Page 84 of Make Out With A Merman

She’s tracing circles on my chest with one finger, her cheek pressed to my shoulder.

“Do you feel different?” she whispers.

I nod. “Like something’s… shifted. Like I finally stopped holding my breath.”

“Yeah,” she says softly. “Me too.”

Silence stretches between us but the good kind.

The kind that says everything without needing words.

Still, I turn to look at her.

She’s watching the stars, her brow furrowed just slightly.

“What?” I ask.

“I was just thinking,” she murmurs, “I didn’t save you with magic, not really.”

I kiss her temple. “Youdid.”

“No,” she says. “I saved you with love. And duct tape. And maybe a little reckless faith.”

I grin. “That sounds about right.”

She looks at me then, serious.

“You would’ve gone, wouldn’t you? Let the lake take you.”

“I was ready,” I admit. “But not to die. Just… to end it.”

Her fingers slide up to cup my jaw. “You don’t have to carry this alone anymore.”

“I know that now,” I say. “Because you taught me.”

She leans up, kisses me slow.

And in the still of the night, under a sky full of stories, I finally let myself believe.

This one’s ours.

CHAPTER 27

CALLIE

The sky’s blue.

The birds are singing.

No one’s screaming.

It’s almost suspicious.

I walk out of the mess hall with a plate of slightly over-toasted pancakes and a heart that still hasn’t settled back into a normal rhythm since, you know,fighting off the magic of a sentient, underwater rift with love and stubbornness.

Hazel catches me just outside the archery range, sparkly fanny pack bouncing.

“Did you know they’re throwing a party?” she chirps.

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