Page 21 of Song of Lorelei
A tear rolled down her cheek as she signed, “Thank you, Shorewalker.” Lorelei had showed it to him, absolutely thrilled to have her own name sign. Above the waves and below them, name signs were a gift from the Deaf community, and apparently, the mermaid one, too. They had to be given.
While Lila reintroduced Nireed to the family, Lorelei bumped Killian’s hip with her own. A nervous smile tugged at her lips. “It’s too soon to say for sure, but I think things are looking up.” She sounded so hopeful.
He caught himself glancing at the spot where he stashed the tranquilizer gun. He hated hiding it from her. And the thought that he might have to use it on her… that killed him. But he had to protect her from herself. And he had to protect the others.
He could tell her that. But he didn’t want to ruin this moment for her or make her feel like he didn’t trust her. It would all be fine. It was just a precaution. These were extenuating circumstances. Nothing bad was going to happen, and she would never have to know.
Jesus. If they ever had to go to couples therapy…
“Hey.” She touched his arm, pulling him out of his head. “I lost you there for a second.”
He looked at her. Those beautiful green eyes, too bright to be human, reminded him of sea glass and home. Her mismatched eyebrows furrowed with worry, the arched one on the right emphasizing her unasked question. Killian swiped a little bit of potted meat from the corner of her mouth with his thumb.
She blushed. The question forgotten. “We had a little snack before our drive over.”
He chuckled, brushing his hand off on his jeans. “You ready?”
“I’m kind of scared. It’s been so long… I don’t know what to expect.”
He rubbed her shoulders, squashing down every urge to tell her the truth. “You won’t be alone. You’ll have Nireed in the water with you, and us right here on land.”
Chapter Ten
LORELEI
The family turned away while Lorelei and Nireed stripped down at the water’s edge. Every nerve-ending in Lorelei’s body was alight, an electric current surging through her. The ocean pulled and pulled and pulled. And now she could finally say, ‘yes.’ At long last.
“You shake, Shorewalker.”
A stupid smile plastered itself on her face as she shucked off the last of her clothes and buried her toes in the wet sand. The tide rolled over her feet, and sweet Jesus, it felt like heaven. She barely suppressed a groan. “This might be so stupid and selfish, Nireed, but I am so damn happy right now. I denied myself this for so long. And it’s not just that. I never really considered the possibility that I might swim with another mermaid as a… friend.” She almost hadn’t said it, but the word hung in her mouth, too heavy to swallow. She let the truth spill to be scrutinized and rejected. She didn’t deserve it, but she was beginning to think of Nireed as a friend.
Nireed struggled with the elastic hems of her pants legs, but she collapsed into the sand, and managed to tug her feet free. “You have not felt ocean’s true touch for just as long as I.” She huffed, tossing the sweatpants comically far, far away from her. At least, as far as physics would allow. She stayed there for a moment, staring out over the water, with her arms draped over her legs. Lorelei recognized the look. A moment of contemplation.
When it passed, Nireed looked up at Lorelei and held out her hand. Lorelei pulled her up.
Brushing sand off her backside, Nireed said, “You were punishing yourself.”
Lorelei bit her lower lip and nodded. “I suppose I was.”
“Do not return to shore with your guilt. We are friends, Lorelei.” Nireed bowed her head and placed a closed fist to her chest, directly over her heart. This meant more than just forgiveness. It was respect and genuine caring.
Tears misting her eyes, Lorelei repeated the gesture. Then Nireed took her hand, and they entered the waves together.
* * *
Salt should have burned the open wounds on Lorelei’s tail, and the dry, split skin of her knuckles, but it was a soothing balm. The ocean welcomed its daughter back into its gentle, healing embrace. Already, new scales peeked through, filling in the patches of exposed flesh, and pushing out old, washed-out scales. While her gums and nail beds were sore from disuse when tooth and claw pushed through, the discomfort was brief and quickly forgotten. The ache in her bones eased, and she felt stronger. More alive.
Nireed swam circles around Lorelei, twisting and twirling, waiting for her transformation to complete. Her eyes flashed yellow as a grin spread across her face from ear to ear. Where Lorelei once would have seen sharp teeth and a wicked mouth designed to rip and tear, she now saw joy.
Lorelei tested out her fins, rotating them from side to side. They weren’t new, but they felt new. She felt new. With a sharp snap, Lorelei shot through the water. Banking hard to the right, she spiraled down to the sea floor. As she ran her fingers through the sand, her eyes stung. She couldn’t believe she was back. When she woke up this morning, this wasn’t even a possibility. Not one she would have allowed herself.
A half laugh, half sob escaped her lips, bubbling up in front of her. She would never stay away so long again. Clawed fingers clasped her shoulder. Lorelei looked up. The siren’s brown hair billowed around her in a dark halo, and the grey pallor that had set in from months in captivity was gone, her healthy, pearlescent sheen restored.
Lorelei showed Nireed all her favorite spots along the cove. They even swam out to the sea cave Lorelei found last year, still unoccupied by other creatures. And a rarity according to Lila. The Gulf of Maine didn’t really have those. Wrong type of rock. Sea caves were formed from limestone, and the gulf was filled with granite, shale, and schist.
Nireed’s marveling accentuated that fact; she explored every bit of it and signed to Lorelei that her pod had never seen such a thing as this.
Lorelei used her hands to reply. “What is your home like?”