Page 22 of Ensnaring the Siren

She folded her arms across the diving platform, right next to where he sat. “I didn’t get my name until my fifth year. Sometimes these things take time.”

Was she trying to reassure him? It was unexpectedly touching. “What were you called before Nireed?”

“Starfish.”

Shit, that was adorable. He set down his drink, stretching his arms wide open. “Well, you found me, Starfish.”

She rested her cheek on top of her arms, watching him intently. “Do you want me to go?”

Something loosened deep inside his chest. Even with her sharp edges—the claws and teeth made for ripping and tearing—there was something soft and sweet about how she laid in repose against his boat, orange and silver tailfin fanning out behind her. A girl next door kind of vibe. He shouldn’t be comforted by that, knowing what he did of her, but he found himself saying anyway, “You can stay.”

Her answering smile was warm, pointed teeth and all.

“You come this way often?” he asked, remembering she’d mentioned a friend in one of their previous encounters.

“Every few days. What with everything that’s going on.”

He whistled long and low. It was about sixty nautical miles from here to mermaid territory. “That’s a long way.”

She shrugged again. “I move fast.”

It was in line with what other sea creatures could do. Dolphins could migrate up to eighty miles a day, whales one hundred. Still, her range was damn impressive.

“Is it hard, being away from home so often?”

Maine took his breath away, and there was no denying he lucked out being stationed here, but he missed Michigan and his mom and dad. Doing what he did, it was hard to go home, and he often missed holidays and birthdays and other life events. While he didn’t regret his career choice for a second and had made plenty of new friends along the way, it hurt sometimes living far away from the place and people that raised him.

“It is, and it isn’t.” She sighed. “Sometimes I don’t want to be needed, and here, no one needs me.” A dark look crossed her face. “That is, when they don’t know what I am.”

“What do you mean?”

“Surface Dwellers like knowing things, and I’m an unknown. But if I blend in, I’m free.”

It was a cryptic response, but one thing was clear: Nireed was risking everything to be here, to save her people. Her life, her freedom. Nautic’s fishermen likely wanted to poach creatures like her, and the science community wanted to study another live mermaid. And yet, she was still here, trying to make a difference.

He stared at her in awe.

He had the forest, and its towering pines, when he needed to carve out space for himself, but what did Nireed have? Was there some place she could go when she needed to be alone with her thoughts, when the responsibility of saving her kind weighed heaviest? Or did she live her life raw and exposed, always on the lookout for danger, always fighting for survival, never afforded the luxury of having peace of mind?

He imagined taking her to his favorite spot and leading her down the path that wove in and out between the trees. To see her take in the forest for the first time, moving about his world on unsteady, but determined legs. The terrain, knotted with rocks and roots, could be treacherous to the inexperienced, but if she tripped, caught onto his arm, he wouldn’t let her fall.

She fidgeted, eyes narrowing. “Why are you staring at me like that?”

He blinked, then shook his head. Shit, how’d he go from sheer terror to wanting to take a mermaid on a hike? He quickly changed the subject, waving a hand in front of his face, and teased, “Thought you said it was gross and smelly here.”

“And dry.” She shuddered, then splashed water onto herself using her fins. “I don’t know how you live like this.”

“I like the water, but I wasn’t made for it.”

“I was made for water but can adapt to land.” She shrugged. “And besides, it’s like home to you.”

“That’s perceptive.”

She smirked. “Why else would you choose to fall out of a Hel-i-cop-ter and live on a tiny boat?”

“I don’t fall, I jump. There’s a difference.”

“If you say so, Coast Warrior.” She winked, flicking a bit of water his way.

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