Tangled Tides (The Sea Monster Memoirs) (20 page)

The sound of him sliding down the other side of the door made me lift my head. I pictured us sitting there, back-to-back, with nothing but a slab of wood separating us. His voice sounded closer. "Do you have any idea how badly I want to kiss you?"

I sucked in a stifled breath. "What?"

"I want to kiss you. I've wanted to kiss you since we collided on your front porch. But you have to trust me when I tell you it's … we shouldn't. You could get hurt, and I vowed to protect you, not harm you."

I turned around and reached for the door knob, but stopped. "Explain."

"What?"

"You've said I shouldn't want to kiss you, so it has to be true. But you're saying you
want
to kiss me too. So explain. Why does this have to be so complicated?"

"Can you open the door?"

"Not until you explain." I leaned closer, not wanting to miss anything he said. I barely heard him sigh.

"I'm half gorgon."

"I already know that."

"Most gorgons can turn living things to stone."

"Know that too." Did he think I hadn't been paying attention?

"If my emotions get too intense, I lose control of my ability. Accidents happen." His voice was quieter, but I heard every word. I had to process it for a second, then I crawled onto my knees and leaned closer to the door.

"You mean you could accidentally turn me to stone?"

I heard one soft thud, like he had banged his head against the door. "Yes."

I was glad he couldn't see me. I must have looked terrified. "But …." I knew he had turned the sharks to stone, and I got the impression he could do the same thing to people, but this was crazy. He couldn't kiss anyone without possibly killing them? "How do you know that? Maybe it's only when you're angry."

He stayed silent. The longer I sat there, staring at the crystal doorknob and imagining him sitting on the other side, the more I didn't want to hear his answer. Then I realized. "Oh. It happened before, didn't it?"

"Once," he said. "I was practically a child. My first kiss was with one of my best friends.

The hurt in his voice sent a tremor through me. I couldn't take it anymore. I opened the door and he rocked backward, but caught himself and scooted over. I crawled beside him and laid my hand on his knee.

"What happened?" I whispered.

He dug his thumbnail into the floorboards. "She felt it happen and pushed me away. The kiss only lasted seconds, but her lips and part of her tongue turned to stone. I thought petrifying only happened through sight. I figured she would be fine. But it can be sight, saliva, or blood."

I didn't know what to say. I imagined being that girl. Could she talk? Could she open her mouth? Who would ever want to be with someone who had stone lips? She would never be able to feel another kiss again.

"With her it was just a silly kids' game," Treygan continued. "What I feel for you is … I can't bear to think of what I might do to you."

I nodded, staring at the floor. "But Rownan is part gorgon and—" I didn't want to remind Treygan that I had kissed the brother he hated. I tried to forget it every day. "He never turned me to stone."

"He didn't inherit that ability. His gorgon trait is that he can shadow other gorgons. Much less violent than what I'm cursed with."

My heart ached. For him, for me, for some girl I didn't know who had been sentenced to a lonely life with a mouth of stone.

He stared ahead at the wall. "You'll meet her tomorrow. I should tell you who she is now, so you're not blindsided."

"Okay."

He turned to face me. His eyes looked bluer than ever. "She is Kimber, Delmar's wife."

S
itting outside of Koraline's resting pool until midnight had been draining, but I had to watch over Yara. I didn't want to leave her to harvest the crops, but I had no choice. Even though she was in capable hands, I rushed through my work so I could return to her.

Delmar was on the couch reading when I returned. He didn't even look up at me, so I snatched the book out of his hands. "Why aren't you guarding the pool room?" I asked, louder than I intended.

"Shh." He propped his feet up on the ottoman. "I am guarding her. You might feel the need to hover outside the door, but I'm confident the extra few feet won't make a difference if someone tries to break in."

I glanced at the closed French doors. "Has she asked about me?"

"Hasn't stirred once. If I didn't know better, I would think she was asleep. She'll never know you left. Don't worry, Prince Charming,"

"Don't," I warned, handing his book back to him.

"Don't what?" He leaned forward. "You think I don't see it? You're in love with her."

"I don't know what love is. I've never even been on a date."

"Sharkshit. You love so selflessly it's nauseating at times. Me, Kimber, Koraline. Hell, some days you even love Pango and Merrick. You've loved Yara since she was a child. Except now it's different. You're
in
love with her. And she's in love with you, but you're too scared to do anything about it."

"
In
love. Like it's a pool you dive into. What if I turn the person I love to stone and she sinks to the bottom? Wouldn't it be safer to stay out of the water?"

He chuckled. "No, it's always safer in the water. Always."

"Thirteen sunsets, Delmar. That's all I have. It wouldn't be fair to her."

"Thirteen is more than twelve or none. Shouldn't she have a say in whether it is or isn't enough time?"

I flopped down on the couch beside him. "She asked me to kiss her last night. I can't even kiss her."

"Well," he said, with a cheeky grin, "I can tell you from experience there are other ways to show love. Kissing isn't everything."

"You and Kimber are different," I sighed. "And that's not the main issue. It would be greedy of me to act on my feelings, knowing I have to leave her behind."

He spun his book in his hands, staring at it. "Reconsider your feelings on love, Treygan. As wonderful as our realm is, it's not the best thing in creation. Love is." He turned to face me. "Believe me, you'll never know how amazing life can be until you allow yourself to fall in love."

I walked over to the resting room, looking through the glass at Yara. She floated peacefully in the dark water. Moonlight shone through the high windows, illuminating her skin and hair. "She takes my breath away."

"Good. Enjoy it." Delmar opened the front door. "You've been breathing steadily for far too long."

With a quiet click of the latch he was gone, on his way home to see Kimber and get ready for the big day. Soon the sun would rise. There wasn't enough time for me to rest, but there was one thing I wanted to do before Yara woke. I headed for Koraline's kitchen and searched through the drawers for scissors.

"I
can't lie around anymore," Yara said, pushing open the glass doors. "I'm too nervous about—"

She stopped abruptly in front of the kitchen table and stared at me. I sat back in my chair, rubbing the back of my neck.

"You cut your hair," she gasped.

"I wanted to look shipshape for your special day."

She walked toward me, staring at my head. "I just got used to it being long."

"So you don't like it?" I felt like a fool. I grabbed my glass of juice and stood up.

"No, I—" She touched my chest and looked up at me. "You look so ... young."

"Is that good or bad?"

"It's good, but," she bit her lip, "it's not even. I could fix it for you, if you want. I've been cutting my uncle's hair for years."

"We don't have much time. We need to leave soon."

"Where are the scissors?"

"In the bathroom."

By the time she came back with a towel and scissors she was laughing.

"What's funny?" I asked.

"You're such a guy. You didn't even attempt to clean up your mess in there."

I moved past her. "Damn, I came out to get a drink and forgot."

She caught my arm and pushed me back down in the chair. "Sit. You'll have more hair to sweep up when I'm through. You can clean while I'm getting ready."

She wrapped a towel around my neck and ran her fingers through my hair. I closed my eyes, amazed at how good it felt. I wanted to wrap my arms around her, pull her onto my lap, anything to get her closer to me, but instead I slid my hands under my legs.

She pulled two pieces of hair taught against my chin and bent down, evaluating me. "I may have to go a little shorter to make it even."

"Fine."

"Treygan." She looked at me longingly. "If we
could
kiss, I would definitely be kissing you right now."

My fingers flexed under my thighs. I wanted her to know I felt the same way, but it wouldn't be fair. I leaned back and my hair slid out of her fingers. "Pango and Merrick will be here soon."

Her brow wrinkled. She stood up straight and moved behind my chair. "Right."

She tilted my head forward and began snipping. The only sound after that was the scraping of stainless steel blades as she attempted to fix the mess I had made. Areas of my chest and arms were bright white and silver, but it almost blended with my regular coloring. Hopefully she hadn't noticed how excited and happy she made me.

A
s soon as Pango and Merrick arrived, Yara's questions began. What should she wear? What would she have to do all day? Did she have to talk to people? And on and on.

I stood by silently, amused that Pango would be her new teacher. Given Koraline's condition, he volunteered to take over his sister's job. I assumed the Violets agreed so he would have something to take his mind off of his sister, and it seemed to be working.

Several pearl hairpins bobbed between his lips as he mumbled, "Yara, my shimmering sunbeam." He secured more hair to the top of her head and took the pins out of his mouth. "Leave it to me. I will be your personal Sir Gawain today."

"My who?" Yara asked.

"Sir Gawain. One of King Arthur's knights. The exemplar of chivalry."

"I've only heard of Sir Lancelot."

"Yes, well." Pango gave her a hand mirror and leaned down in front of her. "We all know who is playing Lancelot, don't we?"

Her eyes met mine in the reflection of the mirror and she blushed. Pango looked over her shoulder at me and winked.

"Yara should get dressed," Merrick interjected. "We're already late."

"Fashionably late." Pango took the mirror from Yara. "Go, my lady, to the boudoir! Your gown awaits." He paddled her butt with the mirror and she giggled as she went to Koraline's bedroom. Pango looked at me and pumped his eyebrows twice before following her.

Merrick mouthed the words,
what are you doing?

"I don't know." Others were noticing our attraction to each other and that couldn't be good, but I wasn't sure if I could stay away from Yara. Maybe it was the close call with the sharks. I felt guilty for not being there to protect her. Or maybe Delmar was right. Could I be falling in love with her?

We stood there, listening to Yara and Pango talk and laugh in the other room. I was certain Merrick was literally biting his tongue, wanting to remind me a relationship with Yara would be impossible—as if I wasn't aware of it every time I blinked.

"Gentlemen," Pango announced, standing so tall that his green curls brushed the arch of the hallway. "May I present the pertinacious, catechizing, yet somehow enchanting Lady Yara."

She walked out, and I swallowed my breath. Her dress accented every curve of her body. The plunging neckline and her hair pulled back made me wish we were alone so I could kiss every inch of her exposed skin.

My own thoughts forced me back to reality. And then what? Turn her to stone? What was wrong with me? I never had urges like this.

Yara curtsied and Merrick told her how lovely she looked. All three of them fixed their gazes on me.

"You look nice," I said, trying to sound casual.

Pango threw his hands up. "I doozied her up from head to toe, and you can't come up with something better than she looks
nice
?"

Yara ignored Pango and thanked me.

"I have something for you." I reached into my pocket and pulled out her armband, custom made to match her copper hallmarks. "In case you haven't noticed, every merfolk wears one, and today you're official."

She lifted her arm. "Will you put it on?"

I wrapped it around the top of her silky arm and our eyes met. "There's a gift inside for you."

"Thank you," she smirked and rolled her eyes.

I wanted to tell her there were more than just joints in the pouch, but Merrick cleared his throat and opened the front door, so we all filtered out.

Pango and Yara walked ahead of me and Merrick. I admired the way Yara's hips shifted as she walked, the few loose tendrils bouncing against the nape of her neck, and the way her skin glowed under the sun hallmark between her shoulder blades. She was stunning, but I wouldn't be able to think of her that way for the rest of the day. If the Violets suspected my feelings or overheard my thoughts, it would cause problems.

Today I would have to put on an award winning show of indifference for Yara—which, given the circumstances, seemed impossible.

I
had never worn a gown in my life. Each step I took, I feared I would trip and fall on the draping bottom, landing face-down in mud and ruining the dress forever. Treygan would have the perfect view, and once again I would be humiliated.

Pango said my turquoise and yellow gown represented water and the sun, but why couldn't a comfy, short sundress represent the sun? I had never seen the guys wearing shirts before, so this was obviously a dressy occasion, but they looked comfortable in their khaki shorts and linen button-downs. I wanted to be comfortable too.

When I glanced up from carefully placing my feet, I saw merfolk walking over a nearby hill toward the faint humming of voices and activity. The sun wasn't up yet, and it made me more nervous, hiking through the dawn to who-knows-where to gather with a bunch of strangers.