed them. Prince Zale was officially released and was able to perform the executions himself. Former Crown Prince Merrick struggled more than his mother had but was subdued easily with his half-brother''s skill level. There were hushed whispers all around. It seemed the nobles were shocked by the unusual behavior of the idiot prince. He didn''t look like an idiot now. He carried himself differently and spoke with authority. "Wrap their wounds so the blood doesn''t get into the water until they''re far enough away from the kingdom that the sharks coming for them won''t hurt anyone." Several royal guards bowed their heads and rushed off to do what they were told. He then addressed everyone else gathered here. "I am sure you have all suffered a great shock. I apologize on behalf of the royal family for being forced to witness such a thing. Rest assured that I will take my role as merking seriously and pay attention to all problems great and small that affect our kingdom. "I plan to work with the witches and other fae on the surface to reduce the problem of their waste ending up in our waters so we can continue to live cleanly and peacefully for centuries to come." A black and white merman floating nearby had retrieved the merking''s crown when no one was paying attention. He had the hint of a smile on his stoic face when he held it out to the new Crown Prince. It was tradition for the personal guard of the crown prince to do the crowning after the old king passed with all of the nobility present. Aila was surprised they weren''t scheduling a proper coronation but supposed everyone needed was here. That was rather efficient. Efficient and cold. "I will ever serve you, my king," the merman said before swimming upward to place the crown on Zale''s head. "I will ever serve you, my king," everyone else in the room echoed as they placed a hand on their hearts and bowed their heads, still too stunned by what happened to even protest. What could they protest though? The coronation may have been abrupt but Zale was the rightful merking. There was nothing anyone could do at this point but try and process what had happened. "Raise your heads, my subjects," Zale said regally. "We will now proceed to the cemetery to send off the late King Ren properly." Everyone followed, still whispering madly but not daring to do anything more. The somberness of the funeral was tempered only by the shock that remained over the crowd. Aila didn''t know what she was supposed to do or say. She had yet to figure out how to react when she and her father were summoned by the new merking. She didn''t know what she was supposed to say to him either because he hadn''t been aware of what had happened that day in the main palace until he heard her testimony. All he had done was rather brilliantly back her up without prompting. She was sure she was in for a world of trouble later. Suddenly the only merfolk in the throne room were the three of them and that merman from before who had to be King Zale''s personal guard. Other guards remained outside the doors. "Thank you for your assistance today," he said quite formally. "I wish to bestow the highest honor I can in return for your help." "I am honored, Your Majesty," Yuval replied. "Indeed," Aila added with a nod. What was the highest honor he could bestow in return for their help? They already had one of the grandest estates in the kingdom. She couldn''t think of anything else that could be better. "Lady Aila, I owe you more than I could ever repay. The best I can do is giving you the most prestigious title in the kingdom after my own. I wish to take you as my queen," the merking said in such a way that she nearly choked. Her, the merqueen?! No way! She had only talked to him three times and she had absolutely no idea what he was truly like aside from being cunning and cold. She didn''t want to marry him! But there was no refusing royalty. This was more like a punishment than a reward! "I am honored by your offer, my king," Aila managed to get out demurely. "But surely there is someone more suitable than I to be merqueen? I am barely out in society." "Nonsense. I need someone like you," he said dismissively. Someone like her? What, someone willing to lie for him? What on earth was going through that merman''s head?! "I''m flattered," she lied. "We are both incredibly flattered, Your Majesty," Yuval said faintly. "When shall this happy event take place?" "As soon as a special guest of mine manages to make it back home. It shouldn''t be more than a few weeks now. The preparations should be able to be taken care of by then, if you have no objections." Aila had a lot of objections but could voice none of them. She and her father spoke in unison as they bowed again. "Yes, Your Majesty." When the black and white merman showed them out Aila slumped over. She was done for. Absolutely done for! She had never wanted to be the merqueen! She knew as a noble it was her prerogative to marry for the advantage of her house but she never expected anything like this. Neither of them spoke until they were back at their estate and all of the servants had been dismissed. Her father seemed too stunned to put all of his thoughts into words. "What just happened?" he asked faintly. Aila let out a slightly hysterical laugh. "I was proposed to by the shrewdest merman in the sea. I thought there was more to him than met the eye but never would have anticipated this." "What, that everything we all saw for centuries was an act? How did you guess?" "The jewelry. He had an agenda with it. He was trying to get the nobility to take note of the problems with surface items ended up in the ocean by using his reputation to his advantage. Incredibly clever if you really think about it." Yuval shook his head. "Unbelievable. Why didn''t you tell me that Sir Nerio was sent here for your protection?" "What was I supposed to say?" Aila asked helplessly. "I overheard there would be a murder plot! You never would have believed me and I was too afraid to say anything regardless. Thank you for backing me up in there, by the way." "Of course. Having a clever monarch is better than having none and everything falling into chaos. Even if I don''t approve of his methods. I''m not even going to ask for details about what actually happened because I don''t want to know. Never speak of them to anyone if you know what is good for you." She hadn''t been planning to. The terrible thing was that her father suspected what King Zale had done but had to send her off to him anyway. Considering all of the death due to the former merqueen''s schemes, the palace seemed like a terrible place to be. But Yuval didn''t have a choice if he didn''t want to be executed for treason himself. What the merking wanted, the merking got. Aila knew why he wanted her. To keep her mouth shut. He would give her the most prestigious title and any material item she wanted in exchange for being able to keep a close eye on her and make sure she didn''t betray him. What was her life going to be like from here on out? Eventually she would have to share her space with other concubines. Hadn''t harem infighting been what drove Nerida to commit her terrible deeds? She would never do something like that but there was no guarantee no one else would do it against her.. She was doomed. Chapter 62 - Far Sooner Than Expected Zale''s sense of satisfaction at finally killing his enemies after so many decades of waiting was overshadowed only by how much he had to do and how excited he was to see his little sister again. He had a lot on his mind and wasn''t quite sure where to start. He had been prepared for anything Nerida might throw at him but couldn''t believe how stupid she actually was in the end. He talked his way out of that one far too easily. He couldn''t have done it without Aila and her father though. He acted nonchalant despite internally panicking because they could very easily expose him. Thankfully, they had known it wasn''t in their best interest to do so and backed him up. That was the only rough spot to this whole ordeal. The rest had gone rather smoothly. Zale would never stop owing the two of them so he decided to spear two fish at once. Beck had nagged him about needing to start growing his harem before. That was the last thing he wanted to deal with because harem issues were the reason his mother was dead but he supposed he did need at least a merqueen. Unfortunately. He had never been interested in romance. There had been far too much for him to do. There still was but it was his duty and obligation to produce an heir so he didn''t exactly have a choice. Aila had really helped him out and there was no greater honor he could bestow on her or her house. He was just going to have to deal with it. But not yet. He needed to worry about getting Talori home first. He couldn''t possibly get married without her here and it had already been far too long since he had seen her. Zale was lucky that the usual quarterly visit with the witches was already scheduled for a couple of weeks out. It was the only way they had to get in contact with them so it couldn''t be done sooner. He would have to send Beck instead of Gar this time around. There was no one he trusted more to bring his precious sister home. His personal guard would be able to explain the situation in case none of the witches present knew about Talori. He wasn''t sure if they were all in on it or if he had been fortunate that someone in the know had received his magic item request. Gar wouldn''t be the liaison from here on out anyway. That job would go to someone with far more experience who had a personal connection to the fae they would be dealing with and was actually passionate about it. Talori would do a great job. Zale had no doubt about that. He sighed and rubbed his forehead as he looked over at his friend. "Beck, we have a lot to do." "Indeed. I wasn''t expecting you to propose marriage so quickly but I agree that Lady Aila is the best candidate, all things considering." "I wasn''t even thinking about that part. I was thinking about how we''re going to get this kingdom into shape and set up proper communications with the surface-dwellers. That''s even worse." "You were the one who wanted to be merking," Beck reminded him. "Only because I had no other choice. You know that." "I do. But what is done is done. I will be by your side until the end so tell me what you need me to do." Zale had to think about it. There was so much to do that it was difficult to narrow down what needed to be done first. But it came to him before long. As the new merking he needed to be fully aware of the state of affairs. "Bring Hali here. He should know the current state of the kingdom better than anyone and I need to be informed." Beck nodded before swimming off. As usual, Zale was incredibly grateful to have him by his side. He wouldn''t have been able to do this without him. Or any of his mermen, really, but Beck had been working on this with him the longest. Either he or Talori would be the proudest of him for accomplishing what he had been working toward for so long. Honestly, it might be tied once she found out. He wished he didn''t have so much to do but it would be much easier once he got the hang of things and had her back to help him out as well. She could handle most of the issues with the surface for him and that would take a lot of the burden from his shoulders. Sweet Talori. Had her time on the surface changed her? He supposed he would find out. It was hard to believe she had been away from home for more than a year and a half now. A blink of the eye in the life of a fae but still far longer than the two of them had ever been apart. Had she been doing okay all this time? What all had she learned? How many surface items had she inevitably collected to show him? He would find out soon but not soon enough. He had missed her terribly while she was gone. Zale did all of this for her. So the two of them could be themselves and live outside of the cage of the coral palace. He hoped wherever their mother was that she was able to see this. She could finally rest in peace now that she had been avenged. Talori would be able to do so much more with herself now that she wouldn''t have to hide away. She would be able to shine the way she was always meant to. She would thrive in her role as surface liaison and would possibly be able to make some friends once she had the chance to meet more merfolk. She might be able to fall in love too since he would never dare arrange a marriage for her. That burden fell to him. She deserved better. The merman in question would have to be deemed worthy of her, of course. He wouldn''t have anyone latching onto her solely because she was a princess. She was far too na?ve after growing up so sheltered and likely wouldn''t be able to discern such things for herself. She didn''t have much experience with other merfolk. The only ones she interacted with regularly had worked in the coral palace. She wasn''t close to any nobles since she only saw them at events when she was putting on the crazy act to survive. Zale had to work to change his reputation but so did Talori. They both had a long way to go in the eyes of their subjects but they would get there. Actions spoke louder than words. They were going to do their best to improve things around here far more than King Ren ever had. Merfolk would see that eventually. === Harmony was freaking out. She had found out she was pregnant only a few hours earlier and was in a state of total disbelief. How? How had it happened this soon? She had never heard of ANYONE conceiving a child less than seventy years into a relationship. She had thought she had more time! This would be the end of things. She wasn''t ready. Since Castian had moved in their relationship had changed quite a bit and she didn''t want to go back to the way things were before she had met him. It wasn''t that she was worried about being lonely. There would always be plenty for her to do. The problem was that she would miss him specifically. She had never thought something like that would happen. Harmony preferred his company above all others and it wasn''t because she had gotten used to him or anything. It was because she genuinely liked him. Castian wasn''t funny in the traditional sense. It was his reactions to things he wasn''t used to that made her laugh. For such a regal fae, he got flustered rather easily at times. He was fun to tease. That wasn''t all though. He was incredibly smart and insightful. She never ran out of things to talk about with him and it wasn''t in the same way she talked to Brennan either. It was hard to explain, really. Harmony liked talking to him as they ate meals and looking over to see him reading with a look of determined concentration on his face when he had homework to do and she was working on some experiment or other. She liked going out and doing activities with him too and having him occasionally cook for her since she practically lived off takeout. It had been stupid of her to become friends with her elf. Because now things were going to change. Their transaction had been completed far sooner than expected. When everyone found out she was pregnant they would expect the two of them to part ways.. That was how things worked. Chapter 63 - When Are You Going To Be Here? Castian would expect it too. That was always the agreement between the two of them. But would he really want that? He seemed to enjoy whatever strange relationship they had. He wouldn''t really want to say goodbye, would he? Harmony had wondered before if he liked her as a woman before dismissing the thought as crazy. That wasn''t possible since they were two different races of fae. Their relationship was entirely transactional, even if they were friendlier with each other than they had been for the first two decades of it. Even if they remained friends, things would be different than before. They wouldn''t need to sleep together so there would be no reason to continue living in the same apartment. Dread filled the pit of her stomach. He had long since become her sleeping pill. How would she be able to sleep without him? Continuing on the way they had been would be impossible even if they did stay in contact. Their business together was done. She was going to lose him one way or another and the thought sent her into a panic. Harmony could put this off, couldn''t she? Fae pregnancies lasted three years. She wouldn''t even start to show for another year. She was the only one who knew she was pregnant. She didn''t have to deal with this now¡­but then she would have to explain herself later and it would be totally embarrassing. Oh, what was she even supposed to do about this?! She needed a distraction right now so she volunteered to go with Hester, who knew how to drive the boat, for the quarterly meetup with the mermaid liaison. She couldn''t let Castian know what she was thinking and that was easier to do if she wasn''t around him. Going that far out to sea and back would take most of the day. If she was lucky, she wouldn''t have to see him at all before he went to sleep. She really hoped that was the case because she didn''t know how to face him when she was aware she was carrying his child. Harmony was distracted the whole boat ride to the prearranged meeting place but she did her best to hold up her end of the conversation with Hester. When they arrived she finally managed to get her mind off of Castian and the issue she was facing because the merman waiting for them was unfamiliar. In all the years she had been doing this they always sent the same one. Something had changed. Had Zale managed to seize the throne after all? Hester seemed similarly surprised. "What happened to Gar?" "Gar is no longer the liaison." "Okay then. Who are you?" "Beck." The two witches exchanged a glance. That didn''t give them very much information. Was he the new liaison or what? Harmony was the first to gather her wits about her. She didn''t want to give her friend away if this merman wasn''t working with Talori''s brother since everyone thought she was dead. It was within her best interest to act like this transaction was normal while she figured something else out. "Alright, Beck. Do you have the goods?" Beck silently handed over a container filled with vials of merfolk tears. He hesitated a moment after doing so before speaking. "Were either of you involved in creating that magic item for the prince?" Technically, Arietta had been the one to make it but Hester and Harmony were both aware of what it did. The former blurted, "Are you looking for the princess then?" The stoic merman nodded. "I have been tasked to see her safely home by the new merking." "Ooh, she''s going to be so excited!" Harmony squealed. "I''ll have to call her as soon as we have service again. We''re kind of in the middle of nowhere. Do you mind coming aboard? It is safer for you than swimming through boat-infested waters." Rather than answering with words, Beck began climbing the ladder on the side of the boat without prompting and hoisted himself onto the deck. He stuck out like a sore thumb and they would need him to look human when they got closer to shore. She had taught Talori to use a glamour so she should be able to teach him too. "Hey, you''re going to need to look human. I can teach you how to do it like I taught Talori," Harmony offered. "Thank you," Beck said simply. He caught on as quickly as Talori had so it seemed he too had a great capacity for magic. Harmony and Hester both tried asking him a million questions about it but he shut them down with one- to two-word answers the whole time. This guy wasn''t very talkative, was he? Did Talori know him? She must if he worked with her brother. Beck''s glamour hid his tail, turned his stark white skin a pale but believable human shade, got rid of the stripes on his face, and made his long black hair look short the same way elf and vampire hair did. It still looked weird that he was sitting on the deck though so they suggested he move to a chair and he did so himself by dragging himself along the deck rather than asking for help. Talori hadn''t been too ashamed to ask for help maneuvering herself without the use of legs. Then again, her personality was about as different from this merman''s as possible. Harmony called her as soon as they were back in range and put her on speaker. "Hey, Talori. I have some great news for you!" "What is it?" she asked eagerly. "Do you happen to know a merman called Beck?" A high-pitched happy squeal sounded through the phone. "No way! Beck is there? That has to mean Zale did it! Put him on!" "You''re on speaker," Harmony told her. "Hello, Princess," Beck added. "Oh, it''s SO good to hear from you! I was starting to think the day would never come. How''s Zale? What ended up happening? Is everything taken care of?" "Zale is fine. It is a long story but he is the merking now. I am sure he would be able to tell it better." That was the most Harmony had heard him say at once. Definitely a fae of few words, even more so than Castian. Who she had miraculously managed not to think about from the moment she first saw Beck until now. "Did he get hurt?" Talori fretted. "No." "Oh good! When are you going to be here? I need to know so I can pack and be ready to go." Beck looked to Harmony since he didn''t know and she ended up explaining. "Maybe an hour and a half? Is Brennan around to help? If he isn''t, I can send over Piper or somebody to make things go faster." "He is. He can help me!" The line went quiet for a moment as Talori held it away from her ear to talk to him. "He wants to know if you''ll be at the same marina as last time." "We will." "Great! We''ll see you soon!" The call ended then and Harmony''s smile at her friend''s good fortune fell as she thought of something. Brennan. How was he going to react to all of this? She had worried about him having to eventually part with Talori before and that was over a year ago. He had a lot of time since then to get more used to having her around. He was going to be lonely as soon as she left, wasn''t he? She had the terrible thought that when things didn''t work out between her and Castian that the two of them could hang out every day to try and fill the voids left behind in them both. She really didn''t want to think about that. One thing at a time. "Who is Brennan?" Beck asked, startling her. Harmony didn''t know how much he knew about the situation so she decided to be thorough. "He''s the water fairy Talori has been staying with all this time." "I see." He went silent again after that and didn''t speak until they arrived at the marina and could see Brennan lift Talori out of her wheelchair because the dock was too rickety for it to be pushed across. She waved enthusiastically with a huge grin on her face. "Beck! Over here!" The fairy couldn''t do the easy thing and fly her over the edge of the boat because there were humans around so he very carefully brought her aboard the hard way and set her down next to where Beck was sitting. His sharp gaze looked her over thoroughly as if assessing for injuries. "Are you well, Princess?" "Oh, I''m great! I can''t wait to show Zale all of the stuff I got up here," Talori said eagerly before turning to her friend. "Brennan, can you bring the suitcases?" "On it," he said. "Harmony, Hester, can you help me? There are a lot of them." Brennan wasn''t exaggerating. There were no less than half a dozen trunks full of things. That was smart.. Trunks wouldn''t have as much difficulty opening and closing underwater as zippers. Chapter 64 - You Must Be Happy About Going Home Those present with legs loaded all of the luggage aboard and stuck it below deck where it was less likely to accidentally slide around causing problems. Harmony frowned worriedly at the blank look on Brennan''s face. What was he actually thinking about all of this? She hadn''t expected him to come with them but he insisted. "They aren''t going to be able to carry all of those trunks themselves and I need to touch base with Zale since I fulfilled my end of the deal. Can you guys wait for me to come back?" "That is King Zale to you," Beck said coolly. "¡­sorry. Talori always refers to him that way so I thought¡ª" "It''s fine! Zale wouldn''t care," Talori cut in. "He has already met Brennan. Don''t worry about it, Beck. He means no disrespect." The merman didn''t seem entirely convinced but let the matter drop. Good. She hadn''t wanted a fight to break out or anything like that. It was a small boat. With that little issue out of the way, Harmony was able to answer the question. That wouldn''t be a problem. In fact, preventing her from going home right now worked out in her favor. "Sure thing." "Thanks," Brennan said with a tiny smile. What was he thinking about all of this? He had originally taken Talori in because he wanted the opportunity to work with her brother on ocean conservation but he had to have grown attached. Would he really be okay sending her back and only seeing her every few months with no way to contact her in between? Harmony should really get to work on trying to create some sort of long-distance magic communication device that would work even underwater. That would make setting up future meetings with the merfolk much easier. Not long after they left the marina, Harmony''s phone rang. Oh no. Castian. He was probably wondering why she wasn''t back yet. Talking to him on the phone would only take a few minutes. She just had to say her business. That was all. She would be fine! At least that was what she tried to tell herself. All she had to do was stay calm. "Hey, Castian," she said casually when she answered. "Things are going to take longer than expected because Talori''s brother sent someone to pick her up. We just left the marina with her and her stuff. I''m not sure when I''m going to be home because Brennan needs to go with her to speak with the merking but I''ll text you when I''m back in a service zone, okay?" Harmony could almost see him frowning based on his tone. "Do you have enough food on the boat to last you until you''re back?" "There are snacks and microwave meals below deck. We''ll be fine!" "Alright. Be sure to pass on my well wishes to Talori. I''m glad she''s finally able to go home." "I will. Talk to you later!" "Take care, Harmony," Castian said before ending the call. She sighed. At least that was over with and she most likely wouldn''t have to face him for another couple of days. Harmony looked up at Talori, who had been listening curiously once she heard her name. "Castian says he''s glad you''re finally able to go home." "Aww, that''s sweet of him. I wish I''d been able to say goodbye. But since he''s part of the think tank I will see him again, right? Once we figure out how all of us are going to be able to meet." She hadn''t thought of that. She really needed to get working on those magical communication devices as soon as she got back to shore. She had gotten sidetracked by a million other things on her project list since she had thought Talori would be staying on land indefinitely. Considering they had been expecting this outcome from the start, it had really snuck up on them. Harmony was blindsided enough so she couldn''t imagine how Brennan must be feeling. Talori seemed thrilled to be going home¡ªshe had been terribly homesick on and off the whole time¡ªbut would she miss being on the surface at all? Harmony supposed only time would tell. She belonged in the ocean. She could move around freely there and didn''t have to worry about dehydrating. But she had seemed to really love certain things about being on the surface that they didn''t have where she was from. Talori was attached to Brennan too so how was she going to react to being apart? Would she be too busy working with her brother to notice or would she miss him as much as Harmony suspected he was going to miss her? None of them had ever really planned for this moment, thinking they would cross that bridge when they got to it. Well, they had gotten to it. She only hoped they were prepared to cross it. === Talori couldn''t believe she was finally going home. It all felt like a dream! Hearing Beck''s voice on the phone had brought her to tears. He might not talk much but he was someone familiar from home. She knew his voice nearly as well as she knew Zale''s. Of course her brother would send the fae he trusted most to bring her home. That was just like him. She wanted to know everything he had been up to while she was gone but Beck was as frustratingly close-lipped as ever, saying he would be able to explain it better. But she wanted to know now! Her curiosity drove her crazy the whole time she and Brennan were packing all of her things. How had Zale pulled it off? What were things going to be like when she made it back home? How were things going to work out with the surface-dweller think tank? Talori was grateful her friend was coming along with her to discuss things with her brother because he was much smarter than she was. Plus she hadn''t been ready to say goodbye to him without properly preparing herself. Brennan had been a lifesaver the whole time she was away from home and she would never stop owing him for that. He had been so kind and fun and good at cheering her up when she was homesick. As excited as she was to go home, it would be strange not seeing him every day anymore. Her entire routine would be changing yet again. This would be a good thing though! She would finally have more to do than sit around making jewelry and watching her brother and his mermen spar. She would be helping manage palace affairs since he was unmarried on top of being the new liaison. They had so much to talk about that Talori didn''t even know where to start. She had known her brother was brilliant and would be able to reach his goal sooner or later but she really wanted to know exactly how it had happened. She was so excited she thought she might burst and ended up chatting rather rapidly with anyone who would listen about her plans once she got back home. Beck was clearly listening but said nothing, which was typical for him. She ended up talking primarily to Brennan and Harmony since Hester was driving. When they arrived at the designated meeting spot each of the three fae heading down took two trunks. Talori and Beck floated there with theirs while Brennan addressed the witches. "I''m not sure when I''ll be back but it shouldn''t be more than a couple of days tops. Don''t leave me behind, okay?" "Like I would," Harmony sniffed, slightly offended. "Seriously though, tell me everything when you get back. I need to know how to reprioritize my project list." "Me too!" Hester agreed. "I will." "Bye, guys! Thanks for everything!" Talori called up to them. "I''ll see you soonish!" They both nodded. "Bye, Talori!" Brennan jumped into the water with his own trunks and cast the spell that made a bubble appear around his head so he could breathe before following Talori and Beck since he didn''t know where he was going. It had been a long time since she had seen him do that. This still felt surreal. She was back in the ocean for the first time in more than a year and a half and it felt so wonderful. She was almost home! "Can you believe we''re almost there?" Talori asked excitedly. "Not really. Sometimes I wondered if you''d be staying with me forever," Brennan remarked. "You must be happy about going home after being away for so long." "Of course I am! I''ve missed Zale like crazy." "I know you have." Talori ended up going on about all the things she wanted to tell him all the way back to the kingdom. When it came into sight she cried again. Home! She was finally, finally home! As they got closer to the palace, Beck found servants to take the trunks back to Talori''s room. Zale might be the merking now and would be staying in the main palace but her place was still in the coral palace. She was relieved because that way she could go straight to see her brother. They passed several merfolk that seemed shocked to see her and Brennan because they had never seen a fairy before. He looked like his usual self now aside from his wings still being glamoured. "Wasn''t the princess dead?" "What is that thing with her? It doesn''t quite look human but¡­" "What is going on?" Chapter 65 - You Did It! Talori ignored all of it, determined to make it to the throne room where someone had told Beck her brother was when he asked. When she arrived Cyreus and Nerio were guarding the door and they seemed very happy to see her. "Go right in, Princess! Zale is expecting you," Nerio said with a smile. Talori burst the doors open and her heart leapt in her chest at the sight of her brother. His brooding expression changed in an instant when he saw her. "Tali!" Zale swam over as quickly as he could and took her by the arms to spin her around, making her laugh in delight. He then put his hands on her shoulders and touched his forehead against hers. "I missed you more than I can say," he said thickly. "Me too," Talori told him as tears poured from her eyes despite her grin. "You did it, Zale! I knew you could. I''m so proud of you." He let go and tapped his tail against her back as he grinned at her. "Thanks." "You''re going to have to tell me all about it but not right now because Brennan needs to talk to you." Talori''s curiosity was going to have to wait. It wouldn''t be polite to make her friends wait longer than necessary to go home. She had time. Now that she was reunited with her brother, she had all the time in the world. Zale looked up and only just realized that there were others in the room. He didn''t seem the slightest bit embarrassed though because one was Beck and the other had already seen him have an emotional parting with her before. He got straight to business. "You have kept your word, water fairy. I owe you much." "That''s what I''m here to discuss. A few of my friends and I have formed a think tank regarding the problem of pollution and ocean conservation. I have fulfilled my part of the bargain so now it is your turn to fulfil yours and work with us," Brennan said. "Though I''m not quite sure how to make that happen at the moment since we have the distance and communication issue to contend with." "I''m sure Harmony and the other witches will be happy to develop magic items that will help with that but I don''t know how long that will take," Talori added. Zale mulled this over. "I see. We could plan on the usual quarterly meetup to hand over the tears we collect for now. Perhaps some sort of solution will have been reached by then. Do you think three months will be enough?" "It should be if the whole coven drops what they''re doing to work on it. At the very least for them to create some sort of communication device so we can set up future meetings more easily." Brennan didn''t seem concerned about the time frame. Of course. He knew the witches'' capabilities well after being friends with one for so long. "Very well. Beck, go find someone to prepare a guest room for the surface-dweller liaison. He can rest here for the night and return in the morning. It is a long swim for someone without a tail," Zale said. Beck nodded before going to do as he was told. Brennan seemed grateful for this and was sure to thank him but Zale brushed it off. "It is the least I can do. Now, I would like to speak to you more about whatever ideas you already have since you are here. The problem has only been growing worse in the time since I last saw you." "Unfortunately, most of what needs to be done is up to the humans," Brennan said ruefully. "But I know of several elves who are working on trying to find a way around that. They are rich so they have some degree of influence in the human world." "And what are they working on exactly?" Talori had already heard all of this since Castian and Brennan discussed it nearly every time they saw each other but she could tell her brother was both fascinated and impressed, though she doubted her friend would be able to see it. He didn''t know Zale well enough for that. They continued talking with Talori occasionally contributing her input until it grew dark. Zale seemed reluctant to end the conversation. "It is late. I am sure you are weary from your travels. I will have someone show you to your room and bring you something to eat. Tali, you should sleep too. We have much to do tomorrow." Talori didn''t want to go to bed but she was tired. And there was a lot for her to learn about how to keep the palace running after Brennan left so she did need her rest. She left after wishing them both goodnight. It was strange being back in her room. Nothing in it had changed but she had changed so much from her time on the surface. She settled into her bed and forced herself to close her eyes. This was a lot more comfortable than Brennan''s bathtub had been. With that thought in her head, she drifted off to sleep. The next morning she was woken by a knock on the door. "Princess? I have your breakfast." Talori bolted upright. Marlowe! When the door opened the servant seemed incredibly relieved to see her. "Oh, I knew King Zale had sent you somewhere safe but I couldn''t quite believe it without seeing you for myself. It is wonderful to have you home, Your Highness." Talori smiled at her as she accepted the plate of sea grapes. "Thanks, Marlowe. It''s great to be back." She sighed contentedly as she took a bite of the sea grapes, which had been her favorite food before she went to the surface. They had some truly delicious things up there but this was familiar and she had missed it. "What is on my schedule for the day?" she asked when she finished her breakfast. "The merking wants you to meet with him and the surface liaison before he leaves. Sir Seaton will escort you," Marlowe informed her. "Good to know." Talori followed Seaton, who was waiting outside the room, and discovered that not only were Zale and Brennan in the throne room but Gar was too. He must have been chosen to escort the fairy back since he knew where the meeting spot was. Her brother smiled when he saw her. "Good morning, Tali. We were about to send Brennan off. Then I have a little time for you to show me some of the things you brought back before I have a meeting." Talori smiled back. She had been looking forward to that. Even if she had to do it in snatches because he was busy. "Great! Be warned, I have a lot to show you." "She brought six trunks full of things back and couldn''t even bring everything because it wasn''t all waterproof," Brennan pitched in with a laugh. Talori rolled her eyes at him. "And as soon as Harmony figures out how to waterproof them I''ll have more!" "Naturally." His smile dropped. "I do need to get back to them because it''s a long swim. I wish I could have stayed longer. Maybe I can next time since I''m the official surface liaison now and the only non-merfolk fae I know of capable of surviving underwater long term." "That would be really nice. Take care of yourself, Brennan. Be sure to tell everyone I said goodbye for me." "I will. Good luck with everything down here." They both stared at each other for a moment, unsure what to do, before he swam forward and hugged her. "I''m glad you got what you wanted, Talori. See you in a few months." "Yeah," Talori replied around the lump in her throat. "See you then." Brennan thanked Zale once more for his hospitality and waved before swimming off with Gar. Just like that, he was gone. Her brother came up next to her and set a hand on her shoulder. "Come on, Tali. I want to see what you brought back and hear more about what living on the surface was like. I''m sure you have a lot to tell me." Talori''s momentary feeling of being bereft vanished as the excitement bubbled over. "Oh, do I! They have so many THINGS up there, Zale! It was truly incredible what technology the humans have come up with and how the witches managed to mix it together with magic to their best advantage. I saw things I don''t even know how to describe but I''m going to do my best by showing you pictures of them with my waterproof camera¡­" She told him as much as she could all the way to the coral palace before taking things out of her trunks that she had already mentioned so he would properly know what they were.. He was as interested in them as she had thought he would be. Chapter 66 - Concubine?! Unfortunately, Talori didn''t have as much time as she would have anticipated to tell her brother about everything that she had learned. He was far busier now than he had been before since he was dealing with all of the handover problems still. On top of that, he had to deal with planning his wedding. Since when was he getting married?! "I may not like it but I do need an heir, Tali," Zale sighed when she confronted him about it. "Aila played a vital role in deposing Nerida and Merrick and I figured this was the best way to take care of two problems at once." That was so clinical. Which was, admittedly, a very Zale thing to do but still¡­ "You really couldn''t think of a better way to reward her than making her your wife? Do you even know her?" Talori demanded. "I don''t ''know'' anyone aside from you and my mermen," Zale pointed out. "Not truly. She is like any other noble with one major difference: the fact that she was willing to help me out. Lying to the court for me wasn''t the only way she did that." "What else did she do then?" "Whether it was intentional or not, she did help the pollution jewelry trend take off to the point that it caught the attention of several influential nobles. That helped put all of this into motion." Talori blinked in surprise. This mermaid had really helped get his plans rolling, hadn''t she? No wonder he wanted to make her his merqueen. Zale never kept anyone around if they weren''t useful. She was the only exception to that rule that she was aware of. He may seem cold but he was actually very loyal to his merfolk once they were in his inner circle. She had no doubt that he would take very good care of his new wife¡­even if it was from a distance. She could only hope that they would come to love each other in time. Talori knew that arranged marriages were a standard part of being royalty but had spent most of her life avoiding one. Her brother wasn''t the same. He knew his duty and there was no avoiding it. She didn''t have the same pressure on her to have children as he did. If she never fell in love, she would never have to marry. She would be perfectly well taken care of right here in the palace as long as he was the merking. "When am I going to meet her?" Talori asked. Zale shrugged. "I believe she is coming over today to learn from the head maid about how to manage palace affairs. You will likely see her at some point." Good! She wanted to get a read on her brother''s future wife. If he thought she wasn''t like other nobles that was probably a good sign. Maybe she would want to be friends. She could certainly use more of those around here since he was so busy. "I look forward to it. In the meantime, what do you want me to do?" "Talk to Gar about the tear collection system. You''ll be in charge of that from here on out since you''re the new surface liaison. From what I gather, it''s rather extensive since there is coordination throughout the entire kingdom to maximize the amount of tears we can hand over," he told her. Talori nodded. "I can do that! Are we still on for lunch?" Zale smiled and tapped her back with his tail. "Absolutely. I need to hear more about your exploits on the surface." "Alright. Send someone to come find me then so we can eat together. Love you!" "Love you too." Talori swam off in a good mood though she was still undeniably worried about the whole merqueen business. It seemed rushed to her and she didn''t know what kind of fae this Lady Aila was. She managed to put that out of mind once she located Gar because there was so much to learn. She had to take extensive mental notes and asked plenty of questions the whole time he was explaining things. Eventually Cyreus came looking for her because it was time for her to meet with Zale for lunch as planned. This time she told him about the job she had on the surface and that ended up branching off into several different tangents. Computers, hospitals, elves, how the fae community helped each other out¡­ Zale smiled proudly at her. "You have learned a lot about our surface-dwelling counterparts. Well done, Tali." Talori beamed back. She had always wanted to be useful to her brother and now she finally had the chance. "Thank you! I tried at least. I''m sure there is still much to know since I didn''t get to interact with a couple of the fae races much. "I only met a werewolf once when they happened to come into the witch coven while Brennan and I were there and I never got to meet any vampires since they tend to live further north. I''ve met at least one of each type of fairy though because he knows all of the fairies in the area and there are some from all four elements there. "Mostly I hung out with water fairies, witches, and elves though. Water fairies are actually a lot of fun. We hung out with Brennan''s friends who live in the Everglades several times and¡­" Talori told him an amusing story involving Kyle, Wade, and Dew that had him laughing so hard he ended up leaning against her so he didn''t fall over. He didn''t stop until the voice of the head maid came from the entrance to the gardens where they were eating. "Forgive me, Your Majesty, but Lady Aila wished to speak with you regarding wedding plans." Zale straightened and cleared his throat, immediately assuming a regal air about him despite the slight blush in his cheeks. "Ah. Yes, of course. Do join us, Aila." "Thank you, Your Majesty," Lady Aila said softly, bowing her head respectfully before swimming over. "I apologize for intruding upon your time with your concubine. I will do my best to keep this brief." Talori had taken the chance to eat a bit more kelp since her story had been interrupted and at the word ''concubine'' she began choking on it. Zale frantically pounded her on the back until it dislodged from her throat. She blinked at the mermaid with teary eyes. "Concubine?!" "Are you not then? I had not heard of any other mermaids affiliated with King Zale so I thought¡ª" "No!" Talori cried. "I''m his sister!" Shock flitted across Aila''s pretty face. Her skin was a lighter blue than Brennan''s and she had a blue-and-pink tail and fins with hair that had blue, pink, and yellow sections. According to surface-dweller terminology, she was a princess parrotfish. "But I thought his sister was dead!" Aila exclaimed in disbelief. Zale sighed. "That was what I wanted everyone to think. I sent her away for her own safety. She has been living on the surface with other fae until recently when I sent for her. The danger had passed so there was no reason for her not to come home." "I''ve gotten that reaction a lot," Talori said a bit sheepishly. "I suppose that is what I get for coming back after Zale faked my death. But I learned so much on the surface! I was actually just telling him about it when you arrived." Aila recovered from her shock and was immediately penitent. "Forgive me, Your Highness. I did not mean any offense. Or to interrupt something so important." "It isn''t that important." Talori had been trying to reassure her but Zale didn''t get the memo and disagreed. "It is too important! Any knowledge you gained from the surface-dwellers will help us deal with the human scourge threatening our ocean. You''re going to make all the difference in the world around here as new the liaison." "Okay, it''s important, but not important enough to get bent out of shape for. We have time. Wedding planning in far more urgent than my stories about water fairies." This seemed to placate him. "I suppose. Tali, do you want to help or¡ª" "Sure! I''ve never planned anything before but I''ll gladly do whatever you need me to," Talori agreed cheerfully, clapping her hands together. She had already made a rather strange impression on her future sister-in-law and she would like to change that if possible. What better way to do that than by helping her with whatever she needed taken care of during a likely stressful time? "I would not want to be a bother," Aila hedged. "You aren''t a bother! I''d love to help." "Tali likes keeping busy. She''ll be of far more use to you than I will, I''m afraid," Zale said with a sigh as he noticed someone had come looking for him and was floating in the doorway. "Tell her whatever you were planning to tell me and she''ll pass it on." He nodded his farewells to both of them and Aila looked over at Talori hesitantly. "Your name is Tali?" "Talori, actually. Only my mother and Zale have ever called me Tali." "I see. Forgive me for misunderstanding you earlier, Princess Talori. I appreciate your willingness to help. Primarily, I am concerned about the coronation that will occur after the wedding.. And what all will be occurring that day in terms of scheduling." Chapter 67 - Were Going To Be Family "Please don''t call me Princess. We''re going to be family. You don''t need to call Zale King either. We aren''t really ones for formalities," Talori said. Her brother had always gone by his name alone with his mermen. Unfortunately, as his greatest treasure, they all insisted on being overly respectful and not getting too familiar with her as a result. If she had things her way, they would address her by her name as well. She certainly didn''t want her brother''s wife to call her by her title. No one had called her Princess on the surface and she couldn''t deny she missed that. Aila''s eyes widened. "Are you sure?" "Of course! I would prefer it, honestly," Talori assured her. "Thank you then, Talori." "You''re welcome. As for your question, from what I''ve been told the wedding ceremony will be held first, then your coronation, then a celebratory banquet. You will need to be brought to the palace first thing in the morning so the maids can handle the schedule for you. "Do you plan to bring any maids from home? If so, you should introduce them to the maids in the main palace the morning of as well. If you don''t want to do that. a personal maid will be assigned to you." "I was planning to bring only one. My personal maid," Aila said softly. "Not a problem! I can let the head maid know for you so she won''t assign anyone else to that role," Talori replied. "Did you have any other questions?" "Not about the wedding." "Then do you have questions about anything else?" "I¡­I am not sure if this is proper but¡ª" "I don''t mind!" Talori exclaimed. "Ask me anything. I''m an open book." "¡­what is a book?" "Oh, it''s this thing on the surface. Sorry. I picked up a lot of the slang while I was up there. It means I have no secrets." Aila seemed reassured after that. "I see. Well, if you don''t mind, I am curious about who I am to marry. I am unsure what kind of merman he is and you seem to know him best." Ah. She had met Zale when he was putting on his act but clearly saw the real him when she told him of Nerida''s poisoning plans. Talori could see how that would be confusing for someone to see. "I probably do aside from Beck. He has known Zale longer." "Who is Beck?" "His personal guard. You have probably seen him around. He''s black and white and hardly says a word," Talori said with a shrug. Aila nodded. "I have. He does seem rather serious." "Serious but brilliant. He''s nearly as smart as Zale, which makes sense considering they''ve hardly been apart their whole lives. Nearly as strong too. Zale is the most powerful merman I''ve ever heard of and has trained hard to become so. "He had his reasons for acting the fool but that isn''t how he truly is at all. He doesn''t care about frivolous things like fashion. He cares about making the ocean a better place for everyone living in it. "He may be a schemer but he is fair and treats his merfolk very well. You don''t have anything to worry about with him. He''s the kindest fae in the world¡­except for maybe my friend Brennan. His patience is unparalleled." Talori felt a pang as she thought about Brennan. She had been so busy he hadn''t really been on her mind much the past several days but whenever she did think of him she wished he hadn''t had to say goodbye so soon. "Is your friend Brennan a merman or¡­?" Aila asked. "No, he''s a water fairy. You''ll probably meet him at some point since he has the same job as me on the surface-dweller side of things. He''s their liaison and plans to work with us on the pollution issue." "Pollution?" "Surface items ending up in the ocean by accident," Talori explained. "Ah. Your brother does seem to care about that issue quite a lot from what I have seen. He drew a lot of attention to it by starting a trend with jewelry made from surface items," Aila said. "That certainly sounds like something he would do. He does care a lot, which is why he offered to work with Brennan in exchange for him keeping me safe in the first place. Brennan is a marine biologist and he''s already working with a few of the good humans who are trying to keep the ocean clean. He wanted merfolk involvement, thinking it would be more helpful since we know the ocean best." "That is a wise move." "I think so too. Brennan is the best. I''m sure with all of us working together we''ll figure something out," Talori replied cheerfully. She couldn''t help but wonder what Brennan was up to right now. Was he hanging out in Harmony''s office as she worked on creating some sort of magical communication device that would work underwater? Though she was so grateful to be home, she couldn''t deny that she wished she was up there being a part of the action right now too. She had a lot of fond memories of the three of them (sometimes the four of them) spending time in Harmony''s office as she worked. "I am glad you found such a helpful friend," Aila said diplomatically. "Yeah, me too." Talori was incredibly grateful she met Brennan and had been from the beginning. He had been the most exciting thing to ever happen to her and that was before he saved her from a terrible fate and took such good care of her for so long. She wished he was here. Three months wasn''t that long in the grand scheme of things but it would still be a while before she saw him again. She hoped he was doing alright. === Brennan had known he wouldn''t be ready when the call finally came that Talori was supposed to go home but even that hadn''t prepared him for how it would feel to help her pack up her things. Or have her meet up with a merman she knew. Or actually say goodbye to her. She had waited a long time to be reunited with her brother and seeing that made him both happy and sad at the same time. Happy for her sake but sad because everything was about to change. This happened every time he moved over the centuries and his routine changed. It was always an adjustment. Brennan had been used to having someone live with him for a while and now he was going to have to get used to being alone again. He would be fine as long as he kept busy but he didn''t know what to keep busy with. Third wheeling with Harmony and Castian didn''t sound like the most pleasant thing in the world even though he liked the elf well enough. Having four fae present made it so he always had someone to talk to but now, more likely than not, he would end up being the outsider. Still, it would give him something to do. Anything was better than nothing at this point because he hated having empty hours to fill. Maybe he could go hang out with his friends in the Everglades every weekend now too. That ought to help. Keeping busy so he didn''t go crazy was much like continuing to swim no matter what so he didn''t drown. That would get him through the millionth change in his life the way all it had all the others. "So what happened down there?" Harmony asked once Brennan returned to the boat and she used a spell to dry him off immediately. "I had a couple of helpful conversations with Zale and we decided to meet at the usual time next quarter to give you guys the chance to come up with some sort of communication magic that will work long distance to plan future meetings better," he said simply. "And Talori?" "Seemed really happy to see her brother." Harmony bit her lip. "¡­are you going to be okay, Brennan? You were spending every second you weren''t at work with her." "I''m always okay," Brennan said resolutely. His witch friend didn''t know everything. She didn''t know how much he had learned to adjust over the centuries. He had nothing he claimed as his own. Everything was temporary. It was how he survived. "If you insist. But if you need something to do, don''t hesitate to call me. I can keep you plenty busy as my assistant." "Doesn''t Castian already fulfil that role?" "One can never have too many assistants," Harmony said with an airy wave of her hand. "Besides, you never know how long someone will be able to do things like that with you. I might be down one very soon." Brennan raised an eyebrow. He seriously doubted that. Castian adored Harmony. Someone as serious as him wouldn''t put up with all of her antics otherwise. It had become glaringly obvious over time that her elf boyfriend had fallen in love with her. Did she really not see that? Though he supposed it might be difficult to believe because that wasn''t how elf and witch relationships worked. He didn''t want to get involved because it wasn''t his business but he felt sorry for Castian. He was probably suffering much more than he let on. Poor sucker. "Yeah," Brennan sighed, thinking more of Talori than Castian as he replied.. "You never know how long you''ll have certain fae around." Chapter 68 - He Didnt Belong With Water Fairies Brennan tried his best to get into a new routine but it was difficult because everywhere he went he was reminded of Talori. He hadn''t had this problem before because he had always moved. Being in a new environment had helped. He was doing the same things with fae that knew Talori and asked him questions about where she was at first. Pretty much everyone he knew and interacted with regularly had met her. The worst came from his human coworkers. They all whispered about how he must have broken up with his girlfriend because he didn''t text anyone on his lunch breaks anymore and seemed much gloomier. He didn''t seem gloomy! And Talori had never been his girlfriend. It was hard to describe what she was. She was definitely his best friend by the time she left but she had started out as his charge and roommate. She had taken on a lot of roles in his life. And now she was gone and they were nothing more than long-distance colleagues. They would be working together in the future but who knew what that was going to look like? Harmony and the rest of the witches were hard at work on magical communication devices but they had a hard time testing it since they couldn''t exactly send anyone out into the ocean. All they could do was test distances above ground. That was where Brennan came in. He spent a lot of his weekends out in the middle of nowhere diving down to test things out. When he wasn''t doing that he was with his water fairy friends, feeling more left out than ever for some reason. He couldn''t explain it. Wasn''t spending time with other fae supposed to make him feel less alone? He supposed it was partly because of how they had reacted to Talori leaving. Some of the younger ones had been disappointed but the older ones thought it was for the best. They had found it strange that he spent so much time with fae of other races anyway. Why were most of the fae so prejudiced? What was wrong with being friends with other types of fae? "We need to find you a nice water fairy to settle down with," Aqua said cheerfully. "That ought to perk you up. I know someone looking for a blind date who lives closer to your end of the Miami River." Brennan wasn''t interested in being set up but couldn''t help but ask who it was because he thought he knew of all the fairies within a hundred miles of Miami. He doubted anyone who knew of him would be willing to go out with someone generally considered to be an oddball. "Maya Rafferty." He had met Maya but didn''t have much of an impression of her. He remembered her as being very quiet and also in a relationship with someone else the last time he saw her. "Wasn''t she dating Cove Jordan?" he asked. "Nah, they broke up nearly six years ago and she''s ready to dive into the dating pool again. What do you say?" Brennan had no desire to date anyone but felt it would be rude to refuse since Aqua knew better than most how open his schedule was these days. He could go on one date to placate his friend. "Alright. Give me her number and I''ll set something up." Aqua shot him a satisfied smile. "This will be great, you''ll see! Maya is a sweetheart." That remained to be seen. He wasn''t in the market to date anyone but at least he hoped whatever meal they shared wasn''t too awkward. Brennan ended up reaching out to Maya at Aqua''s insistence a few days later and they set something up for the following weekend. He was busy with Harmony''s experiments on Saturday but had time Sunday. The experiments were slowly but surely getting somewhere. He was willing to be they would have it figured out before the deadline, which came as a relief. The last thing he wanted was to show up for his very first official visit as liaison empty handed. They kept all of the witches pretty busy though. Castian didn''t seem very happy about that and had to drag Harmony home to get some sleep more than once that Brennan saw. She was always pouty about it but let him anyway. Brennan couldn''t help but wonder what on earth her feelings were toward him since her behavior was harder to read than his. After knowing her for so long it seemed unlikely that she would be romantically interested in anyone but you never know. Harmony seemed used to having Castian around at the very least. Maybe that explained her cryptic comment from the day they headed back to shore. Brennan couldn''t worry about other people''s relationships though. He had more than enough to worry about on his own. Like being set up by well-meaning friends despite really not wanting to be. When Sunday rolled around he showed up at the restaurant they had prearranged and found Maya waiting for him by the entrance with a shy wave. "Hi, Brennan." "Hi, Maya. Long time no see." "It has been a couple of decades," she agreed. "How are you?" "Keeping busy. You?" "I''m alright. What are you keeping busy with?" And this was where things got dicey already. He hardly saw Maya so she might not know how weird he was in fairy circles for being close to a witch. Throwing a mermaid into the mix would only make him seem weirder. Brennan didn''t want this date to go anywhere though so it might be for the best. He had no reason not to be honest. "I''ve been helping the witches out with experiments a lot lately. They''re trying to create a long-distance communication method to better get in contact with the merfolk." Maya''s eyes widened. "How did you get involved in that?" "I was recently appointed as the official liaison between the surface and a merfolk settlement out in the Bermuda Triangle. That happened because of my ability to survive underwater for long periods of time and the fact that the merking owes me a favor for helping out his sister." "¡­but how did you get involved with mermaids in the first place?" "Merfolk. They aren''t all women so they like to be called merfolk," Brennan said automatically, though he used to be under the same misconception before meeting Talori. "Merfolk then." "I''m a marine biologist and ended up swept out to sea during a storm. I would have been able to breathe on my own fine if I hadn''t been knocked out from hitting the water so hard from pretty high up. One of them saved my life and it all kind of spiraled from there." "You''re a marine biologist?" "Yes. The ocean calls to me," Brennan said simply. This was generally how he managed to get other water fairies to think he was weird. It ought to keep her disinterested enough not to want a second date. "And it doesn''t scare you?" Maya asked in disbelief. "Not at all. Even after the whole thing with the storm I still love the ocean and want to protect it. I''m actually really excited about my role as liaison because I get to make more of a difference that way." "¡­you''re a unique water fairy, Brennan Trent." And there it was. Brennan had successfully scared her off already. Aqua couldn''t even complain because all he had done was be himself. Despite being one, he didn''t belong with water fairies. He didn''t belong anywhere. He wasn''t like Harmony, who would always have a place in any witch coven she went to, or Talori, who belonged in the ocean. Brennan had no family and no home to return to. He did his best not to let that bother him but it was difficult sometimes. He kept going by staying adaptable as possible. That was what he was doing right now. Adapting. Once again getting used to things changing on him and losing something he had known wouldn''t be consistent anyway because nothing ever was. He would get used to his new normal eventually. The one where he traveled back and forth between Talori''s home and Florida on a somewhat frequent basis once they figured out the communication devices. In the meantime he had to keep busy. The problem was that he didn''t know how he was supposed to keep busy without involving himself with other water fairies. They were half of his social contact these days. Brennan supposed he could try to hang out with wind, earth, or fire fairies but he would fit in with them even less because they were so different. He couldn''t exactly invite himself to any of their gatherings anyway. He would have to wait for an invitation. The only ones throwing those out tended to be fire fairies, as they were a rather friendly bunch, but they had far too much energy for his taste.. He still hadn''t forgotten the clubbing incident and doubted he ever would. Chapter 69 - Our Contract Is Over As expected, things didn''t progress beyond the one dinner with Maya. It was the same old story. Brennan hadn''t had much luck with dating in the past and didn''t expect that to change. He didn''t care about something as unreliable as romance. He had more important things to do. Unless there was another ocean-loving water fairy weirdo out there somewhere, he would never be understood by his kind. It was ironic that he felt more comfortable being himself around a mermaid than he ever had other fairies. Not since losing his family anyway. Back then Brennan hadn''t so much as heard of the ocean before. His whole life revolved around his stream and that was how he had liked it until he lost everyone he cared about and went out in search of something new to give his life meaning. He found it but not in an "acceptable" water fairy way. Why did they have to give him such a hard time about the ocean? It was water too! There had to be water fairies who lived on islands somewhere that felt the way he did about the ocean but he was never going to be able to find them. Besides, he had things to do here in Florida. Leaving for the sake of seeking something so frivolous would be counterproductive. Brennan was finally making headway on his goals. What reason did he have to leave even if the water fairies here would never understand him? He wasn''t lonely. He wasn''t. At least¡­not any more than he normally was. Or that was what he tried to tell himself. In all honesty, he missed Talori fiercely. She hadn''t been gone long but her absence was noticeable in a variety of ways. He half expected her enthusiastic voice to sound from behind him any moment going on about something interesting she had seen. She had really grown on him. To think he used to get tired of her constant questions. He would give anything to have that right now because his apartment felt too quiet. When she first came to stay with him he had missed the quiet. Now he missed the noise. There was no winning, was there? That was the problem with getting used to things. It took time to un-get used to them. How long would it take though? It had been weeks and Brennan still felt the gaping hole of Talori''s absence. Would he even be used to it by the time he saw her again? Maybe this would be easier when he was able to be in more regular contact with her. He would probably miss her less that way. If they could message each other somehow that would probably make this weird feeling go away. He wished Harmony would hurry up on her experiments but logically he knew that she was doing her best. She spent every moment she wasn''t eating or sleeping working on it, to Castian''s great chagrin. Brennan had noticed something weird was going on with those two though he couldn''t quite put his finger on it. Since he got back from visiting Talori''s home he had noticed that the air around the two of them was a bit different. It seemed to be primarily on Harmony''s end, as if she was nervous somehow. But what would she have to be nervous about? She acted the same as she always did so the difference was barely perceptible but it was there. He wondered if Castian had noticed it too. He did spend more time with her these days. === Castian noticed something was going on with Harmony as soon as she got back from her trip to drop Talori back home but he didn''t know what it was. She seemed¡­nervous. That wasn''t like the confident witch he knew at all. It wasn''t too noticeable at first because she was hardly around. As soon as she got back, she and the other witches dove straight into trying to create some sort of long-range underwater communication device. She spent more time than ever at the coven and even he couldn''t get her to come home and sleep some days. He thought that the lack of sleep contributed to it at first. That she was on edge because she was tired and had a lot to do for this project with a time limit on it. But since the whole coven was working on it, they finished a month before their deadline and she was still acting like that even after she fixed her sleep schedule. What was going on? What was upsetting her? "Harmony, are you alright?" Castian dared to ask after a while. She flashed him a smile that didn''t quite make it to her eyes. "I''m fine! Glad we got our communication device taken care of so I can get back to my personal project list." She certainly didn''t seem glad. He knew what she acted like when she was excited. This was more like dread. But what could she possibly be dreading? And why wouldn''t she tell him about it? They were friends. She said so herself. Friends told each other their concerns, didn''t they? "And there isn''t anything bothering you?" Castian pressed. Harmony blew him off. "Nah. I''m good." He wasn''t convinced but she quickly distracted him by talking about how she was working on modifying human scuba gear next so she could go with Brennan and install the magic device somewhere in the merfolk kingdom and how excited she was about that. Even her excitement seemed somehow less than usual and he knew how much she loved anything to do with merfolk research. Something was definitely wrong. Castian lay awake long after Harmony had fallen asleep that night because he was worried about her. He gazed at her in the darkness and brushed the hair out of her face with a sigh. "I wish you would tell me what''s on your mind. I want to help but I can''t if you don''t talk to me," he whispered. She nearly gave him a heart attack when she actually responded. "What if it''s not something you can help with? What if telling you would make things worse?" "How could it make things worse?!" Castian''s heart was racing both from the shock of her actually being awake and what she had said. What was bothering her that was so horrible she couldn''t tell him about it? She told him about everything else going on in her life both big and small. Harmony sighed and rolled away from him, her voice more subdued than usual. "I don''t want things to change." "Why would things have to change? What would? I don''t understand." "We have a good thing going, don''t we? I don''t want to mess with that. I like the way things are. But if I tell you what''s bothering me, it''s going to ruin everything." Castian was flooded with panic. What was it? Was she moving? Had he done something wrong? Was she going to break up with him and switch to another elf? No, that last one didn''t seem right. She said she liked the way things were. He tentatively laid a hand on her arm. "Harmony, please. I like the way things are too. Nothing you say could ruin that." "Yes it will! Our contract is over, Castian. There''s nothing keeping you here," Harmony blurted. It took him a moment for the implications to sink in. Not our contract is broken. Our contract is over. She wasn''t ending things prematurely. She was ending things because they had accomplished what they set out to do. "¡­you''re pregnant?" "Yeah. So things have to change whether I want them to or not. You''re free." How?! How had it happened this soon? He was supposed to have years! Decades! He knew this would probably happen someday but wasn''t prepared for it at all. A moment later, Castian realized that her wording was a bit odd. "Whether you want them to or not? Do you¡­not want them to?" "Of course I don''t want them to! Didn''t you hear me say I like the way things are?" Harmony snapped. "But it''s all over. You don''t need to be here so¡ª" "I want to be here though. So if¡­if you want me to be here too, I''ll stay. No one else can make me go but you." She sat up and looked at him in shock. He was shocked too, honestly. He didn''t think he would be brave enough to say anything like that but if they were on the same page here¡­if she really didn''t want things to change¡­why did they have to? Castian already knew he was going against fae societal norms by falling in love with his witch in the first place. He had thought his feelings were doomed because she would be the one who wanted things to end the way they were supposed to if she got pregnant. But right now it seemed like that wasn''t what she wanted at all. Harmony had kept this from him, most likely for months when she started seeming off. Because she hadn''t wanted things to change. Hope stupidly swelled within him. If she did that¡­was it possible that she returned his feelings even a little? Or did she simply not want to lose the setup she was used to? Chapter 70 - He Was Still In Over His Head, Wasnt He? Harmony continued to gape at Castian for several moments before saying anything. "Why? From the start this was always supposed to end. We both knew that. It''s how things always go." "I don''t care about how things always go," he told her seriously. "I care about what you want. What do you want, Harmony?" "I¡­I don''t want this to end. But you have no reason to stay so why would you?" No reason to stay? He had the most compelling reason in the world. He didn''t want to lose her. He stupidly wanted to stay with her forever though he knew he had no right to hope for that. Forever wasn''t something the fae took lightly. Gathering all of his courage, he reached out to caress her face. "Because I love you. I was dreading this too, thinking that you would want to stick to the original plan. Since neither of us want it to end there''s no reason for it to. I don''t care what anyone else thinks. I just want to be with you." Harmony blinked at him. "You love me? Really?" Castian let out a helpless sigh. Was it truly so shocking? He was fairly certain Brennan already had him pegged based on the sympathetic looks he had been getting from the water fairy for quite some time. "How could I not? You turned my life upside down in the best possible way. You''re irresistible." Harmony let out a disbelieving laugh before grinning dazedly at him. "Is that so?" "Yes. Everyone thinks I''m crazy but I''ll gladly embrace the craziness if it means I get to stay by your side. Can I?" he asked more nervously than he meant to. Her smile dropped. "I don''t know about this, Castian. I don''t think anything like this has ever happened before. What about after the baby comes? Witches always raise their daughters alone." "I won''t interfere with any witch things! I''ll do whatever you tell me to in that regard; you can take the lead on that. All I want is to be there. With both of you. I''m sure we can figure it out. Just do what you would have done with me." Castian had never once considered having a family before all of this. He hadn''t been interested in anyone before Harmony shook things up over a year and a half ago. Elf families were different than most fae families. They only lasted as long as the parents'' relationship did. He hadn''t seen either of his parents in centuries. Most of his kin were the same way. It was simply how things were. Families weren''t important to elves. Communities were. Even now, he had no idea what he would do with a daughter. But he would have to do something since he wanted to be with Harmony and she had to raise her. Witches weren''t very family-oriented either since they were often restless souls who moved from coven to coven every so often. But they were responsible for raising the next generation before letting them go off to conduct their own research wherever they wanted. Castian knew very well that by choosing to stay with her that both of their communities would think they were insane. As far as he was aware, nothing like this had ever happened before. An elf staying with his witch and the child he fathered. "We''ll be outcasts," Harmony protested, thinking along the same lines as him. "No more than we already are for spending more time with each other than expected," he pointed out. "Come on, Harmony! There''s no point in both of us being unhappy without each other simply to follow social convention." She sighed and slumped forward to her head was against the front of his shoulder. "Why do you have to be so persuasive?" Did that mean she was going to go along with it? Did he truly not have to lose her after all? "¡­does that mean yes?" Castian dared to ask. "I must be completely out of my mind but yes. We''ll just have to take things as they come. Are you okay with that? Because either one of us could come to our senses at any time." He highly doubted that on his part. He was already in too deep. If he was going to come to his senses, that would have happened quite a while ago. Normal fae relationships didn''t have set expiration dates and took things as they came. Most didn''t last more than a few decades before going stale. Forever was an awfully long time so wanting to commit to it was rare. Rare but not unheard of. He had seen the telltale infinity marks of marriage before on werewolves and a handful of fairies over the centuries. It did happen. He had never heard of an interracial marriage happening before though. Or even inter-elemental among fairies. Castian was getting ahead of himself. He wasn''t asking her for forever, even if he didn''t see his feelings ever ending. He was asking for now and she had said yes. How could he not be okay with that? He nodded. "Thank you for giving us a chance." Harmony looked up and kissed him. "Guess I can do this whenever I want now, huh? This could be fun. We should really go to bed now though." "Right." They laid back down and he gathered her up in his arms. His girlfriend. For real this time. Castian had never expected this to happen but he was so glad it did. He fervently hoped he wouldn''t wake up tomorrow morning and find it had all been a dream. That would be terrible beyond words. But it wasn''t. When he woke up in the morning Harmony kissed him again and patted his cheek on her way into the kitchen to get breakfast. She didn''t normally do that. Their conversation last night had actually happened. She seemed more cheerful than she had in months and he was relieved. Clearing the air had made her stop being stressed at least. "Will I see you at lunch today?" Castian asked. Harmony smiled at him. "Yep! I''ll bring us something good, don''t worry." He wasn''t worried about that. Right now he wasn''t worried about anything because he had gotten what he thought was impossible. Nothing could worry him at the moment. Castian made it through the morning in a daze. He couldn''t believe that actually happened. Was it possible for him to be this happy? He was on top of the world and nothing could bring him down. Not even finicky clients. He had given into the worst sort of insanity and it had paid off. Who would have known? Lunch was a pleasant affair and it got him through the rest of the workday and his classes. He looked forward to when his master''s degree was complete so he could take a break from academia for a while and focus on that business he, Filverel, and Theodred were planning on starting. It would take up a good chunk of their time but no more than schoolwork already had. He was used to being busy. Harmony was used to being busy too but now that they lived together at least they were able to see each other more than they would have otherwise with their schedules. And he didn''t have to worry about getting kicked out in the immediate future anymore either. Ah, life was good! Castian went to her office when he finished with class for the day and found that Brennan was already there. He had been hanging around much more often now that Talori was gone. The water fairy immediately noticed he was in an unusually good mood but didn''t comment on it. He wasn''t the nosy type despite how observant he seemed to be. For that Castian was grateful. He didn''t even know how he was going to explain this to his kin. Theodred and Filverel were aware he had feelings for Harmony and they thought he was crazy enough for that alone. If they knew that she was pregnant and he had chosen to stay with her¡­ That wouldn''t be an issue for quite some time. Harmony wouldn''t look pregnant for months to come and once she did there was no guarantee that it would get out to the elves immediately. Wearing baggy clothes could hide it for a while. Then she would simply have to avoid the bank. That wouldn''t help at the coven though. The witches would all know, especially if he continued visiting her in her office. Word would get out eventually but they could cross that bridge when they came to it. Everyone already thought their relationship was strange. It likely wouldn''t be much more shocking. He hoped. Harmony didn''t love him¡ªshe hadn''t used those words¡ªbut she at least liked him enough that she didn''t want their arrangement to change. That was enough for him. He had thought even that much was outside of his reach. She didn''t need to love him. She simply needed to carry on as she had been for him to be happy. Castian hadn''t wanted to lose her and now he didn''t have to. He had bought himself more time. Now all he had to do was prove that he was worth keeping around indefinitely. That might prove to be a challenge because witches were notorious for getting bored and changing things up. He was still in over his head, wasn''t he? He supposed there was no way around that considering who he fell in love with. Chapter 71 - A Vampire And An Earth Fairy Harmony was still in a state of utter disbelief that Castian was in love with her. She sometimes suspected that he liked her but love? Love! Was he completely insane?! A kind of insanity she benefited from. She really hadn''t wanted him to go. She could have spared herself two months of worry if she had been up front with him from the start but how could she have predicted what his reaction to the news would be? This was completely unprecedented. She had never once heard of a witch whose father stuck around after she was born. How was she ever going to explain this to her coven? Or, worse, her mother? How were either of them going to explain this to anyone? Fae were already talking about how much time they spent with each other. That was only going to get worse once she was obviously pregnant. Or out and about with a baby in tow and still attached to an elf. Harmony must have lost her mind to let him persuade her but she had wanted it anyway so it didn''t take much. This was going to have ramifications that would stick with them for decades if not longer. She needed to vent but to who? Nobody she knew was safe. At least not here. Maybe she could try her aunt. Blair Netzley took her oaths of secrecy seriously. That was precisely what she ended up doing after locking her office and casting silencing magic on the door so no one outside would overhear. She needed advice fast and had no one else to turn to. Harmony''s phone was modified with magic so her aunt''s FaceTime call was projected in a hologram. Seeing a familiar face in her time of need nearly moved her to tears. Must be the stupid pregnancy hormones. She wasn''t much of a crier. "What''s up, Harmony?" Blair asked. Her purple curls and yellow eyes looked a little like Talori''s and she barely bit back a laugh. Harmony hadn''t realized her aunt had dyed her hair a new color. It had been a while since they had talked over video call. She spoke up sheepishly. "I need to vent. Can I swear you to secrecy?" "Absolutely! Give me a minute." Blair cast magic on her own door to prevent anyone from listening before turning to look at her expectantly. "I''m all ears." The story poured out of her starting from when she and Castian first started getting more involved with each other because of Talori and went all the way up to his confession. She hadn''t talked about this with ANYONE and it felt good to get it off her chest. She doubted her aunt would understand her mixed-up feelings about all of this but at least she was less likely to freak out than her mother. Telling her was not going to be fun when the time came. "¡­have you ever heard of anything more insane than an elf being in love with a witch?" Harmony finished hopelessly. "I have, believe it or not," Blair said with a laugh. "Your situation isn''t as weird as you think it is." "Oh yeah? What could possibly be weirder?" "A vampire being in love with an earth fairy." That threw her off. "What?! How would a vampire even meet a fairy?" "It''s a long story and not mine to tell. But they''re happy. They moved up to Alaska recently. I must admit, I''m going to miss the drama. There was never a dull moment with those two around." Harmony''s mind was racing. A vampire and an earth fairy. That was definitely weirder than an elf and a witch deciding to stay together beyond their duty. Their races weren''t compatible! They had different physiologies, diets, sleep schedules. How could a vampire and a fairy possibly make it work? She and Castian had it easy by comparison. Their only barrier was a social one. That bizarre couple¡ªwhoever they were¡ªhad physical AND social barriers. How did Blair even know about this? How involved had she been in whatever strange set of circumstances brought those two together? And how could she talk about this so nonchalantly? "How do they even make that work?" Harmony asked in wonder. "No idea," Blair said with another laugh. "I thought he was nuts when I first figured it out. Poor sucker, no pun intended. I think she did too, honestly. But she went along with it in the end so I guess she must love him back." "Who are these fae? Anyone I know?" "Possibly." "Blair! You can''t leave me hanging like that!" Harmony protested. "Okay, okay. But you can''t tell anyone about this. Nobody else in the Redwood Coven knows about it aside from me. They may not live in the area anymore but you know news spreads. Swear you won''t tell another witch," Blair said seriously. She could promise that easily. Witches were notorious for gossip, which is why she had made her aunt swear to secrecy before telling her anything. "You remember the Mayhew coven?" Harmony''s jaw dropped. "I thought they were all wiped out!" "They were¡­except the leader. I don''t know if you ever met him. He survived the massacre and latched onto the first fae he met. Do you remember that earth fairy who never took her glamour off?" Blair asked. "Yeah! Oh, what was her name again? I remember thinking she was weird and a little rude for never doing that. She got involved with the leader of the Mayhew coven?" "Ruby Gardner. She had good reason for it, as I discovered recently, but that''s not important. Her aunt and uncle passed away and now her little cousin is under her and her boyfriend''s care. Isn''t that the strangest little family you''ve ever heard of? A vampire and two earth fairies. Your situation is tame by comparison." It really was. Harmony couldn''t even imagine getting romantically entangled with someone so different from herself. And to think, she had thought Castian was weird enough with how formal he could be! "You know, I actually think I feel a little better now." "Oh good," Blair said with a smile. "I hoped you would. It''s always nice to know you''re not alone, isn''t it?" Indeed. If a vampire and a fairy could make it work, anyone could. Especially throwing a child into the mix. Suddenly her issue didn''t seem like much of an issue at all by comparison. "No kidding. You have a strange way of trying to cheer people up though, I hope you know that," Harmony said dryly. "Oh, I know. I''ve heard that before. But my darling niece¡­you didn''t touch too much on your feelings for your elf boyfriend. You should admit to them, even if it is only to yourself. You wouldn''t want him to stay in the first place if you didn''t like him." "I never said I didn''t like him!" She never said she liked him either though. She supposed that much was obvious because of her actions. Harmony did like Castian. She liked him a lot. If she didn''t, she wouldn''t have let things come this far. She wouldn''t have ever gotten more involved than she should have, not liking to owe others or not. He was fun to be around, which she never would have anticipated when they first met. She had thought he was dull as dishwater for over twenty years until she had the chance to learn otherwise. She wished she could have gotten to know him on a less superficial level sooner. "Do you then?" Blair pressed with a raised eyebrow. "Of course I do!" "Does he know that?" Harmony couldn''t immediately respond. Did Castian know that? Had she ever said so specifically? She wasn''t sure. That was something he should know, especially since he was essentially throwing away his good standing in the fae community for her sake. She really ought to tell him. She worried that it wouldn''t be enough though. He loved her. She only liked him. Would telling him that upset him somehow? That was the last thing she wanted to do. She wanted him to be happy. "Maybe?" Harmony hedged. "I''ve never said the words outright but¡­" "Words are important, Harmony. The poor sap deserves to know. Properly. I have to say, I''m rather interested in meeting your boyfriend. I''m curious what kind of elf would fall in love with a witch," Blair said with a mischievous sparkle in her eye. "Blaaaaair. I can''t bring him home to my family! You know what kind of gossip that would cause! I don''t even know how I''m going to tell Mom about all of this." "I could do it for you." "Please don''t." "I doubt she''ll give you as hard a time as you think she will. She didn''t like your father but she didn''t hate him either. Their relationship was what it was. I don''t think she''ll begrudge you being happy. What do you like about him, anyway? I can''t imagine the appeal of an elf." "A lot of things. He''s a good listener and he has the funniest reactions to things. He''s easy to tease¡­easy to be around in general. He can be surprisingly sweet sometimes. Sentimental for an elf.. I''ve reached a point where I can''t imagine going back to life without having him around," Harmony confessed. Chapter 72 - Youve Got It Bad Blair smiled and shook her head. "You''ve got it bad. I wouldn''t have seen that coming but good for you. Maybe I''ll have to make a trip to the Coastal Coven sometime soon to meet him." Harmony sighed. "Not until after I tell Mom, okay? Provided she doesn''t want to kill me, you can come together." "Sounds good to me. Why don''t you tell me more about all of that merfolk stuff? It sounds fascinating! I''ve been dying to know more about them myself but the ones around here are so stiff and antisocial." "That''s how most of them are. Talori''s one of a kind. The only reason we''re as involved as we are now is because her brother happens to be the king. It''s kind of crazy how everything went down, really. But now I''m going down myself in a few weeks to install a long-range communication device." "With your water fairy friend who happens to be a marine biologist?" Blair clarified. "That''s the one." "You certainly know some interesting fae. I wonder if I could potentially interest the merfolk around here with one of those devices if you''re willing to share the designs with me. You did say this all started because of a desire to handle pollution better, didn''t you?" Harmony nodded. "Yeah. That''s what originally got Zale¡ªTalori''s brother¡ªon board with the whole thing. I don''t know how willing your area''s merfolk would be though. The old king was apparently really stubborn about not getting involved with what they call surface-dwellers." "I''ll have to give it a shot. If anyone would care about the ocean, you''d think it would be the fae who live in it since fish aren''t capable of doing anything about it. I''d love to hear more about your research, by the way." Blair tried to act all casual about it but Harmony could tell she was dying to know more after hearing little bits and pieces of what she had been up to during the whole time she was getting closer to Castian. She could throw her aunt a bone after successfully getting cheered up. They ended up talking for hours as she worked on the scuba suit and Blair worked on whatever it was she was working on interspersed with occasional background explosions. This was nice. She really should call home more often. She couldn''t remember the last time she had done it before this. Harmony was going to have to talk to her mom sooner or later. Blair seemed confident she wouldn''t give her too hard of a time and she did know her sister best since they had stuck together for centuries. She didn''t even know why she was so afraid. Her mother wasn''t known for being judgmental or anything. She supposed she was afraid of others'' opinions in general and this one somehow encompassed all of that because it was from one of the fae she respected most. She didn''t want to let Philomena Netzley down. She was such a talented witch; she would never let something ridiculous like sentiment get in the way of her work. Though she had stayed with her sister all this time. That was more sentimental than most witches got. It didn''t affect her work ethic though. Staying in the same coven as your only sibling for centuries was a lot different than starting a proper family with an elf. Harmony had no idea how this would affect her future. Castian said he wouldn''t get in the way of the witch stuff she would have to teach their daughter but it was still uncharted territory. She hadn''t let their relationship affect her work thus far. If anything, he had helped since he had been involved in some of her research. She wasn''t doing anything wrong. Strange, yes, but not wrong. As a witch her job was to ensure the secrecy of the fae world and help keep it running. She was doing that. Getting romantically entangled with someone wouldn''t prevent her from doing that even if it wasn''t socially acceptable. Feeling empowered by what her aunt had told her earlier, she decided to bite the bullet and do it. Her mother seemed surprised to hear from her. "Harmony! How are you? Are things going well down in Florida? You hardly ever call home." "Yeah, sorry about that. Things have been kind of crazy here the past year and a halfish," Harmony said sheepishly. "Do you have time to talk or are you too busy?" "I''m never too busy for my only child. What''s going on?" "Well¡­I''m not sure where to start." "Start anywhere and work your way around," Philomena suggested. "Starting anywhere is better than not starting at all." Harmony took a deep breath. "Okay. Don''t think I''m too crazy though, alright? I already know I am but¡ª" "Harmony. Is whatever''s going on dangerous?" "No." "Is it hurting you or anyone else?" "No." "Does it make you happy?" "Yes." "Then whatever it is can''t be too crazy," Philomena reasoned. "What is it, honey? You can tell me what''s going on." "¡­my elf is in love with me and we''re going to stay together even after the baby''s born." Her mother blinked at her. "That''s all? The way you were talking made it seem like it was something scandalous. You aren''t the first witch to fall in love, nor will you be the last." "I never said I was in love!" Harmony protested. "You''re staying with the father of your child, aren''t you? That seems like love to me." "But witches aren''t supposed to fall in love!" Philomena laughed. "Oh, Harmony, who told you that? There''s no official rule out there saying we can''t. It just historically hasn''t ended well because humans aren''t trustworthy and there are no male witches. That''s why we turned to the elf arrangement in the first place. "There have been tons of witches throughout history who have been with the fathers of their children for love. Sometimes they couldn''t accept it but a lot of the time they died because they have shorter life spans. They didn''t always leave on purpose." This was Harmony''s first time hearing that. "Seriously? Why does no one ever talk about that then?" "To promote keeping our way of life safe. Especially in today''s technological world where news spreads like wildfire. There are some good humans out there but we can''t gamble on whoever we might get involved with being one of them. "We as a race became pragmatists for our own safety but there''s nothing wrong with falling in love with an elf or any other fae. Just because we''re all female doesn''t mean we have to be alone if we don''t want to be. "Most of us prefer finding social fulfilment from our community and leaving any physical desires with our need to propagate the species but it sounds like you became friends with your elf first. Friendship often leads to love from what I''ve seen, even if I''ve never experienced it for myself," Philomena said with a shrug. Harmony couldn''t believe her mother was being so understanding about this. But it was true that she had been friends with Castian before she developed any sort of feelings for him. "You really don''t mind then?" she asked in a small voice. "Not at all. Do what makes you happy, Harmony. I do have to ask though¡­what changed? Haven''t you been involved with your elf for decades?" "Yeah. It''s kind of a funny story, actually¡­" And for the second time in one day Harmony ended up telling someone about her adventures with merfolk and how they got her further entangled with her elf boyfriend. Her mother was as intrigued by the merfolk as her aunt had been and wanted to know more. Of course. But she put that aside until she had asked plenty of questions about her daughter''s boyfriend first though she was obviously bursting at the seams with merfolk-related questions. Witches were all the same in that way. Their curiosity was maddening. "So his name is Castian and he works at Elite Financial Solutions, huh?" Philomena asked. "What does he look like?" "A male model, like all elves. He has turquoise eyes and red hair. I have a lot of fun braiding it," Harmony said sheepishly. "I can''t stand having long hair myself because it gets in the way but it''s so fun to play with!" "I remember how that was. Elves are beautiful specimens of fae." "Hey, Mom¡­do you ever miss my dad?" Harmony wasn''t sure why she asked. Her mother never talked about her father, which was standard. Witches and the elves they were paired with typically didn''t get attached to each other. Philomena shook her head. "No. We hardly ever talked. You have to know someone properly to miss them." That was true. You couldn''t miss someone you didn''t know. It was sad that things had come to this for the witches. No real emotional attachments.. Any of them could pick up and leave at any time without being too upset about it. Chapter 73 - Thats Me "That makes sense," Harmony said. Philomena shrugged. "It was a long time ago anyway. I don''t even know what he''s up to these days. I don''t think he stayed in the area or I would have seen him around at some point." Right. Witches were always aware of the fae in their coverage area sooner or later. Especially if they were involved in fae-run businesses like elves tended to be. They were probably the most visible fae. "Do you remember his name?" "Yeah. It would be hard not to since we were together for over a century. Cirdan Etchelion. I don''t remember exactly what he looked like at this point since it''s been so long since I''ve seen him but I do remember that much," Philomena told her. Cirdan Etchelion, huh? Harmony couldn''t recall anyone with that name from back home. He must have moved like her mother thought. She had never given much thought to her father but, now that the father of her own child wanted to stick around against tradition, she couldn''t deny she was curious. But he was probably like most elves and had forgotten all about her not long after splitting with her mother. Elves never paid any mind to their witch children. They weren''t the most family-oriented fae. They valued children for continuing both races but all fae children were considered precious. They didn''t stick with family units. Castian was one of the weird ones. But Harmony was glad he was. She really hadn''t wanted to say goodbye and now she didn''t have to. They could deal with anything their decision ended up throwing at them. She hoped. The subject ended up changing because her mother finally couldn''t hold back her curiosity about the merfolk research and Harmony ended up telling her all about it. She also confessed that Blair already knew about it so, if they wanted to do something in their coverage area, they could work on it together. "Ugh, Blair finds out about everything first! I suppose I need to call you more often," Philomena mused. Harmony laughed, grateful that she didn''t seem too mad about that. Her mother had always been fairly quick to get over things. "I need to be better about calling too. Don''t stress too much about what''s going on, okay? You''ve got this. You''re one of the toughest witches I know. Hang in there and tell everyone I said hi!" "Will do. Thanks, Mom." Harmony ended the call right as she heard a knock on the door. Brennan. He must have just gotten off work. What timing! She let him in with a smile to try and make him feel better since he was always so down these days. "Hey, Brennan! How was your day? Did anything interesting happen?" "Not in the slightest. You?" "Well, I''ve been working on this scuba suit all day while talking to my mom and aunt on the phone. I need to get it finished before we go visit Talori in a few weeks. It''ll be a lot easier to get a hold of her after that!" Brennan perked up slightly at the reminder that he would be seeing her soon. "That''s true. How does the communication device work, anyway?" Harmony launched into an explanation of the magic and mechanics involved. He had always been interested in magic but seemed particularly interested this time. Possibly because it would allow him to talk to Talori more often. Now that she knew it was possible for two different races of fae to have feelings for each other, she couldn''t help but wonder if that was Brennan''s problem. If he hadn''t only lost a friend but the one he loved. Brennan had been a loner overall the whole time she knew him but Talori had lived with him for over a year. This might be more than a simple case of missing someone who always used to be around. And he had certainly been fond of her. That was obvious to anyone observing the two of them. If Castian''s fondness of Harmony could be love, Brennan''s fondness of Talori could be too. She really hoped it wasn''t though for his sake. Talori was an enthusiastic fae. She trusted Brennan but that didn''t mean she had feelings for him. She reacted similarly to everyone she talked to because she was so happy to be talking to them. Even if that wasn''t an issue¡­fairies and merfolk were even less compatible than fairies and vampires. Their environments were completely different! A fairy could never live underwater and she had seen firsthand how inconvenient it was having a mermaid live on the surface. She hoped that wasn''t it because, if it was, he was in for an awful lot of disappointment and heartache. Her friend had been around a lot but he was only so jaded because of everything he had lost. Could he handle any more of that? === Harmony''s worry for Brennan didn''t cease but it was eclipsed by other things the closer they got to their trip. Castian was fussing over her because he was worried about water pressure and whatnot since she was pregnant but she had already accounted for that when modifying the scuba suit. She would be fine. Piper was driving the boat and would be stuck waiting there with it, to her great chagrin. She had wanted to see the merfolk kingdom for herself but Harmony promised to take lots of pictures. Arietta would be accompanying her down there to help with installation. This was not a one-witch job. The morning of their departure she kissed a worried Castian goodbye and told him she would see him in a few days. He wasn''t happy about it but didn''t protest either, knowing how excited she was about seeing merfolk in their natural habitat. "Call me as soon as you''re back in a signal zone, alright?" Harmony patted his cheek with a smile. His fretting was cute. "You got it." She met with the other witches and Brennan at the marina and could hardly contain her excitement. This was actually happening! Brennan seemed even more eager than the witches did, though he tried his best to hide it. Of course. He wasn''t one to wear his heart on his sleeve. But she was willing to bet he was the most excited fae here because he would be seeing Talori in a matter of minutes after three months apart. When they arrived at the meeting spot it didn''t take long for Talori and a green merman accompanying her to pop up. She waved at them energetically with a big smile on her face. "Hi, guys! It''s so good to see you!" "Talori! How are you?" Brennan called down to her. She beamed at him. "I''m great! How are you?" "You two can catch up with each other later," Arietta said. "We have a lot of equipment to move." That snapped them out of their moment. "Right. You two get your scuba gear on, I''ll start grabbing the bags." Brennan flew off to do that and they went to get changed. He cast a bubble around his head before jumping in with the others and they were all surprised to find that there was a carriage of sorts pulled by dolphins waiting for them. Brennan hadn''t said anything about riding in one of those before! He seemed as thrown off as the rest. "Is this for us?" Talori nodded enthusiastically. "So we can get to the kingdom faster and maximize the time you all have with us. I know you have to get back to work on Monday." It seemed that they all might be getting home sooner than expected. That was nice. Castian wouldn''t have to worry as long if she came back tomorrow night instead of Monday like originally planned. "That''s really considerate of you. Thanks." Everyone climbed aboard and the merfolk kingdom was in sight in less than an hour. Harmony marveled at the glistening buildings and everything else she was finally seeing after hearing it described to her. Arietta did the same but Brennan, who had been here before, was less impressed. He wasn''t focusing on the splendor at all. He had been chatting with Talori the whole ride over. Well, she had been chatting at him and he occasionally responded when she stopped for breath. As they got closer to the castle, the merman who had accompanied Talori began speaking to her in Mermish. She translated what they had been saying. "Sir Aeces was letting me know that my brother is in a meeting. I''ll show you all to your rooms. You can set your things down there then I can give you the grand tour!" The grand tour. Harmony couldn''t wait! They set things down and Talori and Sir Aeces led them around the castle. She explained what everything was since he didn''t speak English. He followed them silently, only there to keep an eye on things. At least that was Harmony''s guess. Zale was historically overprotective of his precious sister. While they were swimming through the gardens, they ran into a princess parrotfish mermaid who Talori greeted enthusiastically in Mermish. She introduced her a moment later to the bemused surface-dwellers. "This is my sister-in-law, Aila. I''ve been teaching her English but she doesn''t know very many words yet." "Hello," Aila said cautiously. "Brennan?" Brennan seemed startled for a moment and raised his hand. "That''s me." Talori laughed. "I''ve told her a lot about you. You too, Harmony. And Castian. How is he?" Harmony smiled, somehow touched that she had told her sister-in-law about her. Though she hadn''t realized that Talori even had a sister-in-law. She hadn''t heard anything about her brother being married before. It must have been recent. "He''s doing well." "Oh good! You''ll have to tell him I said hi," Talori said happily. "I will." Chapter 74 - The Long-Range Communication Device Talori had been eagerly awaiting seeing her friends again for months. Even though she was home and had her brother back, she was lonely. He was busier now that he was the merking and she missed being called by her name since she was getting "princessed" to death. At least Aila called her Talori. The two of them had spent a lot of time together since they started wedding planning and that only increased afterward. Aila''s upbringing wasn''t quite as sheltered as Talori''s but she hadn''t seen much of the kingdom as a noble. She listened to all of Talori''s stories about the surface with a vague degree of curiosity. She was no Brennan or even Harmony but she was better company than her brother''s mermen. They all treated her too formally. She had grown used to casualness while she was on the surface and missed it dearly. Talori had been so busy at first that she didn''t have much time to miss the way things were up there. She was still busy but as time went on she wished more and more that she could talk to her friends at the very least. Brennan especially. He would be so interested in everything she was doing now as the liaison. She couldn''t wait to tell him everything she had been up to when she saw him again. Which was exactly what she did. She thought her heart might burst at the sight of him standing on the deck of the boat with the witches. Oh, it was so good to see him! They talked the whole way back to the kingdom and it still wasn''t enough. Talori had to cut herself off though because they had things to do. She could talk more to Brennan specifically later. As the liaison it was her job to familiarize their visitors with the palace and provide anything they might need. She did her duty with pride but hadn''t expected to run into her sister-in-law in the process. She shouldn''t have been surprised. Aila''s favorite place here in the palace was the garden. If she wasn''t tending to her duties as merqueen, she could typically be found there. She had caught onto things very quickly. The only part of her lessons she struggled with was English so Talori had volunteered to help her practice since she was the most fluent out of the few merfolk who spoke it, having lived among English speakers. When Aila met her friends it was clear she felt awkward because she couldn''t understand them and needed a translator. Talori did her best to help her feel included anyway. Her sister-in-law was a nice fae. Her brother couldn''t have possibly found himself a better wife. The problem was that he paid her almost no attention. Yes, she knew Zale was busy, but he still made time to see Talori. Why couldn''t he do the same for his wife? The only times Talori were aware of that he even saw Aila pertained to duties that required both of them or when the two of them were hanging out when he came looking for his sister. She knew he wasn''t the friendliest when it came to outsiders but he looked out for his own. Wouldn''t his wife count under that umbrella? She shouldn''t be worrying about that right now though. That could be dealt with after her friends left. She didn''t want to waste a moment of time she had with them. Her brother''s voice startled her out of her thoughts. She hadn''t realized his meeting was over and that he would come looking for them. "Tali, aren''t you going to introduce me to your surface-dweller friends? It is a pleasure to see you again, Brennan." "You too," Brennan said with a smile. "Thanks for having us." "Of course. We have much business to attend to." Talori jumped in then. "These lovely witches are Harmony and Arietta. Their coven was able to create a long-range communication device so we can set up future meetings more easily and potentially collaborate from a distance as well." Zale''s eyes sparked with interest. He was clearly impressed they managed to pull that off within the given time frame. "Excellent! Where is it?" "In pieces in my room," Harmony explained. "We''ll need to install it together. Is there a specific place you want it to be? It''s rather large and difficult to move so once it''s set up it should stay there." "I see. A room in the coral palace would be best." He switched to speaking in Mermish. "Aeces, would you go on ahead to the coral palace and have the maids clear out a room to prepare for the witches to install their device?" "You got it," Aeces said before swimming off. Zale turned back to the witches and resumed speaking in English. "My subordinate has gone on ahead to prepare for the installation. I can have someone take the equipment over if you will show me where it is." "All of the pieces are in the two bags in my room. I''m afraid I don''t remember how to get back there though. Talori?" Harmony asked for help sheepishly. "Follow me!" Talori chirped before turning back to Aila, remembering that she was standing there looking rather left out. "Please excuse us, Aila." "Don''t mind me. You need to see to your guests," she said graciously in a soft voice. Talori speaking up reminded Zale that his wife was there. He addressed her as well. "Forgive my inattentiveness. I will come see you tonight after I have concluded my business with the surface-dwellers." Aila nodded and everyone headed out. Zale did find someone to grab the bags and bring them over and had many questions for the witches since he had never met any. They were enthralled being able to talk to the merking and Talori couldn''t help but smile. Everyone was benefiting here. She hung back and chatted with Brennan more. She wanted to know everything he had been up to while they were apart. He shrugged. "I really didn''t do much. Work was about the same but I have been hanging out around the witch coven more and seeing my fairy friends on the weekends to fill my time. It seems like you''ve been up to a lot more than I have." "There has been a lot to learn," Talori admitted. "I''ve been pretty busy with everything. There''s a lot to do around here now that Zale''s in charge but I''m not complaining! We''ve both been waiting for this for a long time." Zale especially. He had been planning to become merking since she was a child. She knew it would happen sooner or later with his brains and determination but it was still strange to think it actually did sometimes. So much had changed since she came home. She felt like she had changed most of all. She had learned so much while she was away and, though she was happy to be helping her brother and her kingdom, she felt like she was missing a part of herself that had been left on the surface. Talori was sure she would be able to visit again at some point¡ªshe was the liaison, after all, and these things were supposed to work both ways¡ªbut she didn''t know how long it would be. Probably not for a good while since she hadn''t been home for long. Right now she was needed here. She also didn''t know if Zale would want to let her go. He had only sent her away in the first place to protect her from being taken to the deep. He wouldn''t see a reason for her to go now that she was safe. Hopefully she would be able to convince him someday. In the meantime she was glad to have some of her friends here for a couple of days. Talori was sure she would miss the surface less when she was able to contact them more regularly. Having the device set up in the coral palace meant she would have constant access to it and could call whenever she wanted. It wouldn''t necessarily have to be about official business. She used to text Brennan on her lunch breaks at work just for fun. She didn''t think he would mind if she called him solely for the sake of calling him. She had missed being able to talk to him every day. He had missed her too, hadn''t he? He certainly seemed happy to see her earlier and he was smiling much more than usual now that they were together again. "Where is the other device going to be set up?" she asked suddenly. "Harmony''s office. She''s putting it where your tank used to be," Brennan told her. "Some of the other witches were a bit put out about it but she reasoned that it was the best place since I come and go from there so often and I''m the liaison." Talori was relieved. He did spend a lot of time in there.. She should be able to talk to him easily that way. Chapter 75 - The Two Fae She Cared About Most It took the witches a while to install the device and while they worked on that Zale ended up talking to Brennan about his work as a marine biologist and what he thought could be done about the pollution problem. Talori listened with interest. Her friend wasn''t generally the most passionate of fae but he certainly got fired up about his work. He was very good at what he did as far as she could tell. Her brother obviously respected his expertise. There were very few fae he respected so that was quite an accomplishment. She was glad that Zale liked him. She wanted the two fae she cared about most to get along. Brennan was her best friend. Talori valued all the friends she had made on the surface but he was different. Special. Perhaps it was because she had spent the most time with him. Though she had felt he was a kindred spirit from the moment they met since they shared similar interests. Harmony did as well but she was¡­oh, how to explain it? She was a researcher. She didn''t do fun things with Talori like Brennan did. It was all about work with her, though their work had been fun at points. Her witch friend wasn''t the most comforting presence either. Brennan was. He was very easy to be around. She had missed that terribly while they were apart and had to take advantage of it while she could. He would be leaving tomorrow. Talori wished he could stay longer but knew he had to work. His work was important to him and it was helping her kingdom at the same time. She couldn''t be selfish. "There!" Arietta declared, clapping her hands together. "We''re done. All we have to do now is test it. You did leave your office unlocked, didn''t you?" "I did. Hester is supposed to keep an ear out so we can test it properly. Go on and call her," Harmony encouraged. Arietta activated the magic with a voice command and a ringing sound not unlike a phone began emanating from the large glass screen that had been shrunk down to fit in the bag. The whole device filled up a good portion of one wall in this room. The image of most of Harmony''s office filled the screen and Hester appeared delighted. "Hello! I''m glad everything seems to be working. You can hear me, can''t you?" "Loud and clear," Arietta reassured her. "Thanks for answering, Hester." "Of course! I can''t believe I get to see the inside of a merfolk palace! Hi, Talori! It''s good to see you!" Talori beamed at her. "Hi, Hester! It''s good to see you too." "Who are those mermen with you?" "Oh, these are my brother and one of his guards. Zale, say hi!" "Hello. Thank you for participating in this test," he said rather formally. "I am in your coven''s debt." "Don''t worry about it! We''re thrilled to be working with you," Hester gushed. "I wish I could have gone on the trip and seen things in person!" "Maybe next time," Arietta said with a laugh. "It is pretty amazing down here." "Don''t make me jealous on purpose, Arietta! You know I wanted to go!" "Yes but we needed you to man the other end of the phone," Harmony said soothingly. "We''ll talk to you later, okay? I still need to show these guys how to use this thing properly and so on." "Aww, alright. See you later!" Hester ended the call and Harmony explained how the magic worked so they would be able to use it once the witches were gone. Talori and Zale both paid attention. She may be the liaison but he was invested in this alliance with surface-dwelling fae. Once that was taken care of, they went back to the main palace to discuss implementing the think tank properly and more. Zale was particularly interested in how magic could further help enrich the lives of his subjects. He had heard much from Talori during their visits about what magic was capable of and he wanted to know more. He wanted to know everything. He had always believed that witches were highly capable because of how well their devices protected the borders of the kingdom from humans but his admiration had only grown after finding out more of what they could do. He was very pleased to meet them and talk to them himself. Something occurred to Talori suddenly. "How are you guys going to eat down here? What about air? Do your suits need replenishing?" Harmony shook her head. "No. That''s part of the magic. The oxygen tanks are self-refilling and we ate these emergency rations we''ve created that have enough sustenance equal to three days of food and water on the boat before we came down here. We''re good to go." "Wow! When did you come up with that?" "Oh, years ago. In case we ever need to go into hiding and can''t bring much with us. We''re very good at surviving. Didn''t think we''d need them to hang out underwater though." "Brennan, did you have some too?" Talori asked curiously. He nodded. "Yeah. It was easier to do that than make my own bubbles to drink and be careful of not popping my air bubble when I was eating." That made sense. He had been very cautious when he stayed with her before but it was possible for him in a way it wasn''t for the witches. They relied on outside tools to survive down here while he could manage with his own magic. "It tastes like chocolate," Harmony confided. "Who wants emergency food to taste bad? It looks similar to a regular old candy bar. The magical nutrients are all in the filling. That took a lot of testing, let me tell you!" Talori believed it, having seen the experimental magic process up close so many times. Witches were incredibly persistent. "That''s amazing!" Harmony preened a little. "I know. Magic has nearly infinite applications. If you can think of it, you can probably make it happen. All it takes is time and, goodness knows, we have plenty of that." That was a benefit of living forever unless you were killed. You had all the time in the world. Everyone kept talking and brainstorming together until it was time for bed. Talori and Zale had food brought to them so they could keep going. She really wasn''t tired but knew her friends probably were from swimming around so much when they weren''t used to it. She wished them all goodnight and headed back to her room with her head full of thoughts. Talori was glad they were here. Brennan especially. She hoped she got more of a chance to talk to him tomorrow. He had been pretty tied up with Zale for a good chunk of the day. She didn''t blame either of them for it. She knew that her friend had been dying to work with her brother since before she went to go stay on the surface. They were both excited about this opportunity and didn''t want to waste it. She simply wished that this was a social visit rather than one of necessity. She still had so much to tell him. Would Brennan ever get to stay longer than a weekend? She knew how important his work was to him but also knew that he could take vacations but never did. Would he be willing to extend a trip in the future? Talori didn''t want to burden him by asking but it would be a lot more fun if she could show him around her kingdom properly during daylight hours. She hadn''t been able to do that the other two times he had been here either because she was stuck in the coral palace or because there was too much to do in too short a timeframe. She just wanted to be with him a little while longer. She had missed him. It was strange being apart after being together every day for over a year. That wasn''t long in the life of a fae but she had still gotten used to seeing him regularly. She sincerely hoped that the newly installed device in the coral palace would be able to help with that. If nothing else, she would be able to talk to him more often. That was something to look forward to. Talori knew Brennan couldn''t stay down here long term, just as she wasn''t meant to stay on the surface. It wouldn''t be the same as seeing him and doing things together in person but talking to him more would be better than nothing. He offered a special sort of companionship that she hadn''t been able to find down here after coming home. The nobles were wary of her after coming back from the dead and they hadn''t liked her much to begin with because she was seen as crazy. Her brother''s mermen remained formal. Aila didn''t talk to her the same way. She had hoped to make more friends down here and she had made one but that couldn''t replace the friendships she had made up there when she was free to be herself.. Especially the one she valued most. Chapter 76 - Far Too Short Talori woke up early the next morning because of her restlessness and discovered, to her great delight, that Brennan was up early too. They would finally have a chance to talk without anyone else around! "Brennan! What are you doing up?" "Couldn''t sleep," he said with a shrug. "You?" "Same. Do you want to come see more of the kingdom since it isn''t so dark out anymore?" she asked eagerly. The water fairy smiled at her. "That sounds great. Lead the way." Talori told him more about what she had been up to while they were apart and he listened as intently as he always did, asking questions now and then. This was how things had always been with him. She had missed this! The only other fae who had ever listened to her like this was Zale but it was different in a way she couldn''t fully explain. He was her brother. He had to listen to her ramble. Brennan didn''t have to be nice to her but he was anyway. He genuinely cared about what she had to say and had from the moment they met. He was her favorite fae to talk to. She hadn''t realized exactly how much she had missed this until she was able to do it again. Being able to talk to someone like him every day up on the surface had spoiled her. Having a friend like him in general had. No wonder she felt so off after coming back home. There wasn''t anyone like Brennan here. He was her first friend. That must have been why he set the bar for all future friendships. There was something special about firsts. Talori showed him the oyster farms, the dolphin stables, and where all the food was grown. His eyes widened as he swam forward to get a closer look. They were different in the light, as most things were. "This is so cool! I''m glad I''m able to see it better this time," Brennan said happily. She beamed at him. "Me too." Her friend appreciated her culture the way she appreciated his. It was what had originally helped the two of them become friends in the first place and it never changed. It was different from the way the witches were interested in it. They wanted to research things. He simply wanted to know because he loved the ocean and everything in it. Fairies were tied in to nature. He had told her that more than once. Brennan felt the ocean calling to him the way his friends felt called to lakes, rivers, ponds, or streams. His home was gone so he had latched onto another body of water. One that they happened to share a love for. Talori was sad that he lost his home but so glad he loved the ocean. It was what allowed her to meet him and set all of this in motion. If not for that, she would be at the bottom of the ocean right now having the life drained out of her. She found out after her return that someone else had been sent in her place and felt horrible about it. Zale had done his best to reassure her and after a while she tried to push it out of her head. Still, she worried about the mermaid who had taken her place and hoped she was doing alright down there. With her love of the surface, Talori never would have survived in the place that was the farthest from it. Hopefully someone who didn''t share her passion wouldn''t have the same problem even if it was dark and cold in the deep. At least Chief Indra had been nice enough when she talked to him. He hadn''t been angry enough about her supposed death to treat his replacement wife badly, had he? No. She couldn''t think about that right now. Not when she would have to say goodbye to her best friend again so soon. Talori looked at the additional light coming in and realized that her brother''s mermen might be looking for them. They should head back to the main palace. She told him so and he agreed quickly enough before swimming behind her. She slowed down so they could swim side by side and talk more easily. Brennan''s wings slowed him down a bit when he swam. His speed could never compare to someone with a tail. Not that he was super slow or anything. He swam faster than the witches did in their scuba suits. On their way back they ran into Sir Seaton, whose eyes widened in surprise. "Princess! We''ve been looking everywhere for you! Where have you been?" "Brennan and I both woke up early so I decided to show him around," Talori said sheepishly. "I apologize for any inconvenience our absence may have caused. Where is Zale?" "The throne room. He''s holding another meeting with the witches. I''ll escort you and the surface liaison there." "Are we in trouble?" Brennan asked her a few moments of swimming in silence later. He didn''t speak Mermish so he hadn''t heard what was being said but he seemed to catch onto the tone of the conversation anyway. That remained to be seen. She wasn''t sure how upset Zale would be that she disappeared but he would at least know she had been safe with Brennan, right? He trusted him. "I don''t think so?" Talori replied more uncertainly than she intended. "Zale should have been able to guess I was with you since we were both missing at the same time." "Aha." They arrived at the throne room and Zale didn''t seem angry. He seemed relieved she was back. "Where were you, Tali?" "I was showing Brennan around. He hasn''t been able to see much of the kingdom and we were both up early. I''m sorry I lost track of time and worried you." "I see. Still, you should have told someone where you were going so it would have been easier to find you," Zale scolded before addressing Seaton in Mermish. "Thank you for bringing her back." "Of course. I''ll return to my duties now," Seaton said before saluting Zale and swimming off. "We were discussing what we left off on last night," her brother informed them. "The potential magical applications for cleaning up this part of the ocean." That had been an interesting conversation. The trick would be finding the right magic item to do exactly what they wanted it to do. Some sort of trash catcher that would collect the debris to dispose of it before it could hurt any of the animals. Magic could do a lot of things but you had to know exactly what you wanted as a starting point before seeing if it was possible. This would take a lot of work¡­and a lot of merfolk tears and information exchange in order to pay for it. Witches never did things for free. Talori had learned that in her time on the surface. This was supposed to be mutually beneficial. Brennan''s motives were much more altruistic than the witches'' since he genuinely cared about what happened to the ocean. She couldn''t judge her witch friends for that though. He was a special case. They continued discussing the problem with occasional breaks for Zale and Talori to eat or for Zale to tell those who came looking for him that he was busy. Before she knew it, it was time for her friends to head back to their boat. She wasn''t ready to say goodbye but at least she had the ride back to the boat to talk more. Taron was sent with them this time since he was closest to the throne room when Zale called for someone. "Brennan," Talori asked hesitantly once they were on their way. "Is it okay if I call you even when there isn''t business to discuss?" He seemed surprised but smiled warmly at her. "Of course! I''d love to hear from you." She was relieved. She had thought he wouldn''t mind but it was nice having it confirmed all the same. The last thing she ever wanted to do was be a bother. She already felt like enough of one to Zale and his mermen. Unfortunately, the promise of being able to talk to him more later didn''t make saying goodbye when they arrived at the boat any less difficult. The witches were less sentimental about it, wanting to get out of their scuba suits after being in them for a couple of days. Talori couldn''t help but laugh. It faded quickly though when she turned back to Brennan. "When will I see you again?" "In person? Not sure. If your brother wants another meeting or if the witches need to collect the tears. Whichever comes first. You''ll still see me though when you call me." That wouldn''t be the same though. He was trying to make her feel better so she didn''t say that despite thinking it. "Yeah. Take care, Brennan," Talori said as she threw her arms around his neck. Hugging him like this was better than hazarding a guess where his wings were and hitting them by accident. They were glamoured the way they always were when others were around, which was a shame because they were beautiful. Brennan hugged her back tightly. "You too. It was good seeing you, Talori." It had been good to see him too. Wonderful, in fact. But it didn''t feel like enough.. His visit here had been far too short. Chapter 77 - She Needed Allies Here Talori watched Brennan go after they broke apart feeling rather forlorn. Taron noticed. "Are you alright, Princess?" "I''m fine," she sighed. "I''m just going to miss him." "That was who you stayed with when you were on the surface, correct?" "Yes." Taron went quiet after that. The ride back was incredibly quiet. Her brother''s mermen had never said more to her than they absolutely had to. It used to bother her but now it was driving her crazy because she had grown accustomed to constantly being in a conversation with someone or other on the surface. ''Talk to me!'' she wanted to scream. But she didn''t. It wasn''t her place to order them around. If they didn''t want to talk to her, they didn''t have to. Talori suddenly felt extremely lonely. She went off in search of Aila as soon as she returned so she would have someone to talk to and found her in the library practicing her English. She gave Talori a small smile when she spotted her. "Hello, Talori. Are the surface-dwellers gone?" "Yes, they had to get back to work tomorrow. Employers on the surface are very strict about attendance. The witches had more flexibility since the coven is their workplace and they were on coven business but Brennan was doing this on his own time." "I see." Talori had told her before about Brennan''s work and love of the ocean despite being raised on the surface and longing for the sky he was no longer allowed to fly freely through. He had confessed before that it felt like a part of him was lost not being able to fly the way he wanted. Fairies never touched the ground. They were always hovering at the very least since their wings were stronger than their legs. She had spent enough time with him to know that when he was around other fae that tended to hover higher. He frequently sat on nothing in thin air rather than on furniture. She felt sorry for him. She couldn''t imagine having restrictions on her ability to swim like that. Brennan had lost a lot because of the humans. His home. His family. The sky. No wonder he hated them so much. And yet he was still willing to work with them because he cared about the ocean more than he hated humanity. That said a lot about how deeply he cared about things underneath his calm demeanor. He cared a lot more than he let on. She had learned that about him fairly early into their friendship. He cared more than most fae she had met. "Would you like some help practicing?" Talori asked, pushing that thought aside so she could focus on her sister-in-law. Aila nodded gratefully. "I would appreciate that. I wish to be able to converse with our surface-dweller guests the next time they visit. I''m not much of a queen if I can''t speak to diplomats." "Don''t worry about it! English is hard to learn." Talori helped her practice her English until it was time for them to go to bed. Aila swam off toward her palace alone and she was reminded of her earlier concerns about Zale not paying enough attention to his wife. Aila must be terribly lonely out here as well. She had brought a personal maid from home but they didn''t seem to be close. This was standard. Most nobles weren''t friendly with their servants. Having a familiar face around was different than having someone she could confide in. Talori wished there was something she could do in that regard but she couldn''t force someone to open up against their will. She really did need to talk to Zale about this now that their guests were gone. === Aila was still struggling to adjust to life in the palace. She had never once so much as dreamed of being merqueen, though she knew she was destined to marry to benefit her family. Everyone whispered about her at the wedding. They all knew that Zale had only married her because she helped him get rid of the former merqueen and crown prince. There had been a lot of gossip about him since his coronation. Merfolk were having a hard time believing the idiot prince had been a schemer all along. Or that he actually was doing a better job than King Ren had. He was actively involved in more than parties. There hadn''t been a single one aside from the expected wedding celebration and his behavior was so different than it had been at every other party he ever attended that no one could stop talking about it. Zale spent most of the evening quietly sitting and observing everyone else, though he did talk to those brave enough to approach him. Gone were the days of frivolousness, fashion, and terrible poetry. The true Zale was cold, calculating, and didn''t care about being involved with anyone he didn''t deem absolutely necessary. Like Aila. He had only visited her at night a handful of times since their marriage, having only married her because he needed an heir. She hardly saw him outside of that unless Talori was involved. He obviously loved his sister very much. His mermen had called her his most precious treasure and she had seen for herself that it was true. Talori was bright, cheerful, enthusiastic, and everything that Zale wasn''t. But she was the only one who made him lighten up. The only times Aila had seen her husband laugh genuinely (the fake laughs at those parties where he pretended to be an idiot didn''t count) were when his sister was involved. Neither of these siblings fit their reputations. Zale was far from stupid and Talori was far from crazy. They had clearly both played those up to protect themselves from harem infighting. She was certainly an odd mermaid but she wasn''t crazy. She was simply interested in things that no one else cared about. Aila didn''t think that was a bad thing. Her strange interests ultimately were going to benefit the kingdom. No other merfolk ever would have dared journey to the surface, let alone befriend and form an alliance with fae who lived there. Talori was quite close with multiple types of fae that Aila had never previously heard of. Her best friend was a fairy. She was unusual but sweet. The only fae in this palace who made an effort to be friendly to her. Aila deeply appreciated that. She needed allies here. If Talori liked her, she could offer some degree of protection once the concubines came flooding in. One of the merking''s primary duties was to produce an heir. With the scarcity of fae children, the likelihood increased the more concubines he had. It was how things had always been. They were barely married and he had showed no interest in any other mermaids yet but she knew it was only a matter of time. Many more would join her over the centuries and she dreaded it because of what had happened in the last harem. Zale seemed cautious. After what happened with his mother it was possible he would be very choosy about who he put in the harem to prevent the same thing from happening. Aila desperately hoped that was the case. She didn''t want to deal with all of that. She wanted to live her life in peace as much as possible considering she had been thrown into this madness against her will. She had done her best to study to become a good merqueen, not wanting to let her father or her people down. She did care about the state of the ocean so she needed to do what she could in that regard. That was difficult since she didn''t speak English. Everything else she had learned was simple in comparison. Why was she having such a hard time with this specifically when it was so important? Aila had already been trying to learn it before the surface-dwellers came because it was something every member of the royal family was supposed to know but her determination only increased after she met them and had no idea what was going on without Talori translating for her. She had already felt bad during that meeting because of her own inadequacy but it didn''t help that her husband didn''t so much as look at her until just before they left. He told her he would visit her at night and she couldn''t deny she was nervous about being reprimanded for not being able to speak the language properly and embarrassing him in front of the surface-dwellers. She had seen so little of her husband that she didn''t know him very well. She only had her few observations and what Talori (who was biased) said to go off of. Of course she would think the world of him. He had always been exceedingly good to her. Aila didn''t have that luxury. Zale saw her as nothing more than a tool. And tools, when not useful, were left somewhere forgotten until they were needed. She knew that and, since she was wary of her husband, it wasn''t as if she truly wanted his attention but her position was precarious.. She didn''t want to return to her family in disgrace or, worse, be beheaded for treason. Chapter 78 - There Was No Winning Here, Was There? When Zale came to visit, Aila noticed that he didn''t seem displeased. He was usually fairly emotionless when he came to her chambers but tonight he was in a noticeable good mood. "¡­did things go well with the surface-dwellers?" she asked before she could stop herself. He nodded in satisfaction. "Very well. Those witches are fascinating. I have heard a lot about them from Tali but meeting them for myself exceeded my expectations. I look forward to the fruits of our alliance." That was more information than she expected to get. He normally didn''t say much when directly addressing her. He truly was in a good mood. "She has told me quite a bit about them as well," Aila said. "I believe working with them more will benefit us." "Right? I can''t believe no one else considered it before now. They''re what keep our borders safe from humans but they can do so much more!" Zale said with a shake of his head. "Granted, I wouldn''t have known how to propose working together further without Tali being involved with them already. We got very lucky." She knew how this had all happened. Talori told her how she used to sneak out to collect surface items and ended up saving Brennan and keeping him hidden so they could ask each other questions for a few days before Zale sent her away with him to protect her from being married off to a deep-sea merchieftain. Quite a story there. Talori was very talkative and had told the whole thing to Aila freely after explaining why and how she supposedly came back from the dead. There was nothing Zale wouldn''t do for his sister. He had faked her death so thoroughly to protect her from having to go into the dark. It was strange to Aila that someone so cold could love so deeply. She hadn''t figured him out. His mermen were very loyal to him so he must be someone worth following. His sister adored him because he adored her first. He was a much better merking than his father had been. Gossip bounced right off of him, leaving no meaning behind. That was most likely because he didn''t care what anyone thought. Why would others'' opinions matter when they themselves didn''t? Aila knew her opinion didn''t matter to him either but he still seemed pleased she agreed with what he was doing with the surface-dwellers. She doubted it had anything to do with her. He was pleased things had gone well today, that was all. "I am glad things are going to your satisfaction," she said diplomatically. Being diplomatic was the best way to deal with her husband since she didn''t trust him. She had to be the perfect merqueen on the surface since he had chosen her to keep her in line. He didn''t trust her either. Aila hadn''t expected much out of a political marriage but she had hoped at the very least that she wouldn''t have to fear her husband. Those low expectations had gone out the window as soon as he proposed. She had realized how dangerous he truly was the day she saw him drop his fa?ade. Zale was endlessly patient. Those were the most dangerous sort of strategists. "As am I," he said with a satisfied smile before reaching out to pull her onto his lap. He certainly didn''t waste time doing what he came here for. Aila didn''t expect him to stay after they were done. He never did. He had better things to do. This would be worrisome if there were other concubines around because she would worry she had already lost his favor but it wasn''t because she had guessed it was because he couldn''t be bothered to cater to a wife. He was a busy merman. One who never did anything that didn''t benefit him. Spending the whole night in his wife''s chambers didn''t benefit him so he didn''t. Simple as that. She didn''t know whether she should be relieved or insulted. Honestly, she experienced a combination of both. Aila wished she knew how she was going to survive here long term. Gaining her husband''s favor seemed impossible. Her only defense was trying to be as useful to him as she could and getting on Talori''s good side. He cared about her opinion at the very least. In dangerous situations it was often best to cling to the most powerful one in the room. In this case, it was the weakness of the most powerful one in the room that would offer the most protection. Talori was Zale''s weakness. It was why he was so protective of her. Though she had many duties to attend to as the liaison, she was never found without a guard. Neither was Aila but she suspected that was more because her husband wanted to keep an eye on her than because he wanted to protect her. She wished he knew she would never do anything to oppose him. He frightened her too much for that. Besides, she had no reason to since he was a better merking than the last. He could do whatever he wanted with her full support as long as it didn''t bring harm to her or her family. She saw her parents whenever they visited the palace but it wasn''t nearly often enough. And without privacy, she had to be careful what she said to them so it wouldn''t be reported back to her husband and seen as rebellion. Her father was very supportive of the new policies because he had been worried about the pollution for quite some time. He worried about his daughter because of the nature of the merking but didn''t let it show using his words. Aila understood what he meant. They were talented at holding silent conversations with each other. She spent the next day while the surface-dwellers were still here doing her best to brush up on her English. She wanted to understand what they were saying at the very least even if she couldn''t speak confidently by their next visit. She wasn''t the only one either. She noticed over the next week after they left that the majority of the royal guard was trying to learn as well. The library was rather crowded as Talori lead the lessons. It had started with solely the two of them until Sir Cyreus and Sir Aeces (who were guarding her and the princess) wanted to learn as well so they could be more useful to their king. She ended up teaching a full-on class before long as others heard about it. Talori was a surprisingly good teacher. Aila wouldn''t have expected that. She was very patient and when complimented on it she said that she had learned it from her friend Brennan when he was teaching her things about the surface. It had taken her months to acclimate and he had been an excellent teacher as she did. "Thank you for the lesson, Princess," Sir Nerio said as he prepared to leave since he had other duties to attend to. "You''re welcome! But you really don''t have to call me Princess. We''re all friends here, aren''t we? Please feel free to call me Talori. I grew used to that during my time on the surface." All of the mermen present seemed surprised. "We couldn''t possibly disrespect you in such a way." Talori insisted. "Please, it isn''t disrespectful! You all call Zale by his name so you can do the same for me. I prefer it that way." They all exchanged glances. "I suppose if you prefer it¡­" "Do you truly consider us friends?" Sir Aeces asked hesitantly. It seemed that he wasn''t the only one with that question on his mind because the others listened intently to see what her answer would be. Talori smiled warmly at them. "Of course! We are spending time together, aren''t we? That''s what friends do." All of the mermen executed a perfectly timed salute and chanted together, "It is our honor to be considered your friend. Thank you, Talori." Her smile grew even brighter. "You''re very welcome!" Everyone but those personally assigned to Talori and Aila for the day left then and she couldn''t help but think yet again that this mermaid was odd. Not in a bad way but definitely odd. Had she always been like this or had her time on the surface changed her? It must have at least to some degree. Clearly she had let them all call her Princess for decades before this. And hadn''t been friendly with them. Or perhaps they hadn''t been friendly with her and she had been afraid of upsetting the way things were. It was hard to tell. Either way, she had been very bold in speaking her mind today. Aila wished she could be so brave. She had to hide her true feelings and desires so she wouldn''t get in trouble here in this new place she was still struggling to navigate.. Perhaps she needed to be friendlier to the guards as well¡­though that might be perceived as a betrayal if she got TOO friendly. There was no winning here, was there? Chapter 79 - Completely Defenseless Because of Talori''s English lessons, Aila''s abilities did improve slightly. She also managed to get somewhat of a read on most of her husband''s devoted guards since they had been present as well. The one she saw least often was the one that spent the most time with him. Beck. His personal guard. Aila had maybe heard him speak twice in all her time here. He was silent, expressionless, and rarely left Zale''s side. He was like a shadow. Talori mentioned once that Beck knew him best because he had known him longest. He was also the most loyal because they had grown up together. Personal guards took their oaths of loyalty very seriously. Former crown prince Merrick''s had been given the option of swearing to serve the new merking or die and chose the latter. Getting into Beck''s head would help her understand her husband better and possibly win him over but Aila wasn''t hopeful about that. Talori hadn''t managed to do it and she had known Beck her whole life. It was unlikely she would be able to get her husband''s right-hand merman on her side. She hadn''t managed to sway any of the other guards and she had been spending more time with them. She was polite to all of them but they didn''t treat her the way they treated Talori. Of course. They had known her longer and she was the most precious treasure of their master. After Talori declared they were friends she noticed the guards relaxed around her a little more and smiled at her often. What she said touched them. Why wouldn''t it? She was a lovely mermaid with a sparkling personality once you got past how odd she could be. These mermen had likely already known her tendency to have strange interests since they had been around her for so long. Aila may be the merqueen but Talori had the true power in this palace. She had far more influence because she had managed to win over a good portion of the staff. She wasn''t actively trying to either. Unlike her brother, she was no schemer. Everything she did was genuine now that she was no longer following his orders to act crazy for her own protection. Those siblings truly were polar opposites in terms of personality. Perhaps that was part of why Zale adored her so much. She was everything he wasn''t. Sweet, enthusiastic, and innocent. She lightened him up. Aila had seen that personally. She was the only one who could make him laugh, though he occasionally smiled at things his mermen said to him as well. They were all obviously good friends. That helped explain their intense loyalty to their master. He treated them very well. It wasn''t that he treated Aila badly. He simply didn''t pay her much notice. She was here to be watched and provide an heir. Associating with her for anything beyond that didn''t seem to be on his list of priorities, especially with how busy he was. She couldn''t help but wonder if this was how things would always be. If he couldn''t be bothered to make time for a wife, she doubted he would for a concubine. The only one he loved was Talori. Other concubines were likely to get the same treatment Aila was getting now. The thought didn''t cheer her as much as it should. "Your Majesty, the merking is looking for you," a grave voice spoke up after knocking on her door, as she was lying around in her chambers. She hadn''t felt up to seeing anyone because she had too much on her mind. She told them to come in and was surprised to see Beck. Zale had sent him personally to fetch her? That was new. What did he want her for in the middle of the day? "Did he mention why?" "No." Aila was filled with apprehension. Had she done something wrong? She didn''t have an option but to follow Beck to the throne room where Zale was just dismissing one of the royal advisors. "You wished to see me, Your Majesty?" "No need to be so formal. There isn''t anyone who cares here," he said with a wave of his hand. "I have been informed that your studies are going well. I want to see how much you have learned. Go on and speak in English." Aila knew she was being spied on but which one of her study companions had told on her? Though, come to think of it, it may have been Talori simply making conversation. It sounded like something she would do. But why would Zale care whether or not her English lessons were going well? Was he disappointed that they weren''t going better? He hadn''t said anything before! "I am still learning," she said slowly in English to be sure she pronounced everything correctly. "But I am making more progress now that Talori is teaching me." He replied in English as well and she could understand what he was saying. "I have heard that your private tutoring sessions have turned into a full class. A clever idea. The more contact we have with the surface-dwellers, the more of us that should be able to communicate with them." "It was Talori''s idea." "Of course it was." His tone was undeniably fond when he said that. "She is a very good teacher. She said she learned how from her friend Brennan," Aila continued. Zale nodded thoughtfully. "Brennan is an interesting fae. A useful ally to have. I am glad he is willing to work with us." It seemed that her earlier belief that everyone was either an ally, an enemy, or irrelevant hadn''t been that far off. The problem was that she didn''t know where she fell on the scale. Aila had helped him once in a major way, which was part of why he had married her, but he had done it because he was suspicious of her too. He was afraid of her turning on him so he had taken away the option. "Talori is lucky to have him as a friend," she said, not knowing how else to respond. "Indeed," Zale mused before changing the subject. "Your English is coming along quite well. You have only been studying it for a few months so do not be too hard on yourself. I am sure you will be fluent given enough time. You already seem to know enough to get by when our allies return. Be sure to keep practicing." Was that a compliment and encouragement at the same time? Not at all what she had come to expect from her husband. "Thank you, Your¡ªZale." He seemed like he was stifling a laugh. What was that about? "You may return to whatever you were doing. I shall see you at dinner." "Until then," she said as she swam away feeling rather perplexed. What was all that about? Had he truly only summoned her to see how her English was coming along and compliment her on it? That didn''t seem like him at all. She didn''t know what she was supposed to think. But Aila didn''t want to return to what she had been doing. She wanted to do something that made her feel productive since she had just been praised for her efforts. There were palace duties she should attend to. She needed to send her personal maid to track down the head maid. She had household reports to look over and staffing issues to solve. Royalty never rested. At least not when they took their jobs seriously. Zale took his job seriously. He hardly had a moment to himself but he had still spared time to talk to her when he didn''t have to. If someone had told him she was doing well already, why had he felt the need to verify it for himself? That seemed like a waste of time to her and he wasn''t the type to do that. There she was thinking about the strangeness of their meeting again. She needed to focus on the task at hand once the head maid arrived. Her husband may have confused her but that was no reason to slack off. She was determined to be the best merqueen she could be so her husband would see her as more of an asset than a liability. It was her only defense right now. Aila could protect herself by making herself useful and trying to find allies. She had already succeeded somewhat with Talori and was trying her best with most of the royal guard. What more could she be doing? If she knew what Zale liked, she could try to cater to him better but she didn''t dare ask. Observation could only do so much though. The only thing she had seen that he truly seemed to like was his sister but emulating Talori wouldn''t work. It was possible he cared for her solely because they were blood related. Was there some other way she could please him? She had to be very careful not to push her luck. Taking the initiative could have the opposite effect of what she wanted if he found her to be annoying. Aila wished she knew what she was supposed to do in this situation.. She had gone into this marriage completely defenseless and hadn''t made nearly as much progress as she had wanted in the past few months. Would she ever feel secure here with all of the palace politics and not knowing who to trust? Chapter 80 - I Cant Tell If Youre Joking Or Not Zale was still adjusting to being the merking. It had been his goal for over a century but there was much more to do than he had anticipated. His mermen were helping him a lot¡ªespecially Beck¡ªbut he was busier than he had ever been. He felt like he spent all of his time in meetings. He barely got to see Talori anymore but he had to carve time out for her or he would lose his mind with how much he had to do. Seeing her so happy reminded him of why he was doing all this. It helped keep him going when he had to deal with annoyances such as King Ren''s advisors being difficult or nobles giving him a hard time to test his capabilities. But he noticed after a while that the novelty of having her dream job had worn off and that she seemed to have something on her mind. Then the surface-dwellers came and her usual spark was back. He was willing to bet it had to do with them. When he found out she was giving English lessons to most of his mermen and insisted that they should call her by name because they were friends that confirmed it for him. Talori missed them. She had grown used to the way things were up there. For most of her life, her primary contact had been with Zale but when she was on the surface she was involved with all sorts of fae. Going back to her old isolation was difficult for her. He felt terrible for not realizing she was struggling sooner. She had never said anything and she had always been so bright and cheerful. Had his little sister always been lonely and he simply never noticed? She probably had. Zale hadn''t meant for that to happen. He should have realized that a personality like hers wouldn''t have been satisfied being treated with deference. She liked being involved in the action. His mermen had always called him by name but had always called her Princess. She hadn''t liked that based on what he heard from Nerio. But if she had disliked it all this time, why hadn''t she ever said anything? He would have gotten them to address her by her name much sooner if that was what she wanted. It was impossible for him to read her mind. She may be very open with her affection or excitement but she rarely showed when she was upset. He had thought it was because she didn''t GET upset but now he realized that was stupid. Everyone got upset. Talori clearly missed her surface friends. She had been so happy when they were here. When she came back from her early morning excursion showing Brennan around the kingdom she had been happier than Zale had seen her in years. Now that he was gone, she spent an awful lot of time holed up in the room with the long-range communication device in the evenings according to his mermen. She needed to make more friends here. He saw that now. At least she seemed to like Aila. She talked about her frequently when the two of them were together. Talori had been the one who said he needed to pay more attention to his wife. She had scolded him rather thoroughly for it yesterday, which was why he had bothered to summon Aila today to see how she was doing. Zale wasn''t sure how well it went. That was one hard to read mermaid. She hid everything she may or may not be feeling behind her noble manners. "Do you think that went alright?" he asked Beck once she left. "I know even less about mermaids than you do." He had a point. Neither of them had spent much time around mermaids aside from servants and Talori. Parties didn''t count because Beck said nothing and Zale had acted like an idiot. He hadn''t actually gotten to know any of those noble mermaids. Zale sighed. He hadn''t wanted a wife but he had needed one. There had never been a merking on the throne who didn''t have a merqueen. He had absolutely no intention of filling up his harem unless he absolutely had to. He would give Aila a century or so and if things still weren''t working, he would have to bring someone else in. Hopefully it wouldn''t come to that. Harem politics had killed his mother and taken away his and his sister''s childhoods. It was why he had to be something he wasn''t for so long. He didn''t want to inflict that on his own children. "I don''t want her to be miserable here. She did help me gain the throne in the end," Zale said as he rubbed his temples. He hadn''t thought there was anything wrong until Talori brought it up. She said she thought Aila was lonely since she didn''t know anyone here and he hardly gave her the time of day. It wouldn''t have even occurred to him. "Maybe you should find out what she likes," Beck suggested. "I can''t think of any other way to make a mermaid happy." That might work. Talori was happiest when she was doing things related to what she liked. She was fairly easily satisfied though. He didn''t know what Aila''s true temperament was. "I can try," Zale said wearily. Beck clapped him on the shoulder. "I am sure you can figure it out." He appreciated the vote of confidence but wasn''t sure he would be able to do this properly. He knew nothing about romantic relationships. The only meaningful relationships he ever had were familial in nature. His mother. Talori. Beck. Zale had largely been treating Aila like one of his mermen. They were friendly and occasionally teased each other but for the most part they stuck to business. Minus the friendly, teasing part. He had been all business with his wife because he didn''t know her very well. Marrying her had been impulsive but he had been killing two birds with one stone, as Talori would say. Procuring himself a merqueen and rewarding her for her help at the same time. Not to mention being able to keep an eye on her and her father more easily since they knew the truth about how he became merking. "I certainly hope so," Zale muttered. He wasn''t good with relationships. Almost everyone in his life was only there because he had made it so they felt like they owed him. He genuinely cared about very few. Only two, really. The rest of his mermen were different from Beck since he was basically family. They were replaceable while Beck was not. Zale likely would never have any real feelings for his wife. But he could at the very least try to foster some sort of relationship with her beyond the physical. That would make her less likely to turn on him later, wouldn''t it? "Are you ever going to get married, Beck?" he asked randomly. His friend had never shown any interest in mermaids. The only thing he cared about was Zale accomplishing his goal so he and Talori could be happy because their happiness was what made Beck happy. "Forgive me, but that sounds like a fate worse than death," Beck deadpanned. Zale couldn''t help it. He burst out laughing. That was such a Beck answer that he should have seen it coming but didn''t, which made it that much funnier. He didn''t even like talking to his comrades much. Trying to keep a mermaid satisfied may very well be beyond his considerable skill set. "There isn''t anyone you have your eye on? You could have the pick of the bunch. Anyone would be happy to marry their daughter off to the merking''s closest advisor," he teased. Beck shook his head. "I already have one mermaid to worry about and don''t need another." He had to be talking about Talori. She was his concern because she was Zale''s. He had always looked out for her despite the two of them not talking much. He cared about her well-being even though they weren''t close. "You could solve that problem by marrying Tali but you would have to woo her first," Zale said with a laugh. He would never marry his sister off without her consent but there was no one better he could entrust her to. If Beck was interested, he would support him going for it. "I can''t tell if you''re joking or not," Beck said with slightly narrowed eyes. "I''m not. I only laughed because you''d have an interesting time trying to win her over if that was what you wanted to do. As far as I''m aware, she has never been romantically interested in anyone." "That does not mean she would be interested in me." Zale raised an eyebrow. "Beck, do you actually like her? You never said anything!" "Talori is someone I have to protect. I have never entertained such thoughts. I care about her but not in the way you are implying." Right. He must have been crazy to think that someone so serious could ever be interested in a mermaid like Talori that way. She probably wouldn''t be happy with anyone who couldn''t handle her rather intense personality anyway. A pity. There was no one he would be able to trust more with his sister''s heart. Any potential suitors she had would have to go through an extensive vetting process to make sure they had her best interests in mind.. It would be a lot easier if it was someone Zale already trusted. Chapter 81 - Youre Doing Fine Zale was too embarrassed to ask Aila what she liked directly so he approached his sister first. She was the one who wanted him to pay more attention to his wife so she would probably be willing to help him out. She seemed pleased and clapped her hands together. "Oh good! I''m glad you''ve finally come to your senses. Don''t worry about a thing¡ªInspector Talori is on the case!" He didn''t know what that last part meant. It must be some surface thing. There had been a lot of things like that since she came back. She had deeply immersed herself in the culture up there, as he had expected she would when he first sent her away. The next day she reported back that Aila liked kelp weaving and pearl accessories. Alright. He could work with that. Zale contacted the most revered pearl accessory craftsman in the kingdom about commissioning pieces for his wife. She would need better jewelry for future events anyway so at least the gifts would be useful. When they were finished he presented them to her while visiting her chambers. A genuine smile made it onto her face as she held up the necklace to admire it. "Oh, they''re beautiful! Thank you, Zale!" "I''m glad you like them," he said gruffly, relieved that she was so happy to receive his gifts. This was the most enthusiasm he had ever seen from her. He would have to thank his sister again for tipping him off. He would buy her all the pearl accessories in the world if it would keep her from being miserable here. "I do! Much better than the other jewelry you sent." Aila immediately looked as though she wished she could take that back but Zale wasn''t offended. He had sent her the ridiculous jewelry he made out of surface items because it befit his idiotic character. He would never give something like that away sincerely. In fact, the look on her face and the situation itself struck him as so amusing that he couldn''t help but laugh. "I do hope you realize my tastes aren''t actually that bad." She seemed relieved he wasn''t upset with her for speaking her mind. "I figured as much. You don''t wear anything like that now that it isn''t necessary." So she had figured out what he was doing back then. Hindsight could do that. Once she knew he cared about the state of the ocean it wouldn''t be too hard to figure out. He wondered how long she had known. "No. I couldn''t care less about fashion, honestly. It was all part of the charade," Zale confessed. "A very thorough one. I had you figured out though." "Did you really? What gave me away?" "It was only a suspicion that was later proved correct. You did draw an awful lot of attention to that ugly jewelry. It made me wonder if you were doing it on purpose," Aila admitted. "It turned out I was right." She was a lot smarter than he gave her credit for. No one else had caught on to what he was doing that far back. "Indeed. I''m impressed." Aila smiled again. "That''s quite a compliment coming from you." Zale supposed he didn''t impress easily but how would she know that? They hardly interacted. Was that a strange way of complimenting him? She thought it was quite a compliment because she thought he was smart or something? He coughed, feeling a bit awkward. "I suppose I''ve made a rather strange impression on you, haven''t I? My apologies." He meant it. He had acted like an idiot in front of her at first, then abruptly dropped the mask when she came to him with information about Nerida planning to murder her husband and blame him for it, then flip flopped before finally revealing his true colors and sticking with that. She must have been rather confused by everything. Confusing her hadn''t been his intention. It had been a side effect of her being swept up in his plans. He really should have planned better where acquiring a wife was concerned. "You have," Aila confessed. "I must admit, I am still trying to figure you out." That made two of them. He wasn''t sure he would ever know what he was supposed to do with the mermaid he had married. This was so far outside of what he was comfortable with that he was floundering. "What are you trying to figure out exactly?" Zale asked, curious. He knew he was a complicated fae. At least to outsiders. His motives were really rather straightforward if you knew about them properly. "I¡­I''m not sure I should say," she told him apologetically. "I don''t wish to upset you." The only thing that would upset him was if she was planning to assassinate him or Talori. He highly doubted that was on her mind. She could say whatever she wanted without hurting his feelings or whatever she was worried about. "It would take more than I believe you''re capable of to do that," he said dryly. Aila sighed and wouldn''t meet his eyes, fiddling with the necklace in her hands. "I wish to know how to please you so I can solidify my position here." Ah. So she wasn''t lonely, as Talori had speculated. She was worried because she didn''t have any allies in the palace and had to know she was here in part because he wanted to keep an eye on her. She was a clever one. "You don''t have to worry about that." "Forgive me, but I do. I don''t know you beyond the fact that you used me to kill your stepmother and half-brother for the sake of your revenge. You could get rid of me just as easily." That was perhaps the boldest thing Aila had ever said to him. Once again, he was impressed. Zale could reward her honesty with honesty of his own. He felt bad that she had been worried about this the whole time she had been here. He needed to reassure her that she had nothing to worry about as long as she had no intention of betraying him. "The only reason I would do that is if you betray me. I think you''re too smart to try something so foolish. I take care of my merfolk, Aila. As long as you continue your duties as merqueen, I won''t let anything happen to you." "And if I can''t? What happens if I can''t provide an heir?" Aila asked, her voice shaking slightly. So she was worried about harem infighting. He was too, which was why he didn''t want a harem in the first place. His life would be so much easier without one. If being the merking didn''t require producing offspring. But here he was, already dealing with trying to placate one stressed mermaid and feeling guilty about it. Zale sighed. How was he supposed to explain that without coming off as horribly insulting? He didn''t think there was a way to do that. "That isn''t your only duty. Do the others and you''ll be fine." It was all he could say. He didn''t know how to explain his issues with harems and mermaids in general. She already had to know she wasn''t wanted to some degree since he hardly made time for her. He didn''t want to make things worse. Zale needed to be more considerate of her. Talori had been right in that regard. Aila was finally confessing some of her thoughts and feelings and none of them were good. He needed to make more time to see her. He should also probably visit her every night to increase their chances so he didn''t have to bring in anyone else. Because that was the last thing he wanted to do and, based on this conversation, she didn''t want that either. They had the same goal here. Aila didn''t seem wholly convinced by what he said but she let the matter drop and returned to her original question. "What do I need to do?" "You don''t need to do anything. You''re doing fine as you are," Zale told her honestly. She was managing palace affairs very well and her English was coming along. He couldn''t ask for more this early in their marriage. He knew that getting pregnant would take decades if not longer. "There has to be something!" Aila pleaded, looking at him with desperation in her light yellow eyes. He had never noticed her eyes were yellow before. It was a different shade than his or Talori''s but they were beautiful. She was beautiful in general, though he had never been one who cared much for aesthetics. She made a fine merqueen. Zale wished she felt more secure in her position. There truly wasn''t anything threatening it. Would he be able to convince her of that? He sighed and cupped her face in his hands before resting his forehead against hers. "Relax, Aila. I know you have no reason to trust me but you''re safe here. I don''t need you to do any more than you''ve already been doing.. You haven''t disappointed me in the slightest." Chapter 82 - And That Doesnt Bother You? This was a very intimate expression of affection. One Zale had never done to anyone other than his mother or sister. He had only done it now because he couldn''t think of any other way to prove to his wife that she had his favor. He wasn''t like his father. He had no interest in collecting beautiful mermaids. All he cared about was keeping the kingdom running and that unfortunately included providing an heir. Aila didn''t have anything to worry about but she was right that she didn''t know him. What little she had seen of him wasn''t the most flattering. He could see why it would have caused her worry but he didn''t get rid of merfolk arbitrarily! He had good reason for what he did. "I haven''t? Truly?" she whispered. Zale sighed as he pulled away. "No. I apologize for causing you anxiety. That was never my intention." Aila eyed him with an unfathomable expression. He couldn''t tell if she believed his words or not. He wished she would. That would make things so much easier. "Then what were your intentions?" Ah. This was where things could get dicey. She had most likely already guessed that she was here partially as a reward and partially so he could ensure she didn''t betray him. He didn''t have to mention that part. "I needed a queen and you were the best candidate but I''m afraid I don''t have much experience with mermaids. I didn''t neglect you on purpose," he said sincerely. "I simply don''t know what I''m supposed to do with a wife¡­as terrible as that sounds out loud. "Please let me know if there is anything I can do to make your life here more comfortable. This is your home now and I wish that you would be able to feel secure here. You have nothing to fear from me or anyone else." Aila cracked a smile. "That does sound fairly terrible out loud." "¡­forgive me." Zale was unaccountably nervous. He didn''t GET nervous. At least not about anything aside from Talori''s safety and well-being when they were apart. That had been a special circumstance. Dealing with mermaids was such a hassle! He didn''t know what he was supposed to do to make his wife happy and she wasn''t giving him much to work with. Aila tilted her head and regarded him curiously. "If you don''t have much experience with mermaids, what have you spent all of your time doing? Everyone thought you were a frivolous flirt." Zale flushed. His act sounded so much worse than it was when she put it that way. "Spouting bad poetry and sending gifts to solidify my cover as an idiot worked better than I thought. Most of my time was spent training or working on my plan. There was a lot to do in that regard. I didn''t have time for anything that would distract me from that." "Aside from your sister." "Tali was hardly a distraction. She was why I bothered with any of that in the first place," Zale scoffed before realizing that may have been too much information. Aila was giving him that unfathomable look again. "You took over the kingdom for your sister?" "Not only for her. I do care about the state of the ocean more than any of the other foolish royals did¡­but it was a factor. After that shark Nerida framed and killed our mother I knew I had to protect her by any means necessary." Zale had already played the fool to protect himself after seeing his half-brother poisoned. He thought he could live a quiet life with his mother staying out of the merqueen''s way as much as possible until Talori was born and she felt threatened. He had trained hard in secret to become strong so he could protect his mother and sister but he had still been unable to save the former. There hadn''t been anything he could do against an accusation of treason. That was when he knew that living quietly wouldn''t keep what he loved safe. That the only way to let his sister live a good life was to destroy all those who might cause her harm. Nerida provoked him first. She shouldn''t have come after Nahla. She brought her fate upon herself. "I see. I am sorry about your mother," Aila said softly. "It happened a long time ago," Zale replied as if it didn''t matter anymore when it had actually shaped the events of the majority of his life. Nahla had been a beautiful mermaid. Too beautiful for her own good, which was why King Ren took her as a concubine. Beautiful, sweet, and soft. Someone as soft as her never could have won against someone as cunning and ruthless as Nerida. Talori was so similar to her. She was too soft to survive in a harsh world of schemers as well. That was why Zale had kept her so sheltered up until he had to send her away. He still missed his mother. He missed the way things used to be when the three of them lived together peacefully in the coral palace. Those memories seemed so far away now. Everything had changed. Zale got his revenge. His mother could finally rest in peace knowing that Nerida had gotten what she deserved and that the daughter she never got to see grow up was safe. That was all he could have asked for after losing her so horribly. Aila surprised him by leaning her head against his shoulder. She said nothing but he got the sense that she was trying to comfort him. When was the last time someone did that? It wasn''t something that happened often. He wasn''t the type to need comforting. He knew how to carry on. It was what had gotten him this far. The only ones who had ever done it before were his family. His mother, Talori, and Beck. He was a firm believer that you chose who your family was. He certainly hadn''t counted his father, stepmother, or half-siblings. He didn''t count his wife either since she was a necessary evil and nothing more. Aila didn''t care about him. She was only doing this because she wanted to please him. She was acting in her own self-interest. Zale didn''t blame her for that. Goodness knows he had done the same thing regarding her. But that didn''t mean he was going to go and let her into his guarded heart either. Unfortunately, that didn''t stop him from having to worry about her. She was his responsibility and he needed to do a better job taking care of her even if he didn''t have an emotional reason to do so. There was nothing emotional about this. He was in a political marriage. There were strategic reasons to keep Aila happy though. He really should have considered that sooner but he hadn''t realized she was unhappy so what could he have done? Now that Zale knew, he was going to do better. After they concluded their business that night he didn''t leave like usual. He curled up in the bed next to her and took a long time to fall asleep because he wasn''t used to sharing a bed. He was going to have to though if he wanted her to feel secure in her position. What a bother. He ate breakfast with Aila and Talori before going into a series of meetings. Beck didn''t get the chance to talk to him alone until they had a few minutes in between two of them in the afternoon. "You weren''t in your room this morning. Did the presents work?" They did but Zale was fairly certain that the conversation that followed was what really made the difference. Aila had needed the reassurance, whether she actually believed it or not. At least he knew what she needed to be satisfied now. Even if much of that conversation had been embarrassing. "They got her to open up a bit, which was useful. Apparently I need to be more attentive. Tali was right. She''s become very good at things like this since coming back from the surface. She learned a lot up there." Beck nodded. "She seems almost like a different mermaid." Zale wasn''t sure he agreed with that. Talori was still as bubbly and enthusiastic about what she liked as ever but she had become a lot more proactive. He was willing to bet that was Brennan''s influence on her. She certainly talked about him a lot. Almost every time he saw her, she would mention the fairy at least in passing. "Brennan''s influence, I would guess." "And that doesn''t bother you?" "Why would it? All I''ve ever wanted is for Tali to be happy. If being more assertive about what she wants does that for her, I''m all for it," Zale said seriously. A small divot appeared between Beck''s brows. That was about as much expression as he showed. Something was troubling him. What was it? It took even more to bother him than it took to bother Zale. "What is it?" "Are you not at all concerned with how attached Talori is to that fairy?" Beck asked. Chapter 83 - He Was Just Being Honest Zale blinked at his friend, thrown off by the question. "She is attached to all of her surface-dweller friends. She talks about them all the time." "Yes but you must admit she talks about him the most," Beck pointed out. "She spent the most time with him. That isn''t so unusual." "I have heard the other guards talking. She calls him nearly every day and they hear her laugh a lot from the other side of the door. And she was rather affectionate with him when he was here." Zale eyed him shrewdly. "What are you getting at?" "I do not wish for her to end up disappointed. You must have seen how there was something different about her before and after the surface-dwellers visited. Being too attached to someone who lives far away will not end well for her," Beck said seriously. He had noticed. But he thought it was because she was lonely. She seemed to be doing a lot better now that she was friendlier with his mermen and conducting those English classes. Though that had coincided with the long-range communication device being installed. Was Beck right? Zale hadn''t considered that. He had simply been glad that Talori seemed happier. "Obviously I don''t want her to be disappointed either but what am I supposed to do about it? I can''t tell her not to talk to him. That would upset her further and be counterproductive since we need his connections." "That was not what I was suggesting." What was he suggesting then? Weaning her off somehow by keeping her so busy she didn''t have time to talk to him as much? That could work. There were plenty of things around here that Zale could ask for Talori''s help with. She wasn''t likely to say no since she was a helpful fae by nature. It wasn''t that Zale needed her to stop talking to Brennan. Just¡­less. Hopefully that way she would be less attached to someone living so far away. She would still have to talk to him as the liaison but if it happened less often, they would have to stay on topic. She was lonely, that was all. She needed to get her fulfilment from fae that were here. He could find a way to make that work. Beck brought up a valid point. The last thing he wanted was for Talori to ultimately end up disappointed. She needed more friends that were close by. "I see," Zale said. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention. She should be fine as long as she has friends here." He hadn''t realized how much she needed social interaction until he saw the difference it made when she went from having it to going back to the way things used to be. There were plenty of merfolk around who could be her friend. Then she wouldn''t have to depend on fae who she would see so infrequently and her mood could remain stabilized between their visits. Everything would be fine. Talori simply had to adjust to being back here and having things be different than they were before. She belonged here. Now that she was home, she should depend more on merfolk than surface-dwellers. === Brennan''s mood had been seriously boosted by visiting Talori''s kingdom. He was finally doing what he set out to do from the start and he got to see her again. He wished he could have stayed longer but he had to get back to work. At least he had video calls to look forward to. She had wanted to stay in touch more. He was in a good mood the whole boat ride back. Then they got to shore and Castian was anxiously waiting on the dock, looking incredibly relieved when he spotted Harmony and she waved at him enthusiastically. "Oh my gosh, Castian, the merfolk kingdom was the most amazing thing I''ve ever seen! Look at all of these pictures I took!" She clicked through her camera, chattering enthusiastically about what everything was as she went, and he smiled fondly at her. Brennan was standing with the other witches and still felt like a third wheel. Just like that, his good mood was gone. He had been one ever since Talori left but it had been worse recently because whatever weird air was between the two of them vanished. He was surrounded by other fae but somehow felt more alone than ever. Brennan headed to his car and went home. He needed to sleep. That ought to recalibrate him. And it did somewhat. He got back to work the next day and thought about how what they were doing at his job tied into what he had talked about with Zale over the weekend and that kept him distracted. Then he went to the witch coven after work and Harmony had endless things to talk about because of all the new ideas swimming in her head after her time underwater so that kept him distracted too. Then Castian came over and he wished yet again that their quartet hadn''t gone down a member so he didn''t feel so left out. This was how things always were with him. He didn''t belong anywhere. He latched onto whoever could keep him busy but in the end he always knew he was an outsider. He was weighed down by that reminder until the next day when he was hanging out in Harmony''s office and the long-range communication device began ringing. He answered it eagerly and when Talori''s beaming face filled the screen the cloud hanging over him immediately lifted. "Hey, Talori." "Hi, Brennan! Hi, Harmony!" she chirped. Harmony waved from the background before getting back to what she was doing. She had been rather engrossed. That left Brennan to talk with Talori for a few hours without interruption. It was really nice. He hadn''t had a lot of time to do that without other fae cutting in on the conversation when he visited. She told him more about her sister-in-law, her role as liaison and all the new things she was doing, and how Zale was doing a great job as merking. She had much more to say than he did but that was perfectly fine with him. He felt better just listening to her. He still felt like a massive third wheel a lot of the time but over the next few weeks as he was able to talk to her nearly every day, he was able to deal with it better. He had missed being able to talk like this. Talori wasn''t one to complain but she mentioned off-handedly that she missed being called by her name because everyone here called her Princess. She had a distinctly forlorn air about her when she said that so he suggested that she ask them not to do that since they didn''t call Zale by his title. She was apprehensive but the next time he talked to her she was all smiles and bouncing happily in the water because it had worked. She said she was friends with the majority of the guards now because she had been teaching them English and that was why they agreed. Good for her. It was impossible not to be happy when she was. Brennan was just starting to get used to their new pattern when it changed again. Instead of calling every day after he got off work, she only called once or twice a week. "I''m sorry, Brennan. I''ve been so busy! Zale has me doing so much to help him out and my English classes blew up so now I''m teaching more merfolk than ever and Aila''s been teaching me how to weave kelp and¡ª" "Don''t worry about it. I understand," he reassured her. He did. Talori had the life she always wanted. He was happy for her, he really was. He just¡­wished he could talk to her more. This was fine. He could listen to all of her exploits whenever she was able to talk to him. It wasn''t like he had anything more pressing going on. He was available whenever he wasn''t at work and Harmony was in her office. Which was most of the time. She wasn''t in on weekends the way she used to be¡ªprobably off spending time with Castian¡ªbut that didn''t matter because he spent his weekends with his water fairy friends anyway. They kept trying to set him up but were running out of options because of how off-putting his interests were. He wasn''t even being obnoxious on purpose. He was just being honest. That was enough to drive any water fairy off. Brennan had long accepted that he would always be alone. So why did it bother him more now than usual? Because he had gotten used to living with someone again and now had to go back to the way things were before? Not any old roommate would do though. It would have to be someone he genuinely enjoyed talking to. Like Talori.. Though he was fairly certain she was one of a kind. Chapter 84 - Think Tank "Brennan, are you okay? Like, actually okay," Harmony asked as she narrowed her eyes at him one day a few weeks into Talori''s upsurge in busyness where he got to talk to her less. "I''m fine." "No, I don''t think you are. You''ve been sitting here listening to me ramble without hardly saying a word for weeks. That isn''t like you. You''ve always had more to say than that. You miss Talori, don''t you?" How was she able to see through him so easily? He did miss Talori. He knew she was happier where she was though. She had been wanting to go home almost the entire time she had been here and she had gotten her wish. He was the one who had empty hours to fill now that she was gone. "Yes, I miss Talori. Your point?" "Go visit her! You have vacation time, don''t you? Stay for a while the next time there''s a tear pickup," Harmony suggested. "I can''t impose like that!" "Oh please, you would not be imposing. She''d be thrilled." That tear pickup wasn''t for another month. He did potentially have the time to ask for time off but he would have to see if it was okay first. They were having an official think tank meeting on Saturday since it was the only time everyone would be available. He could ask then. Harmony could tell he was thinking about it and continued smugly. "Go have some fun, Brennan! You deserve it. There''s more to life than work, you know." "That''s rich coming from you." "Hey, I may be busy but at least I''m having fun in the process. You''re just wasting time in between video calls." Brennan couldn''t deny that. Things were worse than he thought if even his witch friend who was too dense to see her boyfriend was in love with her had noticed. Though Castian had seemed a lot happier lately so maybe something good had happened on that front. It wasn''t his business so he wasn''t about to ask but he had his suspicions. Something had been different between those two for a while. They were a lot more affectionate with each other. Good for Castian. Not so good for someone who had been single for decades and probably would be for the rest of forever. All of Brennan''s friends were either in relationships or had family around. It was getting to him more than usual. Maybe he really did need a vacation. He hadn''t never taken one before unless you counted when he got blown overboard and decided to stay missing a few extra days to learn more about merfolk. "What does it matter?" he asked somewhat defensively. Harmony looked at him and frowned. "I''m worried about you. That''s why." "You don''t need to worry about me." "Pretty sure I do. You''re my friend, Brennan. I want you to be happy and right now you''re not. You may think it isn''t obvious but I''ve known you long enough that it is to me." Brennan couldn''t refute that. She knew him best out of all of the fae in Florida because he spent the most time with her. Of course she would be able to notice a difference that no one else had. "So what if I''m not happy? It''s nothing new," he muttered. Harmony sighed and shook her head. "Way to be depressing. Does this happen every time things change for you?" "Somewhat." It had never been this bad before. He figured it was because it had been so long since he lived with someone else before Talori came along. He had left a lot of friends behind but was used to living alone all that time. Harmony raised an eyebrow at him. "Somewhat?" "I think it''s because I got used to having a roommate," Brennan explained. "I''m sure I''ll get used to it sooner or later." "You really think it''s that and not Talori specifically?" "Of course it isn''t Talori specifically." He never got hung up on a single fae for long. Not after losing his family. He was used to leaving friends behind. It had been months though and he still wasn''t doing well. That had never happened before. Harmony made a skeptical noise but let the matter drop because Hester knocked on the door asking if she had any spider silk to spare. She did so she got up to find it and the subject blessedly changed after the other witch left. Then Castian showed up and the focus was off of him completely. He managed to make it through the rest of the night without any further questions. Brennan looked forward to the meeting tomorrow. He would finally be doing what he had wanted to all along. Officially. The first multiracial fae meeting of its kind regarding ocean pollution. Talking to Zale the last time they visited was a bit different because this time Castian would be involved and could provide input from his sustainable business classes and talking to his fellow elves who were studying the same thing. They would be graduating soon and starting their own business together involving biodegradable plastic. They hoped they could use their race''s influence across the country to make it replace plastic completely in a matter of decades. They had invested in several different formulas created by human biologists for different purposes and planned to use their considerable business acumen to make them blow up. They were going to make it cheaper to use than plastic to every company in the country would want it. They would be helping the environment and making money at the same time, which was an elf''s dream. The elves wanted to replace plastic. The witches were trying to come up with ways to clean up existing plastic. And Brennan was involved with human ocean cleanup efforts and could be the liaison between fae and humans trying to accomplish the same goal. He had only dreamed of such an opportunity before meeting Talori. Their plans wouldn''t work overnight but they had time. Fae had nothing but time. Most of them didn''t think long term though. They stuck to their own little ways of life and adjusted with the times as necessary but didn''t care to go outside of the box. Not this think tank. They were thinking bigger than any fae ever had before. A joint effort to save a part of nature that the humans couldn''t take away. They could cut down forests and fill lakes or streams but they couldn''t fill the ocean. It had existed long before them and would continue to exist long after. That was why it was so important to save it. Just because it would exist didn''t mean it would exist in a good condition the way things were going. Everyone living on this planet had to do better. When the screen activated there were four merfolk on the other side. Talori, Zale, Beck, and Aila. Brennan was surprised to see the merqueen but supposed she had a vested interest in the health of the ocean as well. He knew Talori had been teaching her English. She would probably understand what was being said even if she couldn''t participate much. "Hi, guys!" Talori greeted cheerfully. "Some of you have met but others of you haven''t. Castian, this is my brother Zale, his personal guard Beck, and my sister-in-law Aila. Everyone, this is my friend Castian. He''s an elf and is working to make businesses more sustainable so they don''t affect the environment as much." "It''s an honor to meet you all," Castian said formally. "Nice to see you again too, Talori. I trust you''re doing well." She smiled. "Very. You?" "Couldn''t be better." He looked at Harmony as he said that and Brennan somehow still managed to feel like a third wheel even though there were four other fae present aside from him. The elf had it bad. "Wonderful!" Talori exclaimed, clapping her hands together. "Now that the introductions are out of the way, we should get down to business. Harmony, have you caught Castian up on everything we discussed the last time we saw each other?" "Duh," Harmony said with a laugh. "You know me. I told him all about it shortly after getting home." "Just making sure everyone is up to speed so we can pick up where we left off." Talori directed the meeting extremely well. Brennan was impressed. She managed to keep everyone on topic and made sure that all had the chance to say what they wanted to. Beck said nothing the entire time, which was as expected since he had only said a handful of sentences in front of Brennan ever but he got the feeling the merman was soaking everything up like a sponge and would give his two cents to Zale later when they were alone. Talori mentioned he was the merking''s chief advisor so he had to have some sort of input worth listening to with how clever Zale was. He wouldn''t keep someone useless around. Aila occasionally asked questions in a slow, hesitant voice but had nothing to contribute beyond that. She was still new at this. Brennan was impressed that her English had improved so much since the last time he saw her.. She had barely been able to say hello then and needed Talori to translate everything for her. Chapter 85 - I Got Sidetracked The meeting went well and at the end of it Brennan brought up his request. "I can potentially get time off work the next time the witches visit to get those tears from you. Is it alright if I stay for a week or so? I''d like to get better acquainted with how things work in the ocean so I can be a better liaison." That would be nothing but a bonus. Really he wanted to see Talori but that was embarrassing to admit with so many other fae present. Harmony knew and he could detect a knowing gleam in her eyes that he ignored while waiting for his answer. Talori squealed eagerly and clapped her hands together to his great relief. "Ooh, can you really? That would be great!" "We would be honored to host you," Zale added with a nod. "I will be sure to send a carriage." "Thank you," Brennan said with a smile, thinking about how it would be nice to have a proper vacation and spend more time with his closest friend. He would have to submit the time off request on Monday. He was sure it would be granted since he never asked for time off and they weren''t terribly busy right now anyway. Then all he would have to do was show up and the merfolk would take care of him. The call ended with a great feeling of satisfaction. That had been a great first meeting and he would be seeing Talori in person soon to boot. He felt lighter than he had in weeks and that didn''t escape Harmony''s watchful eye. "See? I told you she would be thrilled to have you." "Yeah, yeah." "It was your idea?" Castian asked curiously with a glance at his girlfriend. "Obviously. Brennan''s been depressed. Seeing his favorite fae ought to perk him up," Harmony said, waving her hand airily. Brennan scowled at her. Did she have to out him like that? Though he supposed if they were in a real relationship that she probably didn''t keep any secrets from her boyfriend. They would gossip about him whether he was present or not. Castian nodded as if it was perfectly normal. "Understandable. It will be nice for you to visit her for a while." "¡­yeah." His usefulness here had run out. It was time for him to leave. He had plans with his water fairy friends his afternoon anyway so he should really hit the road. The sooner he left this oppressive atmosphere the better. Brennan was distracted all through his visit with the others in the afternoon. Being surrounded by family togetherness didn''t get to him as much as it usually did because he had something to look forward to. Maybe he truly had been depressed. Why though? He had known from the start that Talori would be going back home. That was always the goal. She stayed a lot longer than he thought she would in the beginning. His distraction didn''t stop there. Time seemed to pass much more slowly to the point that it was driving him crazy until the day the witches drove the boat to make the tear exchange and drop him off. "We''ll be back to pick you up in a exactly a week so make sure you''re here," Piper said with a smile as Arietta took the tears away to stow them below deck. "I will. Thanks, Piper." "But you are going to owe me one later!" Brennan had figured as much. Witches rarely did things for free. But after knowing Harmony for as long as he had it was doubtful he would be forced to do anything too terrible to repay his debt. He took his trunk and jumped into the water after casting a bubble around his head. Most of the items in it were things Talori specifically requested he bring for her but he also had a couple of those emergency food bars he had bought. They couldn''t get wet so he was going to have to eat them above water but that shouldn''t be too difficult to pull off. She beamed at him and he couldn''t help but smile widely at her in return as she hugged him tightly. "It''s so good to see you! We''re going to have so much fun!" Brennan had no doubt they would. Everything was always more fun when she was around. He had learned that not long after she came to stay with him. Things were a lot more boring without her. At this point he knew what the majority of the guard''s names were. The one escorting them this time was Sir Seaton. He had to have been participating in Talori''s English lessons because he understood what they were talking about enough to ask a few questions on the ride to the kingdom. She had mentioned that the guards were friendlier with her after she began teaching them but he hadn''t expected to this extent. While it was good for her to be less lonely in the palace, seeing them interact easily made his insides twist for some reason. Brennan had known that she had a real life out here now that didn''t involve sneaking out at night and sleeping most of the day. But seeing it for himself still hit him like a sucker punch. Why was he so affected by this? He always knew she would be better off at home with her own kind once she didn''t have to hide anymore. Somehow knowing that and seeing it for himself were two completely different things. It didn''t help that once they arrived at the palace that she greeted half of the mermen they passed and introduced him to them to help them practice their English. Outwardly he acted like everything was fine but inwardly he was unsettled and berated himself for it. There was nothing to be upset about. Seeing that Talori was happier here now was a good thing. "It is a pleasure to meet you," Sir Nerio said with a smile. "Talori speaks of you often." Did she? Of course she did; that was a stupid question. She undoubtedly talked about being on the surface all the time and she had been staying with him up there. "It''s nice to meet you too," Brennan replied lamely. "Nerio, do you know where Zale is?" Talori asked. "When I left he was in a meeting but Taron said he isn''t in the throne room anymore. I can''t think of where else he would be off the top of my head." "I believe he went to the training grounds." "Thank you!" Talori showed the way and, sure enough, Zale and Beck were locked in combat. It was quite a sight to behold. She hadn''t exaggerated one bit about her brother''s strength as he ended up slamming his opponent into the sand. Brennan couldn''t deny he was curious about what he was capable of magically since she had impressed them all when Harmony was conducting her research. He doubted he would have a chance to see that though. It didn''t seem prudent to ask for a demonstration. Zale helped Beck up before looking over and seeing his sister, his face breaking into a wide smile. "Tali! I see our guest has arrived. Hello, Brennan. Forgive my rudeness." Brennan didn''t think it was rude at all. "Don''t worry about it. Thanks for having me." "Of course. There is plenty on the itinerary so you can get the information you need. I do hope your stay will be comfortable. But why do you still have your trunk? Did no one show you to your room yet?" "Oops," Talori said sheepishly. "I got sidetracked." Zale smiled and shook his head indulgently. "Go on and take him there so he doesn''t have to carry it anymore." "Actually, most of what''s inside is for Talori so it might be easier to go to wherever she wants to put it first," Brennan pitched in. Her eyes lit up and she squealed in delight. "Ooh, what did you bring me?" "Everything from your rather extensive list. I can keep the food for now since it will need to be eaten above water along with my rations but do you want everything else in your cave?" "Yes! Oh, thank you! You''re the best!" Talori punctuated her words by throwing her arms around his neck and giggling. For a moment he forgot to breathe. Greeting and parting hugs were different than excited ones. He had never gotten one of those from her before. "¡­any time." "Come on, Seaton! You''ve never seen my cave before, have you? It has so many wonderful things inside of it! I''m sure you''ll find it interesting¡­" Talori spend the whole swim there telling him about various objects she had found over the years and things she had brought back with her from the surface. The merman seemed politely interested more than anything but that didn''t deter her enthusiasm in the slightest. She was especially excited about the new things Brennan had brought for her. Talori had asked for things she wanted to show Aila. They were figurines based on movies they had watched together. She wanted to use them to reenact the stories as best she could to entertain her sister-in-law and anyone else who was interested in watching. He had no doubt that the majority of her students and her brother would want to watch as well.. The number of merfolk she had wrapped around her finger was increasing. Chapter 86 - Humans Come Up With The Strangest Things Talori had felt off when she wasn''t able to talk to Brennan much after becoming much busier. It was similar to how she felt when she hadn''t been able to talk to him at all. Originally she had thought that it was mostly because she was lonely and didn''t have enough to do but that clearly wasn''t it because she had plenty of friends now. It was Brennan specifically that she missed talking to. Talking to other fae wasn''t the same. So she had been ecstatic when he proposed coming to visit for a week. There were so many things she wanted to do with him since they would have more time but she had to run the itinerary past Zale since he was technically here on official business. That was fine. She had wanted to show him around more of the kingdom anyway. And beyond. She wanted to go out to the coral reef with him and get his expert opinion on the state of things as a marine biologist. Brennan had spent plenty of time in similar reefs closer to Florida before and he knew how to tell if things were healthy or not. He had brought some equipment with him so he could take water samples to analyze once he was back at work but most of what he would be assessing could be done with the naked eye or a camera. Zale knew she had snuck out countless times at this point but he still didn''t want her to go out to the reef alone. He was sending Beck with them when they went. That had been decided in advance. That showed how worried he was. He couldn''t go himself so he sent the merman he trusted most to go in his place. They were going to do that tomorrow. Today would be focusing on things they could see in the kingdom that he hadn''t seen before since Zale had a lot more meetings he hadn''t been able to get out of and had only come to the training grounds between them to briefly blow off steam. Talori knew her brother wanted to talk to him about ocean affairs more personally. He had scheduled time for that later in the week. A proper merking always had a lot to do. King Ren had grown too comfortable with the state of affairs. Things were largely running on their own the way they always had but the ocean at the start of his rule and the ocean now were vastly different and required new solutions. Zale knew that. It was why he was so good at his job. Even the nobles who were obviously still wary of him had nothing to complain about. She was very proud of him. He had accomplished his goal after so many decades of working toward it and was doing so much to help their kingdom already. He was an excellent merking. He was still working on being an excellent husband since he hadn''t wanted a wife in the first place but she had steered him straight. He seemed to be on better terms with Aila these days. She seemed a bit happier at least. A rather private mermaid, she didn''t often show her emotions on her face. But Talori could usually tell when something was off about those around her. She had thought Aila was lonely and it seemed that she was right since things had improved after she told Zale to spend more time with her. She was glad she was able to do something in that situation even if it wasn''t much. Talori liked Aila. She had been her first friend after coming home. Now she could count all of Zale''s men aside from Beck (though at least he had stopped calling her Princess) in some degree. Some were friendlier than others but all who were taking her English lessons talked to her more than they absolutely had to. That was a stark difference from before. Nerio was perhaps the friendliest of her brother''s mermen but she had known from watching the two of them spar over the years that it was simply the sort of fae he was. He had only held himself back before out of a misguided sense of respect. Talori wished that she would have gotten friendly with them sooner. Her childhood would have been a lot less lonely. She supposed it didn''t truly matter now. She had plenty of friends both here and on the surface. And now her very best friend was here with her so she had absolutely nothing to complain about. Something had been off about Brennan on the ride over and when they got to the palace but it was so slight she could hardly tell. Was he tired from the boat ride? Was work piling up on him? He hadn''t said anything that was bothering him but that wasn''t really his style. He was always so easygoing. The only thing that really got to him was dealing with humans too much. Talori understood his hatred of them. They had taken everything from him hundreds of years ago and he never fully recovered. Even now he said he didn''t fit in with his kind, though he seemed to fit in perfectly well to her. He could fit in anywhere. But she supposed that was because he didn''t feel that he belonged anywhere. He had spent most of his life restlessly roaming. She was glad he planned to stay in Florida indefinitely because of what they were working on together. She didn''t know what she would do if she lost contact with him completely. Harmony was the only one in the world with a matching long-range communication device. It was unlikely he would be able to get any witch to replicate one for him if he moved away. And if he did¡­she wouldn''t get to have him visit like this either. Talking to him over video call was nice but it wasn''t the same as seeing him right in front of her. She had to take full advantage of it while she could. She reached out to take his hand and lead him to their next destination since he was swimming slowly and she could help him keep up. "Come on! The farms are this way." Brennan let out a small laugh. "Am I going too slow for you?" "¡­maybe a little. Sorry." "Don''t worry about it. I''m faster than you on land." That was painfully true. Talori did know how to maneuver in her wheelchair but she wasn''t very fast. She couldn''t do it in small spaces either because of how much backing up and so on was required so she typically didn''t do it either at his apartment or the witch coven. At least the hospital was made for wheelchairs. She could handle things on her own there and in public places with enough space but he usually pushed her when they were together because things were faster that way. "And in the sky," Talori said. "I can''t fly at all unless you''re carrying me." "That''s true but don''t feel too bad. It''s impossible to fly without wings unless you''re on an airplane or in a helicopter. And let me tell you, those things are incredibly uncomfortable when you have wings!" Brennan shook his head in disgust. She had heard his complaints about furniture not made for fairies before. Airplane seats were probably a lot worse because there wasn''t much space on planes according to the movies she had watched. Talori had no desire to go on an airplane based on his assessment of them. He had been on them every time he moved since it was better to be more uncomfortable for less time than it was to be slightly less uncomfortable for more time while driving. She could understand that logic. "What is an airplane and a helicopter?" Seaton asked curiously. Talori had nearly forgotten he was accompanying them on this tour. He hadn''t said anything in quite a while. "Modes of transportation humans invented that allow them to travel quickly through the air. They''re like big metal birds people can fit inside," Brennan explained. "Humans come up with the strangest things," Seaton said in wonder. "Indeed they do." Strange but wonderful things a lot of the time. Talori had learned so much about what humans did both good and bad while she was on the surface. Yes, they were destroying the planet, but they had made some truly fascinating stuff! Her fae friends were doing their best to undo some of the damage as guardians of nature. They lived in two worlds. She had too for a while so in total she had learned to live in three different societies. Merfolk, surface fae, and human. It had certainly been a learning curve for a while up there but she had loved it, inconveniences and homesickness aside. Now that she had lived up there, sometimes she was homesick for the surface. She missed her friends, movies, certain activities, and some of the food. It was why she had asked Brennan to bring so much back for her. Talori wished that there was a way to make TV waterproof. She would love to show her friends movies instead of just acting things out with figurines. Brennan said that entertainment and food were two of the few things humans did right and she was inclined to agree with him.. Those were two of her favorite things about the surface. Chapter 87 - I Want To Share It With Everyone Talori loved having Brennan visit. She loved seeing him be so interested in everything about her home. It filled her with pride to be able to show it off now that she was allowed to go pretty much anywhere as long as she had a guard with her. Her favorite day of his visit might have been the day they went to the coral reef together because she was able to see him in action at work. She had never been able to do that when they were on the surface because she couldn''t go to his job. Hearing about it and seeing it were two very different things. "What are you doing?" she asked eagerly as she watched him go. "Taking water samples so I can analyze them back in the lab at work," Brennan replied patiently without looking up from his task. "I want to make sure there aren''t any chemicals or salt imbalances in this part of the ocean that might be negatively affecting the ecosystem." "How would that happen?" "All sorts of factors. The surface world is slowly but surely burning at this point and nothing is escaping its effects. It''s like the planet is screaming at us. Water contamination is a fairly common problem." Talori frowned. "Burning?" "Global warming. It''s largely because of all the fossil fuels humans keep burning through at an alarming rate. The gases emitted by that are too much for the planet to handle. It''s why climate change scientists and fae that care are trying their best to fix things before it''s too late." A hard edge had entered his voice that only did when humans were brought up and she reached out to put a hand on his shoulder in a silent show of comfort. She knew words wouldn''t do anything right now. Brennan did seem to relax slightly. He continued taking his samples and, when he finished, he looked around and took a deep breath before sighing. "I love coral reefs. They''re some of my favorite places in the world. I just hope they''ll still be around for centuries to come. There''s already been so much destruction to them. If nothing else, I''m determined to save this one." Talori had no doubt he would. With all of them working together, they should be able to protect this tiny corner of the ocean. She believed in her friends. Even if it took a while, their efforts would pay off. She knew it. "I know you will," she said confidently before changing the subject. "What''s your favorite thing about coral reefs? Mine is the variety in coral colors. It''s so beautiful, don''t you think?" Brennan agreed with a small smile. "It is. I love the coral too but I think my favorite thing about coral reefs is the fish. Saltwater fish have a lot more variety than freshwater fish. The colors and patterns are amazing!" Talori tilted her head at him. Merfolk looked like saltwater fish. Did that mean he thought their colors and patterns were amazing too? "Does that apply to merfolk as well?" "Oh, sure. You''re all probably the most interesting, diverse fae I''ve ever seen." Talori couldn''t help but agree with his opinion. There was a far greater variety in color and tail types in merfolk than she had seen in any single race of surface-dwelling fae. She hadn''t seen any vampires but supposedly they all had long black hair, white skin, and red eyes. Water fairies were all shades of blue. Werewolves all had either brown, black, or silver fur. Witches'' skin tones and eye colors varied about as much as humans did. "You have a point." "I mean, think of you and Zale. You''re both yellow and purple but you look like completely different fish. See, there''s a fairy basslet over there and a Spanish hogfish by that other coral," Brennan pointed at both of them. He was right. He had told her this before but she hadn''t had picture references so she hadn''t been able to see it for herself until now. "Aww, the fairy basslet is so cute!" Talori cooed as she swam over to get a better look. "Not nearly as cute as you." She turned to look at him curiously and saw that there was a greater concentration of blue in his cheeks. He was blushing. It seemed he hadn''t intended to say that out loud. Brennan had never called her cute before. The only fae who had ever called her cute until now were her mother and Zale. "You really think so?" "Of course Talori is cuter than a fish," Beck deadpanned, making both of them jump. He had been so quiet all this time. He hadn''t said a word since they arrived so it had been easy to forget he was there. That was normal for him; he had been like that Talori''s whole life. Blending into the background was his specialty. She laughed. "Now you sound like Zale." "Thank you." Talori laughed again. Being compared to his master was a major compliment to a merman like him. She was used to getting compliments from her brother''s mermen. They always said something to the effect of how she would be the most beautiful mermaid at the party when they were escorting her. But it wasn''t common to get one from Beck since he typically didn''t speak to her much. His respect was the silent kind. A moment later, her train of thought was derailed because she saw a flash of white in the corner of her eye that caught her attention. "Look, Beck! A banded butterflyfish like you!" He blinked in the direction of the fish in question. "¡­is that what they''re called on the surface?" "Yep! Brennan told me." "Interesting." This was the most Beck had said to her at once in a good while. She wondered what was going on in his head. Normally he didn''t show the slightest bit of curiosity in things. Was this how he usually was around Zale? After another twenty minutes or so of soaking in the splendor of the coral reef Brennan spoke up. "Talori, I need to eat something. Is it alright if we go to the surface for a bit? I brought the food in my bag." Her eyes lit up and she squealed in excitement and did a backflip. "You brought the stuff for me too?" "What do you take me for?" "Yay! Oh, I''m so excited! I''ve missed sugar terribly." Talori was so excited she couldn''t wait for his swimming speed and took his hand before going toward the surface as quickly as she could. She had been waiting for this! They looked around to be sure there weren''t any boats and found a large rock for the merfolk to sit on. Brennan sat in midair just above the rock the way he so often did on the surface. He set his equipment bag down and began pulling things out of it. They were all in airtight plastic bags so they wouldn''t get wet. He shook his hands off as best he could before opening anything and began handing the items to Talori, who did the same. She had specifically asked for powdered donuts, oatmeal cr¨¨me pies, and licorice. She had become rather fond of all of them while living on the surface. "I have more that you can take to your room but you''ll have to come up here to eat it. It should last you until my next visit," Brennan told her before opening up one of the special candy bars Harmony had mentioned before. "You''re the best!" Talori squealed before turning to their companion. "Beck, you have to try these! They''re some of the most delicious things I ate on the surface. I''m sure you''ll like them." The stoic merman said nothing but shook his hands off like he had seen them do and accepted one of the powdered donuts she offered. His eyes widened, which was the most expression she had seen from him in who knows how long. "So? What do you think?" she asked eagerly. Beck nodded his approval and finished the rest of the donut before asking, "What is this?" "A powdered donut. Here, split this with me." She tore the oatmeal cr¨¨me pie in half and handed one of them to him. He ate it quickly after making the same expression as before. He liked it! She knew he would. Talori suddenly doubted she would be able to make these all last until Brennan came back. She wanted to share them with the rest of her friends so they too could know the beauty of sugar. He seemed to realize what she was planning on doing as she also gave Beck some of the licorice and let out a small laugh. "I can bring more next time. Just let me know what you want and I''ll make it happen as long as it isn''t perishable." "Thanks, Brennan!" "Any time." "Zale will want to try this," Beck said after finishing his food. "Thank you for sharing it with me." "Of course! I want to share it with everyone sooner or later," Talori told him with a smile. "The hard part will be finding a time that everyone can come up here." "I am sure something can be figured out." She was too but it would take time. Maybe she could take two or three merfolk up at a time over the course of a week. Getting her brother up here would be the most difficult though with how busy he was.. It was quite a swim just to have a snack. Chapter 88 - They Lived In Completely Different Worlds The rest of Brennan''s visit flew by in a blur after that. Talori had such a good time that she really didn''t want him to leave but he had to get back to work. He wouldn''t be able to come for as long next time since he had used up a lot of his vacation days and she wasn''t terribly happy at the reminder. "When will I see you again?" she asked as he was about to fly up to the boat waiting for him. "I''m not sure," he hedged. "Maybe the next tear exchange? Sooner if you need me for something that can''t be done over video call." Talori may have to come up with some sort of excuse to make that happen. She would have to think about it later. She didn''t want to go another three months without seeing him in person. She nodded before hugging him tightly. "Take care, Brennan." "You too." "And say hi to everyone for me!" "I will." Talori had said hi to Piper, who was driving the boat, but no one else had come with her this time since she was only here to pick up Brennan. She couldn''t help but wonder what Harmony was up to that she didn''t make the trip out. She normally wouldn''t miss an opportunity like this. She watched her friend fly out of the water with his trunk and kept watching until the boat turned around and headed back toward Florida. She sighed and Nerio, her escort, was immediately concerned. "What is it, Talori?" "I wish he didn''t have to leave so soon, that''s all." "He has already been here a week." "Still. I''m going to miss him. I always do. He''s my best friend," she said with a wistful smile on her face. "I am sure you will see him again soon enough. Come on. Queen Aila is waiting for you," Nerio reminded her before preparing to drive the carriage. Talori had promised to visit her after dropping Brennan off. There was no point in staying here now that the boat was gone. She was being silly and sentimental because she hadn''t wanted to say goodbye so soon. She wished that she wasn''t so busy in the evenings these days so she had more time to talk to him after he got off work. But she had always dreamed of helping Zale so she couldn''t ask him to cut back on her duties either. She was simply going to have to take what she could get. === Zale hadn''t been able to keep as close an eye on Talori and Brennan as he would have liked while the fairy was here because he had a lot of other duties to attend to. He wanted to be sure his sister wasn''t overly attached like Beck thought because that wouldn''t end well for her. He primarily observed them in a professional setting when the three of them were discussing things. Talori was certainly enthusiastic and cheerful but she usually was. That was no real indication of anything. So he had to rely on hearing things secondhand from the mermen he assigned to escort them as they went around the kingdom. Nothing they had to say was terribly concerning. He already knew their relationship was good and they were able to speak comfortably with each other. She did hold Brennan''s hand occasionally to help him swim faster but that was understandable. He had seen how slow the fairy swam in comparison to merfolk himself. Zale had asked for Beck''s opinion after he accompanied them to the coral reef. He was a bit jealous he hadn''t gotten to taste the surface food his sister wanted to share with everyone first but understood it was a situational thing. She would have given it to him first if he had been there. "They are very fond of each other as far as I can tell," Beck informed him. "Of each other?" "Yes. I have been observing that fairy every time I have seen him. He is different when speaking to Talori than he is when speaking to others. And he called her cute." "Of course he called her cute! Tali is the most adorable creature alive," Zale said proudly before his smile dropped. "Different how?" "He smiles more. And when he was upset about how humans are ruining the environment it took but a simple action from her to cheer him up. It reminded me a bit of you, actually." Well, that wasn''t good. Talori was his greatest treasure. If Beck thought Brennan''s treatment of her was similar to his, she had to be important to him. Fond of each other indeed. It was entirely possible that the fairy was just as attached to his sister as she was to him. "You think he cares about her," Zale said flatly. "I do. Did the thought truly never occur to you? We both know that Talori is a very lovable mermaid. They were together for over a year. It isn''t unreasonable that he would become attached," Beck pointed out. She was very lovable. Everyone around here adored her now that she was more involved with them. The question was whether or not anything could be done about this. Zale didn''t think there was. He didn''t know Brennan very well but knew how important his work was to him since he had been willing to take in a total stranger in order to do it better. He doubted the fairy would do anything to jeopardize their alliance. If he truly cared about Talori, he had to know that she was better off here than on the surface. It was highly unlikely that Brennan would do anything that would take her away from her home again. He wasn''t worried about that. He was worried about his sister being upset every time the fairy visited then left again. "It didn''t," Zale admitted begrudgingly. "But I don''t think it matters. Brennan may care about Tali but I doubt he''ll do anything about it. He cares about his work too much." "I did get the impression that it is his driving force," Beck mused. "Exactly. His caring about Tali isn''t as important as her caring about him. I don''t want her to get depressed every time he leaves." "Unfortunately, I don''t believe there is anything you can do about that aside from try to keep her busy." Beck was right. Zale couldn''t control his sister''s feelings. All he could do was try to get her more invested in things around here so she didn''t think so much about her time on the surface. Which was difficult considering how much she loved everything to do with the world up there. Over the next several weeks she had everyone taste some of her surface food and ended up entertaining everyone by putting on a performance of a movie she had seen up there after explaining what a movie was and how humans entertained themselves. It was fascinating and ended up being the talk of the palace for days. "Wasn''t Talori''s performance wonderful?" Aila asked happily as she sat down on the bed the night after it happened. "She always has the most interesting things to say." Zale smiled despite the worries plaguing him. "She certainly does." "And she said she could do another once Brennan brings her more figurines! I look forward to it." "As do I." It always came back to Brennan with Talori. He was so tied into her experiences with the surface that his name cropped up every time she talked about it. Harmony and Castian were frequently mentioned as well but not nearly as much as he was. Zale knew his sister loved the surface. She had been interested in it since she was very young, which was what had originally branded her as crazy. But he couldn''t help but wonder if her love of the surface was now too tied into one particular fae. If her affections had gotten tangled up somehow because her fairy friend embodied the surface experience for her. They lived in completely different worlds. They could never do anything but visit each other. He didn''t want this to hurt her in the long run but any intervention that could have been taken earlier seemed futile at this point. She had already seemed less energetic than usual after Brennan left despite acting cheerful as ever when others were around. Zale knew his wife spent a lot of time with her and was the observant type. It wouldn''t hurt to get her opinion on what was going on. "Tell me¡­do you think Tali has been acting different lately?" "A little," Aila said as she ran her fingers through her hair to remove all of the ornaments in it. "She has been like that since her friend left. She was so excited for him to come but now that he has gone, the excitement went with it." That was a good way of describing it.. Talori had always been the cheerful, enthusiastic sort but it was amped up when Brennan was around to the point that she seemed almost depressed by comparison when he wasn''t though she was still far more cheerful and enthusiastic than anyone else. Chapter 89 - A Massive Third Wheel "I think you''re right," Zale said grimly. Aila tilted her head, a frown on her pretty face. "Are you worried about her?" "Yes. I am concerned she is too attached to that fairy." "What, because she talks about him so often? Or because she seems to miss him so much when he is gone?" "More the latter than the former," Zale admitted. "I wouldn''t worry about it too much, Zale. Missing your best friend is a perfectly normal thing to do," Aila said reasonably. "She''ll cheer up eventually. She did the last time he visited then left." She scooted closer to him and began rubbing his shoulders. It was something she had started doing not long after they had their talk about her concerns because she had noticed him rubbing them at the end of a long day. Now she did it every night out of habit. It was one Zale appreciated. He hadn''t realized how nice it could be to have someone around to do things like this. He could have gotten a massage from any number of merfolk whenever he wanted but the thought had never occurred to him. It had to be offered for him to realize what he was missing. He was slowly but surely getting used to having a wife. Making time for Aila during the day was difficult but he always saw her at night and was sure to let her know her presence was appreciated so she didn''t feel insecure in her position. Noble mermaids spent their whole childhoods waiting to be married off to benefit their families. If they fell out of favor, they were discarded and their families would suffer for it. Zale should have accounted for that mindset and realized she would have been worried. Especially since he was the merking and was expected to have a large harem of mermaids fighting over his favor. He didn''t want or need that. He had more than enough things to worry about already. Keeping two mermaids happy was more than daunting enough. At least he seemed to be succeeding with one of them at the moment. "I suppose," he said reluctantly. It was impossible not to worry about his only sister. She had been his priority for most of his life. He knew she was capable of taking care of herself¡ªshe had proved that during her time on the surface¡ªbut couldn''t help it. Old habits were hard to break. "Talori is going to be fine," Aila said soothingly as she continued working some of the tension out of his shoulders. "You need to stop worrying so you can get some sleep. You have a busy day ahead of you tomorrow." That he did. He had a lot of nobles to deal with. Going into all of those meetings tired wouldn''t help. Zale sighed. "I know." He let his wife distract him until they needed to go to sleep and she yawned, curled up on her side, and rested her forehead against his. She smiled sleepily at him and wished him goodnight. She fell asleep like that easily enough but he couldn''t sleep. He reached out to stroke her cheek, thinking that he should really try to take her advice. If only it was that easy. Aila was a much better ally than he had thought she would be. She was clever, beautiful, and had good manners. A perfect merqueen but a surprisingly decent companion as well. He didn''t mind spending time with her the way he used to. Zale mostly trusted her at this point. She had proven herself useful in a variety of ways and seemed to be more wary of him than he was of her. She wasn''t like to give him any trouble¡­at least not on purpose. Obviously, dealing with something he wasn''t used to and had never wanted was troublesome regardless but it wasn''t all bad. There were definite good parts to this mess. Like the shoulder massages and how she smiled at him when she was satisfied. He was glad she was adjusting better because that made his life easier too. He knew she hadn''t wanted to be merqueen any more than he wanted to have one but they were both handling it fairly well, all things considering. Of all the mermaids he could have married, he was glad it was her. Aila did her duties very well, got along with Talori, and was easy enough to please once he knew what she wanted. He couldn''t have possibly picked a better wife. Zale had always known he would have to be strategic about his marriage but he had wanted to save his little sister from the same fate. She was free to marry for love or not at all but he couldn''t help but worry she would be lonely if she didn''t find someone. It was the kind of fae she was. But what sort of merman would be interested in someone whose head was up on land? The only ones he could think of were his guards. Maybe one of them would manage to woo her sooner or later. She did seem to be on pretty good terms with most of them these days. He sincerely hoped she would pick one of them so he didn''t have to worry about her as much. If she was focused on someone down here, she wouldn''t miss the surface as much. Right? === Harmony continued to worry about Brennan and how obviously he missed having Talori around as time went on but she had other things to worry about too once her pregnancy started to show. Everyone began asking her questions such as "why does your elf still come around when the job is done?" and it was driving her crazy. She got those sorts of questions at the coven. Castian got those sorts of questions at work. Both of them were getting very tired of it but there didn''t seem to be an end in sight. She knew their situation was unusual but they weren''t doing anything wrong. She had to remind herself of that every time she felt awkward about it. They weren''t doing anything wrong and no one else''s opinion mattered. The only one who didn''t say anything about it was Brennan. He simply congratulated her on her good fortune because fae children were always considered blessings and left it at that. She knew he wasn''t the type to be nosy but he had to be dying of curiosity. After a few weeks she couldn''t take it anymore. "Why haven''t you asked me about Castian staying with me even though I''m pregnant?" He blinked at her in surprise. "I didn''t think you would want me to. Besides, it''s been obvious he''s in love with you for quite a while now. I knew there was something going on but it wasn''t my place to say anything." Harmony''s jaw dropped. He said it had been obvious for quite a while now. How long had he suspected? "You knew he was in love with me?! Since when?" "I don''t know¡­not long after he started hanging out with us? It''s pretty clear based on the way he acts around you. I felt sorry for him because I didn''t think you felt the same way until somewhat recently. I''m happy for you guys," Brennan said seriously. He was the first to say anything like that aside from her mother and aunt. Everyone else had been in various states of disbelief or disapproval. It really had been obvious, hadn''t it? Harmony should have seen it sooner. "You are? Really?" "Obviously. You''re both my friends. Why wouldn''t I be?" Brennan asked, disregarding one very important detail. "Because what we''re doing isn''t what witches and elves normally do? Everyone else thinks we''re crazy. Even I think I''m crazy for going along with it," Harmony said with a disbelieving shake of her head. "Harmony. Everyone thinks I''m crazy too for being a water fairy who loves the ocean. I know what that''s like and have absolutely no right to judge anyone else for what they''re doing if it makes them happy. You two make each other happy and that''s good enough for me." Right. She should have known. Those who were given a hard time for being different weren''t about to go and go the same thing to anyone else. Harmony couldn''t help but let out a small laugh. "You''re one of a kind, Brennan." "So I''ve been told." "Thank you. For being happy for us, I mean. That means a lot coming from you. I''m glad we''re friends." "So am I. Even if I am a massive third wheel now," he said dryly. "¡­my bad." Harmony grimaced. She hadn''t realized they were being that bad. Maybe it was worse for him now because he missed Talori. She couldn''t help but wonder if part of the reason he wasn''t fazed by a witch and an elf being in a real relationship was because he was in love with a mermaid. She didn''t want to bring up a sore subject though. He had been more down than usual lately because Talori had been too busy to call all week.. Apparently some merfolk from another kingdom were visiting. Chapter 90 - Im Sorry "Don''t worry about it," Brennan told her. "I may not have dated for decades but I remember what it''s like." That didn''t make Harmony feel any better. It was a reminder of how alone he was. Since it had been so long since he dated anyone it was entirely possible he hadn''t recognized having feelings for Talori. Goodness knows Harmony hadn''t recognized her own feelings because she was inexperienced with them. "Still, I''m sorry. It must be annoying since you miss Talori." Oops. She had not meant to let that last part out! But Brennan agreed easily and not for the reason she expected. "Having our quartet go down to a trio has been hard," he admitted. "I know she''s happier down there where she belongs but it''s weird not having her around. I don''t know what''s wrong with me. I''m never like this when the fae around me leave." He really hadn''t realized it, had he? Would it be better or worse to leave things alone? While they were already on the topic, she couldn''t help but ask. Realizing his feelings might help him figure out what to do. It had worked for her. "That''s just because Talori is a special case, isn''t it? I know how close you two are," Harmony said sympathetically. Brennan let out a heavy sigh. "I''m beginning to think that''s it. And here I thought all this time that it was because I was used to having anyone around and it was weird when she wasn''t. "There''s something about her that draws fae in. Now that she has more free reign to be herself, everyone in the palace adores her." "And you don''t like that." "Of course I don''t like that! I know I shouldn''t care since her being happy and able to live freely among her kind was the goal the whole time. I told you there''s something wrong with me." It sounded to Harmony like he was jealous, though she had no experience with such an emotion. At least when it came to romance. Castian had only ever had eyes for her. "Isn''t it because you''re jealous?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. Brennan''s eyes nearly popped out of his head. "No way! For me to be jealous I would have to like her!" "¡­don''t you?" "Not like that! That would be insane. She''s a mermaid and I''m a fairy." It sounded like he was convince himself more than anything. Harmony knew what that was like. She had been there herself not too long ago. Maybe she could help him out the way her aunt helped her. "So? I know a vampire/fairy couple back home. I know better than most that race isn''t enough to stop your feelings when you meet someone special." Brennan gaped at her. "You never told me about this!" "I only found out about it recently. Remember that coven I told you about? The one that got destroyed? Apparently the coven leader survived and ended up falling in love with an earth fairy. You can''t tell anyone about this though. My aunt made me swear not to tell another witch but you aren''t a witch so¡­" "How would that even work?! Vampires drink blood, can''t be in the sun, and have fangs!" "I don''t know the details. But my aunt says they''re happy. If two fae so physiologically different can make it work, anyone can." Though Harmony supposed that merfolk and fairies were even more physiologically different since one species had a tail. At least both vampires and fairies had legs. Their living environments were completely different too. Brennan could stay underwater and Talori could stay on land though. It just took a bit of finagling. Whatever feelings he had for her might not be entirely doomed. Harmony couldn''t speak for her mermaid friend''s feelings but it was clear she cared deeply about him if nothing else. She had been rather sheltered before coming to the surface so if she did like him, it was quite likely she didn''t realize it either. "That¡ªthat isn''t¡ª" he sputtered. So he was thinking about it. She had never seen him get this flustered before and it was kind of funny. He was normally the most unflappable fae she knew aside from Castian. "Come on, Brennan! You''re miserable without her. You should at least admit your feelings to yourself." Brennan let out an old fairy curse she didn''t recognize. It must have been from before her time. He was definitely thinking about it and realizing he didn''t like it. She had a similar reaction. Realizing you liked someone you weren''t conventionally supposed to wasn''t the most fun thing in the world. "Even if I do like her¡ªand I''m not saying I do¡ªthere isn''t anything I can do about it! We live in completely different worlds. I live here, she lives there." "You can survive underwater though. And she can survive on land," Harmony pointed out. "So? I can''t just abandon everything up here and go live under the ocean! I have things I have to do!" Brennan protested. "What about when they''re done?" He blinked at her, obviously derailed. "What?"'' "What about when you''ve done what you''ve set out to do? You never stay in one place for too long anyway. What if your next place was under the ocean? I think you could make it work." Brennan''s jaw dropped and he didn''t reply but Harmony could see the wheels turning in his head. He was considering it. He clearly thought it was crazy but was still weighing the pros and cons and whether or not it would be possible. He had nothing keeping him here once he couldn''t stay on at his job anymore. Fae had to either change jobs or change human identities if they owned their own businesses after a few decades so the humans didn''t get suspicious. He had already been at his current job for about a decade. Glamours were interesting because they made you look like what the humans expected you to. If you stayed in the same place with the same humans for a long time, it automatically adjusted to make you appear older to them but if you were using it somewhere else it would look the way it usually did. So fae only had to change identities or jobs once they supposedly reached human retirement age. If Brennan really wanted to, once he "retired" from his current job he could go live under the ocean with Talori easily enough. He would still be accomplishing his goal of helping keep it safe. It would simply be in a different way. Harmony knew he wouldn''t be able to rest until he had figured out how to do it from up here first though. That was why she suggested after he finished what he set out to do instead of going now. "I wouldn''t fit in there," Brennan said with resignation after a while. "Aren''t you the one always saying you never fit in anywhere? Go where you want and screw everyone else. I''m sure Talori would be thrilled to have you." "You aren''t accounting for her overprotective brother. I don''t think he would be very happy about having a fairy come to stay near her on a long-term basis. He likes me now but that''s only because I''m helping him out." "But you would be happier there," Harmony stated rather than asked. It was obvious that he was happiest whenever Talori was involved. He was doing a lot worse than she was right now to Harmony''s knowledge. The mermaid may not return his feelings but at least she cared about him. Being together in any capacity was better than nothing, wasn''t it? He wouldn''t be lonely even if he wasn''t getting everything he wanted. "I¡­probably," Brennan admitted with another heavy sigh. "How did you know?" "I see you every day, Brennan. It would be hard not to. Same as you noticing Castian''s feelings for me." "Fair enough. And you don''t think I''m crazy either?" "Nope. We can be crazy together." "But being a witch that likes an elf is different than being a fairy that likes a mermaid. You two were already together and your lifestyles are a lot more compatible," he pointed out. "My liking Talori is pretty much pointless. I can only ever be her friend." "Not necessarily," Harmony said thoughtfully. "But even if that was true, you would probably be happier with that than not seeing her very often the way you are now." "¡­I can''t deny that." "What''s so special about her? I''ve never seen you be interested in anyone before this." A small, sad smile appeared on Brennan''s face. "I feel more at home with her than I do with anyone else. We never run out of things to talk about and I could listen to her all day. She makes me happy in a way I thought I would never feel again." Yikes. No wonder he had been so out of it since she left. Her feelings of sympathy increased. Harmony hesitantly reached out and hugged him, trying to be careful of the wings she couldn''t see. "I''m sorry, Brennan." "What are you sorry for?" "That you can''t be together right now.. You deserve to be happy."