Page 54 of Magic Potions and the Merman's Lure

The stirred sand rises, clouding the water as I work. I am aware of it and yet it seems a distant thing to me. The pearl shifts between my hands but then suddenly breaks free from the seabed with an electric snap that jolts through me, bringing me back to myself. I blink once and then twice at the pearl drifting past me and reach out to grab ahold of it. It rolls forward toward me at the motion between my hands as they finally settle around it. A euphoric burst of triumph hits me as I stare down at it. The pearl glimmers with a deep magic that could probably captivate me for hours, but there’s no time for that. I open my collection bag fastened across my chest and place it inside. I give it one last longing look before closing the bag and securing it once more. I give the bag a pat as I turn in the water and head back out from the bed and through the kelp forest. My heart is racing with excitement by the time I pull myself into the tunnel.

I am nearly there. I’m so close.

The end is so near that I slip from the tunnel into the rocky barrier without hesitation. I swim between the rocks, picking up my pace. I need to hurry and get back to Gryn and switch out my air tanks. I push my way between two narrow columns when a strange clattering sound rushes through the water and makes my blood run cold. Fear skitters through me, but I don’t try to make a quick escape. Bracing myself against the rocks, I scan the rocks ahead warily.

The long shadow I saw before is still there but this time there is a bright yellow eye at its head that’s staring directly at me. Slowly it shifts in a sinuous fashion and I’m able to get a sense of the shape of its body and head. It reminds me vaguely of an enormous eel except, at its belly, it has numerous long claw-like appendages similar to grab claws extending and scraping across the rocks. The sound echoes through the water and I wince.

Just my damned luck to run into a varkoth.

Chapter 34

Ro

I can feel the intense thrum of fear through the lure connecting me to my mate and my tail snaps harder, driving me through the water at an even faster speed. Although it is rare to feel emotions through the lure, the strongest ones will always get through. Thank the gods that I am already heading towards her. If I felt this while on land, I probably would have been driven mad with helplessness rather than drawing in closer to her by the moment. There is still no guarantee that I will not arrive too late, but I am determined to reach my mate’s side and face whatever danger is threatening her.

I grit my teeth in frustration. No matter how fast I swim it does not feel fast enough and desperation is a living monster inside of me thrashing to get out. Ever since I felt the strange current rush through our bond—one that could only be caused by a talaxi barrier penetrating her magic—I knew nothing but fear that something might happen to her.

That moment of realization was a terrible one, too, and I am still living it, though I regret the fact that I was unfortunately a little rude to Adiele when it caught me off guard. She will have to forgive me for thrusting the bags I was carrying at her. I know she will understand. And even if she does not, that is not something I can afford to be concerned with at the moment. Right now, all that matters is Keri’s safety.

I am also going to murder Gryn, but that is also a concern that can wait until later.

At least I have two things working in my favor. One is that I know exactly which talaxi bed Gryn has taken her to, as it lies within my territory. The second is that I presume Keri is swimming with the equipment that humans require to swim deep below the surface. At least she better be. If that young male gave her the kiss of breath, I will make it a point to not only murder him but scatter his remains. But if she has it that means she will still be presumably within the protection of the barrier by the time I arrive. It does not offer much safety, but the predators that lurk around the talaxi beds will be unable to directly attack her there at least.

The water is a blur of silver around me as I speed through it. I do not slow until I arrive at the tall barrier sentinels. I spin and roll through the water to break by speed so that I am able to come to a full stop, my fins spread wide to steady me as I take stock of the situation. Thankfully there is nothing hunting through the water outside the barrier which means that Keri indeed has not emerged yet from its safety as I had hoped. Just ahead of me, however, Gryn darts anxiously just outside of them, his fins snapping and flicking in the water with his agitation. He’s in a clear state of panic, one that I understand too well as the clattering shrieks of the varkoth carry rapidly through the water.

I snap my tail and swim toward the barrier just as Gryn turns and notices my presence. Relief registers on his face but then shifts gradually to fear as he takes in my expression. It is almost pitiful enough to make me forget about his transgression. Almost. Fortunately for him, I do not have the time to deal with him. I rush past him, diving between the rocks, ignoring his shout of warning. Of course, it is not safe for me to enter the barrier, but I am a driven male and cannot ignore the demands of my instinct or the love in my heart.

The magic of the barrier is nothing like I have ever experienced before. I have felt the subtle threat from a distance that warns all males away from the sacred beds but experiencing it crawling through me, clawing at my insides as I penetrate the barrier forbidden to me, is unlike anything I could have imagined. I spin off course and drift weakly for a moment as I battle against the pain ripping through me. The magic tears at my lure. I now understand the risk that the elders always warned of. If not for being mostly bound to my mate’s magic, I likely wouldn’t survive this. Somehow it is protecting my lure and therefore my own magical core. Floating above the pain, however, is my mate’s increasing panic that strikes discordantly along our bond even as the varkoth’s aggression vocally heightens.

I cannot float aimlessly succumbing to pain. I have to protect her!

Although I cannot pinpoint Keri’s exact position, the sonic vibrations of the varkoth’s clattering provides a course. Putting power behind my final rotation through the water, I spin toward my target, diving between the rocks. I can see it, its monstrously large body twined among the sentinels. Its huge eye glows unmistakably and I aim for it, preparing to directly attack its nervous systems through that one point. Varkoths are difficult to kill, so my aim and force have to be exact. I spread my fingers wide to broaden the scope of my attack with my claws as I propel myself forward. Thankfully, the creature’s vision is abysmal and the stone just ahead is blocking its view of me. I will have to come around it quickly.

I turn my body, preparing to speed around the rock when something slams into me from the left. The force of our bodies colliding flings us back far beyond another grouping of sentinels as we crash into the rocks. I grunt in pain as I am driven into the rocks, but I’m alarmed at the sound of something metallic striking hard and cracking. I roll toward the sound, my eyes frantically searching and landing upon my mate. Though her head is turned away from me and she is clothed entirely in black material, there is no mistaking the scent of my mate’s pheromones as she thrashes about. I am relieved that she isn’t injured after hearing her make such a hard impact, but her rapid movements worry me.

Concerned, I drift forward and grab ahold of her shoulders in an attempt to reassure her, but she slaps my hands away and turns frantically toward me and gestures to the metal strapped to her back. I look at them blankly, not understanding. Her hands grip the sides of my face, though, and tugs my head back around so that I am looking directly at her. I grip her arms and stare at her face, my own worry mounting at the panic I see in her eyes. She batts away my hands again but this time claws at the strange piece over her mouth. Horror fills me and I push her hands down away from it. She can’t breathe!

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