Page 55 of Magic Potions and the Merman's Lure

I drag her into my arms, tightening my grip so that she will not instinctually fight against what I must do. It is only then noticing the rapid stream of bubbles coming from behind her. Using my claws, I slice effortlessly through the straps holding the equipment on her and let it drift off her. It is useless now. She gurgles a sound of protest, but I ignore it as I adjust my grip on her. I capture her body between my chest and forearm so that her arms are pressed uselessly against her side, and she cannot fight me. As expected, she jerks in my hold, her eyes blazing furiously at me, but I do not let my resolve weaken. A delay will kill her. Even if I wanted to, I could not swim fast enough to take her to the outer edge of the boundary before the lack of air kills her.

My jaw hardens and I snatch the machine from her mouth and fling it away, my heart breaking as she struggles frantically against me. I know she feels like she is dying, and I am furious at how helpless I feel as I turn her fully toward me. I cannot save her from this moment of fear, but I can save her.

Dropping my head, I press my mouth against hers, my tongue dipping between the seam of her lips and plunging deep to open her airway completely to my magic. My song flutters softly in my throat, coaxing the magic up for my mate. It flows through me, from me, and straight into her. Keri claws at my scales and kicks my tail with her legs but I do not let up, even though I know that this cannot feel pleasant for her. It may be called a kiss, but the magic is forcing her body into an adaptation—and a far more extreme one than the brief kiss of life that I gave her before. I cannot give her that kiss again. I cannot risk any chance of failure or accident that could occur due to damage from the supplement upon my magic and lure. Nothing can go wrong.

I must give her the true kiss. Or at least try and hope that it will hold out at least long enough to get her to land.

Although her panic makes it worse, I know this magic is creating painful structural transformations in her airways and lungs. I feel her chest rise with giggles and smile against her lips. It is working! My magic is not so damaged after all. If her body is accepting these changes and adapting so quickly, I have no doubt that I can successfully mate with her. Relief slackens my grip which is a mistake because she uses the opportunity to break free and send herself sailing back into the rock behind her, cracking her head on the stone as her mask becomes dislodged. Rushing forward in a panic, I drag her up from the stone and her hand swings, striking me clumsily in the water. There is no force behind it, as my sweet female has not yet developed the strength to strike underwater, but the meaning is clear.

I give her an apologetic look as I drift back a short distance. “Sorry.”

She blinks and cocks her head and then pulls her mask away completely as one of her hands drifts up to her eyes in wonder before coasting down along her throat. I give her a reassuring smile and curl my tail around her protectively.

“You are okay. You see? You can breathe and your eyes have developed a protective coating. Come.” I reach for her hand, but she casts a worried glance back along the rocks in the distance.

“But...” The single word sounds strange, but it is expected since learning to vocalize underwater is a new skill as well.

I shake my head and take her hand in mine. I know exactly what she wants to say anyway. “It is better to avoid the varkoth than confront if possible. I was only willing to take the chance because I was not sure if it had you cornered or not.” I press a kiss to her palm and nuzzle her fingers affectionately. “My intelligent mate. Not only have you avoided being trapped by it, but you also saved me.”

She gives me a startled look but something in her eyes softens so sweetly that I could cry if I possessed the physical capability in this form. “Mate?”

“Always,” I assure her and press a brief kiss to her lips. “But now we must escape the barrier. I do not feel well.”

And that is certainly not a lie. Although our bond is helping to reinforce my lure against deterioration, I can feel a sickly weakness seeping bit by bit into me. Her eyes widen in response, and she looks around quickly as if recalling belatedly where we are. When her gaze lands on me, it is grim.

“Idiot.”

Ah, that vocalization attempt is a lot clearer. I give her a sweet smile and shrug.

“Have pity on your idiot mate. Allow me to take you home before the varkoth decides to change course and come back this way looking for a meal.”

I bite back a laugh as she rolls her eyes, but she nods and threads her fingers with mine. With a flick of my tail, I push away from our hiding place, drawing my mate along with me. I can feel my speed faltering as I swim from the outer sentinels and my strength withering at a rapid rate. I give a frustrated snap of my tail and snarl quietly to myself. My tail is not working right as my motor control over the bones and fine muscles break down. Keri’s hand squeezes mine and I meet her concerned gaze. I attempt another smile of reassurance, but her eyes narrow on me, and I know I am not fooling anyone, especially when I feel her magic surge along our bond, probing the root of my lure within me.

Normally that would be highly erotic, but it just sends a queasy pain through me that makes her eyes widen in alarm. I do not even have the strength to protest when she yanks on my hand, dragging me into her arms. How can I dare to protest this when this is the spot I have always wished to be? Although this makes for awkward swimming, I snap my tail, pushing forward the best I can. I am faltering, but I will not let my mate down. I attempt to make another surge forward and draw on the last reserves of my strength when I suddenly feel a strong upwelling of water rushing up behind us. My grip tightens on her fearfully, certain that it is the varkoth speeding after us, but she gives my back a comforting pat just before it rolls over us.

I flinch, expecting the jaws of a giant predator to snap at us. And yet it never comes. Instead, a deep flow of magic runs behind it, pushing the created currant and us forward at a pace that I never could have hoped to swim even at my best... and it is coming from Keri. My eyes drop to her in surprise, and she grins back at me as her pale hair streams back in the current around us. I work my fins rapidly, steering us among the rocks as we whip through them and past the outer sentinels. We break out of the barrier so close to Gryn that the male rolls back in shock, dropping the equipment he is carrying, but the elation is clear on his face when the current dissipates, allowing the younger male to catch up with us.

His gaze runs over Keri as if he reassuring himself that she is well before turning toward me and doing the same. I give him a begrudging look of thanks for his concern and decide not to completely kill him for this foolishness as we strike out together for the shore.

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