Page 129 of Fallen Stars
“Well…I may have begun courting someone.”
Elara paused her kneading, her eyes narrowed. “Who? We’ve been at sea for two weeks. Adrian, I swear if it’s Merissa and you break her heart, I will kill—”
“It’s not Merissa,” Adrian said hurriedly. “In fact…it’s not a mortal woman at all.”
Elara’s eyes widened. “Not a siren?” she breathed.
Adrian shook his head, waiting as he saw the cogs begin to turn in Elara’s brain.
“Amermaid?” she whispered.
Adrian nodded.
“Wow,” Elara breathed. “I mean, I thought them just stories until I saw the sirens of Lake Astra with my own eyes. Then I truly believed that the merfolk still existed. The Mermaid and the Pirate. It sounds just like something out of the Mythas of Celestia.”
Adrian frowned.
“A book, Adrian. You know it wouldn’t hurt you to pick one up once in a while.”
He bit back a smile, perching on the side of the counter as he plucked an apple from the bowl between them.
“What need have I for books when I look like this?”
Elara sighed as she sprinkled rock salt over the dough, plucking dried rosemary from a small pot. “So tell me more about this mermaid.”
“Well…I haven’t actually seen her. But she’s been visiting me every night.”
Merissa bustled in, gasping as she clutched a bottle of olive oil to her chest. “You haven’t met her yet? That’s so romantic.”
“Or stupid,” Isra said, following behind her. “Perhaps she’s hideous, or a monster, and you’re here none the wiser.”
Adrian’s eyes rounded as he looked between Elara, who was trying not to laugh, and the two intruding women.
“Oh,please,” he exclaimed, “docome in. It’s not as though I was having a private conversation with Elara.”
Merissa waved a hand through the air, passing the olive oil to Elara. “Whatever you tell Elara, she’d end up telling us anyway. That’s what sisters do.” She winked, settling down on a chair at the table as Isra upended a bag of potatoes. The two women began peeling them.
“Don’t stop on our account,” Isra said. “Tell us more about this monster.”
“Isra,” Merissa tutted.
Adrian tried to stop himself from smiling and failed. “Well…she’s from Altalune.”
“Oh, she’ll bebeautifulthen,” Merissa breathed. “Altalunians are so ethereal. When I was younger, I tried to glamour my hair to be like theirs, but it never stayed put.”
“What else?” Elara asked Adrian, spinning around to taste a sauce bubbling away.
“She likes cake.”
“My kind of woman,” Isra grinned.
“And?” Merissa asked, a dreamy look on her face.
“Well, she’s been leaving me one of these every night.” Adrian produced a pearl from his pocket.
Gasps filled the room.
“That’s beautiful,” Elara said.