Page 53 of The Noble's Merman

“Then it must be something else,” said Mo, pressing his lips into a fine line. “If breeding between humans and merfolk is possible, perhaps your father had human blood in him as well, from his parents? Therefore, he was both human and merfolk, giving him the ability to shift.”

“But what of full-blooded merfolk?” said Davies, following along the facts carefully. “Perhaps there’s more than one way for merfolk to gain legs, whether they have human blood or not, like the whale said—if they’re full-blooded mer, they need to have a connection to humanity.”

“Indeed.” Allen nodded. “If my father was a half-breed himself, that would mean I have even less mer-blood, and may be why I’m not able to become a merman myself. I’ve always considered it a possibility.”

“Yes, and I agree with Davies,” said Kent. “Mo, whether you have human blood or not, there still must be a way for you to become human.” He looked dearly at Mo, smiling. “This is all quite muddling in my head, with all this new information. But with everything we’ve heard and known, all the tales, and now with what you mentioned Noon said, I believe we’re closer than ever to finding it possible.”

Mo smiled as well. “Yes, I believe so too.”

“Don’t you already have a connection with Fareham, though?” asked Davies. “Or is there something I’m missing?”

“Davies, you always are so nosy.” Walker gave him a light swat on the back of the head, causing Davies to yelp. “This is something they have to figure out. Don’t make it harder on them.”

“I was only trying to help!” He winced, rubbing the spot on his head Walker hit.

The others laughed aloud, and Mo’s chest continued to flutter. “Walker is right, though,” he said, laughing as well. “We have to figure this out, and we will.” He looked at Kent who was blushing madly, holding a hand in front of his face to (unsuccessfully) cover up his redness. Yet Mo saw him peek through his fingers, catching a glimpse of his beautiful brown left eye. “I know we will.”

“How is everything this day, lads?”

Captain Brooks made his appearance, standing tall over everyone sitting in the circle. The sun was bright behind his head, haloing his long blond hair in a shimmering glow, hatless today. He stood with an air of confidence, yet with a friendly smile on his handsome face—one hand on his hip and the other giving a gentle wave.

“Doing good!” answered Kent, lowering his hand and smiling back at him.

“I’m very glad to see everyone’s been getting along with our merman guest here.” He gestured toward Mo.

“Yes, indeed,” Davies chimed in.

“Have you been enjoying yourself on The Sterling Mer, Mo?” Brooks asked him.

“Absolutely.” He nodded.

“You haven’t been belowdecks with Fareham yet, have you?”

“Oh, no… I’ve not. I wasn’t sure if it was proper for me to…”

Brooks rubbed his chin, looking around to the men in the circle. He then pandered his gaze around the rest of the ship, back and forth, finally landing his eyes on Kent. “Would you like him to go down with you?”

“Yes. Yes, please, by all means, Captain!” Kent said quickly, beaming a huge grin.

“Then, I don’t see why not. I believe everyone here has taken a liking to Mo, to where I don’t think they’ll mind. Right, lads?” He looked at the sitting crewmen in their circle, to which they nodded in agreement. “Fareham, you’ve no other duties here today unless something unexpected occurs. So, do however you’d like.”

“You mean it, Captain?”

“Yes, of course.” He laughed, his broad shoulders rising as he did. “And please, call me Brooks. Allen, would you be so kind as to help see them down?”

“Aye, Brooks.” He glanced at Mo. “Are you ready?”

Mo nodded. Every day thus far, usually it was Allen’s burly arms lifting him where he needed to be. As much as he’d much prefer to have Kent’s hands touching him, Kent was also a bit physically smaller than himself, and Mo would hate to see Kent strain those lean, beautiful muscles carrying him any more than need be. Allen, however, had the muscles of two men, possibly three. He put his hands under Mo and lifted him high without breaking a sweat.

Kent led the way down into the ship as Allen carried Mo with them. While Mo had been through the rooms of a ship before, it was never like this—in the air. Countless, countless times, he’d scavenged the ships he’d sunk with his Song underwater, swimming around their corridors with ease. There was also one other stark difference that churned his stomach at the disturbing thought: every human on this ship was alive. Mo brushed the thought out of his mind. Now was not the time to think of that. He was with Kent, and once Allen left, they’d finally be alone together again.

NINETEEN

Finally. Finally, after being on this ship for over a week, Kent could have Mo all to himself. While he understood that it was necessary to gain everyone’s trust before they were able to come down here, it didn’t make the wait any less agonizing. Mo being so close to him, yet not being able to hold him other than chaste touches and stolen kisses when no one was looking. How he desperately wished for more. The passionate, intimate desire had been pooling in his body every time they so much as smiled at each other.

But now, they finally had the comfort of privacy they’d been looking for. Allen brought in a wooden tub for Mo to sit in if he wished, and he filled it shallowly with saltwater from a ewer. In the small room, the tub itself took up over a third of the floor space. But Kent didn’t mind; he was grateful they had their own private quarters regardless of its size.

Theirs. Kent’s and Mo’s. Not just his own, but a place where he could share with his…

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