Chapter 13

Rose

S eeing Will standing there knocked the breath from my lungs. Last I'd seen him, he'd swum away from me, drawing taut the thread that seemed to bind us together whenever he was near. Having him in front of me eased that tension. It made me want to smile like a lovesick dingbat and jump in his arms, rejoice that he'd finally come back. But I couldn't. I couldn't do anything but stare, my heart in my throat.

I, however, wasn't the only one who'd been knocked off-kilter. Milo stared at the gorgeous merman on his doorstep with a pleased expression. Pleased and… appreciative?

"Looks like I'm interrupting something," said Will, his ocean eyes bright and clear, amused almost. They flicked between Milo and I, but they finally lingered on the selkie at my side, tracing over the muscles of his chest and dipping… lower. "Is this a bad time?"

"Not at all." Milo smiled warmly. "Come on in."

Will did indeed come on in, and I was still so dumbstruck by the sight of him that I forgot to move to give him space. The merman chuckled, putting his hands on my hips to guide me backward so he could actually step inside as the screen door shut behind him. He was so close, and I ached to wrap my arms around him even as he dropped his hands from my hips.

"Hi," I said stupidly, not moving, simply looking up at him. I wasn't sure I could move. That tugging in my chest definitely didn't want me to, even if propriety screamed at me to.

"Hi," he replied, his grin widening. "I take it you missed me?"

Yes! I wanted to shout. Yes, you big oaf! I missed you from the moment you left! It hurt to watch you leave even though you told me you were going to come back!

But I said nothing.

Maybe I was trying to be more vulnerable and emotionally open, but that did not mean I needed to put my heart out there to get trampled on for funsies. Or to betray what I had with Milo. Gods, I must have been put together all wrong to even be thinking like this about another man. What's wrong with me?

Before I could answer—and perhaps because I'd been quiet for too long while I wrestled with my answer—Milo came to stand behind me, his chest flush against my back. His hands cupped my shoulders, and he chuckled. "I think our dearest Rose has forgotten how to human already."

"Seems like," Will agreed, a mischievous smirk lighting his eyes. He reached back up to grasp my shoulders just under where Milo touched, guiding both Milo and I further into the room so he could shut the front door.

Despite having space, neither of them moved—nor could I shoot back a retort, not when pure, warm energy flowed between the three of us. They were both so close, their bodies touching mine in a way I'd never had before, not with both of them. It tightened my nipples, sent heat pooling between my thighs.

A vision struck me then, almost as real as the men around me. Their hands stroking over my body, feeding the embers of desire within me until it was at a fever pitch, an inferno. Their lips, perfect and lush and soft, kissing my neck and breasts, lower; their teeth nipping at my skin. No part of me wasn't theirs. They owned me, grounded me, consumed me.

The new, wilder part of me bucked against being confined between the two of them, but not in irritation. No, whatever made me a siren wanted them to earn their place at my side. It wanted them to prove themselves able to handle this new me, even as the pull wound them closer, wanting them to slip into my very soul and live there. Forever.

But there was no way the power within me could have what it wanted. Two of them? Especially these two, with how tense things were between them before I'd fucked off on my futile trip to kill Joseph? I… I couldn't let myself yearn for more. I already had one mate, a miracle of fate. There was no way I could have two… Right?

You're so freaking broken, Rose. This isn't right.

I found my voice at last, pushing down the confusion and the rising heat under my skin. "Have you been safe?" I asked, looking into those ocean eyes that seemed to peel back every layer of protection in which I swaddled myself.

"Yes," Will answered easily. "I've been staying with Violet. The kids have been wearing me thin."

"I'm so relieved to hear that," I replied, a mere whisper.

"I've been sent to retrieve you so you can spend time with your aunt," he said, then paused, a wry smile replacing the tenderness on his face. "And to make good on my word that I would teach you magic."

Excitement chased away the uncertainty. "Really?"

The selkie at my back purred even as he chuckled, squeezing my shoulders slightly before dropping his hands to my hips.

"Yes." A bit of color warmed Will's cheeks. "And to ask if I can resume borrowing a room here. As much as I love those kids, sleeping on the couch isn't great for my back."

My brow knit before I remembered Milo mentioning that Will had stayed with him in my absence. I could have smacked myself in the damn head for forgetting that.

"I knew you two would need some space while you reacquainted with one another, so I decided to bother Violet." Playfulness sparked in Will's eyes, the corners of his lips tipping up in a wolfish grin. "You did put the silence charm in your room when you were doing renos, right?"

It took entirely too long for me to realize what he was getting at, and it took Milo's wild peal of laughter to make it really sink in. I gasped, then sputtered, trying and failing to form any words to chastise them for their perverted senses of humor. In the end, I sidestepped out of their arms to level a look of exasperation at them, blushing like crazy.

"You—you are the worst, both of you!" I forced out. "I'm going to get clothes on and put myself together, then we can have magic practice. Just don't, I don't know, burn the house down while I'm gone."

"I make no promises," said Milo, apparently thoroughly enjoying himself.

"Hey, if he wants to set a fire in his own house, who am I to tell him no?" Will added with a nonchalant shrug.

Just how close had they gotten since I'd left?

Never in a million years would I have imagined that these two would be playing and joking around like this. It was a relief, to be sure, but bearing the brunt of their collective teasing left me wondering if I would survive living with both of them. With a groan, I waved my hands at them and left to get ready.

I quickly braided my hair and slipped on a tank top dress. It felt scandalous not to wear a bra or underwear, but if we were practicing magic, I'd probably be shifting. I wasn't about to shred what underwear I had left for propriety's sake.

When I went back into the living room, both men were where I'd left them, thank the Gods. However, the space between them seemed so much smaller without me standing between them… and with how much tension there was arcing from one to the other. Their auras—Milo's dark royal purple and Will's shiny silver—were not like before, when their power had been grasping at each other's, desperate to grab hold and touch. Now, they blended in at the edges of where they met, creating a gorgeous lavender that was as soft as the tender cast in their eyes.

The moment shattered when I stepped back into the living room, their gazes flicking up and taking me in with a hunger I didn't understand. My first instinct was to freeze like a deer in headlights, but that pull in my chest guided me back to their sides.

"Could you wait outside for a minute, please?" Milo asked Will gently.

Again, I expected resistance, but was pleasantly surprised when he nodded. "I'll be right at the door."

With one last look of longing, Will did as he was asked and walked outside, shutting the door behind him. Only then did I turn to Milo and wrap my arms around him. He hugged me tightly back, burying his nose in my hair. I melted in his arms.

"Are you sure you're okay with me going with him?" I asked in a whisper, as if Will couldn't hear me… though, rationally, I knew he could.

"He's going to help teach you some badass merpeople magic. It's going to be so cool," Milo assured me. "Are you cool with him staying here? If not, I'm sure we can see if he can stay in the house by the beach."

The thought of putting Will in the house that we'd both been traumatized in rankled. I shook my head. "I don't mind." I more than don't mind! I want him close! "If he was staying here before and it was okay, I wouldn't want to turn him out again."

Milo searched my face to see if I was telling him the whole truth but seemed satisfied with what he saw there. "Alright. Please tell me if you change your mind. This is your house now, too, and I don't want you to be uncomfortable."

I softened. "I promise I will let you know if my feelings on the matter change."

"Alright." Such serenity blanketed his features. "Come back to me soon, my love."

"I will. When I come home, I'll show you what I learned." Excitement thrummed through me. All this time, I'd not even tried to use the magic that suffused every cell of my body.

"Good. I will be expecting a demonstration."

"Aye, aye captain." I gave him a mock salute that earned me a kiss.

"I love you." Milo didn't give me a chance to say it back—he kissed me again, embracing me until my world faded away and there was only him. He left me dazed in the best way. When he pulled back, he kissed the tip of my nose with a smile and released me. "See you soon."

"I love you, too," I replied, breathless. "I'll be back soon."

With one last kiss, I stepped away from my selkie and walked outside. Will, just as promised, was standing on the porch, leaning against the wall by the front door and looking… somewhat troubled. When he saw me, he opened his mouth to say something, but thought the better of it, instead taking a breath.

"I made this for you so we don't get caught coming and going from your aunt's place." He held out a hand, offering me a delicate gold chain adorned with a single purple pearl. When I reached for it, he pulled his hand back slightly. "Let me help you put it on."

"Thank you." I turned around, pulling my braid out of the way. Will came up behind me and ever so gently put it around my neck. His fingers brushed my skin lightly as he clasped it, and when it was on, he grabbed the hand holding my hair up and guided it to the back of the necklace.

"When you want to make yourself invisible, press and hold here." He pressed my finger over a noticeably larger link in the chain near the clasp. "The magic isn't infinite, so use it only when you need it until I can teach you how to fuel and recharge it on your own. It's not perfect, but it will have to do until all this is over."

I turned. "Thank you, Will. I really appreciate you doing this for me. And thank you for helping my aunt. I didn't get to tell you before, but I'm so grateful that you did."

"She's your entire world. I couldn't not help her." Before I could process the implications of that statement, his expression hardened a little. "Let's get to the tunnels so we can teach you magic, shall we? Even with the necklace, I don't want to risk you getting caught."

I nodded and followed him off the porch, toward the beach. When Will hit the water, he signaled to me to activate the invisibility part of my necklace. I reached back, pressed and held the link he'd shown me, and, after a second, disappeared from sight.

Even to myself.

"Ah, I see the flaw in my design," he said. "Hmm. Would you be alright with holding my hand so we don't lose each other?"

My heart skipped a beat. His hand in mine? Even as I questioned myself, I answered, "Alright."

His smile was tinged with sadness as he held out his hand. I took it and gave it a squeeze. Once more, my actions confused me. Why did I want to soothe him? Why did I want to make this right?

What was there to make right?

Before I could think too much about it, he tugged me fully under the waves and, after we shifted, activated his own invisibility charm. The water felt divine against my scales, even if adrenaline pounded through my veins every time I heard any sort of noise, be it a boat, a seal, or a fish. Thankfully, there were no merpeople around to potentially attack and bring us back to Joseph, but that did little to stop me from being terrified of that possibility.

Sooner than I'd expected, we were at the entrance of the hideout, and we pushed through the magic of the entrance without incident. Despite Will's reassurances that it'd be easier the second-time round, I still expected the sensation to be like it had been last time, when I'd been magically accosted by the charms, but it was only a bit of a tingle. Once we were inside, Will became visible again but didn't let go of my hand, guiding me to where he wanted me.

When we reached a wider part of the tunnels, he said, "Please stay right here for a minute. I'm going to tell Adrian and the kids to stay out of the tunnels while we practice, so we don't have to worry about surprises and distractions."

"Alright," I replied, making myself visible again as well.

With one last squeeze of my hand, he left me alone. I shifted back into my human form so I could sit properly, but rather than sinking into the silky sand beneath my feet, I closed my eyes, pressing my hand to the wall.

There was that song again, the one I'd heard the first time I'd entered these caves.

Its melody was warm and welcoming, triumphant even. The voice was as familiar to me as the one on Mariana had been, but this one… this one felt like I'd heard it every day of my life. Every refrain sang joy into the very fibers of my being, and as I reached out to it with my magic, it, too, sought me out. The source of the song was close, though I couldn't pinpoint where exactly. It beckoned me forward, asking me to come find it.

Soon, I thought. Soon. I promise.

I almost expected it to be angry, but there was infinite patience in it. It asked me to sit with it, to bask in its energy, and with a smile, I did. I let myself get lost in the symphony, in the melodies and harmonies. For those brief shining moments, I knew peace unlike anything I'd ever felt before.

A hand on my shoulder ripped me from my meditation, and without thinking, I took hold of the interloper's wrist and pulled, using the momentum to slam them into the ground. In an instant, I was straddling them, snarling, my fists raised to pummel whomever had touched me. But as soon as I saw their face, I stopped.

It was Will.

Because of course it was. He'd said he was going to be right back, after all. My cheeks heated as I jumped off him, putting a bit of distance between us. "Sorry about that."

"I shouldn't have startled you. It was my fault." Nevertheless, his expression was dazed as he sat up. "You're a magnificent creature, Rose," he breathed.

I furrowed my brow. "What?"

"You're unlike any siren I've ever met. It's…" His voice trailed off, and though he gave me space, his eyes roamed over me. "It's amazing. You're amazing."

"What are you talking about?" My anger was tapering off, making way for confusion at the starry look in his eyes.

"I can feel your power rippling off you, how it's connected to the islands and the weather itself. I hadn't realized until just now that it was you who was responsible for the storms." Seeing my confusion, he swam up to me, the lights above us reflecting off his onyx scales and making them glow like rainbows. "Let me show you what I mean."

There was a brush of power against my mind, and I recoiled instantly, but he put his hands up in a gesture of peace. "I won't do what my father tried to do. I just want to show you what I'm seeing. Nothing more."

"I will kill you if you do anything else," I said, my anger coming back to the surface—anger masking a thrill of fear.

"I hope that you would. The moment I become like my father in any way is the moment I'd want someone to kill me."

His eyes caught mine. The sincerity in them was what made me relent. I nodded, but braced for him to invade my mind anyway, my body tensing for the fight. However, his mind didn't shove into mine or push mine back. Instead, it was almost like what he'd done with our hands, threading his mind through the spaces I wasn't occupying to connect us. It felt almost… natural to have him there. I relaxed.

After a moment, my vision was overlaid with something else. With how he saw me. I sat before him, my eyes dark as the night with the arch of the Milky Way glittering in them and my aura, a shimmering sapphire, all around me. But unlike how I'd seen others' auras, self-contained and clinging close to their bodies, mine had tendrils reaching into the earth and up toward the sky, blending into the ocean around me. Waves of my power pulsed into the places I was connected to, fueling the clouds churning far above us. Feeding and being fed by the natural power of the Golden Isles.

"I've never seen anything like you," said Will, shifting the vision to what looked like a bottomless well. "You're so incomprehensibly powerful that you don't feel mortal, and you're connected to this place on a level that can't be an accident. I'm… I'm in awe." He withdrew the image from my mind and sat back, giving me some space.

I blinked at him. "I don't understand."

"I'm sorry." He smiled, his cheeks turning the slightest bit red. "You just took me off guard, and it's hard to think of you as Otherkind now."

"I'm not sure I understand what you mean." There was a coil of fear weighing heavily in my stomach at the idea that I wasn't like other Otherkind. Had the talisman ensured I was fundamentally different from other merfolk? Was I well and truly broken?

Will, unaware of my internal struggles, looked at me softly. "I really ought to explain myself better before going on and on about how different you are." He let out a breath, a line of bubbles rising from his mouth. "Every Otherkind has a well of power that is their own, fueled by whatever it is they derive power from. For us, it's the ocean; for others, it's ley lines, the earth, the universe, or whatever. Though the energy itself is infinite, what we can hold within ourselves is not, given that our mortal bodies can only hold so much at once."

"So, it's like everyone has a different size cup within them that can hold a specific amount of water," I replied, just to make sure I understood.

"Yes! Exactly!" He grinned. "This is what mine looks like." A different well popped up in my mind—deep, but the bottom was clear even through the silver liquid within. "Now, this is what yours looks like."

The image shifted to one with a depth my mind couldn't comprehend. It went down and down and down, deeper than seemed possible. The water within it was layers of different colors and textures, one swirling and blending into the next endlessly. I recognized the sapphire of my own aura on top, the color extending further down than even Will's before it faded into the next color, a brilliant turquoise which extended into a sunshiny yellow.

Even without the other colors, I was powerful. Incomprehensibly so. When he removed the image from my mind, all I could do was look at him with what was likely the stupidest expression ever seen.

"Exactly," Will said, awe written across his features. "I'm powerful. I know I am, and before you accuse me of being prideful, I'm saying this as a statement of fact, so you can put that look on your face away." He waggled a finger at me, and I realized I'd narrowed my eyes at him. "Thank you. Now, what I was saying was, I'm powerful. My well, as you saw, is deep… but not bottomless. Yours is. But I don't know how."

"I don't know either," I said, then realized that wasn't true. I did know, maybe, but I wasn't sure how the talisman was affecting me, not really. I didn't even really know how to broach the topic, so I decided to keep my mouth shut.

"It doesn't really matter why, if I'm being honest. What matters is that you understand how to use it and top it off in a responsible way. I even have a plan." He smiled, the ghost of his former self shining through once again. "I'm going to teach you how to use your magic, and then I'm going to teach you how to not only protect your mind from Joseph but how to undo his influence altogether."

I opened my mouth to tell him I wanted to learn the latter first, but he held up his hand. "I know. I know you don't want to wait, but you have to understand. The mind is a fragile thing. If you don't know how your power works, you could end up ripping away pieces of the person you're trying to save, and I don't think that's what you want."

My shoulders slumped. "No, I don't want that."

"You're smart. You should be able to pick up how to use your magic quickly and practice between our sessions." He patted my arm. "It should be as easy as breathing."

For the next hour, Will went over the basics of our magic with me, explaining the ins and outs and limits of what we could do. Which was to say, only our imagination was the limit. "As long as you can visualize it in great detail, you can do almost anything," he told me, "and the more you practice, the easier it gets. There will be some spells you do so often, all you need to do is think a word, and it will come to you."

"Like how you dry yourself off after getting out of the water?" I asked.

"Exactly like that!"

Will, for his part, was an excellent and enthusiastic teacher. The more he talked, the less stress lined his face. The carefree man I used to know peeked through as he excitedly talked me through different magical theories and different methods of producing the desired results—the only limit to what we could do was our imagination and power level, after all. Seeing the shine come back into his eyes made me lament what had happened to him all the more. But it also gave me hope that he was mentally and emotionally on the mend. Maybe one day, the trauma he'd faced that night would be nothing more than a bad dream.

While it was just me and Will, I could forget about the weight of my last Mark on my shoulders, all the ways I felt I'd been remade all wrong. It was easy to push negativity from my mind when I was so entirely focused on my power. The ability to do just about anything was a wondrous thing, and I let myself fall into the magic within me.

By the time I was mentally tired out, I'd turned a rock into a shell, then back again; I'd made a living, walking crab out of sand; I'd even made a bubble of air around where we sat then practiced the drying spell a few times. The magic was small, inconsequential even, but it was empowering. And Will was right: it was as easy as visualizing what I wanted.

"Before adjourning for the day," I said, scooting closer to him, "I'd like to ask a favor."

"Anything," he responded quickly, an edge of desperation in his voice that I didn't understand.

"Can you please teach me how to make one of those necklaces that you made me when I was human? I want to make one for Vi."

A profound sadness twisted his features, but he only said, "Of course," and shook his head as if shaking off his thoughts. "Well, let's do that and get you to Vi before she scolds me for keeping you too long."

I smiled. "She would, too."

He chuckled with me. Cupping the backs of my hands, he used his power to guide a little bit of sand onto my palms. "I find it easier to make something from another thing," he explained. "First, I want you to visualize the necklace, just the necklace. Can you do that?"

I closed my eyes and nodded.

He gave me a moment as I imagined the necklace I wanted to give her. A delicate but unbreakable platinum chain. Three silvery pearls, the middle of which was bigger than the two on each side of it. The chain went through the center of the pearls, making it look like they were floating.

"Alright, good. Now visualize it being real in your hands," he said.

My power eagerly responded to my call, making my palms and fingertips tingle as the sand was repurposed into something new. I felt it take shape in my hands, the chain first, then the three pearls, one by one. Though I wanted to open my eyes to look at it, I kept them closed, ready for the next instruction.

"Very nice! It's beautiful, Rose," he praised, and I again had to fight to not open my eyes as pleasure flushed through me. "Now, I want you to imagine what magic you want it to hold. Think very carefully. Be specific and deliberate."

My mind went to the chain first and imbued it with strength so it wouldn't break. I layered that with the protection that it could not be taken off by any means other than the wearer's desire for it to be off. When I thought of the pearls, I packed them full of magic: the ability to breathe underwater, to be impervious to the water's temperature and pressure, to be able to speak underwater. I gave them everything my previous necklace had, but I also added one more thing. I made sure that her mind would be protected from magical influence, that she couldn't have her will taken from her. This way, I could be sure that Joseph couldn't harm her like he had me, Will, and so, so many others.

Will's hands tightened around mine as he saw what my mind was making, but he added his power to mine, strengthening it then sealing it off. "There. That should be perfect," he said, his voice strained.

I opened my eyes to see the necklace just as I'd imagined it. The magic we'd put in it prickled at my hands. It took all my words away.

"You did amazingly, Rose," he praised me again, and there was such abject pride on his face that I couldn't help but preen. "The ocean water should seal it all in and strengthen what you've done, but if you're worried, you can always have Vi test it."

"I think I'll do that."

"Alright, well, I think we should finish for today." He pushed a strand of my hair out of my face. "Why don't we go give this to your aunt and see what she thinks of it, hmm?"