Page 14 of Magic Potions and the Merman's Lure

“Ro, it’s okay,” she whispers. “You’ve certainly picked a hell of a way to announce your presence to the entire town, but it’s okay. You must not have seen the weather forecast.”

Forecast? I have no idea what she is talking about, but I make a mental note of it as I am guessing it has something to do with predicting the weather given the context of her words.

“Fortunately, this happened while I was bringing coffee to Adiele, so you have me here to help you. But I’m just not sure what to do.” She bites her lip uncertainly. “You’ve drawn so much attention, I don’t think it’s a good idea to try to take you inside somewhere, especially since there is no way to know how long it will be until the storm lets up. It may be better to let me help you get to the water, okay? This storm isn’t going to get any better.”

I want to shake my head in refusal, my heart thumping wildly in protest of being trapped in the water yet again, but this time while waiting out the storm while my mate is left on land alone. My throat works with the protest rising to my lips, but I feel frustratingly helpless. Keri is right—there really isn’t any other option. Even if I insist that she drags me into a shop until the magic sparks to change me back, I will be equally trapped wherever I am at, but even worse I will be at the mercy of any humans within the shop. In the end I will still be unable to protect my mate while the storm rages. I want to tell her to leave me there and find shelter so that she doesn’t get sick, but I know she won’t do that either. Delaying the decision will only keep her out longer and human bodies are fragile to the elements.

With reluctance, I unwind my tail and nod. For her, I will return to the sea.

Chapter 10

Keri

For a moment there I’m certain that he’s going to refuse. I can see the conflict in his glowing eyes, but Ro doesn’t lack common sense. I can see the moment he reaches a decision seconds before his tail uncoils from around us. His body is still tense as I scoot back from him. Although he is aware of my movement, his eyes are scanning the crowd, his scales raised threateningly so that every oblong edge appears razor sharp as it lifts from his body. Who even knew that Aquana had such defenses? I certainly hadn’t glimpsed even a hint of this possibility while studying his biology the last couple of days.

I push the wet hair back from my face as I regard him. Everything within his body language suggests a high level of aggression which logically must be related to his sudden vulnerability caught in his natural form on land. He is stranded and generally helpless to escape while the rain comes down. All he can do is strike out at any threat that approaches. It is actually surprising that he responded to my presence the way he did rather than instinctively attacking me. Instead, for some reason, he is instinctively including me within his protection which is interesting. Perhaps on some level, due to our current close association, he is protecting me as he would protect another member of his family group. I will have to add that to my notes.

One thing is for sure—he can’t stay out here. The people on the street are watching him with far too much interest. While a number of them have their phones out which will probably result in a number of pictures and videos going up online, it only takes one person to get brave enough to do something stupid and result in injuries. And if anyone gets hurt it will be Ro who is blamed. The only solution is to get him to the sea as fast as possible. But I’m also not going to be able to do it myself.

Swiping the water from my face, I turn and judge the distance back to the Emporium. The shop is far enough away that Adiele hasn’t yet noticed the commotion but also close enough that it won’t take me long to get there for help.

My gaze drops back to Ro and his eyes shift to me in response. There is a wariness in his gaze, and I get the impression that he is afraid I will leave him there. Even if that is just my imagination projecting, I give him an encouraging smile as I slowly stand. He tenses further at my movement, especially when a few people drift closer in response, but he doesn’t try to grab me, nor does he lash out at them though his eyes shift between me and them anxiously. I wave them back abruptly with a hard look and am relieved when they skitter back in response and a tiny bit of the rapidly rising tension bleeds from him. I’m not so naïve to believe that they will stay there long. I need to hurry and get back to the Emporium before another lookie-loo ventures closer.

“I will be right back,” I assure him. “I’m going to go get help.”

Some unnamable emotion flickers in his eyes but he nods in agreement. I’m not going to budge just yet though. It wouldn’t be fair to leave without least giving another warning to the growing crowd.

“I will be right back with help,” I reiterate for their benefit. “Don’t touch him if you value your safety. He won’t hurt you, but his natural defenses are highly toxic. It’s best if everyone just gives him plenty of space until I return.”

“Toxic!” a man yelps, staring down at his hand.

“Let me see,” I demand, suddenly worried.

Although I didn’t see him, I recognize the voice of the man who had touched Ro. If he touched one of the venomous spines, I don’t know what we can do. The lab is working on a potential antidote to Aquana venom from the samples that Ro had reluctantly gave, but we don’t have any on hand.

He obliges, stepping closer and extending his hand out to me while keeping a nervous gaze pinned on Ro. I step close enough to glance at his palm. There are a number of bright red pinpricks over the surface, but it doesn’t appear to be discoloring in reaction.

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