Page 46 of Magic Potions and the Merman's Lure

“Do not overthink it. As I said, it is not something that you need to worry about. Besides, I would not simply drop dead. It takes years for the sickness to overtake us and our magic returns to the sea. My lifespan will simply be much shorter—perhaps comparable to a human lifespan—and I would roam the waters restlessly to not be drawn back by my lure. That is all.”

“That’s all, he says,” I mutter.

Katherine coughs behind her hand, breaking the tension. “Well, it sounds like you have your work cut out for you then, Keri, if you are going to make this supplement. It will make it a lot easier for Ro’s mate and we certainly don’t want him potentially wasting away or anything. My resources are at your disposal. My talent is more for energy manipulation, but I think I can give you a few tips on how to get the most out of your potion on that end, as well as some ideas of what we can do.” She looks over at me curiously. “Have you spoken with your parents to see if their art may reveal any suggestions?”

I wrinkle my nose. “Not much help from that direction. I got a few short lines emailed to me. I don’t think they will ever forgive me for giving up on pursuing divination and not continuing the family tradition.”

My aunt gives a characteristic roll of her eyes in response to my objection. “Oh, please, they surely couldn’t be that surprised. Both of them are stubborn and deserve each other. I told them since you were five years old and playing little witch games with me that your energy isn’t aligned to divination work. If they’re shocked, they have no one to blame but themselves.” She sniffs disdainfully. “I see that I will have to give my nephew a phone call.”

I stare at her in shock, unable to quite believe what she’s just said. “How did I not know this?”

“Your parents live in a state of denial, of course,” Katherine explains and gives me a cheeky smile. “But be assured that it is not a condition limited to just them. We all must come around sometime and see that our dreams and expectations for our children have to change as they grow and discover their own way. This,” she says, tapping on the printed copy of my notes, “is good. You are already well on your way to working this out, and I suspect that once you find your core ingredient, the rest will fall in line quickly. You may not be a diviner, but you are the first potions mistress in our coven yet, and that is something to be proud of.”

“I am proud,” Ro purrs in a low voice only for my ears, and my pulse leaps in response as a pleased flush sweeps over my body.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. It seems that I’ve been unsuspectingly carving out my niche in the coven after all, just as my parents always hoped.

Chapter 29

Ro

Adoration fills me as I watch my mate. My cock is also twitching eagerly in my sheath, but that is easy enough to ignore for now while my mate works. She has been at it ceaselessly since the meeting with her formidable aunt, though my unslakable desire has caused enough disturbances on the rare moments I can catch her alone, even if it is quickly matched by hers. For now, I am content to simply watch and appreciate the beauty of my female as the sun makes her appear as bright and radiant as a pearl.

I may have little to contribute to Keri’s research outside of answering whatever questions may come to mind as she works, but I am enjoying these days trapped within the small confines of her room with her while she studies whatever book she has selected and set in front of her. Normally I dislike being indoors in human dwellings as they lack the coziness of the Aquana nesting caverns. But this is only a temporary inconvenience. I have already personally sent in designs to a contractor to build the long network of halls and adjoining round rooms that will make our home a comfortable nest for us. There is even space made for all the books she seems to be collecting rapidly, all because she has been reading ceaselessly in her determination to find a better option to replace the supplement.

And I am awed and humbled by how determined she is to find a solution. I suspect that she would still search even if we were not so tied together, but she is possessed by a certain unyielding drive that I like to think is due to her need for me, though I do not dare to hope that I yet possess her heart. She did not claim me in front of her aunt, after all, although she was given the opening to do so. It was all I could do to smooth things over and attempt to redirect the conversation. For now, this is enough for me. She even took some days off—a vacation she calls it—so that she could devote more time to her research when we are not working on the council’s assignment at the aquarium, though not before taking several volumes from the vault to study in depth. I am not sure if she had permission to actually take the books from the library, but I do know that if anyone tries to punish her for it then they will have to deal with me.

Adiele has been helping off and on—but of course, she has a reason to since she already made an agreement with Keri for the Emporium to distribute the new supplement once it is developed and has been determined to be safe by the local council. She had to return to the shop early today, but I have no complaint since Gryn shortly left afterward, following after her like an orphaned pup following hopefully after a prospective mother. I shake my head with amusement. He listens to Adiele even better than he heeds me. The fact that she is far more patient with his juvenile antics certainly works in her favor. He also behaves better for her, though. She is only a few years older than my Keri, too young among humans to have a mostly grown offspring, but she exhibits a maternal affection for him that sets my mind at ease when the male is out of my sight.

More importantly, it gives me some much-needed time alone with my female. Over the last several days we have stolen minutes wherever we can find them whether to share a kiss, mate, or fall into exhausted slumber in each other’s arms. Although every moment we can find is precious, days like this are rare and treasured. A bubble of warmth settles around my heart as I watch her read. I never tire of this. She has so much passion for her studies that it pleases me to watch her expressions shift and change.

She is much like this when she is practicing her magic, too, though I enjoy that even more through the subtle interplay of the lure that she doesn’t even notice is subtly feeding and influencing her power. I want to offer it to use as hers, to anchor and develop her magic as she wishes but I have not yet worked out how to introduce the subject. After all, I still have not asked her to be my mate and have not revealed the true depth of my feelings, though I have hinted at it. It is well known among aquatic species that Aquanas share their magic with only their mates due to the unique nature of the lure of a male and the base power of the female being so utterly interwoven.

If it was even successful—which is a significant uncertainty while the lure’s state hasn’t fully become embedded and accepted within her power—if she has come across this information, she would immediately know what it means by even making an offer to explore this interplay of magic between us. That is not how I wish to speak to her about mating. Nor can I just boldly come right out and speak of my desire when I do not even know whether or not I have been harmed by the supplement, and by extension by worthiness to mate now. I have certainly bred with her enough times to have initiated our mating with all of the magic we have exchanged and yet I’ve repeatedly failed to get noticeably close to a point that will drive me to take her into the water. Maybe the fault is in the fact our times of joining are too erratic with long periods in between when we are unable to breed?

Or perhaps it is because we have only been breeding when I am in this form. There are limitations to it that may be affecting the purity of my magic that rises with the release of my seed.

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