Page 72 of Blood of the Sirens
Come inside with me,I thought to him.
His head tilted in confusion. I sighed, and sent him an image of him walking inside the house with me in his human form.
Caspian was out of the water and on the dock before I was finished thinking, his long tail fading away to legs as the water dried and sluiced off him. I held out a hand to help him stand, but he didn’t take it.
I stood to show him what to do. A flash of determination bled from him, and he crawled forward on his arms and legs.
My head shook and I held my arms out, stopping him. I pulled up on his arms, encouraging him to stand. Caspian sat up on his knees, then laboriously put one foot flat on the dock.
I smiled and nodded, showing him how pleased I was.
His weight shifted to the leg on the ground, and he wobbled dangerously. I held tight to him, and the other leg came down. He shook and wavered, but I was strong. I held him up until he adjusted, then slowly let go.
He stood unassisted, blinking at me and looking oddly proud. I clapped my hands, then took one step forward, glancing back at him in encouragement.
Caspian took one step forward, and didn’t fall on his face.
Convinced he could handle it, I walked slowly to the house, not wanting to look back in case it made him embarrassed orself-conscious. I opened the back patio, and helped him navigate the rotting wooden steps.
He stood on my back porch, staring into the house with curiosity.
Wait until you see a bed,I thought.
That was probably a bit presumptuous. I should probably start with the couch.
Grabbing his arm, I guided him over to the couch, pushing down lightly. He stumbled, alarmed and fear wafting from him. I shook my head and sent reassurance back, as well as an image of him sitting on the couch with me.
He took a steadying breath, and allowed me to sit him down. Happy we’d made it, I grabbed a blanket from the stack and sat next to him, snuggling into his side and stretching my legs out on the rest of the couch.
Exhaustion hit me like a freight train. Dully, I registered one of his long arms coming around me, holding me securely against him. No one would be able to sneak up on me while he was here. I was safe to sleep.
With a jolt I realized I hadn’t felt safe since the mer attack on the boat. But with Caspian here, I knew I could rest.
As if he could read my thoughts (and perhaps he could), his hand squeezed my shoulders, fingers digging into my skin reassuringly.
I yawned and tucked my head into his shoulder. Sleep claimed me shortly after.
TWENTY-FOUR
Jesse
Poundingon the door jarred me awake. I blinked in confusion as dark arms surrounded me, then I remembered. Caspian!
He reacted to my panic, snarling and hurling himself over the couch and toward the door. He tripped at least twice, but didn’t let his lack of practice with legs stop him from attacking what he viewed as a threat. It was hard to see as dawn was just cresting over the horizon, bathing my living room in a golden, pink haze.
I couldn’t yell at Caspian to stop, so I did the next best thing. I sent my memory of Javi making out with his latest boy fling at a bar toward him.
Caspian lurched forward and froze, a look of shock on his face just as Javi unlocked the door and stepped through.
“Yah!” Javi stumbled backward and Caspian jumped at seeing the man from his head suddenly in front of him. Iclapped my hands impatiently and made a ‘come here’ signal to Caspian.
The mer scowled at Javi but lumbered back to me, taking large and ungainly steps.
“Holy shit. And here I was thinking last night was a fever dream. Unlessthisis the fever dream.” Javi’s mouth was open as he took in Caspian. All of Caspian, quite naked. He gave me a look.
My own mouth opened angrily before I remembered I couldn’t yell at him.
He held his hands up in exasperation. “Hey girl, no judgment. Get yours.” Javi gave Caspian another appreciative glance. “I’m guessing this is another one of your friends from … downunder?”
