Page 16 of The Noble's Merman

Soft, gentle waves lapped at his chest as he sat behind the rock. How much more time should he linger? Perhaps he could leave for home soon. Much to his relief, the nausea began to dissipate. The knot in his chest was unraveling, gradually, piece by piece. Not undone entirely, but enough to where he didn’t feel choked by it.

This was a good sign. Over the years, if the pull of the Song beckoned him, he always, always, gave in. This time was different. As the tension continued to loosen, Mo felt more comfortable than ever that he, truthfully, was gaining control of it.

For good measure, he waited just a little longer in the darkness, making sure Kent wasn’t simply running late. No, he’s not coming. Mo was not going to dwell on mourning the loss of Kent’s presence, when he knew he’d be blessed with it tomorrow. Once he saw his face, his beautiful smiling face, everything would be all right.

The swim home would be dark, but that was fine. Perhaps for tomorrow, though, he’d wear one of his glowing sea crystal necklaces.

And so, he ducked under the water, and made his way back into the depths.

SEVEN

At the same time the next day, Mo waited behind the rock. Since Kent did not appear yesterday, he surely would today. Kent said that he would, after all. If he didn’t, perhaps there was another human conflict that kept him busy, pulling him away from meeting Mo at the beach. If that were to happen, even still, Mo would wait. Kent was so sweet, so sincere with his words, such a trusting look in his twinkling, visible eye—Mo would give him the benefit of the doubt. Mo could control himself, and there was nowhere else he’d rather be. He would wait.

“Are you there, Mo? It’s me, Kent!”

His heart flew in a flutter. He clutched the sea crystal tight in his hand as a wide grin stretched his face.

Kent finally came back!

Mo swam around the rock and moved closer to shore, finding his human there, having already shed his coat. Kent’s long golden-brown curls flowed in the gentle breeze, pulled back in a queue by that adorable black ribbon. He had a smile so charming, so cheerful, as he held the book and something else small and mysterious in his hands.

“Kent! I’m so happy to see you return.” He pulled himself even closer, now at the water’s edge.

“Same to you! Are you sure you don’t need my help getting out? I could perhaps make it easier on you…”

Mo stopped for a moment, and thought, actually, yes, I would like his hands on me. “You can help me, if you’d like.”

“All right. Then, here…” Kent set his items down onto the pebbles and stepped over to Mo. “Now, how would be the best way to do this… Ah! How about this?” He waded barefoot into the water, coming up behind Mo, and curled his elbows under Mo’s armpits. With a little bit of levering from his tail to make it easier on the human (especially since Kent was somewhat smaller than Mo himself), soon enough, Kent pulled Mo completely out and onto dry land. The human let out a generous, heaving sigh once he let go.

“Thank you,” said Mo as he brushed his wet hair from his eyes, sitting up straight.

“You’re very welcome,” said Kent between panting breaths. “Lord, I need to gain more muscle if I’m to do that again!”

“There’s no better practice than hauling me around some more then, right?” he teased.

“Damn right!” Kent laughed, then found his seat to Mo’s right, picking up the items he set down. “What’s that you’re holding? It’s glowing!”

“Ah, yes, this?” Mo lifted his hand with the item in question. “It’s what we call a sea crystal. They are what merfolk use to light up dark waters. I brought one for myself as well, here on my necklace.” He patted the one hanging by his chest with his free hand. “But this larger one, I wanted to give to you—as a gift.”

“A gift? For me?” His cheeks flushed, highlighted by the gentle white glow of the crystal.

“Yes, of course. It’s the least I can do, to share something from my world with you, since you can’t come under the water.”

Kent accepted the gift, twirling it around in his hand, examining each and every jagged angle. “Thank you! I greatly appreciate it. Say—that reminded me of something. While there are legends of merfolk becoming human, have you heard of anything the other way around? Of humans becoming merfolk? Personally, I haven’t read anything, but wasn’t sure perhaps you had…?”

Mo shook his head. “No, nothing of the sort. Every tale is about merfolk gaining legs, so I don’t think the other way around is even possible. It must have something to do with a magic only merfolk possess.”

“I see how that makes sense.” He gave an adorable pout, puckering his lips. It was a shame, though; Mo would’ve loved to show him around his familiar watery home. “If you were to become human, you wouldn’t need to return to the water after a period of time to gain your strength back, would you?”

Mo chuckled. “I don’t believe so. In every legend I know of, once the mer becomes human, they never mention returning to the sea. They simply stay on land with their new legs forevermore.”

“Ah, I see.” Kent set the crystal down on the shingles next to him, and replaced it with the mysterious object he’d brought. “Anyway, I’d told you I was to bring you some food next time. And—here.” He pulled away the cloth wrapping, revealing something soft-looking and brown. “It’s bread. There’s a little bit of butter on it, too. It’s something just about common for humans, and I eat at least some variation of it every day.” He chuckled.

“Oh, all right.” Mo accepted the food, hand brushing lightly against Kent’s as he passed it over. The food felt strangely warm through the wrapping, yet emanated the most alluring scent. “I can just… eat it, right?”

“Yes, go ahead!”

And so, Mo opened his mouth, and dug his fangs into the bread. The wonderful flavor graced his tongue instantly, flooding his mouth with something amazing. “Oh, fuck, this is good!” He couldn’t help himself—he needed it all. He shoved the rest of the bread in, setting the cloth wrapping on the ground, chewing madly at the delicious fluffy substance.

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