Page 28 of Spectacle

Have you named them yet? Tirrian asks, his eyes not shifting from the anemone. I can see the longing in his gaze. I think his dragons are as desperate as my kraken was for Lila to lay their eggs. He may get a chance sooner than the others too, because he will share the job of sitting on their nest. Lila won’t be solely responsible like she was for most of our pregnancy.

No, not yet. Nikos would like everyone’s input. Lila screws up her nose slightly. Not that I think that’s such a great idea, but he insists.

I chuckle and feel a rush of love for our merman. He has certainly lost that selfish streak, and I’m proud of him.

That’s lucky, since everyone definitely has their opinions. There is a list on a tablet back in the cavern if you would like to read over it, I tell her, and she rolls her eyes, laughing.

Of course there is.

Before either Tirrian or I can respond, Nikos pokes his head out, and a smile lights up his face when he sees Tirrian and the children. He turns back the way he came and calls, Come on, little ones, come and meet another daddy and your brother and sisters.

He swims farther out, and I scan his body. Lila is right, his tail has mostly closed up. There’s still a slight line, but even that’s not as long as it was during labor. He still looks a little tired, but that’s to be expected. My attention soon swings to the two beings following him, and a smile creeps across my lips. They are perfect, miniature versions of their parents, and it seems like they may have inherited their boldness too, because instead of waiting for the dragon and our other children to come to them, they dart around their dad faster than any of us expected and swim directly in front of the smaller yet still intimidating dragon. Our little krakens leave their mother’s side and swim over more cautiously than the merlings, and I can feel their curiosity and nerves. Instead of being their usual bulldozer selves, they wait and watch.

Nikos quickly gets over his surprise and swims over to them. This is Daddy Dragon, he tells the two little ones, rubbing a hand over Tirrian’s snout. I watch with amusement as the water dragon leans into the affection. And this is Jack, your brother. He points to my son before gesturing to each girl in turn. And Cordelia and Calypso are your sisters.

The merlings study their new family members seriously, and I hold my breath in anticipation. Tirrian huffs a breath of air that creates a multitude of bubbles that swirl around the little ones. They giggle and swat at the bubbles with their hands, which is enough to jolt the krakens into action. They join the fun, and the five of them zip in and out of the bubbles and around the dragon like they are playing a game of tag. Once the merlings are capable of speech, they will all be able to communicate inside their heads like we do, but that won’t happen until after their first shift. Link said it takes about two weeks for them to shift for the first time, similar to my babies. He thinks they will probably be human-sized toddlers as well, with advanced speech, unlike human babies.

Well, that looks like it’s going well. Shall we go to the surface and look over the list so we can finally give our babies names? Lila asks, putting her hand around Nik’s waist and leaning her head against his shoulder as we watch our babies play together, the delighted dragon blowing bubbles for their enjoyment.

I would love nothing more, he replies, no sign of the ditsy airhead he portrayed so effectively.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Lila

“We would like to introduce you to our babies,” I announce to our gathered family. Everyone is here, Bubby having set the autopilot so he could be here like I requested. Even Ghosie, who is still subdued after his interaction with Zeydan, is here, looking at the merlings with so much longing, it hurts my heart.

“This is Typhoon,” Nikos holds up our son so everyone can see him, and the cranky little boy waves both his arms around and cries at being lifted out of the water, much like the furious storm he’s been named for.

There are cheers and cries of welcome from our family. Link looks surprised then proud, because he was the one who suggested the name. Nik and I couldn’t think of a more appropriate name.

Then it’s my turn to lift my mini me out of the water so they can see her, including her delicate tail flukes. “And this is Hali,” I tell them, keeping with our nautical theme. “It means from the sea, and I couldn’t go past it. It’s so pretty and perfect for our little angel.” My gaze moves to Saxon, who was the one who presented that name. They were all allowed to propose one boy name and one girl name, otherwise the list would have been crazy, but Nik and I had the final decision.

Saxon puffs out his chest and looks smug as the rest of them coo and call to our mer princess, trying to get her attention.

“What wonderful names,” William congratulates us as we place the children back into the water. The kraken babies encourage them to swim over to the little ledge, and once there, they shift back into their other forms. The merlings look startled for a moment, but the babies babble to them in childish voices, introducing them to their daddies one by one. Each man gets dragged into the water so they can give the new little ones a proper welcome. Even Zeydan, Ghosie, and Silac get introduced to our new little ones. They look slightly overwhelmed, and I decide that’s probably enough introductions for the day.

“Okay, it must be pretty late. How about we call it a night, and you can swim with Hali and Ty in the morning?” I tell them. There are a few tears, and Jack crosses his arms and sits his butt down in the water, refusing to move, but Xavier just scoops him up and carries him up the stairs, his wails echoing back down to us. The girls are better behaved, and with a sloppy kiss for each of their siblings, they let Saxon and Tirrian lead them away.

Neither of my cats got into the water, and I can see the merlings looking at them with curiosity in their eyes.

“Daddy Echo and Daddy Maxsim aren’t very good with water,” I explain, but I’m not sure if they understand. “You can have cuddles with them once you shift for the first time.”

Ty’s face falls, and he starts to swim backward, but Hali screws up her face in concentration, and I gasp as she shimmers and her mer body disappears, replaced with two legs. She still has scales on her body and face, but so does Nik in his two-legged form. She claps her hands with delight, hurries through the water, and climbs out before she stumbles over to the two lightning cats. She’s unsteady, but Maxsim leaps forward and gathers her into his arms. His expression of shock must match mine.

“Is that supposed to happen?” Echo asks, pointing at the little girl before looking at Nik. Nik shakes his head.

“No, not for a few weeks.” He sounds flabbergasted.

“Kitty!” Hali shouts in a musical voice that has us all sighing, and I feel my body relax.

“Whoa, her song is powerful.” Nik looks at Link, who is busy scanning Hali’s body, checking her over.

He nods and looks back at us. “Just as I expected, she shows the same kind of DNA markers as the krakens. She is perfectly healthy, I promise.”

Only the cats and Link remain, the rest of them having retreated upstairs, so it’s not so loud and chaotic down here now.

“Should we try to get her to change back?” I ask Nik, not sure what to do.

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