Page 46 of Female Fantasy
“Okay, your turn,” I whisper.
Nico whistles in response. Moments later, his hands shoot through the door, gaining purchase on the sidewalk, followed by the crown of his buzzed blond head.
“The miracle of childbirth,” I murmur.
“Shut up,” Nico’s head says. “Joonie, I think I’m stuck.”
He’s about halfway to freedom, his lower abdomen partially through.
And the door is clamped down on the round curve of his ass.
“Okay, you clench.” I bite my lip. “I’ll pull.”
Nico’s calloused hands latch on to mine. I shut my eyes tightly, mustering up every bit of inner strength I have, and pull him forward. When I open, I’m disappointed to discover that he hasn’t moved an inch.
“One more time,” he says.
He squeezes my hands, and I nod.
We count to three, then hang on for dear life.
And his body snaps like a rubber band, landing next to me with a thud.
“We did it!” Nico pulls us to our feet and wraps his arms around me. My heart thuds loudly as I exhale. My entire body is vibrating. “Joonie,youdid it.”
My stomach twists, constricting tightly. For a second, I think I’m having a heart attack.
“Well, we’re not home free yet,” I say, pointing to where Clarisse and Thomas’s car remains parked in the lot.
Our bags are still stowed in the back seat.
Dumbasses.
“They took the keys,” Nico says. “How are we going to get the car running?”
“I have a couple of ideas.”
He shakes his head in disbelief. “Let me guess. You know how to hot-wire a car, too?”
My answering grin tells him everything he needs to know.
“Man,” he says. “I’ve got to read these fucking books.”
It is silent for the space of a rolling wave.
Then all the mer begin to speak at once.
“Human?” Kai paces back and forth, his tail swishing behind him. “But that is impossible. How did you get a human past the barrier?”
“I have been hiding her in air bubbles,” Ryke says calmly. “And in my private chambers.”
Kai curses in a language I have never heard before.
Dylan studies me closely, as if I am an endangered species.
I suppose in some ways, I am.
“But humans are not allowed in Atlantia,” he says. “A human has never set foot in our world. Not once in thousands of years. If the sirens catch you, they will kill you.”
