Chapter 8

Ireturned the following day, tossing a myriad of bounty onto the ship's deck. The girl screamed, but then ran to the ship's side, cheeks flushing again in that way. I just wished I could get a closer look.

"You're back," she let out a breath. "I thought you were a dream… or that you'd drowned."

Humans had dreams? How endearing. She was so adorable I could hardly tolerate it. A soft chuckle purred over the waves as I laughed. "No, I could never drown." My gaze whisked over the clouds and concern eased into my being. I'd never charted the weather in the way a sailor might, but I knew when the storm goddess was getting restless, and I couldn't fathom my girl surviving one of the goddess' more magnificent onslaughts.

"Why are you throwing fish and crabs at me?" she shrieked, looking at the deck in bewilderment.

I stayed back a suitable distance, but the water was clear, the sun bright, and if she looked closely, she would see… Though I would love to see her too… "I'm feeding you." I replied plainly, swimming closer. "Won't you come a little closer?"

Her lily pad green stare shot to mine. I recognized that look, the look of fear. I was the last thing so many of her kind saw. Surely the warning resonated in her blood. Or perhaps my siren charms were doing their job and tempting her closer, because she obeyed, leaning over the ship's side. Through her terror, she scanned the water, her eyes then ascending to my breasts again. "You're a–"

A rogue wave slapped the ship with a splash. Her hand slipped, her knee slipped too, and ripples of information caressed me as she splashed headfirst into the sugared seas. I sank, waiting for the bubbles to clear, and regarded her and her horrified expression as she took me in. Her cheeks were round with air, like a pufferfish, that soon left in a flurry of bubbles as she screamed under the tide. Her arms thrashed about, her legs moved with no reason, and sea wood hued hair fanned around her as I swam closer, running my long-clawed fingers through it as she squinted, perhaps expecting their sting rather than the gentleness I rarely offered.

This poor, beautiful mortal.

When she paled, I realized humans couldn't breathe underwater. Of course. I was forgetting myself.

I pulled her to my chest and dragged her above the surface and into the salty air. She gasped, coughing, and clutching her arms around my shoulders. The feeling of her soft body pressed to mine was… not unpleasant.

"Mermaid!" she choked out, trembling against me as the waves rocked us high and dipped us low.

I smiled, and apparently that was the wrong thing to do, because upon seeing my fangs, she screamed again.

"No, no," I assured her, willing my voice into a soothing tone. She calmed for a moment. "I am much worse than a mermaid."

Another scream. I wasn't good at comforting humans, apparently. How could I be when I was created to do the exact opposite? My very existence was sending tremors of shock through the human girl's body.

"Are you going to eat me?" her voice cracking as she shook in my hold.

I tilted my head, mesmerized by the tiny spots on her face, her tender warmth, her little hands holding onto me. "I'm going to keep you." I replied definitively.

She swallowed. "Keep me?"

"Yes."

Her tiny, clawless fingers slowly slid over the gills on the side of my neck, and my eyes fluttered closed in pleasure. "Oh," she gasped. "You're purple now. You change color?"

I nodded.

"You're beautiful," she murmured. "Did you… are you the reason the crew is gone?"

My jaw tensed, and I realized she was cold. Swimming to the side of the vessel, I noticed a tiny boat tied to the side of the ship. The tide was high, and the boat wobbled in the water as it clanked loosely against the larger ship. I lifted her with ease; the water rising around me in aid, and sat her gently in it. The feeling… was wrong. She should be with me always. But how?

I swam backward, and she reached out. Her ripped blouse clinging translucent to her breasts. Mmm… there they were… my own cheeks warmed at the sight.

"Wait, please don't go," she begged softly. "It's okay if you did… they weren't the nicest of men."

I raised a skeptical eyebrow. "A human woman who does not fancy her own males? I can relate to that sentiment."

"I never have." She rested her chin on her palm. "You're red now," she said idly. "And I'm going to die out here."

"You won't," I corrected adamantly. "I'm going to help you."

"How?"

I looked around, feeling the breeze, smelling the air and scouring my brain for information. What little I knew would aid her until I gathered more intel. Pointing toward the horizon, she followed my claw. "Human land is that way, but very far. Tie the bindings in the opposite direction, so the wind pulls you that way… but untie them at nightfall. It's going to rain."

Her eyes widened. "Is it… going to rain hard?"

"Not this time. But it will soon."

The sound of the waves nodded their agreement. We did not have much time to get her to safety.

"I will be back to check on you soon." Before I could dip under, her touch on my chin startled me.

"Thank you," she whispered. "You're pink now."

I leaned into her touch… I'd never been regarded in such a way. This human girl was… magnificent. Careful to show a nicer smile, I bid her farewell, and swam in a direction I did not want to go.

But I needed guidance… the kind that came with a price.