On the shoreline, Bash knelt over Z. It was there that I headed, pushing the water aside with each breast stroke.
“Is she okay?” I asked roughly, pulling myself out of the water. My tail was instantly replaced by two long legs.
Bash ignored me, perspiration beading on his forehead. His eyes were closed as his hands hovered over Z’s form, a golden glow emitting from his hands.
Healing magic.
Most Mages didn’t have that type of powerful magic, the magic capable of defying death itself. From all I knew about my Mage brother, Bash didn’t have it either.
So how the hell was he healing her?
As I watched, transfixed, the skin on her leg kneaded back together, taking on a light pink pallor. My stomach twisted when I thought about how she had obtained those bruises and red welts.
How she had broken her leg.
Disgust filled me, disgust directed at myself, but I pushed it aside. I had been trying to protect her. Who was better to take on a sea creature than a sea prince?
Bash finally removed his hands from above Z. His breathing was ragged, but his eyes, when he opened them, were clear. They flickered to my naked stomach, the skin between his brows crinkling.
“You’re hurt,” he said stiffly, and I followed his gaze. I must’ve bruised myself when I had landed. The skin was already taking on an onyx black and light blue color. I knew that cuts marred the length of my body - both from the tentacles and my fall through sharp branches - but it was nothing serious. I would live.
“I’m fine,” I said, pushing his hands away when he moved to heal me. Healing magic took a lot out of a person, and the last thing we needed was Bash incapacitated. Speaking of healing magic... “What the hell was that?” I blurted, nodding towards the mended flesh on Z’s legs. Her chest was rising and falling steadily, and I couldn’t help but inch closer to her, peering down at her beautiful face. She looked so peaceful asleep. Younger. Vulnerable. Her golden hair, matted with blood and dried seawater, was splayed around her.
Keeping my gaze on Z, I addressed Bash. “And what happened back on the boat with the Kraken? Why the hell did you help him grow?”
Bash made a nonsensical noise in the back of his throat.
“I don’t fucking know,” he admitted harshly. “I don’t know how I was able to heal Z when I never had healing magic before. I don’t know why my spell misfired and made the Kraken grow instead of shrink. I. Don’t. Know.”
I glanced up then, only to see Bash’s eyes fixed on Z. There was a tenderness in his gaze I had never seen before. A warmth. His hand absently reached out to stroke the smooth skin of her inner wrist.
“My magic,” Bash continued softly before breaking off. He swallowed hard. “My magic is acting...wonky. It’s not listening to me. It’s not behaving the way it should.”
“Do you think it’s because of the tension?” I asked, stroking Z’s hair out of her face.
“Tension?” Bash glanced up in alarm.
I nodded towards our sleeping mate. “Between you guys. It’s not normal.”
He bit down on his lip, expression contemplative. He didn’t seem angry by my observation, only a little sad. I knew that he cared for her more than he had ever cared for anyone before...and I also knew that it terrified him. He had these feelings, feelings for her, that he didn’t know how to deal with because he was afraid of getting hurt. Afraid of the consequences of falling in love.
It was tearing a wedge between the two of them. A chasm that one of them would have to jump before they could be a whole.
“Maybe,” Bash agreed after a long moment.
A splashing sound had us both turning. Immediately, Bash jumped to his feet, swaying slightly from his depletion of magic, and held Z’s dagger out in front of him. I must’ve lost my sword in the woods, but I begged the water to heed my call. Instantaneously, the water rose from behind the creature, an impenetrable barrier trapping it with us.
The Kraken pulled its small body onto land and crawled over to Z, long tentacles digging into the grass. Bash lowered his dagger, preparing to stab the ugly fucker, before he paused.
The Kraken was cuddling against Z’s prone body, desperate sobs escaping it.
“What the hell?” Bash asked.
Friend, the water whispered to me. Don’t kill friend.
“Friend?” I asked in disbelief, and Bash turned to look at me as if I was crazy. Ignoring him, I stared out into the ocean. “How the fuck is this asshole my friend?”
Friend, the water insisted.
The Kraken slipped underneath Z’s arm, curling around her body like some damn spider monkey. My poor mate moaned, and I immediately dropped to my knees beside her.
She moaned again before she flickered her beautiful eyes open, and I was lost in her fiery gaze.
“Z?” I whispered. Bash moved to kneel on her other side. His hand was desperately gripping at her wrist, releasing it, only to grab it once more. “How are you feeling?”
“Like I had my leg broken by an asshole Mermaid who thought I couldn’t protect him and myself,” she said dryly, and I winced, smiling sheepishly.
Yup. She was pissed about that.
She blinked rapidly, no doubt blinking away the fatigue, before her gaze rested on the tiny asshole still curled around her side releasing pitiful cries. Z glanced back up at me.
“Why the hell is the Kraken cuddled up to me?” she asked. Her eyes roamed over my body, and my cock hardened when heat rose to her gaze. “And why the fuck are you naked?”
THIRTY-ONE
Z
I named him Slippy.
Why? Because
