Page 39 of Magic Potions and the Merman's Lure

“It is pretty, isn’t it?” I agree. “No harm, no foul. It is just not good for anyone to have.”

Made from synthetic, waterproof material, the bright orangey-pink material would have been eye-catching and unusual for someone not accustomed to seeing such things.

He nods cheerfully and takes another bite of his food. “You can have the contents since Ro says that it is bad, but I would really like the bag if you do not wish to keep it.”

There is such a hopeful note in his voice that I bite back a smile of amusement and nod. “I don’t see why not.”

He pauses and eyes me curiously. “Can you really make something that will allow us to be on land longer?”

“That is my hope. It is just not easy,” I warn, wanting to be completely honest with him. “It is complicated. I need to work out the right process, incantation, and ingredients. There are a lot of factors that need to be just right.”

Ro glances up at me as he takes another bite, chews, and quickly swallows. “Do you have any ideas?”

I sigh and poke at the salmon on my plate with the edge of my fork. “Ideas I have plenty of, but having a firm course of action has been a little more difficult. I’ve run into a small stumbling block. I need a core ingredient that speaks to the elements of magic that we are working with, ideally one that would draw on both the moon and sea, which regulates your nature and magic. I have tried to come up with something with a suitably strong enough magical tie to be able to trick your inner tide, but every avenue is leading to failure in my experiments.”

“Why not get a talaxi pearl,” Gryn suggests between bites.

Ro frowns at him in warning but I am intrigued.

“A talaxi pearl... is that some special form of pearl that I don’t stand a chance in hell of finding?”

The Saluha grins and slurps the flesh of the mussel from its shell. “It starts its life in a shell, but my mother used them all of the time and says that they are so much more, and easy to find if one knows what to look for.”

“And dangerous to acquire,” Ro points out. “Not even hunters within my pod will look for a talaxi pearl if they can avoid it. There is always the potential for a bad outcome when dealing with the pearl. No. We will not do it. Think of something else.”

“But it is perfect,” Gryn protests. He fiddles with his food and glances over at Ro from the corner of his eye. “It contains condensed magical essence that Keri can use. I came across a talaxi bed when I was nearing shore. We could get their quickly and...”

“No,” Ro repeats as he takes another bite.

I frown at him. His objection doesn’t really make sense. Something that has condensed magical essence from the sea would be perfect as the core ingredient. Pearls are easy to grind down too which is just more points in its favor.

“I don’t get it... what’s so dangerous about it?” I eye them expectantly. “I mean, it is still just a pearl, right?”

“I said no,” Ro interrupts, his pale eyes hardening on me. “We will think of something else. Now eat,” he grumbles. “There is much still to do today before the sun sleeps.”

I give him a petulant look but stuff another bite of food into my mouth. He’s right about one thing, though—there is too much to do to argue with him now. But if the talaxi pearl ends up being our best option, there is going to be no getting around the fact that we are going to need it.

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