Page 91 of The Noble's Merman

Was that why magic still pulsed within him, in a way beckoning him to return to the beach? It had to be. How could Kent leave Mo like that? Wouldn’t he just be doing the same thing Diana had done to him: abandon him? How could he abandon the one who loved him the most? The one who he loved the most?

While yes, he was upset at Mo hiding the truth, Kent knew deep in his heart he needed to go back to him. He longed for him. He wanted to understand. He needed to see him again.

Would Mo still be there? He thought likely, since Mo had always waited for him before. On the shores of the Solent, Mo was always waiting for him behind that large rock, excited to meet with Kent again each and every time. How could it have only been a few months ago when they’d first met, when it truly felt like a lifetime?

Kent knew what he had to do. He took a deep breath, brushing away his remaining tears with the back of his hand.

He turned on his heels, marching his way back to the rocky beach.

THIRTY-ONE

Mo wasn’t sure how much time had passed since Kent walked off, but either way, he still felt exhausted from the long swim that got them here. He moved a little so the water brushed up against his tail, but stayed mostly dry, laying on his stomach, the blanket of pebbles below himself. While his body felt tired, his mind kept him awake, anxious to hear if Kent would come back.

His eyes were low to the ground, unable to see up the hill, but his ears were sharp. It wasn’t much longer until he heard the soft rustle of footsteps in the distance. He doubted there was anyone else around that would come to this lonesome rocky beach, no, that could only be one person?—

“Mo! Oh thank the Lord, you’re still here.”

Quickly, he pushed up on his arms and sat up. There, walking toward him?—

Was Kent.

“Kent! You came back!”

His heart fluttered as relief soaked through him. Pressure in his throat burst as he let out a sob, but it wasn’t out of sadness. He was happy—his beloved finally returned to him. He couldn’t help the little smile that escaped his lips.

Kent smiled back at him, stepping closer and closer as he trekked down the hill. “You really did wait for me.”

“You know I’ll always wait for you, Kent. No matter how long it takes.”

Mo scooched so his tail was out of the water, and Kent made himself comfortable, sitting down next to Mo on the pebbly ground. Even when they were both sitting up straight, Mo loved how Kent was a tad shorter than him.

“I’m… sorry I left you how I did,” said Kent. “But I just needed some space.”

“All is forgiven. You did nothing wrong. I’m the one who should be apologizing. To which, I am sorry. I’m sorry for lying to you, sorry for hiding what I am and what I’ve done. I’m so, so sorry Kent…”

Mo reached for Kent’s hand, but instead of like before where the human pushed him away, he let him take it. Mo gently caressed Kent’s fingers with his own, and it made his heart warm.

Kent looked down at their entwined hands, resting on the ground between them. He didn’t say he accepted his apology yet, but offered something else, “I want to learn more about how you say you’ve learnt to control your Song. I ran off before you could fully explain, and… I want to hear the rest of your story.”

“You really do?”

“Yes, of course. Now that I know the truth, I… I want to understand.”

“All right.” Mo nodded, and squeezed Kent’s hand gently. He would tell Kent everything he wanted to know, no more hiding.

“So,” Mo continued, “as you know from when we talked about it before, when we looked at your book, the Siren’s Song is a gift that’s bestowed to only the rarest of merfolk. While it’s something they know they have from birth, a siren is unable to use the power of the Song until they reach adulthood. So, I’m twenty-five years old now, and I’ve only been able to use the Song for about the last six.”

“I see…” Kent looked up at him.

“What I’ve thought, what I was led to believe all my life, was that when you feel the Song’s call, you need to act on it. The magic flows through your body, clutching you and holding your throat… I suppose it might feel similar to this connection magic we feel, except the Song has its own signature. It’s harsh, it’s strong, it’s demanding. I was anticipating when I’d first feel the call when I was an adolescent, yet it clashed with my interest in humans themselves. To that I spoke the truth—I’ve always had a special interest in humanity. So, I believe it was when I was seventeen years, I gathered the courage to breach the surface and talk with human sailors.”

“I hadn’t realized you started talking to them so young,” said Kent, his eyes widening.

Mo hummed, nodding his head. “Yes. It was those first kind sailors who told me what pirates were. They said the pirates flew black flags, which was how I could identify them, and showed how they themselves flew ones with a red cross. They were happy to tell me these outrageous stories of how horrible pirates were. Since then, I’d spoken to a small handful of other English ships as well, and they told me similar tales. While I never revealed to any of them that I was a siren myself—I feared they would strike me with a harpoon if I said so—the sailors joked with me, asking me if there were any way merfolk could aid in ridding the seas of pirates who were nothing but a menace. They jested because they thought I didn’t have the power to do anything, but it gave me an idea, something that mutually benefited us both. That whenever I felt the power of the Siren’s Song, I could destroy the friendly humans’ enemies.”

“I… I understand that. Yes, that makes perfect sense.” Kent nodded, and rubbed his thumb on the back of Mo’s hand. “But… not everyone aboard a pirate ship would be evil. Some are just there because of circumstances. Look at Seth, look at Allen, look at… me.”

Mo gulped, and he bit his lip. “I… I know that now. But back then, such a sentiment never occurred to me. I simply just felt like I was doing good to the English sailors, and satisfying my own urges at the same time.”

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