Son of a Mermaid (23 page)

Martha rose from the couch. “It’s no problem, Hailey. I’ll whip up more. I’m sure Shea could use some breakfast as well. Brynn, how long can you stay this morning?”

“As long as I want. I’ll even help,” she said, standing up and following Martha to the kitchen. “You’ll be seeing a lot of me, if that’s all right with you, at least through the end of July,” she added, glancing toward Shea. “I need a chance to get to know my son.”

Shea smiled back at her, and then looked at Hailey.

“So that’s your mom, huh?” Hailey asked, cocking her head to one side.

Shea nodded.

“She’s certainly beautiful. And smart, if she’s taking over the family business. But can she cook?”

Shea laughed out loud, and threw his arm around her shoulder. “I guess we’ll find out!” They headed for the kitchen.

Shea walked along the stretch of Windmill Point beach that he’d come to think of as his own, in more ways than one. The sun had barely cracked the horizon, so he knew he had time before any lifeguards or sunbathers would arrive to spoil the peaceful morning. This was his time.

So much had changed in his life in the last month and a half. He watched as Lucky chased after a flock of seagulls, bounding straight through the waves in pursuit. He didn’t think he’d ever be able to look at the ocean the same way as before, now that he knew some of its secrets.

“Hey there, Garbage Boy.”

He turned and saw Kae walking along the edge of where the sand and waves met, and felt a rush of warmth flood his body and a smile automatically pull at his lips. Things between the two of them had been awkward since the Solstice, since technically she worked for his mother. Now it felt like he was taking advantage if he even thought about kissing her, but he couldn’t look at her without thinking about kissing her. Instead, he’d tried to avoid her altogether. Which only made him think about her even more.

There were so many things he wanted to tell her, so many things they hadn’t discussed. He knew he wanted to talk to her, and find out what she was thinking and feeling about everything that had happened to them… But he was also afraid of what he might find out. Did she still feel that connection between them, or had she changed her mind?

He watched her now, realizing how much he had missed seeing her these last few days. Even though he hadn’t gone looking for Kae, he had noticed she wasn’t on the beach in the morning either. Was she avoiding him? “Hey yourself,” he said as she stopped a few yards away. “Where’ve you been?”

She looked down at the sand, bending to pick up a particularly large conch shell. “Oh, your mother has been keeping me busy, packing up her things for the move south.” She turned and threw the shell far out over the waves, avoiding his eyes. “She wants me to go with her, to help her settle into the Adluo castle.”

Shea felt his heart sink. “But I thought she wasn’t leaving until the end of the month? What’s the rush?” He’d barely started to get to know his mother, and wasn’t ready to say good-bye just yet. Especially if it meant saying good-bye to Kae, too.

“The King thinks there needs to be immediate action to settle any unrest that may arise in the Southern Ocean. Those poor Adluos have been through a rough time…” Kae’s voice trailed off and she still wasn’t meeting his eye.

“My grandfather is screwing up Mom’s life again?” Shea shook his head, a bitter taste in his mouth at the thought. “This is so not fair. She didn’t get to stay with my dad, she didn’t get to raise her son, and now she has to leave again? It’s so wrong.”

“We don’t leave for another week,” Kae said, moving forward a step. She reached out and touched his arm. “You should come visit the castle and see…her.”

“I thought we had more time,” Shea said, trying not to focus on the softness of Kae’s touch against his skin. “My friend John is already on his way to visit. Gramma is taking me to the airport this afternoon to meet his plane. I’m not going to be able to come…swimming…until after he leaves.” His eyes met hers, and he saw her pain.

“You aren’t going to tell your friend about…anything?” Kae’s question sounded more like an accusation.

It was Shea’s turn to look away. “He wouldn’t understand. I’ve thought about it a bunch. What would I say? Hey, dude, my mom’s a mermaid queen and I’m the son of a mermaid? Wanna see my tail?” Shea shook his head and kicked at the sand. “He’d fall down laughing.”

Kae released her grip on his arm. “Did your other
friend
laugh at you?”

“That’s different,” Shea protested, looking up to see the fire in Kae’s eyes. “Hailey’s a girl.” Kae snorted and started to walk away, but he grabbed her hand. “Wait, don’t go.”

She turned and looked at him, cocking her head to one side. “Why? You have your human friends to worry about. You don’t need me. I’m only a servant, after all.”

“But I do need you,” Shea said, reaching for her other hand. “Kae, it’s only been a couple days without seeing you and I’m already miserable. It’s not just my mom I’m missing, it’s you. What am I going to do when you go south?” He pulled her closer until her long body pressed against his and his arms wrapped around her waist. She didn’t resist, instead leaning against him, resting her head on his shoulder and putting her arms around him as well. Her hair smelled of sunshine and ocean breezes, and Shea thought his heart might break into little pieces if he had to say goodbye to her now. “Don’t go,” he whispered into her damp curls.

“I have to.” Her voice was barely audible over the sound of the waves lapping the shore. He felt her warm breath against his neck. “Can’t you come with us?”

“She won’t let me. Not until they capture Demyan.” Shea hugged her closer. “She says I have to stay with Martha, that I’m safer here this summer. She promised I could visit her for the Winter Solstice, though.” December had never seemed further away than it did at that very moment. How would he last that long without seeing Kae? Without holding her in his arms, or hearing her laughter? The tightness in his chest hurt so much that he felt like he might explode right there on the beach.

“Wait a minute, did you say just for the summer? You have to stay with Martha for the summer?” Kae picked up her head until she was looking into his eyes. “Does that mean…?”

One corner of Shea’s mouth turned upward in a sad imitation of a smile. “She’s still sending me to the University in Atlantis in the fall.” Which wasn’t any closer to where Kae would be, if she had to live in the Southern Ocean and serve in the castle. Maybe he should tell her now how he felt about her, so she would know how much she meant to him. Could he ask his mother to fire her as a servant, so there wouldn’t be the weirdness between them? That would mean explaining things to his mother that he wasn’t sure he fully understood… And he wasn’t even sure how Kae truly felt.

The whole “heir to the throne” thing had kind of thrown their budding relationship into disarray. He knew his feelings for Kae had only grown stronger because of what they had been through, but he didn’t know if her feelings for him were strong enough to overcome all the class and clan issues that the merfolk seemed to worry about.

“University? Really?” Kae’s face had lit up, and her smile was radiant. “Me too, I mean, I’m still planning to attend University next semester. So we’ll be there together!”

The tightness in Shea’s chest started to lift. “I didn’t know… I thought you would have to stay and help Mom get settled into the new castle and all.”

Kae shook her head. “Nope. Definitely headed to Atlantis in September.”

“So this isn’t good-bye then,” Shea said, smiling. “It’s more of a ‘see you later’ thing.” His heart soared as his whole perspective shifted gears. Yes, his life would be changing completely when September rolled around, but he wouldn’t be facing this next adventure all alone. Kae would be with him. Suddenly, he remembered the burly Adluo guard who had shook his finger in Shea’s face that night in the hallway, outside the High Chancellor’s quarters. His advice rang in Shea’s ears even now, urging him to do the right thing.

“Kae,” he started. “There’s something we need to talk about, especially if we’re going to be in Atlantis together.”

Her brows scrunched together and she started to pull away from his embrace. “Look, you don’t have to say anything. It’s because I’m a servant, I know. I promise not to embarrass you in front of the other royals, Shea.”

He pulled her back before she could escape. “No! That’s not what I meant at all.” He shook his head, frustrated. “How can you even say that?”

“Say what? That I’m a servant? Because that’s the truth,” she said, her eyes suddenly cold. “I didn’t know you were a royal when we first met, or I wouldn’t have acted in such a familiar fashion. I promise to conduct myself with more
decorum
in the future.” She tried to pull away again.

He held her tightly, refusing to let go. “Listen, Kae. I understand that we just met, and that we’ve only known each other for a short time.” He ignored the fact that she was rolling her eyes and plunged on. “It feels like we’ve been through so much. Together. I mean, don’t you know how I feel about you?”

“I guess I don’t,” Kae said, sounding cautious. Some of the coldness had left her eyes, and Shea thought he saw a glimmer of hope there instead.

“Kae,” he said, gathering her even closer, “You mean
everything
to me.” Which was true, he suddenly realized. She was his whole world, and he never wanted to live without her. And just as suddenly, he knew the words he wanted to say to her, to tell her right now before she swam out of his life without knowing the truth. “Kae, I… I love you.”

She gasped, her eyes wide as if unable to comprehend his words. “But…” she started. He silenced her words with his lips, trying to convey with his kiss all the feelings he had for her. If she wasn’t going to believe his words, maybe he could make her believe him this way. He closed his eyes, drinking in the salty taste of her lips, as if he were dying of thirst. She returned his kiss with an intensity that matched his own.

He finally tore his lips away from her mouth and opened his eyes, to find that there were tears escaping from the corners of Kae’s eyes.

“What’s wrong with me?” Kae’s voice sounded rough and scratchy. “I think I’m leaking.”

“They’re tears,” he whispered. “But mermaids don’t cry, remember?” He tried to hug her even closer to comfort her, but that seemed to make the tears fall faster. “It’ll be okay. It’s not even two whole months, and then we’ll be able to see each other every day.”

Kae sniffed, and swiped at her eyes. She gave him a watery smile. “Every day sounds good.”

“It does, doesn’t it?” Shea smiled back at her, his heart pounding in his chest at the thought of being with her every day. Sharing classes, sharing meals, sharing all the new experiences that Atlantis had to offer. Together.

“September isn’t that far away,” Kae said, resting her head against his shoulder again and sighing. “With everything that needs to be accomplished between now and then, I’m sure the time will swim right by.”

Shea wasn’t as sure. “Every day without you will seem like an eternity,” he said, feeling slightly foolish despite the fact that he meant every word. Here he was making declarations of love, and she hadn’t yet said the words back to him. Could she have true feelings for him, despite the fact that he wasn’t a full-blooded merman? His dad was a drylander, after all. Could a mermaid as beautiful as Kae fall in love with someone like him? The moment seemed to stretch on forever, his anxiety mounting with every breath.

Kae seemed to sense his uncertainty, and finally answered his unspoken question. “I love you, Shea,” she whispered into his chest. “It might be breaking the rules, but so be it.”

Her words sent a shiver of electricity running through him.
She loves me
. Nothing else mattered. “I’ve never been all that good at following rules,” he said, planting a tender kiss in her golden hair. “I’m better at making them up as I go along.”

“Well then,” she said, pulling her head back a bit to look into his eyes. “It’s a good thing you’ll be king someday. Then you can make up as many rules as you like.”

Shea shook his head. “I don’t want to think about that right now. I’d rather enjoy getting to know my grandfather, and learning all there is to know about your world.”

“It’s your world, too,” Kae reminded him.

“Our world,” Shea said, smiling. “And I can teach you about the world above the water, too.”

“We’ll see about that. I don’t have a lot of time left here on Cape Cod.” Kae sounded wistful.

“Then we’ll have to make it all count,” Shea told her. “Can I ask for something right now?”

“Anything.”

“One more kiss?”

Kae’s smile widened, her answer in her eyes.

The End